Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City's threadbare defensive resources were dealt another blow Friday as Pep Guardiola confirmed Oleksandr Zinchenko and Rodri are set to miss the next few weeks. Left-back Zinchenko has undergone minor surgery on a knee problem and could be sidelined for up to six weeks. "He had a contact with […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool won a court battle with shirt manufacturers New Balance on Friday, paving the way to sign a lucrative new deal with Nike from the 2020/2021 season. A judge ruled in favour of the European champions' case that New Balance could not match Nike's enormous distribution network and promise to market Liverpool […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have the chance to exert some short-term pressure on runaway Premier League leaders Liverpool this weekend as Manchester United look to end their away day blues. Jurgen Klopp's side saw their long winning streak ended by a hungry United in a draw at Old Trafford last week but still have […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Carlos Vela scored twice as Los Angeles FC dumped Zlatan Ibrahimovic and the LA Galaxy out of the MLS Cup playoffs with a 5-3 derby victory on Thursday. Mexico international striker Vela took his season goal tally to 36 with two first half strikes at the Banc of California Stadium. Ibrahimovic […]

Milan (AFP) – Champions Juventus turn their focus back to maintaining their Serie A supremacy ahead of nearest challengers Inter Milan with both Italian teams riding high after their European successes this week. Juventus are just one point ahead of Inter Milan in the Italian league after eight games. Maurizio Sarri's side head to promoted […]

Paris (AFP) – An impatient Kylian Mbappe is set to make his first start for Paris Saint-Germain in two months this weekend after a blistering return to form off the bench in the Champions League. The French champions host Marseille at the Parc des Princes on Sunday night in what is no longer much of […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is ready to return to football management and resume battle with that stubborn coat zipper, claiming he misses "wet Wednesdays at Stoke". The Frenchman, who turned 70 earlier this week, ended his 22-year reign at Arsenal at the end of last season after capturing three Premier League […]

Berlin (AFP) – Pressure is mounting on head coach Niko Kovac as injury-hit Bayern Munich look to beat minnows Union Berlin Saturday with just two points separating the top nine Bundesliga teams. Third-placed Bayern are only a point behind leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach, having been knocked off the top three weeks ago when Hoffenheim grabbed a […]

London (AFP) – Three months into the Premier League's first season using VAR, confusion and anger abounds, from managers, players and fans, at the inconsistent use of the technology. England's top flight was the last of Europe's big five leagues to implement VAR, with the objective of observing and learning from mistakes made elsewhere. However, the […]

Paris (AFP) – Nicolas Pepe came off the bench to rescue Arsenal at home against Vitoria Guimaraes with two late free kicks in the Europa League on Thursday. Arsenal came from behind to win 3-2 and stay perfect in Group F. They are one of only two teams on nine points from three games, along […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Christopher Julien's header a minute from time handed Celtic a vital 2-1 victory over Lazio as the Scottish champions took a huge step towards the last 32 of the Europa League. The Italians took the lead five minutes before half-time when Manuel Lazzari fired in from a narrow angle. Celtic levelled midway […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Mostafa Mohamed scored his fifth CAF Champions League goal this season to earn Zamalek of Egypt a 1-0 victory over Generation Foot Thursday and a group place. The Cairo club popularly known as the White Knights won the delayed last-32 tie on away goals after losing the first leg 2-1 in Dakar […]

Paris (AFP) – Manchester United made an emotional return to Belgrade on Thursday and, after a ceremony to remember the 'Busby Babes', eked out a first away win since March, 1-0, over Partizan. Anthony Martial scored the only goal of the Europa League Group L game with a penalty kick after 43 minutes, but the […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Germany head coach Joachim Loew on Thursday ruled out recalling Mats Hummels as injury cover for next month's key Euro 2020 qualifiers with the Germans still hunting a finals berth. There have been calls for Loew to reinstate Hummels to the national squad for November's games against Belarus and Northern Ireland, […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus president Andrea Agnelli on Thursday got the overwhelming backing of the club's shareholders for a 300 million euro ($333 million) capital increase to help boost the Italian club's global ambitions. Despite losses of 39.9 million euros ($44m) last season, Agnelli asked shareholders for a major investment as part of a five-year […]