Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a Europa League night to remember by scoring the first hat-trick of his career as the midfielder inspired them to a 3-1 home win over Belarus champions BATE Borisov on Thursday.
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
Mourinho's tinkerings meant a first start of the season for midfielder Scott McTominay, playing on the right of a three-man defence, while Anthony Martial played instead of the dropped Alexis Sanchez. On this evidence, more changes may be needed when United take on Valencia in the Champions League on Tuesday.
From sharp, flying tackles and tough possession-fights, bloodied noses to scissor kicks in attempt to finding those crucial goals and the ecstatic celebrations thereafter, Rediff.com gives you a quick rewind of all the excitement that has transpired over the last five days across France...
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.
Rafael Benitez was the best tactical manager Steven Gerrard ever played under but the former Liverpool captain said he felt the Spaniard did not like him as a person, according to an extract from his autobiography being serialized in the Daily Mail.
Mourinho's side failed to turn their domination into more goals and things got edgy late on when Saville's shot evaded Gazzaniga who seemed slow to get down.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal will delve into the depths of his squad for the visit to Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday, as an injury crisis engulfs Old Trafford.
Anthony Martial snatched a late winner to send Louis van Gaal's Manchester United into a potentially season-redeeming FA Cup final as the favourites following a 2-1 victory over Everton at Wembley on Saturday.
Lionel Messi's penalty earned Argentina a 2-1 win over Croatia after a fortunate equaliser that stood despite an unintentional handball by Sergio Aguero in a friendly at West Ham United's Upton Park ground on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Jose Mourinho maintained his hold over Arsene Wenger with leaders Chelsea enjoying a routine 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday after the two old adversaries became involved in an ugly touchline spat.
The battle to avoid relegation is now a straight shootout between Hull City and 17th-place Newcastle United, who are two points better off heading into Sunday's final round.
South Korea coach Choi Kang-hee humiliated the Iranian people when he said he had been 'badly treated' in Tehran last year and wanted to stop the West Asian's qualifying for the World Cup, Iran boss Carlos Queiroz said on Thursday.
Chelsea opened up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw against top-four hopefuls Southampton in an absorbing game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Manchester United battled back from two goals down to beat Newcastle United 3-2 at Old Trafford on Saturday as a 90th-minute winner from Alexis Sanchez completed a spirited comeback to ease the pressure on manager Jose Mourinho.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Twelve months on from making the most bizarre of exits from Wimbledon, drama queen Serena Williams will be back at the All England Club next week eager to complete the "Serena Slam".
Manuel Pellegrini berated referee Mark Clattenburg and said his performance cost Manchester City victory after a breathless 2-2 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
David Cameron will return to Downing Street as Britain's prime minister, after an extraordinary election night in which the Tories outperformed even their own expectations and Labour and the Liberal Democrats suffered painful losses.
Unai Emery's side were heading for a demoralising defeat, three days after losing meekly to Sheffield United in the Premier League, but substitute Pepe's late intervention kept the Gunners top of Group F with a maximum nine points.
Arsenal and Chelsea were among seven teams to reach the Europa League knockout stage on Thursday, while last year's runners-up Olympique de Marseille were eliminated at the group phase.
Aston Villa were relegated from the Premier League for the first time since it began in 1992 when they suffered their 24th loss of the season in a 1-0 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Arsenal midfielder Jack Wilshere will be out of action for three months after undergoing ankle surgery, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
A few drops of blood can reveal an amazing amount of information -- from your internal make-up to your food tolerance.
CrystalPalace striker Marouane Chamakh ended an 11-game barren streak to help them beat fellow Premier League strugglers West Ham United 1-0 in manager Tony Pulis's home debut on Tuesday.
Do away with the table salt. A reduction in the intake of salt can help control various kidney problems.
Arsenal's Olivier Giroud produced a piece of New Year's Day magic to keep Arsenal in sight of Premier League leaders Chelsea while Harry Kane's double bolstered Tottenham Hotspur's ambitions as London's triple assault on the title continues.
Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart generated some more negative headlines after a last minute mix-up with Matija Nastasic allowed Chelsea's Fernando Torres to score a late winner in a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Since winning 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg in September, United have scored only twice in three Champions League games. In the Premier League the record is five goals in the last six games.
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.
Rediff.com recaptures these and other exciting sporting moments from the week gone by....
Manchester City overcame a spirited Bournemouth side 3-1 on Saturday to maintain their unbeaten streak and extend their lead at the top of the English Premier League to five points.
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.
Theresa May's ruling Conservatives have not won outright majority in the UK parliament. Snapshots from Britain's post-Brexit snap general elections.
Record signing Mesut Ozil is now over his key penalty miss against Bayern Munich having ended a three month goal drought with a dynamic display in the FA Cup win over Everton, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
On a crazy evening it looked as though Joe Willock's screamer had earned Arsenal a memorable victory, but Liverpool proved irrepressible as their barnstorming season continued.
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