Milan (AFP) – Poland striker Arkaduisz Milik made his return from a lengthy injury lay-off but watched from the bench as a Dries Mertens-inspired Napoli kept the Serie A title race ticking over with a 2-0 win over Genoa on Friday. Piotr Zielinski and Emanuele Giaccherini struck in the second half as Maurizio Sarri's men […]

Madrid (AFP) – Asier Illarramendi's brilliant 25-yard strike just after the hour mark saw Real Sociedad leapfrog Atletico Madrid into fourth in La Liga with a 2-1 win at Espanyol on Friday. Despite losing top scorer Willian Jose to an early injury, the visitors capitalised on a bright start when Carlos Vela slotted home Inigo […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal legend Ian Wright believes Arsene Wenger will quit the Premier League club at the end of the season. Wenger is out of contract in the summer and the Gunners boss has yet to agree a new deal amid growing anger among Arsenal fans at the team's failure to mount a strong […]

The new and improved fuboTV now features the most comprehensive offering of soccer programming available via legal streaming in the United States. With the addition of FOX Sports and NBC Sports to its portfolio, fuboTV offers a huge amount of soccer-related channels in addition to entertainment, news and other networks. A free 7-day trial to […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Italian striker Mario Balotelli was labelled as moody, individual and difficult to talk to by Nice teammate Valentin Eysseric on Friday. The 24-year-old was also careful to balance his words by adding that Balotelli was clearly "The best (footballer at Nice), the fastest and most skillful". But Balotelli critics at some […]

Chicago (AFP) – Jonathan Klinsmann, the son of fired US national team coach Jurgen Klinsmann, has been called into the American squad for the North American regional under-20 championship tournament. The younger Klinsmann, a goalkeeper for the University of California, was among five college players in the lineup, which also included defender Marlon Fossey and […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool have banned The Sun's reporters from their stadium and training ground over the tabloid's coverage of the 1989 Hillsborough disaster, a source familiar with the matter confirmed to AFP on Friday. Liverpool fans have boycotted the paper ever since it published damaging and subsequently discredited front-page allegations four days after the […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte could not be persuaded to put a price on star man Eden Hazard on Friday. The Belgian winger scored a magnificent solo goal in Chelsea's 3-1 win over Arsenal last weekend, taking his tally for the campaign to 10 goals and leaving his side nine points clear […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola defended Claudio Bravo on Friday, calling him a "top, top goalkeeper", but refused to say if he will restore the Chilean to his starting XI. Willy Caballero, the club's second-choice goalkeeper, has played in City's last three matches, with Bravo losing his place after going […]

It is no coincidence that both Liverpool and Chelsea found themselves in the top two at the end of December given their absence from European football. Neither side had the burden of a midweek match and therefore received far more rest than their rivals did. The benefit of this rest was clear through the performances […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho expects Zlatan Ibrahimovic to remain at Old Trafford next season despite speculation linking the Swedish striker with one last big-money transfer, he said on Friday. Ibrahimovic, 35, has been a revelation in his first season in England, scoring 20 goals, and is expected to trigger […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane hopes to have Gareth Bale back before the second leg of his side's Champions League last 16 clash with Napoli. The postponement of Madrid's visit to Celta Vigo last weekend due to storm damage caused to Celta's Balaidos stadium has allowed Zidane to recover a fully-fit squad […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri wants Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez to rediscover their form from the club's title-winning season as the champions battle to remain in the Premier League. Vardy scored 24 goals and Mahrez 17 as Leicester surged to the title last season, but they have contributed only five and […]

Sydney (AFP) – Lionel Messi's Argentina will take on Neymar's Brazil in a 'Superclasico' friendly in Melbourne in June, Australian officials said Friday. The top two teams in the FIFA rankings will clash in the 100,000-capacity Melbourne Cricket Ground, the world's biggest cricket stadium, on June 9. "There's no bigger occasion in football than when […]

Milan (AFP) – The prospect of Massimiliano Allegri following Chelsea manager Antonio Conte to the Premier League appear on the increase as Juventus travel to Cagliari on Sunday looking to tighten their grip on Serie A. Conte led the Turin giants to three consecutive league titles before Allegri took over the helm when former Juventus […]