Christian Benteke struck twice to inspire Aston Villa to a shock 3-1 win at Arsenal on a dramatic opening day of the Premier League season on Saturday. Striker Daniel Sturridge scored and new goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved a late penalty to earn Liverpool a deserved 1-0 win over Stoke City.
The FA Cup final will be held on Aug. 1, the Football Association announced on Friday, after the Premier League said on Thursday that its season will restart on June 17.
Images from the English Premier League matches played across England on Saturday.
Swansea City manager Francesco Guidolin is still in hospital recovering from a chest infection and will miss his second Premier League match in a row when the Welsh club host Norwich City on Saturday. "He remains in a comfortable position and is making good progress but doctors have advised that he misses this weekend's game to continue his recovery," the club said on their website (www.swanseacity.net) on Friday. "He is expected to remain in hospital over the weekend before his release." Italian Guidolin, who took charge in January, was also forced to miss the 2-1 midweek victory at Arsenal. Alan Curtis, who had a spell as interim manager before Guidolin was appointed, will again take the reins for the relegation clash with Norwich.
Eden Hazard inspired Chelsea while Lionel Messi sizzled for Barcelona. Rediff.com takes a look at the other top soccer players of the weekend in Europe.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Arsenal's defence of the trophy ended with something of a whimper as Mikel Arteta's side struggled with repeatedly sloppy defending.
Liverpool will have funds to strengthen their squad in January after the last transfer window left it thin on the ground, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Friday.
Celebration was tinged with disappointment for Manchester City who eased into the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time on Tuesday but lost Vincent Kompany to injury in a 0-0 draw with Dynamo Kiev.
Images from the English Premier Lesgue matches played on Saturday.
Theo Walcott's double fired Arsenal back to the top of the Premier League as the Gunners got their title challenge back on track with a 3-1 victory at West Ham United on Thursday.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte was fuming at the final whistle after Pedro and Alvaro Morata were dismissed in extra time and two penalty appeals had been waved away, but the Premier League champions regained their composure to win the shootout 5-3.
Iceland midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson produced his second two-goal blast in three games to inspire promoted Swansea City to an emphatic 3-0 win at Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday.
Chelsea came from behind three times to overhaul Manchester United 5-4 after extra time and book a spot in the League Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday, earning sweet revenge for Sunday's controversial 3-2 league defeat.
Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes returned to the club's training ground on Wednesday to help caretaker manager Ryan Giggs prepare for this weekend's Premier League match at home to Norwich City.
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.
Manchester United midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will serve a three-match ban for violent conduct following a clash with West Ham United's Winston Reid in the Premier League last Saturday, the FA said on Thursday.
Last term, stung by City's woeful performance the previous season in a 3-0 Champions League loss at Anfield, Guardiola adopted a cautious approach in a goalless draw.
Images from Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.
IMAGES from EPL matches played on Wednesday
Tottenham Hotspur are likely to be without Rafael van der Vaart for the Christmas and New Year English Premier League fixtures after the Dutchman injured his hamstring in their 1-1 draw with Chelsea on Thursday.
A summary of Tuesday's League Cup matches.
Liverpool moved into the top five of the English Premier League after a 2-1 victory at relegation-threatened Norwich City on Monday.
Eight wins and a draw in their last nine games had seen Leicester emerge as the closest pursuers of runaway leaders Liverpool but they went down 3-1 at the Etihad despite taking an early lead through Jamie Vardy. Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Stevan Jovetic and Jesus Navas scored their first goals for ManchesterCity who avenged last season's shock FA Cup final defeat by Wigan Athletic with a 5-0 victory in the League Cup third round on Tuesday.
Juan Mata scored on his Chelsea debut in a 3-1 home win over promoted Norwich City while Jordan Henderson and Charlie Adam netted their first Liverpool goals in another 3-1 triumph over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.
Ryan Giggs enjoyed a dream 900th appearance by scoring a late winner in Manchester United's 2-1 win at Norwich City while Arsenal came from behind to thump Tottenham Hotspur 5-2 in the Premier League on Sunday.
As Manchester United ponder the vital decision about who will become their next manager former players continue to champion the cause of Ryan Giggs.
Juventus moved closer to a third straight Serie A crown with a 1-0 victory over Bologna, Paris St Germain won the French League Cup by defeating Olympique Lyon 2-1 and Benfica clinched a first Portuguese title since 2010.
England manager Roy Hodgson included Chelsea's John Terry, Liverpool striker Andy Carroll and Norwich City goalkeeper John Ruddy in a 23-man squad with Steven Gerrard named as captain on Wednesday for next month's European Championship.
Arsenal's England striker Danny Welbeck will miss Euro 2016 after being sidelined for nine months following surgery on his right knee, the Premier League club said on Wednesday. Welbeck went off in Sunday's 2-2 draw at Manchester City after sustaining "significant cartilage damage", the London club said on their website (www.arsenal.com). Since returning in February after a knee injury suffered in May last year, Welbeck has been in good form, scoring five times including winners against Leicester City and Norwich City.
Middlesbrough moved within one victory of securing a golden ticket to the Premier League.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
A round-up of Saturday's matches in the English Premier League.
Liverpool twice came from behind to force a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United that took them top of the Premier League table on Saturday.
Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League on Sunday after Jack Wilshere rescued a point for them in a 1-1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, while rivals Tottenham Hotspur suffered a shock 3-0 thumping by West Ham United.
Manchester United's relentless surge towards a 20th English title continued with Shinji Kagawa's hat-trick inspiring a 4-0 home win over Norwich City on Saturday but Ryan Giggs must wait a little longer for his 1,000 appearance after being rested.
Manchester United's age-defying midfielder Ryan Giggs signed another one-year contract on Friday that will mean he is playing for the Premier League leaders when he turns 40.
Chelsea's on-loan Brazilian international Alexandre Pato scored on his debut to help push pathetic Aston Villa to the verge of inevitable relegation with a seventh successive Premier League defeat on Saturday. Pato, the former Milan starlet who has been kicking his heels since joining from Corinthians two months ago, came on as a 25th-minute substitute and was immediately involved in the move which led to Ruben Loftus-Cheek netting his first league goal.
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