Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona reported La Liga president Javier Tebas to Spain's highest sports court on Thursday after he questioned the Barca players' conduct during a heated 3-2 win at Valencia last weekend. Luis Suarez and Neymar were hit by a plastic bottle thrown by Valencia fans as Barca celebrated Lionel Messi's 94th-minute winner on […]

Tickets for the World Cup qualifier between USA and Mexico are sold out, but tickets are available on the secondary market on websites such as Ticket Liquidator, TicketNetwork and SeatGeek. For the fifth time since Columbus has been the host of one of the biggest rivalries in international soccer, tickets for the USA-Mexico World Cup […]

London (AFP) – England caretaker boss Gareth Southgate on Thursday backed Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy to rediscover his best form after suffering his worst scoring drought in almost two years. Vardy, one of 30 players shortlisted for the Ballon d'Or this week, has not scored in his last 10 appearances for club and country […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City's Japanese striker Shinji Okazaki is the player who gives the team a lift in times of need, manager Claudio Ranieri said on Thursday. The Premier League champions ended a three-game winless run last weekend by beating Crystal Palace 3-1 and Okazaki celebrated his first start since September 10 by scoring […]

London (AFP) – London police said on Thursday they were holding seven men arrested following violence at the English League Cup clash between West Ham United and Chelsea. Skirmishes broke out towards the end of the Hammers' 2-1 win on Wednesday, with police and stewards battling to keep supporters apart as coins, bottles and plastic […]

Marseille (AFP) – Former Spain and Barcelona goalkeeper Andoni Zubizarreta was named sporting director of French giants Marseille on Thursday, club president Jacques-Henri Eyraud confirmed. Zubizarreta previously served the same role at Barcelona from 2010 to 2015 and helped the Spanish champions recruit Neymar and Luis Suarez. His appointment comes a day after Marseille parted […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid winger Lucas Vazquez insists hard work can unlock more first team opportunities at the Santiago Bernabeu after extending his contract with the European champions to 2021. Vazquez has featured in 12 of Madrid's 14 games this season, but has started just three as the Spanish international has developed a reputation […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho was on Thursday charged with misconduct over comments he made about the referee in charge of this month's Liverpool game, the Football Association has announced. United's outspoken Portuguese boss faces a disciplinary hearing after questioning referee Anthony Taylor's suitability to take charge of the October 17 game […]

When we see Christian Pulisic score a stoppage time goal for Borussia Dortmund, we have a general sense of how special he is and how hard he has to work to reach this level. Academically, we know he didn't walk off the street and start for a major Bundesliga club. But we really don't have […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers declared himself delighted with the strength of his squad after a side packed with fringe players helped the Hoops to a 4-0 win over Ross County on Wednesday. The Hoops made eight changes from the starting 11 who defeated rivals Rangers in their League Cup semi-final clash on […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho lauded Manchester United's supporters after his team put the disappointment of their 4-0 humiliation at Chelsea behind them to sink Manchester City in England's League Cup. Sunday's defeat at Chelsea, Mourinho's former club, was United's worst in the league for five years, but they bounced back to beat […]

London (AFP) – West Ham United pledged to ban supporters found to have been involved in violence towards Chelsea fans during Wednesday's English League Cup tie between the teams. There was a heavy police presence at the London Stadium, formerly the Olympic Stadium, where there has been violence involving West Ham fans since they moved […]

Milan (AFP) – Roma defender Alessandro Florenzi could be set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines after being stretchered off with a suspected knee ligament injury in a 3-1 win at Sassuolo. Roma's seventh win of the campaign kept them in second place at just two points behind leaders and champions Juventus. But the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Holders Bayern Munich reached the third round of the German Cup with a 3-1 win over Augsburg on Wednesday while second-division Union Berlin took injury-hit Borussia Dortmund to penalties. Goals by Philipp Lahm, Julian Green and David Alaba sealed Bayern's win at the Allianz Arena, while Borussia, last season's finalists, endured nervous […]

Milan (AFP) – Edin Dzeko hit his ninth and 10th league goals of the season as Roma stayed in hot pursuit of leaders Juventus with a comprehesive 3-1 win at Sassuolo on Wednesday. Juventus were given an extra incentive to move further clear of their scudetto rivals when AC Milan, who stunned the champions 1-0 […]