Get the latest from the world of football and more on Rediff.com.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea look capable of beginning a period of sustained domestic dominance. The average age of their squad is 26.9 -- with most of their key players in or approaching their prime years.
After Sunday's crushing 4-2 derby defeat at Manchester United, even a top four finish and a place in next season's Champions League is no longer a certainty.
After the spectacular implosion of the Jose Mourinho regime at Chelsea, there is now just one world-beating coach left in the global game with a glittering curriculum vitae unsullied by the stain of any striking failure. Step forward then Pep Guardiola...
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool target Chelsea after midweek tinkering, while third-placed Manchester City, whose hopes of qualifying for the Champions League knockout stage were dealt a severe blow in a humiliating 2-1 home defeat by CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, travel south to face struggling Queens Park Rangers.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
Pep Guardiola's appointment at the high-flying Premier League club is certainly ill-timed, argues Bikash Mohapatra.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
A much-changed Real Madrid ground out a 2-0 victory at third-tier Fuenlabrada in their King's Cup last-32 first leg on Thursday, needing two dubious penalties to break down their stubborn hosts as both sides finished with 10 men.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
For Manchester United, the answer to a slump in form or a crisis of confidence comes in 50 pound notes. Millions of them.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The owners of English soccer champions Leicester City say they will resist attempts by more glamorous rivals to lure away their title-winning players, after an unlikely triumph that has captured the imagination of fans worldwide. Duty-free magnate Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha became the first Thai owner of an English Premier League title-winning team on Monday night, when the only club capable of catching them, Tottenham Hotspur, were held to a 2-2 draw by Chelsea. Leicester's journey from 5,000-1 outsiders to English champions has captivated soccer lovers everywhere, but also prompted predictions that the team could be broken up in the off-season as bigger clubs look to poach their best players. "We are not the team that will sell players for money," said Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, the club's vice chairman and Vichai's son, in comments reported by Thai website Manager. "So, I can confirm that we will keep all major players with the team, such as Jamie Vardy, Riyad Mahrez, N'Golo Kante or Kasper Schmeichel."
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 per cent record at the club with a commanding 4-0 victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach in their rearranged Champions League Group C opener on Wednesday.
Samuel Eto'o's hat-trick lifted Chelsea to a 3-1 win over Manchester United on Sunday which all but ended the champions' slim hopes of defending their Premier League title.
Antonio Conte brushed aside the praise being heaped upon him and his high-flying Chelsea team on Friday, adamant that he would not let the plaudits distract them in their surge towards the English Premier League title.
Rediff.com brings you a collection of some of the best sports images from around the world...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
France's hopes of reaching the World Cup finals are hanging by a thread after a 2-0 first-leg defeat away to Ukraine in their playoff on Friday while Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner gave Portugal the edge against Sweden.
Javier Hernandez's late strike kept Real Madrid on course for a record-extending 11th European Cup crown with a 1-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in a tense quarter-final at the Bernebau on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid got their La Liga campaign up and running in less than convincing fashion when Antoine Griezmann's deflected free kick secured an edgy 1-0 win at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
Aditi and Akshay Maliwal are mentoring young sports athletes from Asia to get through to top US universities.
Chelsea icon Frank Lampard scored for Manchester City to end his old club's perfect start to the Premier League season while Leicester City came from 3-1 down to beat Manchester United 5-3 on a remarkable day in the Premier League on Sunday.
You can see Messi, Suarez and other South American superstars play in the Copa America. Why then are soccer fans ignoring the oldest football tournament and looking forward to the European championships, which begins in France on Friday?
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Sweden's footballer of the year for the ninth time and although his eighth victory in a row came as no shock, his acceptance speech showing a more sensitive side surprised many.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
'For its part, Pakistan often gives safe haven to agents of chaos, violence, and terror.'