Nice (France) (AFP) – Angry Nice striker Mario Balotelli accused Bastia fans of racially abusing him and screaming monkey chants throughout Friday's 1-1 Ligue 1 draw in Corsica. "Yesterday the result against Bastia was right... We will do more work to try to get our objective. The referee was good too," Balotelli wrote on his […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said his side's wasteful finishing rather than a contentious refereeing decision was to blame for their 2-2 draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. City were 2-1 up, Dele Alli having hit back for Spurs after goals by Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne, when Raheem […]

London (AFP) – A Matt Ritchie double propelled Newcastle back to the top of the English Championship as they strolled to a 4-0 win over bottom side Rotherham on Saturday. Ritchie's double plus goals from Ireland international Daryl Murphy and Ayoze Perez see the Magpies leapfrog Brighton — who beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 in an […]

Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wayne Rooney became Manchester United's outright record goal-scorer on Saturday when he scored his 250th goal for the club to earn a 1-1 draw at Stoke City. AFP Sport selects the five most memorable strikes from his United collection: Manchester United 2 Newcastle United 1 (Premier League, April 2005) Rooney's […]

Berlin (AFP) – Goalkeeper Lukas Hradecky was sent off just 125 seconds into Eintracht Frankfurt's 3-0 defeat on Saturday as second-placed RB Leipzig trimmed Bayern Munich's lead in the Bundesliga. The match at Leipzig's Red Bull Arena had barely begun when Hradecky dropped to the turf to gather a loose ball just outside his area […]

Milan (AFP) – Teenaged forward Federico Chiesa's first Serie A goal for Fiorentina in a 3-0 romp at Chievo boosted La Viola's Europa League hopes on Saturday. A week after stunning champions and leaders Juventus 2-1 to throw the Serie A title race open, Fiorentina travelled to the Bentegodi stadium without suspended Croatia striker Nikola […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola's Manchester City were denied a morale-boosting Premier League victory as Tottenham Hotspur came from two goals down to earn a contentious 2-2 draw on Saturday. Blunders by Spurs goalkeeper Hugo Lloris allowed Leroy Sane and Kevin De Bruyne to give City a deserved 2-0 lead, only for Dele […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ghana secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations as Asamoah Gyan's goal was enough to beat Mali 1-0 in Port-Gentil on Saturday. On an appalling playing surface, Gyan headed home from Jordan Ayew's cross in the 21st minute to score his eighth goal at the Cup […]

Madrid (AFP) – Zinedine Zidane urged Real Madrid's notoriously demanding fans to lay off Cristiano Ronaldo as the Real coach faces up to a mounting injury crisis on top of a congested fixture list. Ronaldo was whistled as his sluggish start to 2017 continued with a wasteful display in front of goal as Madrid edged […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ghana coach Avram Grant said his team's 1-0 victory over Mali on Saturday that sealed their progress to the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals owed much to their ability to hold on in the second half. "In tournaments you play for the points. In the first half we went 1-0 ahead, […]

Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Bournemouth substitute Benik Afobe salvaged a 2-2 draw against Watford in the Premier League as the hosts twice came from behind at Dean Court on Saturday. Watford were on course for their first win in seven matches before Afobe denied them all three points eight minutes from time on the […]

Paris (AFP) – Edinson Cavani struck his 19th and 20th goals of the Ligue 1 season as French champions Paris Saint-Germain won 2-0 at in-form Nantes on Saturday. The impressive away win leaves PSG still in third, but they are now just a point behind leaders Nice and level with Monaco, who have a game […]

Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – After Wayne Rooney broke Bobby Charlton's Manchester United scoring record by scoring his 250th goal for the club, AFP Sport looks back at his career highs and lows: HIGHS Euro 2004 explosion Rooney's emergence as a global star can be traced back to the 2004 European Championship in Portugal, when, […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ghana secured their place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations as Asamoah Gyan's goal was enough for them to beat Mali 1-0 in Port-Gentil on Saturday. On an appalling playing surface, Gyan headed home from Jordan Ayew's cross in the 21st minute to score his eighth goal at […]

Berlin (AFP) – Lukasz Piszczek saved Borussia Dortmund's blushes with the winner in a 2-1 victory at 10-man Werder Bremen on Saturday to lift them up to fourth in the Bundesliga. A Dortmund side missing predator Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang trail leaders Bayern Munich by 12 points, but climbed up from sixth with their first league win […]