Sports

Iain Hume struck his second hat-trick of the season as defending champions Atletico de Kolkata on Friday became the first team to seal a semifinal berth following their 4-1 rout of FC Pune City.

Alexis Sanchez has been compared to a hunting lion by Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, who says he is amazed by the Chile forward's resilience and powers of recovery.

Victor Mendy scored in the 56th minute to give NorthEast United FC the lead but Reinaldo's strike in the 80th minute helped FC Goa manage a draw at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Fatorda.

South Korean pair Son Heung-min and Ki Sung Yueng and Australian midfielder Massimo Luongo were shortlisted on Wednesday for the Asian Football Confederation's International Player of the Year award.

The FIFA Ethics Committee is seeking life bans for the provisionally banned Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini, sources told CNN-IBN.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has rebuffed calls from angry fans for him to step down and backed coach Rafa Benitez after Saturday's humiliating 4-0 defeat at home to Barcelona in the La Liga 'Clasico'.

India beat No. 1-ranked Australia 3-2 in the third Test with a last-minute goal from Akashdeep, but lost the three-match series, which stood 1-1 after India's win, in a shootout that ended 3-2 in favour of the visitors.

Nikola Kalinic scored twice in five minutes to help Fiorentina come back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Empoli in a Tuscan derby.

Sameehg Doutie scored twice while Iain Hume and Borja Fernandez scored one goal each as Kolkata registered a comprehensive victory against FC Goa.

Bologna snatched a draw against AS Roma with a late penalty in a thrilling 2-2 draw on a waterlogged pitch, while Juventus beat rivals AC Milan 1-0 at home thanks to a second-half Paulo Dybala strike in Serie A on Saturday.

This will be the first ever international match hosted in Raipur, and a lot of crowd support is expected as was seen in the last match at Rajnandgaon.

Mumbai are sixth on the points table and are four points behind the team on the fourth spot.

There will be place for only one team from the South in the semifinals of the Hero Indian Super League as Chennaiyin FC and Kerala Blasters look to outwit each other in a crucial clash.

Mourinho believes that not having another international break until March will help his team recapture their best form after a woeful start to the season.

After suffering humiliation in their previous matches, NorthEast United FC and Mumbai City FC both will be craving for a win when they face off in an Indian Super League (ISL) football match at the Indira Gandhi Stadium here on Friday.

Former Brazil and Real Madrid's celebrated defender Roberto Carlos on Thursday backed the Los Blancos to win the upcoming El Clasico against arch-rivals Barcelona.