Saudi Pro League champions Al-Hilal battled past Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out on Friday to win the Saudi Cup and claim the domestic double, leaving the Portuguese forward in tears at the end of the drama.
An own goal and a Sadio Mane strike earned Liverpool a 2-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first-leg against Villarreal on Wednesday, putting Juergen Klopp's side on course for their third European Cup final in five seasons.
Leaders Liverpool faltered in the English Premier League title race for the second time in six days as they were held to a 1-1 draw at West Ham United.
Liverpool, five-times European champions and last season's Champions League runners-up, eased past the Bavarians and into the quarter-finals with two goals from Sadio Mane and one from Virgil van Dijk after a goalless first leg at Anfield.
Al-Nassr overturned a 1-0 first leg deficit to win 4-3 on Monday but with the contest ending 4-4 on aggregate, the players headed into a shootout from which Al-Ain prevailed.
This was not quite Liverpool back to their best but it was an important statement of intent for Klopp's side that they will not be giving up their title without a fight.
Real Madrid's France forward Karim Benzema won the 2022 Ballon d'Or award for the best men's player in the world on Monday, while Barcelona's Spain midfielder Alexia Putellas won the women's award for a second time.
Juergen Klopp's side will meet the winners of Sunday's other semi-final between Chelsea and Crystal Palace in the May 14th final
Liverpool forward Sadio Mane scored his 100th goal for the club to help secure a 3-0 victory over lively Crystal Palace in the Premier League at Anfield on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo guided nine-man Al-Nassr to their first ever Arab Club Champions Cup title after scoring twice in a 2-1 extra-time win.
Defending champions Manchester City dominated the Professional Footballers' Association's (PFA) Team of the Year announced on Thursday, claiming six out of 11 spots.
Liverpool moved to 76 points from 32 games with title rivals Manchester City on 74 points from one game fewer, with Pep Guardiola's side hosting Brighton and Hove Albion at the Etihad on Wednesday.
The German champions beat Bayer Leverkusen 4-0 in the league last week and then fired five goals past Viktoria Plzen in Tuesday's Champions League win that kept them top of Group C.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool prevailed to equal the record of 18 consecutive top-flight wins set by Manchester City in 2017.
Liverpool survived a first-half scare to reach the Champions League final with a 3-2 win at Villarreal on Tuesday that secured a 5-2 aggregate victory after the night had threatened to turn sour for Juergen Klopp's side.
An 87th-minute header from defender Diego Llorente gave Leeds United a 1-1 home draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday after the home side staged a protest against the breakaway Super League prior to the kickoff.
Senegal took full advantage of their opponents' errors to beat Poland 2-1 in their opening Group H match, finally giving Africa something to cheer about at the World Cup as the group favourites failed to fire.
Mohamed Salah's 100th Premier League goal helped Liverpool cruise to a 3-0 victory at 10-man Leeds United on Sunday in a match that was marred by a nasty injury to teenager Harvey Elliott.
Liverpool beat Porto 4-1 at the Dragao Stadium on Wednesday to advance 6-1 on aggregate with their attacking trio of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino all on target once again.
"We wanted to commemorate the great player he was, he's a legend of Senegalese football, he made me dream and he made all of us dream so we could not mess it up on the anniversary of his death."
Manchester City took a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. In anothr match, Liverpool took a firm grip of their Champions League tie with Benfica as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a 3-1 victory in Lisbon.
The home team froze under the weight of expectation and quickly went behind in Sunday's opener, losing 2-0 to Ecuador
Conflict forces Palestinian team Jabal Al Mukaber to withdraw from AFC Cup
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.
Bayern Munich have signed Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus on a deal until 2027, the German Bundesliga champions said on Tuesday.
"We started the second half well, went 2-0 up and then struggled a bit as Qatar was more aggressive and reduced the gap. But once again we were better in transition and we managed to score the decisive third goal."
Their work in the transfer market has also added to the positivity around the club after German manager Juergen Klopp made some major moves that have clearly strengthened his squad.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Paris St Germain 3-1, while Sadio Mane grabbed a hat-trick as Liverpool demolished Porto 5-0 away in the Champions League round-of-16 on Wednesday.
Liverpool won the Super Cup 5-4 on penalties against Chelsea
Chess grandmaster Magnus Carlsen's knack for complex strategy has helped steer him into the upper echelons of an unlikely competition -- fantasy football. The Norwegian stands third on the Premier League's official fantasy football competition (FPL), only being knocked off top spot on Monday after Crystal Palace's 1-1 draw against Brighton and Hove Albion.
Confident Dutch face tough examination from Senegal
IMAGES from the English Premier League match played between Arsenal and Chelsea at Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday.
Chelsea opened up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw against top-four hopefuls Southampton in an absorbing game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
Manchester United continued their perfect start to the Premier League season by crushing Swansea City 4-0 with three late goals in four minutes.
Liverpool's hopes of opening up a menacing five-point lead at the top of the Premier League were scuppered in unlikely fashion as struggling West Bromwich Albion snatched a 1-1 draw at Anfield
Southampton have agreed to sign Werder Bremen's Netherlands winger Eljero Elia on loan until the end of the season, the Premier League club said on Tuesday.
Japan twice came from behind to draw 2-2 with Senegal in their World Cup Group H encounter on Sunday.
Senegal struggled without the influence of Sadio Mane although Ismaila Sarr, moved across to the left, valiantly attempted to make up for the absence of their injured talisman.
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