SPORTS

Vigo, Spain | AFP | Zinedine Zidane promised changes but it was a retro Real Madrid that gave the revolution a winning start on Saturday as Gareth Bale led the way in a 3-1 victory over Celta Vigo. Bale was back in the team and back in form at Balaidos, …

Southampton, United Kingdom | AFP | Jurgen Klopp denied that exhaustion was behind Liverpool’s inconsistent display in their hard-fought 2-1 win at Southampton on Saturday. Klopp’s team struggled in the first half and it was completely against the run of play when Sadio Mane put Liverpool ahead in first half …

London, United Kingdom | AFP | Liverpool extended their perfect start to the Premier League title race as Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino sealed a 2-1 win at Southampton, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Burnley on Saturday. Jurgen Klopp’s side matched a club record of …

Madrid, Spain | AFP |  Barcelona made a nightmare start to the defence of their La Liga title on Friday by losing Luis Suarez to injury and then losing 1-0 to Athletic Bilbao, after a sensational late volley from substitute Aritz Aduriz. Suarez hobbled off in the 37th minute with what …

Soweto, South Africa | THE INDEPENDENT |  Serb Milutin “Micho” Sredojevic has resigned his job as coach of popular but underachieving South African club Orlando Pirates exactly two years after he joined them. “The Club would like to place on record that this decision was taken unilaterally, and it was …

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 …