Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund stars Marco Reus and Mats Hummels have jumped to the defence of under-fire coach Lucien Favre amid reports Saturday he is on the verge of being dismissed. Germany's top-selling daily Bild claims Wednesday's Champions League match at Barcelona could decide Favre's fate after senior club bosses discussed the situation late […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho said he was "happy" with his players after delivering Tottenham's first away win in the Premier League since January in his first game in charge with a 3-2 win at West Ham on Saturday. Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane scored the goals as Mourinho made an instant impact […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho delivered Tottenham's first away win in the Premier League since January in his first game in charge with a 3-2 win at West Ham to catapult Spurs up to sixth. Son Heung-min, Lucas Moura and Harry Kane got the goals as Mourinho made an instant impact after replacing the sacked […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona needed a late winner from Arturo Vidal to beat bottom-club Leganes 2-1 on Saturday and dig out a much-needed victory ahead of what could prove a crucial month in their season. Vidal poked in a fortuitous goal in the 79th minute at Butarque after Luis Suarez headed home a Lionel Messi […]

Guangzhou (AFP) – Fabio Cannavaro revived his chances of holding onto his job at Guangzhou Evergrande as his side went two points clear at the top of the Chinese Super League on Saturday with two games left. Brazilian Anderson Talisca scored a goal in each half in an ill-tempered 2-0 home win over title rivals […]

Milan (AFP) – Mario Balotelli has been dropped for Sunday's Serie A trip to AS Roma after a training ground bust-up with new Brescia coach Fabio Grosso. Ex-World Cup winner Grosso, who took over the struggling northern side this month, was reported to be angered by the Italian forward's lazy attitude in training on Thursday. […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has issued a defiant message to runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool, saying his Manchester City side are not going to give up despite the yawning points gap. The City boss acknowledges that his team have it all to do, in fourth place and trailing the leaders by nine […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar made his latest comeback from injury for Paris Saint-Germain on Friday as first-half goals by Mauro Icardi and Angel Di Maria saw the Ligue 1 leaders ease to a 2-0 win over Lille at the Parc des Princes. The in-form Icardi opened the scoring from close range in the 17th minute […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund captain Marco Reus equalised in added time to salvage a 3-3 draw at home to Bundesliga bottom side Paderborn as Friday's shock result left Dortmund coach Lucien Favre under pressure. Dortmund, who face Barcelona away on Wednesday in the Champions League, were 3-0 down at half-time at Signal Iduna Park […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona are facing a shortage of defenders for their La Liga match at Leganes on Saturday after Clement Lenglet was the latest to be declared injured. "Clement Lenglet was ruled with a calf injury picked up on international duty with France," Barca confirmed on Friday. Lenglet joins full-backs Nelson Semedo and Jordi […]

Berlin (AFP) – Interim coach Hansi Flick has brushed off rumours linking Bayern Munich to Mauricio Pochettino, but Schalke coach David Wagner insists the ex-Tottenham manager would be an asset for the Bundesliga. Flick has been appointed caretaker coach of Bayern Munich until at least the winter break, which starts on December 22. He stepped […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa snatched the last African place for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games with a 6-5 penalty shootout victory over Ghana in Cairo Friday after a breathtaking third place play-off. The South Africans will join Egypt and the Ivory Coast as the three African representatives among 16 nations in Japan next July […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea boss Frank Lampard says he will never follow Jose Mourinho's lead and manage London rivals Tottenham. Meanwhile Andre Villas-Boas, who coached both clubs, called the partnership between Mourinho and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy an "unusual marriage". Mauricio Pochettino was sacked this week and two-time Chelsea boss Mourinho jumped straight into the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has reluctantly accepted Bernardo Silva's one-match ban for a tweet comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy to a black cartoon character but the Manchester City manager again insisted that his player was not racist. The Portuguese will miss the match at home to Chelsea on Saturday after the FA found […]

Paris (AFP) – Daniel Leclercq, known as the "Druid", who led Lens to their only French league title in 1998, has died at the age of 70, his former club announced on Friday. The Voix du Nord newspaper reported he suffered a pulmonary embolism and the French side's former president Gervais Martel said Leclercq died […]