Spoils were shared in two huge Premier League derbies, Chelsea's cracking start continued with a 3-0 win over Aston Villa and Wayne Rooney produced a Jekyll and Hyde display in a nervy Manchester United victory on Saturday.
Premier League leaders Arsenal host north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the standout tie in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup made on Sunday.
Barcelona beat Celtic away, holders AC Milan and Arsenal drew goalless while Fenerbahce beat Spanish rivals Sevilla in Wednesday's other Champions League last 16 first-leg matches.
The Manchester United manager admits he does not understand why his team have lost two games in a row despite returning to full strength.
'We changed our attitude, desire and organisation at halftime and then we were completely different. It was good for my players to learn and to suffer on the pitch'
Leicester City reached the FA Cup final for the first time in more than 50 years
The champions beat Aston Villa 2-1 while Manchester United went down 1-2 at home to Blackburn Rovers in the Premier League.
Michael Owen struck twice in his first game of the season as Manchester United thrashed bitter rivals Leeds United 3-0 in a League Cup third-round tie at Elland Road on Tuesday.
'Hopefully, for many years,Marcus Rashford will be in this club and can make history for the club.'
Chelsea trimmed Manchester United's lead at the top of the Premier League to five points on Sunday with a patchy 1-0 defeat of Middlesbrough.
A rare header by Cesc Fabregas three minutes into injury time earned Arsenal a 1-1 draw on Saturday after hosts Sunderland seemed on course for an upset victory in the Premier League. Manchester United edged closer to the leading pack with a 2-0 win at a rain-sodden Blackburn Rovers after goals from Wes Brown and Wayne Rooney.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League
Ronaldo was given a standing ovation by fans in the seventh minute of the meeting at Anfield, with Liverpool fans singing, "You'll Never Walk Alone" while their United counterparts applauded.
Manchester United posted a 2-1 win at Middlesbrough while Liverpool scored their first away victory of the season.
Late goals from Nicklas Bendtner and Theo Walcott spared Arsenal's blushes and kept them top of the Premier League in a 2-0 victory over Cardiff City as title rivals Manchester City and Chelsea also won on Wednesday.
Manchester United can stamp out any lingering Tottenham Hotspur title ambitions with a victory in London this weekend that would set the Premier League trophy firmly on course to remain in northwest England.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Chelsea also begin the new English season at home, against promoted Birmingham City.
Chelsea blinked first in the race for the Premier League title on Sunday, letting slip two points in a 1-1 draw at Blackburn as champions Manchester United enjoyed a two-point cushion at the top of the table.
Against a background of supporter discontent over the form of Wenger's team as the Frenchman decides his future, with a protest outside the ground before kick-off urging the manager to leave his post, Arsenal were nervy from the start.
Champions Manchester United begin the second half of their Premier League title defence at the top of the league on Saturday but manager Alex Ferguson will be hoping for better luck at West Ham United.
Saturday's EPL meeting is crucial as champions United were beaten home and away by West Ham last year.
British media reports say Sanchez will seal his move to United this week
Manchester United stormed to the top of the Premier League on Saturday with a 4-1 thumping of Middlesbrough as Chelsea stole the limelight with a 6-0 hammering of third-placed Manchester City.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea slugged out a magnificent 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea completed a clean sweep for English teams in the Champions League group stage after beating Cluj 2-1 on Tuesday to join holders Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the last 16 of the competition.
Manchester United took a big step towards the Europa League quarter-finals by thrashing Austrian side LASK Linz 5-0 on Thursday in their last 16 first-leg tie at an empty Linzer Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Guardiola optimistic of De Bruyne's quick return
Arsene Wenger acknowledged Southampton were the sharper team as they crushed Arsenal 4-0 on Saturday but he also blamed the defeat on bad luck.
England striker Wayne Rooney hit a quickfire double, his first league goals of the year, to power Manchester United to a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United.
'My hope for Rashford, and it is a vain hope, is that he will be allowed to develop in peace and it won't suddenly be a question of, 'You have scored two goals for Man United and you're going to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo' or every time he has two or three bad games he is a flash in the pan'
Erling Haaland fired his fourth Premier League hat-trick of a remarkable season to earn Manchester City a comfortable 3-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Manchester United fielded a defence boasting only two first-team appearances but still proved too good for Premier League rivals Newcastle United with a 2-1 win in the League Cup third round at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
The United fans, who celebrated the victory at the end of the game with the manager and players, have not been the source of criticism of Solskjaer -- indeed the Norwegian has enjoyed strong backing from supporters who attend games at Old Trafford and those who travel away.
Danny Murphy converted a second-half penalty to give Liverpool a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford.
Arsenal must trust in Arteta, says Guardiola.
