Madrid (AFP) – Two goals in the opening eight minutes from Simone Zaza and Fabian Orellana blew the La Liga title race wide open as Valencia beat leaders Real Madrid 2-1 on Wednesday. The defeat leaves Madrid just a single point clear of Barcelona and three points ahead of Sevilla and now enjoy just one […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Henrkh Mkhitaryan and Michael Carrick look set to miss the League Cup final after picking up injuries against Saint Etienne, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho admitted on Wednesday. Armenian winger Mkhitaryan scored the winning goal in United's 1-0 Europa League second leg victory at the Geoffroy Guichard stadium to give the […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri made 10 changes to the side that suffered a humiliating FA Cup exit to third tier Millwall on Saturday for the English champions Champions League last 16, first leg at Sevilla. Only Nigerian Ahmed Musa retained his place as last season's title heroes returned, including Jamie […]

London (AFP) – England midfielder Adam Lallana has signed a contract extension with Liverpool, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Although Liverpool did not make public the length of Lallana's new contract, but British media reports said he had signed a new three-year deal with the option of an extra 12 months. The 28-year-old […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored but was then forced off with a hamstring injury as Manchester United cruised into the Europa League last 16 with a 1-0 win at St Etienne on Wednesday. That completed a 4-0 aggregate victory in the last 32 tie, although United finished the match with 10 men after […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea's Eden Hazard believes some teams are already beaten even before they kick-off at Stamford Bridge. The Blues are eight points clear at the top of the Premier League table heading into this weekend's matches, with Chelsea at home to relegation-threatened Swansea City. They can also look forward to a Stamford Bridge […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Africa wants 10 places in a proposed 48-nation World Cup, FIFA president Gianni Infantino was told in Johannesburg Wednesday. The Swiss-Italian was attending a two-day meeting of African national football association presidents behind closed doors. "All associations back an expanded World Cup and Africa hopes for 10 places," said South African FA […]

The important US Men's National Team World Cup qualifier against Panama in late March will be shown live on beIN SPORTS. The Spanish-language broadcast will be televised on Telemundo, but the English-language broadcast of the Tuesday March 28, 2017 match will be on beIN SPORTS for viewers in the United States. The match is an […]

Saint-Étienne (France) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho restored Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Paul Pogba to his starting line-up on Wednesday against Saint-Etienne in the Europa League. Leading 3-0 from last week's last 32 first leg at Old Trafford, Mourinho made six changes to the side that beat Blackburn 2-1 in the FA Cup on […]

London (AFP) – Indian-owned Blackburn Rovers have appointed Tony Mowbray as the club's new manager, the English second-tier strugglers announced Wednesday. Mowbray, 53, has signed an 18-month contract after former manager Owen Coyle left the Championship club by mutual consent on Tuesday. Most recently in charge at Coventry, Mowbray started his managerial career at Ipswich […]

New Delhi (AFP) – FIFA could pull Under-17 World Cup matches out of New Delhi because of concerns over air quality in the world's most polluted capital city, the tournament director said. Javier Ceppi said that air quality in Delhi was a "serious concern", particularly after the Hindu Diwali festival which this year falls in […]

Winning the UEFA Champions League requires a clutch of different qualities. Teams who go all the way are supremely talented, yet underscoring all their ability is diligence, intensity and a steely mentality. Champions League success can be circumstantial too. In 2016, Real Madrid were a mess under Rafael Benitez in the early stages of the […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool plan to leave their longtime Melwood training ground and move their practice facilities to the Kirby area of the city instead, the Premier League club said Wednesday. The Reds have trained at Melwood since Bill Shankly took over as manager in the late 1950s and started the process that saw five-times […]

Adelaide (Australia) (AFP) – Japan's former winners Gamba Osaka dominated their AFC Champions League Group H match, outclassing Australia's Adelaide United 3-0 in Adelaide on Wednesday. Gamba, the last Japanese club to lift the trophy with their final victory over Adelaide in 2008, were too organised and skilful for the inexperienced Reds team. Tall striker […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A penalty miss by Radamel Falcao left Monaco with plenty of Champions League regrets after they let a 2-1 lead at Manchester City turn into a devastating 5-3 defeat, according to coach Leonardo Jardim. Some of the Ligue 1 leaders said they had gifted the game to City and despite […]