Second half substitute Chisom Chikatara inspired Nigeria to a crushing 4-1 win over Niger in their African Nations Championships opening match at Kigali's Nyamirambo stadium on Monday. The Abia Warriors star grabbed a hat-trick late in the second half to give Nigeria bragging rights over their West African neighbors. After a barren first half, Nigeria […]

Arsenal forward Theo Walcott believes the arrival of Petr Cech at the Emirates Stadium has made a huge difference to the Gunners' title prospects. The lack of a truly top-class goalkeeper has been cited as one of the reasons why Arsene Wenger's team have not won the Premier League since 2004. But the preseason arrival […]

Week 20 of the Serie A season saw 33 goals scored across the league’s 10 matches. Long stereotyped as a defensive league, no game in week 20 finished with a 0-0 score line. On form and fueling attacking soccer, top-class strikers led fans through another exciting weekend of calcio. Now, with just over half the […]

Norwich made their fourth signing of the January transfer window as the Premier League club swooped for Wolfsburg defender Timm Klose on Monday. Switzerland center back Klose agreed a three-and-half-year contract with the Canaries, subject to governing body approval, for an undisclosed fee. Matt Jarvis, Ivo Pinto and Ben Godfrey have already moved to Carrow […]

Watford have signed Morocco winger Nordin Amrabat from Spanish side Malaga, the Premier League club announced on Monday. Amrabat, 28, agreed a three and a half year contract with the Hornets and will link up with Quique Sanchez Flores' squad after Monday's league match at Swansea. SEE MORE: Latest January transfer window deals and news. […]

The philosophy: Functional results through dysfunctional means Manchester United's draw at Newcastle proved Louis Van Gaal is struggling to balance fluid attacking play with defensive solidity, but he has at least managed to perfect the art of neither at Anfield. United’s attacking during the first half comprised of launching the ball long to an isolated […]

Napoli coach Maurizio Sarri hailed Gonzalo Higuain as "the top striker in the world" but says the Argentinian can do more on his record-setting run towards Serie A's top scorer's award. "If he was a little more aggressive when going to the net, he'd score a lot more," Sarri said after Napoli moved two points […]

Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has revealed that he has been the subject of interest from other clubs since his move to England but has rejected leaving the north London outfit.The France international, who is one of the more complete center backs in the Premier League, claims that he is more than content with his current […]

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet has signed a new contract, the English Premier League club announced Monday. Although Liverpool's statement did not specify the duration of the extension, Britain's Press Association said that Mignolet's new deal meant he would stay at Anfield for a further five years until 2021. The Belgium international had more clean sheets […]

Playing up front for Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid side cannot be easy. After all, in a team which is so focused on forging a cohesive shape, clearing danger quickly and frustrating opponents, attacking incision often seems as though it’s a secondary concern. But over the years the Madrid side have had special attacking players who […]

Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness on Monday won early release from prison, with a German court ruling that he would be freed in February after serving around half of his sentence for tax evasion. "Uli Hoeness will be released on February 29," said Herbert Veh, chief judge of the court in Augsburg, adding that […]

Former Udinese boss Francesco Guidolin has been confirmed as the new head coach of Swansea, the Premier League strugglers announced on Monday. Guidolin has been brought in to work alongside interim manager Alan Curtis until the end of the season, although Swansea said the 60-year-old Italian will have the final say on team selection. Swansea […]

Barcelona on Monday played down fears that striker Lionel Messi injured his hamstring during Sunday's 6-0 thrashing of Athletic Bilbao in La Liga, after the Argentine was replaced at half-time at the Camp Nou. "The tests carried out this morning (Monday) allowed us to rule out a hamstring injury. It's just a bit of minor […]

The continued discussions over the future of Jordan Morris, the young American striker who has already recorded seven senior caps for the US Men’s National Team (USMNT) before turning pro, have dominated the recent headlines around US soccer. Morris, who is from Seattle, has been reportedly been offered the most lucrative contracts for a youngster […]

When Jürgen Klopp was brought in by Liverpool, this author was one of those who thought that Adam Lallana was unlikely to fit into the German’s gegenpressing style. Not particularly pacy, rarely completing 90 minutes and, at 27, entering his prime as a footballer so he would be perhaps too old to learn new tricks. […]