The race for Premier League places in next season's Europa League warmed up on Sunday when Aston Villa and Everton fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw and Fulham came from behind to win 3-1 at Manchester City.
Spanish goal hero David Villa has rallied behind Fernando Torres after his strike partner turned in another disappointing World Cup performance in the European champions' 1-0 win over Portugal on Tuesday, saying he doesn't agree with those who say that the Liverpool ace's performances have been below par.
Premier League sides Manchester United and Aston Villa reached the fourth round of the FA Cup on Sunday after seeing off lower league opponents Southampton and Gillingham.
Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick as champions Manchester City made a convincing start to their title defence with a 5-0 win over West Ham United.
The Villa, owned by United Breweries Holding, was mortgaged by KFA to SBI-led 17-bank consortium to obtain loans in 2010
Zenit St. Petersburg, led by Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas, won the Russian Premier League title.
Chelsea's on-loan Brazilian international Alexandre Pato scored on his debut to help push pathetic Aston Villa to the verge of inevitable relegation with a seventh successive Premier League defeat on Saturday. Pato, the former Milan starlet who has been kicking his heels since joining from Corinthians two months ago, came on as a 25th-minute substitute and was immediately involved in the move which led to Ruben Loftus-Cheek netting his first league goal.
Danny Welbeck, making his first appearance of the season as a late substitute, headed a stoppage-time winner to give Arsenal a 2-1 home win over league leaders Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi brought back memories of outstanding performances by his Argentine compatriots Diego Maradona and Ricky Villa at Wembley with his match-winning display in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Six episodes are not enough, applauds Deepa Gahlot.
Frank Lampard broke Chelsea's all-time scoring record with two goals as the European champions all but secured a top-four finish in the Premier League with a 2-1 win in an incident-packed game at Aston Villa on Saturday.
Frank Lampard passed the 150-goal milestone for Chelsea on Saturday with four goals in a 7-1 hammering of Aston Villa as Carlo Ancelotti's side roared back to the top of the English Premier League.
Darwin Nunez came off the bench to score twice as Liverpool snatched a sensational 2-1 Premier League win at Newcastle United on Sunday.
David Villa hit a spectacular volley to earn Spain a 1-0 win over world champions Italy in a friendly on Wednesday. The Valencia striker, who replaced Fernando Torres at halftime, fired the ball into the top corner past a helpless Gianluigi Buffon 13 minutes from time after Fabio Cannavaro had headed the ball clear of his area.
A hat-trick by David Villa helped Spain to a 4-1 win over Russia in their Euro 2008 opener on Tuesday.
A summary of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Blackburn Rovers gave their new Indian owners an immediate return on Sunday with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa that lifted the club five places in the English Premier League table.
Darren Bent scored on his debut four days after becoming Aston Villa's most expensive player to give his new side a 1-0 win over Manchester City in the Premier League at Villa Park on Saturday.
David Villa struck just after halftime to lift champions Barcelona to a laboured 1-0 home win over his former club Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Wednesday.
David Villa struck twice and David Silva and Juan Mata also scored to give rampant Valencia a 4-2 win at Real Valladolid in La Liga on Sunday.
Wayne Rooney scored twice in a 4-1 victory in the English Premier League.
Aston Villa beat Crystal Palace 1-0 to win a Premier League match for the first time since August while a late goal from Paul Dummett earned a 3-3 draw for Newcastle United against Manchester United on Tuesday.
Embattled Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's immediate family members are living under 'close confinement' at a luxurious villa in Algeria, it has emerged.
Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa gained ground in the Premier League's increasingly tight battle for fourth place on Sunday as they beat Wigan Athletic and Burnley respectively.
Chelsea's title hopes suffered a blow when the Premier League leaders finished with nine men in a 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Saturday after Manchester City won 2-0 at Hull City to cut the gap at the top to six points.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Liverpool climbed to the top of the Premier League table with a 2-1 victory over struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday.
State-owned Bank of Baroda on Monday said actor Sunny Deol has offered to settle the dues related to his bungalow in Mumbai.
Aston Villa moved back to fifth in the English Premier League with an astonishing 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday after a goal in the first minute and one from each side in stoppage time. In the day's other match, West Bromwich Albion failed to win for the ninth successive match and stayed bottom after being held to a 1-1 draw by Portsmouth at The Hawthorns.
Aston Villa reached the League Cup final after coming from 2-0 down to beat Blackburn Rovers 6-4 in a thrilling semi-final second leg on Wednesday.
Chelsea's defensive frailties were exposed again on Saturday when they gifted Aston Villa two goals from corners in a 2-1 away defeat, their second loss in three league games after they had won their first six.
Liverpool draw Sparta Prague in Europa League last 16
IMAGES from football matches played across European leagues on Saturday
Manchester United wasted a glorious chance to catch Chelsea at the top of the Premier League when they lost 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on Saturday. Earlier leaders Chelsea were held 3-3 at home by Everton despite two goals from Didier Drogba.
Liverpool have agreed a 32.5 million pounds deal with Aston Villa for striker Christian Benteke, British media reported on Sunday.
European champions Barcelona have pledged to capture the Club World Cup for striker David Villa, who suffered a sickening leg break in Thursday's semi-final in Japan.
Andre Villas-Boas could emulate Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal by remaining Chelsea's manager for 10 or 15 years, club chairman Bruce Buck said on Thursday.
Manchester City and Arsenal closed in on Premier League leaders Liverpool with contrasting victories on Saturday as Manchester United's bubble was burst by Fulham.
