Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Portugal midfielder Raphael Guerreiro was ruled out for Borussia Dortmund's crunch last 16, second-leg tie at home to Benfica on Wednesday as Christian Pulisic replaced injured Germany star Marco Reus. Dortmund are looking to overturn a 1-0 defeat from the first-leg when Kostas Mitroglou scored Benfica's winner. Borussia's star striker Pierre-Emerick […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique put his faith in Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar to produce a historic Champions League comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in what could be his last European game in charge on Wednesday. Barca need to do what no side has ever done in the Champions League by overturning […]

Berlin (AFP) – Werder Bremen were dealt a blow Wednesday in their battle to avoid relegation from the Bundesliga as club captain Clemens Fritz was ruled out injured for the rest of the season. The 36-year-old ex-Germany international has undergone surgery on his right ankle after being injured in Saturday's 2-0 win over Darmstadt. Fritz, […]

London (AFP) – Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings has been given a five-match ban for stamping on the head of Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the Football Association said on Wednesday. Bournemouth said they were "extremely disappointed" with the decision, which they described as "extraordinary". Mings, 23, trod on Ibrahimovic's head during the first half of […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal forward Theo Walcott has acknowledged the disharmony within the club's ranks by declaring it is time for Arsene Wenger's players to stop "fighting each other". Reports emerged last week that star player Alexis Sanchez had become involved in a blazing training-ground row with some of his team-mates. Wenger said the reports […]

Angers (France) (AFP) – Club president Florentino Perez led a Real Madrid delegation paying their last respects at the funeral of former French great Raymond Kopa on Wednesday. Kopa died aged 85 last Friday. He won the European Cup with Madrid in 1957, 1958 and 1959. Perez was accompanied by two of Kopa's former teammates […]

Rostov-on-Don (Russia) (AFP) – Coach Jose Mourinho slammed the state of the Rostov pitch on Wednesday ahead of Manchester United's Europa League tie in Russia, questioning whether the game should go ahead. "It's still hard for me to believe that we are going to play," Mourinho said at a press conference in Rostov ahead of […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger is under unprecedented pressure to end his storied 21-year tenure as Arsenal manager following their humiliating 10-2 aggregate defeat by Bayern Munich in the Champions League. Tuesday's abject 5-1 defeat in the second leg was preceded by a fan protest and ended in front of swathes of empty red seats […]

Washington (AFP) – Camille Abily scored twice as France stunned world champions the United States 3-0 to win the She Believes Cup four-nation tournament. Needing only a draw to win the round-robin competition, France got off to a dream start when Abily stroked her first goal home from the penalty spot at RFK Stadium after […]

Rostov-on-Don (Russia) (AFP) – With no Wayne Rooney and a squad looking for confidence, Manchester United head for the uneven Olimp-2 stadium surface to take on Rostov on Thursday and keep alive hopes of becoming one of the few teams to have won all three European cups. United fans have been told not to wear […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australia coach Ange Postecoglou kept faith with team talisman Tim Cahill Wednesday by including the veteran in his squad for two pivotal World Cup qualifiers despite a lack of match practice. The 36-year-old record scorer now plays for Melbourne City after 18 years abroad but has been unable to string together a […]

Washington (AFP) – A first-half goal from Anja Mittag handed Germany a 1-0 victory over England in the final round of the She Believes quadrangular women's football tournament in Washington on Tuesday. Mittag bundled home the winner in the 44th minute at RFK Stadium as Germany secured their first win following a draw with France […]

Naples (Italy) (AFP) – Captain Sergio Ramos and Alvaro Morata struck one apiece as 11-time winners Real Madrid secured a seventh successive Champions League quarter-final berth with a clinical 3-1 win over Napoli on Tuesday. Real, who took a commanding 3-1 first leg lead at the Santiago Bernabeu last month, looked to be facing a […]

London (AFP) – Bayern Munich condemned Arsene Wenger to more humiliation as 10-man Arsenal were eliminated from the Champions League with a crushing 5-1 defeat amid furious protests against the beleaguered Gunners boss on Tuesday. Aiming to stage an incredible recovery from a 5-1 first leg deficit, Wenger's side briefly looked capable of a famous […]

Milan (AFP) – Inter Milan president Erick Thohir has confirmed he is collaborating with Indonesian anti-corruption authorities but brushed off allegations of graft in relation to the awarding of the 2018 Asian Games. Reports on Tuesday claimed Thohir, a former majority owner of Serie A giants Inter and the current president of the Indonesian Olympic […]