عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Sports

African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
TT
TT

African Players in Europe: Ouattara Fires Another Winner for Bees

Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)
Football - Premier League - Newcastle United v Brentford - St James' Park, Newcastle, Britain - February 7, 2026 Brentford's Dango Ouattara celebrates scoring their third goal with Brentford's Rico Henry. (Reuters)

Burkina Faso striker Dango Ouattara was the Brentford match-winner for the second straight weekend when they triumphed 3-2 at Newcastle United.

The 23-year-old struck in the 85th minute of a seesaw Premier League struggle in northeast England. The Bees trailed and led before securing three points to go seventh in the table.

Last weekend, Ouattara dented the title hopes of third-placed Aston Villa by scoring the only goal at Villa Park.

AFP Sport highlights African headline-makers in the major European leagues:

ENGLAND

DANGO OUATTARA (Brentford)

With the match at Newcastle locked at 2-2, the Burkinabe sealed victory for the visitors at St James' Park by driving a left-footed shot past Magpies goalkeeper Nick Pope to give the Bees a first win on Tyneside since 1934. Ouattara also provided the cross that led to Vitaly Janelt's headed equalizer after Brentford had fallen 1-0 behind.

BRYAN MBEUMO (Manchester Utd)

The Cameroon forward helped the Red Devils extend their perfect record under caretaker manager Michael Carrick to four games by scoring the opening goal in a 2-0 win over Tottenham after Spurs had been reduced to 10 men by captain Cristian Romero's red card.

ISMAILA SARR (Crystal Palace)

The Eagles ended their 12-match winless run with a 1-0 victory at bitter rivals Brighton thanks to Senegal international Sarr's 61st-minute goal when played in by substitute Evann Guessand, the Ivory Coast forward making an immediate impact on his Palace debut after joining on loan from Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

ITALY

LAMECK BANDA (Lecce)

Banda scored direct from a 90th-minute free-kick outside the area to give lowly Leece a precious 2-1 Serie A victory at home against mid-table Udinese. It was the third league goal this season for the 25-year-old Zambia winger. Leece lie 17th, one place and three points above the relegation zone.

GERMANY

SERHOU GUIRASSY (Borussia Dortmund)

Guirassy produced a moment of quality just when Dortmund needed it against Wolfsburg. Felix Nmecha's silky exchange with Fabio Silva allowed the Guinean to sweep in an 87th-minute winner for his ninth Bundesliga goal of the season. The 29-year-old has scored or assisted in four of his last five games.

RANSFORD KOENIGSDOERFFER (Hamburg)

A first-half thunderbolt from Ghana striker Koenigsdoerffer put Hamburg on track for a 2-0 victory at Heidenheim. It was their first away win of the season. Nigerian winger Philip Otele, making his Hamburg debut, split the defense with a clever pass to Koenigsdoerffer, who hit a shot low and hard to open the scoring in first-half stoppage time.

FRANCE

ISSA SOUMARE (Le Havre)

An opportunist goal by Soumare on 54 minutes gave Le Havre a 2-1 home win over Strasbourg in Ligue 1. The Senegalese received the ball just inside the area and stroked it into the far corner of the net as he fell.

Most Viewed

 
 
Sports

Real Madrid Rout Elche with Guler 70-Yard Strike

Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Elche - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 14, 2026 Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Cesar Palacios, Dean Huijsen, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Aguado. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Elche - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 14, 2026 Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Cesar Palacios, Dean Huijsen, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Aguado. (Reuters)
TT
TT

Real Madrid Rout Elche with Guler 70-Yard Strike

Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Elche - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 14, 2026 Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Cesar Palacios, Dean Huijsen, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Aguado. (Reuters)
Football - LaLiga - Real Madrid v Elche - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - March 14, 2026 Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Cesar Palacios, Dean Huijsen, Thibaut Courtois and Diego Aguado. (Reuters)

Arda Guler scored from around 70 yards out and Fede Valverde capped an excellent week with another fine strike as Real Madrid thrashed Elche 4-1 on Saturday in La Liga.

Los Blancos, second, cut the gap on Barcelona at the top of La Liga to a point before the Catalans host Sevilla on Sunday.

Uruguayan midfielder Valverde, who scored a sensational hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League in midweek, whipped the ball into the top corner before half-time after Antonio Rudiger blasted the hosts ahead.

Dean Huijsen headed home the third for Alvaro Arbeloa's side, who visit Man City on Tuesday aiming to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.

The goal of the night, though, was scored by Turkish playmaker Guler late on, who spotted Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro off his line and lobbed home from near the center circle.

"He hit the bar (from there in another game) and today he pulled it off, what a goal," Madrid forward Brahim Diaz told Real Madrid TV.

"Everyone had their hands on their head... it's worth buying a ticket to see that goal," added Arbeloa.

Arbeloa was able to rest several of the players that started after the break, including Vinicius Junior and Valverde, bringing on a host of youngsters to keep legs fresh.

Madrid are still without a host of injured stars including Jude Bellingham, while French striker Kylian Mbappe could return from a knee sprain next week.

"We've still got room to improve, the players' commitment is exceptional," a happy Arbeloa told reporters after the convincing win.

Elche, 17th, slumped to an 11th consecutive league game without a victory and could finish the weekend in the relegation zone.

Madrid were on a high after defeating City and although Elche showed some resistance at first, they were gradually unpicked.

After Dituro saved Valverde's free-kick, Elche could not clear the rebound effectively and German center-back Rudiger rifled home in the 39th minute.

Valverde added a second before the break, opening up an angle on the edge of the box and guiding the ball into the top corner for his fifth goal in his last three appearances.

Madrid were cruising and Arbeloa -- a former coach at youth level within the club -- brought on several young players, including Daniel Yanez.

The 18-year-old winger set up Madrid's third with a fine cross which Huijsen nodded home.

"Yanez and (Diego) Aguado are two of the first players I coached when they were 13, 14 years old, to be able to bring them on in the Bernabeu for me is a dream come true," said Arbeloa.

Another one of Madrid's substitutes, Manuel Angel, put through his own net as he tried to cut a ball out with five minutes to go.

However, Guler restored Madrid's advantage from inside his own territory with a shot that flew high over Dituro and sank into the net.

Sports

Medvedev Downplays Indian Wells Win Over Alcaraz, Says Young Guns Still Ahead

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, celebrates after defeating Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during a semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP)
Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, celebrates after defeating Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during a semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP)
TT
TT

Medvedev Downplays Indian Wells Win Over Alcaraz, Says Young Guns Still Ahead

Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, celebrates after defeating Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during a semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP)
Daniil Medvedev, of Russia, celebrates after defeating Carlos Alcaraz, of Spain, during a semifinal match at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament, Saturday, March 14, 2026, in Indian Wells, Calif. (AP)

Daniil Medvedev said ‌his Indian Wells semi-final win over Carlos Alcaraz on Saturday would prove nothing more than a temporary setback for the Spaniard, and that he and Jannik Sinner were playing at a totally different level from the rest of the tour.

Medvedev beat the world number one 6-3 7-6(3) to end his 16-match winning start to the year and ruin the seven-times Grand Slam champion's bid for a third Indian Wells title.

After being overshadowed for so long by the "Big Three" of Roger Federer, ‌Rafa Nadal and ‌Novak Djokovic, the 30-year-old Medvedev and his ‌peers ⁠have found it ⁠just as tough against the dominant duo of Alcaraz and Sinner, who have won 10 of the last 11 Grand Slams.

Asked if Saturday's win showed the young guns were not completely out of reach, Medvedev said he was too old to be thinking about catching them.

"I don't care too much about ⁠these things, because I'm already, first of ‌all, a bit too old. I'm ‌not Next Gen anymore," Medvedev, who will play Sinner in the ‌final, told reporters.

"I had a tough year last year, so ‌even more perspective now that I need to do my best, that's it. Jannik and Carlos are far better than all of us. Only one match we can beat them ... they are so ‌good. They are so much better than us.

"Djokovic, Federer, Nadal were so much better than ⁠us. But ⁠Djokovic, Nadal, and Jannik and Carlos are probably also better than all the ones that were there before. They would struggle against them. It is what it is."

Medvedev said that while the 22-year-old Alcaraz would probably be the favorite every time they meet, he had to go into their matches thinking he can win.

"Maybe I play 10 matches against Carlos, probably I'm going to lose more than I'm going to win," he added.

"But whenever I go on court, I need to believe in myself, I need to do my best, and try to win as much as I can."

Sports

Nine-man Bayern Come from Behind to Rescue 1-1 Draw at Leverkusen

14 March 2026, Leverkusen: Munich's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
14 March 2026, Leverkusen: Munich's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
TT
TT

Nine-man Bayern Come from Behind to Rescue 1-1 Draw at Leverkusen

14 March 2026, Leverkusen: Munich's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa
14 March 2026, Leverkusen: Munich's Luis Diaz celebrates scoring his side's first goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between Bayer 04 Leverkusen and FC Bayern Munich at the BayArena. Photo: Federico Gambarini/dpa

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich had two players sent off and two goals disallowed but came back from a goal down to snatch a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.

Bayern have 67 points ahead of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who closed the gap to nine after a 2-0 home victory over Augsburg, with eight games remaining, Reuters reported.

The Bavarians, fresh from Tuesday's 6-1 demolition of Atalanta in the Champions League last 16, had Nicolas Jackson sent off for a wild ⁠tackle before the ⁠break. Forward Luis Diaz, who scored a 69th-minute equalizer, joined him on the sidelines after a second booking for diving. The hosts made a perfect start when Garcia fired them into the lead as Bayern, with top scorer Harry Kane on the bench, failed to settle.

They put the ball in the net through Jonathan ⁠Tah but the effort was disallowed following a VAR review for hand ball. It got worse three minutes from halftime when Jackson was dismissed for his reckless tackle on Martin Terrier.

Malik Tillman should have added another for Leverkusen when he was sent through with a clever Patrik Schick backheel but the US international fired wide with only Bayern keeper Sven Ulreich to beat.

Bayern's third-choice keeper, making a rare appearance due to injuries to Manuel Neuer and Jonas Urbig, also denied Schick in a one-on-one.

Kane, back ⁠after missing two ⁠matches with a muscle injury, challenged keeper Janis Blaswich and tapped in from close range a minute after coming on, only for the goal to be disallowed for handball by the England captain.

Diaz did better, slotting in after a defensive blunder from Robert Andrich and Michael Olise's record-breaking 17th assist of the season, to level but he got his marching orders six minutes from time for a spectacular dive in the box. There was more late drama when the hosts thought they had won it in stoppage time through substitute Jonas Hofmann's close-range effort but a VAR review showed a narrow offside position.