Moscow (AFP) – Russian captain Artem Dzyuba has asked to be left out of the squad for friendly matches later this month because of the "difficult situation in Ukraine", coach Valery Karpin said on Tuesday. "Given the difficult situation in Ukraine, where many members of his family live, Artem apologised and asked, for family reasons, […]

Copenhagen (AFP) – Christian Eriksen will return to the Danish squad later this month for the first time since suffering a cardiac arrest on the pitch during Euro 2020 last June, Denmark's football association said Tuesday. The 30-year-old, who has been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, has been selected to play in Denmark's friendlies […]

Milan (AFP) – Alvaro Morata feels at home again at Juventus as the Italians try to convert their ominous domestic form into European success in Wednesday's Champions League decider with Villarreal. The Spain striker's double in Saturday's 3-1 win at Sampdoria underlined a recent rise in form since being told he was not surplus to […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City wasted a host of chances in a damaging 0-0 draw at Crystal Palace on Monday that severely dented their bid to retain the Premier League title. Pep Guardiola's side had 18 shots and 74 percent of the possession, but left Selhurst Park ruing a series of misses on a significant […]

Palma (Spain) (AFP) – Karim Benzema became the highest French goalscorer in history on Monday after his double gave Real Madrid a 3-0 win over Mallorca, sending them 10 points clear at the top of La Liga. But the Frenchman had to go off late on with what looked like an injury in his lower […]

Milan (AFP) – Ciro Immobile broke Lazio's all-time Serie A scoring record on Monday with the only goal in his team's 1-0 win over struggling Venezia which moved them fifth. Immobile, who also had a goal ruled out for offside just after the break, smashed home a 58th-minute penalty to take his top-flight tally with […]

London (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to produce another decisive display in Manchester United's Champions League showdown with Atletico Madrid just three days after his superb hat-trick against Tottenham. Rangnick's side host the Spanish champions in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea are pressing the British government to allow ticket sales despite an asset freeze as a result of sanctions imposed on Russian owner Roman Abramovich. Ministers have placed the Premier League club under a special licence after taking the action against the billionaire last week as part of a set of measures […]

London (AFP) – Ralf Rangnick has backed Cristiano Ronaldo to produce another decisive display in Manchester United's Champions League showdown with Atletico Madrid just three days after his superb hat-trick against Tottenham. Rangnick's side host the Spanish champions in the second leg of their last-16 tie on Tuesday after a 1-1 draw in Madrid last […]

Paris (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said "something was not 100 percent right" when asked about an injury that forced two-time African Footballer of the Year Mohamed Salah to limp off after scoring against Brighton at the weekend. "He thinks it's not serious but you can see when Mo Salah is sitting down... something […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – South Africa coach Hugo Broos is demanding more aggression from his team when they face world champions France in a friendly football international on March 29 in Lille. "Ghana started very aggressively and we did not counter that," said the Belgian, referring to a 1-0 loss last November that eliminated South […]

London (AFP) – Jadon Sancho is starting to show his true talent following a slow start to life as a Manchester United player, says interim boss Ralf Rangnick. Sancho arrived at Old Trafford from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of £73 million ($95 million) in July following a protracted pursuit by United but struggled to […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi's difficult start to life at Paris Saint-Germain plunged new lows this week, with the French giants crashing out of the Champions League before their fans jeered the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner on Sunday. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at Messi's fleeting brilliant moments and the more frequent tough times […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo gave Manchester United fans a glimpse of what they thought they were getting from his second coming at Old Trafford with a trio of thumping finishes to see off Tottenham 3-2 on Saturday. The 59th career hat-trick of Ronaldo's career was just his second for United and a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Luis Suarez and Cesc Fabregas defended their friends and former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Neymar after the pair were jeered by Paris Saint-Germain fans on Sunday. Messi and Neymar were both whistled during PSG’s 3-0 win over Bordeaux at Parc des Princes as supporters vented their frustration following the team’s Champions […]