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.
The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
When France meet Portugal in Sunday's Euro 2016 final, the outcome is likely to depend on the performances of Cristiano Ronaldo and Antoine Griezmann -- the second time the two players have clashed with a European trophy at stake in six weeks. Portugal's Ronaldo steered Real Madrid to their Champions League triumph at the end of May after his French rival Griezmann missed a penalty for city rivals Atletico.
Didier Deschamps has let his hair go grey naturally since the last time he picked up a European title 16 years ago. The diminutive Deschamps was never a spectacular player -- a la Zinedine Zidane -- and certainly does not belong to the Jose Mourinho school of coaching with sensational sound bites. But the unglamorous Frenchman with the twangy voice has been instrumental in taking the host nation through to Sunday's Euro 2016 final against Portugal.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was disappointed that he was only asked about the referee's decisions after his side earned a 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday to climb above Barcelona and top La Liga.
Arsenal defender Laurent Koscielny has been 'deeply affected' by last week's Paris attacks and might not be in the right frame of mind to play in Saturday's Premier League game against West Bromwich Albion, manager Arsene Wenger has said.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Real Madrid dug deep in a 3-0 home win against lowly Alaves in the La Liga, but Ligue 1 leaders Paris St Germain their second Ligue 1 loss of the season.
Four months after quitting Liverpool for Manchester City, Raheem Sterling will have the first opportunity to justify the move by getting one over his former employers when the teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Arsenal denied Chelsea the double with a 2-1 victory in an enthralling FA Cup final.
Arsenal stayed ahead of Manchester United in the race to qualify directly for next season's Champions League when they drew 1-1 at Old Trafford on Sunday while Manchester City made sure of their place in the group stage with a 4-2 win at Swansea City.
Arsenal conceded five goals for the first time at their Emirates Stadium as they suffered their worst home defeat for 19 years.
Glimpses from Sunday's Nations League matches.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
A fixture billed as a pre-Christmas cracker was more 'In the Bleak Midwinter' than 'Jingle Bell Rock' as Arsenal's hopes of regaining top spot in the Premier League fizzled out in a turgid 0-0 draw with Chelsea.
Rediff.com brings you the previews of the main matches scheduled for this weekend in the English Premier League.
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.
Rediff.com gives you a throwback to an eventful 2017, in pictures.
Mbappe becomes PSG's all-time highest goal-scorer as French champions extend lead
A summary of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga.
The win moved Spurs up to third but unbeaten Manchester City still looked in a class of their own at the top as Leroy Sane scored twice in a 4-0 stroll over West Ham United.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg-matches played on Wednesday
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
Jamie Vardy equalled the English Premier League record by scoring for a 10th successive match as his Leicester City side went top after winning 3-0 at Newcastle United while champions Chelsea ended their slump with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
Bitter rivals Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had wildly contrasting afternoons on Saturday as Arsenal went top of the Premier League and champions Chelsea lost again with their manager being sent off.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Kurt Zouma and Eden Hazard scored the goals the goals in a match that saw Diego Costa play central character.
Another unconvincing display from Manchester United was compounded by a needless red card for Angel Di Maria.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
La Liga side Valencia have said more than a third of their playing and backroom staff have tested positive for the coronavirus but that all cases were currently asymptomatic.
Manchester City suffered their first home Premier League loss in eight months as a shock 3-2 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday left Pep Guardiola's champions trailing leaders Liverpool by four points.
Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season while Watford and Bournemouth were relegated along with bottom club Norwich City.
Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991 and reached the latter stages the following season, finished second in Group H behind Arsenal who crushed BATE Borisov 6-0.
World champions Germany will not be present at the Euro 2016 final in Paris after being knocked out by hosts France 0-2 at Marseille. French football fans painted the town red, white and blue after Antoine Griezmann scored twice to take his country within a striking distance from European glory. The Les Blues will now face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the final at Paris.
Alexandre Lacazette's free-kick sent Arsenal into the Europa League semi-finals with a comfortable 1-0 win away over Napoli, while Chelsea beat Slavia Prague 4-3 in a roller-coaster game, helped by a Pedro brace.
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title in 24 years with a 3-2 win at a plucky Norwich City on Sunday, opening up a five point lead over second-placed Chelsea with three matches remaining.
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