Watford (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Italian striker Stefano Okaka's first two Watford goals inspired a 3-2 comeback win over Everton on Saturday, leaving Ronald Koeman's side with one win in 10 Premier League games. Romelu Lukaku scored twice for Everton, bookending the scoring, but Okaka's double — the first a brilliant flick — and a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Lionel Messi struck twice as Barcelona recorded their first win in four La Liga games to close to within three points of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with a 3-0 win at Osasuna. Barca should have killed the game off in the first half as Luis Suarez and Messi […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger believes his Arsenal stars have finally developed the mental toughness required to fight for the Premier League title. After a few wobbles of late, Wenger's side have roared back into top gear with a 5-1 rout of West Ham last weekend followed by a 4-1 victory over Basel in the […]

London (AFP) – The sex abuse scandal that has rocked English football's foundations has seen new revelations every day since they first surfaced a fortnight ago. Here AFP Sports takes a look at what we know so far: Coaches accused At least seven youth coaches or scouts — three of whom are now dead — […]

London (AFP) – The threat of a long, dark winter hangs over Jose Mourinho's Manchester United as they prepare to welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday. Without a home win in four league games, United trail fifth-place Tottenham by six points and will be left with a chasm to […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius to "close his ears" to criticism ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with West Ham. Bournemouth clinched a dramatic 4-3 victory over Liverpool last weekend after Karius fumbled a shot from Steve Cook in stoppage-time which allowed Nathan Ake to bundle the ball into […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte has called on Chelsea to underline their status as favourites for the Premier League title with an dominant display against West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Conte's side are three points clear at the top after a blistering run of eight successive victories including last weekend's impressive triumph at title rivals […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says he is proud of his side's desire to win as they picked up their ninth victory in a row as they defeated Partick Thistle 4-1 at Firhill. The Hoops extended their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to 11 points with two games in hand […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola warned Friday that plans to increase the World Cup to 48 teams as well the global saturation of football is going to "kill" players. Guardiola said he wants to see rules changed to allow for up to six substitutes to be used in a game rather than […]

Toronto (Canada) (AFP) – Major League Soccer will not allow crisis-hit New York Cosmos to join their league as a third team in the area, league commissioner Don Garber said on Friday. The Cosmos, which became the most famous club in American soccer during the 1970s when the likes of Pele and Franz Beckenbauer played […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Stuart Armstrong bagged a brace as Celtic made it nine league wins in a row with a 4-1 victory at Partick Thistle on Friday to go 11 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Armstrong tapped in a cross from Leigh Griffiths in the 39th minute to put Celtic on […]

London (AFP) – Brighton moved two points clear at the top of the Championship as a pair of penalties secured a 2-0 win against promotion rivals Leeds on Friday. Chris Hughton's side stole a march on previous leaders Newcastle thanks to penalties from Glenn Murray and Tomer Hemed at the Amex Stadium. Brighton went ahead […]

Berlin (AFP) – Hoffenheim maintained their unbeaten record in the German Bundesliga this season after a 0-0 draw away to Eintracht Frankfurt in a spiky encounter at the Commerzbank Arena on Friday. Julian Nagelsmann's side have won six and drawn eight of their 14 league games this season and remain fourth in the table, above […]

Beginning this Sunday, NBC Sports will rebrand its Sunday coverage of the world's most popular sports league as Premier League Sunday. The new show will include a different opening and graphics as well as new theme music. The rebranding of NBC Sports' coverage of Premier League games on Sundays celebrates the history and legacy of […]

Rome (AFP) – The 2019 European under-21 Championship will be held in Italy and San Marino, the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) announced on Friday. The 12-team tournament, which will serve as Europe's qualifying competition for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, will see matches played in four Italian towns — Bologna, Cesena, Reggio Emilia and Udine — […]