Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane pursued Paul Pogba but found Fede Valverde and his emergence as Real Madrid's most important midfielder may yet prove the turning point in their season. Signed for six million euros in 2016, Valverde cost around 200 million less than Madrid might have paid for Pogba last summer. As well as […]

Berlin (AFP) – Manuel Neuer says a second consecutive defeat is unthinkable for Bayern Munich on Saturday at Bundesliga leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach, who quietly harbour aspirations of a first German title since 1977. Bayern have lifted the trophy each of the past seven seasons but their Bundesliga reign is under threat as they sit fourth […]

Paris (AFP) – With Neymar and Kylian Mbappe finally both fit and playing in the same team, the pressure is on Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel to get his all-star attack firing on all cylinders going into the second half of the season. Injuries and off-field issues had prevented the two most expensive players on […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The balance of football power in Manchester has swung comprehensively to City from United on the field and the Premier League champions are now on the verge of toppling their neighbours in the financial stakes as well. Despite failing to hit the heights of their past two title-winning campaigns, City […]

London (AFP) – Both sides of the Manchester divide will be hoping some derby delight can add impetus to disappointing seasons when City host United on Saturday, while Liverpool travel to Bournemouth aiming to surge further clear at the top of the Premier League. Manchester United got a badly needed win for manager Ole Gunnar […]

London (AFP) – Caretaker manager Freddie Ljungberg said Arsenal "did not show up" for the first 45 minutes as the Gunners' winless streak reached nine games in a 2-1 home defeat to Brighton on Thursday. Neal Maupay headed in a deserved winner for the Seagulls 10 minutes from time after Alexandre Lacazette had cancelled out […]

Al Wakrah (Qatar) (AFP) – A tiny handful of Saudi fans were present in Qatar Thursday to see their side's hard-won 1-0 Gulf Cup semi-final victory over the hosts whose supporters dominated the cavernous Al-Janoub stadium. Of the 42,025 fans who turned out in the mild winter conditions to see the visitors book their place […]

London (AFP) – Everton sacked manager Marco Silva after 18 months in charge at Goodison Park on Thursday after a 5-2 thrashing by Liverpool saw the club fall into the Premier League relegation zone. "Everton Football Club can confirm that manager Marco Silva has left the Club," Everton said in a statement. "Duncan Ferguson has […]

Rome (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku and Chris Smalling on Thursday slammed a renowned Italian sports daily as "dumb" and "insensitive" after it used "Black Friday" in a front page headline about them meeting for the first time in Serie A. Former Manchester United teammates Smalling and Lukaku face off at the San Siro on Friday […]

London (AFP) – Marco Silva's short tenure as Everton manager will likely come to an end later on Thursday with Sky reporting he is in crunch talks with owner Farhad Moshiri. The 42-year-old Portuguese, who was only appointed in May 2018, is expected to be told by Moshiri that his time at Goodison Park is […]

Rome (AFP) – Italian football clubs on Thursday slammed a renowned sports daily's front page as "unacceptable" and "terrible" after it used "Black Friday" in a headline in reference to Romelu Lukaku and Roma defender Chris Smalling. Smalling and Lukaku, former Manchester United teammates, face off at the San Siro on Friday as Inter Milan […]

Frankfurt am Main (AFP) – Jurgen Klinsmann is making the Hertha Berlin players suffer in training to get them fit for the Bundesliga relegation battle, forward Davie Selke says. Hertha forward Selke told German magazine Kicker that Hertha are feeling "the fire in every training session. We are running further than we used to" ahead […]

London (AFP) – Son Heung-min said he and his Tottenham Hotspur team-mates would have to work hard because he did not like experiencing the pain he felt following Wednesday's 2-1 defeat by Manchester United. The 27-year-old Korean star gets his chance to bounce back on Saturday at home to Burnley. However, last season's Champions League […]

London (AFP) – US e-commerce giant Amazon's entry into the live broadcasting of Premier League football was expected to be full of glitz and innovation but instead they played safe in sticking to a tried and tested formula. Amazon are the first of the tech giants to dip their toe into the Premier League after […]

Brussels (AFP) – Belgian Marc Wilmots announced he was leaving his position as coach of Iran after six matches in charge which included a 14-0 victory over Cambodia, he said on Twitter. "Contrary to the informations published in the Iranian press, no amicable agreement between the Iranian federation, myself and my staff has been found," […]