London: Manchester City have already won one major battle ahead of Monday's Premier League derby - convincing Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson that they are a force to be taken seriously. Ferguson initially dismissed City as "noisy neighbours" following a 2008 takeover by Abu Dhabi investors, but now says that the rivalry is becoming as important as that with their traditional enemy Liverpool. "If we're going to be contesting with...
05:04 PM, Apr 29, 2012
Madrid: Barcelona's new coach is about to become famous for a whole lot more than having his eye poked by Jose Mourinho. Tito Vilanova will step up from his role as assistant at the end of the season and replace Pep Guardiola, who announced on Friday that he was ending his four-year spell in charge. Until now, Vilanova has been renowned as the man who was poked in the eye...
03:32 AM, Apr 29, 2012
Barcelona: Tito Vilanova is the ideal person to replace Pep Guardiola as Barcelona coach to continue developing the Catalan club's eye-catching brand of football, captain Carles Puyol said on Saturday. Vilanova is to step up from assistant to take the reins at the Nou Camp next season after Guardiola announced on Friday he would not be continuing beyond the end of the current campaign. After an astonishing four-year reign, during...
03:06 AM, Apr 29, 2012
London: Southampton returned to the Premier League after a seven-year absence when they beat Coventry City 4-0 on Saturday to clinch second place in the Championship and take the remaining automatic promotion spot to England's top-flight. The Saints scored twice in each half to clinch a second straight promotion and finish as runners-up to Reading in the second-tier League Championship. West Ham United, who could have pipped Southampton if results...
08:38 PM, Apr 28, 2012
London: Champions League finalists Chelsea have agreed to sign Germany midfielder Marko Marin from Werder Bremen at the end of the season when the summer transfer window opens. The west London club said on Saturday that they have agreed to a fee for the 23-year-old playmaker and that Marin has agreed to personal terms. However, Chelsea did not say how much they would pay for the player who was linked...
08:09 PM, Apr 28, 2012
London: Tottenham winger Gareth Bale has thrown his future at the club in doubt by suggesting that he may look to leave White Hart Lane should Spurs fail to qualify for next years Champions League. The Welshman lit up last seasons competition with a number of impressive performances, including a hat-trick against Inter Milan at San Siro, and in turn alerted a host of European giants such as Barcelona and...
06:59 PM, Apr 28, 2012
Among the many who watched in disbelief as Chelsea defied all odds and all logic to produce an incredulous victory over Barcelona, there would have been one man in particular who would have been considerably baffled, and most certainly aggrieved. It was a performance of immense character, discipline, desire and resilience from the English side, qualities that had been starkly absent, however, in the same players not too long ago...
01:51 AM, Apr 28, 2012
London: Chelsea's unexpected passage through to the Champions League final has intensified the fraught fight for third place in the Premier League, with just two weeks left in the campaign. Before all eyes turn to Monday's crucial Manchester derby between the league's top two, Arsenal, Newcastle and Tottenham take the pitch knowing a fourth-placed finish may no longer be enough to qualify for Europe's premier competition. If Chelsea beat Bayern...
04:01 PM, Apr 27, 2012
Madrid: Real Madrid have little time to mourn their Champions League loss, as they have a chance to wrap up the Spanish league title as early as this weekend. Madrid can secure their record 32nd league crown on Sunday if they beat Sevilla and Barcelona lose at Rayo Vallecano. Madrid lead the three-time defending champions by seven points with four games to play. The Spanish giants were favorites to win...
03:46 PM, Apr 27, 2012
Rome: Juventus are moving closer and closer to their first Italian league title since the 2006 match-fixing scandal, with Antonio Conte's club still undefeated and finding new weapons. With four rounds remaining in Serie A, Juve have a three-point lead over defending champions AC Milan, and also hold the tie-breaker with a win and a draw head-to-head. Both Juve and Milan scraped out 1-0 wins on Wednesday. This weekend, Juve,...
03:39 PM, Apr 27, 2012
He is the best. There is no one like him. He is already an icon. Not yet 25, and the 'Ballon d'Or' and 'FIFA World Player of the Year' trophies are his favourite toys. But under that skin, he's also a mortal, he is also fraught with frailties that define the human nature. Messi is no God, and this season, the Barcelona legend has shaken hands with that reality. He...
11:56 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Nyon: UEFA says Chelsea captain John Terry is eligible to lift the Champions League trophy even though he is suspended for the final against Bayern Munich. UEFA told The Associated Press in a statement that "John Terry will be allowed to lift the trophy if Chelsea win, and collect medals." UEFA says Terry can join his teammates in the dressing room in Munich on May 19. However, he cannot sit...
09:39 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Manchester: Manchester United fans should get used to fighting for trophies with bitter rivals Manchester City, manager Alex Ferguson said on Thursday. United visit City on Monday holding a three-point advantage at the top of the Premier League, though City's superior goal difference means a win will move them ahead with two games left. Ferguson said the investment City's owners have ploughed into the club makes it more likely that...
09:28 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Barcelona: Barcelona playmaker Xavi will be out of action for around 15 days with a damaged left calf muscle, the Spanish champions said on Thursday. The Spain international has been struggling with a calf problem all season and has only completed two of their last eight matches, while looking far from his best. He has 14 goals from 47 appearances this season so far. One of Barca's leading players, he...
09:22 AM, Apr 27, 2012
London: The English Premier League has been forced to scrap team handshakes before Sunday's match between Chelsea and Queens Park Rangers due to John Terry's looming racism trial. The Chelsea captain, who denies wrongdoing, is accused of hurling insults and racially abusing at QPR defender Anton Ferdinand, who is black, during their EPL encounter in October. Terry faces a criminal trial in July from the incident that led to him...
09:11 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Barcelona: Rumours swirled around the Spanish press on Thursday that Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, distraught after their Champions League exit and La Liga troubles, may announce on Friday that he is leaving the club at the end of the season. The vastly successful 41-year-old - whose contract expires at the end of June - had a three-hour meeting with club president Sandro Rosell on Thursday to discuss his future, the...
08:50 AM, Apr 27, 2012
Madrid: Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 3-1 on penalties on Wednesday to secure their place against Chelsea in the Champions League final following a memorable contest between the long-time European rivals. Cristiano Ronaldo looked to have put the home side on their way to the final with two early goals, but just like their Spanish rivals Barcelona the evening before, Madrid faltered. Hungarian referee Victor Kassai awarded Bayern a penalty...
03:40 AM, Apr 26, 2012
Barcelona: With a Barcelona shirt on, pretty much everything has gone right for Lionel Messi in the past four seasons, a run of form that has helped the Catalan club to 13 trophies and the Argentine to three World Player of the Year awards. Messi, who is yet to convince many of his compatriots he is the true heir to Diego Maradona, had scored an astonishing 63 goals in all...
11:07 PM, Apr 25, 2012
Milan: Atalanta and Cagliari took giant steps toward avoiding relegation by beating Chievo Verona and Catania respectively in Tuesday's rearranged Serie A games. Maxi Moralez scored the only goal of the game to hand Atalanta a 1-0 win. The Argentine had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half. Cagliari won 3-0 after Thiago Ribeiro put his team in front following a horrendous error from Catania goalkeeper Pietro...
10:07 PM, Apr 25, 2012
Manchester: Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour has insisted the he is satisfied with the performance of manager Roberto Mancini and the players this season. The Blues were in pole position for six months from September onwards, but a run of just two wins from five matches during March allowed rivals Manchester United to leapfrog them into first place. City face their local rivals in the Manchester derby on April 30,...
03:51 PM, Apr 24, 2012
