FIFA defended the harsh punishment it handed down to Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for biting an opponent during the World Cup, despite complaints on Friday from his coach, politicians and even the man he bit that the record penalty was excessive.
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.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said striker Diego Costa will start against Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday despite being left out of the Spain squad for this month's international matches because of persistent injuries.
Manchester City's memorable Champions League win over holders Bayern Munich still failed to add up for manager Manuel Pellegrini after he revealed his poor grasp of simple mathematics.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
With Manchester City drawing 2-2 at Arsenal and Liverpool suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa, Jose Mourinho's Chelsea were the big winners in the fourth round of Premier League games.
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic returned to Manchester United on a year-year contract "to finish what I started," the 35-year-old announced in a club statement on Thursday.
A week before they kick off their Copa America campaign against Peru, Brazil dominated a poor warm up match though there was a moment of brilliant by Philippe Coutino when they opened the scoring after 27 minutes.
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'Without Harry Kane many people were talking about Sonny (Son Heung-min) but today it was Lucas Moura who scored three goals and you know if you don't respect all the players, you cannot only have 11 players'
Inter Milan staged a late smash-and-grab raid as goals by Mauro Icardi and Matias Vecino secured a 2-1 home win over Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group B opener on Tuesday.
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Real Madrid produced a gutsy performance to earn a 1-0 win at Sevilla, on Sunday, which took them level on points at the top of La Liga
Sterling has scored six goals in five starts for City this season and has impressed with his overall contribution to Guardiola's prolific attack which has struck 29 goals in eight Premier League games.
Napoli's Marek Hamsik enjoyed a memorable return to his former club Slovan Bratislava, scoring one and creating another, in a 2-0 victory on Thursday as the Italians joined five others who made it two wins from two in the Europa League group stage.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is leaving the European champions after two years in charge.
Kerala Blasters and Sachin Tendulkar may have parted ways but the cricket legend will always remain an intrinsic part of the club, coach David James said on Friday.
Images from the League Cup matches played on Tuesday
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
It was a feast for the eyes as 40,620 people turned out at the Saltlake Stadium and witnessed the five-goal thriller with England dominating the first one-hour, followed by Mexico's second-half resurgence.
Italy will even be back to four teams in the Champions League group stage this season -- although that is thanks to a controversial re-formulation of the competition by UEFA rather than a significant improvement in performances by Serie A clubs.
Manchester United manager Lous van Gaal has again dismissed reports he will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, saying on Friday he does not have to answer to the media. The Dutchman's future has been the subject of persistent speculation after United's Champions League group-stage exit and indifferent Premier League displays sparked discontent among fans. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was linked with Van Gaal's job last and United were forced to deny a report that they had met with Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich boss who has said he wants to manage in the Premier League next season. "I don't think that the press have to help me with my decisions. First they have sacked me. Now they are interfering with my future. I don't have to answer," Van Gaal told reporters. "I have a relationship with the players of Manchester United. That is the most important thing. "Not everything the media are writing is true."
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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho unleashed an impassioned defence of his work on Friday as he responded to critics of his team's failure to make the last eight of the Champions League.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played at Selhurst Park in London on Monday
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Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky continued to swipe past the seeds at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday by dumping World No 4 Maria Sharapova from the hard court tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory.
Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho has no plans to let any of his English Premier League title-winning squad depart Stamford Bridge in the close season.
Manager Arsene Wenger has urged in-form Arsenal to stay vigilant against complacency, with the Frenchman saying his years spent in England have taught him not to take the "jungle" that is the Premier League for granted.
Holders Sevilla swept into a second consecutive Europa League final.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique played down talk of a rift with his squad after their surprise home defeat by Alaves and is hoping to put things right in their Champions League opener against Celtic on Tuesday.
He increasingly looks like a manager unable to cope with the modern tactical realities of football. His display of a fear of failure has been appalling to watch. But Mourinho getting the sack at this juncture will hardly solve the problem, says Dhruv Munjal.
'Our plan is to put the best foot forward for the upcoming tournament and play good matches'
France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.
It is hard putting a positive spin on a trip to Manchester City's fortress, especially after a midweek mugging in Naples, but Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger did his best on Friday.
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Brighton and Hove Albion made sure of Premier League football next season with two games to spare after a Pascal Gross goal gave them a memorable 1-0 home win over Manchester United on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
