David de Gea's late own goal earned Sunderland a 2-1 win over Manchester United on Saturday and a vital three points in their bid for Premier League survival.
Mario Balotelli enjoyed a rare moment of ecstasy in a Liverpool shirt by inspiring a 2-1 win over Swansea City in the League Cup on Tuesday while Chelsea had to call for reinforcements to see off Shrewsbury Town.
Chelsea made light of striker Diego Costa's absence to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League to seven points with a 3-0 win at champions Leicester City.
Liverpool put their recent troubles behind them, showing touches of their best early-season vibrancy to overcame Arsenal 3-1 at a jubilant Anfield and leapfrog the Gunners into third place in the Premier League on Saturday.
It took Harry Kane four years to become an overnight sensation at Tottenham Hotspur and with a Young Player of the Year award as a full England international.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Manchester United are finally beginning to look like their old selves.
"Diego Costa's out which means we have to solve that problem in 24 hours," new interim coach Guus Hiddink told reporters.
Chelsea's 2-1 defeat at surprise league leaders Leicester City on Monday, their ninth loss in 16 league games since the start of a season that has gone spectacularly wrong, proved to be the final straw.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
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.
Arsenal's victory was scrappy and nervy but Laurent Koscielny's 72nd-minute winner was enough to move them two points clear at the summit after LeicesterCity's surprise push faltered with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.
Diego Costa was on target again as Chelsea overcame a defensive West Bromwich Albion 1-0 to return to the top of the Premier League with their ninth victory in a row on Sunday. The Spaniard's second-half strike sent the Blues three points clear of Arsenal, who had taken the overall lead on goals scored on Saturday after seeing off Stoke City 3-1 at the Emirates.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
Leicester City staged a thrilling comeback from two goals down to beat Aston Villa 3-2 and go second in the Premier League table on Sunday, scoring three times in 17 minutes.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Cesc Fabregas and Branislav Ivanovic struck late goals to earn improving champions Chelsea a 2-1 victory at Southampton in the Premier League on Saturday.
Nigeria beat Bosnia 1-0 on Saturday to record their first World Cup finals victory since 1998 and condemn the European team to an early exit in their first appearance at the tournament.
Protests broke out in some states on Friday, including Delhi's Jama Masjid and stone-petling at policemen in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj and Saharanpur, over the controversial remarks on Prophet Muhammad by two now-suspended Bharatiya Janata Party functionaries with demonstrators in Jharkhand injuring a few policemen while authorities in Jammu imposed a curfew in few areas and parts of Kashmir observed a shutdown.
Alvaro Morata again proved decisive from the bench by striking a late winner against Athletic Bilbao and firing a lacklustre Real Madrid to the top of La Liga on Sunday. The Spain international has been afforded limited opportunities in his first season back at Real following two years with Juventus, struggling to usurp first choice forwards Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema. Morata has made just four league starts, but has scored four times in all competitions.
Wang began a two-day trip to Pakistan on Tuesday primarily to attend a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organisation Islamic Cooperation (OIC) as a special guest.
First win for Liverpool manager Klopp, City thrash Palace 5-1
'I think as a nation we all aged a year in that super over. I feel nothing but pride. What a team'
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
'Our plan is to put the best foot forward for the upcoming tournament and play good matches'
Jose Mourinho has won a trophy every season of his top flight career and finds it "unacceptable" to contemplate finishing his comeback season with Chelsea empty handed.
KKR will head to the game with the belief that the side can win from any situation, which they have demonstrated time and again.
Jose Mourinho's future as Chelsea manager looked increasingly uncertain after Liverpool beat them 3-1 in the Premier League at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The letter by Singh, who is camping at the Dalit Prerna Sthal in Noida along with his faction members since December 2, came as protestors marked the birth anniversary of former prime minister and farmers' leader Chaudhary Charan Singh.
An Eden Hazard hat-trick swept Chelsea back to the top of the Premier League on Saturday when they beat Newcastle United 3-0 at Stamford Bridge after previous leaders Arsenal were thrashed 5-1 at Liverpool.
India abstained on the procedural vote taken in the Security Council ahead of a meeting to discuss the tense situation on the Ukraine border.
India on Monday abstained from a procedural vote taken in the UN Security Council ahead of a meeting to discuss the situation on the Ukraine border.
Key moments in Chelsea's Premier League title-winning season.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
The former Valencia player expressed surprise that Chelsea were willing to let him depart, but having been an unused substitute in their last two league matches, he relished the chance to play for another "massive club".
Despite a splurge of summer spending of more than 500 million pounds and counting, it was a free transfer from France who provided one of the standout moments of the Premier League's big kickoff.
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has eased Real Madrid's injury concerns and could be fit to play in their Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrived in India Thursday evening in the highest-level visit between the two countries after the ties came under severe strain following the eastern Ladakh standoff nearly two years ago.
The world is seeing an "explosion" in seizures of power by force and military coups are back, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres told world leaders on Tuesday, lamenting that geopolitical divisions are undermining international cooperation as he called for strengthening global governance and re-igniting multilateralism.
Chelsea scrambled a stoppage-time winner to snatch a 1-0 victory over Everton on Saturday, showing their Premier League title mettle by claiming three points when they looked on course to suffer another damaging blow.
