Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will resume their perennial battle to be crowned the world's best footballer after they headed the shortlist of 30 players for the 2016 Ballon d'Or announced on Monday.
Photos from matches played in the French Ligue 1 and Serie A matches played on Saturday
Radamel Falcao answered Zlatan Ibrahimovic's early opening goal for Paris St Germain with a quick equaliser for a 1-1 draw that kept Monaco top of Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Manchester United expect profits to fall back from last season's record levels after the club splashed out on new players to try to regain its place in Europe's soccer elite.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been named Sweden's footballer of the year for the ninth time and although his eighth victory in a row came as no shock, his acceptance speech showing a more sensitive side surprised many.
Manchester City look to take an important step in their transformation into one of the world's leading clubs on Tuesday by reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time.
Manchester City's eight point advantage after 11 games is leading to talk of the Premier League title race being over in November, but as Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho noted - English football has a habit of throwing up surprises.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic crowned a triumphant homecoming with a second-half goal as Paris St Germain crushed Malmo 5-0 on Wednesday to book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
After losing only three league games last season Juventus have now lost the first two of the new campaign as a deserved 2-1 defeat at AS Roma on Sunday condemned the champions to their worst-ever Serie A start.
Rayo Vallecano forward Alvaro Garcia netted an early goal to give his side a surprise 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, moving Real Madrid another step closer to sealing their 35th LaLiga title.
Paris St Germain made light of the absent Zlatan Ibrahimovic and a sub-standard start to the season to claim a 3-2 Champions League victory over Barcelona on Tuesday.
City will look to extend lead against United at Old Trafford
Ibrahimovic was forced off with a muscle problem with 11 minutes remaining, and the Swede was pictured sitting on the bench with an ice pack strapped to the back of his left leg.
He also finished the season five goals clear of the next leading scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.
Of all the managerial dilemmas facing Manchester United's Jose Mourinho after three success defeats, the future of his captain Wayne Rooney is by far the most pressing. The England captain, deployed in a central midfield role this season, has been a peripheral figure in a team struggling to gel and his lacklustre performance in the 3-1 defeat at Watford on Sunday led to widespread calls for him to be dropped. Rooney mustered one shot, did not play a single through ball and created only two chances for team mates with the nine corners and free kicks he took.
Andreas Granqvist did not exactly set the world alight during his two seasons with the Premier League side Wigan, but Sweden's defensive linchpin is ready to show how far he has come when his side take on England in the World Cup quarter-finals.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Chhetri scored his 62nd international goal to equal Ibrahimovic and Ronaldo's goal tally
Italy coach Antonio Conte said he wants more of the team's supporters at Euro 2016 to show their pride by wearing blue shirts after they secured their place in the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Sweden on Friday. As the Azzurri secured their second straight win with Eder's late goal, Conte was impressed by the vast number of Swedish supporters inside the stadium in Toulouse wearing their side's bright yellow shirts. Italy, in contrast, looked under-represented in the stadium.
Paris St Germain collected their first trophy of the season when Edinson Cavani's double secured a 2-1 victory against Olympique Lyon in the French League Cup final on Saturday.
Manchester United stretched their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions after Daley Blind, in-form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and substitute Henrik Mkhitaryan gave them a 3-1 home win over Sunderland on Monday. Left back Blind fired United ahead with a crisp 39th-minute shot after Ibrahimovic teed him up perfectly. The towering Swede doubled the lead with a clinical 82nd-minute finish for his 17th goal of the season. Fit-again Mkhitaryan put the icing on the cake with a spectacular backheel effort after a sharp Ibrahimovic cross from the right, although television replays suggested the Armenian was marginally offside. Striker Fabio Borini gave Sunderland fans something to cheer with a dipping late volley.
Not many people talk badly of Pep Guardiola, a sainted figure in football, but Manchester City's manager will find two of his most vocal critics facing him down at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Mourinho has a reputation for creating a siege mentality at the clubs he manages, and he has used the injury crisis -- which saw top scorer Zlatan Ibrahimovic and key defender Marcos Rojo suffer serious knee injuries last week - to create a spirit of resistance amongst his current squad.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
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.
Manchester United's Jose Mourinho, humbled for the second time this season in front of the Chelsea fans who once idolised him, did not go quietly on Monday as he declared that he remains the London club's number one manager.
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.
Former world champions France will play Ukraine for a place in the World Cup finals in Brazil next year with the advantage of the second leg at home following the draw for the European playoffs.
The ICC had agreed with its cricket committee and said no saliva should be used to shine the ball due to threats regarding the coronavirus.
England's Harry Kane scored on his debut less than two minutes after coming on as they brushed Lithuania aside 4-0 at Wembley on Friday.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
For Ireland to reach the knockout stages at Euro 2016 they must achieve something they haven't done in 28 years - win a game at the European Championship. Martin O'Neill's team face an Italian side already guaranteed victory in Group E and manager Antonio Conte is likely to field many of his reserves, but it remains to be seen if Ireland can end their long winless streak in this must-win game.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho said full back Luke Shaw used "his body with my brain" during his side's 1-1 draw with Everton on Tuesday and has urged the England international to develop a better understanding of the game.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte got the upper hand on Jose Mourinho for the second time this season as his double-chasing side beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 at Stamford Bridge to reach the FA Cup semi-finals on Monday.
Results and images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Belgian league leaders Antwerp secured a shock 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and AC Milan extended their unbeaten run to 23 games as they won 3-0 against Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday, while Arsenal cruised to a 3-0 win over Dundalk.
From sharp, flying tackles and tough possession-fights, bloodied noses to scissor kicks in attempt to finding those crucial goals and the ecstatic celebrations thereafter, Rediff.com gives you a quick rewind of all the excitement that has transpired over the last five days across France...
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
A summary of the results of the football matches played across Europe on Sunday
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