Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said Friday he was "excited" by the prospect of fans being allowed to stand during Premier League games after a safe-standing trial was announced. Standing at stadiums in English football's top two divisions has been banned since 1994 after the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, which led to the deaths […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea host Premier League champions Manchester City in a stiff test of the leaders' title credentials on Saturday as Liverpool and Manchester United bid to keep pace with Thomas Tuchel's side. The Blues look well-equipped to end the season as English champions for the first time since 2017 after signing Romelu Lukaku […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City will have more than just revenge on their minds against Chelsea on Saturday, with Pep Guardiola's men at risk of leaving themselves with a mountain to climb in the Premier League title race. A frustrating 0-0 draw at home to Southampton last week lent weight to the argument that they […]

London (AFP) – Timo Werner hopes the end of his Chelsea goal drought will signal a fresh start after the German striker's troubled spell at Stamford Bridge. Werner headed Chelsea's opener in their League Cup third round tie against Aston Villa on Wednesday. It was Werner's first goal in 11 games for Thomas Tuchel's side, […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United crashed out of the League Cup as West Ham avenged their painful loss to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford, while Chelsea and Tottenham survived penalty shoot-outs to reach the fourth round on Wednesday. The Hammers suffered a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat against United in the […]

FIFA 22 has a tough task. For one, the over 30 million players all seek something different in the game. Then, the video game must jump over to the next generation of consoles. Fortunately, at least for Electronic Arts, that switch opens up new possibilities for change and adaptation. Recently, EA announced the changes and […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City started their bid to lift a fifth successive League Cup with a 6-1 rout of Wycombe, while Japan forward Takumi Minamino inspired Liverpool's 3-0 victory at Norwich on Tuesday. Everton and Watford were the major Premier League casualties in the third round, losing to QPR and Stoke respectively. City will […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Europe's "Golden Shoe" winner Robert Lewandowski sent out a warning to defences around Europe on Tuesday when he likened himself to a 'good wine' that was still improving. The Bayern Munich striker also offered warm praise and thanks to his wife Anna when he received the award as top scorer in […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Hungary must play two matches behind closed doors, with one suspended for two years, and were fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($216,635) by FIFA over their fans' racist chants at England players during a World Cup qualifier earlier this month. Hungarian fans subjected Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham to monkey chants during England's […]

London (AFP) – Mikel Arteta hailed Martin Odegaard's leadership qualities on Tuesday after the Norway midfielder was instrumental in leading Arsenal's recovery from a poor start to their Premier League campaign. Odegaard's pin-point free-kick handed the Gunners a 1-0 victory at Burnley last weekend as Arsenal responded to losing their first three games in the […]

Munich (Germany) (AFP) – Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski offered warm praise and thanks to his wife Anna when he received the "Golden Shoe" on Tuesday as top scorer in European football last season. The 33-year-old forward netted 41 goals in 29 games for Bayern in the 2020-21 season, breaking the great Gerd Mueller's record […]

Milan (AFP) – Massimiliano Allegri said on Tuesday that Juventus' visit to Spezia was a relegation battle as his team head into their fifth league match of the season without a win and in the Serie A drop zone. Juve's 1-1 home draw with AC Milan on Sunday night left them 18th with just two […]

Paris (AFP) – Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain's game away to Metz on Wednesday due to a knee injury which coach Mauricio Pochettino has said was the real reason behind his surprise decision to take the six-time Ballon d'Or winner off against Lyon at the weekend. The Argentine star underwent an MRI on Tuesday […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea defender Marcos Alonso will no longer take the knee as a sign of protest against racism because the Spain left-back believes the gesture is "losing a bit of strength." Alonso will instead point to an anti-racism badge on his shirt before kick-off. Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the trend of […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ronald Koeman defended his direct tactics after being accused of betraying Barcelona's attacking traditions in a 1-1 draw at home to Granada on Monday. Koeman brought Gerard Pique off the bench at Camp Nou to play up front alongside Luuk de Jong, with Ronald Araujo, another central defender, also thrown into the […]