Chelsea coach Antonio Conte welcomed the pressure other clubs are trying to maintain on his runaway Premier League leaders and said he expected a battle until the season is over.
Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the very best players from what has been an outstanding tournament.
Panathinaikos secured a Champions League qualifying spot by beating PAOK Salonica 2-0 on Sunday to extend their lead in the Super League playoffs to a eight points with two matches left.
Australia replaced injured batsman Shaun Marsh with Phillip Hughes on Thursday while clearing fit-again paceman Jackson Bird to join the team in South Africa for the three-Test series starting on February 12.
Fresh from her triumphant exploits with senior partner Jwala Gutta in the Canadian Open, shuttler Ashwini Ponnappa said the ace Indian doubles pair was now aiming to break into the top ten while qualifying for next year's Rio Olympic Games.
Liverpool head to United with widest gulf in years
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Sunday.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard will be sidelined for at least four weeks with the hamstring injury he picked up last weekend, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday.
'If the chairman is happy then I'm happy'
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will stop wearing a yellow protest ribbon if the Premier League-leading club's officials ask him to or if it adversely affects the team's form.
Liverpool have extended captain Jordan Henderson's contract, the Premier League side said on Tuesday, putting an end to speculation over his future at the Merseyside club.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has warned his players that Manchester City's 'magicians' can pick up three points even if the Foxes play a perfect game, when both sides meet in the Premier League at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
India's Jwala Gutta on Tuesday confirmed she will reunite with former partner Ashwini Ponnappa.
Arrizabalaga appeared to be injured as he prevented City's Sergio Aguero from scoring in the closing moments of extra time, and manager Maurizio Sarri ordered his substitution before Chelsea went on to lose the showpiece match 4-3 on penalties.
Reaction to Arrizabalaga's refusal to be substituted
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech has given an insight to the multinational shape of the modern Premier League by revealing he speaks to his defenders during matches in three languages.
Former France and Chelsea striker Nicolas Anelka will return to Mumbai City FC as the team's marquee player-manager for the second season of the Indian Super League (ISL), the club announced on Friday.
Juergen Klopp's side returned to English Premier League action on Friday with a hunger and desire that suggested they have spent the close-season break chomping at the bit to get back on the field.
After a string of defeats, defender Danny Simpson admits that Leicester City is struggling. Here is how they can do better
Inter Milan are on the verge of signing Manchester United captain Nemanja Vidic, with president Erick Thohir saying on Thursday that the deal was almost finalised.
Stoke City manager Mark Hughes says he will not contest the Football Association's misconduct charge against him after he was sent off in Saturday's 4-0 Premier League defeat by Tottenham Hotspur.
The nominees are Congresswoman Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior, Jennifer Granholm as Energy Secretary, Michael Regan as administrator for Environmental Protection Agency and Brenda Mallory as Chair of the Council of the Council on Environmental Quality.
Gerard Delofeu's late goal earned Everton a deserved 1-1 draw at Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday after Mesut Ozil's strike seemed set to seal three points for the home side.
Liverpool face Spurs in the game of the weekend, a day after title rivals Manchester City travel to struggling Fulham.
Salah, 25, struck four goals in Liverpool's 5-0 thrashing of Watford that lifted them back into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
A plane carrying a banner declaring 'White Lives Matter Burnley' flew over Manchester City's Etihad Stadium on Monday at the start of the Premier League game against Burnley.
The Group L fixture, to be played under tight security in the Serbian capital, comes after England's black players suffered racist abuse at their Euro 2020 qualifier at neighbouring Bulgaria on October 14.
Manchester United hope to feel the immediate benefit of a warm weather break in the Middle East before two important games in the next four days, manager David Moyes said on Friday.
Manager Claudio Ranieri is confident that nerves will not derail Leicester City's season, after watching his team defeat Watford 1-0 to stretch their lead at the top of the Premier League table.
At the start of the season Leicester City fans could hardly have imagined their side would take the Champions League by storm.
Although United made a bright start to their quarter-final second leg at the Nou Camp with Marcus Rashford hitting the crossbar early on, they were soon outclassed by Barca, who eased to a 3-0 win on Tuesday for a dominant 4-0 aggregate victory.
Images from Sunday's English Premier League matches.
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
IMAGES from EPL matches played on Wednesday
The racist chants took the shine off a great day for Chelsea who have tightened their grip on fourth place.
Two goals from Marcus Rashford gave United a 2-0 lead after 24 minutes and Juan Mata went close to a third with a bicycle kick inside the area. Liverpool had plenty of possession after the break but apart from Eric Bailly's 66th minute own goal, they created few real chances.
Seasonal cheer has been scarce for Louis van Gaal after a six-match winless sequence for his Manchester United side intensified rumours that he will be sacked and Stoke City are unlikely to be offering any solace on Saturday.
Manchester City have never gone past the semi-final stage of Europe's premier club competition.
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