LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United and Arsenal won 1-0 in replays Wednesday night to reach the fourth round of the FA Cup, while Chelsea’s Premier League title chances were set back with a 2-2 tie against visiting Southampton.Wayne Rooney scored in the ninth minute at home against West Ham in his first game in three weeks following a knee injury. United next plays Fulham.Arsenal needed Jack Wilshere’s 86th-minute goal to defeat Swansea and advance to a fourth-round game against Brighton.After third

Jan. 17, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― American midfielder Stuart Holden played his first game in 16 months and only his second in 22 months, returning from knee surgery as Bolton defeated Sunderland 2-0 Tuesday night to advance to the FA Cup’s fourth round.Holden entered in the 74th minute of the third-round replay. The 27-year-old, a member of the 2010 U.S. World Cup team, injured his right knee during a challenge by Manchester United’s Jonny Evans during a Premier League game on March 19, 2011. Holden returned from s

Jan. 16, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United’s seven-point lead over Manchester City stayed intact Sunday after the title-chasing rivals defeated two former powers in the Premier League.United scraped its way to a 2-1 victory at home against Liverpool. City won 2-0 at Arsenal after playing against 10 men for most of the match.Robin van Persie sent United on the way to victory over its greatest rival at Old Trafford with his league-high 17th goal of the season. Nemanja Vidic unwittingly made it 2-0 but United

Jan. 14, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Chelsea routed Stoke 4-0 Saturday to move into third place in the Premier League, taking advantage of Jonathan Walters’ two own goals and missed penalty kick.Walters headed the ball into his own net on attempted clearances in the second minute of first-half stoppage time and in the 62nd.Frank Lampard converted a penalty kick in the 65th for his 194th Chelsea goal, moving past Kerry Dixon into sole possession of second place on the club scoring list behind Bobby Tambling’s 202. Eden

Jan. 13, 2013

INCHEON (Yonhap News) ― Hong Myung-bo, who coached South Korea to the men’s soccer bronze medal at the London Olympics, said Thursday he was looking forward to a fresh start as he is about to begin coaching training at a Russian professional club under his old mentor.Hong left for the United Arab Emirates Thursday to join FC Anzhi Makhachkala’s training camp during the midseason break in the Russian Premier League. There, he will receive training under the team’s head coach, Guus Hiddink.Hiddink

Jan. 10, 2013

LONDON (AP) ― Swansea beat Chelsea 2-0 in the first leg of the League Cup semifinals Wednesday, capitalizing on two defensive lapses by Branislav Ivanovic. The result moved the Welsh team a step closer to its first major final.Michu made the most of Ivanovic’s poor control to open the scoring from the edge of the penalty area in the 39th minute. It was the Spaniard’s 16th goal of a spectacular first season in British soccer.Ivanovic then made a sloppy back pass that was seized by Danny Graham, w

Jan. 10, 2013

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA has extended the match-fixing sanctions on 41 players in South Korea to worldwide lifetime bans.The scandal goes back to 2011 when more than 50 players and coaches in the K-League were indicted for accepting money to fix matches.Forty-one players received life bans from the K-League and the Korea Football Association.FIFA said Wednesday that its disciplinary committee extended the sanctions so they take effect worldwide.However, FIFA said it would offer 21 players who admitted

Jan. 10, 2013

 The global football governing body said Wednesday it has extended domestic match-fixing sanctions on 41 South Korean players to worldwide lifetime bans."FIFA can today confirm the extension of sanctions on 41 players from (South Korea) related to a domestic match-fixing investigation dating back to the summer of 2011," the Zurich-based FIFA said in a press release. "All 41 players have been sanctioned with a lifetime ban from all football activity by the K League and the Korea Football Associat

Jan. 9, 2013

Kim Seok-han, the former head of the Korea Middle School Football Association, on Wednesday became the first to register as a candidate for the country’s top soccer job, officials said.Kim became the first among five hopefuls to formally enter the race for the chairman post at the Korea Football Association, said the country’s governing body of the sport. The middle-school association said Kim submitted the necessary candidature files at the KFA headquarters in Seoul on Wednesday.  In November l

Jan. 9, 2013

With joining a first-division South Korean club, North Korean footballer Jong Tae-se said Tuesday he’d like to act as an “ambassador” for inter-Korean sporting exchange.Jong, who last week agreed to terms set by the Suwon Samsung Bluewings in the K League Classic, arrived in South Korea Tuesday.After undergoing medical tests, he will be officially introduced as Suwon’s newest member on Thursday.The 28-year-old forward left 1. FC Koln in the second-division German league to become the fourth Nort

Jan. 8, 2013

Lionel Messi won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award on Monday as an expected reward for his astonishing 91-goal year for Barcelona and Argentina in 2012.Aged just 25, Messi has now been voted the world's best player for an unprecedented fourth straight year as the outstanding talent of his generation.Messi beat his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Spanish champion Real Madrid and Barcelona teammate Andres Iniesta, who starred as Spain won the 2012 European Championship.``To tell the truth, this is reall

Jan. 8, 2013

BARCELONA (AP) ― Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova returned to the sideline after missing just one game following surgery Dec. 20 to remove a tumor from a saliva gland, and his team routed crosstown rival Espanol 4-0 in the Spanish league.Lionel Messi, expected to win a record fourth straight FIFA Player of the Year award on Monday, converted a penalty kick in the 29th minute to give Barcelona a four-goal lead, his 27th league goal of the season and 36th overall. Messi has scored in eight straight l

Jan. 7, 2013