SPORTS

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Frank Lampard admits his first match as Chelsea manager at Stamford Bridge will be a proud occasion, but only a win against Leicester will make Sunday’s homecoming a truly memorable occasion. After successive defeats in his opening two competitive games in charge, Blues legend Lampard …

Madrid, Spain | AFP | Barcelona have an “agreement in principle” to send Philippe Coutinho on loan to Bayern Munich, both clubs confirmed Friday. Coutinho was left out of the squad for Barca’s La Liga opener against Athletic Bilbao on Friday, with club director Guillermo Amor confirming the Brazilian is close …

Nairobi, Kenya | AFP |  A Kenyan court on Friday sentenced two rugby players to 15 years in prison for the gang rape of a female singer at a birthday party last year. The international rugby sevens players Frank Wanyama, 24, and Alex Olaba, 23, were earlier this month found …

Paris, France | AFP | The saga of Neymar’s seemingly inevitable departure from Paris Saint-Germain is proving a long, drawn out affair bringing the curtain down on what will ultimately feel like a fleeting and failed experiment. Having arrived in France in 2017 hoping a world-record transfer to PSG would help …

Southampton, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool reserve goalkeeper Adrian enjoyed a memorable full debut in winning the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul, but Southampton will hope his penalty shootout heroics against Chelsea simply masked a broader problem ahead of Saturday’s clash at St Mary’s. A Liverpool defence that kept 20 …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP | Jurgen Klopp hailed “incredible” UEFA Super Cup hero Adrian and then admitted he had no idea where the goalkeeper even was a fortnight ago. The Spaniard, only in the side because of an injury to number one goalkeeper Allison Becker, saved Tammy Abraham’s penalty to give …

Seoul, South Korea | AFP | An angry South Korean fan flew to Sweden to confront Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo for sitting out a friendly in Seoul, the latest in a bizarre row that has prompted a police investigation. In an 11-minute clip posted on his Youtube channel, which has racked …

Villar Perosa, Italy | AFP | Paulo Dybala brushed aside speculation over his future with a double for Juventus as Cristiano Ronaldo and new signings Aaron Ramsey and Matthijs de Ligt sat out the club’s traditional alpine curtain raiser on Wednesday. Nearly 5,000 fans crammed into the “Gaetano Scirea” stadium in …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP |  Coach Frank Lampard took great encouragement from Chelsea’s display in the UEFA Super Cup in Istanbul on Wednesday, despite the disappointment of losing on penalties to English rivals Liverpool. “I think we can get better, there are things I still want us to improve on …

Istanbul, Turkey | AFP |  Liverpool beat Chelsea 5-4 on penalties to win the UEFA Super Cup on Wednesday after a richly entertaining match in Istanbul finished 2-2 at the end of extra time. Every penalty in the shoot-out had found the net before Tammy Abraham’s effort was saved by …