Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti is counting on his wealth of experience to help fix the holders' midfield woes as they prepare to host FC Basel in Tuesday's Champions League Group B opener at the Bernabeu.
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
Manchester United striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has heaped praise on teammate Anthony Martial for the professional and mature manner in which the forward has responded to recent criticism from manager Jose Mourinho.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has drawn comparisons between his team's upcoming Europa League quarter-final, second-leg clash against Borussia Dortmund and playing the FIFA video game. Dortmund, second in the Bundesliga, travel to Anfield for the return leg on Thursday having conceded an away goal in the 1-1, first-leg draw in Germany, and Sturridge drew the unusual parallel to describe his emotions before the game. "It's like when you're playing a final on FIFA and you're playing against your mate. You've all put 20 pounds ($28.46) in the middle and there's 100 pounds. "The pressure's on, your palms are sweaty, but as you get into the game, the nerves go away and you enjoy it. And that's exactly what it's like," he told his club's website.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Serie A soccer matches in the northern Italian regions of Lombardy and Veneto will not be played on Sunday because of an outbreak of the coronavirus, the government said in a statement. The three impacted fixtures are clashes between Inter Milan and Sampdoria, Atalanta against Sassuolo and Hellas Verona against Cagliari. Italy is tackling the worst outbreak of coronavirus yet recorded in Europe, with two people dying in the north since Friday and nearly 60 infected.
When Swedish champions Malmo take on mighty Real Madrid on Wednesday they do so knowing they would probably have to sell their entire squad just to be able to afford a single player from the bench of the Spanish giants.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
England great Frank Lampard will have to wait to make his Major League Soccer (MLS) debut after he was ruled out of New York City FC's match against Toronto FC on Sunday with a calf strain.
Spurs Premier League match at Brighton postponed due to COVID-19
AC Milan, Villarreal and Nice reached the knockout stage of the Europa League after posting wins on Thursday in the penultimate round of the group stage.
La Liga side Valencia have said more than a third of their playing and backroom staff have tested positive for the coronavirus but that all cases were currently asymptomatic.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
Manchester United interim manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said it would be 'strange' if he is not in charge at Old Trafford next season after being part of their promotional campaign to sell season tickets.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho deserves his title of "The Special One" as he can make challenging decisions to get wins and has won three trophies in his debut campaign at the Premier League club, midfielder Paul Pogba said.
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Chelsea have signed Germany's highly-rated attacking midfielder Kai Havertz from Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year contract, the Premier League club announced on Friday.
The Argentine joined Barca on a free transfer during the close season, but made only five appearances in all competitions due to a calf injury and his cardiac issues, scoring once in a 2-1 home defeat by Real Madrid.
An Aaron Ramsey strike and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, while Chelsea beat a stubborn Slavia Prague 1-0.
Referee Robert Madley was "200 percent wrong" to allow Juan Mata's goal to stand during Manchester United's 3-0 FA Cup fifth-round win over League One Shrewsbury Town, according to former FIFA official Mark Halsey.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
English cricket's leading Test wicket-taker James Anderson and former England football midfielder Frank Lampard were given the OBE.
French striker Kevin Gameiro has joined Atletico Madrid on a four-year deal from fellow La Liga side Sevilla, the Champions League finalists said on Saturday.
With some clubs having played 27 games and others 28, the LFP drew the standings according to a performance index - the number of points per game weighed by head-to-head record.
Chelsea's Brazil left back Filipe Luis is poised to return to Atletico Madrid after one season at Chelsea where he failed to hold down a regular first team place, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said.
Despite their close loss to Spain in their opening Euro 2016 Group D match in Toulose on Monday, Czech coach Pavel Vrba set a target of four points from the remaining games against Croatia, on Friday, and then Turkey on June 21.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale has the qualities to fill the void left by his fellow forward Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus, the Spanish side's new manager Julen Lopetegui has said.
Given the improvements at Chelsea and Arsenal, it will still be a significant achievement for United to secure a top four finish and in the Champions League, a decent run in the knockout stages would also be a sign of progress.
Atletico Madrid were given a big boost ahead of Saturday's Champions League final against Real Madrid in Milan with the news that coach Diego Simeone will be staying on next season. President Enrique Cerezo said on Thursday that the former Atletico player would remain at the club until at least June 2017, when his contract expires. "Simeone will stay next season," Cerezo told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.
Tottenham said former midfielder Ryan Mason will be in charge of the first team on Monday.
Borussia Dortmund playmaker Ilkay Guendogan, who was set to leave the German club this summer, could stay on under new coach Thomas Tuchel, his agent said on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across European leagues over the weekend.
Frank de Boer ruled out accepting the Tottenham Hotspur job again on Friday, saying he was satisfied with his post at Ajax Amsterdam.
Arsenal can cut down the deficit to Premier League leaders Manchester City and challenge for the title this campaign, midfielder Granit Xhaka said.
Holders Arsenal won the FA Cup for a record 12th time on Saturday, outclassing Aston Villa 4-0 at Wembley with stunning goals from Theo Walcott and Alexis Sanchez setting up their one-sided victory.
Manchester United and Manchester City must switch their focus from the Champions League to the Premier League when they meet at Old Trafford on Sunday in a derby that Louis van Gaal says will show whether United are true title contenders.
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'I co-operated excellently with him at Chelsea, and the fact that Mourinho is the coach at Manchester was the decisive factor in my choosing my new environment'
Victory over Manchester United in Monday's Premier League clash would "put to bed" bitter memories of Liverpool's defeat to Jose Mourinho's Chelsea two years ago, midfielder Jordan Henderson has said.
