Rome (AFP) – Inter Milan defender Danilo D'Ambrosio has hailed coach Stefano Pioli's clear orders as the key to the club's remarkable turnaround since Frank de Boer was sacked. Right-back D'Ambrosio opened the scoring as Inter cruised to a 3-0 win over bottom side Pescara on Saturday, notching up a seventh straight win that allowed […]

Franceville (Gabon) (AFP) – Sadio Mane's decisive penalty miss allowed Cameroon to knock fancied Senegal out of the Africa Cup of Nations in the quarter-finals on Saturday and join Burkina Faso in the last four. Cameroon beat Senegal 5-4 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in Franceville, southern Gabon, in the day's second game […]

Franceville (Gabon) (AFP) – Sadio Mane agonisingly missed from the spot to allow Cameroon to beat Senegal 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out in their Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final tie on Saturday. The match went to penalties after a goalless 120 minutes in the southern Gabonese town of Franceville. After each side had successfully converted […]

Southampton (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Theo Walcott struck a hat-trick against his former club after Danny Welbeck scored twice on his first start since a knee injury in May as Arsenal thrashed Southampton 5-0 in the fourth round of the FA Cup at St Mary's on Saturday. It was a match between two weakened teams, […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany striker Mario Gomez has slammed "naive" Wolfsburg for playing "like a youth team" as their 2-1 home defeat to Augsburg dragged them back towards the Bundesliga's relegation places. Inside 12 months, Wolfsburg have gone from beating Cristiano Ronaldo's Real Madrid 2-0 in the Champions League quarter-finals, eventually losing after defeat in […]

Berlin (AFP) – Second-placed RB Leipzig ended 10-man Hoffenheim's unbeaten run this season with a 2-1 comeback win in Saturday's key Bundesliga clash to stay just three points behind leaders Bayern Munich. Hoffenheim were the last undefeated team left in Europe's top leagues before Marcel Sabitzer's 77th-minute winner dealt the visitors their first loss of […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship club Wolves as Tottenham survived a potential giant-killing of their own by twice coming from behind in a 4-3 win over fourth-tier Wycombe Wanderers. Elsewhere, Premier League giants Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all made it comfortably through to the last 16. […]

Rome (AFP) – Lazio's hopes of keeping pace with the Serie A pacesetters suffered a serious setback Saturday when they succumbed to a shock home defeat to mid-table Chievo. Roberto Inglese's 90th-minute strike, a scrappy close-range effort, saw the northern minnows snatch all three points at the end of an uninspiring contest at the Stadio […]

Paris (AFP) – Yassine Benzia punished former side Lyon with his first goals of the season to hand Lille a 2-1 win at Parc OL in Ligue 1 on Saturday. Algeria international Benzia, who joined Lille from Lyon in 2015, scored for the first time in over a year with a deflected first-half strike before […]

Libreville (AFP) – A timely substitution and a stroke of luck helped Burkina Faso to a 2-0 triumph over Tunisia Saturday in the first Africa Cup of Nations quarter-final. Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte introduced giant striker Aristide Bance on 76 minutes as a tight, physical last-eight clash seemed destined for extra time. Within five minutes […]

London (AFP) – Premier League leaders Chelsea remained on course for a domestic double as they eased into the last 16 of the FA Cup with a comfortable 4-0 win at home to second-tier Brentford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday. The Blues, eight points clear at the summit of English football, were rarely tested by […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid had goalkeeper Miguel Angel Moya to thank for preventing Theo Hernandez inflicting defeat on his parent club as the Champions League finalists clung on for a 0-0 draw at Alaves on Saturday. Victor Languardia hit the bar in the first-half as Alaves dominated throughout. However, it was Hernandez, on loan […]

Libreville (AFP) – Burkina Faso scored twice in the closing stages to beat Tunisia 2-0 Saturday and become the first qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Substitute Aristide Bance scored on 81 minutes after a controversially awarded free-kick with big-screen replays suggesting the hand-ball decision was wrong. Prejuce Nakoulma doubled the lead […]

Libreville (AFP) – Burkina Faso scored twice in the closing stages to beat Tunisia 2-0 Saturday and become the first qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. Substitute Aristide Bance scored on 81 minutes after a controversially awarded free-kick with big-screen replays suggesting the hand-ball decision was wrong. Prejuce Nakoulma doubled the lead three […]

London (AFP) – Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Yaya Toure scored as Manchester City secured their place in the FA Cup fifth round with a 3-0 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday. Gabriel Jesus, City's £27 million ($33.9 million, 31.7 million euros) signing from Palmeiras, marked his full debut by setting up Sterling for City's […]