HONG KONG, October 26 (Reuters): South Korean striker and Asian Champions League record goal scorer Lee Dong-gook has said he will bring an end to his 23-year career at the end of the season. The 41-year-old, who has won two Asian club titles, will play his last domestic league game for Jeonbuk Motors against Daegu on Nov. 1, a match that could bring him an eighth Korean league crown. "It’s been 23 years for me as a pro, however it felt like one lost year for me b

LONDON, October 17 (Reuters): Chelsea were held to a 3-3 draw by a spirited Southampton side who equalised in added time to earn a deserved point in a thriller on Saturday after Timo Werner had scored two early goals for the home side, his first in the Premier League. Southampton's Jannik Vestergaard snatched a point after an injury-time free kick, glancing home Theo Walcott's shot at the end of an entertaining and open game of fluctuating fortunes. "I was

BERLIN, October 17 (Reuters): RB Leipzig muscled past Augsburg 2-0 on Saturday to stay top of the Bundesliga after four matches while fellow title contenders Borussia Dortmund needed a second-half goal by substitute Marco Reus to beat hosts Hoffenheim 1-0. Leipzig, who have now gone a club record nine away games without defeat, struggled throughout the first half but scored on the stroke of halftime when Angelino drilled in a header at the far post from a perfectly-floated Dani

NEWCASTLE, England, September 20 (Reuters): Brighton and Hove Albion got their Premier League season up and running with a clinical 3-0 victory over Newcastle United at St James' Park on Sunday after an early brace by Neal Maupay. The Frenchman put Brighton ahead from the penalty spot in the fourth minute when Allan Saint-Maximin brought down Tariq Lamptey after the teenage wing-back cut inside from the right and darted into the box. Lamptey, 10 days shy of his 20th birt

MANCHESTER, England, September 20 (Reuters): Manchester United's season got underway with a shock 3-1 defeat by Crystal Palace as Wilfried Zaha grabbed a late brace for the visitors in the Premier League on Saturday although VAR was once again the centre of attention over a re-taken penalty. United looked off the pace early on as Andros Townsend put Palace in front after seven minutes, with the home side's campaign starting a week later than initially scheduled due to l

LONDON, September 20 (Reuters): A late goal from substitute Eddie Nketiah gave Arsenal a 2-1 home win over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday after Michail Antonio's first-half strike for the visitors had cancelled out Alexandre Lacazette's 50th goal for the Gunners. West Ham were more organised playing with a five-man defence than in their opening 2-0 home loss to Newcastle United as they faced an Arsenal side fresh from a 3-0 win at promoted Fulham.

(Reuters): Leyton Orient could come up against a familiar face and the sponsor of their playing kit in Harry Kane in the third round of the League Cup after Tuesday's 3-2 victory over Plymouth Argyle earned them a meeting with Tottenham Hotspur. England striker Kane, who made his senior debut with east London side Orient in 2011 when he was on loan for half a season from Spurs, said in May he would sponsor the League Two (fourth tier) club's kit for the 2020-21 campaign

SALONIKA, Greece, Septemebr 16 (Reuters): Former European Cup winners Benfica crashed out of the Champions League third qualifying round after a shock 2-1 defeat at PAOK Salonika on Tuesday as Serbia winger Andrija Zivkovic scored against his former club a week after leaving them. Dynamo Kiev also advanced to the playoff round with a 2-0 home win over Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, as did Belgians Gent after they beat visitors Rapid Vienna 2-1. PAOK'S reward is a two-legged

LONDON, September 13 (Reuters): Everton ended a miserable run of form against Tottenham Hotspur as Dominic Calvert-Lewin's second-half header earned them a 1-0 away victory in their Premier League opener on Sunday. Carlo Ancelotti gave debuts to three new signings including Colombian James Rodriguez but it was Sheffield-born Calvert-Lewin who gave Everton a dream start to the season as he headed powerfully home in the 55th minute. Tottenham also gave debuts to right back

WEST BROMWICH, England, September 13 (Reuters): Even at the ripe old age of 33, Jamie Vardy again looks set to have a prolific season for Leicester City after getting the 2020-21 season up and running with a double in his side's 3-0 win at West Bromwich Albion. Vardy became the Premier League's oldest Golden Boot winner after finishing the 2019-20 season with 23 goals, one more than nearest challengers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Danny Ings. Even with a short break

(Reuters): Scott Parker believes his newly promoted Fulham need to dip into the transfer market to strengthen their squad as they look to avoid dropping straight back down to Engand's second-tier. Fulham, who were promoted after winning the Championship playoff final against Brentford last season, are being tipped as one of the favourites to get relegated, as they were in 2018-19 after having also been promoted via the playoffs. The London club were thrashed 3-0 by Arsen

GRANADA, Spain, September 13 (Reuters): Granada beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 at home on Saturday on the opening day of the La Liga season, beginning the new campaign as they had ended the last. Elsewhere, Cadiz's return to the top flight after 14 years was spoiled by a 2-0 defeat at home to Osasuna, while Eibar drew 0-0 at home to Celta Vigo, with all matches still taking place without spectators due to coronavirus restrictions. Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid wer

BERLIN, September 12 (Reuters): Eintracht Braunschweig captain Martin Kobylanski scored a hat-trick as the second division newcomers stunned Hertha Berlin 5-4 in the German Cup first round on Friday to kick off the new German football season. The hosts needed just 63 seconds to take the lead in a hugely entertaining game with a 25-metre free kick from Kobylanski in front of 500 fans who were allowed in the 25,000-capacity arena. A Jannis Nikolaou header then bounced off the

STOCKHOLM, September 9 (Reuters): Cristiano Ronaldo rattled home a superb first-half free kick to become only the second male player to score 100 international goals as Portugal outclassed 10-man Sweden 2-0 in their Nations League A Group 3 game on Tuesday. Portugal's captain scored with a dipping set-piece effort just before halftime to join Ali Daei, who netted 109 times for Iran, on a century of goals. The 35-year-old was a constant threat to Sweden's back line in

PORTO, September 6 (Reuters): Nations League holders Portugal made light of Cristiano Ronaldo's injury absence as they swept aside Croatia 4-1 in their opener in the competition on Saturday. European champions Portugal, in impressive form on their return to action after a 10-month new coronavirus hiatus, hit the woodwork three times before Joao Cancelo fired them ahead four minutes before halftime in the League A Group Three match. Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both sco

REYKJAVIK, September 6 (Reuters): England's Raheem Sterling converted a 90th minute penalty to snatch a 1-0 win away to Iceland in their opening Nations League match on Saturday after the home side themselves missed a spot kick in stoppage time that would have salvaged a draw. Sterling got the decisive goal from the spot, after a disappointingly drab game, when Sverrir Ingi Ingason was harshly ruled to have handled the England striker's shot. Ingason, who had thrown

LISBON, August 17 (Reuters): Perhaps the Champions League has, inadvertently, found the right formula for the Netflix era. Rather than having to wait two weeks for the second episode of two-legged knockout games, allowing for distractions and loss of attention, fans have been binge watching the action every night. The COVID-enforced final eight mini-tournament in the Portuguese capital has delivered real drama, with unexpected plot twists in every instalment. The only pit

PORTO ALEGRE, August 14 (Reuters): Paolo Guerrero's second goal in two games helped Internacional towards a 2-0 win over Santos on Thursday and maintained their unbeaten start to the 2020 Serie A season. Guerrero, who scored the winner last weekend in Inter's 1-0 win over Coritiba, headed in from close range 13 minutes into the second half and Edenilson guaranteed them all three points with a second two minutes from time. The result means Inter are one of only three

RIO DE JANEIRO, August 13 (Reuters): Palmeiras scored first but had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Fluminense in their Brazilian Serie A opener on Wednesday. Luiz Adriano put Palmeiras ahead after 15 minutes only for Evanilson to equalise six minutes before half time with a deflected shot at a closed Maracana stadium. Fluminense lost their opening fixture 1-0 at Gremio on Sunday while Palmeiras’ opening game against Vasco da Gama was postponed due to their appearance in

(Reuters): England women's soccer coach Phil Neville is on Football Federation Australia's (FFA) three-person shortlist for the vacant 'Matildas' job, Britain's Daily Mail has reported. Neville, who guided England to the Women's World Cup semi-finals in France last year, is set to leave his role with the team at the end of his contract in July 2021. The FFA have been on the lookout for a new coach for the women's national side after Ante Milicic s