Milan (AFP) – Under-pressure Napoli coach Carlo Ancelotti said "a coach's suitcase is always ready" ahead of Tuesday's crunch final Champions League group game against Genk. The Italian side host the Belgian outfit at the Stadio San Paolo looking to end their nine-match winless streak and book their place in the Champions League last 16. […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Former Argentina playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme has won a three-way battle with bitter rival Diego Maradona and Gabriel Batistuta after his group won the elections at Boca Juniors, striking a big blow against his old foe Maradona. The list headed by Jorge Ameal, who was club president between 2008 and 2011, […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard has challenged his young Chelsea players to "make a mark" ahead of their crucial Champions League match against Lille on Tuesday after a series of poor results took the shine off their season. Chelsea must beat the French side at Stamford Bridge to ensure safe passage to the knockout stages, […]

Milan (AFP) – Barcelona star Lionel Messi will not make the trip to the San Siro for Tuesday's final Champions League group game, but Inter Milan coach Antonio Conte still expects a tough test as his side bids to reach the last 16. Barcelona are already through to the knockout rounds after six-time Ballon d'Or […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund midfielder Axel Witsel will miss the rest of the year after needing surgery for a facial injury sustained in an accident at home, his club said Monday. "We couldn't talk to him yesterday (Sunday) because he was in intensive care in hospital," said Dortmund coach Lucien Favre, while a club […]

Paris (AFP) – Liverpool's confident march towards a first English title since 1990 continued with Mo Salah and Naby Keita both on target in the 3-0 win at Bournemouth. Algerian defender Ramy Bensebaini, meanwhile, took the plaudits during Borussia Moenchengladbach's win over Bayern Munich which kept them top of the Bundesliga. And there were other […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he has never doubted the quality of midfielder Naby Keita despite the Guinea international's limited impact since his arrival at Anfield last year. Keita has been confined to a bit-part role since his £52.75 million ($69 million) move from RB Leipzig in July 2018 and before Saturday […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola says Manchester City may no longer be able to match the standards of the best teams after a painful defeat against Manchester United left them 14 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. Guardiola's City have been the Premier League's outstanding side over the past two years, clocking up […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Harry Maguire has the top four in his crosshairs after Manchester United's thrilling derby triumph at Manchester City lifted them to fifth in the Premier League table. A week that started with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer under pressure after a below-par performance in a home draw against promoted Aston Villa […]

Milan (AFP) – Lautaro Martinez has had an explosive start to the season, powering Inter Milan's league title ambitions and European hopes under new coach Antonio Conte. The 22-year-old — known as 'El Toro' (The Bull) — joined the 18-time Serie A champions last season from Racing Club, scoring nine goals as Inter finished fourth […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool travel to Salzburg on Tuesday needing to avoid defeat to the confident Austrian champions to guard against an embarrassing Champions League group stage exit for the holders. Jurgen Klopp's men are used to getting through to the knockout stages the hard way. In each of the past two seasons they have […]

Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP) – Cruzeiro suffered relegation from Brazil's top flight for the first time in the club's 98-year history Sunday following a 2-0 home defeat by Palmeiras that triggered ugly scenes inside the ground. Belo Horizonte-based Cruzeiro, who won the last of their four league titles as recently as 2014, were condemned to […]

Milan (AFP) – Daniele Ragatzu struck late as Cagliari snatched a 2-2 draw at Sassuolo to reclaim fourth spot in Serie A on Sunday, as AC Milan beat Bologna 3-2 to return to the top half of the table. But Fiorentina fell to their fourth consecutive defeat, 2-1 at Torino, with coach Vincenzo Montella under […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – African debutants Pyramids of Egypt confirmed Sunday that they are the team to beat in the CAF Confederation Cup after crushing Nouadhibou of Mauritania 6-0 in Cairo. Egyptian Mohamed Farouk and Burkinabe Eric Traore scored twice each and Ghanaian John Antwi and Ivorian Wilfried Kanon once for the expensively assembled side, who […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Betis captain Joaquin became the oldest player to score a La Liga hat-trick after he inspired his team to beat Athletic Bilbao 3-2 on Sunday. At 38 years and 140 days old, Joaquin hit his first ever hat-trick and surpassed Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano, whose record as the oldest […]