Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane believes he has the backing of Real Madrid but admits he would leave if he ever felt he had lost the club's support. Zidane has come under scrutiny after enduring his worst ever defeat as Madrid coach on Wednesday, a 3-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League. The […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's injury problems worsened on Saturday as forwards Mauro Icardi and Pablo Sarabia were ruled out of Sunday's Ligue 1 game at Lyon. Star striker Kylian Mbappe has also failed to recover from a thigh injury suffered in August, leaving PSG coach Thomas Tuchel without five attacking players, with Edinson Cavani […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp warned Liverpool on Friday to brace for a fierce fight with the Chelsea youngsters that remind him of the thrilling Borussia Dortmund sides that took Germany and Europe by storm. Klopp, whose Premier League leaders take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, built a dynamic team in his seven […]

Berlin (AFP) – Amine Harit's superb last-minute goal saw Schalke snatch a dramatic win over Mainz and move to second in the Bundesliga on Friday, level on points with league leaders RB Leipzig. Schalke have 10 points having played a game more than Leipzig, who travel to Werder Bremen on Saturday, and are two ahead […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola insists Benjamin Mendy can still be a force for injury-hit Manchester City despite the French defender's own struggles to find top fitness. Mendy has endured a difficult time with City since arriving from Monaco in a £52 million ($64.85 million) deal in 2017. He suffered an anterior cruciate […]

Strasbourg (France) (AFP) – Nantes missed the chance to go top of Ligue 1 on Friday after Ludovic Ajorque's last-minute penalty saw Strasbourg come from behind to win their first match of the season 2-1. Ajorque struck from the spot after Jean-Ricner Bellegarde was brought down in the area, capping a powerful second-half display that also […]

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Bournemouth moved into third place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win against south-coast rivals Southampton on Friday. Eddie Howe's side took control in the local derby at St Mary's thanks to first half goals from Nathan Ake and Harry Wilson. James Ward-Prowse's penalty reduced the deficit after half-time, […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Gabriel Jesus returned on Friday to the Brazil squad for next month's friendlies against Nigeria and Senegal after his two-month ban from international football following his controversial dismissal in July's Copa America final. The Manchester City striker was hit with the ban by South America's football governing body CONMEBOL last […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund coach Lucien Favre has waded into the debate about whether Mats Hummels should be recalled by Germany, insisting the in-form centre-back should be included for their upcoming internationals. In the wake of a disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia, when the defending champions failed to get out of their […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona's 16-year-old starlet Ansu Fati was granted Spanish citizenship on Friday, a government spokeswoman said, meaning he will be able to represent Spain at international level. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez's cabinet approved a request made by the justice minister to give the Guinea-Bissau-born forward Spanish citizenship during its weekly meeting, the spokeswoman […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona coach coach Ernesto Valverde has revealed that Ousmane Dembele could return to full training on Friday after recovering from a hamstring injury. Dembele is not expected to be involved in Saturday's La Liga trip to Granada due to the knock he picked up during Barca's opening day 1-0 defeat to Athletic […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has backed Riyad Mahrez to be a key man for Manchester City after the Algeria winger's vibrant start to the season. With Leroy Sane out for at least five months as he recovers from an anterior cruciate ligament injury, Mahrez will have plenty of chances to make his […]

London (AFP) – Manager Steve Bruce is ready to unleash "old-fashioned centre-forward" Andy Carroll on the Premier League as the striker attempts to rekindle his career back at struggling Newcastle. The 30-year-old, who has not played since February because of an ankle injury that required surgery, has trained all week and is ready to make […]

Bissau (AFP) – Ansu Fati has made a long trip from the fields of Guinea-Bissau, where he played as a child, to Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium where the 16-year-old is playing with some of the biggest stars in the world. Fati's has made a stirring start to the season, scoring just two minutes into his […]

Paris (AFP) – Idrissa Gueye has earned rave reviews for his standout performance in Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League win over Real Madrid in midweek and the midfielder looks to be exactly what they have been sadly lacking in recent seasons. The Senegal international joined PSG in the summer from Everton for a reported 32 million […]