Liverpool cranked up the pressure on West Ham United manager Slaven Bilic with a 4-1 victory at the London Stadium, while Burnley's remarkable start to the Premier League season continued thanks to a 1-0 victory at Southampton on Saturday.
Ireland beat Bosnia 2-0 to qualify for their second successive European championship finals on Monday, progressing 3-1 on aggregate after a Jon Walters brace secured a second-leg playoff win at the Aviva Stadium.
Rediff.com has this and a whole lot more exciting action from the week gone by, encapsulated in this photo feature.
The last three league meetings between the two sides, including October's game at Anfield, have ended in draws but Lovren said Liverpool were intent on coming away with all three points on Saturday.
Former Manchester United striker Andy Cole is recovering in hospital after undergoing a kidney transplant, the club said in a statement on Friday.
Mohamed Salah was inevitably on the scoresheet as Liverpool took full advantage of the inactivity of their top-four rivals to thrash West Ham United 4-1 at Anfield and provisionally move into second in the Premier League.
Title-chasing Tottenham Hotspur made hay in the sunshine as Son Heung-min scored twice in a 4-0 thrashing of Watford that closed the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea to four points in Saturday's early kickoff.
Antonio Valencia's early thunderbolt put Manchester United en route to a 4-0 Premier League victory over Everton on Sunday, but they needed a flurry of late goals to finally subdue their unfortunate visitors.
Chelsea brushed aside London rivals West Ham United with a 2-1 away win that restored their 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Monday.
Marouane Fellaini scored late in extra time to spare Everton's blushes as they came from a goal down to beat League One (third division) Stevenage 2-1 and reach the League Cup third round on Wednesday.
English football clubs splurged on the final day of the transfer window, laying out 210 million pounds to take total gross spending to a record-high 1.4 billion pounds as the Premier League again flexed its unrivalled financial muscles.
'The problem with Petr is that an opponent is better than before'
All eyes will be on Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal when he takes his team to Derby County for an FA Cup fourth-round tie on Friday with the fans' boos from their home defeat by Southampton still ringing in his ears.
Fourth-tier Newport County stunned former FA Cup winners Leeds United with a last-gasp 2-1 win in the third round to spark a joyous pitch invasion at their Rodney Parade ground on Sunday.
Under-fire manager Louis van Gaal said he would not quit after Manchester United extended their run without a victory to eight games in all competitions with a 0-0 draw with champions Chelsea in the Premier League on Monday.
Manchester United's winless run continued but they gave under-fire coach Louis van Gaal crumbs of cheer with a committed display in an entertaining 0-0 draw with Chelsea while Arsenal went top of the table on Monday.
Manchester United against Chelsea has often been a seminal fixture in deciding the destiny of the Premier League title in recent years but Monday's clash at Old Trafford has a very different backdrop.
Manchester United's insistence on playing possession football under manager Louis van Gaal means they take far more passes for every shot than any other Premier League team, statistics released on Monday showed.
The visitors got off to the perfect start when a mix up at the back saw Riyad Mahrez square for Jamie Vardy to tap into an open goal in front of the Kop in the third minute. Liverpool looked for an immediate riposte, but Salah missed two gilt-edged opportunities before Sadio Mane saw an effort disallowed for offside as Juergen Klopp's men grew frustrated.
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Manchester City soared above the fog swirling round the Etihad Stadium to demolish Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 and leave the rest of the Premier League peering into the distance in search of Pep Guardiola's record-breaking team on Saturday.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho believes that not having another international break until March will help his team recapture their best form after a woeful start to the season.
'Tottenham's teamwork which has given them a chance of reeling in Leicester.'
Milan replaced Gennaro Gattuso with former Sampdoria coach Giampaolo during the close season in a bid to improve on last season's fifth place and to take them back to the Champions League.
Leicester City's Premier League title defence got off to a terrible start as they were beaten 2-1 at promoted Hull City, who shrugged off an injury crisis to shock the champions on the opening day of the new season on Saturday
Mourinho's men came from 1-0 down to send the tie into extra time but Chelsea's miserable season continued unchecked as they failed to find a winner against a Stoke side that played with 10 men for all of extra time.
Chelsea's terrible start to the season plumbed new depths on Saturday when the Premier League champions lost 2-1 at West Ham United.
Late goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott spared Arsenal's blushes and kept them top of the Premier League in a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City as title rivals Manchester City and Chelsea also won on Wednesday.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa is uncertain to start their Premier League game against Stoke City as he tries to shake off the lingering effects of a hamstring injury, manager Jose Mourinho said on Friday.
There may be little glamour in being a mid-table Premier League team but this season suggests that those clubs who become bored with such an existence can find the alternative is far worse.
Saturday's clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford is already shaping up as an early-season eliminator to challenge runaway leaders Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Alvaro Morata again proved decisive from the bench by striking a late winner against Athletic Bilbao and firing a lacklustre Real Madrid to the top of La Liga on Sunday. The Spain international has been afforded limited opportunities in his first season back at Real following two years with Juventus, struggling to usurp first choice forwards Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Morata has made just four league starts, but has scored four times in all competitions.
Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino was angry after his side surrendered the lead for the second straight week in a 1-1 Premier League draw at in-form Leicester City on Saturday.
Manchester City stayed ahead of age-old local rivals Manchester United at the top of the Premier League on Saturday with a deserved 1-0 win away to champions Chelsea.
Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola, including six in the Premier League, as they recorded their best start to a top-flight campaign. City's victory was the perfect riposte to the Spaniard's old rival Jose Mourinho, who earlier saw his remodelled Manchester United sparkle without the dropped Wayne Rooney, thumping Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1. On a day of goals, both Manchester sides were outscored by Liverpool, who crushed Hull City 5-1 to take their tally to 24 in the past eight games.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has dismissed suggestions that midfielder Paul Pogba faces a lengthy lay-off because of a hamstring injury sustained in the Champions League defeat of Basel on Tuesday.
"Diego Costa's out which means we have to solve that problem in 24 hours," new interim coach Guus Hiddink told reporters.
Manchester United's struggle to achieve a top-four finish continued on Tuesday as Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to their rescue with an added time penalty to salvage a 1-1 draw against Everton in their Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was charged with misconduct by the FA on Thursday following comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
