Madrid (AFP) – Gareth Bale hit both goals as Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of La Liga to five points with a 3-0 win over Leganes on Sunday. Bale signed one of the most lucrative deals in football history on Monday to keep him at the European champions until 2021. And the […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said he expected big things from Stuart Armstrong after his man-of-the-match performance in the 3-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle. The Scottish midfielder had to slot in at right-back after an injury to Mikel Lustig saw the Swede limp off early on and Rodgers praised him for his […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola acknowledged Manchester City need to develop a more ruthless instinct after they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Middlesbrough. Guardiola's side made a major statement on the European stage when they beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Champions League on Tuesday. But four days later City looked […]

Milan (AFP) – Marek Hamsik's celebrations at hitting his 50th Napoli goal at the San Paolo were tempered by a 1-1 draw with Lazio in Serie A on Saturday. Napoli welcomed on-form Lazio looking to bite into their seven-point deficit to leaders Juventus, compounded by their 2-1 defeat to the champions in Turin last week. […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte claimed Chelsea can still improve, despite recording his best win as manager of the club so far, describing his side’s 5-0 thrashing of Everton as "fantastico". The Italian had been pressed to offer a word from his own language for the display and, having chuckled about the one he picked, […]

Milan (AFP) – Marek Hamsik's celebrations at hitting his 50th Napoli goal at the San Paolo were tempered by a 1-1 draw with Lazio in Serie A on Saturday. Napoli welcomed on-form Lazio looking to bite into their seven-point deficit to leaders Juventus, compounded by their 2-1 defeat to the champions in Turin last week. […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte challenged Eden Hazard to maintain his superb form after the Chelsea playmaker inspired his side's 5-0 thrashing of Everton on Saturday. After a poor campaign last season, Hazard has been revitalised under the leadership of Blues boss Conte and the Belgian capped his recent renaissance with two goals in Chelsea's […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid's La Liga title hopes suffered another serious setback as two Real Sociedad penalties inflicted a 2-0 defeat on the Champions League finalists on Saturday. Carlos Vela opened the scoring nine minutes into the second half before handing responsibilities from the spot to Willian Jose to seal Sociedad's third straight win […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich boss Carlo Ancelotti dismissed Arjen Robben's sideline spat as just something "from the media" after the Dutchman was substituted in the Bundesliga leaders' 1-1 draw with Hoffenheim. Bayern were denied a sixth straight win on Saturday by third-placed Hoffenheim, who preserved their unbeaten record this season under coach Julian Nagelsmann, […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea went top of the Premier League after a brilliant 5-0 win over Everton on Saturday gave them the biggest victory of Antonio Conte's managerial tenure so far. Eden Hazard put in his best performance of the new era, scoring twice in an exceptional individual performance, with Marcos Alonso, Diego Costa and […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard scored twice as Chelsea exploited a slip-up by Manchester City to claim top spot in the Premier League by clinically crushing Everton 5-0 on Saturday. Marten de Roon's stoppage-time equaliser earned Middlesbrough a 1-1 draw at City and Antonio Conte's Chelsea took advantage to move a point clear of Pep […]

Milan (AFP) – England goalkeeper Joe Hart narrowly avoided a goal-line howler as Andrea Belotti inspired a rampant Torino to a 5-1 win over Cagliari in Serie A on Saturday. Torino welcomed the Sardinians looking to get back to winning ways after two draws and a defeat at Inter Milan last month where Hart was […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Ashley Barnes struck a 94th-minute winner as Burnley withstood a stirring second-half fightback by Crystal Palace to claim a breathless 3-2 victory on Saturday. Sam Vokes's second-minute strike and a long-range Johann Berg Gudmundsson effort put Sean Dyche's Burnley two goals to the good at half-time. Substitute Connor Wickham and […]

Berlin (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang earned redemption for a trip to Milan in a private jet with four goals in Borussia Dortmund's 5-2 drubbing of Hamburg on Saturday to get back onside with coach Thomas Tuchel. Dortmund boss Tuchel threw Aubameyang out of the squad for Wednesday's Champions League win over Sporting Lisbon after the […]

The second legs of the MLS Cup conference semi-finals are set to take place this weekend, with a number of exciting fixtures becoming do-or-die for the title hopefuls. With reigning champions Portland Timbers not making the cut, 2016 will throw up a new competition winner from the remaining eight teams. New York Red Bulls are […]