Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola admits he will have to "buy goals" before next season in a bid to cure Manchester City's lack of killer instinct. Guardiola's side enter the final stages of the Premier League season with a top four finish still in doubt due, according to the manager, to their failure […]

London (AFP) – Manuel Lanzini left Tottenham's Premier League title challenge in tatters as the West Ham forward sealed a 1-0 win that put Chelsea within touching distance of being crowned champions. Mauricio Pochettino's side paid the price for a lethargic display at the London Stadium and Lanzini's second half strike may well have ended […]

The word flop gets thrown around quite often in the sports world, especially dealing with European soccer. Generally, to be considered a flop a player has to (or least should) cost a significant amount of money and also make little impact, both statistically and on a personal level, with his new club. Yet despite this […]

Time is running out for Barcelona as they seek to reel in Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table, meaning victory over Villarreal at the Camp Nou on Saturday is essential if they’re to preserve any hopes of winning the title. Although the Blaugrana have won both games since their remarkable Clasico […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have been hit with a ban on signing youth academy players for two years after breaching Premier League regulations. City were found to have approached the families of two promising young players who were registered with other clubs in a bid to lure them to Eastlands. The Premier League club […]

Olbia (Italy) (AFP) – Coach Sinisa Mihajlovic believes the legacy of the Torino squad that perished in the Superga disaster can help his side beat Serie A leaders Juventus in the city derby on Saturday. On May 4, 1949 a plane flying the 'Grande Torino' squad and staff back from a friendly against Portuguese giants […]

Zurich (AFP) – Argentina's hopes of reaching next year's World Cup were given a huge boost on Friday after FIFA overturned Lionel Messi's four-game ban for swearing at an assistant referee. FIFA said there was not enough evidence to support the stiff punishment meted out in March to the 29-year-old Barcelona striker, who is central […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte has warned Diego Costa to ignore speculation about a potential move to the lucrative Chinese Super League and focus on firing Chelsea to the Premier League title. Reports this week claimed Tianjin Quanjian had agreed a deal with the Premier League leaders to sign the volatile Spain striker. It is […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane hailed Kylian Mbappe's "exceptional" breakout season on Friday as speculation mounted that the Monaco starlet has set his heart on a move to Real Madrid. Friday's edition of the Madrid sports daily Marca said that the 18-year-old Mbappe has indicated his desire to join the reigning European champions. Asked about […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has revealed Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo will miss the rest of the season with a calf injury. Bravo, who has endured an inconsistent season since arriving from Barcelona last August, was taken off on a stretcher after sustaining the injury against Manchester United on April 27. City manager […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich on Saturday host bottom side Darmstadt, whose club president says it should be an 18-0 thrashing – based on the clubs' respective financial clout. Darmstadt's two-year stint in the Bundesliga is poised to end with their relegation set to be confirmed after Saturday's David verses Goliath clash, given […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Leicester return home to the King Power Stadium to face Watford on Saturday with their Premier League future effectively secure and thoughts already turning to a crucial close-season. The Premier League champions this week had to hand back the trophy they won a year ago and Foxes manager Craig Shakespeare […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA on Friday overturned Barcelona star Lionel Messi's four-game ban from international matches imposed for swearing at an assistant referee, saying there was not enough evidence to support the stiff punishment. The U-turn is a major boost to Argentina's hopes of reaching next year's World Cup in Russia, with the South Americans […]

Vigo (Spain) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho pledged to rest a host of first-team regulars for Sunday's Premier League showdown at Arsenal as he believes his side have missed their chance to claim a top-four finish. Mourinho instead vowed to keep his key players as fresh as possible for the second leg of […]

London (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp strongly believes players should be allowed to deal with health issues in private, saying of the glare of publicity focused on Everton's Aaron Lennon: "I really hate it." Lennon has been in the spotlight after the former England winger was detained under the Mental Health Act on Sunday. His club […]