Preston (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsenal were forced to stage a second half fightback to secure a 2-1 win at Preston on Saturday that extended Arsene Wenger's record of never having lost in the FA Cup third round. Wenger's side suffered an early shock at Deepdale as Callum Robinson put the Championship side on course […]

Metz (France) (AFP) – The president of French Ligue 1 side Metz expressed his shock at the uproar caused by controversial comments comparing the club's two-point deduction for crowd trouble to blaming management of the Bataclan concert venue targeted by extremists in November 2015. "I'm shocked to read and hear since last night (Friday) that […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho told Wayne Rooney his "best day" is still to come after he equalled Manchester United's scoring record in their 4-0 FA Cup win over Championship side Reading. Rooney, 31, scored his 249th goal for the club to match Bobby Charlton's record, set in March 1973, as United made […]

Milan (AFP) – Lorenzo Tonelli completed a dream debut for Napoli by hitting a last-gasp winner in a 2-1 defeat of ten-man Sampdoria on Saturday that closed the gap on leaders Juventus to four points. Napoli looked to be heading for only a share of the points at the San Paolo stadium when Manolo Gabiadini […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain got their French Cup defence off to a dream start on Saturday with new recruit Julian Draxler scoring in a 7-0 rout of Ligue 1 rivals Bastia. Unai Emery's side advance to the last 32 of a tournament in which they are the two-time defending champions ensuring their Corsican rivals […]

Preston (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsene Wenger hailed the performance of stand-in Arsenal captain Olivier Giroud after his late goal sealed a 2-1 FA Cup third round win at Championship side Preston. The Gunners managed to complete a comeback victory to go with their remarkable 3-3 draw at Bournemouth earlier in the week, a game […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo paraded his fourth Ballon d'Or and powered home his first goal of 2017 as Real Madrid equalled Barcelona's Spanish record 39-game unbeaten run with a 5-0 demolition of lowly Granada on Saturday. Sevilla leapfrogged Barca into second, four points behind Real, thanks to Wissam Ben Yedder's hat-trick in a hugely […]

London (AFP) – Wayne Rooney equalled Bobby Charlton's Manchester United scoring record as the FA Cup holders cruised into round four with a 4-0 win over Reading on Saturday. Rooney scored his 249th United goal in front of the watching Charlton as Jose Mourinho's men strolled to victory, but Arsenal had to come from behind […]

Every season around this time, you can guarantee that some of the British journalists and members of The Guardian's Football Weekly podcast will lament how the FA Cup is becoming increasingly boring and what needs to change to make it more relevant. While I love the concept and history of the FA Cup, I can't […]

I was ruminating on the importance of the defensive midfielder in today’s world soccer, which brought about plenty food for thought. At the same time, I was wondering how successful Pep Guardiola will be as he continues his nomadic journey that many of us have followed to this point in awe. If we look at […]

If 2017 is to see Barcelona reel in Real Madrid in the race for La Liga glory, a roadmap for their recovery must begin at El Madrigal against Villarreal on Sunday. With Madrid, currently three points clear of Barcelona having played a game less, poised to set a Spanish record for games unbeaten on Saturday […]

Arsenal and Nigeria rising star Alex Iwobi was awarded the African Youth Player of the Year for 2016 on Thursday. The 20-year-old versatile midfielder scored four total goals and added six assists during the calendar year with both the Gunners and the senior Nigeria national team. Iwobi has hit the ground running since he was […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus defender Daniele Rugani insists the champions are "fully charged" up for a successful 2017 and ready to put their Italian Super Cup defeat behind them with a win at home to Bologna on Sunday. Despite boasting a lead of four and seven points respectively on nearest challengers Roma and Napoli, 2016 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid will welcome back Cristiano Ronaldo for his first appearance of 2017 as the European champions look to equal Barcelona's Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten when lowly Granada visit the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Ronaldo was rested as Real showed no signs of rust after a 17-day break since winning […]

In the third and final article in the series about MLS TV ratings, we can reveal that MLS does better when the other soccer leagues are not playing. The table below shows the monthly figures for MLS viewing this year since March: Month Avg. Viewers Per Game March 284,667 April 246,000 May 277,571 June 478,200 […]