Madrid (AFP) – David Alaba scored with a stunning free-kick immediately after coming on as a substitute as reigning champions Real Madrid came from behind to beat Almeria 2-1 in their opening game of the season in La Liga on Sunday. Carlo Ancelotti’s side trailed to an early goal by Largie Ramazani away against their newly-promoted opponents, but Lucas Vazquez …

With less than 24 hours separating us from the Old Lady’s maiden official match of the season, the club’s general status remains shrouded with mystery. The management conducted a host of dealings throughout the course of the summer and is still working on bolstering the ranks. Yet, we still find ourselves with more questions than answers. How will Juventus perform …

Milan (AFP) – Roma began their Serie A campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Salernitana on Sunday, while Ciro Immobile shot Lazio to a comeback 2-1 win over Bologna. Paulo Dybala and Georginio Wijnaldum both made their league debuts for Jose Mourinho’s Roma but it was an older hand in Bryan Cristante who decided the match in the 33rd …

Johannesburg (AFP) – Perennial strugglers Chippa United shocked Orlando Pirates 1-0 on Sunday in a South African Premiership third-round match, condemning new Spanish coach Jose Riveiro to his first loss.    Tanzanian Abdi Banda netted four minutes from time for the Gqeberha-based club, rising unchallenged to powerfully nod a corner past Ghana goalkeeper Richard Ofori. The goal stunned Pirates supporters, …

Arthur Melo has been close to a move to Arsenal and Valencia in the last year, but it seems the Brazilian will wear black and white in this campaign again. The midfielder has flopped in Turin since he moved to Juventus and the Bianconeri has been looking for ways to offload him. However, his inconsistent form and poor injury record …

Paris (AFP) – Alexis Sanchez came off the bench to make his debut for Marseille as his new club drew 1-1 with Brest in Ligue 1 on Sunday. The Chilean forward was named among the substitutes by coach Igor Tudor for the game in Brittany, four days after signing a one-year contract. He was introduced at the start of the …

Juventus has been handed a massive boost ahead of their season opener against Sassuolo, as Weston McKennie has returned to training. The American missed most of the club’s preseason because of a shoulder problem and he was expected to be out of action for around a month. With Paul Pogba also pulling up, Juve has been desperate to add new …

Tottenham have levelled the match at 1-1 at Stamford Bridge thanks to a lovely striker from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg The goal came in controversial fashion after Kai Havertz was fouled in his own half by Rodrigo Bentancur but play was allowed to continue and it resulted in a Spurs goal. As the ball moved up the pitch, Chelsea’s Jorginho lost the ball …

Manchester United have reportedly opened negotiations for Espanyol forward Raul de Tomas. According to a recent tweet by the Spanish journalist Pedro Morata of Cope, negotiations between the Red Devils and the Spanish forward have begun for a possible transfer fee of around  £25m (€30m). ? Noticia @partidazocope ? Informa @pedro_morata ? Negociación abierta entre el @ManUtd y @RaulDeTomas9 ? …

Reporting for iNews, journalist Joe Short wasn’t impressed by West Ham skipper for his performance in loss against Nottingham Forest today. Hammers suffered a tough loss on the road with Declan Rice missing a penalty with a chance to level the game in second half. The 1-0 loss means West Ham are scoreless in the first two games of the …