Arsenal took a seven-point lead at the top of the Premier League after a scoreless draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Arsenal moved to 50 points from 24 games.
Erling Haaland had the same points as Lionel Messi but lost out by having fewer first-place votes from national team captains.
Midfielder Phil Foden delivered in dramatic fashion, scoring in the first and 91st minutes, to seal Manchester City's 3-2 victory over Leeds United.
Cash on target as Villa hand Man City their first defeat since August
Seven times reigning winner Lionel Messi was not nominated for this year's Ballon d'Or for the first time since 2005 and nor was his Paris Saint-Germain team mate Neymar.
Manchester City seized the opportunity of Arsenal's 2-1 loss at Aston Villa earlier in the day to climb within two points of the leaders.
Liverpool reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Burnley at Anfield on Saturday, but they were made to battle hard by a brave visiting side.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks to fire champions Manchester City to a rampant 6-3 thrashing of local rivals Manchester United in the English Premier League on Sunday.
'It's alleged that, during the 94th minute of the fixture, the club failed to ensure their players do not behave in way which is improper.'
Manchester City maintained their pressure on Arsenal with a 2-0 win over Newcastle United in their Premier League match on Saturday.
Italy face the shocking possibility of failing to reach the World Cup for a third consecutive time.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday
Players were in tears after Rodri's emphatic second-half goal against Inter Milan in the final secured a 1-0 victory
Fresh off a dominant title-winning campaign, Liverpool kick off the new Premier League season on Friday as the team to beat, as the Reds have transitioned from Juergen Klopp's high-octane chaos to a more measured possession-based style under Arne Slot.
Manchester City's Erling Haaland faces Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski meets Bayern Munich after the Champions League group-stage draw was made on Thursday.
Wright blasts Man City's Haaland for throwing ball at Arsenal's Gabriel
Indian club East Bengal produced an utterly dominant show to crush Bangladesh's Bashundhara Kings 4-0 in their AFC Challenge League match in Thimphu on Tuesday.
Liverpool strolled to a 2-0 victory over Brentford, while Newcastle drew 1-1 at Bournemouth.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez earned Chelsea a 2-0 victory at lowly Burnley on Saturday, a win that moved the Blues within three points of Premier League leaders Arsenal.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the Premier League
After Saturday's 2-1 win at Chelsea - their 12th in 13 league matches - Aston Villa have claimed 18 points from losing positions so far this season, more than any other team.
Barcelona can no longer afford to shell out huge sums in transfer fees for top players like Erling Haaland and Kylian Mbappe, coach Xavi Hernandez said.
Manchester City and Chelsea both secured their Champions League places with victories on the final day of the English Premier League season and Newcastle United joined them despite stumbling to a last-day defeat.
It took 10 Premier League games for the first cracks to appear in Manchester City's facade last season, but Pep Guardiola got a much earlier reminder of his side's fall from grace on Saturday in another defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
With 12 games remaining Manchester City are in fourth place with 44 points, just five ahead of 10th-placed Fulham.
Key stats from Liverpool's season after they won their second Premier League title on Sunday and a record-equalling 20th English top-flight title...
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Ronaldo had won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 while he was playing for Manchester United and still holds the record of the last Premier League player to claim the top prize. Messi won his first in 2009 and was nominated for 16 years.
Emma Hayes, who led Chelsea to the 2021 Champions League final, is joined on The Best FIFA Women's Coach shortlist by England manager Sarina Wiegman and Canada coach Beverly Priestman.
IMAGES from the European Qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Liverpool's Dominik Szoboszlai struck the first telling blow in the Premier League title race with a dazzling free kick late on giving his side a 1-0 victory over rivals Arsenal.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola joked that even winning the Champions League can't make up for Julia Roberts not visiting Manchester City in 2016.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Wednesday.
Images from the Nations League matches played on Thursday.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the Premier League.
Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal stunned Manchester City 4-3 in extra-time in Orlando on Monday to pull off one of the shocks of the Club World Cup.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Voting for the eighth annual awards opened on Thursday on FIFA.com and closes in mid-October. National team coaches, captains, journalists and fans make up the list of voters.
