Football

Ishfaq Ahmed's role at Kerala Blasters will not be limited only to the playing but it is going to double up this season of the Indian Super League (ISL) as he is the assistant coach to Peter Taylor.

Coach Rafa Benitez blamed anxiety after Real Madrid were knocked off the top of La Liga following a 0-0 home draw against Malaga on Saturday.

Manchester United defender Luke Shaw is expected to be sidelined for at least six months after breaking his right leg in two places, manager Louis van Gaal said on Friday.

The 24-year-old Gabriel was sent off during the Gunners 2-0 league defeat at Chelsea following an altercation with striker Diego Costa.

The fall-out from feisty derbies against Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur continued to dominate the build-up to Arsenal's important weekend game away to Leicester City, with manager Arsene Wenger not knowing whether defender Gabriel can play.

FC Pune City on Thursday unveiled their home and away kits in the presence of star players Adrian Mutu, Tuncay Sanli, Didier Zokora and Eugeneson Lyngdoh while announcing a three-year partnership with sportswear giant adidas.

Alex Ferguson lined up Pep Guardiola as his potential successor at Manchester United but the Spanish coach didn't call him before taking the Bayern Munich job.

Former India footballer and member of the 1962 Asian Games' gold medal winning squad Prashanta Sinha passed away, here on Tuesday.

Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson is facing up to two months on the sidelines after breaking a bone in his foot during a training session, British media reported on Saturday.

"There's nothing better than a game against Arsenal to win and fix this situation. If we win then we'll take a step forward in terms of confidence and points," said Costa.

Borussia Dortmund needed a stoppage-time goal for their 10th straight win to start the season, beating Krasnodar 2-1 in the Europa League.

"Di Maria is rising to the top. He arrived late to the preparation and he was injured too. I think we were right to put him to work physically and rest him," said Blanc.

Bhutia believes merging of Indian Super League with I-League to create one competition will not be a good decision at this point of time for football in the country.

A new technical ranking system of the Asian Football Confederation has placed India in 22nd spot among the continent's 46-member countries.

Martial introduced himself to Manchester United fans with a superb goal to complete a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool and cap a much-improved performance from Louis van Gaal's side on Saturday.