London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney will get the "respect he deserves" when the 30-year-old forward returns to Manchester United, manager Jose Mourinho has insisted. The dropped England captain returned to Old Trafford earlier in the week following an international break when he was booed by home fans during a 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over […]

Middlesbrough (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Holebas's powerful strike saw Watford to a 1-0 win away to Middlesbrough in the Premier League on Sunday. Victory saw Watford climb to ninth in the table but the result condemned northeast side Middlesbrough to a fourth defeat in five league matches. Greece international Holebas's goal was a rare […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte revealed he ignored Diego Costa's request to be substituted because the volatile Chelsea striker's passion is too important to lose. Costa scored his seventh Premier League goal of the season as Chelsea cruised to a 3-0 win over spluttering champions Leicester at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. But the controversial Spain […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers praised his side's hunger for success as they extended their unbeaten start to the defence of their Scottish Premiership title with a 2-0 win over Motherwell on Saturday. Celtic maintained their four point lead over Aberdeen at the top of the table thanks to a first-half strike from […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed he will not be appealing the red card given to Granit Xhaka during the Gunners' narrow 3-2 win over Swansea City. The midfielder was controversially sent off 20 minutes from the end of Sunday's match at the Emirates Stadium for a late tackle on Modou Barrow. […]

West Bromwich (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, insisted after a 1-1 draw away to West Bromwich Albion that his delight at the character they had shown outweighed any disappointment with the result. Victory would have extended Spurs run of victories in all competitions to six, but Pochettino was satisfied to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid must match the intensity of a stunning first 45 minutes urged coach Zinedine Zidane after snapping a four-game draw streak with a 6-1 rout at Real Betis on Saturday. Zidane's men surrendered top spot on goal difference to city rivals Atletico Madrid with three consecutive La Liga draws, along with […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola admitted his Manchester City players had not practised penalties before they missed two during a 1-1 draw at home to Everton. Kevin De Bruyne and Sergio Aguero both had spot-kicks saved by goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenburg before substitute Nolito's header earned a point for City. For Aguero, it was […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Alex Ferguson once described Liverpool versus Manchester United as the biggest fixture in club football and Monday's clash at Anfield has been made all the more intriguing by the debate over the form of Wayne Rooney. United’s captain, dropped to the bench by manager Jose Mourinho for his club’s last three fixtures, […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Hot favourite Riyad Mahrez of Algeria was among 30 nominees named Saturday for the 2016 African Player of the Year football award. The winger, who is equally efficient at scoring and creating goals, was a key figure for sensational 2015-2016 English Premier League (EPL) title winners Leicester City. His efforts were acknowledged […]

Milan (AFP) – Paulo Dybala hit a brace as champions Juventus underscored their Serie A title credentials only eight games into the campaign with a battling 2-1 win over Udinese on Saturday. Juventus had been given a huge incentive before their late kick-off with the league's other 'bianconeri' side after Roma stunned Napoli 3-1 at […]

Moscow (AFP) – Spartak Moscow skipper Denis Glushakov scored the only goal as Russia's most decorated club beat nine-man Rostov 1-0 on Saturday to go top of the Premier League. Spartak moved one point clear of reigning champions CSKA, who beat Ufa 1-0 on Friday, while Zenit St Petersburg, who visit Ural Yekaterinburg on Sunday, […]

London (AFP) – Steve Bruce began life as Aston Villa boss with a fortunate 1-1 draw at home to Wolves in their Championship clash on Saturday. Bruce, who is Villa's fourth full-time manager since Paul Lambert was shown the door in January 2015, at least saw his side climb out of the relegation places but […]

London (AFP) – West Ham United climbed out of the relegation zone with just their second Premier League win of the season after Manuel Lanzini's goal secured a 1-0 victory away to London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday. The Hammers hung on to all three points despite playing the final 15 minutes a man down […]

In the early weeks of the Premier League season, plenty has pointed towards a potential title challenge for Liverpool. But you sense the most emphatic indication of their credentials to be the top dog in English football would be a win over bitter rivals Manchester United at Anfield on Monday. A lot has aligned for […]