Tokyo (AFP) – Real Madrid's early birds swept into Tokyo at the crack of dawn Monday to contest the Club World Cup and were greeted by hundreds of bleary-eyed Japanese fans. The European champions, led by talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, arrived a little after 5am local time and, despite the presence of around 300 supporters waiting […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Striker Leigh Griffiths says Celtic Park is regaining the fear factor for rival teams that it lost last season. Celtic have made an ominous start to the defence of their Scottish Premiership title and sit eight points clear at the top of the table with three games in hand. Brendan Rodgers' side […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea manager Antonio Conte believes Diego Costa has become a reformed character because the fiery striker has rediscovered his love of the game. Costa's quality was never in doubt after he fired Chelsea to the Premier League title two years ago, but the Spaniard found himself in hot water time and again […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The booing of midfielder Marouane Fellaini by Manchester United's supporters was an acceptable reflection of frustration over the team's recent results, according to manager Jose Mourinho. United ended a dispiriting run of four consecutive home draws in the Premier League by beating Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 on Sunday courtesy of a […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp bemoaned his side's defending and lack of composure after they fell behind in the Premier League title race with a 2-2 draw at home to struggling West Ham. Divock Origi scored for the fourth consecutive match after Darren Randolph's blunder to save a point for frail Liverpool, who […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Carlos Tevez scored twice as Boca Juniors defeated bitter rivals River Plate 4-2 to win the Clasico of Argentine football on Sunday in a tense encounter at the Estadio Monumental. Boca took the lead after 13 minutes through striker Walter Bou from a fine pass by Tevez. But 20 minutes later, […]

Paris (AFP) – A second-half brace from Edinson Cavani saw champions Paris Saint Germain come from two down to earn a 2-2 draw with Ligue 1 leaders Nice at the Parc des Princes on Sunday. The visitors withstood an early onslaught to go into the break 2-0 up after a sumptuous free-kick from Wylan Cyprien […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Slaven Bilic dedicated West Ham's point in a 2-2 draw at Liverpool on Sunday to the people of Turkey after twin attacks in Istanbul killed 38 people. A car bomb exploded on Saturday outside the stadium of football giants Besiktas, where Bilic coached for two years, and less than a minute later […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Divock Origi scored for the fourth consecutive match to save a point for frail Liverpool as they were frustrated in their attempts to stay in touch with Premier League leaders Chelsea on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's side took an early lead through Adam Lallana's stylish finish, but weaknesses at the back allowed Dimitri […]

Paris (AFP) – Seven former champions and nine dreaming of a first crown — Monday's draw for the last 16 of the Champions League throws up a raft of fascinating permutations as the competition switches into knockout mode. Conventional wisdom says group winners can feel favoured as they are drawn out of the hat against […]

London (AFP) – Goal-shy Southampton will have to cope without their most prolific striker Charlie Austin for up to four months, says manager Claude Puel. Austin, who has scored almost half of the Saints' paltry 14 goals in the Premier League this season, faces surgery on the shoulder he dislocated in last Thursday's Europa League […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Gonzalo Higuain hit his 19th Serie A brace as Juventus moved seven points clear of Roma and AC Milan at the top with a 3-1 derby win over Torino on Sunday. Scoring his last league goal in a 2-1 win over Napoli at the end of October, Juve fans had every […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla strengthened their grip on third in La Liga thanks to captain Vicente Iborra's hat-trick in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday. Iborra was only brought on as a substitute at half-time by coach Jorge Sampaoli after his exertions as Sevilla booked their place in the last 16 of the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Moenchengladbach claimed their first Bundesliga win for 11 weeks on Sunday to relieve the pressure on coach Andre Schubert with a controversial 1-0 victory over 10-man Mainz. Danish defender Andreas Christensen netted 'Gladbach's crucial winning goal on 76 minutes when the ball flew his way after captain Lars Stindl's shot cannoned […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored his first Premier League goal for Manchester United and was later stretchered off as Jose Mourinho's side claimed a timely 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Mkhitaryan converted Ander Herrera's through ball just before the half hour to end a frustrating run of four successive home […]