Paris (AFP) – There was nothing "Classique" about it as Paris Saint-Germain and bitter rivals Marseille conjured up an uninspiring 0-0 draw in relentless rain in the French capital on Sunday. Billed as the Ligue 1 clash to rival Spain's El Clasico, this was a poor advert for French football and did little to dispel […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan will host crisis talks with coach Frank De Boer, according to reports, as the Serie A giants slipped to their third consecutive league defeat to fall further out of title contention. Inter invested heavily in the close season and parachuted former Ajax coach De Boer in to replace Roberto Mancini […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea supporters taunted Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho with chants of "You're not special anymore!" as his Stamford Bridge return yielded a humiliating 4-0 defeat on Sunday. With seven major titles across two spells, Mourinho is Chelsea's most successful ever manager, but his return to his old stomping ground ended in one […]

Paris (AFP) – Alassane Plea grabbed a hat-trick as surprise Ligue 1 leaders Nice continued their terrific start to the season with a thrilling 4-2 victory at promoted Metz on Sunday. With Mario Balotelli out injured, Plea assumed the lead role for Lucien Favre's unbeaten side and netted the opener on 12 minutes before adding […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho expressed concern Eric Bailly had sustained a "really bad" injury after he was forced off during his side's 4-0 loss at Chelsea on Sunday. Ivorian centre-back Bailly, a close-season signing from Villarreal, limped off early in the second half at Stamford Bridge, with Marcos Rojo coming on […]

Milan (AFP) – Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri slammed the "unworthy" pitch at Crotone after a precious 2-1 victory saw his side back to winning ways despite Manolo Gabbiadini's first-half sending-off. Crotone's promotion to Italy's top flight at the end of last season came with an unwelcome surprise — in structural terms their stadium did not […]

Berlin (AFP) – Guinea international Naby Keita scored twice as Bundesliga newcomers RB Leipzig defeated Werder Bremen 3-1 on Sunday to climb up to second place in Germany. Keita capped off a superb solo run to put Leipzig in front just before half-time, and the midfielder struck again on 74 minutes when he powered home […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho accused his players of making "incredible mistakes" after they lost 4-0 to Chelsea on his return to his former club on Sunday. Goals from Pedro Rodriguez, after 30 seconds, Gary Cahill, Eden Hazard and N'Golo Kante condemned Mourinho to his heaviest defeat since Real Madrid's 5-0 demolition […]

Paris (AFP) – Alassane Plea grabbed a hat-trick as surprise Ligue 1 leaders Nice continued their terrific start to the season with a thrilling 4-2 victory at promoted Metz on Sunday. With Mario Balotelli out injured, Plea assumed the lead role for Lucien Favre's unbeaten side and netted the opener on 12 minutes before adding […]

Madrid (AFP) – Steven N'Zonzi's winner 17 minutes from time ended Atletico Madrid's unbeaten start to the season and sent Sevilla top of La Liga with a 1-0 win at a soggy Sanchez Pizjuan on Sunday. N'Zonzi made Sevilla's second-half dominance count when he slotted home from on-loan Atletico striker Luciano Vietto's through ball. The […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw home to Southampton on Sunday but the performance again raised questions over the title credentials of Pep Guardiola's team. The stalemate was a fifth consecutive game without a victory for City, as Kelechi Iheanacho's eighth goal […]

Milan (AFP) – Nikola Kalinic struck a hat-trick and Federico Bernardeschi hit a brace as Fiorentina's stuttering Serie A season finally took flight with a classy 5-3 win at Cagliari on Sunday. Elsewhere, 10-man Napoli added to the woes of basement side Crotone with a 2-1 win that reduced their gap on leaders Juventus to […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Moussa Dembele grabbed a late winner as Celtic clinched a place in the Scottish League Cup final with a 1-0 defeat of Old Firm rivals Rangers at Glasgow's Hampden Park on Sunday. Rangers looked a much improved side from the one hammered 5-1 at Parkhead in their last meeting with arch-rivals Celtic […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City returned to the top of the Premier League with a 1-1 draw home to Southampton on Sunday but the performance again raised questions over the title credentials of Pep Guardiola’s team. The stalemate was a fifth consecutive game without a victory for City and Guardiola, as Kelechi Iheanacho’s […]

Beijing (AFP) – Marcello Lippi will earn almost $5 million a year as China coach but will pocket far more through a tie-in with a football academy, state media said Sunday. The 68-year-old Italian was named boss of the national team by the Chinese Football Association on Saturday and has the tricky goal of steering […]