London (AFP) – Roberto Di Matteo was sacked by Aston Villa on Monday after just 12 matches in charge of the troubled Championship club. Di Matteo was hired by Villa's new Chinese owner Tony Xia in June and the former Chelsea boss was expected to lead his side into the Premier League. Villa are playing […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho insisted Manchester United had played their best football of the season and could have put seven goals past lowly Stoke City after their 1-1 draw. Substitute Anthony Martial's first goal of the season was cancelled out eight minutes from time by Joe Allen following a rare error by […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal were lucky to come away with a narrow 1-0 victory over Burnley after a disputed injury-time winner took them within two points of the Premier League summit. Burnley were left frustrated after defender Laurent Koscielny scored from a corner deep into stoppage time, as the ball […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen insisted he won't change his flamboyant style despite a huge error costing the Spanish champions a 4-3 defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday. Three Celta goals in 11 first-half minutes from Pione Sisto, Iago Aspas and a Jeremy Mathieu own goal had Barca on the ropes before […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola advised Manchester City's supporters it will take up to three years for his methods to fully bear fruit after his side lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur. City had avoided defeat in the first 11 games of Guardiola's tenure as manager, but they were given a rude awakening at White Hart […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri has promised to rethink the way he juggles the demands of competing in the Premier League and Champions League after Leicester were held to a lethargic 0-0 draw by Southampton. Ranieri's side have been unable to reproduce the relentless work-rate that carried them to their fairytale title triumph […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A strugglers Udinese announced the sacking of coach Giuseppe Iachini following a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio on Sunday. "Udinese Calcio announces that Giuseppe Iachini has been relieved of his duties as first-team coach," said a brief statement by the club on its official Twitter account. Jeers and whistles rained down […]

Miami (AFP) – Dominic Oduro scored early in the second half to lift Montreal to a 1-0 victory at Orlando that boosted the Impact's Major League Soccer playoff hopes while extinguishing Orlando City's. Despite out-shooting the Impact 24-4, Orlando City saw their winless streak extended to five games and were eliminated from MLS Cup playoff […]

Milan (AFP) – A brace from Gonzalo Higuain helped send Juventus four points clear of title rivals Napoli on a day of contrasting fortunes for Inter and city rivals AC Milan on Sunday. Juventus travelled to Empoli, where the hosts' best result against the Bianconeri was a scoreless draw in 2008, confident of ensuring that […]

Milan (AFP) – Greek defender Kostas Manolas relaunched Roma's Serie A title hopes with a superb late header to hand the Giallorossi a precious 2-1 win over inconsistent Inter Milan on Sunday. Frank De Boer's Inter travelled to the Stadio Olimpico looking to bounce back from a second successive defeat in the Europa League and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid moved top of La Liga on Sunday as Celta Vigo edged Barcelona in a 4-3 thriller, whilst Real Madrid's run of draws stretched to four against Eibar on Sunday. Three goals in 11 first-half minutes sentenced a Barca side once again without the injured Lionel Messi as Pione Sisto, Iago […]

London (AFP) – England interim manager Gareth Southgate recalled Manchester United duo Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard when he named his first squad in charge of the senior national side on Sunday. The Old Trafford pair were both included for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Malta and Slovenia. This was the first England squad […]

Milan (AFP) – AC Milan coach Vincenzo Montella paid tribute to Silvio Berlusconi by dedicating victory over Sassuolo in a seven-goal thriller to the club owner as he prepares to sell the Serie A giants. Milan, who have not won the Italian league since 2011, looked to be on their way to a third defeat […]

Paris (AFP) – A superb Mario Balotelli strike four minutes from time gave Nice a 2-1 win over Lorient on Sunday that left them top of Ligue 1 going into the international break. Ricardo Pereira put Nice in front on the Cote d'Azur but Benjamin Moukandjo equalised in the second half and it looked as […]

Chaska (United States) (AFP) – The United States will take on Cuba in a friendly on Friday in just the third ever meeting between the two nations on Cuban soil. Three untested goalkeepers were among the 23 players announced by US coach Jurgen Klinsmann on Sunday ahead of the Havana friendly. The teams have played […]