Hong Kong (AFP) – Barcelona legend and Al Sadd coach Xavi backed hosts Qatar to make an impression at the next World Cup after exciting forward Akram Afif was named Asian player of the year on Monday. Doha-based Xavi, who collected the award on Afif's behalf at the Asian Football Confederation awards in Hong Kong, […]

London (AFP) – Harry Maguire is frustrated that defensive lapses are costing Manchester United crucial points after they let slip a winning position for the second consecutive match against Aston Villa. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were leading 2-1 midway through the second half at Old Trafford on Sunday before a Tyrone Mings equaliser forced them […]

Paris (AFP) – Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho showed he knows how to make an impact as he came off the bench to drive Leicester to a victory that keeps them as Liverpool's closest challengers in the Premier League. Among other outstanding performances by Europe-based African players this weekend, Jeremie Boga opened the scoring for minnows Sassuolo […]

London (AFP) – High-flying English fourth tier side Forest Green Rovers are to wear bamboo shin pads, furthering their claims to be the world's greenest football club, they announced on Monday. Forest Green — whose environmental credentials have been recognised by FIFA and the United Nations — had already become the first team to switch […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola says he is satisfied with the state of mind of his Manchester City players even though they twice lost the lead to draw 2-2 with Newcastle and slip further behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. Guardiola, whose defending champions are 11 points adrift of Jurgen Klopp's team with more than a […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Fabio Cannavaro guided Guangzhou Evergrande to their eighth Chinese Super League championship at the weekend, a triumphant end to a turbulent campaign for the 2006 Italian World Cup-winning captain. AFP Sport picks out five talking points from the 2019 Chinese football season. – Cannavaro enjoys last laugh – The 46-year-old former […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Nigerian contenders Enugu Rangers and Enyimba were both beaten by north African clubs on Sunday as the CAF Confederation Cup group phase kicked off. Enugu coach Salisu Yusuf lost his first match in charge, with the sending off of defender Temitope Olusesi not helping as they crashed 3-1 at home against Egyptian […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi delivered a major boost to Barcelona's La Liga title hopes by scoring a late winner in a 1-0 victory at Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Messi is the favourite to win a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or in Paris on Monday and he came up trumps again for Barca at the Wanda […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United threw away a second-half lead to remain eight points outside the Premier League's top four with a 2-2 draw at home to Aston Villa on Sunday. Jack Grealish put Villa in front with a superb solo effort, but United levelled before the break when Marcus Rashford's header hit […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge on Sunday indicated for the first time that interim coach Hansi Flick will remain at the club until after the winter break. "It is important that we have a coach who fits the team well," Rummenigge told reporters. "I can imagine that we will continue with him […]

Milan (AFP) – Lautaro Martinez's first-half brace sent Inter Milan top of Serie A on Sunday with a 2-1 win over SPAL after champions Juventus were held at home by Sassuolo, while Napoli's winless run stretched to eight games. "We didn't use our heads," lamented Juventus boss Maurizio Sarri after his side dropped their first […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri refused to blame veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's blunder as the defending champions were held to a 2-2 home draw by lowly Sassuolo on Sunday that cost them top spot in Serie A. The 41-year-old Buffon is closing in on Paolo Maldini's record for Serie A appearances in what […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United are eight points adrift of the Premier League top four after throwing away a second half lead to draw 2-2 with Aston Villa at Old Trafford on Sunday. Jack Grealish shot Villa into the lead with a superb solo effort midway through the first half, but United levelled […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Kelechi Iheanacho struck deep into stoppage time as Leicester beat Everton 2-1 to close the gap on Liverpool at the top of the Premier League to eight points. Richarlison had given the visitors a shock lead at the King Power as Everton produced a performance that may do enough to save […]

Berlin (AFP) – A brace from Breel Embolo saw Borussia Moenchengladbach reclaim top spot in the Bundesliga table as the home side ran out 4-2 victors over Freiburg at Borussia Park on Sunday. Gladbach lead RB Leipzig by one point at the top of the table and host reigning champions Bayern Munich, who sit four […]