SPORTS

Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as holders Real Madrid thrashed Apoel 6-0 in Cyprus to reach the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday, while Liverpool blew a three-goal lead in a thriller at Sevilla. Zinedine Zidane’s Real bounced back from their 3-1 loss at Tottenham Hotspur last time out by crushing Apoel, with four of the goals coming before halftime. The ...

Italian soccer federation (FIGC) president Carlo Tavecchio resigned on Monday, a week after the national team failed to qualify for the World Cup finals. Referees association president Marcello Nicchi told reporters that Tavecchio had quit during a meeting at FIGC headquarters in Rome. Tavecchio, 74, had been under pressure to step down after a goalless draw at home to Sweden ...

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane insists he is still “optimistic” as the Spanish giants look to shrug off a poor run of form in La Liga by securing their place in the Champions League last 16.European champions in each of the last two seasons, Madrid will be guaranteed a place in the last 16 with a game to spare in ...

Philippe Coutinho’s long-term future might lie away from Liverpool, but the Brazil star’s ability to focus on the present has helped heal the wounds from his flirtation with Barcelona. When Jurgen Klopp’s side travel to Sevilla for a crucial Champions League clash on Tuesday, they will rely on Coutinho to lead their bid to get the win that would book ...

In a recurring theme of Real Madrid’s stuttering season, Zinedine Zidane protested all his side lacked was a goal as they fell 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after firing more blanks in a bad-tempered Madrid derby. Yet, in attempting to defend a lacklustre performance from Saturday’s stalemate at Atletico Madrid, Zidane turned the spotlight once more on the ...

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid slipped 10 points behind Barcelona at the top of La Liga as a Madrid derby short on chances finished 0-0 at Atletico’s Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday. Earlier, Barca also weren’t at their best but Luis Suarez’s double ended a five-game goal drought for the Uruguayan and Paulinho’s late strike helped see off a determined Leganes ...

Lionel Messi knows the teams he fears most at the 2018 World Cup: champions Germany, Brazil, France and Spain. “I think that at the moment, they’re the strongest teams who look the best, are playing the best, with the best individuals,” Messi told TyC Sports, an Argentine TV channel, last week. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner identified the key criteria ...

Captain Mile Jedinak led the way with a second-half hat-trick as Australia brushed aside Honduras 3-1 in the second leg of their intercontinental playoff on Wednesday to secure a place at next year’s World Cup finals. The midfielder settled his compatriots’ nerves with a deflected free kick and two penalties to give Australia a comfortable aggregate victory after the 0-0 ...

Nigeria’s football federation (NFF) has signed an agreement with its players which it says will avoid the bonus and pay rows that have blighted the team’s past World Cup campaigns. In a statement, the NFF described it as an “historic and binding agreement that will eliminate all manner of rancour and distractions around Nigeria’s preparation and participation” at the World ...

Diego Maradona criticised the faltering Argentina team on Wednesday and appealed for another chance at managing the national side. A day after they lost 4-2 to Nigeria in a friendly in Russia, Maradona, who last managed Argentina at the 2010 World Cup, hit out the current set up in a short Instagram message. “I am angry because they have thrown ...