IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Petr Cech will return in goal for Arsenal at HullCity on Saturday after missing the 1-1 Champions League draw at Paris St Germain in midweek.
Manchester City's hopes of closing the gap on the Premier League pacesetters were frustrated as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to lowly West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi has been declared as the best forward, while Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo was ranked 29th.
Vibrant Chelsea made it a torrid few days for Liverpool as goals by Willian and Ross Barkley sealed a 2-0 victory to send them through to the FA Cup quarter-finals on Tuesday. Liverpool's 44-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League ended in stunning fashion with a 3-0 defeat at Watford on Saturday and they were rocked again at Stamford Bridge.
Arsenal are set to bolster their attack with reports suggesting that Real Madrid's Alvaro Morata is on his way to the Emirates.
After tweaking his formation and starting lineup at Euro 2016, France coach Didier Deschamps seems to have found the perfect formula at just the right time. Thanks to his shrewd tactics, his team turned on the style to outplay Iceland 5-2 on Sunday and advance to an appetising semi-final battle with Germany. The fact that France, who had never got past the last eight at the finals since their 2000 triumph, managed to get almost everything right, has a lot to do with Deschamps' methods.
France's players immediately turned their minds to a semi-final with Germany on Thursday after putting Iceland to the sword in a 5-2 win at Euro 2016.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
France coach Didier Deschamps confirmed his final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday, including defenders Adil Rami and Samuel Umtiti in place of the injured Raphael Varane and Jeremy Mathieu. Liverpool centre back Mamadou Sakho was not included even though his 30-day provisional suspension for failing a drugs test expired last weekend. Hosts France geared up for the finals with a 3-2 victory over Cameroon in Nantes on Monday. They take on Scotland in Metz on Saturday.
Hosts France came from behind to beat 10-man Ireland 2-1 and reach the Euro 2016 quarter-finals after two second-half strikes from forward Antoine Griezmann at Parc OL on Sunday. A tactical switch from coach Didier Deschamps at the break revitalised the French, who struggled to find their feet early on after conceding a Robbie Brady penalty in the second minute, the fastest goal in the 2016 tournament.
Chelsea heaped more Christmas misery on Liverpool with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge and Olivier Giroud ended a seven-game scoring drought to help Arsenal win 1-0 at Newcastle United and return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
Raphael Varane's glancing header and a goalkeeping blunder that gifted Antoine Griezmann a soft goal gave France a 2-0 victory over Uruguay in the first World Cup quarter-final on Friday and a set up a last-four tie with Brazil or Belgium.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Cech's solid 'keeping and Liverpool's staunch defence ensured the match ended in a goalless stalemate
Liverpool won the Super Cup 5-4 on penalties against Chelsea
The presidential visit to Clairefontaine ahead of a World Cup has become a ritual for French leaders ever since Jacques Chirac visited the squad in the run-up to the 1998 tournament.
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 99th international goal as the defending champions edged past Luxembourg 2-0
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
'It has been good on pitch and off pitch,' Lampard said.
Bayern Munich dismantled Arsenal 5-1 in UEFA Champions League Group F on Wednesday after a sensational first-half performance to close on the knockout stages with two matches left.
Confident Arsenal travel to Bayern Munich on Wednesday hoping to tame the German champions for a second time in two weeks, and are promising to attack despite a string of injuries.
Arsenal, who went nine years without a trophy before winning the FA Cup in May, collected their second piece of silverware in three months when they crushed champions Manchester City 3-0 in the Community Shield at Wembley on Sunday.
'Les Bleus' will be inspired by the two-decade anniversary of their only World Cup win in 1998, while double winners Uruguay's modern generation are desperate to recreate the black-and-white-era glories of their 1930 and 1950 trophies.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
Lampard must re-energise the team to even hold onto Chelsea's tag as best of the rest behind Premier League champions Manchester City and runners-up Liverpool.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey's injury could have been prevented, Wales manager Chris Coleman has said, adding he was surprised the Euro 2016 semi-finalist was rushed back for the opening Premier League game against Liverpool.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Images from the Champions League round of 16 second leg matches played on Tuesday
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
France and Ecuador drew 0-0 in their final World Cup Group E game on Wednesday to send the French into the last 16 as group winners and eliminate their opponents due to Switzerland's 3-0 win over Honduras.
Arsenal's hopes of catching Manchester City for second place in the Premier League suffered a setback.
Mikel Arteta scored Premier League leaders Arsenal's first goal in a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday but was later sent off in the early kickoff in south London.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has blamed his side's poor finish as the reason behind their goalless draw against Southampton in their Premier League clash at the Emirates Stadium.
Real Madrid's Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best soccer player in the world for the second year running at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
'Keep Calm And Carry On' could be Claudio Ranieri's motto for the second half of the season after Leicester City earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday to put the heat back on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
World champions Germany drew 1-1 with Spain in a high tempo friendly on Friday as they launched their preparations for a title defence in Russia while their opponents had striker Diego Costa making his long-awaited comeback as a substitute.
