Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique suggested Lionel Messi will have to be rested for some of an April packed with huge clashes, but that even the Catalan giants would struggle without the "best player in the world". Messi has started every Barca game in 2017 and will do so once more when Valencia […]

Early in the Premier League season, when the campaign’s roadmap is drafted for the months to come, Liverpool’s match with Manchester City at Anfield on New Year’s Eve was billed as one of the decisive games of the top-flight campaign. Under Pep Guardiola, the men from the Etihad Stadium swept all before them in the […]

West Bromwich (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Disgruntled Arsenal fans paid for a plane trailing an anti-Arsene Wenger banner to fly over The Hawthorns prior to their side's game against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. The banner read "NO CONTRACT #WENGER OUT" and was seen flying above the stadium shortly before the Premier League game kicked […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City launch themselves into a foreboding run of fixtures at home to Liverpool on Sunday with Pep Guardiola under pressure to prove he has not lost his magic touch. Dumped out of the Champions League by Monaco on Wednesday, City face a five-way scrap with Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino believes Tottenham are better equipped to cope without star striker Harry Kane than they were earlier this season, as they approach the defining point in their campaign. Kane is sidelined for several weeks with ankle ligament damage sustained against Millwall in the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend. Tottenham last time failed to […]

Middlesbrough (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Paul Pogba's absence has given Jose Mourinho another headache as Manchester United look to revive their Champions League qualification hopes at managerless Middlesbrough on Sunday. United midfielder Pogba will miss the Premier League fixture, plus France's forthcoming matches against Luxembourg and Spain, with a hamstring problem sustained during Thursday's 1-0 […]

Dortmund (Germany) (AFP) – Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, the Bundesliga's top-scorer, claimed his 23rd goal in as many league games as Borussia Dortmund laboured to a 1-0 home win over strugglers Ingolstadt on Friday. Aubameyang's first-half winner was his 30th goal in all competitions for Dortmund this season. Borussia remain third in the table, narrowing the gap […]

Berlin (AFP) – Max Eberl has ended speculation he will fill the vacant sports director's role at Bayern Munich next season, saying he is staying at Bundesliga rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach. "There is nothing else to say at the moment other than I will be sports director at Gladbach in the summer," he said in a […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United have been fined £20,000 (23,000 euros, $25,000) after accepting a Football Association (FA) charge of failing to control their players during Monday's fractious FA Cup quarter-final at Chelsea. United, who saw their hold on the trophy ended with a 1-0 defeat by the Premier League leaders, were punished for several of […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – Holders Real Madrid will face Bayern Munich and a reunion with "master" Carlo Ancelotti after Zinedine Zidane got his wish and avoided Leicester City in Friday's Champions League quarter-final draw. Leicester will play Atletico Madrid — "a massive challenge," said Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare — and the Italian and Spanish champions […]

Reports have recently surfaced that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is keen on a move away from Arsenal following the current campaign. The midfielder has been with the north London club since 2011, and is thought to want more regular time on the pitch. With the Gunners already embattled in contract talks with superstars Alexis Sanchez and Mesut […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola has said it would be impossible to make sweeping changes to his Manchester City squad in the wake of their shock Champions League exit. City were dismissed from the tournament in the first knockout round by Monaco on Wednesday, losing the second leg 3-1 after winning their home […]

Berlin (AFP) – Bayern Munich's Carlo Ancelotti and Xabi Alonso are relishing facing their former club Real Madrid when two of the favourites for the Champions League title clash in the quarter-finals. Holders Real play Bayern away on Wednesday April 12 at Munich's Allianz Arena with the return at Madrid's Bernabeu six days later in […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists Pep Guardiola doesn't deserve to be questioned following Manchester City's Champions League exit. Guardiola was criticised after City squandered a two-goal first leg advantage against Monaco as they crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-1 defeat in France on Wednesday. It was just the latest […]

London (AFP) – Antonio Conte has warned Chelsea's Premier League rivals that Eden Hazard can't be intimidated by rough tackles. Hazard was subjected to some brutal challenges during Chelsea's FA Cup quarter-final win over Manchester United on Monday. United midfielder Ander Herrera was sent off for two fouls on Hazard, while Marcos Rojo appeared to […]