Yaounde (AFP) – "We are the champions" resonates in the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde as Cameroon sports minister Narcisse Mouele Kombi enters the main venue for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, surrounded by journalists. With the January 9 kick-off of the 24-team tournament drawing closer, the government is emphasising that the central African country […]

Marseille (AFP) – Bordeaux striker Samuel Kalu collapsed on the pitch in a French Ligue 1 game at Marseille on Sunday where temperatures hit a sweltering 30 degrees. The 23-year-old Nigerian international fainted and slumped to the Stade Velodrome surface in the early stages of the match. Worried teammates gathered around the stricken Kalu and […]

Paris (AFP) – Bordeaux's Remi Oudin said he was happy after his side came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at Marseille on the weekend that Lionel Messi was unveiled to the Paris Saint-Germain crowd. The hosts led at half-time thanks to goals from in-form Dimitri Payet and Turkey winger Cengiz Under […]

Paris (AFP) – Bordeaux came from two goals down to claim a 2-2 draw at Marseille on the weekend that Lionel Messi was unveiled to the Paris Saint-Germain crowd. The hosts led at half-time thanks to goals from in-form Dimitri Payet and Cengiz Under before 18-year-old defender Timothee Pembele and Remi Oudin scored for the visitors. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona started life without Lionel Messi by defeating Real Sociedad 4-2 in their La Liga opener at the Camp Nou on Sunday even if fans admitted it felt like "a leap into the unknown". Captain Gerard Pique gave them a 19th minute lead with his 50th goal for the club. Martin Braithwaite […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham manager Nuno Espirito Santo told Harry Kane to get fit and be ready to help Spurs after beating defending champions Manchester City 1-0 to open their Premier League season on Sunday. Kane was absent from the Spurs squad with his future at the club still in doubt over interest from City. […]

Madrid (AFP) – Defending champions Atletico Madrid got their Spanish Liga season underway with a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday as Barcelona braced for "a leap into the unknown" without Lionel Messi. Angel Correa gave Atletico the lead after 23 minutes after being set up by Thomas Lemar. Correa added a second goal […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham shrugged off the absence of Harry Kane to give Nuno Espirito Santo a dream start as manager as Son Heung-min's strike beat Premier League champions Manchester City 1-0 on Sunday. Nuno left Kane out his squad with the England captain closely linked with a move to City, who showed why they […]

Paris (AFP) – Seko Fofana clinched a point for Lens after Saint-Etienne's Wahbi Khazri had opened the scoring early on in Sunday's 2-2 draw on the weekend that Lionel Messi was unveiled to the Paris Saint-Germain crowd. A capacity crowd of 38,000 at Stade Bollaert-Delelis were stunned into silence after just 20 seconds as Khazri tapped home […]

Berlin (AFP) – American Jesse Marsch lost his first Bundesliga game as head coach of RB Leipzig on Sunday after his side suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at Mainz, whose preparations had been badly hit by an outbreak of Covid-19. After winning back-to-back Austrian league and cup titles with Red Bull Salzburg, Marsch moved to […]

Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – West Ham twice came from behind to get their Premier League season off to a flying start with a 4-2 win at Newcastle in front of over 50,000 fans at St James' Park on Sunday. Roared on by the Magpies' first capacity home crowd for 17 months, Newcastle started brightly […]

Berlin (AFP) – Legendary German striker Gerd Mueller died in the early hours of Sunday at the age of 75, his former club Bayern Munich has confirmed. During a glittering career, Mueller scored a record 365 goals for Bayern in the Bundesliga during the 1960s and 70s, as well as scoring 68 times for West […]

Berlin (AFP) – Gerd Mueller's record of 68 international goals in 62 games for West Germany earned him the nickname 'The Bomber' for his ability to destroy countless defences. It took Miroslav Klose more than double the amount of games to finally reach the tally of 71 goals, in 137 internationals, to better Mueller's mark. […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Riyad Mahrez-led record-setters Algeria will be the team to avoid when the draw for a 2021 Africa Cup of Nations seriously disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic is made in Yaounde on Tuesday. The defending champions created an African record for an unbeaten run by a senior national team in June when […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – Former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea striker Diego Costa has signed for Brazilian league leaders Atletico Mineiro, the Belo Horizonte-based club announced on Sunday. The 32-year-old arrives as a free agent after his contract with Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid ended last June. Costa made just seven appearances last season, scoring twice. His […]