News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
West Ham bade farewell to the Boleyn Ground after 112 years with a pulsating 3-2 victory over Manchester United to leave the visitors' top-four hopes in tatters on Tuesday.
To finish with dignity is how Robin van Persie wants to end his playing days on Sunday when he hangs up his boots after an 18-year career.
A huge shock is on the cards in British football as a rank outsider is threatening to gatecrash the millionaire favourites. But it is Scottish hopefuls Aberdeen and not English league leaders Leicester who have bridged the biggest financial gulf.
Manchester United should focus on winning the Europa League this season, which would bring the club a trophy they have never won and secure qualification for next season's Champions League, former manager Alex Ferguson has said.
Arsenal's hopes of catching Manchester City for second place in the Premier League suffered a setback.
Willian's late strike snatched a 1-0 home win for Chelsea over a stubborn Everton side to maintain lead.
Southampton's rich vein of form in the Premier League continued as they beat Burnley 3-1 with two goals from Charlie Austin on Sunday while another promoted side, Middlesbrough, fared just as poorly, losing 1-0 at home to Watford.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Virgil van Dijk made a dream start to his Anfield career, scoring the winning goal on his debut for Liverpool, as they beat city rivals Everton 2-1 in a pulsating FA Cup third round tie on Friday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
ManchesterCity's season began to unravel when Kevin de Bruyne missed 10 matches with a knee injury but as he showed when he scored against Paris St Germain on Tuesday, anything is possible with him back in the team.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Much of this has been made possible by the owners's insistence on building a team, rather than banking on a collection of talented individuals not necessarily suited to play alongside one another.
Leicester's Mahrez rules out PSG move
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.
Manchester United survived a tense finale to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Sunday and close to within 11 points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
'Ghost-like stands repel rather than attract audiences,' observes Ashis Ray.
His side's passage to the final was in large due to the work put in both in the field and at the crease, with few players reading conditions quite like the Kiwi skipper.
'My team gave their best. They played a very good second half and missed qualifying by just a few minutes. These kind of matches build the character of the team.'
Sevilla's devastating display to dispatch Malaga 4-1 on Saturday put them in their highest league position after 16 games for a decade and left little doubt that hiring coach Jorge Sampaoli to succeed serial winner Unai Emery was the right choice.
Premier League clubs Watford and Hull City, and Championship side Leeds United paid the penalty for fielding weakened teams when they were all knocked out of the FA Cup in the fourth round on Sunday -- but holders Manchester United won comfortably.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The 46-year-old has been hired to fill the sizeable void left by the departure of Frenchman Arsene Wenger who had been at the Arsenal helm since 1996.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was left casting envious glances at his rivals' squads after a second defeat in four days bruised their title challenge and left him looking up the table rather than down.
Many former players believe that storming out of games is a powerful tool to counter racism, a move that will force administrators to take the problem more seriously, and act in a way that compels clubs to obliterate such a culture and evict those responsible, says Dhruv Munjal.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is expecting an even greater impact from Luis Suarez this season with the cloud of disciplinary problems no longer hanging over the Uruguay striker.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of a first victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 26 years disappeared as a 2-2 draw left Leicester City celebrating the Premier League title on Monday.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas has said his only wish is to succeed with the Spanish champions and has dismissed the idea that he could be lured away to another club.
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp says his team can compensate for their lack of Champions League final experience by showing greater desire and work-rate than Real Madrid in Saturday's clash in Kiev.
He expressed hope that it will also benefit a large number of Hindi-speaking umpires and those giving training in this field, to whom the rules in English are hard to understand.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
