Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich coach Carlo Ancelotti says Kingsley Coman's ankle injury is not as serious as first suspected and hopes to have the French winger back by the middle of September. Coman was stretchered out of Bayern's training session on Wednesday, clutching his left ankle after a collision with Javi Martinez, and has […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers refused to get carried away after his side took a major step towards qualifying for the Champions League group stages with a 5-2 win over Hapoel Beer-Shevaon at Parkhead on Wednesday. The Scottish champions are] looking to book a berth in the lucrative group stages of Europe's elite […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Luis Enrique wanted his players to take the plaudits as Barcelona crushed Sevilla 3-0 to win their 12th Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, 5-0 on aggregate. Arda Turan and Lionel Messi blew away the Andalusians at the Camp Nou, with victory meaning the coach has won eight of the 10 competitions he […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Ahead of the start of the 2016/17 La Liga season on Friday, AFP Sports takes a look at the five most prominent challengers to champions Barcelona and European champions Real Madrid (last season's final position in brackets): Atletico Madrid (third) The undoubted third force of Spanish football missed out on the title […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Arda Turan and Lionel Messi blew away Sevilla as Barcelona lifted their 12th Spanish Super Cup with a 3-0 victory at the Camp Nou Wednesday. With the hosts already leading by two goals from the first leg, Sevilla — bar an early flurry of chances — were on the receiving end of […]

London (AFP) – West Ham announced Wednesday that their club-record signing Andre Ayew is facing "a significant rehabilitation period" as a result of the thigh injury sustained in Monday's Premier League match at Chelsea. Ayew, who joined the Hammers from Premier League rivals Swansea for £20.5million (24 million euros, $26.7 million), lasted just 35 minutes […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic have one foot in the group stages of the Champions League as they recovered from a second-half scare to seal a commanding 5-2 victory over Israeli champions Hapoel Beer-Sheva. A dominant first-half display appeared to have Celtic cruising to victory at Parkhead as Australian international Tom Rogic fired home a ninth-minute […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympics history, as Brazil set up a blockbuster showdown with Germany for Olympic gold by thrashing Honduras 6-0 on Wednesday. The sides will meet on Saturday at Rio's iconic Maracana just two years after Germany inflicted Brazil's heaviest defeat of all time […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Germany will face Brazil for the men's football gold at the Rio Olympics after goals from Lukas Klostermann and Nils Petersen handed the world champions a 2-0 win over Nigeria in Sao Paulo. Brazil earlier thrashed Honduras 6-0 with Neymar and Gabriel Jesus scoring twice to set up a fascinating […]

Paris (AFP) – Ten-man Roma held on to draw 1-1 at Porto in the first leg of their Champions League play-off on Wednesday, while Bernardo Silva gave Monaco a 2-1 victory over Villarreal in Spain. Luciano Spalletti's Roma are looking to reach the group stages for the third time in a row, and they took […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazil Olympic coach Rogerio Micale described star forward Neymar as a "monster" who is too often criticised after inspiring the hosts into Saturday's gold medal match with a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras on Wednesday. Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympic history after just 15 seconds, as Brazil […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City winger Riyad Mahrez has ended speculation about his immediate future by signing a new four-year contract with the English Premier League champions. "Leicester City Football Club is delighted to announce that Riyad Mahrez has signed a new contract, committing his future to the Foxes until June, 2020," said a statement […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany forward Mario Gomez will return to the Bundesliga with the ex-Besiktas and Fiorentina striker joining VfL Wolfsburg, the club said on Wednesday. Wolfsburg confirmed earlier reports from German daily Bild and magazine Kicker as well as agencies DPA and SID, an AFP subsidiary, that claimed the club was set to complete […]

Rome (AFP) – Swiss international Blerim Dzemaili joined Bologna from Turkish giants Galatasaray on Wednesday, the Serie A side announced. The 30-year-old midfielder left Napoli for Istanbul two years ago, but made just 11 league appearances in his first season in Turkey and spent last term back in Italy on loan at Genoa. Dzemaili was […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Neymar scored twice, including the fastest goal in Olympics history, as Brazil coasted into Saturday's gold medal football match with a 6-0 thrashing of Honduras at Rio's iconic Maracana. The hosts now have the chance to ease some of the pain caused by a 7-1 humiliation at the hands of […]