Berlin (AFP) – Schalke remain bottom of the German Bundesliga following a fifth straight Bundesliga defeat with Sunday's 2-1 loss at Hoffenheim piling the pressure on coach Markus Weinzierl. Werder Bremen's dramatic 2-1 win over Wolfsburg on Saturday, with both of their goals coming in the last five minutes, had seen Schalke take Bremen's place […]

Milan (AFP) – Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic heaped praise on Joe Hart after a sterling performance by the England goalkeeper in a 3-1 win over Roma in Turin on Sunday. Ousted from Manchester City by Pep Guardiola last month, Hart joined the unfashionable Serie A side in a bid to maintain his status as England's […]

Milan (AFP) – Roma forward Francesco Totti, who will turn 40 next week, reached another career landmark against England 'keeper Joe Hart on Sunday when he hit his 250th career goal in Serie A. Totti, who will celebrate his birthday on Tuesday, came off the bench to help reduce arrears for the visitors when he […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bruno Labbadia became the second German league coach to be sacked this season after Hamburg announced on Sunday he had been fired in the wake of his team's fourth straight defeat. Labbadia returned for his second stint with Hamburg in April 2015, but was shown the door for the second time after […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Toronto FC, New York Red Bulls and New York City FC all punched their tickets to the postseason Saturday as the Major League Soccer playoff field begins to take shape. The three clubs join the Western Conference-leading FC Dallas, who became the first MLS team to secure a playoff spot last […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers says his side's confidence is high ahead of their Champions League clash against Manchester City following their thrashing of Kilmarnock. The Hoops warmed up for Wednesday's Group C match with a comprehensive 6-1 defeat of Killie in Glasgow's East End to maintain their unbeaten start to the domestic […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp would not allow controversial comments from defender Mamadou Sakho to take the gloss off a "brilliant" first-half performance from his Liverpool side as they beat Hull City 5-1 at Anfield. Sakho said in a social media posting on Saturday that suggestions that he was not fit to play were a […]

Swansea (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has vowed to make Sergio Aguero an even better player. The Argentine striker scored two goals on his return to City colours as the visitors made it 10 straight wins in league and cup football this season with a 3-1 victory away to Swansea on […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane insisted Cristiano Ronaldo has to learn to live with being substituted after sulking off the field visibly frustrated in the European champions' 2-2 draw at Las Palmas. Zidane replaced the three-time World Player of the Year with Madrid leading 2-1 18 minutes from time, but an unhappy […]

Middlesbrough (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Moussa Sissoko has added to the injury worries facing Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino ahead of Tuesday's Champions League tie at CSKA Moscow. Sissoko suffered concussion during Tottenham's 2-1 success at Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Saturday and appears unlikely to make the trip to Russia. A win in Moscow […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said he was hungrier than ever for success after his side marked the 20th anniversary of his appointment by stylishly defeating Chelsea 3-0. First-half goals from Alexis Sanchez, Theo Walcott and Mesut Ozil at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday swept Arsenal to a first league victory over their […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho says Wayne Rooney remains a key figure at Manchester United despite dropping his captain for the 4-1 thrashing of Leicester. Mourinho left United and England captain Rooney on the substitutes' bench at Old Trafford on Saturday and was rewarded with a ruthless display against the Premier League champions. […]

Milan (AFP) – Marek Hamsik celebrated hitting his 100th goal for Napoli in a 2-0 win over Chievo that will instill confidence ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash at home to Benfica. Yet Slovakian international Hamsik, who is now only 15 short of equalling the all-time scorers' record at the club, held by former icon […]

Milan (AFP) – Massimiliano Allegri insists focus is fully on claiming the first points of their Champions League campaign after a cagey 1-0 win at Palermo on Saturday maintained the early-season doubts hanging over Juventus. The Italian champions travel to Dinamno Zagreb on Tuesday looking for the win that would get their Group H campaign […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian champions CSKA Moscow warmed up for their Champions League clash with Tottenham Hotspur by drawing 1-1 at home to Krasnodar on Saturday. The result left the Red Army side in second place in the Russian Premier League, one point behind leaders Spartak, who take on Ufa on Sunday. Zenit St Petersburg, […]