Soccer

Organized crime gangs have fixed or tried to fix hundreds of soccer matches around the world in recent years, including World Cup qualifiers, European Championship qualifiers and and two UEFA Champions League games, Europol announced Monday. The European Union's police agency said an 18-month review found 380 suspicious matches in...

Frank Lampard scored his 198th Chelsea goal to seal a 4-1 victory over Wigan, end a four-match winless run and ease the pressure on interim boss Rafael Benitez. When Eden Hazard scored after 56 minutes, doubling the advantage provided by Ramires' 23rd-minute opener, Chelsea appeared to be cruising toward three...

Bradford became the first fourth-tier club to reach the League Cup final for 51 years as it stunned Premier League strugglers Aston Villa with a 4-3 aggregate victory after a 2-1 defeat on Tuesday. Villa was unable to claw back the 3-1 deficit from the first leg of the Capital...

Champion Manchester City lost more ground in the title race as it was held to a 2-2 draw in a thrilling encounter at home to Liverpool. Edin Dzeko's 12th goal of the season put the hosts ahead from close range midway through the first half only for Daniel Sturridge to...

Rafael's exquisite strike helped Manchester United stay on course for the Premier League title Saturday with a 2-0 win as embattled QPR's survival hopes took another blow. The Brazilian right back's first-half effort set Sir Alex Ferguson's side on course for a victory, which was wrapped up 10 minutes from...

Liverpool yielded two goals in less than three minutes to fall 2-0 at Zenit St Petersburg, leaving the visitors' Europa League hopes hanging in the balance. Despite having failed to properly test goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev with a number of chances the Reds seemed to be managing to hold on in...

Argentina brushed aside Venezuela 3-0 to remain top of the CONMEBOL standings in World Cup qualification. Two goals from Gonzalo Higuain plus a Lionel Messi penalty handed Argentina a convincing win in Buenos Aires on Friday night. Real Madrid striker Higuain scored in either half, with Barcelona forward Messi converting...

Manchester United withstood a late comeback from Liverpool to secure a 2-1 win over its great rival on Sunday, tightening the leaders' grip at the top of the Premier League. Robin van Persie's league-high 17th goal of the campaign gave United a 19th-minute lead, and the hosts looked likely to...

Borussia Dortmund’s attempt to appeal the red card shown to striker Robert Lewandowski during their defeat against Hamburg has been dismissed. Lewandowski, 24, was given his marching orders for a foul on Per Skjelbred, with Rafael van der Vaart claiming he convinced the referee to show red by “kicking up...

The United States dropped four spots to No. 32 in the latest FIFA rankings after losing a World Cup qualifier to 51st-ranked Honduras. World Cup champion Spain leads the rankings and African champion Nigeria moved up 22 places to No. 30 after its victory over Burkina Faso in the African...

The chance of Real Madrid meeting Barcelona in the Champions League final at Wembley remained alive when the Spanish giants were Real Madrid will face Galatasaray while Barcelona will meet Paris Saint-Germain in quarterfinal matches that will be played April 2-3 and April 9-10. The complete Champions League draw set...

Munich is the first applicant to the German Football Federation to be the country's host city for the 2020 European Championship. Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says Munich is bidding to host the final and semifinals, as well as three group games and a knockout match. Flanked by Bavarian governor Horst...