A crackerjack of a match happening Oct. 10 inside Pasadena’s historic Rose Bowl is, of course, the big fire sucking all the oxygen from our domestic soccer “room.” Meetings with a bitter border rival will do that, you know, and US versus Mexico is practically a brand. (I forget, does the hashtag dosacero take an […]

Lviv (Ukraine) (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the season on Wednesday as they cruised past Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 in Champions League Group A. Laurent Blanc has overseen an almost perfect start to the French champions' campaign, and first half goals from Ivory Coast full back Serge Aurier and Brazilian […]

Sergio Aguero struck a last-gasp penalty winner as Manchester City came from behind to ignite their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win at Borussia Monchengladbach. It had looked like a familiar story of frustration and Joe Hart brilliance for City as Lars Stindl finally beat the visitors' outstanding goalkeeper to give the hosts a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Benfica inflicted Atletico Madrid's first home defeat in the Champions League since 2009 as they came from behind to move top of Group C with a 2-1 win on Wednesday. However, the Portuguese champions' victory was overshadowed by the behavior of some of their traveling fans, who threw flares at Atletico supporters […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Alvaro Morata opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime and Simone Zaza hit his maiden Champions League goal at the death as Juventus dominated a listless Sevilla 2-0 to go top of group D on Wednesday. Juventus, last season's beaten finalists, welcomed Unai Emery's Europa League champions to Turin looking […]

Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Raul's Real Madrid scoring record as the Portugal star steered the Spanish giants to a 2-0 victory at 10-man Malmo in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday. Ronaldo ended an uncharacteristic three-game drought with the 500th goal of his career just before the half-hour mark in Sweden […]

Juan Mata was the star of the show as Manchester United got off the mark in the Champions League with a narrow win over Wolfsburg. Daniel Caligiuri took advantage of some slack defending from the hosts to put Wolfsburg ahead in the fourth minute, but Mata won and converted a penalty to equalize 11 minutes […]

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the authorities have to do more to help English teams in Europe after another dismal night in the Champions League. Losses for Arsenal, at home to Olympiacos, and Chelsea, at Porto, mean there have been five defeats in six Champions League group matches for Premier League teams this season. With the […]

He is still in pursuit of Raúl atop Real Madrid's all-time scoring chart, but on his way to that inevitable record, Cristiano Ronaldo has passed another milestone. With today's goal in Sweden against Malmo in UEFA Champions League, the 30-year-old icon notched his 500th competitive goal, reaching the landmark in only 753 career appearances. Cristiano Ronaldo […]

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits Daniel Sturridge has to be handled carefully to ensure they do not "break" him again. The England international missed six months of last season with a number of injuries, resulting in him undergoing a hip operation in May in an attempt to cure underlying issues. He has made his comeback in Liverpool's […]

FIFA's financial reports, reviewed by AFP on Wednesday, raised questions about claims from Michel Platini that a payment he received from the organization was delayed for nearly a decade due to financial constraints. Platini has been questioned by Swiss prosecutors in connection with a two-million Swiss francs ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment he received […]

Arsenal’s 3-2 setback against Olympiacos at the Emirates on Tuesday set off the usual alarm bells among Gunners supporters as well as the annual 'bash Arsene Wenger' circus that ensues after the club puts up a result like this. Once again, the calls for Wenger’s sacking from some quarters are premature and shortsighted. But that […]

Last season, Juventus were in the UEFA Champions League final. They won Serie A. Now the same Juventus are mired in 15th place in Italy with just five points from six matches. What’s gone wrong? Can the Old Lady recover? Statistical indicators suggest Juventus are playing better than their results. While Max Allegri’s side have […]

Louis van Gaal has cast doubt on the idea that he will walk away from Manchester United in 2017 but admits delaying his retirement would be hard on his wife. Van Gaal insisted on United's preseason tour that he would leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in 18 months' time. Sir Alex Ferguson claimed last […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney claims that he did not submit a transfer request shortly before Alex Ferguson retired as manager in May 2013. Rooney came close to leaving United in October 2010 and Ferguson has alleged that the England striker also asked to leave the club two years ago. Rooney sat […]