Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
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.
'So, the Champions League final will be played between two teams who just don't know when they are beaten,' says Suhit K Sen.
Everton and Tottenham Hotspur both missed the chance to move up to second place in the Premier League after they shared a battling 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday. The day's other game ended in a 1-0 win for Cardiff City over arch-rivals Swansea City in the first ever Welsh derby played in the English top flight.
Arsenal ended Leicester City's brief stay at the top of the Premier League on Sunday despite being held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City after Manchester United's Wayne Rooney struck late for a 1-0 win at Liverpool.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
After seven consecutive league defeats, and one point from the last 30 on offer, had plunged Villa into crisis and cost Tim Sherwood his job, the former European champions produced a gritty display to frustrate City.
Monaco owe most of their recent success to their young guns, but when they face Manchester City looking to overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, they will turn to a more experienced player in Radamel Falcao.
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:
Twelve months ago Liverpool were ripping up the record books on the way to their first English top-flight title for 30 years but defeat by Everton on Saturday left them mulling a host of far less flattering statistics.
The 2014 World Cup was a captivating carnival of football with high drama and Germany displayed their credentials as worthy champions.
International Test debuts can be intimidating and Sachin Tendulkar could not have imagined a tougher one when he padded up against pace legends Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis in 1989 -- the experience leaving him so scarred that he doubted his ability to continue at the highest level.
James Milner, set to win his 50th England cap against San Marino on Thursday, believes his international captain Wayne Rooney has a good chance of reaching another significant landmark in the coming days.
Arsene Wenger is confident Arsenal can rekindle the art of winning after a series of frustrating Premier League draws but their quest may be hindered by a "worrying" injury crisis.
Former batsman V V S Laxman believes tinkering with Team India's support staff is not a viable option and newly-appointed team director Ravi Shastri and coach Duncan Fletcher should stay till the 2015 World Cup.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris on Friday with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up. All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France -- 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
Photos and summary of the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday, including the story of Chelsea's resurgent win
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Key moments in Chelsea's Premier League title-winning season.
Arsenal's victory was scrappy and nervy but Laurent Koscielny's 72nd-minute winner was enough to move them two points clear at the summit after LeicesterCity's surprise push faltered with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.
Arsenal will have to produce the biggest second leg comeback in a Champions League knockout tie to avoid a seventh successive exit at the last 16 stage when they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
BCCI's Cricket Advisory Committee member Sourav Ganguly explains why they decided to defer the naming of India's new coach. Harish Kotian/Rediff.com listens in.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
The statistics of a stunning campaign tell an astonishing tale of how Leicester have turned the clock back by shunning possession and glorying in the long ball to a pacey striker, while spurning rotation in favour of a settled, almost self-selecting side
As Manchester United prepare to embark on a new era following Louis van Gaal;s departure, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com offers a diagnosis of what went wrong with the most successful Premier League club after Sir Alex Ferguson called it a day.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Arsenal maintained their challenge for a first trophy in nine seasons when they beat Liverpool 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium to open up a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League on Saturday.
Here is a summary of stories from the English Premier League
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney did not have the faintest idea who Anthony Martial was when the Monaco forward was linked with a move to Old Trafford earlier this week, according to team mate Morgan Schneiderlin.
Liverpool's defence of a Premier League crown won at a canter last season has become a nightmare
Atletico Madrid and Royal Challengers again failed when it mattered most.
Under-pressure Everton manager Roberto Martinez enjoyed some respite as his struggling side won for the first time in eight league matches.
It was a wonder that Louis van Gaal's face did not turn as scarlet as his team's shirts.
A goal by Sergio Aguero gave Manchester City a 1-0 victory against neighbours Manchester United, who played with 10 men for more than 50 minutes on Sunday.
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
Series already in their pocket, a rampaging India would look to keep the foot on the pedal and press for a clean sweep when they take on England in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Leeds on Friday.
