A summary of Thursday's matches in the English Premier League.
Arsenal striker Lukas Podolski scored twice in the opening half-hour as the Premier League leaders romped to a 4-0 win over third-tier Coventry City in their FA Cup fourth round tie at the Emirates on Friday.
Lampard must re-energise the team to even hold onto Chelsea's tag as best of the rest behind Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Liverpool.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Rayo Vallecano forward Alvaro Garcia netted an early goal to give his side a surprise 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, moving Real Madrid another step closer to sealing their 35th LaLiga title.
Manchester United's top-four aspirations suffered a setback as Louis van Gaal's side were blown away 3-0 by Everton.
Luton pulled one back on the half-hour mark when Chelsea keeper Kepa Arrizabalaga failed to keep out Jordan Clark's low effort which squeezed between his hand and leg into the net.
Images from Monday's action in the Premier League.
Images from EPL matches played on Wednesday
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
Images from the English Premier League match played between Arsenal and Crystal Palace on Monday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Arsenal travel across town to a vengeful Chelsea on Saturday knowing that another depressing defeat at Stamford Bridge would see their Premier League title hopes swept away with the lunchtime leftovers.
France striker Karim Benzema hit out at those who questioned his work ethic as he tried to play down Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelloti's suggestion that he shies away from hard work.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Portugal won their first Euro title after defeating France 1-0 at the Stade de France in Paris on Sunday.
Antoine Griezmann had plenty of painful memories to erase in Thursday's European Championship semi-final against Germany and he did that in style, scoring twice to lead the host nation to an historic 2-0 victory over the world champions.
Sweden missed the influence of captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was resting a sore calf muscle, as they struggled to create chances in a dull 0-0 draw with Slovenia in their penultimate Euro 2016 warm-up in Malmo on Monday.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Barcelona's Lionel Messi broke free from Arsenal's shackles to score two late goals and put the Champions League holders on the brink of the quarter-finals with a clinical 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
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Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on Tuesday.
Two goals from Thomas Mueller and one from substitute Mario Goetze helped Bayern Munich kick off their Champions League campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory over Olympiakos.
Arsenal must not rest on their laurels after successive FA Cup victories and instead use one of the side's 'best squads' to inspire them to Premier League glory next season.
FA Cup holders Arsenal were taken to extra time before a horrendous error by Reading goalkeeper Adam Federici brought the Championship side's dream to an end in a 2-1 semi-final defeat on Saturday.
Chelsea kept up their pursuit of the Premier League's top three clubs with a 1-0 win away to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday, thanks to a strike by N'Golo Kante early in the second half.
Their skills are impressive on the field, and their looks easy on the eyes.
Juventus progressed to the Champions League last 16 after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal and a late header from substitute Alvaro Morata gave them a comeback 2-1 home win over Hungarians Ferencvaros on Tuesday.
Liverpool continued their perfect start to the season to stay top of the Premier League after a goal in each half gave them a 2-1 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley on Saturday.
Chelsea moved 12 points clear of Arsenal, who suffered their fourth defeat in nine league matches, while fourth-placed Liverpool fell 13 point adrift after their wretched 2017 continued with a shock 2-0 defeat at resurgent Hull City.
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Manchester City's hopes of closing the gap on the Premier League pacesetters were frustrated as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
Record signing Mesut Ozil is now over his key penalty miss against Bayern Munich having ended a three month goal drought with a dynamic display in the FA Cup win over Everton, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said.
Angel Di Maria unleashed a stunning long-range strike in the 41st minute to draw Argentina level at 1-1 against France at halftime of their round of 16 World Cup clash on Saturday.
The Danes were certainly in no mood to risk defeat by pushing for a win they did not need to qualify.
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Luis Suarez struck a clinical hat-trick as Liverpool thrashed West Bromwich Albion 4-1 at Anfield to keep pace with Premier League leaders Arsenal on Saturday.
Chelsea heaped more Christmas misery on Liverpool with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge and Olivier Giroud ended a seven-game scoring drought to help Arsenal win 1-0 at Newcastle United and return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
