Johannesburg (AFP) – Bloemfontein Celtic spared the blushes of veteran goalkeeper Jackson Mabokgwane by scoring twice in two minutes and defeating Stellenbosch 2-1 Sunday in the South African Premiership. Mabokgwane, who was capped 11 times by South Africa, allowed a Waseem Isaacs shot slip between his legs and into the net for the only […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool opened up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as defending champions Manchester City crumbled to a stunning 3-2 defeat at newly-promoted Norwich. Behind the top two, there is a five-way tie between those likely to be fighting for the final two Champions League places this season with […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka admitted the Gunners were lucky to escape with a point after blowing a 2-0 lead to draw 2-2 at bottom-of-the-table Watford on Sunday. Quique Sanchez Flores enjoyed a happy return as the Hornets manager as Tom Cleverley and Roberto Pereyra's penalty secured a thoroughly merited share of the […]

Berlin (AFP) – A brace from Moroccan midfielder Amine Harit secured a 5-1 win over Paderborn for David Wagner's Schalke on Sunday, while Freiburg moved up to third in the Bundesliga with a derby win at Hoffenheim. Schalke tore through Paderborn in a frenzy of goals at the end of the second half to pick […]

London (AFP) – Quique Sanchez Flores enjoyed a happy return to Watford as Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead at Vicarage Road to draw 2-2 on Sunday. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang looked to have the Gunners well on course for a comfortable three points when he struck twice in 11 minutes before the break. However, Sanchez Flores, who […]

Milan (AFP) – Bologna moved second in Serie A on Sunday after a thrilling 4-3 comeback win over promoted Brescia inspired by coach Sinisa Mihajlovic who gave instructions from hospital as he undergoes a second round of chemotherapy for leucaemia. "At the end of the first half we heard Mihajlovic's anger on the phone and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla moved to the top of the early La Liga table on Sunday as Joan Jordan's brilliant free-kick helped them seal a 1-0 win at Alaves. Julen Lopetegui's side continued their excellent start to the campaign, remaining unbeaten and moving a point clear of Atletico Madrid, who lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga minnows Freiburg continued their dream start to the season as goals from Nils Petersen, Janik Haberer and Christian Guenter fired them to a 3-0 victory at neighbours Hoffenheim on Sunday. The win leaves Freiburg in third and sees them leapfrog perennial champions Bayern Munich, who were held to a 1-1 draw […]

Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Callum Wilson scored twice as Bournemouth curbed early season optimism over Everton's prospects with a 3-1 win on Sunday. The England international took advantage of some sloppy defending from the visitors to head home the opener from close range, but Everton levelled before half-time through Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Toffees have […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich full-back David Alaba is set to miss out on Wednesday's Champions League opener against Red Star Belgrade after picking up a thigh injury, the club confirmed Sunday. Alaba, 27, was pulled out of the starting line-up just before kick-off in Bayern's 1-1 draw at RB Leipzig on Saturday after getting […]

Milan (AFP) – Duvan Zapata struck deep into injury time to rescue a 2-1 win for Atalanta over Genoa on Sunday ahead of his side's Champions League debut. Colombian international Zapata rifled in on 95 minutes after Genoa captain Domenico Criscito had pulled the hosts level from the spot four minutes earlier. The side from […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ansu Fati, the 16-year-old starlet from Guinea Bissau, scored his second goal of the season as Barcelona breezed to a 5-2 win against Valencia on Saturday. Karim Benzema netted twice for Real Madrid as they fought off a late comeback to beat Levante 3-2 as Eden Hazard made his La Liga debut. […]

Paris (AFP) – While the battle for the Champions League of the future is fought behind the scenes, this week the continent's biggest clubs begin their latest quest for European glory with holders Liverpool dreaming of reaching another final in Istanbul. The current 32-team group stage format leading to a knockout round of 16 was […]

Madrid (AFP) – Karim Benzema scored twice for Real Madrid in a 3-2 win against Levante with Eden Hazard making his La Liga debut while later Barcelona breezed to a 5-2 win against Valencia on Saturday with more magic from 16-year-old Ansu Fati. Benzema's goals came just six minutes apart in the first half at […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan reclaimed top spot in Serie A after a 1-0 win over 10-man Udinese on Saturday as Juventus lost three players to injury in a painful goalless draw at Fiorentina to complicate preparations for next week's Champions League opener. Stefano Sensi's diving header was enough to seal a maximum nine points […]