News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas scored their first goals for ManchesterCity who avenged last season's shock FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic with a 5-0 victory in the League Cup third round on Tuesday.
Written off last season as a sub-standard misfit with a comical haircut, there are signs that Marouane Fellaini is finally beginning to feel comfortable in a red Manchester United shirt.
An inspired Matteo Darmian scored his first goal for Manchester United and set up another as Louis van Gaal's side kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney made history by equalling Bobby Charlton's Manchester United record and becoming the club's leading all-time goalscorer after netting his 249th goal (543 matches) during an FA Cup match against Reading on Saturday.
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has eased Real Madrid's injury concerns and could be fit to play in their Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
West Ham bade farewell to the Boleyn Ground after 112 years with a pulsating 3-2 victory over Manchester United to leave the visitors' top-four hopes in tatters on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Steven Gerrard's future at Liverpool may be in doubt but the captain turned back the clock to score in a 3-1 victory at bottom side Leicester City in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
What a difference an international break makes. Before Europe's top domestic leagues were interrupted by players jetting off around the world to play for their countries, Manchester United's supposed new dawn under Louis van Gaal was obscured by dark clouds.
VfL Wolfsburg reached the Champions League last 16 and dealt a knockout blow to Manchester United with a 3-2 victory to claim top spot in Group B and condemn their opponents to the Europa League on Tuesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
The difference in fortunes since Liverpool won 3-0 away to Manchester United in March was illustrated when Louis Van Gaal's team reversed that scoreline on Sunday.
A fixture billed as a pre-Christmas cracker was more 'In the Bleak Midwinter' than 'Jingle Bell Rock' as Arsenal's hopes of regaining top spot in the Premier League fizzled out in a turgid 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
Football's winter transfer window closed on February 1, and, surprisingly, none of Europe's biggies made even a slight move, let alone sign a player.
There was little fanfare but a few lessons perhaps learnt as the most expensive player in the history of English football - Angel di Maria - lasted 70 minutes on his Premier League debut for Manchester United in their goalless draw at Burnley on Saturday.
In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.
Chelsea rode their luck to emerge with a second win in as many English Premier League games on Wednesday after Branislav Ivanovic escaped a red card and then his marker to head them to a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates with a display of free-flowing football that the Gunners have sorely lacked away from home this season.
Charlie Adam scored twice as Stoke City beat Manchester United 2-1 on Saturday to show the flailing Premier League champions it will take more than one big-money signing to improve their fortunes.
Manchester City went 11 points clear with a record 14th consecutive Premier League win in an entertaining derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona registered easy wins, while Manchester United came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and Chelsea surrendered the top spot after a 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
David de Gea's late own goal earned Sunderland a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday and a vital three points in their bid for Premier League survival.
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
City are 18 points clear of second-placed Liverpool after beating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and need just four wins from their final nine games to be sure of the title.
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Glazers are unlikely to ever be liked, let alone loved, by fans of Manchester United. The fiercely private American family that bought the famous English soccer club 10 years ago has been widely depicted by the team's fans and the British media as seeking to bleed the club dry after leveraging it up with debt.
As Manchester United prepare to embark on a new era following Louis van Gaal;s departure, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com offers a diagnosis of what went wrong with the most successful Premier League club after Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day.
Photos from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
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