Gareth Southgate's plea for England to play with adventure and style was answered only fitfully as his reign as caretaker manager began with a 2-0 win over Malta in a World Cup Group F qualifier on Saturday.
Alexis Sanchez had equalised for the visitors, scoring on the rebound after Manuel Neuer saved his 30th-minute penalty but the Gunners suffered when captain Laurent Koscielny limped off injured to leave the defence exposed.
Breaking records has become Cristiano Ronaldo's favourite pastime. Very few footballers can do everything and Ronaldo is of that rare breed
A headed goal in second-half injury time by Cristiano Ronaldo gave Portugal a much-needed 1-0 win over Denmark in their Group I Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Serge Gnabry continued his impressive scoring run for Germany, netting in second-half stoppage time for his ninth goal in his 10th international, completing Germany's eighth consecutive win over Northern Ireland.
Bayern Munich put upstarts RB Leipzig firmly in their place by sweeping to an emphatic 3-0 home win, with all the goals coming in the first half, in a disappointingly one-sided top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on Wednesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Ireland stunned world champions Germany 1-0 thanks to Shane Long's 70th-minute strike on Thursday to throw Euro 2016 qualifying Group D game.
Poland struck twice on the break to stun wasteful World Cup winners Germany 2-0 on Saturday, earning their first ever victory over their illustrious neighbours and taking control of Euro 2016 qualifying Group D.
Mario Mandzukic and Nikola Kalinic grabbed hat-tricks as Croatia achieved a record win as an independent nation by demolishing San Marino 10-0 in their final Euro 2016 warm-up match in Rijeka.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
Robert Lewandowski scored a brilliant free kick to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid in their last Champions League Group D outing on Tuesday, ending the 100 percent record of their opponents. The Poland international curled the ball over the wall and into the corner of the net in the 28th minute but the goal had no impact on the final standings with Atletico guaranteed top spot and Bayern in second place.
Isco scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time as Spain launched an improbable fightback to snatch a 2-2 friendly draw against England with both their goals coming after the 89th minute at Wembley on Tuesday.
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of Wednesday's league stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
A round-up of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid sealed top spot in Champions League Group D after second half goals from Frenchmen Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann but Napoli were held to a 0-0 Champions League draw at home by Dynamo Kiev.
Chelsea struck the woodwork twice but could not find a breakthrough in an entertaining 0-0 Champions League draw at Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday that left everything to play for in Group G.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
It will have made uneasy viewing for coach Jorge Sampaoli and emphasised more than ever how reliant his side are on their talisman Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
