London (AFP) – Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus said Wednesday he had been "surprised" by his extraordinary start to life in the Premier League. The 19-year-old rising star arrived in England last month after City agreed a deal with Brazilian side Palmeiras in pre-season. While some overseas players take time to adjust to the physicality […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Megabucks import Oscar began repaying some of his hefty price tag when he scored on his competitive debut for Shanghai SIPG, helping them seal a spot in the AFC Champions League group stage. The Brazil midfielder, who quit Chelsea in a 60 million euro ($64 million) deal, rolled in SIPG's opener in Tuesday's […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Luis Suarez is hoping an appeal will save him from missing the Copa del Rey final after being sent off for Barcelona in a bad-tempered semi-final, second leg against Atletico Madrid. Suarez scored Barcelona's goal as three players were dismissed in a 1-1 draw on Tuesday that secured Barca's place in a […]

Paris (AFP) – Lucas grabbed a controversial late winner as Paris Saint-Germain beat Lille 2-1 on Tuesday to stay three points behind Monaco after the Ligue 1 leaders secured a gritty 2-1 victory at Montpellier. Edinson Cavani netted his league-leading 23rd goal of the season to put the reigning champions ahead on 70 minutes at […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Luis Suarez booked Barcelona's place in a fourth consecutive Copa del Rey final but was sent off as a bad-tempered 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday secured a 3-2 aggregate win. Suarez's second goal of the tie looked to have put the semi-final beyond the visitors just before half-time. However, the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Holders Bayern Munich squeezed into the quarter-finals of the German Cup with a 1-0 win over Wolfsburg on Tuesday following Douglas Costa's first-half strike and goalkeeper Manuel Neuer's heroics. Bayern were coasting at Munich's Allianz Arena after a well-taken goal from Costa on 17 minutes, but it took two superb saves from […]

Milan (AFP) – Edin Dzeko hit a brace to go top of the Serie A goal charts on Tuesday as Roma stayed in the title chase with a comprehensive 4-0 win over lacklustre Fiorentina. Rescheduled due to Sunday's Six Nations rugby match between Italy and Wales, Roma hosted Paulo Sousa's men knowing defeat would leave […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Portuguese international winger Ricardo Quaresma has signed a three-year contract extension with Turkish champions Besiktas until 2020, the Istanbul club said on Tuesday. "I'm proud to play for this great club. Besiktas always and forever," the 33-year-old wrote on his Instagram account. The former Porto star, who has also had spells at […]

It’s safe to say that Atlanta United U-18 forward (and high school senior) Lagos Kunga has had a pretty solid start to his 2017. Not only was he one of seven youth players to be called up to the senior squad for preseason training in January, but he also made coach Brad Friedel’s U-19 USMNT […]

Doha (AFP) – High-spending World Cup 2022 hosts Qatar are splurging almost $500 million every week on major infrastructure projects for football's biggest tournament, the country's finance minister said on Tuesday. That eye-watering level of spending could continue until 2021, Ali Shareef Al-Emadi said. "We are spending close to $500 million per week on capital […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund coach Thomas Tuchel has insisted he has no problem with Germany's World Cup winner Mario Goetze, who has been left out of Wednesday's German Cup tie against Hertha Berlin. The attacking midfielder was kept on the bench for Saturday's 1-0 win over RB Leipzig and will miss the round of […]

Berlin (AFP) – An RB Leipzig fan has described how hooligans in Dortmund attacked their group, which included children, with stones and bottles and levels of hatred towards the Red Bull-backed club which have shocked German football. Hooliganism is nothing new in German football, but Saturday's violence meted out to RB Leipzig supporters, including young […]

London (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri was told Tuesday he is safe from the sack as the Thai owners of struggling champions Leicester vowed their "unwavering support" to the under-fire manager. Ranieri's side are just one point above the relegation zone after Sunday's 3-0 defeat against Manchester United and speculation had mounted that the Italian was […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australia's Tim Cahill has apologised for swearing at a referee after he was bizarrely sent off before he even made it onto the pitch in last week's explosive Melbourne derby. The former Everton forward, now with Melbourne City, was about to come on as a substitute when he made his comments to […]

London (AFP) – The urgent tone in Kasper Schmeichel's voice said everything about the fate that has befallen Leicester City, fairytale Premier League champions become shock relegation candidates. "We're the reigning champions and quite frankly it's been terrible. It's been embarrassing," the Danish goalkeeper told a television reporter after Leicester's 3-0 defeat at home to […]