Watford's hopes of avoiding relegation suffered a double blow on Tuesday when they were thrashed 4-0 at home by Manchester City and then slipped into the Premier League relegation zone after fellow strugglers Aston Villa beat Arsenal in the late game.
Manchester City set a new top-flight record of 15 consecutive wins as their seemingly unstoppable march towards the English Premier League title continued with a 4-0 romp at bottom club Swansea City.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
Tottenham Hotspur's status as Premier League title chasers was seriously harmed on Saturday as they fell to a first defeat in seven league games, losing the lead to go down 3-1 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester United maintained their push for a Champions League place after a Juan Mata goal on Saturday pushed Norwich City to the brink of relegation.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
West Ham United capitalised on two mistakes from Arsenal's new goalkeeper Petr Cech to claim a surprise 2-0 victory at the Emirates and bring the Gunners' early Premier League optimism down to earth with a bump on Sunday.
Juventus ended a difficult week on a high when winger Sebastian Giovinco inspired a 4-1 home win over Bologna on Saturday.
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Wednesday
Manchester United thrashed bottom club West Bromwich Albion 5-0 at the Hawthorns to move three points clear at the top of the English Premier League on Tuesday. Cristiano Ronaldo struck two late goals for the rampant Reds after Dimitar Berbatov, Carlos Tevez and Nemanja Vidic had put the champions in control against 10-man West Brom.
Manchester United's troubled season hit a new low on Saturday as Jose Mourinho saw his gamble on introducing a new tactical system backfire with an insipid 3-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Substitute Alexandre Lacazette ended his goal drought as Arsenal secured their first English Premier League win since New Year's Day with a 4-0 victory over Newcastle United at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday. Lacazette had gone nine games in all competitions without a goal before he found the target with a mis-hit shot in the final moments of the game. The win moves Arsenal up to tenth position and will give them hope they can make a late push towards European qualification for next season.
Bolton Wanderers moved off the bottom of the Premier League and out of the relegation zone with a 2-0 home defeat of Manchester City on Sunday. A poor game was settled by two late goals, the first a close-range effort from Ricardo Gardner and the second an own goal from City defender Richard Dunne.
Tottenham's task was made all the more difficult two minutes before the interval when forward Son Heung-min was sent off
Arsenal coach Arteta has said that Granit Xhaka will stay at the London club while United have new headaches with injuries to Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay.
City have 89 points, one more than rivals Liverpool, with both teams having three games to play -- and none of them against top six opponents.
Marcus Rashford scored twice as holders Manchester United brushed aside second-tier Burton Albion 4-1 at Old Trafford to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday.
Manchester United moved top of the Premier League on Saturday after Dimitar Berbatov struck in the last minute to give them a 1-0 win over Bolton Wanderers.
'It would be a bit ridiculous that 20 years depends on one game and that the future of the club depends on one game'
Liverpool stayed top of the Premier League on Sunday after an emphatic 5-1 win at Newcastle United gave them maximum points from their two Christmas fixtures.
Dutch striker Robin van Persie will return for Arsenal in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final against Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has promised to show plenty of restraint and respect if he inflicts a first Premier League defeat of the season on his former side Chelsea on Saturday.
A summary of Sunday's action in Serie A and La Liga.
The top two teams in the EPL will battle for supremacy at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Manchester United were forced to dig deep to reach the Europa League semi-finals as Portuguese midfielder Bruno Fernandes converted a 95th-minute penalty to secure a 1-0 win over a stubborn FC Copenhagen side after extra time on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Arsenal launched their bid for a first Premier League crown in five years with a comfortable 1-0 win over promoted West Bromwich Albion on the opening day of the season on Saturday. Liverpool, who have their eyes on a first title since 1990, also got off to a winning start by beating Sunderland 1-0 at the Stadium of Light with a late goal from Fernando Torres.
Manchester City to beat second-tier Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 and reach the FA Cup quarter-finals but Jose Mourinho's problems piled up as his Tottenham Hotspur side were bundled out in a penalty shootout by Norwich City.
With new signing David Beckham looking on from the sidelines, the struggling Los Angeles Galaxy were thumped 3-0 by Mexican club Tigres UANL in a friendly on Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of moving into the top four stalled in a 2-2 draw at bottom club Norwich City, while several VAR interventions overshadowed the action. Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
Everton were knocked out of the FA Cup 1-0 by third division Oldham Athletic in the third round.
