Qatar no playground for playmakers as defenders clamp down
Paris Saint Germain's Neymar, Laywin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes as well as Marseille's duo of Dario Benedetto and Jordan Amavi were given their marching orders after rival players threw punches and kicks at each other.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic's second-half strike earned Paris St Germain a spot in the French Cup final as the holders beat Lorient 1-0 away on Tuesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Argentina moved top as South America dominated the monthly FIFA rankings on Thursday with five teams, half of the continent's total, in the top 10.
Former Real Madrid president Ramon Calderon has claimed that star forward Cristiano Ronaldo could make a return to Manchester United because he is disillusioned at the La Liga side.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Ligue 1 goal this season before missing a penalty as they beat En Avant Guingamp 3-0 to extend their lead to four points on Tuesday.
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
Louis Van Gaal said it would take him three years to transform Manchester United into a potential title-winning team when he became manager last summer, but judged by Sunday's loss to Southampton, he might have to wait a lot longer than that.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Manchester United are finally beginning to look like their old selves.
Benjamin Pavard's swerving strike from the edge of the area in France's round of 16 win over Argentina in Kazan has been voted the best goal of the World Cup finals.
A summary of Thursday night's UEFA Champions League matches.
Argentina players will do everything in their power in Russia to help the team lift the World Cup trophy again after falling at the last hurdle four years ago in Brazil, defender Marcos Rojo has said.
Discarded striker Danny Welbeck returned to demolish Manchester United's hopes of silverware by netting the winner in Arsenal's 2-1 FA Cup quarter-final victory at Old Trafford on Monday.
Manchester United conceded two late own goals to allow Sevilla to snatch a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Paris St Germain are hoping their Parc des Princes crowd will help them overturn a 3-1 deficit in their Champions League last-16 return leg against Real Madrid as they try to cope without the injured Neymar.
Manchester United, who spent 150 million pounds on new players in the summer, might need to spend another 100 million pounds before they can compete for the Premier League title, according to former defender Phil Neville.
They cheered him to the Old Trafford rafters just for warming up on the touchline, then roared their approval when he finally made it onto the pitch as a Manchester United player in the 67th minute of Sunday's 4-0 win over Queens Park Rangers.
Manchester United dominated Europe's transfer activity as the transfer deadline window slammed shut on Monday, manager Louis van Gaal taking his summer spending spree to more than 150 million pounds.
Barcelona blew the La Liga title race wide open when Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in a 4-3 comeback win for the champions at 10-man Real Madrid in an action-packed 'Clasico' on Sunday.
Argentina reached the World Cup semi-finals for the first time in 24 years on Saturday when an early goal by Gonzalo Higuain and a strong defensive display proved enough to beat a disappointing Belgium side 1-0.
Messi has spoken at length about the dream of winning a title with Argentina and his compatriots know how much an international trophy means to him.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Following Angel Di Maria's nightmare stint, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com says the 'Theatre of Dreams' has never been a happy a hunting ground for players from the continent
Manchester United football team manager Louis van Gaal would reportedly like to sign Real Madrid's ace striker Cristiano Ronaldo, but he does not expect the Spanish giants to sell.
Argentina showed once again how reliant they are on Lionel Messi as the Barcelona forward scored a hat-trick in their 4-0 World Cup warm-up win over Haiti on Tuesday.
The Barcelona striker has won the FIFA World Player of the Year a record six times and is widely considered one of the greatest players ever to play the game, alongside Pele and countryman Diego Maradona. But his inability to win an international title with Argentina always left an asterisk beside his name on the all-time greats list.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
After a string of middling transfer windows, Manchester United have made their biggest statement of intent in recent years by signing centre back Raphael Varane and winger Jadon Sancho.
Real Madrid's decision to sell midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria left many scratching their heads and consecutive La Liga defeats as well as a reverse to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup set alarm bells ringing at the Bernabeu.
Daley Blind's late second half strike helped a lacklustre Manchester United salvage a 2-2 draw against West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns in the Premier League on Monday.
Manchester United have made purchases in the impressive Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao and former manager Alex Ferguson has expressed his satisfaction at the changes made in the team line-up.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Frank Lampard could make an emotional appearance against former club Chelsea this weekend as his new employers Manchester City host Jose Mourinho's side in an early showdown between the Premier League's heavyweights. Catch all the action.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bid farewell to Paris St Germain in style by scoring twice and setting up another as the French champions completed a second successive domestic treble by beating Olympique de Marseille 4-2 in the French Cup final on Saturday.
In a big blow to Real Madrid's title hopes, Real Betis held them to a goalless draw in their La Liga encounter on Sunday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
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