Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid received a boost ahead of the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Napoli on Wednesday as Gareth Bale returned to training on Sunday for the first time in three months. Bale has been sidelined since damaging ankle ligaments in a 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon on […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Home debutant Robbie Brady scored a memorable free-kick to earn Burnley a 1-1 draw on Sunday that prevented Chelsea moving 12 points clear at the Premier League summit. Brady cancelled out an early strike from Pedro and while the point stretched Chelsea's lead to 10 points, their advantage will be […]

Milan (AFP) – Radja Nainggolan came to the rescue after another Edin Dzeko penalty miss as Roma kept the pressure on Serie A leaders Juventus with a hard-fought 2-0 win at plucky Crotone on Sunday. Roma's 17th win of the campaign moved Luciano Spalletti's men back up to second spot to close the gap to […]

London (AFP) – West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis has described claims he called Stoke City captain Ryan Shawcross a "loser" in a voice-mail message as "absolutely disgraceful". Stoke manager Mark Hughes said Pulis, his predecessor, had hit out at Shawcross after the centre-back suggested West Brom had leaked a story about new Stoke signing […]

Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus aims to extend his dazzling start to life in the Premier League with another inspired display at Bournemouth on Monday. Pep Guardiola's team dropped out of the Champions League qualification places after losing four of the nine top-flight matches they played during December and January. […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp believes every team in the world would suffer without Sadio Mane after the Senegalese star marked his return with both goals in the 2-0 win over Tottenham. Mane, back from a month on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations, scored in a devastating first half performance […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho claims his side's attacking efforts would be hailed more if someone else was in charge at Old Trafford. United completely outplayed Watford in Saturday's 2-0 Premier League win as goals from Juan Mata and Anthony Martial took Mourinho's men to within a point of the […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger insists he is not preparing to end his long reign at Arsenal despite Ian Wright's claim the Gunners boss is on the way out. Wenger's future had been questioned in the wake of defeats against Watford and Chelsea that effectively killed off their Premier League title hopes. Wenger's side returned […]

Berlin (AFP) – Carlo Ancelotti says Bayern Munich's 2-0 win over Ingolstadt, with last-minute goals by Arturo Vidal and Arjen Robben, was the perfect confidence-booster for Wednesday's Champions League clash against Arsenal. The Gunners are the guests at Munich's Allianz Arena in what Robben has described as Bayern's 'week of truth' after the German league […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid maintained a one point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga as Cristiano Ronaldo was on target in a hard fought 3-1 win at rock bottom Osasuna on Saturday. Earlier, Barca's front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all struck in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves. […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona right-back Aleix Vidal will take no further part in the Spanish champions quest for a treble this season after suffering a dislocated right ankle that will keep him out for five months. Vidal was injured with just three minutes to go of Barca's 6-0 rout at Alaves on Saturday when he […]

Berlin (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel admits Borussia Dortmund's shaky defence is a concern ahead of Tuesday's Champions League clash at Benfica after crashing 2-1 at bottom side Darmstadt in the Bundesliga. Dortmund suffered their fourth league defeat this season on Saturday to leave them fourth in Germany's top flight — 15 points behind leaders Bayern […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino delivered a withering assessment of his team's 2-0 defeat at Liverpool on Saturday, labelling them "sloppy" and questioning their nerve. Spurs were unbeaten in nine games going into the match at Anfield, but never recovered after Sadio Mane scored two quick-fire goals in the first 18 minutes. […]

London (AFP) – The jet-heeled Sadio Mane scored a quick-fire brace as Liverpool revitalised their Premier League campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Saturday. Senegalese flier Mane netted twice in three first-half minutes as Jurgen Klopp's team claimed a first league win of 2017 at the sixth attempt and […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Sadio Mane announced his return to Premier League football in emphatic fashion with both goals in Liverpool's brilliant 2-0 victory over top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. The Senegal forward provided one of several outstanding displays from a Liverpool side who had not previously won a league game in 2017, their worst […]