London (AFP) – Liverpool's sizzling start to the Premier League season has left their title rivals breathless and the red-hot leaders are expected to maintain their perfect record against Newcastle on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp's side have seized the early initiative in the Premier League with four successive wins to open up a two-point lead over […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham host Crystal Palace on Saturday in a game Mauricio Pochettino hopes will herald the start of a more stable period for last season's Champions League finalists. Pochettino made three signings following Tottenham's European Cup final loss to Liverpool, the first time since January 2018 the manager had been able to add […]

London (AFP) – Tammy Abraham's promising start to the season has gone a long way towards justifying the decision of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard to place his faith in the young striker. The challenge now is for the 21-year-old to demonstrate he can maintain that form and show he can provide the attacking focal point […]

Paris (AFP) – With the saga over his on-off move back to Barcelona now over, Neymar could return to action with Paris Saint-Germain this weekend. The world's most expensive player has had to come to terms with a third season in Ligue 1 after PSG and his former club failed to agree terms on a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Unemployed soccer coach Jose Mourinho has had enough of being on holidays, he told Spanish television on Thursday, but has ruled out taking over an international outfit or joining someone mid-season. Mourinho was fired by Manchester United in December 2018 after a two-year spell of relative success was overshadowed by the results […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney has tipped Harry Kane to break his England goal-scoring record in the next "two or three years". Rooney netted 53 times for England during his glittering career as the former Manchester United striker broke Bobby Charlton's previous record of 49. But Rooney, currently playing for American club DC United before […]

London (AFP) – Referees' chief Mike Riley admitted on Thursday that four VAR mistakes have been made in the Premier League this season. Riley addressed the controversial issue of VAR use in the Premier League at a meeting of top-flight club chairman in London. The VAR blunders included Fabian Schar's equaliser for Newcastle against Watford, […]

London (AFP) – Burnley manager Sean Dyche will give Danny Drinkwater a second chance after the on-loan Chelsea midfielder was injured in an incident outside a nightclub. Drinkwater was pictured with facial injuries after allegedly being involved in a drunken dispute with another footballer over a woman in the Manchester venue. The former Leicester star, […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino insists Christian Eriksen is happy to stay with Tottenham after the Denmark midfielder failed to get a move during the transfer window. Eriksen admitted last season that he was interested in a new challenge, sparking talk of a potential move to Real Madrid, Barcelona or Manchester United. Tottenham boss Pochettino […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal's promising young midfielder Joe Willock signed a new long-term contract, the club announced on Thursday. Willock has advanced from the Gunners' youth academy to become a mainstay in Unai Emery's squad this season. The 20-year-old made his senior debut in September 2017 and has gone on to make 19 more appearances […]

Lausanne (AFP) – A new report from UEFA, published on Thursday, showed record spending in Europe during the recently closed summer transfer window with the majority of all money spent on transfers coming from clubs involved in either the Champions League or Europa League group stage. For the whole of Europe, transfer spending was 29 […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate is to meet with his squad ahead of their Euro 2020 match in Bulgaria next month and discuss what measures they might take if they are subjected to racist abuse. One Bulgarian fan was arrested for "discriminatory abuse" directed at Raheem Sterling during the 4-0 win over […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona captain Lionel Messi would be "thrilled" if Neymar returned to the Catalan side but insisted they could still win trophies without the Brazilian. In an interview with the Catalan newspaper Sport this week, Messi said the return of Neymar, who was at Barca from 2013 and 2017 when he left for […]

London (AFP) – Sabri Lamouchi has made a bright start as Championship side Nottingham Forest's 13th manager in eight years but even if it ends in tears it will never rival the disappointment he felt at being omitted from the 1998 French World Cup squad. The 47-year-old former midfielder, who has evolved into a manager […]

New York (AFP) – Nicolas Mezquida converted a penalty in the 85th minute to lift the Colorado Rapids to a wild 2-1 Major League Soccer victory over the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday. A furious finish at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in suburban Denver saw Rapids midfielder Cole Bassett break a 0-0 deadlock in the […]