Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks to fire champions Manchester City to a rampant 6-3 thrashing of local rivals Manchester United in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Liverpool ended their topsy-turvy 2014 on a high after two goals from Adam Lallana, one excellent and one freakish, helped inspire their 4-1 trouncing of Swansea on Monday in the last Premier League game of the year.
The Reds' manager believes his team has the ability to finish in the top four and qualify for Champions League next season.
Manchester United survived a tense finale to beat West Bromwich Albion 2-1 at the Hawthorns on Sunday and close to within 11 points of Premier League leaders Manchester City.
Little more than a year has gone by since Tite took over as coach of a Brazil side still reeling from embarrassing exits in the World Cup and Copa America but in that short time he has transformed the team into favourites for Russia 2018.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
A vote will take place at the Premier League shareholders meeting on September 7 and clubs from the lower divisions in the English Football League are set to follow suit next month.
'He's an exceptional talent, him and Cristiano have been the best players in the world the last decade and he showed why we think that and why this team have won the Champions League so many times'
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg matches played on Tuesday
Liverpool will attempt to sweep away the January blues on the last day of a wretched month when they host commanding Premier League leaders Chelsea at Anfield on Tuesday.
Brazil comfortably reached the World Cup last 16 after Paulinho and Thiago Silva scored in each half to give them a 2-0 win over Serbia who were eliminated on Wednesday.
Brazil have shown all the signs they can rule the world yet again in Russia but they must make their excellent preparations count in their World Cup Group E opener against a resilient Switzerland side on Sunday in Rostov.
The improvement since Tite took over as coach in June 2016 has been remarkable and Brazil are now joint favourites to win a record sixth World Cup.
Catalans will have to cope without their inspirational captain Andres Iniesta, the man who has pedigree when it comes to beating the Blues.
A round-up of Saturday's matches in Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers was adamant that he did not regret his team selection despite falling to a fifth Premier League defeat against table-topping Chelsea on Saturday.
Barcelona lifted the Spanish Super Cup for a record extending 13th time by coming from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 on Sunday thanks to a stunning strike from France winger Ousmane Dembele and a penalty save in stoppage time from Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Belgium struck early and held off a late Brazil fightback to send the five-time champions tumbling out of the World Cup with a 2-1 victory in an end-to-end thriller on Friday that earned them a semi-final against France.
Liverpool scored a stunning 3-2 win over bottom side Queens Park Rangers with four goals coming in a frenzied seven-minute finale at Loftus Road as the drama continued in the Premier League on Sunday.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Brazil need solutions after coming unstuck against Swiss
'It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season'
One of the most eagerly-awaited clashes of the Premier League season turned into a major letdown as Liverpool and Manchester United nullified each other in a largely undistinguished goalless draw at Anfield on Monday.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
After an even first 45 minutes, strikes from Pablo Sarabia and Wissam Ben Yedder stunned the Catalans and left them needing a second-leg comeback at the Nou Camp for the second consecutive round in the competition.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We knew it was going to be hard to play against them, but I give all the praise to the lads for the hard work.'
Liverpool could be crowned champions of England for the first time in 30 years, on Wednesday, having turned the Premier League title race into a procession.
Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Philippe Coutinho and Luis Suarez combined to devastating effect to hammer Girona 6-1 on Saturday as they went 10 points clear at the top of La Liga and set a club record of 32 games unbeaten in the league.
Liverpool suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Championship side Wolverhampton Wanderers in the FA Cup fourth round on Saturday, handing manager Juergen Klopp a third home defeat in a row.
Lucas ended a goal drought stretching back to 2010 and Divock Origi missed a late penalty as Liverpool beat fourth tier Plymouth Argyle 1-0 in an FA Cup third-round replay on Wednesday.
IMAGES from the Champions League quarter-final played between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday.
images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Although United made a bright start to their quarter-final second leg at the Nou Camp with Marcus Rashford hitting the crossbar early on, they were soon outclassed by Barca, who eased to a 3-0 win on Tuesday for a dominant 4-0 aggregate victory.
Liverpool were left frustrated by Championship side Blackburn Rovers who defended heroically to draw 0-0 at Anfield.
Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta lifted a ninth Liga title after his side beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Sunday in an emotional final game for the midfielder at the Nou Camp while Fernando Torres scored twice in his final game for Atletico Madrid.
France international Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 20 assists in all competitions to help Dortmund finish third in the Bundesliga last season. The team also won the German Cup.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
Levante claim that Barcelona's teenage defender Chumi Brandariz, who played in the first leg, was ineligible to take part in the match because he was suspended.
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