Liverpool finished 2016 second in the Premier League with a 1-0 victory over third-placed Manchester City on Saturday.
Roy Hodgson has given himself the option to give England a youthful, fresh edge at the World Cup after including Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and Adam Lallana in his provisional squad on Monday. There were no real surprises as the irresistible late-season form of Everton's attacking midfielder Barkley and Liverpool wide man Sterling made their inclusion an easy choice for Hodgson despite having only five caps between them.
Liverpool regained their place at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-0 win at Cardiff City on Sunday that restored their two-point lead over Manchester City
Real Madrid moved into the semi-finals of the Champions League after their makeshift defence held on for 0-0 second-leg draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.
It promises to be a tense and thrilling finale to the season but Liverpool, who have frittered away a seven-point lead, will need to regain their momentum quickly if they are to push for their first league title since 1990.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
A summary of Saturday's matches in the Premier League.
Frank Lampard, Chelsea's all-time leading scorer, netted against his old club when he came on as a late substitute for Manchester City to give the champions a 1-1 draw.
Juergen Klopp returns to the scene of one his Liverpool side's most controversial victories of last season this Saturday with the man who fashioned it lining up against him.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini believes tiredness was behind their 3-0 defeat by Liverpool on Wednesday after a third successive Premier League loss put a hefty dent in their faltering title hopes.
Roberto Firmino struck a stoppage-time winner as Liverpool beat Paris St Germain 3-2 at Anfield on Tuesday after Kylian Mbappe looked to have secured a point for the French side in a compelling Champions League Group C clash.
The following are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
Second-half goals from Willian and Diego Costa helped Chelsea ease past Hull City 2-0 on Saturday and grab their first win in four Premier League games.
Liverpool beat Leicester City 2-1 to post a fourth successive Premier League victory but conceded their first goal of the season after a nightmare mistake by new keeper Alisson.
Liverpool were on the end of the biggest sensation of the English Premier League season when bottom club Swansea City repelled a dramatic comeback from Juergen Klopp's title chasers to earn their first-ever league win at Anfield.
Strikers Marcus Rashford and Daniel Sturridge made Roy Hodgson's final 23-man England squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday but winger Andros Townsend and midfielders Danny Drinkwater and Fabian Delph were left out. England are taking five forwards to the 24-team tournament in France, which starts on June 10, with Sturridge selected despite doubts over a calf problem. The injury had forced the Liverpool striker to miss England's last two friendly matches, including Friday's win over Australia in Sunderland. The 18-year-old Rashford, who signed a new long-term deal with Manchester United on Monday, became the youngest player to score on his England debut in the 2-1 win at the Stadium of Light. He scored that goal 138 seconds into what was only his 19th professional match, marking him out as one of the brightest emerging prospects and winning plaudits from Hodgson.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp has a midfield conundrum and his Tottenham counterpart Mauricio Pochettino must decide whether Harry Kane is ready for action as both bosses face selection dilemmas for Saturday's Champions League final.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has apologised for shoving his Chelsea counterpart Jose Mourinho on the touchline during a Premier League match at Stamford Bridge.
Liverpool ripped apart Manchester City with three goals inside the opening 31 minutes as they won their Champions League quarter-final, first leg tie 3-0 on Wednesday.
Liverpool, five-times European champions and last season's Champions League runners-up, eased past the Bavarians and into the quarter-finals with two goals from Sadio Mane and one from Virgil van Dijk after a goalless first leg at Anfield.
Manchester City's memorable Champions League win over holders Bayern Munich still failed to add up for manager Manuel Pellegrini after he revealed his poor grasp of simple mathematics.
Virgil van Dijk made a dream start to his Anfield career, scoring the winning goal on his debut for Liverpool, as they beat city rivals Everton 2-1 in a pulsating FA Cup third round tie on Friday.
IMAGES from the Champions League 2nd semi-final first leg match between Barcelona and Liverpool at Nou Camp on Wednesday
Although it was far from unexpected, Frank Lampard's international retirement increased the challenge facing England manager Roy Hodgson as he looks to move the team forward for the 2016 European Championship and beyond.
Tottenham Hotspur climbed to third with a 3-1 win over Southampton while Chelsea hung on to fourth spot, above Arsenal on goal difference, despite a 2-1 defeat at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
For all the positives that England can take from their performance against Russia in their opening Euro 2016 game there remains the worrying issue that their sophisticated modern defenders remain vulnerable to the most basic of attacking ploys -- a long punt into the box.
Manchester City qualified for the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League with goals from Samir Nasri and Pablo Zabaleta sinking Roma 2-0 to eliminate the Italians.
Manchester City beat Swansea 3-1 to make it a perfect 10 victories under Pep Guardiola, including six in the Premier League, as they recorded their best start to a top-flight campaign. City's victory was the perfect riposte to the Spaniard's old rival Jose Mourinho, who earlier saw his remodelled Manchester United sparkle without the dropped Wayne Rooney, thumping Premier League champions Leicester City 4-1. On a day of goals, both Manchester sides were outscored by Liverpool, who crushed Hull City 5-1 to take their tally to 24 in the past eight games.
Images from Sunday's Premier League matches.
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.
Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Manchester United and Chelsea secured places in the Champions League with wins on the final day of the Premier League season while Watford and Bournemouth were relegated along with bottom club Norwich City.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Liverpool reached the Champions League final after riding their luck to contain a fired-up AS Roma in a 4-2 defeat at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday that sent them through 7-6 on aggregate.
Liverpool reached the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in 10 years as Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino struck decisive blows to secure a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Tuesday that completed a 5-1 aggregate victory.
Chelsea brought a whole new dimension to the Premier League title race when they handed Manchester City their first defeat of the season on Saturday to leave Mohamed Salah-inspired Liverpool as the new leaders.
A summary of Wednesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Paris St Germain revived their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in Group C on Wednesday, leaving the English club's hopes of reaching the last 16 hanging in the balance.
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