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.
Manchester City lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Wednesday but hung on to reach the League Cup final 3-2 on aggregate and will face Aston Villa at Wembley. Nemanja Matic's 35th-minute strike gave United victory at the Etihad Stadium but the midfielder was later sent off and it was not enough to overturn the 3-1 deficit from the semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.
Leicester City continued to do their best Houdini impression on Saturday as they escaped the Premier League drop zone for the first time since November while Manchester City went up to second spot with a thrilling win.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League.
Chelsea's commanding start to the Premier League season continued with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa on Saturday as their rivals for the title continued to look vulnerable.
Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to move up to provisional fourth place in the Premier League after relegation-threatened Newcastle United held them to a 2-2 draw with a late equaliser from substitute Joe Willock at St James' Park on Sunday. Images from EPL matches played on Sunday.
A goal by Sergio Aguero gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory against neighbours Manchester United, who played with 10 men for more than 50 minutes on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of moving into the top four stalled in a 2-2 draw at bottom club Norwich City, while several VAR interventions overshadowed the action. Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
David Silva came to the rescue of Manchester City with two goals in a 3-0 victory over Crystal Palace.
Lampard was handed a three-year contract having left second tier Derby County.
Liverpool started the ball rolling with a convincing 4-1 win at home to promoted Norwich and City responded a day later with an even more emphatic 5-0 victory at West Ham United.
Manchester United are likely to welcome back captain Wayne Rooney from suspension for their visit to Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday, hoping the striker can add to his record scoring tally in the derby.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
'The pandemic has caused football to change a lot, and for the worse. You can see it in the matches, and I hope this all ends soon and we can get fans back into the stadiums and return to normality.'
The United fans, who celebrated the victory at the end of the game with the manager and players, have not been the source of criticism of Solskjaer -- indeed the Norwegian has enjoyed strong backing from supporters who attend games at Old Trafford and those who travel away.
Andy Carroll scored a eight-minute hat-trick as West Ham United's last London derby at Upton Park ended in a barnstorming 3-3 draw with Arsenal on Saturday -- a result that dented both club's respective ambitions.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United are feeling the pressure ahead of their Champions League qualifier against Club Bruges on Tuesday, according to manager Louis van Gaal.
The destination of the Premier League trophy will not be decided when current champions Chelsea meet their immediate predecessors Manchester City.
Champions Manchester United travel to Swansea City for their first Premier League match under new manager David Moyes, while Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on August 17.
Former France winger David Ginola will announce on Friday that he is entering the race to become president of world soccer's governing body FIFA, The Sun reported on Thursday.
Memphis Depay keen to prove worthy of Manchester United's No 7 shirt.
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
Despite a splurge of summer spending of more than 500 million pounds and counting, it was a free transfer from France who provided one of the standout moments of the Premier League's big kickoff.
The following are talking points from the Premier League weekend:
Brighton & Hove Albion scored three times in the second half to fight back from two goals down and beat Manchester City
Talking points from this weekend's Premier League action as top two Manchester City and Liverpool both won with City remaining a point clear with two games remaining.
Chelsea offered a chink of light to Manchester City in the Premier League title race after a stormy 1-1 home draw with Burnley on Saturday that gave more ammunition to their outspoken manager Jose Mourinho.
The omens are good for a Chelsea side heading into Christmas top of the Premier League tree but manager Jose Mourinho does not want to give title rivals Manchester City any reason to cheer over the festive season. Check out the big games on Boxing Day.
Two Steven Gerrard penalties helped Liverpool to a crushing 3-0 victory at bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday to leave them breathing down the necks of Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Liverpool's defence of a Premier League crown won at a canter last season has become a nightmare
Manchester City can pile the pressure on Premier League leaders Chelsea for the first time this season.
Steven Gerrard's future at Liverpool may be in doubt but the captain turned back the clock to score in a 3-1 victory at bottom side Leicester City in the Premier League on Tuesday.
The Czech Republic snatched a last-gasp 2-1 win over the Netherlands thanks to Vaclav Pilar's added time goal after a dreadful mistake by Daryl Janmaat in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier on Tuesday.
Liverpool's Sadio Mane marked his return from injury with a late goal to break Norwich City's resistance and secure a 1-0 win on Saturday to extend his side's Premier League lead to 25 points.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
The Premier League kicked off in unique fashion on Saturday as an own goal by Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory in an undistinguished season opener at Old Trafford.
High drama ensued during the English Premier League matches on Wednesday as Spurs manager Jose Mourinho was booked while Brighton stunned Chelsea via Alireza Jahanbakhsh's superb equaliser to deny the Blues victory. Here is all the EPL action in IMAGES from Wednesday's matches.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.