Berlin (AFP) – Hakan Calhanoglu finally broke Bayer Leverkusen's penalty curse this season with the first of his two goals in Sunday's 3-1 Bundesliga win at home to Hertha Berlin. The Turkish international winger drilled home from the spot on 36 minutes to put his side 2-0 up — holding his nerve after Leverkusen had […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger apologised for his behaviour after the Arsenal manager was sent off for rowing with fourth official Anthony Taylor during his team's explosive 2-1 win against Burnley on Sunday. With the Gunners already down to 10 men following referee Jon Moss's decision to send off Granit Xhaka for a reckless lunge, […]

London (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez kept his nerve to haul 10-man Arsenal into second place in the Premier League as the Chilean's last-gasp penalty sealed a dramatic 2-1 home win over Burnley on Sunday. Arsene Wenger's side appeared to have blown their chance to get back in the title race when Burnley's Andre Gray scored […]

Paris (AFP) – Gabriel Boschilia and Valere Germain both struck twice as a rampant Monaco routed bottom side Lorient 4-0 on Sunday to climb two points clear of Nice at the top of Ligue 1. Brazilian striker Boschilia netted a brace inside the opening half hour as Monaco punished slack Lorient defending in driving rain […]

London (AFP) – Diego Costa returned to Chelsea's starting XI for the Premier League leaders' home game against Hull City on Sunday. The Brazil-born Spain striker, Chelsea's top scorer with 14 goals, missed last weekend's 3-0 win at Leicester City due to a back complaint. But he was reported to have had a furious training-ground […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla produced another late fightback to remain just one point behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid after twice coming from behind to edge out rock bottom Osasuna 4-3 on Sunday. Sergio Leon and a Vicente Iborra own goal put the hosts in front early in each half. But Iborra twice levelled before […]

Milan (AFP) – Paulo Dybala hit a fifth-minute opener and Gonzalo Higuain added a quick second as Juventus humbled Lazio 2-0 on Sunday to restore their four-point lead over Roma. Despite a poor record against the Turin giants in recent years, Lazio travelled to Turin looking to end the Serie A champions' 26-match unbeaten league […]

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Southampton put the row over former captain Jose Fonte's departure to one side as they beat struggling champions Leicester 3-0 in the Premier League at St Mary's on Sunday. Fonte joined top-flight rivals West Ham in an £8 million ($9.9 million, 9.2 million euros) move on Friday, with the Portugal […]

Franceville (Gabon) (AFP) – Star-packed Algeria came to the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon as one of the title favourites, but they need a miracle in Franceville Monday to reach the quarter-finals. A team including African Footballer of the Year Riyad Mahrez must defeat Group B winners Senegal, and hope fellow strugglers Zimbabwe beat […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp berated his side's "passive" defending after a 3-2 loss at home to Swansea dealt a major blow to their Premier League title hopes. Relegation-threatened Swansea became the first away team to win a league fixture at Anfield for more than a year as Fernando Llorente scored twice on […]

Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho wants record-breaker Wayne Rooney to help Manchester United solve a familiar problem after they failed yet again to turn their dominance into three points in a battling 1-1 draw with Stoke City. Juan Mata's own-goal gave Stoke a 19th-minute lead at the Britannia Stadium before Rooney rescued a […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola warned against expecting too much from new arrival Gabriel Jesus after he made an eye-catching debut in their 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur. Substitute Jesus, a £27 million ($33 million, 31 million euros) acquisition from Palmeiras, twice went close to giving City victory, heading narrowly […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Uganda coach Milutin Sredojevic admitted the way in which his side were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations with a last-gasp defeat to Egypt on Saturday was a crushing blow. "We tried our best but unfortunately it was not enough," said "Micho" after Abdallah El Said's 89th-minute strike, from […]

Milan (AFP) – Lorenzo Insigne and Jose Callejon struck inside the opening minutes as classy Napoli kept their title hopes alive with a 2-1 win at AC Milan on Saturday. A week after seeing Fiorentina stun leaders Juventus 2-1 to carve open the Serie A title race, AC Milan hoped to upset predictions at a […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Abdallah El Said scored with a minute left as Egypt snatched a 1-0 win over Uganda on Saturday that leaves them on the verge of the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals and eliminated their opponents. The substitute lashed in from a Mohamed Salah pass to leave the seven-time champions needing only […]