Manchester United teenager Marcus Rashford wrote another chapter in his fairytale introduction to top-flight football, scoring a brilliant goal to secure a 1-0 win in his first derby match against Manchester City on Sunday.
Liverpool put their recent troubles behind them, showing touches of their best early-season vibrancy to overcame Arsenal 3-1 at a jubilant Anfield and leapfrog the Gunners into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
Brief reports of English Premier League matches on Saturday:
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has eased Real Madrid's injury concerns and could be fit to play in their Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
Steven Gerrard's future at Liverpool may be in doubt but the captain turned back the clock to score in a 3-1 victory at bottom side Leicester City in the Premier League on Tuesday.
An inspired Matteo Darmian scored his first goal for Manchester United and set up another as Louis van Gaal's side kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
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.
Chelsea rode their luck to emerge with a second win in as many English Premier League games on Wednesday after Branislav Ivanovic escaped a red card and then his marker to head them to a 2-1 win over Aston Villa.
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
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.
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.
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
Wayne Rooney made history by equalling Bobby Charlton's Manchester United record and becoming the club's leading all-time goalscorer after netting his 249th goal (543 matches) during an FA Cup match against Reading on Saturday.
There was little fanfare but a few lessons perhaps learnt as the most expensive player in the history of English football - Angel di Maria - lasted 70 minutes on his Premier League debut for Manchester United in their goalless draw at Burnley on Saturday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played on Saturday
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Manchester City paid the price for missed chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Burnley on Saturday with Johann Berg Gudmundsson's 82nd minute equaliser earning the hosts a share of the points.
English Premier League leaders Liverpool opened up a 22-point gap at the top of the table with second-half goals from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jordan Henderson and a Mohamed Salah brace giving them a 4-0 home win over Southampton. A rare double from defender Antonio Rudiger earned Chelsea a point in an entertaining 2-2 draw with third-placed Leicester City.
A summary of Thursday's South American World Cup qualifiers.
Football's winter transfer window closed on February 1, and, surprisingly, none of Europe's biggies made even a slight move, let alone sign a player.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
In England, the celebrations went on at Leicester City as they marked their fairytale Premier League success with another win while champions Juventus' long unbeaten streak in Italy came to an end.
Bayern Munich and Barcelona registered easy wins, while Manchester United came from behind to beat CSKA Moscow 2-1 and Chelsea surrendered the top spot after a 1-1 at home against Atletico Madrid.
Photos from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
Photos from the Premier League matches played on Sunday
David de Gea's late own goal earned Sunderland a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday and a vital three points in their bid for Premier League survival.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates with a display of free-flowing football that the Gunners have sorely lacked away from home this season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City went 11 points clear with a record 14th consecutive Premier League win in an entertaining derby against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
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 Glazers are unlikely to ever be liked, let alone loved, by fans of Manchester United. The fiercely private American family that bought the famous English soccer club 10 years ago has been widely depicted by the team's fans and the British media as seeking to bleed the club dry after leveraging it up with debt.
City are 18 points clear of second-placed Liverpool after beating Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday and need just four wins from their final nine games to be sure of the title.
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