London (AFP) – Manchester City's owners have confirmed their purchase of Uruguayan club Atletico Torque as the Abu Dhabi-based investors add to their growing portfolio. City's parent company, City Football Group (CFG), announced second tier Atletico will become part of their global network of clubs. They already own Major League Soccer's New York City, Melbourne […]

Zurich (AFP) – Brazil surged to the top of the FIFA world rankings for the first time in seven years on Thursday, made all the sweeter as they usurped great rivals Argentina. It caps a terrific week for forward Neymar and Brazil — last week they became the first country to qualify for the 2018 […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Mexico's stranglehold on the CONCACAF Champions League will be assured once more after Tigres UANL downed Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps 2-1 to set up a final showdown with Pachuca. Mexican teams have been near-invincible in the CONCACAF region's premier club competition over the past decade, winning every title since 2006. […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger praised Mesut Ozil after the German World Cup winner helped Arsenal to a 3-0 Premier League victory over struggling West Ham and maintain their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League on Wednesday. The result lifted the Gunners above Manchester United into fifth place in the Premier League table — […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Jurgen Klopp said he felt like being sick after Liverpool conceded a damaging late equaliser in their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth. Klopp’s side looked set for a crucial victory in their chase for Champions League football on Wednesday, having recovered from Benik Afobe’s early goal to lead 2-1 through finishes from Philippe […]

Swansea (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino praised his team's "big character" in scoring three late goals to beat Swansea 3-1 and keep alive their Premier League title hopes on Wednesday. Goals in the final 10 minutes from Dele Alli, Son Heung-Min and Christian Eriksen kept them seven points behind leaders Chelsea — […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea will require 18 more points to win the Premier League title, manager Antonio Conte told his players after their 2-1 victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea's lead was cut to seven points after they lost 2-1 at home to Crystal Palace at the weekend, but they preserved their advantage […]

Rome (AFP) – Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain scored twice to send former club Napoli crashing out of the Italian Cup semi-finals on a night of bitter emotions on Wednesday. Napoli won the second leg 3-2 but it was little consolation after they had been soundly beaten 3-1 in the first match in Turin as Juventus […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Newly-crowned champions Celtic dropped points for only the third time this season as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Partick Thistle at Parkhead. The much-changed Glasgow giants, who claimed their sixth Scottish Premiership in a row with a 5-0 hammering of Hearts on Sunday, took a 50th minute lead through […]

Kingston upon Hull (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Hull climbed out of the bottom three of the Premier League for the first time since October and pushed Middlesbrough closer to relegation with a vital 4-2 home win on Wednesday. Marco Silva's side trailed to Alvaro Negredo's opener, but Lazar Markovic equalised before Oumar Niasse and Abel […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Josh King's late equaliser gave Bournemouth a precious 2-2 draw in their search for Premier League survival and damaged Liverpool’s Champions League qualification hopes. King pivoted to score from eight yards with three minutes left at Anfield on Wednesday after Liverpool failed to deal with a throw-in. Benik Afobe had given the […]

Swansea (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Son Heung-Min was Tottenham's hero as they kept their title hopes alive with three goals in the final minutes of a dramatic 3-1 win at Swansea on Wednesday. With just two minutes left, Mauricio Pochettino's team were in danger of falling 10 points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea, who were […]

London (AFP) – Mesut Ozil scored one and made another as Arsenal earned a much-needed win for manager Arsene Wenger with a 3-0 home victory over Premier League strugglers West Ham on Wednesday. Theo Walcott and substitute Olivier Giroud were the other scorers and victory lifted the Gunners to fifth place in the Premier League, […]

Paris (AFP) – Recalled Hatem Ben Arfa scored twice as holders Paris Saint-Germain eventually saw off third-tier Avranches 4-0 to ease into the French Cup semi-finals on Wednesday. It keeps alive PSG's hopes of a third consecutive clean sweep of domestic honours and they join Ligue 1 title rivals Monaco and Guingamp and Angers in […]

London (AFP) – Eden Hazard fired Premier League leaders Chelsea to a crucial 2-1 win over Manchester City, but Tottenham are hot on their heels after a sensational fightback in their 3-1 victory at Swansea on Wednesday. Chelsea remain seven points clear of second placed Tottenham with eight games to play, yet with just minutes […]