Manchester City humbled their neighbours United by beating them 6-1 and Levante still lead in Spain where European champions Barcelona were held to a 0-0 draw by Sevilla.
It rains hard and often and is a far cry from the beaches of Barcelona, yet Argentina striker Sergio Aguero believes world player of the year Lionel Messi would find Manchester to his liking. Manchester City striker Aguero said he had extolled the virtues of England's north-west city to his compatriot and Barcelona forward who is the most valuable player in the game. Messi, 28, has expressed no desire to leave Barca, where he is contracted to until 2019, but Abu-Dhabi owned Manchester City, backed by the billions of Sheikh Mansour, are one of the few clubs who could afford to buy him. "He already knows there's no beach!," Aguero, who has scored 120 goals in 185 appearances during his four-and-a-half years at the Etihad, told Sky Sports. "We play every three days so we just eat, rest between games -- so the weather is not really that important.
Arsenal reclaim provisional top spot with 1-0 win at Man United
Liam Delap, the son of former Stoke City defender Rory, scored the opener for Pep Guardiola's side in the 2-1 win at the Etihad Stadium
'OK. RM was not happy we were celebrating KDB goal,' Haaland, whose son has scored 51 goals for city in his first season in England, said on Twitter.
Manchester City chalked up yet another victory to maintain their stranglehold of the Premier League title race but pursuers Manchester United and Leicester City both secured important wins to enhance their top-four bids on Sunday.
The club said in a statement that they will observe a period of self-isolation in accordance with league and UK Government protocols on quarantine.
Manchester City lost 1-0 to Manchester United on Wednesday but hung on to reach the League Cup final 3-2 on aggregate and will face Aston Villa at Wembley. Nemanja Matic's 35th-minute strike gave United victory at the Etihad Stadium but the midfielder was later sent off and it was not enough to overturn the 3-1 deficit from the semi-final first leg at Old Trafford.
City are on top of the table with a one point advantage over Liverpool.
Louis van Gaal believes the club have become more boring under his successor Jose Mourinho, saying he would prefer to watch local rivals and Premier League leaders Manchester City in action.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany believes the derby against Manchester United is the biggest fixture of the season and he would feel the same even if the two teams were not involved in the Premier League title race.
Pep Guardiola is pleased with the Premier League side's improvement and form over the past two months but will not make any premature comparison with his former clubs.
City, storming towards their third league title in four years, scored three late goals to wrap up victory and move onto 65 points with 11 games left to play ahead of Manchester United on 50 points with a game in hand.
Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has been charged with violent conduct over an incident involving West Ham United defender Winston Reid, the FA said in a statement on Tuesday. The Argentine international now faces a three-match ban that would see him miss Premier League games against Manchester United and Bournemouth and a League Cup third-round tie against Swansea City.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester City won the English League Cup for the second successive season as the beat Chelsea 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the Wembley showpiece had ended 0-0 after extra time.
France and Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate has become the latest player to speak out against the packed fixture schedule, saying on Tuesday that he supports his fellow players' right to strike over the issue.
The 29-year-old missed the last three ManchesterCity games and both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers earlier this month following his road traffic accident in the Netherlands.
Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah's two goals enough to beat Oxford United
'For the Premier League champions, their appearance in China was nothing more than a commercial obligation, and their lack of enthusiasm and the indifferent treatment of their hosts stands in stark contrast to representatives of other clubs'
The goal was checked by VAR and allowed to stand as Liverpool went on to clinch the victory and move nine points clear of City in the Premier League title race.
The dynasty will only be built on European success, though, and after the quarter-final exit to Liverpool, Manchester City's owners, who want a gilded continental powerhouse to match United's global lustre, will demand it and back those demands with huge funding.
Ivan Toney came off the bench to score twice and earn Al-Ahli a 2-1 win over Al-Ain on Monday that moves the Saudi side into the knockout rounds of the Asian Champions League Elite and leaves the defending champions in danger of missing out on the last 16.
City winger Riyad Mahrez and defender Aymeric Laporte previously tested positive for the novel coronavirus earlier this month.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Norwegian Haaland beat his team mate Kevin De Bruyne and 2022 World Cup champion Lionel Messi after helping City win three major trophies, the Champions League, English Premier League and FA Cup.
'I'm probably one of the only ones that disagrees, for the simple fact that we only had three games that we were below standard.'
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played between Everton and Manchester City on Wednesday
Liverpool reclaimed top spot in the Premier League with a 3-1 win over Burnley at Anfield on Saturday, but they were made to battle hard by a brave visiting side.
n own goal by Jakub Kiwior and a thumping late strike by Luis Diaz sealed a 2-0 victory for Liverpool at Arsenal
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Joshua Kimmich named new Germany captain after Gundogan's retirement, the national team's coach Julian Nagelsmann announced on Monday.
Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez has joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli from Manchester City on a deal until 2027.
Erling Haaland arrived at Manchester City nearly a year ago to questions about how a "battering ram" of a centre-forward would fit into mastermind manager Pep Guardiola's nuanced and tactically demanding style.
Tottenham fell to seventh after winning just one league game in November but have since recovered with a morale-boosting Champions League victory over APOEL Nicosia, followed by two consecutive domestic wins to climb back into the top four.
Former Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard began his loan spell at Premier League champions Manchester City on Wednesday, just two weeks after joining Major League Soccer club New York City FC.
