Atletico defeat Real Madrid, Barca scrape past third-tier rivals in Copa

Antoine Griezmann and Rodrigo Riquelme’s extra-time goals helped Atletico Madrid defeat rivals Real Madrid 4-2 and advance to the Copa del Rey quarterfinals on Thursday. Barcelona advanced to the last 16 after an uninspiring 3-1 victory against third-tier Unionistas de Salamanca. Atletico won an intriguing duel at the Rojiblancos’ Metropolitano stadium, the second of three … Read more

Napoli see off Fiorentina to reach Italian Super Cup Final

Napoli put their recent woes behind them on Thursday, defeating Fiorentina 3-0 in Riyadh to advance to the Italian Super Cup final. Giovanni Simeone started the scoring in the 22nd minute at a sparsely filled Al-Awwal Park, before Alessio Zerbin sealed Napoli’s victory with two late goals, his first for the Italian champions. Napoli will … Read more

Australia edge Syria 1-0 to reach Asian Cup knockouts

With an underwhelming 1-0 win against Syria on Thursday, Australia joined hosts and holders Qatar in the Asian Cup’s last 16. On the hour mark, Jackson Irvine scored his second goal of the competition, swivelling in the area and poking the ball past custodian Ahmad Madanieh’s legs. Graham Arnold’s Socceroos have advanced to the knockout … Read more

Jordan Henderson leaving Saudi for Ajax: reports

Jordan Henderson is one step closer to leaving Saudi club Al-Ettifaq after passing a physical with Dutch side Ajax, according to a source close to the discussions. The 33-year-old England midfielder has just been at the Saudi club for six months after departing Liverpool, where he guided them to their first league championship in 30 … Read more

France ministry searched in Neymar PSG transfer probe: report

The French finance and economics ministries were searched earlier this week as part of an investigation into Brazil football player Neymar’s 2017 sale to Paris Saint-Germain, a source told AFP on Thursday.  Officers from anti-corruption sections conducted the searches on Monday, raising concerns that PSG may have gotten preferential tax treatment as part of the … Read more

Much-fancied Morocco enjoy strong start

Shock Morocco, the 2022 World Cup semi-finalists, defeated 10-man Tanzania 3-0 in the first match of the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday, while Zambia, the 2012 winners, held the Democratic Republic of Congo. Captain Romain Saiss, Azzedine Ounahi, and Youssef En-Nesyri scored for Morocco at the Ivorian beach city of San-Pedro, while Tanzania’s Novatus … Read more

ICC bans Nasir Hossain for two years

Nasir Hossain, a Bangladesh all-rounder, has been banned from all cricket after admitting to violating the ICC Anti-Corruption Code while competing in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2021. Nasir, who was accused by the ICC in September 2023, agreed to three offences and received a two-year suspension, six months of which were suspended. Nasir … Read more