A sloppy Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to Real Betis on Saturday in a further blow to their hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Manchester City emerged from a trough of despair to beat Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 and move to within three points of the Premier League title at Wembley on Saturday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Tottenham Hotspur claimed a first victory at Chelsea for 28 years with Dele Alli scoring twice in the second half as they came back to win 3-1 and cement fourth place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
England striker Daniel Sturridge celebrated his return after a five-month injury layoff when he came off the bench to score as Liverpool beat West Ham United 2-0 in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea reached the League Cup final after Branislav Ivanovic's towering extra-time header secured a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in a rip-roaring semi-final second leg at an electric Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Zinedine Zidane has said his side are in a delicate situation as they prepare to host arch-rivals Barcelona in a La Liga title showdown on Sunday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
It was a day of role reversal as Jose Mourinho's often cautious Chelsea thumped Everton 6-3 in a thriller on Saturday while champions Manchester City's attacking talents were blunted in a shock 1-0 home defeat by Stoke City.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Bayern Munich and Barcelona registered easy wins, while Manchester United came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and Chelsea surrendered the top spot after a 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
The challenge against champions Chlesea on Sunday is for Manchester United to show that they can replicate the confident and businesslike win that City showed a month ago.
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.
A round-up of results from the Nations League matches played on Sunday
An off-key Liverpool were frustrated for a second successive game by struggling opponents as they were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
The former Valencia player expressed surprise that Chelsea were willing to let him depart, but having been an unused substitute in their last two league matches, he relished the chance to play for another "massive club".
Meanwhile, Real Mallorca made a dream return to La Liga with a 2-1 victory over Eibar at the Estadi Son Moix on Saturday, less than two months after sealing back-to-back promotions to rejoin Spain's soccer elite.
'You cannot sack all the players so sack the manager -- whether right or wrong'
Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory.
Arsenal denied Chelsea the double with a 2-1 victory in an enthralling FA Cup final.
Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
Stamford Bridge erupted in celebration on Sunday as departing Chelsea captain John Terry lifted the Premier League trophy in Antonio Conte's record-breaking first season in charge, but the carnival atmosphere had a bitter-sweet edge.
Spaniard Herrera finished off a fine move with a precise header from Pogba's cross just past the half-hour and United's French midfielder scored himself when he nodded powerfully home from a Marcus Rashford delivery before the break.
Roma teenager Afena-Gyan plays down apparent racist remark.
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has eased Real Madrid's injury concerns and could be fit to play in their Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Lionel Messi had to wait 12 years and endure a goal drought of eight games against Chelsea but he finally broke his duck in Tuesday's 1-1 Champions League last 16, first leg draw.
Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang struck a vital late goal to seal a 3-1 win over Valencia on Thursday and give his side breathing space for the second leg of their Europa League semi-final in Spain next week.
Chelsea maintained their stranglehold on the Premier League by beating Sunderland 1-0 on Wednesday to register their 10th successive win and move six points clear at the top of the table.
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.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Sunday night.
Chelsea overpowered West Ham United and Manchester City outclassed West Bromwich Albion as the Premier League title rivals signalled their intent at the start of a hectic holiday programme on Friday.
Arsenal fear Sanchez injury loss could be 'big blow'.
Villa's chief executive Christian Purslow said 10 first-team players are among 14 positive cases of coronavirus at the club.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A fixture billed as a pre-Christmas cracker was more 'In the Bleak Midwinter' than 'Jingle Bell Rock' as Arsenal's hopes of regaining top spot in the Premier League fizzled out in a turgid 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
Cristiano Ronaldo converted one penalty, missed another and also scored from open play as Portugal beat Latvia 4-1 in their World Cup qualifier on Sunday. On a typically dramatic night for the Portugal captain, Ronaldo fired the European champions ahead from his first spot kick of the evening in the first half, but missed a chance to double their lead when his second effort struck the post.
Belgium have scored 14 goals in five matches and were hugely impressive in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne combining to devastating effect to oust the five-times world champions.
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