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.
Chelsea ticked off three more points in their Premier League title quest with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday but Tottenham Hotspur's Houdini-like 3-1 win at Swansea means the race is far from over.
Belgium fought back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2 with an added-time goal from substitute Nacer Chadli on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with Brazil.
'If you are a big player, and paid like a big player, you must play like a big player and behave like a big player'
Chelsea are 10 points clear at top of the English Premier League championship table.
Chelsea's players must look at themselves and start performing, former Blues stalwart Frank Lampard said as speculation continues to swirl over the future of manager Jose Mourinho.
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.
Liverpool's Champions League winning trio of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Sadio Mane joined regulars Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the shortlist for The Best FIFA Men's player award
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
The long-running feud between Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho shows no sign of healing after another high-profile falling out on Sunday, this time the result of a dispute over territory.
England and Belgium face a World Cup conundrum ahead of Thursday's crunch in Kaliningrad
The 24-year-old has scored three league goals already and Shevchenko, who never replicated his superb goalscoring record for AC Milan in three subsequent years at Chelsea, believes there is much more to come from the Spaniard.
With the 3-0 loss, Chelsea and the Gaffer have now matched the club's worst records -- Mourinho suffered his joint-heaviest defeat as a Premier League manager, while, for the first time in 17 years, the Blues have failed to record a win in either of their opening league games
Theo Walcott's double fired Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League as the Gunners got their title challenge back on track with a 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Thursday.
Louis van Gaal wants to recruit a new galactico match-winner for Manchester United in a bid to fulfil his ambition of bringing another Premier League title to Old Trafford before he walks away from the club in two years.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the English Premier League.
Chelsea took a major step towards the Premier League title with an impressive 3-0 win over Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was fuming after his team were denied what he described as a 'Big Ben' penalty.
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero has been playing like one of the gods all year and after being honoured by the FSF at its annual gala dinner in London.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Sunday
English Premier League leaders Liverpool will need to maintain their excellent recent record against Everton in Sunday's Merseyside derby if they are to hold their advantage over second-placed Manchester City.
Christian Benteke headed home from close range as Liverpool grabbed a stoppage-time leveller to snatch a point against Chelsea in a 1-1 draw on Wednesday after Eden Hazard's dazzling opener for the visitors.
Brazil midfielder Casemiro stretched Real's advantage right before halftime with a gut-busting run to meet a cross from compatriot Vinicius, but Levante hit back shortly after the interval through former Madrid forward Borja Mayoral.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Two big derbies and an eventful weekend of football awaits us all...
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Jose Mourinho's job could be on the line when Chelsea host Porto in the Champions League on Wednesday and Alex Ferguson has urged the Londoners not to jettison their manager even if the result goes against them.
The Welsh, who reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals, finished runners-up on 14 points from eight games, three behind Croatia who sealed their berth on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Slovakia.
Fans are openly speculating that owner Roman Abramovich, a man who places notoriously high demands on his managers, could call time on Jose Mourinho's second spell at Stamford Bridge if Liverpool can inflict another defeat on the champions.
Marcus Rashford scored twice as holders Manchester United brushed aside second-tier Burton Albion 4-1 at Old Trafford to reach the fourth round of the League Cup on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Tottenham Hotspur have shown impressive durability in the Premier League lately, but they will need to be at their most steadfast to deny champions and league leaders Manchester City who travel to Wembley on Monday.
Jose Mourinho has won a trophy every season of his top flight career and finds it "unacceptable" to contemplate finishing his comeback season with Chelsea empty handed.
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
'These matches are all like finals now and if you don't play well, you don't win.'
The victory, Chelsea's 28th of the season, put the long-time league leaders 10 points clear of second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who have only three games left to play.
Manchester United, buoyed by five successive Premier League victories, head into Sunday's derby against Manchester City a place and a point above their rivals and believing they are poised to restore red ascendancy in the city.
