Oyem (Gabon) (AFP) – Defending champions the Ivory Coast had to come from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo Friday in a lively Africa Cup of Nations clash. The result in the northern Gabonese town of Oyem kept the vibrant Congolese top of Group C with four […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund have been hit by fresh injury problems ahead of Saturday's Bundesliga clash at Werder Bremen with midfielders Sebastian Rode and Emre Mor the latest to be ruled out. The German league restarts after the four-week winter break, but Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel has a dwindling pool of players. Top striker […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane insists he is responsible for the European champions' back-to-back defeats as they look to return to winning ways when Malaga visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Madrid hadn't lost in 40 matches in all competitions stretching back nine months until conceding twice to lose 2-1 at Sevilla […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola admitted on Friday that he and under-fire goalkeeper Claudio Bravo must shoulder their share of responsibility for Manchester City's disappointing start to the Premier League season. Last Sunday's 4-0 thrashing at Everton saw City drop 10 points behind leaders Chelsea, a state of affairs hardly anticipated when Guardiola […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ghana coach Avram Grant has called for Africa Cup of Nations organisers to allow teams to replace players who have suffered injuries because of the state of the pitches in Gabon. The Black Stars have lost left-back Abdul Rahman Baba to a serious knee injury suffered in the first half of […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German Football Association (DFB) announced Friday that it is applying to host the 2024 European championships. The DFB has rubber-stamped the decision to apply for the finals with European football's governing body UEFA having set the deadline for confirmed interest by March 3 with candidates announced on March 10. The final […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Liverpool are suffering as a result of the stand-off with Cameroon over central defender Joel Matip despite him having retired from international football, manager Jurgen Klopp said on Friday. Klopp was not best pleased to have to pull Matip, who has not played for the Indomitable Lions since September 2015, from the […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho says he would not be surprised if Manchester United eventually activate the buy-back clause that they inserted in the transfer of Dutch winger Memphis Depay to French club Lyon. Depay has suffered an underwhelming 18 months in English football since former United manager Louis van Gaal paid PSV […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea striker Diego Costa will return for Sunday's home game with Hull City after missing last weekend's 3-0 victory at Leicester City, manager Antonio Conte revealed on Friday. A back problem was the official reason for Costa's absence at Leicester, but there were reports it stemmed from an angry row with fitness […]

Lyon (AFP) – Lyon have completed the signing of Netherlands international Memphis Depay from Manchester United, the French club confirmed on Friday. Depay will be presented to the media at a press conference later on Friday and could make his debut in Sunday's Ligue 1 clash at home to Marseille. The 22-year-old joined United from […]

Berlin (AFP) – Star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has admitted he could leave Borussia Dortmund in the summer — but has insisted he will never join their Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich. "I will never go to Bayern, that is for sure," Aubameyang told new German sports daily FussballBild, which launched on Friday, while on Africa Cup […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain winger Angel Di Maria has insisted he wants to see out his contract with the French champions, dismissing speculation he could move to the cash-rich Chinese Super League. "There are two years left on my contract," Di Maria, who joined PSG from Manchester United in August 2015, told ESPN Argentina. […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ghana can secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations with a group game to spare if they beat Mali in Group D in Port-Gentil on Saturday. Avram Grant's side, beaten on penalties by the Ivory Coast in the 2015 final, set themselves up nicely in this […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane insists he is responsible for the European champions' back-to-back defeats as they look to return to winning ways when Malaga visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Madrid hadn't lost in 40 matches in all competitions stretching back nine months until conceding twice to lose 2-1 at Sevilla […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino wants his players to demonstrate their Premier League title credentials in Saturday's crunch clash with Pep Guardiola's ailing Manchester City. Tottenham climbed to second place in the table last weekend by outclassing West Bromwich Albion 4-0 and are seeking to register seven successive league wins for the […]