Thiago Motta scored twice to help suspension-hit Inter Milan keep their noses in front in Serie A with a 3-0 win over Bologna on Saturday.
Italy and Nigeria played out a thrilling 2-2 draw which included a goal-of-the-season contender from Shola Ameobi in an entertaining friendly at Fulham's Craven Cottage on Monday.
Inter Milan will have to wait at least another week to seal the Serie A title after drawing 2-2 at Chievo on Sunday.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan handed Genoa their first home league defeat of the season on Saturday when strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli sealed a hard-fought 2-0 victory. With 11 games left, the champions stay seven points clear of second-placed Juventus, who beat city rivals Torino 1-0 thanks to Giorgio Chiellini's 81st minute header from a Pavel Nedved free kick.
Seventh-placed Liverpool, who have 14 points from nine matches, travel to a Newcastle side buoyed by their League Cup victory over Manchester City.
Images from football matches played in Europe on Friday.
New strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano bagged their maiden Serie A goals to give AC Milan their first points of the season with a 2-1 home win over Empoli on Saturday.
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
Wayne Rooney marked his 500th game in English league football with a coolly-taken Panenka-style penalty for Derby County in their 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Championship on Friday. The 34-year-old ex-England and Manchester United captain, who made his debut for the Midlands club earlier this month after returning from a playing stint in the United States, cleverly chipped in a 55th minute penalty for the lead.
The 55 teams have been divided into 10 groups of five or six, and the top two teams in each qualify directly.
Portugal football team captain Cristiano Ronaldo might have some competition in the run for the Ballon d'Or award this year but the forward has no competition when it comes to having the best hair in the game as he won the Salon d'Or for the best hair in the game.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool see Tuesday's Champions League game at holders Real Madrid as a chance to prove their doubters wrong and get their season back on track, said coach Brendan Rodgers and midfielder Jordan Henderson.
Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first Premier League win since August with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.
Liverpool need a top-level striker who can play every week and Daniel Sturridge could lose his role as the club's leading man after an injury-hit season, manager Brendan Rodgers has said.
Inter Milan will have their hardcore 'ultra' supporters present for Sunday's Milan derby after the Italian Football Federation's (FIGC) Court of Justice suspended a partial stadium closure while it carries out further investigations.
A Romelu Lukaku hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Everton at Young Boys and a thrilling 3-3 draw between Celtic and Inter Milan.
AC Milan, Villarreal and Nice reached the knockout stage of the Europa League after posting wins on Thursday in the penultimate round of the group stage.
RB Leipzig continued their remarkable first season in the Bundesliga when they brushed aside Mainz 05 3-1, their fifth win in a row, to go level on points with leaders Bayern Munich on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Former European champions Celtic were helped by two own goals as they thumped Astana 5-0 at home and a late goal from Wissam Ben Yedder gave Sevilla a 2-1 win at Istanbul Basaksehir in torrential rain.
Mesut Ozil guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Napoli while a late Cesc Fabregas header gave Barcelona a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.
World Cup hosts Russia got their Nations League campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win away to Turkey thanks to goals from Dennis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Defender Diego Godin scored a dramatic goal nine minutes from time to send Uruguay through to the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 win over Italy, on Tuesday, which sent the four-times champions home.
Liverpool's Daniel Sturridge is set for a January return, according to manager Brendan Rodgers, who hinted he was unlikely to dip into the transfer market to solve the club's current striker issues.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was adamant that he did not regret his team selection despite falling to a fifth Premier League defeat against table-topping Chelsea on Saturday.
Portugal rested Cristiano Ronaldo and still overcame new-look Italy 1-0 in their opening Nations League match on Monday, giving visiting coach Roberto Mancini plenty to think about. Forward Andre Silva scored three minutes after halftime in the League A Group 3 game to give the Portuguese their first win over Italy in a competitive match since 1957.
The Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) called for a government inquiry into racism in the English game following the match, which Chelsea won 2-0.
Fellow Serie A sides Atalanta and Lazio also won while Portugal's Vitoria Guimaraes began their match against Salzburg with not a single European player in the team.
Two quickfire headed goals from Wilfried Bony and Gervinho helped Ivory Coast recover to beat Japan 2-1 on Saturday as their bid for a first appearance in the World Cup knockout stages got off to a fine start.
Under-fire Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard may not be enjoying his best spell of form but he is still "a top class player", manager Brendan Rodgers said ahead of their Champions League clash with Bulgarian club Ludogorets.
Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League all but ended.
Manchester United are likely to welcome back captain Wayne Rooney from suspension for their visit to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday, hoping the striker can add to his record scoring tally in the derby.
Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez can show Liverpool why he would have made the perfect replacement for Luis Suarez when the Chilean travels to Anfield in the Premier League on Sunday.
Aston Villa will meet holders Arsenal in the FA Cup final next month.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers should explain to the fans his team selection against Real Madrid in Tuesday's Champions League Group B match, UEFA president Michel Platini said on Wednesday.