English Clubs

In the early hours of Monday morning, Christopher Aurier — the 26-year-old brother of Tottenham defender Serge Aurier — was shot dead not far from a nightclub in the west suburbs of Toulouse. 

Christopher himself was a footballer who played for the RC Lens academy before stops in England, Qatar and Belgium. To commemorate his life, friends gathered at the Stade des Minimes, a local pitch where they played together, to pay tribute to him.

In the wake of Manchester City overturning its two-year ban from European competition, the only take I really appreciated was this one. It’s sarcastic.   

Seems like football's golden era of financial fairness is coming to an end. You mark my words, it'll be dominated by money from now on.

LONDON — An underwhelming Chelsea boosted their chances of a berth in next season’s Champions League, overcoming a slow start to beat relegated Norwich City 1-0 at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.

Olivier Giroud scored with virtually the last touch of the first half as Chelsea consolidated third place in the Premier League and moved four points above Leicester City and Manchester United in the battle for a top-four finish. After the goal, he shoved Jorginho to focus on hugging American winger Christian Pulisic, who set up the goal.

The brother of Tottenham Hotspur's Ivory Coast defender Serge Aurier has been shot dead in France, the Premier League club said on Monday.

The brother, Christopher Aurier, was shot at a nightclub in the early hours of Monday morning in the southern French city of Toulouse, according to La Depeche, a French media outlet.

The suspected gunman fled the scene and is being sought by police, according to a French police source.

Serge Aurier, who is 27, joined Spurs in 2017 from French club Paris St-Germain.

Manchester City's two-year suspension from European football was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday, allowing the club to compete in next season's elite Champions League competition.

CAS ruled that City did not breach Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules by disguising equity funding as sponsorship. Sport's highest court also reduced a fine for failing to cooperate with UEFA to $11.3 million from $34 million. 

Bournemouth breathed life into its Premier League survival bid on Sunday, coming from a goal down to beat fourth-place Leicester City 4-1 for a first win in 10 games.

Leicester were in command after Jamie Vardy's scrappy first-half goal. But with the relegation trapdoor creaking underneath their feet, Bournemouth turned the match around in stunning fashion with Dominic Solanke scoring twice.

With Serge Aurier on his back and Davinson Sánchez and Harry Winks converging, Alexandre Lacazette took two touches into space before rifling a 20-yard effort beyond Hugo Lloris to open the scoring in Sunday’s North London derby at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. 

The natural sound — enjoyed through the NBC Sports website stream — perfectly captured the violence of Lacazette’s punishing finish. The highlights provided by NBC and Telemundo include the simulated crowd noise, but Lacazette’s punt is still audible and the “SHWACK” of the net remains entirely satisfying. 

BRIGHTON, England — Raheem Sterling struck a hat trick as Manchester City crushed Brighton 5-0 at the AmEx Stadium in the Premier League on Saturday.

Second-placed City had lost their previous three away games but never looked likely to extend that streak against a Brighton side that struggled from the outset.

Brighton-Man City Highlights