Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique left Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez on the bench for the visit of Alaves on Saturday as he made seven changes, but Neymar starts for the first time this season. Messi had been an injury doubt due to a groin injury aggravated in Argentina's 1-0 win over Uruguay […]

Paris (AFP) – Ten-man Lyon crashed to a first home defeat at Parc OL as Bordeaux provisionally moved top of Ligue 1 on Saturday by coming from behind to claim a 3-1 victory. Aldo Kalulu marked his first appearance of the season for Lyon with the opening goal inside two minutes, but Brazilian teenager Malcom […]

Bournemouth (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jack Wilshere made a winning start to life at Bournemouth as he came off the bench in a 1-0 success against West Brom to give the Cherries their first victory of the season on Saturday. England midfielder Wilshere, who joined the south coast club in a dramatic deadline-day loan move […]

Middlesbrough (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Recalled Wilfried Zaha delivered Crystal Palace their first victory of the new Premier League season with an assist and the winning goal in Saturday's 2-1 defeat of Middlesbrough. Christian Benteke opened his Palace account in the 16th minute at the Riverside Stadium from a Zaha cross, but the Eagles' lead […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – FIFA have received "guarantees" from Russia that the stadium which will host the 2018 World Cup semi-final will be ready by the end of this year, world football's governing body said Saturday. Construction of the new 68,000-seater stadium in Saint Petersburg — one of the most expensive in the world — […]

London (AFP) – Santi's Cazorla's controversial stoppage-time penalty gave Arsenal their first home win of the season as they saw off Southampton 2-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. It was a bitter pill for the visitors to swallow, with Southampton still seeking their first win under new manager Claude Puel. […]

Stoke-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Harry Kane grabbed his first goal of the season and South Korea's Son Heung-Min scored twice as Tottenham Hotspur romped to an emphatic 4-0 win away at Stoke City on Saturday. Dele Alli was also on target as the north London club finally kick-started their Premier League title challenge. It […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola rocked old foe Jose Mourinho as Premier League leaders Manchester City extended their perfect start with a 2-1 win over Manchester United, while Arsenal snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory against Southampton on Saturday. City manager Guardiola inflicted the first defeat of Mourinho's United reign and collected his eighth win in […]

London (AFP) – Jose Holebas sealed a superb comeback by Watford on Saturday as they came from 2-0 down to beat West Ham 4-2 and secure their first win of the Premier League campaign. The Hammers — who may wish they hadn't left Upton Park for London Stadium as prior to this they had won […]

Berlin (AFP) – Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo scored a stunning second-half hat-trick as Bayer Leverkusen roared back to beat Hamburg 3-1 in the Bundesliga on Saturday, while Borussia Moenchengladbach slumped to defeat at promoted Freiburg. US international Bobby Wood gave Hamburg the lead just before the hour at the BayArena, but the introduction of Finland striker […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo took just five minutes to score on his return from a three-month injury layoff as Real Madrid continued their 100 percent start to the season with a 5-2 rout of Osasuna on Saturday. Antoine Griezmann kick-started Atletico Madrid's La Liga campaign with two goals and an assist as a 4-0 […]

Milan (AFP) – Embattled Inter Milan coach Frank De Boer has called for patience amid a frustrating start to the campaign that has already dented hopes of contending the Serie A title. Inter kickstart their Europa League campaign against Hapoel Beer-Sheva on Thursday but first face a tricky trip to league newcomers Pescara Sunday, a […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola spoke out in defence of Claudio Bravo after his new goalkeeper's error-strewn debut in Saturday's 2-1 win at Manchester United. First-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Kelechi Iheanacho gave City victory, but a blunder by Bravo, who spilled a high ball, allowed Zlatan Ibrahimovic […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – The pre-match build-up was dominated by talk of Jose Mourinho, Pep Guardiola, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Claudio Bravo, but Kevin De Bruyne stole the show in Saturday's Manchester derby. The Belgian midfielder scored a coolly taken opening goal and had a big hand in Kelechi Iheanacho's second as City won 2-1 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann kickstarted Atletico Madrid's La Liga campaign with two goals and an assist as a 4-0 rout at Celta Vigo gave them a much-needed boost on Saturday. It was their first win of the current La Liga season after being held by promoted Alaves and Leganes in their opening two league […]