Lecce (Italy) (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku made a dream start to his return to Inter Milan on Saturday after scoring less than two minutes into the Serie A club's season opener at Lecce. Belgium forward Lukaku nodded home from close range with just 81 seconds gone to give Inter the lead at the Stadio Via […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United suffered an embarrassing 4-0 thrashing by Brentford to sink to the bottom of the Premier League on Saturday, while Manchester City went top as the champions rolled over Bournemouth 4-0. Arsenal also have a maximum six points from two games after Gabriel Jesus starred in their 4-2 win […]

Paris (AFP) – A horrible mistake by teenage substitute goalkeeper Dogan Alemdar gifted an equaliser to Breel Embolo as Monaco bounced back from their midweek Champions League elimination to draw 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1 on Sunday. Alemdar hesitated inside his own six-yard box as he controlled a backpass from Joe Rodon, allowing the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Former Chelsea striker Timo Werner found the back of the net on an emotional return to Leipzig but it was not enough to secure their first win of the season as Cologne snatched a 2-2 draw on Saturday. Leipzig played the majority of the game with 10 men, after Hungarian midfielder Dominik […]

Milan (AFP) – Carlo Ancelotti confirmed on Saturday that he will quit football management when he eventually leaves Real Madrid, ending one of the most glorious careers of football's modern era. Ancelotti had said in May that he would "probably" quit once he left Madrid, but he removed all doubt in an interview with Italian […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City stormed ominously to the top of the Premier League by cruising to a 4-0 win over Bournemouth, while Gabriel Jesus opened his Arsenal account in a 4-2 win over Leicester on Saturday. As soaring temperatures across England forced the need for water breaks at all this weekend's Premier […]

Birmingham (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Steven Gerrard won his first managerial clash with former England teammate Frank Lampard as Aston Villa beat Everton 2-1 to get off the mark in the Premier League. Goals from Danny Ings and Emi Buendia eased the pressure on Gerrard after a run of two wins in their previous 12 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti on Saturday said he was surprised that German midfielder Toni Kroos did not feature on the list of 30 finalists for the Ballon d'Or. Five members of the Champions League winning side were nominated on Friday in the shape of Thibault Cortois, Casemiro, Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior […]

Berlin (AFP) – Eighteen-year-old Englishman Jamie Bynoe-Gittens scored one and created another as Borussia Dortmund came back to defeat Freiburg 3-1 on Friday with all their goals coming in the last 13 minutes of the game. With the game drifting towards defeat, Dortmund were again able to rely on their young brigade, with Bynoe-Gittens and […]

Madrid (AFP) – Osasuna stunned Champions League qualifiers Sevilla 2-1 in the opening match of the new Liga season on Friday. Argentine striker Ezequiel 'Chimy' Avila gave Osasuna a ninth-minute lead. However, the advantage lasted just two minutes before Rafa Mir made the most of a fine pass from another Argentine, Papu Gomez to equalise. […]

Paris (AFP) – Lille moved to the top of the fledgling Ligue 1 table after Ismaily's second half equaliser secured a draw from a tough contest at Nantes on Friday. Lille went into the game on the back of an impressive 4-1 win over Auxerre in last week's opening round but they were on the […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona managed to register new signings Robert Lewandowski, Franck Kessie, Andreas Christensen and Raphinha on Friday in time for their Liga opener against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday. However, French defender Jules Kounde remains unregistered with La Liga. Barcelona have spent 153 million euros on transfer fees alone to strengthen their squad, with […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Willian quit Corinthians on Friday following the Brazilians' Copa Libertadores elimination against domestic rivals Flamengo, after claiming he and his family received death threats on social media. "Willian asked us for his (contract) termination. We are sad not to have him any more and also because […]

Paris (AFP) – Seven-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi paid a high price for an underwhelming first season with Paris Saint-Germain when he was left off the 30-strong list for this year's coveted football award. Lucy Bronze, who was runner-up in 2019, is one of three members of England's Euro-winning squad to be short-listed for […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Antonio Conte has said Sunday's match away to London rivals Chelsea will be an acid test of his side's progress. Spurs lost four times to Chelsea last season, including three defeats, two in the League Cup semi-final followed by one in the league, in January. A fine finish to […]