Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo equalled Raul's Real Madrid scoring record as the Portugal star steered the Spanish giants to a 2-0 victory at 10-man Malmo in the Champions League group stage on Wednesday. Ronaldo ended an uncharacteristic three-game drought with the 500th goal of his career just before the half-hour mark in Sweden […]

Juan Mata was the star of the show as Manchester United got off the mark in the Champions League with a narrow win over Wolfsburg. Daniel Caligiuri took advantage of some slack defending from the hosts to put Wolfsburg ahead in the fourth minute, but Mata won and converted a penalty to equalize 11 minutes […]

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes the authorities have to do more to help English teams in Europe after another dismal night in the Champions League. Losses for Arsenal, at home to Olympiacos, and Chelsea, at Porto, mean there have been five defeats in six Champions League group matches for Premier League teams this season. With the […]

He is still in pursuit of Raúl atop Real Madrid's all-time scoring chart, but on his way to that inevitable record, Cristiano Ronaldo has passed another milestone. With today's goal in Sweden against Malmo in UEFA Champions League, the 30-year-old icon notched his 500th competitive goal, reaching the landmark in only 753 career appearances. Cristiano Ronaldo […]

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admits Daniel Sturridge has to be handled carefully to ensure they do not "break" him again. The England international missed six months of last season with a number of injuries, resulting in him undergoing a hip operation in May in an attempt to cure underlying issues. He has made his comeback in Liverpool's […]

FIFA's financial reports, reviewed by AFP on Wednesday, raised questions about claims from Michel Platini that a payment he received from the organization was delayed for nearly a decade due to financial constraints. Platini has been questioned by Swiss prosecutors in connection with a two-million Swiss francs ($2 million, 1.8 million euros) payment he received […]

Arsenal’s 3-2 setback against Olympiacos at the Emirates on Tuesday set off the usual alarm bells among Gunners supporters as well as the annual 'bash Arsene Wenger' circus that ensues after the club puts up a result like this. Once again, the calls for Wenger’s sacking from some quarters are premature and shortsighted. But that […]

Last season, Juventus were in the UEFA Champions League final. They won Serie A. Now the same Juventus are mired in 15th place in Italy with just five points from six matches. What’s gone wrong? Can the Old Lady recover? Statistical indicators suggest Juventus are playing better than their results. While Max Allegri’s side have […]

Louis van Gaal has cast doubt on the idea that he will walk away from Manchester United in 2017 but admits delaying his retirement would be hard on his wife. Van Gaal insisted on United's preseason tour that he would leave Old Trafford when his contract expires in 18 months' time. Sir Alex Ferguson claimed last […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney claims that he did not submit a transfer request shortly before Alex Ferguson retired as manager in May 2013. Rooney came close to leaving United in October 2010 and Ferguson has alleged that the England striker also asked to leave the club two years ago. Rooney sat […]

Stand-in goalkeeper David Ospina had a night to forget as Arsenal slumped to a 3-2 home defeat against Olympiacos to leave their Champions League hopes in jeopardy. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger had warned his side they already faced a must-win tie following their opening Group F loss at Dinamo Zagreb. The Barclays Premier League side […]

Madrid (AFP) – Luis Suarez rounded off a stirring fightback by European champions Barcelona as they shrugged off the absence of the injured Lionel Messi to beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 on Wednesday. Kyriakos Papadopoulos had headed the visitors into a deserved halftime lead as Barca struggled to open up the Germans without Messi's magic touch. However, […]

Jose Mourinho's return to former club Porto ended in a 2-1 Champions League defeat as Chelsea's miserable start to the season continued. Chelsea lost to Porto on Mourinho's first return in 2004-05 and history repeated itself at Estadio do Dragao as Andre Andre and Maicon scored either side of Willian's free kick in the Group […]

UEFA chief Michel Platini is "still determined" to run for the FIFA presidency as successor to Sepp Blatter in next February's elections,he told AFP on Tuesday, despite "doubts" about his integrity. On the same day, according to a report by journalist Paul Kelso, Swiss Attorney General Michael Lauber says he cannot rule out raiding UEFA HQ […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Juventus have suspended Uruguayan defender Martin Caceres after he crashed his Ferrari into a bus shelter in Turin and failed a breath test, the Italian champions announced on Tuesday. The incident happened on Monday night when Caceres reportedly drove down a one-way street, lost control of his Ferrari, drove into a bus […]