London (AFP) – Chelsea gave Antonio Conte a well-timed vote of confidence as Diego Costa and Eden Hazard inspired a 3-0 win against spluttering champions Leicester on Saturday. Conte had to endure speculation he was in danger of being sacked just three months into his Chelsea reign after bookmakers suspended betting on his dismissal on […]

Being top of La Liga is no longer a novelty for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid. Indeed, seven games into the Spanish football season, the Vicente Calderon club’s hike to the summit of the table has barely made headlines. The bald statistics totted up from their games no longer make for spectacular reading either. Atletico have […]

Sydney (AFP) – Football Federation Australia was Saturday seeking clarity on whether its Asian World Cup qualifier against Thailand in Bangkok next month will still go ahead following the death of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The FFA said it was chasing official notification from governing football bodies whether the match scheduled for the Rajamangala Stadium in […]

Paris (AFP) – High-flyers Nice stretched their lead at the top of Ligue 1 with a 2-0 victory over 10-man Lyon on Friday after second-place Monaco crashed to defeat at Toulouse. Nice captain Paul Baysse volleyed in a fifth-minute strike at the Allianz Riviera while Jean-Michael Seri swept in a second on 76 minutes to […]

Berlin (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a penalty and hit the bar before scoring to earn Borussia Dortmund a 1-1 home draw against Hertha Berlin in the Bundesliga on Friday as both sides ended with 10 men. Valentin Stocker gave the visitors a 51st-minute lead with a calm finish before Aubameyang made up for his […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Kenny Miller scored a stunning 100th goal for Rangers to give them a 1-0 win over Inverness Caledonian Thistle in the Scottish Premiership on Friday. The 36-year-old striker, in his third spell at the club, got on the end of Lee Wallace's cross to send a sensational strike fizzing past Owain Fon […]

London (AFP) – Wales international footballer Ched Evans was found not guilty of rape by a jury at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday following a retrial. Evans, who plays for English third-tier club Chesterfield, was accused of raping a 19-year-old woman in a hotel room near Rhyl, north Wales, in May 2011. The 27-year-old was […]

The Premier League today announced which matches will be moved in December and January for the purposes of being shown live on British television. As a result, we can now extrapolate the US TV schedule of games for those months — at least for many of the games. NBC Sports typically doesn't reveal the official TV […]

Paris (AFP) – French prosecutors on Friday called for former Liverpool and Marseille striker Djibril Cisse to be charged with blackmail over a sex tape that cost Karim Benzema his place in France's Euro 2016 squad, legal sources told AFP. Cisse and Benzema were both arrested last year over their alleged attempt to blackmail Lyon […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the congested Christmas and New Year fixture schedule which he believes will hamper the Merseyside club. The Reds match against Manchester City has been moved back to a 5:30pm (1730 GMT) kick-off on New Year's Eve, leaving Liverpool with less than 48 hours before […]

Zurich (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino built momentum towards expanding the World Cup Friday as some powerbrokers appeared to back the move, while sceptics will have to be convinced before a final call in January. Growing the cash cow tournament from 32 to as many as 48 teams topped the agenda at this week's […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho has pleaded with Liverpool and Manchester United supporters not to become embroiled in a vile war of words making a mockery of the respective tragedies involving both clubs. The two north-west rivals meet at Liverpool's Anfield ground on Monday, the first meeting between the teams since Mourinho took […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola insisted Friday that Sergio Aguero has the mental strength to bounce back from a nightmare week. The Manchester City striker has returned to England seeking a lift after suffering a significant setback to his World Cup hopes with Argentina. Aguero suffered a minor calf problem during a 2-2 […]

With the end of the international break comes the time to refresh your Fantasy Premier League squad, and what better way to get tips is there than by watching the latest episode of the Fantasy Premier League Show, hosted by the one-and-only James Richardson. In addition to AC Jimbo, the show features Fantasy Football Scout's […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona defender Gerard Pique believes he can take the unusual route into club politics rather than management when his playing career comes to an end by becoming Barca president. The Catalan giants are run by a president voted for by the club's near 150,000 members with mandates lasting up to six years. […]