Berlin (AFP) – Bayer Leverkusen on Monday named former Hannover and Kaiserslautern coach Tayfun Korkut as manager until the end of the season after the weekend sacking of Roger Schmidt. Former Turkish international Korkut, 42, has been tasked with steadying the ship at Leverkusen following a wretched recent run which culminated in Saturday's 6-2 Bundesliga […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Bournemouth defender Tyrone Mings were charged with violent conduct on Monday over two incidents in Saturday's 1-1 draw. Mings appeared to deliberately stamp on Ibrahimovic's head as he jumped over him late in the first half at Old Trafford and the Swedish striker seemed to retaliate […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale were named Monday in Real Madrid's Champions League squad for the last-16 second-leg tie against Napoli after missing the weekend win over Eibar. Four-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo was sidelined with an injury which coach Zinedine Zidane described as "nothing serious". Also back in the squad for […]

London Colney (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal captain Per Mertesacker admitted to tension in the dressing room on Monday and said his struggling team haven't shown enough fight, on the eve of their Champions League mission impossible. Arsene Wenger's side crashed to a third defeat in their last four Premier League games on Saturday as […]

Here are the ten things we learned from Week 1 of the 2017 MLS season. 1. Plenty To Be Excited About as MLS’ 22nd Season Kicks Off MLS’ 22nd season kicked off on Friday night in Portland, and its opening weekend included the debuts of two new teams, the opening of a gorgeous new stadium […]

London Colney (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil will miss Tuesday's Champions League last-16 second leg against Bayern Munich after illness, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger said. Ozil was absent from Arsenal's 3-1 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday and although the German star has returned to training, Wenger doesn't believe he is ready to […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea's plans to build a new £500 million ($610mn, 580mn euros) 60,000-seat stadium cleared another major hurdle on Monday when they received approval from London Mayor Sadiq Khan. "London is one of the world's greatest sporting cities and I'm delighted that we will soon add Chelsea's new stadium to the already fantastic […]

London Colney (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger on Monday dismissed reports of a training-ground bust-up involving star forward Alexis Sanchez as "completely false". Sanchez, 28, was reported to have stormed off the training pitch last week before becoming involved in an angry confrontation with his team-mates. He started Saturday's 3-1 Premier League […]

London Colney (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal star Alexis Sanchez shook hands with manager Arsene Wenger as he reported for training on Monday following reports of a training-ground bust-up. Sanchez, 28, was reported to have stormed off the training pitch last week before becoming involved in an angry confrontation with his team-mates. He started Saturday's […]

Kuala Lumpur (AFP) – Malaysia has banned its football team from playing an Asian Cup match in Pyongyang citing security threats as diplomatic relations between the two countries soured dramatically after the killing of Kim Jong-Nam, officials said Monday. Kim, the estranged half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, was poisoned with the deadly […]

London (AFP) – BT Sport has paid £1.18 billion ($1.45 billion, 1.36 billion euros) to retain exclusive rights to show Champions League and Europa League games in the United Kingdom, the broadcaster announced on Monday. The new contract, valid from 2018 to 2021, is worth £394 million per year, a significant increase on its current […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Jonathan Klinsmann, the son of former US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, was named the top goaltender as the USA under-20 men's national team won the North American regional championship tournament. The Americans defeated Honduras 5-3 on penalty kicks following a 0-0 draw in Sunday's final of the Confederation of North, […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Carlos Tevez scored on his Chinese Super League debut for Shanghai Shenhua as he started repaying wages that have reportedly made him the world's best-paid player. The former Manchester United, Manchester City and Juventus striker struck from the penalty spot and had a hand in two others as Gus Poyet's team beat […]

Miami (AFP) – The New York Red Bulls spoiled Atlanta United's Major League Soccer bow as a Daniel Royer header and Anton Walkes own goal lifted them to a 2-1 win over the expansion club on Sunday. Atlanta were off to a dream start in front of home fans in their first ever match, leading […]

Miami (AFP) – Cyle Larin's header in the 15th minute was enough to let Orlando City SC open their new stadium with a 1-0 victory over New York City FC Sunday on Major League Soccer's opening weekend. It wasn't all good news for Orlando, however, as Larin's header came minutes after Brazilian veteran Kaka limped […]