Mexico City (AFP) – Players of Mexican club Veracruz went on strike in the opening minutes of a league game on Saturday, allowing grateful opponents Tigres to walk in two goals unchallenged. Veracruz decided on the radical action of standing — instead of running — about the pitch to protest over unpaid wages. As a […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City eased doubts over their ability to sustain a Premier League title challenge by beating Crystal Palace comfortably on Saturday but Tottenham face another inquisition after narrowly avoiding defeat to bottom club Watford. Pep Guardiola's men travelled to London eight points behind runaway leaders Liverpool after two defeats in four league […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile's late brace of penalties helped Lazio wipe out a three-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Atalanta on Saturday, as Arkadiusz Milik's double helped Napoli beat Verona to close in on the top three. Atalanta, who travel to Manchester City in the Champions League on […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola called on his side to be more clinical after they brushed aside in-form Crystal Palace 2-0 on Saturday to narrow the gap to Premier League leaders Liverpool to five points. The defending champions travelled to London with questions over their ability to sustain a title challenge after […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile's late brace of penalties helped Lazio wipe out a three-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Atalanta on Saturday, as Arkadiusz Milik's double helped Napoli beat Verona to close in on the top three. Atalanta, who travel to Manchester City in the Champions League on […]

Paris (AFP) – Lyon stuttered to a 0-0 draw against fellow Ligue 1 strugglers Dijon on Saturday as already-embattled new coach Rudi Garcia took charge for the first time. The 55-year-old's appointment was greeted with anger by Lyon supporters because of his three-year stint at bitter rivals Marseille. He was roundly booed at the Groupama […]

London (AFP) – Watford manager Quique Sanchez Flores complained that VAR is not "objective" after Dele Alli's controversial late equaliser for Tottenham was allowed to stand in a 1-1 draw with the Hornets on Saturday. Sanchez Flores seemed set for his first win since returning to Watford last month as the visitors led through Abdoulaye […]

London (AFP) – Frank Lampard urged Chelsea to build on their rise into the Premier League's top four after Marcos Alonso clinched a 1-0 win that silenced the Newcastle fans who jeered the Spanish defender at Stamford Bridge. Alonso's blistering strike ended Newcastle's stubborn resistence with 17 minutes left and provided the perfect riposte to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich were denied top spot in the Bundesliga when Alfred Finnbogason's injury-time equaliser snatched Augsburg a dramatic 2-2 draw on Saturday. Niko Kovac's men sit one point adrift of both leaders Borussia Moenchengladbach and second-placed Wolfsburg, who drew 1-1 at RB Leipzig. Gladbach face a difficult trip to Borussia Dortmund later […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona's 'MSG' strike force is finally clicked into gear as Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann all scored in a ruthless 3-0 victory over Eibar on Saturday. Griezmann's place in the newly-formed attacking trident has not been secure but the Frenchman opened the scoring at Ipurua before teeing up Messi and […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile's late brace of penalties helped Lazio wipe out a three-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Atalanta on Saturday. Atalanta, who travel to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, had led 3-0 with 21 minutes to go at the Stadio Olimpico. But Immobile […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham narrowly avoided an embarrassing home defeat to bottom club Watford on Saturday as Chelsea and Leicester leapfrogged champions Manchester City in the Premier League. With leaders Liverpool not in action until Sunday, it was a chance for the chasing pack to press their credentials for top-four spots. Chelsea's Marcus Alonso broke […]

London (AFP) – Dele Alli struck four minutes from time to prevent Tottenham suffering another demoralising Premier League defeat, but their struggles continued in a 1-1 draw with bottom-of-the-table Watford on Saturday. The Hornets have still not won in the league since April and will rue a series of missed chances after Abdoulaye Doucoure put […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea climbed to third in the Premier League as Marcos Alonso clinched a 1-0 win that silenced the Newcastle fans who jeered the Spanish defender at Stamford Bridge. Alonso's blistering strike ended Newcastle's stubborn resistence with 17 minutes left and provided the perfect riposte to the taunts from the stands. The Chelsea […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A leading scorer Ciro Immobile's late brace of penalties helped Lazio wipe out a three-goal deficit in a thrilling 3-3 draw with Atalanta on Saturday. Atalanta, who travel to Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, had led 3-0 with 21 minutes to go at the Stadio Olimpico. But Immobile […]