An Eden Hazard hat-trick swept Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge after previous leaders Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool.
Arsenal ended Leicester City's brief stay at the top of the Premier League on Sunday despite being held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City after Manchester United's Wayne Rooney struck late for a 1-0 win at Liverpool.
Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
Under-pressure Everton manager Roberto Martinez enjoyed some respite as his struggling side won for the first time in eight league matches.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Arsenal suffered another painful Premier League defeat as Swansea City capitalised on some glaring errors to win 3-1 on Tuesday, boosting their survival hopes and denting the visitors' top four chances.
There was the usual frenzy of last-minute deals as the English Premier League brought the curtain down on another bumper European transfer window in which Manchester City again flexed their financial muscle as the continent's top spenders.
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 had to battle back from behind to earn a 1-1 draw against Premier League newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers who gave the champions a real test at Molineux on Saturday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Arsenal delivered a brutal lesson in fast-paced Premier League football to beat Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday, maintaining their faint title aspirations and almost certainly dashing their opponents' hopes of a top-four finish.
Ten of the 16 sides also reached the same round two seasons ago and, as usual, the big five leagues dominate with 13 clubs hailing from either the English, Spanish, German, French and Italian leagues.
Swansea City came from behind to beat Arsenal 2-1 and Tottenham Hotspur's misery continued with a 2-1 home defeat by Stoke City, making it a nightmare Sunday for north London.
Arsenal qualified for a 17th successive season with a nervy 1-0 win at home to Besiktas and Malmo made it for the first time with a 3-0 win over Salzburg, whose participation ended in the qualifiers for the ninth time in a row.
Lionel Messi marked his first start after injury with a goal in Barcelona's 1-1 draw at AC Milan in the Champions League on Tuesday while Fernando Torres got two as Chelsea thumped Schalke and Atletico Madrid's charge continued.
Manchester United signed Chile forward Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan after a protracted transfer saga finally ended on Monday.
Harry Kane's magical season continued on Saturday as he celebrated his first senior England call-up with his first Premier League hat-trick.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Thursday
Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United; Champions Manchester City took full advantage of Chelsea's surprise reverse to cut the gap at the top.
Veteran Drogba showed that he still has a lot of steam in him as he scored in Chelsea's win over Spurs, while Aguero continued to top the goal-scorers' list this season, finding the net for City. Images from the EPL matches played across England on Wednesday.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Premier League leaders Arsenal showed their class as they comfortably beat north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to book a place in the FA Cup fourth round in an electric atmosphere at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the Premier League fixtures on April 28-30
Images from Sunday's English Premier League matches.
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.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Chelsea face the prospect of having veteran Didier Drogba as their only fit striker for their visit to Manchester United on Sunday in what is usually one of the standout matches of the Premier League season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Tottenham Hotspur brutally exposed Liverpool's defensive frailties as Harry Kane plundered two more goals in his side's 4-1 romp at Wembley on Sunday.
Chelsea heaped more Christmas misery on Liverpool with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge and Olivier Giroud ended a seven-game scoring drought to help Arsenal win 1-0 at Newcastle United and return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
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.
Chelsea reached the Champions League knock-out stage on Tuesday despite a 1-0 defeat by Basel in Group E after a late Mohamed Salah goal shocked the 2012 title winners, with Jose Mourinho saying they deserved to lose. Barcelona, without Lionel Messi but already into the last 16, went two goals down in Amsterdam but looked a different side in the second half after Ajax's Joel Veltman was sent off.
Manchester City made sure of third place in the Premier League when they romped to a 5-0 win at Watford on Sunday to ensure a Champions League berth for next season.
The ATP issued the latest men's tennis rankings on Monday and the top 10 list remains unchanged with Serbian tennis ace Novak Djokovic still leading the rankings.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
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