Jose Mourinho's reshaped Manchester United destroyed Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1 with a performance that thrilled Old Trafford on Saturday and justified his decision to leave out Wayne Rooney. The shake-up seemed to liberate Paul Pogba who led the way with a polished display, heading his first goal for the club on 42 minutes and starting the clever move that led to Juan Mata firing home United's second after 37 minutes.
Ahead of their high-profile clash on Saturday, check out the five standout clashes between Arsenal and Chelsea.
Barcelona made a brisk start to the season with new coach Luis Enrique at the helm in place of Gerardo Martino and a host of additions to the squad, including midfielder Ivan Rakitic and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Leicester beat Southampton to open seven-point gap at the top.
Sulley Muntari salvaged a point for AC Milan with a second-half equaliser in a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Monday that saw visiting AS Roma slip five points behind Serie A leaders Juventus.
Leicester City has a chance to go top of the English Premier League table with a maximum nine points.
Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal smashed home a second-half penalty to earn a 1-0 win at home to Monaco in an absorbing Champions League quarter-final first leg on Tuesday, leaving the tie on a knife-edge.
Chile got the victory they needed if they are to have any chance of progressing from a daunting Group B when they held off a strong Australian fightback to emerge 3-1 winners in another open and entertaining World Cup clash on Friday.
A round-up of Wednesday's league stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
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.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez scored a magnificent first-half goal, and later missed a penalty, as the runaway Serie A leaders won 1-0 at home to mid-table Genoa on Sunday.
Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
Arsenal shoved Chelsea off the top of the table but Leicester City's Jamie Vardy, with a dazzling hat-trick, was the man of the moment on Saturday as the struggling Premier League champions blew aside Manchester City 4-2.
Surprise leaders Leicester City face a severe test of their Premier League title credentials over the next 10 days, starting with Saturday's trip to Manchester City.
Holders Bayern Munich crushed Hanover 96 4-1 with two goals from Thomas Mueller to reach the German Cup round of 16 On Wednesday.
Antonio Conte, who spends matches ranting incessantly at his players and the referee from the touchline, is one of the most passionate coaches at Euro 2016 and has led an ageing, technically-limited side further than many felt possible.
Liverpool, level on points with Manchester United, can add to the pressure if they take three points at West Ham United in Saturday's lunchtime kickoff.
Sean Dyche's Burnley side looked to have secured a crucial point in their fight to move clear of the bottom three but Eriksen broke their hearts with a clinical finish for third-placed Spurs in the 91st minute.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has underscored the unpredictable nature of the Premier League this season, stating that it seemed as if "nobody wants to win the league".
Liverpool put their recent troubles behind them, showing touches of their best early-season vibrancy to overcame Arsenal 3-1 at a jubilant Anfield and leapfrog the Gunners into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
A superbly-executed strategy by coach Antonio Conte helped Italy to a deserved 2-0 win over Belgium in their Euro 2016 opener with outstanding goals by Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle on Monday.
A bizarre own goal briefly gave Serie A leaders Juventus the jitters, triggering memories of last week's dramatic collapse at Verona, before they recovered to beat lowly Chievo 3-1 on Sunday.
Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
Having battled to break down one of Europe's meanest defences in the quarter-finals, Real Madrid will have to do it all over again when they face Juventus in their Champions League semi-final.
Juventus will be hoping to make it 11 victories out of 11 against French teams in knockout ties when they face AS Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Spain fullback Mario Gaspar scored with a stunning volley and midfielder Santi Cazorla added a late goal as the European champions handed England a chastening 2-0 defeat in a friendly between the continental heavyweights on Friday.
Uruguay's Luis Suarez has been suspended for nine matches and banned for four months from any football-related activity for biting an opponent, during the World Cup match against Italy.
Kevin De Bruyne, Kelechi Iheanacho, Raheem Sterling and Ilkay Gundogan gave Man City a 4-0 win over Bournemouth before Nolito was sent off.
Undefeated Bayern Munich stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday that ended a four-game winning streak in the league but they remain four points clear at the top.
Premier League leaders Leicester City moved even closer to the title by winning 2-0 at relegation-threatened Sunderland on Sunday. England international Jamie Vardy put them ahead in the 66th minute and he added his second -- and 21st of the season -- in added time. That left them 10 points ahead of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who play Manchester United later on Sunday. With five games left, Claudio Ranieri's unfashionable side need a maximum of nine more points to become English champions for the first time. Sunderland remain in the bottom three, four points behind Norwich City, who they play next Saturday. "It was tough, we knew it would be, but we ground it out," Vardy told Sky Sports. "We know it's a step closer but you never know what can happen. "The main thing now is we've got to take it into the next week."
Inter Milan earned a 2-0 victory over Livorno thanks to a howler from visiting goalkeeper Francesco Bardi, who is on loan from the San Siro club, and a late Yuto Nagatomo strike in Serie A on Saturday.
Brazil playmaker Kaka scored his first goal, a delightful curling shot, since his return to AC Milan at the start of the season but his struggling team were held 1-1 at home by Lazio in Serie A on Wednesday.
Barcelona dropped their first points of the La Liga season as their star-studded forward line misfired in a 0-0 draw away to Malaga on Wednesday.
Manchester City advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals despite suffering their first home loss in over a year, going through 5-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 defeat by Swiss champions Basel on Wednesday.
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Hoffenheim ended champions Bayern Munich's 19-game winning streak in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 3-3 draw after first taking the lead and then fighting back from two goals down.
Aseem Chhabra is impressed by Rima Das's Bulbul Can Sing, Ritesh Batra's Photograph and eight other outstanding films.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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