Paris (AFP) – First place in Ligue 1 will be on the line on Saturday when leaders Paris Saint-Germain host their surprising challengers Angers at Parc des Princes. With many of their traditional rivals, notably Lyon, Monaco and Marseille, languishing in the lower half of the table, PSG have moved two points clear with a […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool's perfect start to the Premier League season is under threat from an in-form Leicester led by a manager with a point to prove at Anfield in Brendan Rodgers. The European champions have a five-point lead at the top of the table over Manchester City, but Leicester are the closest challengers to […]

Paris (AFP) – Arsenal teenager Gabriel Martinelli scored twice to spark a 4-0 rout of Standard Liege in the Europa League group stage on Thursday, while Manchester United stuttered to a goalless draw against AZ Alkmaar. Martinelli, 18, headed in superbly to give last year's runners-up Arsenal the lead on 14 minutes at the Emirates […]

Moscow (AFP) – Espanyol forward Wu Lei became the first Chinese man to score in a major European competition on Thursday as his side beat CSKA Moscow 2-0 in the Europa League group stage. The 27-year-old struck the opening goal on 64 minutes in Russia, clinically dinking the ball over CSKA goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev after […]

Paris (AFP) – Manchester United stuttered to a drab 0-0 draw against AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League group stage on Thursday, while Steven Gerrard's Rangers conceded an injury-time goal in a 2-1 loss at Swiss side Young Boys. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team again struggled badly in attack and failed to test Alkmaar goalkeeper Marco […]

Cairo (AFP) – Liverpool star Mohamed Salah "must rest" and will miss Egypt's friendly against Botswana on October 14, national team coach Hossam El Badry said Thursday. The announcement came days after Salah raised eyebrows by changing his Twitter bio to say he only played for Liverpool, removing any mention of his affiliation to Egypt. […]

Brussels (AFP) – Anderlecht appointed their fifth head coach of the year on Thursday with Franky Vercauteren installed for a third stint in charge, although Vincent Kompany remains the nominal manager. After Anderlecht finished fourth last season and missed qualifying for Europe for the first time since 1964, Kompany was appointed player-manager in July. After a […]

Rome (AFP) – Former Italy and Juventus midfielder Claudio Marchisio announced his retirement from football on Thursday after failing to recover fully from a knee injury. The 33-year-old, who won 55 caps for Italy and played in the 2012 Euro final defeat against Spain, joined Juventus when he was just seven, earning himself the nickname […]

London (AFP) – Wales boss Ryan Giggs on Thursday defended his decision to select Tom Lawrence for Euro 2020 qualifiers against Slovakia and Croatia, with the Derby forward due in court on a drink-driving charge. Lawrence, 25, charged last month after a car crash, is due to appear in court on October 15, two days […]

London (AFP) – Uncapped St Johnstone winger Matthew Kennedy has been drafted into the Northern Ireland squad for a crucial Euro 2020 qualifier against The Netherlands next week. The Belfast-born 24-year-old is the only new face in manager Michael O'Neill's 25-man party for the game in Rotterdam on October 10 and a friendly against the […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portuguese coach Fernando Santos weighed in on Thursday to defend midfielder Bernardo Silva who has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association over a controversial social media post comparing teammate Benjamin Mendy with a black cartoon character. The Manchester City midfielder last month tweeted an image of a young Mendy alongside […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea's Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori were rewarded for a fine start to the season under Frank Lampard with a call-up to the England squad on Thursday for Euro 2020 qualifiers against the Czech Republic and Bulgaria. Abraham, who has won two caps for the Three Lions before in friendlies against Brazil […]

Paris (AFP) – Paul Pogba was left out of the France squad named Thursday for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Iceland and Turkey, but N'Golo Kante and Kylian Mbappe both return. Pogba is currently struggling with a foot problem and was not named in Manchester United's squad to play AZ Alkmaar in the Europa […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool had to do the job twice over on Champions League upstarts Salzburg to get their defence of the competition back on track, but again relied on a prolific front three to cover over the cracks of an unsettled defence. Mohamed Salah finally secured a thrilling 4-3 victory with his second of […]

London (AFP) – Tom Lawrence was Thursday named in the Wales squad for this month's Euro 2020 qualifiers against Slovakia and Croatia, just over a week after he was charged with drink-driving. The Derby forward is due to appear in court on October 15, two days after the Croatia game, with Derby team-mate Mason Bennett […]