Chelsea's unbeaten start to the season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United; Champions Manchester City took full advantage of Chelsea's surprise reverse to cut the gap at the top.
Knee injuries have sidelined him for large parts of this season, however, and the Belgium international has started only four Premier League games.
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.
There was no way through for Chelsea as Watford halted their recent resurgence in a goalless Premier League stalemate at Vicarage Road while Everton piled more woe on Newcastle United with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday.
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.
Arsenal missed the chance to heighten the congestion at the top of the Premier League and suffered fresh injury blows when a frustrating 1-1 draw at Norwich City failed to take them alongside leaders Manchester City and Leicester City on Sunday.
Photos and summary of the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday, including the story of Chelsea's resurgent win
Skipper Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion when it mattered most as his record breaking third double hundred guided India to a series-levelling 141-run win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Mohali on Wednesday.
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.
In case they needed it, the short trip to Crystal Palace will re-focus Chelsea's globe-trotting players on matters at home as the Premier League slips back into gear this weekend after the second international break of the season.
Kiwis face trial by spin as India commence run of 13 matches with Kanpur Test on Thursday
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.
In this exclusive excerpt from his autobiography, A Century Is Not Enough, Sourav Ganguly makes some startling revelations.
After a Champagne Sunday, leaders Chelsea got back to the bread and butter of churning out Premier League points with Eden Hazard's header sealing a 1-0 victory at London rivals West Ham United on Wednesday.
Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first five-goal haul in Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada while title-chasing Bayern Munich and Chelsea won again in Germany and England.
Chelsea found no chink in Everton's defensive armour as the Premier League champions were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard scored the goals the goals in a match that saw Diego Costa play central character.
351 cricketers -- 230 Indians and 131 foreigners -- will go under the hammer in Saturday's IPL players' auction.
Southampton suffered an embarrassing 1-0 League Cup quarter-final defeat at third tier Sheffield United on Tuesday while Chelsea powered through with a 3-1 win at Derby County.
The destination of the Premier League trophy will not be decided when current champions Chelsea meet their immediate predecessors Manchester City.
Buoyed by their thrilling last-ball win against Delhi Daredevils, a confident Rajasthan Royals will take on a beleaguered Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League cricket encounter in Ahmedabad on Tuesday.
Two goals in the first half from Roberto Firmino and Neymar gave Brazil an easy 2-0 victory over the United States in a friendly match in New Jersey on Friday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
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.
'Mamata's fascination with stars is so deep-rooted that she uses her clout as chief minister to get close to them.'
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
Featuring India, the West Indies, Pakistan, India, Afghanistan.
Robin Uthappa and Andre Russell struck belligerent fifties after veteran Brad Hogg's four-wicket haul to help Kolkata Knight Riders return to winning ways with a seven-wicket win over Chennai Super Kings in a thrilling Indian Premier League match in Kolkata, on Thursday.
Manchester City squandered a gilt-edged opportunity to close the gap on Premier League leaders Chelsea when they let slip a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to struggling Burnley on Sunday.
Round up of the Ranji Trophy matches being played across the country
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.
Strangely, despite four wins on the trot, none of India's players have even figured in the top 20 of the MVPI table.
Anushka Sharma is at her most impressive in the chilling NH10 but the climax is a bit of a letdown, notes Sukanya Verma.
Can 2018 top its predecessor in Sporting Glory?
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday.
Chelsea came from behind to secure a 3-1 win at Manchester City and forge further clear at the top of the Premier League as a dramatic top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl and two City players being sent off on Saturday.
'...then Bangladesh would have been the world champions a long time ago!'
Sudhir Kumar Chaudhary, a one-of-a-kind cricket fan, who worships Sachin Tendulkar and follows the Indian team wherever it goes. For the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series, he has bought three litres of saffron, white, green and blue paint and is looking for the cheapest ticket to Colombo!
'
The two batted as if 'pressure' was a concept unknown to them. Raina was the muscular enforcer, Dhoni the consigliere planning and controlling the momentum of the assault.'
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