LONDON (AP) ― Arsenal remains on course for another season in the Champions League after beating Newcastle 3-0 at home on Monday.The win puts Arsenal four points clear of Everton in fourth place with two games to play in the Premier League, a position which would qualify the club for Europe’s top competition for the 17th straight year.Having been contained for the first quarter of the match, the hosts found their rhythm after defender Laurent Koscielny gave the Gunners the lead in the 26th minut

Korean World Cup hopeful Park Joo-ho said Monday he will try to fully recover from a nagging foot injury in time to make the national team for the big tournament.The 27-year-old fullback returned home from his Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05. Park underwent a minor procedure to treat inflammation on his right foot on April 7, and Mainz 05 granted him his wish to go through rehab at home and prepare for the World Cup in Brazil scheduled to kick off in June.Park told reporters that he won’t let his i

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City took charge of the Premier League title race as Edin Dzeko and Yaya Toure scored first-half goals for a 2-0 win at Crystal Palace on Sunday.After leader Liverpool lost 2-0 against Chelsea at home, City cut its deficit to three points with one game in hand. If it wins the three remaining matches and keeps a superior goal difference, Man City will be crowned champions.Recovered from a thigh problem, Toure made a spectacular return to competition, setting up Dzeko’s op

South Korean World Cup hopeful Park Joo-ho will return home from his German-based club before the conclusion of the season there, his agency said on Friday, as the fullback hopes to recover from a foot injury and make the national team for the big tournament.The Seoul-based agency GSEN said Park, who plays for FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga, will arrive in South Korea on Monday. The German club has three games remaining this season.Park underwent a minor procedure to treat inflammation on his ri

FC Seoul advanced to the knockout stage in the AFC Champions League with a victory over a Chinese opponent this week.FC Seoul edged out Beijing Guoan 2-1 at home Wednesday night.The K League Classic club clinched the top seed in Group F with 11 points, and joined two other South Korean teams, Pohang Steelers and Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors, in the last 16.FC Seoul will face Kawasaki Frontale of Japan, the runner-up in Group H, in the home-and-away series. (Yonhap)

Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors and Ulsan Hyundai met contrasting fates at the AFC Champions League this week, with only Jeonbuk moving on to the knockout stage at the top Asian club soccer competition.Jeonbuk played Melbourne Victory of Australia to a scoreless draw on Tuesday at Jeonju World Cup Stadium, about 240 kilometers south of Seoul. The result secured Jeonbuk a second place in Group G with two wins, two losses and two draws, good enough to reach the round of 16.Also on Tuesday, Ulsan crashed ou

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― David Moyes was fired as Manchester United manager Tuesday, paying the price for the club’s spectacular and sudden decline in his 10 months in charge since replacing Alex Ferguson.United released a brief statement on its website, saying Moyes has “left the club” and that it “would like to place on record its thanks for the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role.”There was no initial announcement about who would replace Moyes.Moyes’ position has been in

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Manchester City stayed alive in the English Premier League title race by beating West Bromwich Albion 3-1 thanks to first-half goals by three Argentines on Monday.Pablo Zabaleta and Sergio Aguero struck in the opening 10 minutes at Etihad Stadium to set third-place City on its way to a victory that trimmed the gap to league leader Liverpool to six points, with a game still in hand.Graham Dorrans’ spectacular 16th-minute volley halved West Brom’s deficit but Martin Demi

LONDON (AP) ― Liverpool secured a return to the Champions League on Sunday.But there’s a much bigger prize just around the corner.What was looking like a gripping finale to the Premier League title race is starting to turn into a procession for the Reds after they beat Norwich 3-2 to move five points ahead of Chelsea with three matches remaining.A first English championship in 24 years is within Liverpool’s grasp after the win at Norwich, which was paced by Raheem Sterling’s two goals and a 30th

BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona’s president and manager defended Lionel Messi on Saturday from criticism for his erratic play during the team’s recent collapse, and made sure to stamp out any talk of the club’s all-time leading scorer leaving Camp Nou.Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said the club would offer to improve Messi’s contract so he “will lead the future’’ of the team, while coach Gerardo Martino diverted the blame for their struggles to his own coaching performance.In the past two weeks,

Pohang Steelers secured a place in the round of 16 at the AFC Champions League, while FC Seoul took a huge step closer toward the knockout phase at the annual Asian club football competition on Wednesday.The two K League Classic sides both enjoyed group stage victories. Pohang defeated Cerezo Osaka 2-0 in their Group E match in Osaka, as Lee Myung-joo and Kim Seung-dae had a goal apiece.Pohang, with one match remaining, clinched the first place in the group with 11 points and booked a ticket to