Aston Villa's miserable season went from bad to worse when they slumped to a 2-1 defeat at second tier Millwall in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday.
Erling Haaland had the same points as Lionel Messi but lost out by having fewer first-place votes from national team captains.
The next instalment of Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho's mind games with Manchester City's Manuel Pellegrini and Arsenal's chance for redemption against Liverpool provide the backdrop to a mouth-watering FA Cup fifth round.
John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy, the English FA said on Friday
East Midlands neighbours Derby County and Nottingham Forest fought out a lively 1-1 draw in an all-Championship (second division) fourth round FA Cup tie at Pride Park on Friday.
FA Cup added another incredible chapter to its proud heritage on Saturday as Chelsea and Manchester City were humbled by supposed inferiors.
Erling Haaland roared back to his best form with a five-goal salvo as Manchester City thumped Luton Town 6-2 at Kenilworth Road to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on Tuesday.
Sheffield United pulled off the first major shock of FA Cup third round weekend when the third-tier English side triumphed 3-0 at Premier League outfit Queens Park Rangers on Sunday.
Newcastle United and Arsenal were charged by the FA on Monday for failing to control their players during their bad-tempered goalless draw in the opening Premier League match of the season at St James' Park on Saturday.
Pictures on social media also appeared to show Nazi salutes being performed by supporters of Sydney United 58, who were founded as Sydney Croatia in 1958 and were a powerhouse in the National Soccer League that preceded the formation of the A-League in 2004.
The defenders signed contracts on Tuesday from Bayern Munich making United their third team together, and they could both feature in the squad's season opener on Friday against Fulham at Old Trafford.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was charged with misconduct by the FA on Thursday following comments he made about referee Anthony Taylor.
West Ham United have been fined 100,000 Swiss francs ($108,061) by FIFA following a dispute with the Senegalese FA over Diafra Sakho who played in an FA Cup match having withdrawn from the squad for the African Nations Cup.
West Ham United midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate is free to face Arsenal on Saturday after the Football Association rescinded the red card he received against CrystalPalace in last weekend's 2-2 Premier League draw.
Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko scored twice each as Premier League high-fliers Manchester City comprehensively quashed second tier Blackburn Rovers' hopes of causing an FA Cup shock with an emphatic 5-0 third-round replay win on Wednesday.
Premier League Swansea City fell victims to the first major giant-killing of the FA Cup third round on Sunday when they lost 3-2 away to League Two (fourth tier) side Oxford United.
A club of Manchester United's stature should be vying for silverware on all fronts, midfielder Ander Herrera said, adding that a win in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday would raise spirits after a poor season. Louis van Gaal's men, who finished fifth in the Premier League this campaign, failed to qualify for the Champions League for a second time in three seasons and hope to win their first trophy since taking home the Community Shield in 2013. "We have to be realistic. United should be fighting for every title. We didn't do that with the Champions League," Herrera told British media. "We didn't do that with the Premier League. So we have two options. Firstly, feel sorry for ourselves. Or, secondly, get this trophy for the fans, for our club and for ourselves."
Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse will face a severe punishment after accepting an FA charge of spitting at Manchester United defender Jonny Evans in Wednesday's Premier League match.
Portsmouth reached the FA Cup final for the first time in 69 years after beating West Bromwich Albion 1-0 in the semi-final.
Holders Chelsea beat Aston Villa 3-0 to sweep into the FA Cup final for the third time in four seasons on Saturday and keep alive their dream of a first FA Cup and League double. All three goals came late in the game with Didier Drogba breaking Villa's resistance after 67 minutes before Florent Malouda (89th) and Frank Lampard, deep in stoppage time, gave Chelsea an ultimately comfortable victory.
Bert Trautmann, a former German Prisoner of War who became a footballer in England and famously broke his neck playing in goal for Manchester City in the 1956 FA Cup final, died on Friday at the age of 89.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was an immensely proud but competitive dad at Anfield on Sunday as his Premier League side overcame the FA Cup challenge of his son's third tier Oldham Athletic.
Erling Haaland helped Manchester City win three major trophies.
Middlesbrough were rewarded for beating Manchester City with a trip to FA Cup holders Arsenal while Chelsea's conquerors Bradford City host Sunderland or Fulham after the fifth round draw on Monday.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
In the latest of a slew of sanctions against participating countries for fan misbehaviour, UEFA also fined the English Football Association 10,000 euros for crowd disturbances and 1,000 euros for lighting of fireworks during the Slovakia game.
The English FA will act to amend an old FA Cup rule so that leading clubs cannot avoid replays if their original ties end in a draw.
The English FA appointed its first woman board member since it was formed in 1863 when it named Heather Rabbatts as one of two new independent non-executive directors on Thursday.
French football president apologises for 'awkward remarks' on Zidane after backlash
The first findings of the study, released in June, established that former footballers were 3.46 times more likely to have neurodegenerative diseases.
Wigan Athletic manager Paul Jewell was charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) on Tuesday for his behaviour towards referee Phil Dowd after Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal goes into the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday facing echoes of the 1990 showpiece between the two sides that proved so pivotal in the career of Alex Ferguson.
Michael Ballack scored in the 19th minute of extra time to give Chelsea a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers.
"Everything will not be complete if we don't win the Champions League now. We have done some incredible seasons."
Wigan Athletic's shock 1-0 win over Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday not only caused one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history but could dictate the immediate futures of both managers.
Arsenal won 3-1 after extra time at Bolton Wanderers to reach the FA Cup fifth round.
Saudi Arabia announced it would bid only minutes after soccer's global governing body called for Asia and Oceania bids on October 4.
Britain's Prince William has urged the Football Association to reform its governance structure to avoid falling short of modern standards.
Last season's FA Cup runners-up Chelsea struck four times before the break to crush second-tier Hull City 4-0 and stroll into the quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge on Friday.
