Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's 5-0 thumping of Leganes on Wednesday was their biggest win in La Liga since his first spell as coach but Zinedine Zidane was hardly in a celebratory mood. In the press conference after the match, one expectant journalist asked if it was Madrid's best performance of the season. "No I […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City host struggling Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday with Pep Guardiola hoping that Bernardo Silva maintains his recent return to something approaching the peak of his powers. Portuguese playmaker Silva was among the most feared players in the Premier League last season as City won all three […]

Milan (AFP) – It is early days in Inter Milan's pursuit of perennial Serie A pacesetters Juventus, but already the chasers are worrying about flagging. Inter host Bologna on Saturday in the 11th round and can briefly overhaul Juventus ahead of the Turin derby later in the day. Third-place Atalanta face in-form Cagliari on Sunday. […]

Paris (AFP) – He has only been in charge for 12 games but the pressure is building on Andre Villas-Boas at Marseille after a disastrous week for the former European champions. Marseille were dumped out of the French League Cup at the first hurdle on Wednesday, going down 2-1 at Monaco as a potential route […]

Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool resume their Premier League title charge at Aston Villa on Saturday with Jurgen Klopp hoping to avoid a repeat of the defensive mayhem that nearly wrecked their dramatic League Cup win against Arsenal. Klopp played a reserve side for the fourth round tie on Wednesday, featuring a number of […]

London (AFP) – Sergio Aguero holds the key to Manchester City's bid to overhaul Premier League leaders Liverpool as the Argentine striker reaps the rewards of the "best decision of his life". When Aguero walks onto the Etihad Stadium pitch ahead of Saturday's clash with Southampton, he will feel more at one with his surroundings […]

London (AFP) – Granit Xhaka has blamed death threats to his family for his furious response to jeers from Arsenal fans during last weekend's clash with Crystal Palace. Xhaka appeared to swear at the Emirates Stadium crowd after his second half substitution prompted sarcastic cheers and booing during the 2-2 draw. The Arsenal midfielder cupped […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi was called up by Argentina on Thursday for friendly games against Brazil and Uruguay next month, the country's football association announced on Twitter. Messi has not played for Argentina since he was sent off against Chile in their victorious third-place play-off match in the Copa America on July 7. […]

London (AFP) – England's 1966 World Cup winners, former captains and most capped players have been invited to celebrate the country's 1,000th international against Montenegro in November. The Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley will see England become the first country to reach 1,000 senior men's internationals. 147 years since the first against Scotland, the English […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Former Scotland boss Craig Levein was sacked as manager of Scottish Premiership strugglers Hearts on Thursday. Levein has stepped down from the club's board, although he will stay on in a lesser role until the end of the season. The decision came after Wednesday's 1-0 defeat by fellow strugglers St Johnstone saw […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Jean Romario Baggio Rakotoarisoa is a footballer with an eye-catching name who hopes to lead Malagasy club Fosa Juniors to a historic CAF Confederation Cup success in Morocco this weekend. The 23-year-old captain converted a stoppage-time penalty kick last weekend to seal a 2-0 play-off first leg win over Renaissance Berkane of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Gerard Pique has said Barcelona's players offered to alter their own contracts to help the club buy Neymar from Paris Saint-Germain last summer. Barca attempted to re-sign Neymar, sold to PSG for a world record 222 million euros ($249 million) in 2017, but the two teams were unable to agree a deal. […]

London (AFP) – Three successive away wins have done wonders for Manchester United's confidence following a difficult patch, according to striker Marcus Rashford. Rashford celebrated his 22nd birthday a day early in some style on Wednesday scoring both United's goals as they beat Chelsea 2-1 at Stamford Bridge to progress to the League Cup quarter-finals. […]

London (AFP) – France's World Cup winning midfielder N'Golo Kante is due to return to training with Chelsea after almost a month on the sidelines, said Chelsea manager Frank Lampard. The manager is counting on the 28-year-old's return to ease the workload being shared by Jorginho and Mateo Kovacic, who both played the full 90 […]

London (AFP) – Fourth-tier Colchester United's chairman expressed his delight at being drawn away at Manchester United in their League Cup quarter-final declaring "You come into football for days like this." Colchester — the lowest ranked side remaining in the competition — have lost both times they have faced United: 1-0 in the FA Cup […]