Football

LONDON: Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel dismissed speculation that forward Timo Werner was unhappy at the club and seeking a return to Germany after failing to settle in English football, saying he had seen remarkable improvement since he took charge. Werner has scored only two goals in his last 26 appearances but Tuchel urged the German forward to trust the process as he was on the right track. "Timo has no reason now to be frustrated because he had an amazing match against Liverpool

JOHANNESBURG: New Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe raised the bar Tuesday (Mar 16) for national teams in the continent by insisting one of them must win the World Cup soon. "An African team must win the World Cup in the near future," said the 59-year-old South African billionaire at a press conference in Johannesburg. Motsepe was elected unopposed last Friday to lead trouble-torn CAF after a two-year ban over "governance issues" prevented Malagasy Ahmad Ahmad seeking re-election for a second

MADRID: Luis Suarez, despite his Champions League goal drought, and Joao Felix, whose future is in question, will start together as Atletico Madrid try to fight back in their second leg at Chelsea, coach Diego Simeone said on Tuesday (Mar 16). "Only one objective: Victory," said Simeone, whose team face a 1-0 deficit in the last-16 tie after losing their 'home' game in Bucharest. "I must find the necessary tools to achieve this." Despite COVID-19 restrictions, Wednesday's game will be played at Chelsea's

MADRID: Real Madrid easily overcame Atalanta 3-1 at home in their Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday (Mar 16) to stroll into the quarter-finals 4-1 on aggregate. Karim Benzema scored a sixth goal in five games to put the 13-times European champions in charge after 34 minutes following a poor kick out by Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello which was intercepted by Luka Modric. Captain Sergio Ramos put Real further at ease when he converted a penalty on the hour, although the Italian

BUDAPEST: Manchester City marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the fourth straight season after a 2-0 win over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday (Mar 16) to complete a 4-0 aggregate victory. First-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan secured a comfortable victory in another impressive display from Pep Guardiola's side in the home leg, played in the Hungarian capital due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. De Bruyne blasted City ahead in the 13th minute with an unstoppable left-footed drive into

Zlatan Ibrahimovic is back in international soccer after nearly five years away — and he announced it to the world in his own inimitable way on Tuesday. “The return of the God,” the charismatic striker said to his tens of millions of followers across social media after being picked by Sweden at the age of 39 for the team’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers. Ibrahimovic, Sweden’s record scorer with 62 goals in 112 games, retired from international duty after the 2016 European Championship but

For his 767th match, Messi was honored by Barcelona with a large image behind one of the goals showing him embracing Xavi as the players looked forward and pointed upward. The banner included the words "767 matches" and “touching the sky. Lionel Messi scored twice as he tied Xavi Hernández's record of most appearances for Barcelona on Monday, putting them within four points of the Spanish league lead after beating last-placed Huesca 4-1. For his 767th match, Messi was honored by Barcelona with

STOCKHOLM: Zlatan Ibrahimovic may be about to thrill Swedish soccer fans again if Janne Andersson names him in his squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers after the pair settled their differences to pave the way for the talismanic striker's return. Ibrahimovic, 39, walked away from the national team after Sweden exited Euro 2016 at the group stage and his relationship with Andersson, who took over after that tournament, was limited to sniping form the sidelines while hinting at a comeback. Throughout that

Luis Suarez will be key for Atletico Madrid if they are to turn around a 1-0 deficit against Chelsea at the Stamford Bridge. Atletico Madrid's hopes of coming back against Chelsea in the Champions League on Wednesday may depend on Luis Suarez returning to form on his return to the country where he became one of the best in the world. Atletico trail 1-0 after Olivier Giroud's bicycle kick lit up an uneventful first game at the Wanda Metropolitano last month and handed

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola played down Oleksandr Zinchenko's comment that the team could win all four trophies this season. Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola moved quickly to quash talk of a historic quadruple on Monday -- after one of his own players said they were capable of a clean sweep of trophies. City face Borussia Moenchengladbach in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in Budapest on Tuesday, well placed to progress after winning the first leg 2-0. The match was switched

In today's QNB Stars League Round 21 match against Al Wakrah, Al Gharafa will be aiming for all three points as the Cheetahs battle for a spot in next year's AFC Champions League. The Week-21 match, which was originally scheduled for April 6, was moved up due to Al Gharafa's play-off with FC AGMK of Uzbekistan in Doha on April 7 place in the AFC Champions League group stage this year. The match at Al Gharafa Stadium is scheduled to begin at 5:00

Borussia Moenchengladbach coach Marco Rose paid tribute to Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola ahead of the two sides' Champions League last 16 second leg, saying the Premier League team are almost playing 'Total Football'. Guardiola's City are league leaders in the English top-flight, boasting a 14-point lead over second-placed and rivals Manchester United. Guardiola, who has guided City to two Premier League titles since arriving in 2016, used the Dutch tactics of 'Total Football' at former club Barcelona after having played under Johan

BARCELONA: Lionel Messi celebrated his record-equalling 767th appearance for Barcelona by scoring two goals in a 4-1 La Liga victory over Huesca which helped the Catalans to move within four points of the top of the table on Monday. Spectacular first-half strikes by Messi and Antoine Griezmann from long-range appeared to have put Barca in the driving seat with the visitors rarely threatening. However, Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was adjudged to have felled Rafa Mir on the stroke of halftime as the

WOLVERHAMPTON: Liverpool breathed new life into their chances of a top-four finish in the Premier League as Diogo Jota returned to haunt Wolves with the only goal in a 1-0 win at Molineux on Monday (Mar 15). A disappointing night for the hosts ended with a bigger concern than just the result as goalkeeper Rui Patricio had to be stretchered off after 15 minutes of treatment for a head injury after he collided with his own player Connor Coady in the closing stages.

Paris Saint-Germain star Angel Di Maria was withdrawn during his side's loss to Nantes on Sunday after he received news that his home had been burgled, AFP reported. PSG told AFP that Di Maria was one of two players who were victims of burglaries during the game. A source close to the investigation told AFP on Monday that although the burglary took place in the presence of Di Maria's family at their home in Hauts-de-Seine, there was no violence. PSG's sporting director Leonardo

Pele has congratulated Cristiano Ronaldo after the Portuguese forward surpassed the Brazilian soccer great's tally of goals scored in official matches. Ronaldo netted a hat trick in Juventus' 3-1 win over Cagliari on Sunday to move onto 770 career goals, three more than Pele. The 35-year-old Ronaldo took to Instagram to recognize his achievement as well as the Brazilian's influence on his career, prompting Pele to reply. "Life is a solo flight. Each makes his own journey. And what a beautiful journey you

KUALA LUMPUR: South Korea will host North Korea for a series of World Cup and Asian Cup qualifiers later this year, the Asian Football Confederation said on Friday (Mar 12). South Korea, who reached the 2002 World Cup semi-finals on home soil, are one of eight countries hosting their respective Asian qualifying groups, in a new format intended to reduce coronavirus risks. China, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Japan are among the other hosts for the postponed games, which will be played from May

West Ham manager is hoping Jesse Lingard sees his future to West Ham; Lingard is on loan from Manchester United until the end of the season; watch Manchester United vs West Ham live on Sky Sports Premier League on Sunday from 7pm David Moyes believes Jesse Lingard will want to stay at West Ham after his loan deal ends. Lingard has been in outstanding form since moving on a temporary deal from Manchester United in January. The 28-year-old England international has four goals

Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho dismissed arch rivals Arsenal as a threat ahead of Sunday's (Mar 14) Premier League north London derby, saying he only looked up the table and not at clubs below them. Spurs are seventh in the standings with 45 points, seven points ahead of 10th-placed Arsenal, who they beat 2-0 in the reverse fixture in December when Mourinho's side were top of the league. Spurs have since lost ground in the title race and though they have not won

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane says he is unsure whether captain Sergio Ramos will stay at the club. Centre-back Ramos, 34, is out of contract at the end of the season. The Spain international has won four Champions League, four Club World Cup and five La Liga titles in 16 years at the Bernabeu since arriving from Sevilla in 2005. "I want to be honest and I have to say I don't know what's going to happen with him," Zidane said. "We want