Vila-real (Spain) (AFP) – Liverpool held off a stirring comeback from Villarreal to reach the Champions League final on Tuesday as second-half goals from Fabinho, Luis Diaz and Sadio Mane secured a 5-2 aggregate victory. Trailing 2-0 from the first leg, Villarreal sparked hopes of a remarkable turnaround in the return at the Estadio de […]

Dragan Skočić, the head coach of Iran, was born in Rijeka, a port city in Croatia near the Adriatic Sea. As a former player, his career as a midfielder spanned from 1987 to 2004. His most prominent stint came with Spanish side Las Palmas, then in the Spanish second division. He is the first Croatian […]

Paris (AFP) – FIFA President Gianni Infantino said migrant workers gain pride from hard work when he was asked about the conditions of workers building World Cup stadiums and infrastructure in Qatar. Infantino said workers would feel proud about building stadiums for this year's tournament in the Gulf nation. The head of football's world governing […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Kevin De Bruyne says winning the Champions League would "change the narrative" around Manchester City as they prepare for the second leg of their semi-final against Real Madrid. Pep Guardiola's go into Wednesday's match in Spain with a 4-3 lead after a thrilling first leg, seeking to reach the final for […]

Berlin (AFP) – Domenico Tedesco has warned his RB Leipzig side they can expect "no gifts" at Rangers in Thursday's Europa League semi-final, second leg as they seek to finish their season in two cup finals. Tedesco was fuming on Monday after Leipzig crashed to a 3-1 defeat in the Bundesliga clash with 10-man Borussia […]

London (AFP) – Raphael Varane says Manchester United can challenge for trophies next season under new manager Erik ten Hag despite another disappointing campaign for the Premier League giants. Varane joined United — along with Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho — after they had finished second in the league and reached the final of the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Thomas Mueller has extended his contract with Bayern Munich until 2024, it was announced on Tuesday, with the Germany international set to spend his entire professional career at the Bundesliga champions, who he joined as a 10-year-old. "The journey we have taken together since I joined the youth team in 2000 has […]

Madrid (AFP) – Carlo Ancelotti admitted on Tuesday that Real Madrid will have to gamble if they are to come from behind to beat Manchester City in the semi-final of the Champions League. Madrid trail 4-3 after a thrilling first leg in Manchester last week as they look to pull off another comeback and reach […]

Rome (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that he will "probably" retire when he leaves the La Liga champions, but is prepared to stay at the Santiago Bernabeu for several years. The 62-year-old Italian became on Saturday the first coach in history to win all five of Europe's top leagues this season […]

For soccer fans around the globe, the World Cup is the pinnacle competition in the sport. No sporting event attracts more viewers. In fact, the 2018 World Cup Final reportedly averaged a whopping 517 million viewers and more than 1.1 billion people tuned in over the course of the 90-minute match. This attraction even dwarfs […]

Madrid (AFP) – As Real Madrid celebrated their La Liga title win, Carlo Ancelotti was already trying to direct momentum towards Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Manchester City. Madrid had beaten Espanyol 4-0 on Saturday and the players were celebrating at Plaza Cibeles after an open-top bus had wound its way through the […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City stars to show their "personality" as the Spaniard plots yet another successful visit to Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg. Guardiola's side head to Madrid with a slender 4-3 advantage after last week's thrilling first leg at the Etihad Stadium. With a […]

Bergamo (Italy) (AFP) – Salernitana maintained their bold bid for Serie A survival on Monday with a 1-1 draw at Atalanta which pulled them closer to safety. Mario Pasalic's 88th-minute leveller denied Salernitana a fourth straight win after Ederson had poked the away side ahead just before the half hour but the draw moved them […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United took the sting out of their fans' latest protest against the Glazer family as they eased to a 3-0 win against Brentford on Monday. Ahead of a summer of change for troubled United, Ralf Rangnick's side won for just the second time in seven games to keep the […]

London (AFP) – Fulham manager Marco Silva backed record-breaking Aleksandar Mitrovic to thrive in the Premier League next season after the Serbia striker took his Championship tally to 43 goals this season in a title-clinching 7-0 thrashing of Luton on Monday. Mitrovic, 27, managed just three goals as London club Fulham were relegated from the […]