Algerian club JS Kabylie became the first qualifers for the African Champions League semi-finals after forcing a heroic 1-1 draw at Egyptian giants Al-Ahly.
Title holders TP Mazembe from DR Congo surrendered their unbeaten group phase record when crashing 3-0 at Esperance of Tunisia and other weekend matches produced wins for Entente Setif of Algeria and Heartland of Nigeria.
Kabylie, winners of the competition in 1981 and 1990 when called the African Champions Cup, came from behind before a sell-out 74,000 Cairo crowd and played the second half a man short.
Mohamed Geddo Nagy, leading scorer at the 2010 African Nations Cup in Angola with five goals, headed record six-time champions Ahly in front on 22 minutes off an Ahmed Fathi cross.
Saad Tedjar levell…
Barcelona put their weekend humiliation at the hands of Hercules behind them with two-goal Lionel Messi inspiring a 5-1 Champions League rout of Panathinaikos on Tuesday in their Group D opener.
Barcelona fell behind to a Sidney Govou goal on 20 minutes but responded with three goals in 24 minutes with Argentine Messi scoring twice, in the 21st and 45th minutes, and Spanish star David Villa netting his first Champions League goal for Barcelona.
Pedro Rodriguez and Brazilian Dani Alves scored late goals to complete the rout while Messi came agonisingly close to a hat-trick missing a penalty and hitting both posts in the second half.
It was a big win from the 2009 champions as they gave the perfect reply to Saturday s painful 2-0 league defeat to promoted Hercules…
Diego Simeone says the contrast in budgets between Atletico Madrid and big-spending city rivals Real has no bearing in a one-off derby as the two get set to meet at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday.
Real are among the richest clubs in the world and their spending power has enticed the likes of Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos to the Spanish capital in recent times.
Conversely, Atletico are forced to take a more conservative approach in the transfer market and Simeone has earned credit for constantly reinventing his side and making them genuine title contenders – even beating Real and Barcelona to Liga glory in 2013-14.
And Simeone says the outlay of the two teams counts for little when battle commences on the pitch, telling a pre-match news confere…
Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen appear to be on the lookout for defensive reinforcements ahead of the January transfer market.
Die Werderaner sit in third place in the league, level on points with second-placed Borussia Monchengladbach after eight rounds of action in German top flight.
In an attempt to maintain their run for the top-four finish, Werder Bremen are said to be looking for winter reinforcements, especially in defensive department.
According to reports coming from Poland, Werder Bremen have set their sights on the Wisla Krakow defender Zoran Arsic.
The 24-year-old Croatian joined Wisla on a free transfer from NK Osijek in the summer of 2017 and went on to make 31 appearances in the Ekstraklasa during his debut season at the club.
Twel…
Lionel Messi wants to leave Barcelona and Cesar Luis Menotti would like to see him play for Manchester City or Bayern Munich.
Six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi told Barca on Tuesday he wants to leave and it is believed he intends to use a clause in his contract that allows him to terminate their agreement following the 2019-20 season.
City, where former Barca boss Pep Guardiola is in charge, Paris Saint-Germain and Inter have been touted as potential next destinations for the 33-year-old.
The Catalan giants have expressed a desire to keep Messi at Camp Nou, but Menotti, who led Argentina to World Cup glory in 1978 and coached Barca between 1983 and 1984, would not be averse to seeing him play elsewhere.
I have not spoken with him, he must be deciding the…
A Richarlison brace and Seamus Coleman s first goal since January 2017 gave Everton a 3-1 win over Brighton and Hove Albion at Goodison Park.
The Brazil forward s fifth Premier League goal of the season put Marco Silva s men ahead after 26 minutes but their advantage was short-lived – Lewis Dunk heading the Brighton equaliser seven minutes later.
Everton s strong start to the second half proved key as long-serving Toffees right-back Coleman restored a lead Richarlison would enhance 13 minutes from time.
Victory moves Everton up to ninth in the table, while Brighton are 12th – enjoying a three-point cushion between themselves and West Ham in 13th
Gylfi Sigurdsson made a horrible hash of his shot on the end of Coleman s 11th-minute cutback.
The…
Jurgen Klopp admitted he deserved to be sent off against Manchester City, but the Liverpool manager also aired his disappointment at the officiating during his team s 1-0 win at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah scored the only goal of a frenetic game on Sunday, latching onto a long pass from Alisson with 14 minutes remaining to finish past Ederson.
It was City s first Premier League defeat of the season, but the visitors were left frustrated when Phil Foden s second-half strike with the score at 0-0 was chalked off after referee Anthony Taylor was asked to look at the pitchside monitor by the video assistant referee, which showed Erling Haaland pulling over Fabinho in the build-up.
City boss Pep Guardiola and Klopp both showed frustration at Taylor s decisions through the …
Arsenal are willing to pay £55 million for Chelsea forward Kai Havertz, according to . The report has claimed that Arsenal are keen on securing the services of Havertz in the summer transfer window and are ready to pay £55 million for him, but Chelsea want £70 million for the Germany international.
Real Madrid are also keen on the 24-year-old, who can operate as an attacking midfielder or as a forward. Los Blancos are on the hunt for a new striker following the departure of Karim Benzema this summer. Madrid have been linked with Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe as well.
Havertz made 30 starts and five substitute appearances in the Premier League for Chelsea this past season, scoring seven goals and providing one assist in the process. The Chelsea no. 29 also…
Former Germany international Gerald Asamoah has tipped his nation to go close to winning the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
The Ghana-born Schalke forward, who represented Germany 43 times between 2001 and 2006, believes Joachim Low s men are well-placed to go all the way.
But he is wary of several other countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Spain, as well as Chile.
I felt we could ve already won it in 2010but we have an even better chance this time around, Asamoah told the Bundesliga website about Germany s chances.
The boys have matured, plus a number of quality players have come through.
I firmly believe Germany can become world champions, although they re of course not the only ones to have improved in recent years.
Like most, Asamoah believes th…
Udinese s Czech striker Matej Vydra wants to return to the Premier League permanently following his loan spell with West Brom.
The 22-year-old has spent the last three seasons away from his parent club with Belgian side Club Brugge, Championship outfit Watford and finally West Brom.
Vydra scored 22 times while at Vicarage Road and, despite struggling for regular playing time at West Brom, managed three goals in nine starts during a turbulent season for the Premier League club.
Having come close to relegation after replacing Steve Clarke with Pepe Mel, West Brom managed to secure their top-flight status and Vydra is eager for a return to England.
I am a Udinese player but I have spoken to my agent and he says there s interest in me in England and Germany, he to…