Hong Kong (AFP) – Megabucks import Oscar will hope to make his mark for Shanghai SIPG as the AFC Champions League returns this week, featuring a trailblazing female coach but missing last year's winners, who were banned for match-fixing. Brazilian playmaker Oscar, SIPG's 60-million-euro buy from Chelsea, will be under the spotlight in week one […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Rangers caretaker manager Graeme Murty questioned his side's desire after they lost further ground on Aberdeen in the hunt for second place in the Scottish Premiership following a 2-1 defeat to Dundee on Sunday. Rangers fell behind at Dens Park to first-half goals from Mark O'Hara and Kevin Holt before Joe Garner […]

Paris (AFP) – Manchester City avoided Europe's heavyweights in the Champions League last-16 draw but Pep Guardiola's side must instead beware of an in-form Monaco, the leading scorers in Europe's top divisions this season. City host the French league leaders at the Etihad Stadium in the first leg on Tuesday looking to extend a nine-game […]

By showing a rescheduled NASCAR race on Sunday morning on FOX Sports 1, the programming change caused plenty of consternation among soccer fans in the United States this weekend who wanted to watch the Manchester United FA Cup game against Blackburn Rovers. Originally scheduled to air at 11:15am ET on Sunday, the Blackburn-Manchester United game […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique labelled harsh treatment dished out to his players by Barca fans nonsensical as the Spanish champions squeezed past Leganes 2-1 on Sunday. Following a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, Barca needed a last minute Lionel Messi penalty to see off a Leganes side […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City and Monaco go into Tuesday's Champions League showdown each pinning their hopes on short, left-footed midfield creators from the Iberian peninsula who go by the name of Silva. Monaco's Silva is Bernardo, a 22-year-old Portuguese winger whose knack for decisive goals has made him a central figure in their free-scoring […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger has expressed fears about Sutton United's synthetic 3G pitch ahead of Arsenal's perilous FA Cup fifth-round match against the non-league minnows on Monday. The Arsenal manager believes the artificial surface could impede his men despite their best efforts to prepare on a similar pitch. Arsenal desperately hope to avoid succumbing […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain missed the chance to eat into Monaco's lead at the top of the French Ligue 1 table after being held to a 0-0 draw by Toulouse at the Parc des Princes on Sunday. At the same venue where they had blown away Barcelona five days earlier, winning 4-0 in the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Barcelona needed a last minute Lionel Messi penalty to see off lowly Leganes 2-1 as a poor week for the Spanish champions continued on Sunday. Barca were thrashed 4-0 by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday to leave their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread and had to rely on Messi for snatching […]

Blackburn (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho refused to dwell on the prospect of facing his former club Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals after Manchester United negotiated a difficult fifth-round visit to Blackburn Rovers in a 2-1 victory. It took the substitute pairing of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to combine for the latter […]

Milan (AFP) – Torino coach Sinisa Mihajlovic leapt to the defence of Joe Hart on Sunday despite the England goalkeeper shipping four goals in a 4-1 defeat to Serie A title hopefuls Roma. Edin Dzeko, a former teammate of Hart's at Manchester City, beat the Englishman on 10 minutes with a low strike from the […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho will have to get past former club Chelsea if FA Cup holders Manchester United are to keep their hopes of retaining the trophy alive following the quarter-final draw on Sunday. Giant-killers Lincoln — the first non-league side into the last-eight in over a century after beating Premier League Burnley on […]

Milan (AFP) – Edin Dzeko struck his 19th Serie A goal and Francesco Totti came off the bench to provide an assist as Roma kept their 'scudetto' hopes alive with a 4-1 win over Torino on Sunday. Roma's 18th win of the campaign allowed Luciano Spalletti's men to leapfrog Napoli, 3-1 winners at Chievo, and […]

Milan (AFP) – Sampdoria striker Fabio Quagliarella was close to tears Sunday as he recounted the "nightmare" of a stalker bringing his dream move to Napoli to a premature end as his family feared for their lives. Quagliarella joined hometown club Napoli from Udinese on a five-year deal worth 18 million euros in 2009, scoring […]

Blackburn (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic combined to score the winning goal that carried Manchester United through to the FA Cup quarter-finals in a 2-1 win at Blackburn Rovers. United will face Chelsea in a mouthwatering last-eight tie at Stamford Bridge next month as victory maintained Jose Mourinho’s interest in all […]