A new year is born but Arsenal still frustrate their fans after summing up the season by beating Europa League combatants Newcastle United 7-3 at the weekend and then needing an own goal to draw 1-1 at lowly Southampton.
Whatever happens in the title battle between Manchester City and Liverpool, which will go down to the final day of the season
'That was quite an empty period in this club with no evolution in areas that are important'
Five-times European champions Liverpool survived a late scare to move into the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win over Italian side Udinese on Thursday.
Turkish side Fenerbahce will be unable to compete in the Europa League this season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a UEFA-imposed two-year ban from European competition over a match-fixing scandal on Wednesday.
There were renewed calls for action against racism in Italian football on Friday after Inter Milan fans were accused of abusing Tottenham Hotspur striker Emmanuel Adebayor in a Europa League last 16 clash in the San Siro.
Tottenham Hotspur trounced a sorry Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday while last year's European champions Chelsea were humbled 1-0 by Steaua Bucharest after being stung by a Raul Rusescu penalty.
Tottenham Hotspur midfielder Mousa Dembele has been ruled out of Saturday's north London derby against Arsenal with a hip injury.
Fernando Torres left Chelsea fans wondering if they would ever see the striker who once terrorised defences after another forlorn performance as they limped into the last 16 of the Europa League on Thursday.
Rodrigo Palacio snatched an 88th minute win for Inter Milan over Partizan Belgrade in the Europa League on Thursday while Lazio were on the wrong end of some late drama in a 1-1 draw at Panathinaikos.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta feared who he might have infected when he tested positive for coronavirus, but said on Thursday he has completed his recovery and is ready to return to work with the English Premier League side. Arsenal announced Arteta's positive test a fortnight ago on March 12, which ultimately led to the halt in the season as his side prepared to face Manchester City.
Lazio have been handed a suspended one-game stadium ban by UEFA following anti-semitic chanting by home fans in a Europa League game against Tottenham Hotspur in November, Italian media reported on Friday.
Here are the talking points from the weekend's action in the Premier League
AC Milan, Villarreal and Nice reached the knockout stage of the Europa League after posting wins on Thursday in the penultimate round of the group stage.
Adrian came off the bench to fire second-placed Atletico Madrid to a 1-0 La Liga home win over Celta Vigo on Friday and secure a ninth victory in nine matches this season at their Calderon stadium.
Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao should serve up a Europa League final to remember on Wednesday and remind the continent that Spain is not just about Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted the current squad at his disposal is too small to mount any serious challenge for trophies this season, and believes he needs to bring in more quality players to improve their chances.
Liverpool have assembled a squad with enough skill to end their trophy drought next season, midfielder Adam Lallana has said.
Napoli brush aside lowly Crotone to go third in Serie A.
Lazio's Alvaro Gonzalez, Mirolsav Klose and Hernanes secured a 3-0 victory over Udinese in Serie A on Tuesday at the Stadio Olimpico where the home fans sang racist chants aimed at rivals Roma who share the stadium.
Ten supporters of English soccer club Tottenham Hotspur were injured, one of them seriously, during an attack in Rome in the early hours of Thursday ahead of a Europa League match against Serie A side Lazio, police said.
UEFA have offered their support to Slovenian club Maribor following the deaths of two of their young players in a car crash on Tuesday. Left back Damjan Marjanovic and forward Zoran Baljak, both 20, were killed in an accident as they returned from training. Two of their team mates, Ziga Lipuscek and Ljubomir Moravac, who are both 19, were injured in the crash, with the latter in a serious condition.
Hundreds of blue and white Napoli scarves were tied to railings outside the stadium, and flowers, childrens' pictures, church candles and even a bottle of wine were laid out along the pavement in a rapidly expanding, makeshift shrine.
Spain forward Fernando Torres has agreed to return to Atletico Madrid on loan from AC Milan until the end of the 2015-16 season.
PSG will need to rely on their attack against the team they knocked out in the semi-finals last season.
La Liga side Valencia have said more than a third of their playing and backroom staff have tested positive for the coronavirus but that all cases were currently asymptomatic.
Lazio have been fined 40,000 euros for racist behaviour by their fans during the Europa League tie at Tottenham Hotspur last month, UEFA said on Thursday.
The unprecedented shutdown of world sport in response to the coronavirus spread that has infected more than 134,000 people and killed around 5,000 also prompted organisers to postpone the Formula One motor races in Vietnam and Bahrain. The start of the lucrative Indian Premier League has also been postponed until April 15 as a "precautionary measure", the Board of Control for Cricket in India said.
Slavia Sofia's 42-year-old goalkeeper Georgi Petkov has rejoined the Bulgarian national squad ahead of their UEFA Nations League matches against Cyprus and Norway.
"Chelsea Football Club and Antonio Conte have parted company," the London outfit said on their website.
'It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season'
David Luiz, lucky to be on the pitch after a shocking challenge, scored with the last kick of the game to give Chelsea a 2-1 win at FC Basel in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final after the Swiss side had levelled with an 87th minute penalty on Thursday.
Manchester United's woes deepened as stunning goals by Moussa Sow and Jeremain Lens gave Fenerbahce a 2-1 Europa League win on Thursday that left Jose Mourinho's side facing a battle to reach the knockout stages.
With some clubs having played 27 games and others 28, the LFP drew the standings according to a performance index - the number of points per game weighed by head-to-head record.
Manchester United provided some blessed relief to under-fire manager Louis van Gaal by powering into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 romp at League One (third-tier) Shrewsbury Town.
Alessandro Del Piero, almost certainly playing his last home game for Juventus at the age of 37, celebrated with a goal as the Serie A champions beat Atalanta 3-1 on Sunday to finish their campaign unbeaten.
Chelsea's relationship with the European Super Cup comes full circle on Friday when the winners of the first final at the picturesque Stade Louis II face Atletico Madrid in the last one to be staged there.
Juergen Klopp was a relieved man on Saturday after Liverpool's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the Champions League final ended the German coach's miserable run of six defeats in cup finals.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger is to stand down at the end of the season after a reign of almost 22 years that made him the most successful boss in the Premier League club's history.
Manchester United will be without midfielder Anderson for their Premier League run-in because of a hamstring injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.
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