(Reuters): Brazil's six-times world player of the year Marta has tested positive for COVID-19, the country's soccer governing body (CBF) said on Saturday. Marta, 34, has been withdrawn from the national team that is set to face Ecuador in two friendly matches at home on Nov. 27 and Dec. 1. The CBF did not give any details about the forward's condition but they have informed her club, Orlando Pride in the National Women's Soccer League, saying they would provi

RIO DE JANEIRO, November 22 (Reuters): Flamengo returned to the top of Brazil’s Serie A on Saturday with a 3-1 win at home to Coritiba. Bruno Henrique put the home side one up after just three minutes when he headed home a cross from Giorgian De Arrascaeta and then De Arrascaeta turned scorer 24 minutes later when his shot wrongfooted the goalkeeper. Rene completed the scoring for the reigning champions with 15 minutes of the second half gone. William Mattheus score

MADRID, November 22 (Reuters): Atletico Madrid pulled off their first La Liga win over Barcelona in more than a decade as Yannick Carrasco capitalised on a blunder from Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to secure a 1-0 victory at an empty Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday. Belgian winger Carrasco broke the deadlock at the end of the first half, pulling off a classy backheel to knock the ball through the legs of Ter Stegen and keep his composure in front of goal after the German

(Reuters): Cristiano Ronaldo moved level on eight Serie A goals for the season with AC Milan's Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Saturday as he and the Swede continue to defy their advancing years and show the youngsters how it is done. With a combined age of almost 75, you could forgive both Ronaldo and Ibrahimovic for at least showing signs of weariness, but the goals show no signs of drying up as the pair drive their teams to the top two spots in the standings. Coming into Juve&#

MANCHESTER, England, November 22 (Reuters): A twice-taken penalty from Bruno Fernandes gave an unimpressive Manchester United a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, their first home victory of the Premier League season. Fernandes's first effort was saved by West Brom keeper Sam Johnstone but referee David Coote ordered the kick be re-taken after ruling the keeper had come off his line. The Portuguese midfielder made no mistake with the second attempt. Winl

LONDON, November 22 (Reuters): Tottenham Hotspur moved top of the Premier League after a classic Jose Mourinho inspired performance delivered a 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City on Saturday. Goals in each half from Son Heung-min and substitute Giovani lo Celso, secured the three points and a fourth straight league win for Spurs, who are two points ahead of second-placed Chelsea. Mourinho's men grabbed the lead in the fifth minute when Son got round the

FRANKFURT, Germany, November 22 (Reuters): RB Leipzig wasted their chance to join champions Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga after drawing 1-1 at Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday. The Bavarians had earlier slipped up at home against Werder Bremen by the same score, giving Leipzig a chance to join them on 19 points with a win. Instead it was the hosts who scored first, with Aymen Barkok breaking the deadlock two minutes from halftime. The Morocco international slo

BELO HORIZONTE, November 9 (Reuters): Eduardo Sasha’s double helped Atletico Mineiro move into second place in Brazil’s Serie A on Sunday with a 4-0 drubbing of reigning champions Flamengo. The Belo Horizonte side got off to a flying start and were 2-0 up after eight minutes thanks to goals from Sasha and Keno. Sasha got his second after an hour with a delightful diving header and then Federico Zaracho piled on the misery for the Rio club when he slipped a fourth

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