Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund hope goal-scoring defender Achraf Hakimi will again be their Champions League "weapon" to shoot down Barcelona on Wednesday and relieve pressure on under-fire coach Lucien Favre. With two group games left, a last 16 place is still firmly in the hands of the Germans, who sit a point behind […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona fielded their fabulous four against Leganes on Saturday for the first time this season but it was only after Antoine Griezmann went off that his replacement scored the winner. Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele and Griezmann all started but Giezmann departed in the 57th minute before Arturo Vidal poked home […]

London (AFP) – Jack Grealish shone on his comeback from injury for Aston Villa as Newcastle manager Steve Bruce's return to his former club ended in a dreadful 2-0 Premier League defeat on Monday. Goals from Villa's Conor Hourihane and Anwar El Ghazi in the space of four first-half minutes eased their recent woes after […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo warned he was 'back' and ready for Tuesday's Champions League meeting with old rivals Atletico Madrid in Turin. Coach Maurizio Sarri said the 34-year-old Portugal international's fitness still had to be assessed before the Group D clash as he battles a knee problem. But the 34-year-old showed […]

Lyon (AFP) – American superstar Megan Rapinoe's team Reign FC are in negotiations to be bought out by the owners of current women's European champions Lyon, both teams said on Monday. OL Group, which owns Lyon's men's and women's teams, said in a statement that the move will consolidate their position as the "top women's […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho says there is "no chance" of Tottenham signing Zlatan Ibrahimovic after the veteran forward was linked with a move to the club following his exit from LA Galaxy. Mourinho worked with Ibrahimovic at Inter Milan and Manchester United but said signing the 38-year-old would not make sense with Harry Kane […]

Milan (AFP) – Brescia president Massimo Cellino came under fire on Monday after he described Mario Balotelli's difficult situation at the promoted Serie A club as "black". Balotelli was dropped for Brescia's 3-0 defeat at Roma on Sunday after clashing with new club coach Fabio Grosso for his lack of commitment during training during the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Sergio Aguero will miss next month's Manchester derby after being ruled out for "a few weeks" with a thigh injury, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said on Monday. The City striker hobbled out of the champions' 2-1 Premier League win over Chelsea at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, and Guardiola […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo remains in doubt for Tuesday's Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid in Turin, Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri said on Monday. The 34-year-old Portuguese international was rested for Saturday's Serie A game against Atalanta which Juventus won 2-1 thanks to a Gonzalo Higuain double to stay top of the Italian […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane said that his Real Madrid side are "not looking to get revenge" when they host Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League on Tuesday after a 3-0 defeat in France earlier in the group stage. Pressure mounted on Zidane after that loss at the Parc des Princes in September, but the […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid and Barcelona continued to set the pace in La Liga, while managerless Bayern Munich closed the gap in Germany and Inter Milan kept the pressure on Serie A leaders Juventus. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at five things we learned from European football over the weekend: Bale future remains […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City are expected to be without striker Sergio Aguero for "a few weeks", according to boss Pep Guardiola. The Argentine sustained the injury during Saturday's 2-1 win against Chelsea, with Guardiola unclear as to the exact nature of the problem. In his press conference to preview Tuesday's Champions League clash with […]

Paris (AFP) – Sadio Mane and Riyad Mahrez scored in the English Premier League at the weekend, but the most significant goal from an African star was struck by Wilfried Zaha. His goal could not prevent mid-table Crystal Palace losing 2-1 at home to leaders Liverpool, but it ended a morale-sapping 1,245-minute goal drought for […]

Paris (AFP) – When Paris Saint-Germain travel to Spain on Tuesday to face Real Madrid in the Champions League it will be with a Neymar who has, according to his teammate Marquinhos, grown up. "Neymar has lived things that have matured him as a person, and as a player," the PSG vice-captain told AFP. There […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich is not interested in "bargain" bids for the Premier League club and remains fully involved at Stamford Bridge, according to chairman Bruce Buck. The Russian billionaire is not believed to have attended a home match since the spring of 2018, having taken Israeli citizenship after encountering visa renewal […]