London (AFP) – Olivier Giroud's hat-trick inspired Arsenal to a 4-0 demolition of Aston Villa on Sunday that, combined with Tottenham's defeat at Newcastle, ensured they finished the season as Premier League runners-up. Gunners manager Arsene Wenger has endured protests from supporters convinced it is time for a change throughout much of a difficult campaign. […]

Newcastle (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur surrendered a second-place Premier League finish as they suffered a humiliating 5-1 final day defeat at relegated Newcastle United on Sunday. Georginio Wijnaldum led the way with two goals either side of one by Aleksandar Mitrovic, who was later sent off, before late efforts from substitute Rolando Aarons and defender Daryl Janmaat saw Spurs comprehensively […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Army experts blew up a suspect package at Old Trafford on Sunday after tens of thousands of fans were evacuated from the stadium ahead of Manchester United's final English Premier League game of the season, police said. The emergency was signalled just 20 minutes before the scheduled start of the […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Everton claimed a rare home win as they beat relegated Norwich City 3-0 on the final day of the Premier League season in their first match since Roberto Martinez was sacked as manager. Caretaker coaches Joe Royle and David Unsworth named an experimental side, and James McCarthy lashed them into the lead […]

West Bromwich (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jordon Ibe's superb goal gave a much-changed Liverpool side a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday's final day of the Premier League season. Three days before the Reds face Sevilla in the Europa League final in Basel, their manager Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes for their final […]

Berlin (AFP) – Franck Ribery has said he has no intention of playing for France again, according to an interview he gave to Sport Bild. "I have no desire whatsoever to play for France any more," said the 33-year-old Bayern Munich winger. "I closed this chapter with the announcement of my retirement in 2014. "I'm […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Army experts staged a controlled explosion at Old Trafford on Sunday after a suspect package was found at the Manchester United stadium ahead of their final game of the season, police said Sunday. Tens of thousands of fans were ordered from the 75,600 capacity stadium when the alert was sounded […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Champions Celtic capped off their season in style with a 7-0 thrashing of Motherwell at Parkhead before they were presented with the Scottish Premiership trophy. Kieran Tierney grabbed his first goal for Celtic with a superb strike in the 21st minute before Australian international Tom Rogic tapped in a second just five […]

Rome (AFP) – History-making Gonzalo Higuain has declared his love for Napoli but left doubts hanging over his future as rumours persist of a possible move to the Premier League. Higuain hit a hat-trick in a dramatic 4-0 win over relegated Frosinone on Saturday to take his league tally for the season to 36 in […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Police ordered Manchester United to abandon their final Premier League game of the season against Bournemouth on Sunday after a suspicious package was discovered at Old Trafford. Tens of thousands of fans were ordered from the 75,600 capacity stadium when the alert was sounded about 20 minutes before the scheduled […]

Paris (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic headed home a minute from time to break Paris Saint-Germain's single season Ligue 1 scoring record in a 4-0 rout of Nantes late Saturday. With the title long wrapped up and a French Cup final against bitter rivals Marseille to come a week later, the night was all about Ibrahimovic […]

Frankfurt (AFP) – German sportswear giant Adidas will continue sponsoring FIFA, despite the corruption allegations dogging the bidding process for the 2006 World Cup, the group's supervisory board chief said on Sunday. "If you want to sell sporting goods, you have to have a good relationship with the people in the clubs and the associations. […]

Montreal (AFP) – Former Chelsea standout Didier Drogba scored on a half-volley in the third minute and Eastern Conference leader Montreal played to a 1-1 Major League Soccer draw with visiting Philadelphia. It was the fourth deadlock in a row for the Impact, with Ivory Coast star Drogba's fourth goal of the season being matched […]

The talk of the town these days in Manchester, at least in one half of the city, is about the next manager at Old Trafford. Will Van Gaal remain in the hot seat, or have Manchester United already agreed a deal with José Mourinho? Or, perhaps less likely, will they move for a third name — […]

Barcelona (AFP) – In little under two years with Barcelona, Luis Suarez has won six trophies, silenced his critics with almost impeccable on-field behaviour and now, most remarkably of all, left Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in his shadow. Suarez fittingly scored a hat-trick as Barca retained their La Liga title on Saturday with a […]