Barcelona (AFP) – Lionel Messi appeared to suffer the recurrence of a groin strain as he limped off early in the second-half of Barcelona's crunch La Liga clash with Atletico Madrid on Wednesday. The five-time World Player of the Year missed Argentina's World Cup qualifier with Venezuela earlier this month due to the problem and […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Kaizer Chiefs won for the first time this season on Wednesday and Orlando Pirates surrendered a perfect record on matchday 3 of the South African Premiership. A harshly awarded second-half penalty was driven into the corner of the net on 65 minutes by George Lebese to give Chiefs a 1-0 win at […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Colombia international forward Radamel Falcao will spend the night in hospital after suffering a knock to the head in a Ligue 1 match on Wednesday. The Monaco striker was caught in a sandwich between goalkeeper Yoann Cardinale and defender Paul Baysse just before half-time in the 4-0 defeat at Nice. "Radamel […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United prevailed 3-1 at third-tier Northampton Town in the English Football League Cup on Wednesday to ease some of the pressure beginning to build on manager Jose Mourinho. Mourinho had seen United lose their three previous games, but goals from Michael Carrick, Ander Herrera and substitute Marcus Rashford at Sixfields took […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's record-equalling 16-game La Liga win streak came to an end as Villarreal held out for a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The European champions were looking to surpass the Liga mark of 16 wins first set by Pep Guardiola's Barcelona in 2010/11, but were made to pay […]

Berlin (AFP) – Leaders Bayern Munich are now the only team in Germany's top flight still with a perfect 100% record following Wednesday's 3-0 Bundesliga win at home to Hertha Berlin. Midfield stars Franck Ribery, Thiago Alcantara and Arjen Robben netted at the Allianz Arena in a workmanlike display from Carlo Ancelotti's side to make […]

Paris (AFP) – Controversial star Mario Balotelli continued his fine start to life on the French Riviera by helping fire Nice to the top of Ligue 1 on Wednesday. The Italy international scored his second brace in as many league appearances for Nice in a 4-0 thumping of local rivals Monaco to leap-frog champions Paris […]

Milan (AFP) – Ten-man Sampdoria's early season woes continued with a 2-0 defeat at Bologna on Wednesday where Simone Verdi hit a stunning first-half volley for the hosts. Sampdoria made a bright start to life under new coach Marco Giampaolo by winning their opening two games of the Serie A season. But after consecutive defeats […]

London (AFP) – England's Football Association hopes its role in staging Euro 2020 will provide a platform for the country to host a full tournament again, new chairman Greg Clarke said on Wednesday. England will host the semi-finals and final of Euro 2020, which is being staged across 13 European nations to mark the competition's […]

In a revealing interview with Alexi Lalas on The Mutant Gene Podcast this week, FOX Sports Executive Producer Jonty Whitehead — the person in charge of FOX's soccer production — highlighted everything that's wrong with FOX's soccer coverage including his own assertion that Americans are “not versed in the game as I or people in the UK […]

If you're trying to find out how you can watch Southampton vs. Crystal Palace, you've come to the right place. Southampton and Crystal Palace battle it out at St Mary's Stadium on Wednesday in the Third Round of the League Cup (now known as the EFL Cup, which was previously the Capital One Cup). For […]

Milan (AFP) – A Chinese consortium looking to purchase AC Milan has been accused of providing false documents during its initial negotiations with the Serie A giants, according to reports Wednesday. Sino-Europe Sports Investment Management Changxing Co, led by businessman Li Yonghong, has already paid 100m euros to Fininvest, the holding company of AC Milan […]

Seoul (AFP) – A rash of complaints about controversial decisions has put Asia's football referees on the spot despite strenuous efforts to raise standards. Japan and Thailand both lodged official protests after key decisions went against them in this month's World Cup qualifiers, while standards are mixed at club level. Japan were incensed after Takuma […]

If you're trying to find out how you can watch Swansea vs. Manchester City, you've come to the right place. High flying Manchester City travel to Wales on Wednesday to battle Swansea in the League Cup Third Round (aka EFL Cup, previously known as the Capital One Cup). The match might give Vincent Kompany his […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone believes Barcelona remain the benchmark, ahead of Wednesday's first blockbuster clash of the La Liga season between his Champions League finalists and the Spanish champions. Simeone's men dumped Barca out of the Champions League for the second time in three years last season, but the Argentine has […]