Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona boss Luis Enrique named star trio Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar together in his starting line-up for the first time in four months for Celtic's visit to the Camp Nou on Tuesday. Neymar missed Barca's start to the campaign due to his duties in winning Olympic gold with Brazil, whilst […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Sevilla coach Jorge Sampaoli wants "desire and passion" from his players as the Europa League champions look to kickstart their Champions League campaign by ending Juventus' impressive home record in Europe Wednesday. "We have to go out and play with a lot of desire and passion because we're facing a team […]

Moscow (AFP) – Oleg Kononov has resigned after three years as head coach of Russian Premier League outfit Krasnodar, the club said on Tuesday. "FC Krasnodar expresses its special gratitude and appreciation to Kononov for his work with the club," said a statement on the club's official website, failing to give a reason for his […]

London (AFP) – Mauricio Pochettino insists Tottenham won't be allowed to use their temporary move to Wembley as an excuse for failure in their Champions League opener against Monaco on Wednesday. Pochettino's side return to the Champions League for the first time in five years in unfamiliar surroundings after deciding to stage their European matches […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea captain John Terry will be sidelined for 10 days after suffering an ankle ligament injury against Swansea on Sunday. Terry strained ligaments in his left ankle during the 2-2 Premier League draw and left the Liberty Stadium on crutches. The 35-year-old will miss Chelsea's Premier League clash against Liverpool at Stamford […]

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo says facing Sporting Lisbon is a privilege, but in his quest to reach 100 Champions League goals he won't go easy on the club that formed him. Ronaldo is just seven goals shy of a Champions League century having top-scored in the competition for the past four seasons as Madrid […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers labelled Barcelona's Luis Suarez as the best striker in the world ahead of the Scottish champions' daunting task of stopping Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar in their Champions League opener on Tuesday. Rodgers worked with Suarez for two years at Liverpool as the Uruguayan's 31 goals nearly carried […]

Caen (France) (AFP) – A French court handed former Caen coach Franck Dumas a three-year jail sentence for tax fraud on Tuesday, but the former Monaco, Marseille and Newcastle player was neither present in court nor represented by a lawyer. The court heard Dumas described by tax inspectors as a high roller who made large […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier signed a new five-year contract with the Premier League club on Tuesday. Dier has established himself as a key figure in Mauricio Pochettino's side since joining from Sporting Lisbon two years ago and also become a regular in the England team. Following a season of playing in defence, […]

Paris (AFP) – AFP Sports looks ahead to Wednesday's Champions League action as Real Madrid begin their defence of the trophy and Leicester City make their debut in the competition (all kick-offs 1945 GMT): Group E At Leverkusen, Germany Bayer Leverkusen (GER) v CSKA Moscow (RUS) Third in the Bundesliga last season, Leverkusen go into […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane is confident Tottenham's England stars will ensure Wembley becomes a successful second home in their Champions League opener against Monaco on Wednesday. Mauricio Pochettino's side return to the Champions League for the first time in five years in unfamiliar surroundings after deciding to stage their European matches at Wembley rather […]

Madrid (AFP) – Ahead of the start of their 2016-17 Champions League campaign against Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday, AFP Sports takes a look at five reasons defending champions Real Madrid can conquer Europe for the 12th time: – It is "their" competition Understandably given Madrid are by a distance the most successful team in the […]

Paris (AFP) – Arsene Wenger is looking for Arsenal to show greater consistency in the Champions League, starting with a positive result when they begin their campaign at Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday. A year ago the Gunners lost their opening two group games before scraping through to the last 16 behind Bayern Munich, only to […]

London (AFP) – The leading English clubs can become "the Barcelonas and Real Madrids of tomorrow" according to BT Sport presenter Gary Lineker. The former England and Barcelona striker believes that the financial power of the Premier League will persuade the next generation of the world's leading players to follow top coaches such as Pep […]

Sunderland (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Belgian international striker Romelu Lukaku's longest goal drought in English football came to an end in dramatic fashion on Monday as a hat-trick saw Everton defeat Sunderland 3-0 in their Premier League clash. The 23-year-old — who hadn't scored for his club in 13 matches dating back to March — […]