A new year is born but Arsenal still frustrate their fans after summing up the season by beating Europa League combatants Newcastle United 7-3 at the weekend and then needing an own goal to draw 1-1 at lowly Southampton.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Manchester United missed the chance to make significant inroads into Manchester City's lead at the top of the Premier League after stumbling to a 1-1 draw against Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
ManchesterCity moved up to third in the Premier League on Saturday while Newcastle United boosted their hopes of survival by coming back from two goals down at Liverpool to draw 2-2 and secure a precious point.
He donned the number seven shirt during his first stint at the club, following in the footsteps of great United players including George Best, Bryan Robson, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
Ronaldo's moments of brilliance, however, are getting ever rarer. Even in the Europa League, where he has started all four matches against mediocre opponents such as Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia, he has only scored once, off a penalty.
Champions Manchester United will travel to Swansea City for their first Premier League match under new manager David Moyes while Manuel Pellegrini's Manchester City are at home to Newcastle United on August 17.
Manchester City went top of the Premier League after securing a controversial 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Sunday with an early Edin Dzeko goal and a stoppage time effort from Alvaro Negredo.
Lucas Bergvall scored his first goal for Tottenham Hotspur to give his side a surprise 1-0 victory over holders Liverpool in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Images from Wednesday's action in the English Premier League.
Liverpool's slim Premier League title hopes faded further on Saturday when Michail Antonio's late header earned West Ham United a deserved point with a 2-2 draw.
'I can't give you a time but we will get there. We have given ourselves a big, big uphill task to get in the top four, never mind the top six'
A round-up of Saturday's fifth round action in the FA Cup
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Champions Manchester City slipped to a shock first Premier League defeat of the season at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, while Manchester United's campaign of woe continued with a loss to Crystal Palace.
Nuno's coaching staff have also been relieved of their duties. The club have not yet announced a replacement but British media reported former Chelsea and Inter Milan boss Antonio Conte is linked.
Arsenal restored their five-point lead at the top of the English Premier League with Eddie Nketiah scoring twice in a 3-2 defeat of Manchester United, including a 90th-minute winner.
Striker Ruud van Nistelrooy's opportunistic goal gave them a 1-0 victory over Birmingham City in the English premiership.
Ronaldo enjoyed a dream first appearance on his return to the club, scoring two goals in the 4-1 home victory over Newcastle United.
Manchester United will be back in action in next season's Champions League after they hammered Chelsea 4-1.
A summary of Sunday's Premier League matches
There was no way through for Chelsea as Watford halted their recent resurgence in a goalless Premier League stalemate at Vicarage Road while Everton piled more woe on Newcastle United with a 3-0 victory on Wednesday.
Manchester United are three points clear of champions Chelsea in the Premier League.
The victory lifted Brazil to second in South American qualifying with 21 points, four behind leaders Argentina and one ahead of Uruguay in third, both of whom have a game in hand and will clash on Friday.
Livewire striker Javier Hernandez struck six minutes from time to give Manchester United a 1-0 home win over Everton that extended their Premier League lead to nine points on Saturday.
A Titus Bramble own goal helped Manchester United edge closer to their 20th league title when they won 1-0 at Sunderland on Saturday to stay 15 points clear of champions Manchester City with only eight Premier League games left to play.
Manchester United remain winless at home in the league this season after Arsenal enjoyed their first win at Old Trafford
Chelsea narrowed Manchester United's lead in the Premier League to four points on Tuesday with a 1-0 victory at Portsmouth while Liverpool also kept their slender title hopes alive with a 2-0 defeat of Sunderland. United have two games in hand on both, starting with their trip to struggling Newcastle United on Wednesday.
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.
Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to win a Premier League match for the first time since August while a late goal from Paul Dummett earned a 3-3 draw for Newcastle United against Manchester United on Tuesday.
Manchester United needed a stunning second-half equaliser from Wayne Rooney and a rare goal from Wes Brown to beat Newcastle United 2-1.
Manchester United took a huge step towards retaining their Premier League title when they beat West Ham United 4-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday after playing more than half the match with 10 men.
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.
Chelsea striker Demba Ba struck twice on his debut as the FA Cup holders enjoyed a 5-1 drubbing of Southampton in the third round on Saturday and Robin van Persie's majestic last-gasp equaliser salvaged a 2-2 draw for Manchester United at West Ham.
Louis van Gaal's carrot and stick approach worked wonders on Friday as his rapidly-improving Manchester United beat Newcastle United 3-1 to cement third spot in the Premier League.
Manchester United trailed three times before a last-gasp goal from Javier Hernandez earned a rip-roaring 4-3 win over Newcastle United that opened a seven-point lead at the top of the English Premier League.
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.
