Leaders Manchester United registered a resounding 3-0 victory at Aston Villa, while Chelsea scored a last-gasp 3-2 win at Wigan Athletic.
La Liga players dominate this year's Best Player in Europe shortlist, announced by the continent's governing body UEFA on Monday, with seven of the top 10 contenders for the prestigious award currently plying their trade in Spain.
Chelsea cut Manchester United's Premier League lead to five points after Didier Drogba scored the winner in a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Man of the match Wayne Rooney scored twice as Manchester United routed Wigan Athletic 4-0.
League leaders Chelsea and Liverpool however won their matches in the Premier League.
A stunning strike by midfielder Kevin Nolan earned Bolton Wanderers a 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in Monday's Premier League match.
European champions Liverpool were beaten 0-2 by Fulham in the English Premier League.
The win closed the gap on Tottenham Hotspur to a point in the battle for the final Champions League qualifying spot.
Defensive injury concerns for veteran squad leader Vincent Kompany and Barcelona's Thomas Vermaelen have eased and coach Roberto Martinez has sent standby defender Laurent Ciman home.
Manchester United beat Chelsea 1-0 to end the champions' 40-match unbeaten run in the English Premier League.
Premier League leaders Arsenal host north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the standout tie in the draw for the third round of the FA Cup made on Sunday.
Former Hull City midfielder Jimmy Bullard, who is now retired, says the club 'changed his life' by paying him up to an extra 15,000 or 16,000 pounds a week by mistake.
Rediff.com brings you a selection of images of fans taking to the field of play to make a point or gain attention.
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Last season's FA Cup runners-up Chelsea struck four times before the break to crush second-tier Hull City 4-0 and stroll into the quarter-finals at Stamford Bridge on Friday.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben has been ruled out for around six weeks after sustaining a groin muscle injury in Saturday's friendly against lower division side Lippstadt, the Bundesliga champions said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The majority of Premier League clubs would prefer not to have the distraction of playing in the FA Cup, according to Paul Lambert, the manager of seven-time winners Aston Villa.
With dreams of European glory in tatters, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur turn their attention to the FA Cup quarter-finals this weekend clinging to their last chance of silverware this season.
Pep Guardiola claimed his maiden English silverware as his side thrashed Arsenal 3-0 in the League Cup final with Sergio Aguero, Vincent Kompany and David Silva all on target in a disappointingly one-sided showpiece on Sunday.
Everton won 1-0 at bottom club Sunderland to leapfrog Arsenal into fourth place in the Premier League on Saturday and the battle at the other end of the table intensified with wins for three clubs in danger of relegation.
Goals from Curtis Davies and Robert Koren earned HullCity a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 2-1 replay win at home to Brighton and Hove Albion on Monday.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Former Cup winners Coventry, now plying their trade in the bottom division of the Football League, revived memories of happier times as Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer scored the goals in a 2-1 victory at the Ricoh Arena.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
The Polish keeper's future in doubt as David Ospina impressive for Gunners in front of goal this season
Fiorentina fell behind to a spectacular scissors-kick goal from Pandurii's Eric Pereira before hitting back in the last five minutes to win 2-1 on Thursday and lead a charge of teams into the Europa League knockout stages.
Indian-origin Labour Party candidates won more seats than their rival Conservatives.
Romelu Lukaku extended his impressive FA Cup scoring record by netting twice in Manchester United's 2-0 win at Huddersfield Town to earn Jose Mourinho's side a quarter-final tie at home to Brighton & Hove Albion.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday
As the black-tinted sports cars carrying Manchester United's millionaire footballers rolled into the club's Carrington complex for the start of pre-season training on Wednesday, no one wound down any windows to discuss the start of life under Jose Mourinho. But there was surely only one topic of conversation when the players began the hard task of proving to the new manager on the pitch that they can forge the sort of future he outlined so eloquently at his news conference the previous day.
