SPORTS

Liverpool, United Kingdom | AFP | Chelsea wasted a chance to move level on points with second placed Manchester United as Everton maintained their improvement under Sam Allardyce in a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday. It marked a sixth game unbeaten for Everton under former England boss Allardyce, …

New York, United States | AFP | A US jury convicted two South American ex-soccer bosses of corruption on Friday but will return after Christmas to deliberate on the fate of a third defendant in the FIFA trial in New York. The panel returned guilty verdicts against Jose Maria Marin, former …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Sevilla sacked coach Eduardo Berizzo on Friday just a month after it was announced the Argentine is suffering from prostate cancer, the club said, citing poor results. “The Sevilla board… has taken the decision to sack the coach of the first team due to the …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Real Madrid realistically need to end Barcelona’s 24-match unbeaten run to maintain hopes of retaining their La Liga title when Spanish football’s two behemoths meet in El Clasico on Saturday (1200GMT). Barca lead fourth-placed Madrid by 11 points at the top of the table, albeit Real …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Cristiano Ronaldo trained alone on Thursday ahead of Real Madrid’s clash against Barcelona this weekend, after sustaining a knock to his calf during the Club World Cup in Abu Dhabi. The Portugal star received rough treatment as he scored the winner in last Saturday’s 1-0 victory …

Berlin, Germany | AFP | Thomas Mueller scored the decisive goal as Bayern Munich fought to a 2-1 victory over rivals Borussia Dortmund to reach the German Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. Goals from Jerome Boateng and Mueller gave Bayern a comfortable lead before half-time, but Andriy Yarmolenko’s second-half header made …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Championship side Bristol City dumped Manchester United out of the League Cup on Wednesday, scoring with seconds remaining to beat the holders 2-1. In the other quarter-final, Chelsea beat Bournemouth 2-1 with goals from Willian and a late strike from Alvaro Morata. FT: Bristol …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Often symbolised as pitting the pride of Catalonia against Spain’s capital, the ‘El Clasico’ between Barcelona and Real Madrid is a match laced with political and social as much as sporting tension. Even more so this week when the sides face off in Madrid on Saturday …

Miami, United States | AFP | Serena Williams says she has struggled with her baby daughter’s teething pain even as she tweeted a photo hinting she might be working on a comeback to defend her Australian Open title. The 23-time Grand Slam singles champion and former world number one drew sympathetic …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte says he will give his young players another chance to shine in Wednesday’s League Cup quarter-final at home to Bournemouth. Conte fielded weakened teams in the earlier rounds against Nottingham Forest and Everton and although the semi-finals are now …