Manchester City beat bottom club Sheffield United 1-0 to move three points clear of Manchester United who were held to a goalless draw at Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday.
European champions Chelsea have been given the blessing of Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew to sign Senegal striker Demba Ba after his release clause was triggered on Wednesday.
Liverpool will take their strongest squad of the season to Newcastle United on Saturday, manager Brendan Rodgers said on Thursday.
Chelsea's third successive league win lifted them level on 18 points with Leicester City but are top thanks to a better goal difference. Leicester face Liverpool on Sunday.
Liverpool twice came from behind to force a 2-2 draw against Newcastle United that took them top of the Premier League table on Saturday.
With the league paused for the international break, Ronaldo is expected to play his first game when United host Newcastle United at old Trafford on September 11.
Newcastle United's red-hot striker Papiss Cisse struck twice to earn a smash-and-grab 2-0 win at Swansea City in the Premier League on Friday that lifted his side above Chelsea into fifth place.
Newcastle United's Charles N'Zogbia said on Thursday he would never play for the club again while manager Joe Kinnear is in charge.
Newcastle United have signed Senegal striker Papiss Cisse from bottom of the table Bundesliga team Freiburg on a five-and-a half-year deal, the Premier League club said on Tuesday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday
Following Manchester United's 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, manager Ten Hag among former players came down heavily on their 'embarrassing' performance.
Liverpool stayed top of the Premier League on Sunday after an emphatic 5-1 win at Newcastle United gave them maximum points from their two Christmas fixtures.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Goalkeeper David de Gea believes the busy holiday fixture list offers the perfect opportunity for Manchester United to put some pressure on the Premier League's top two clubs.
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick said the club had to ensure its players were vaccinated following a COVID-19 outbreak that led to the postponement of their last two Premier League games.
A Kenyan soccer fan unable to cope with Manchester United's loss to northern rival Newcastle United committed suicide over the weekend, a senior Kenyan police official said on Monday.
Liverpool booked their berth in the League Cup semi-finals with a 2-1 victory over Southampton
Jim Ratcliffe's company INEOS formally entered the bidding process to buy Manchester United on Tuesday, months after the club owners, the Glazer family, said they were considering selling the club as they explore "strategic alternatives".
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has presided over enough festive fixtures to know rotation is the key as he prepares for a busy period starting with the visit of Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday.
Champions Manchester City slipped to a shock first Premier League defeat of the season at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, while Manchester United's campaign of woe continued with a loss to Crystal Palace.
Champions Manchester United suffered a second straight Premier League defeat on Wednesday, losing 3-0 to Newcastle United to leave Manchester City three points clear at the top of the table.
Everton's Theo Walcott struck just after halftime to secure a 1-0 home win over Newcastle United, on Monday, that took the Merseysiders up to eighth in the Premier League, their highest position this season.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Images from Wednesday's action in the English Premier League.
Striker Dimitar Berbatov scored a clinical first goal as Manchester United sauntered to a 3-0 victory against promoted Newcastle United in their Premier League opener at Old Trafford on Monday.
Defending champions Manchester City scintillated a stellar performance to record an emphatic 5-0 win over Newcastle, and reduced Chelsea's advantage to five points in the Premier League table on Saturday at Etihad Stadium.
Manchester City took another decisive step toward an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title with a 4-0 demolition of Fulham.
Kevin de Bruyne struck twice to inspire Manchester City to a dominant 4-2 win at Crystal Palace on Saturday and move the champions level on points with Liverpool at the top of the Premier League table.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Ruud van Nistelrooy and Paul Scholes gave them a 2-1 win over Newcastle United in the English Premiership.
Tottenham Hotspur missed the chance to move up to provisional fourth place in the Premier League after relegation-threatened Newcastle United held them to a 2-2 draw with a late equaliser from substitute Joe Willock at St James' Park on Sunday. Images from EPL matches played on Sunday.
Rui Patricio saved three penalties as Wolverhampton Wanderers defeated English Premier League champions Manchester City to claim the Premier League Asia Trophy 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
Manchester United will be back in action in next season's Champions League after they hammered Chelsea 4-1.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Six weeks ago, with Newcastle United in the Premier League's relegation zone and still looking for a first win of the season, Alan Pardew seemed highly unlikely to reach his fourth anniversary as manager in December.
Arsenal, who fired Unai Emery as manager last week and appointed former player Freddie Ljungberg as caretaker boss, now sit 10th in the table on 19 points, with Brighton a single point behind and three places below them.
Ronaldo's moments of brilliance, however, are getting ever rarer. Even in the Europa League, where he has started all four matches against mediocre opponents such as Sheriff Tiraspol and Omonia Nicosia, he has only scored once, off a penalty.
Arsenal took a big step to securing their place in the Champions League for a 17th consecutive season after a comfortable 3-0 home win against an increasingly woeful Newcastle United on Monday.
A summary of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester City suffered a shock League Cup defeat at the hands of a reinvigorated Newcastle United, who reached the quarter-finals with a superb 2-0 away win on Wednesday that left the holders nursing the wounds of a bruising past eight days.