German soccer teams started the week in isolation on Monday after going into seven-day quarantine ahead of the Bundesliga season restart on Saturday, with club bosses saying completing the campaign amid the coronavirus outbreak will not be easy. The German Football League (DFL) decided last week to resume the first and second division from May 16 after a two-month suspension, making it the first major sports league to attempt a restart.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
Mario Balotelli lit up the Riviera derby with two goals on his Nice debut to hand them a 3-2 victory over Olympique Marseille on Sunday -- his first league goals for a year. The 26-year-old former Inter Milan and Manchester City striker opened the scoring from the penalty spot after seven minutes and struck again 12 minutes from full time when he headed home a Ricardo cross.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp is expecting his toughest test yet in a Merseyside derby when his side face local rivals Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.
Chelsea beat Sheffield United 2-0 to reach the FA Cup semi-finals for the fourth time in five seasons.
Sadio Mane struck four minutes into stoppage time to give Liverpool a last-gasp 1-0 win over derby rivals Everton that lifted them into second place in the English Premier League.
A stunning strike from 18-year-old Curtis Jones gave a youthful Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton in their FA Cup
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has been given a two-match cup ban for using provocative language after their King's Cup last-16 first-leg clash against Espanyol, the Spanish federation said on Friday. At the end of a bad-tempered derby on Wednesday which Barca won 4-1, insults were exchanged by both sets of players in the tunnel after leaving the pitch.
The first leg of Djokovic's Adria Tour is being held at his tennis complex by the Danube River, with Germany's Alexander Zverev, Austrian Dominic Thiem and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov arriving for the event.
La Liga leaders Barcelona drew 0-0 at Huesca on Saturday and are nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who cut the gap by beating Celta Vigo 2-0.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa and Arsenal's Gabriel Paulista have both been charged by the Football Association after incidents in Saturday's bad-tempered Premier League derby at Stamford Bridge.
Barcelona beat local rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Catalan derby on Saturday to maintain their 10 point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid scraped a 3-2 win against bottom side Huesca on Sunday.
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title since 1990 on Saturday when their 3-0 win at Bournemouth combined with Manchester United's 2-1 victory at Manchester City to leave the champions 14 points adrift of the Premier League leaders.
Queens Park Rangers have launched an investigation after Chelsea players were pelted by objects thrown from the crowd in Sunday's west London derby.
Barca, chasing a third consecutive Spanish title, are on 76 points after 35 games while Real Madrid are top with 77 and can restore their four-point advantage when they host Alaves on Friday.
Bayern come from behind to beat gutsy Mainz 2-1 and widen gap.
FC Goa took the lead through Igor Angulo (20th minute) and Redeem Tlang (23rd) before Suresh Wangjam (33rd) reduced Bengaluru's deficit.
'We felt a bit like we got the Ashes stolen the other day'
Liverpool's poor run of form will count for little when they host arch-rivals Manchester United on Sunday (19.30 IST), United manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.
'He was a very shy man of few words. Whenever we spoke about girls, he would run away.'
Pakistan expects England to reciprocate and tour in 2022.
Joint-leaders Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool both dropped points on a busy day of English Premier League action as Leicester City and Southampton narrowed the gap in what is shaping up to be one of the most open title races for years.
'Yes, I was sure this was the right decision. We brought Roberto Firmino on for Mo Salah. We could have scored before, we could have scored afterwards, we could have scored all the time. We lived more or less in their box'
AS Roma midfielder Kevin Strootman's two-match ban for simulation during his team's 2-0 win over local rivals Lazio on Sunday has been overturned, the Italian FA said on Friday.
Premier League leaders Arsenal host north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the standout tie in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup made on Sunday.
Barcelona fall to shock Malaga defeat.
Not since the glory days of 40 years ago have City fans approached a Manchester derby with such high hopes as they will take into Sunday's Premier League clash at Old Trafford (1800 IST). ince winning the league in 1968 and giving United a farewell shove out of the old first division in 1974, City fans have been forced to dine on meagre derby rations.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Spanish second division side Rayo Vallecano refused to turn up for the first day of group training due to a dispute with the club hierarchy over a pay cut for staff and players, a club source said on Monday.
The United fans, who celebrated the victory at the end of the game with the manager and players, have not been the source of criticism of Solskjaer -- indeed the Norwegian has enjoyed strong backing from supporters who attend games at Old Trafford and those who travel away.
Leicester pushed forward after the interval but were caught out on the break in the 64th minute when Ritchie's pass released Wilson who coolly rounded Schmeichel before sliding home.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez secured victory over nine-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga's top of the table clash, while Juventus won a 12th straight Serie A game to stay hot on the heels of leaders Napoli.
Arsenal ended their seven match winless run in the Premier League with a surprise 3-1 London derby victory over Chelsea at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday while Manchester United were held to a 2-2 draw at Leicester City.
Rayo Vallecano beat Albacete 1-0 on Wednesday as Spanish football returned in bizarre circumstances from its COVID-19 hiatus with the second half of a match that first kicked off six months ago but was suspended due to offensive chanting. The second division encounter, played without fans in attendance, was the first Spanish football match to take place since March after all soccer was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Levski Sofia fans force players to remove shirts after derby defeat
Italy's Fabio Fognini said it was a 'strange feeling' playing a Davis Cup tie with no fans. Japan were also playing their tie against Ecuador in an empty stadium in Miki because of the coronavirus spread, which has played havoc with sporting fixtures across the world.
Barcelona travel to newly-promoted Osasuna without their first choice front line.
After an almighty push by all parties concerned, Spain's La Liga roars back into action next week after a three-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with matches taking place every day and with everything to play for. The season resumes on Wednesday in bizarre circumstances with the second half of a Segunda Division match between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete that was abandoned in December due to offensive chanting.
