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.
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.
Chelsea demolished the team that succeeded them as Premier League winners when champions Leicester City succumbed tamely 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
With eight teams remaining at Euro 2016, a guide to the form of the quarter-finalists, looking at their strengths and weaknesses.
'The silky touch, the swerving runs, the parabola pass perfection, the goals -- Salah on a football pitch these days is a sporting experience so celestial you feel inebriated just witnessing it.' 'It is football of the gods: Pure, eye-popping and incomprehensible,' applauds Dhruv Munjal.
Chelsea brought a whole new dimension to the Premier League title race when they handed Manchester City their first defeat of the season on Saturday to leave Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool as the new leaders.
Images from Europa and Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Antonio Conte's title ranks as one of the finest of the Abramovich era because this title was so unexpected. Out of the blue, in fact.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Real Madrid's La Liga title bid took a dent after Zinedine Zidane's leaders were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday, denied all three points by a late strike from Santi Mina. Lazio mounted a superb second-half comeback at the Olympic Stadium to beat Inter Milan 2-1 and move above Antonio Conte's side into second place in Serie A on Sunday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Romelu Lukaku scored twice to earn Belgium a 2-1 victory over Switzerland in the Nations League on Friday, lifting the mood in the country after a week marred by match-fixing allegations.
Ahead of their high-profile clash on Saturday, check out the five standout clashes between Arsenal and Chelsea.
Chelsea ended their slump with a win over Arsenal while seemingly invincible Manchester City lost their 100 per cent record to West Ham United on a day of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League title favourites on Saturday.
Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard scored the goals the goals in a match that saw Diego Costa play central character.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Liverpool's livewire Sadio Mane scored one goal and played a crucial part in the other as they reclaimed the Premier League's top spot with a scrappy 2-1 win at second bottom Fulham on Sunday.
A summary of Wednesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Italy's top-flight Serie A soccer league launched a new anti-racism campaign on Monday by presenting artwork featuring three side-by-side paintings of apes but the move has been described by campaign group Fare as a sick joke. News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
It might not save manager Antonio Conte's job but Chelsea can still salvage a disappointing season by winning Saturday's FA Cup final
Premier League leaders Manchester City won their derby with United 3-1, while Liverpool kept pace with a home win over Fulham.
Real Madrid's teenage Brazilian duo Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes sent them top of La Liga as both scored in a 2-0 win over Osasuna on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho shared the honours with former mentor Louis van Gaal as his Chelsea side drew at Manchester United in the Premier league on Sunday, but there was no doubt which of the pair was happier with the 1-1 result.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
A fortunate 85th-minute goal from Brazilian Willian earned Premier League champions Chelsea a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday after Mohamed Salah's 15th goal of the season looked to have given the hosts the three points.
Summary of all that transpired on and off the football field
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.
Chelsea's slim hopes of winning the Premier League all but evaporated in the Stamford Bridge sunshine on Sunday as Norwich City ground out a 0-0 draw that left them hanging on to top- flight status by their fingernails.
Manchester United won away for the first time this season when they beat Arsenal 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to climb to fourth in the Premier League table.
Germany scored five times in 27 minutes in the first half to crush Estonia 8-0 and make it three wins in three Euro 2020 Group C qualifiers.
While Africa, Asia and North America will not be represented, dashing any hope of a revolutionary breakthrough in the eventual destination of the trophy, at least one of this year's finalists will not have reached the title decider for half a century, if at all.
Jose Mourinho said he was sad to see midfielder Juan Mata leaving Stamford Bridge after confirming that the Spaniard's move to Manchester United was imminent on Friday.
Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.
City are two points behind leaders Liverpool, but have a game in hand
Manchester United opened up the Premier League title race with a convincing 2-0 home victory over leaders Chelsea on Sunday that leaves second-placed Tottenham Hotspur just four points behind.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
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.
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