However, one goal proved enough for City who picked up their sixth successive league win to move four points clear of Liverpool, who host Aston Villa later on Saturday, at the top of the standings.
Unlike some young football players of his generation, Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is a complete family man.
Pepe has blasted the Liga club's fans as "unenthusiastic", contrasting the hushed atmosphere of the Santiago Bernabeu stadium with the cauldron of noise he is now exposed to with Turkish champions Besiktas.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo may be on course for his worst domestic goal haul since 2010 but with two strikes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday he became the first player to score 100 goals in UEFA competitions.
Wales will move higher than their richer rivals and neighbours England when the new FIFA rankings are announced after Euro 2016, the first sign for what, many predict, will be a bright future after they made history at the tournament. Playing in their first finals since 1958, the Welsh reached the last four of a major tournament for the first time and are expected to move up close to the top 10 countries in the world rankings.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic and Ethiopian sprinter Genzebe Dibaba were named the Laureus Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year respectively in a glittering ceremony.
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
Indian football saw a big jump in the FIFA rankings on Thursday, rising 24 places to go up to 147 spot.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Germany will retain their World Cup title in Moscow to equal Brazil's record of five wins in the tournament, according to a Reuters poll of financial specialists more used to predicting market moves.
It is a measure of the importance of captain Robert Lewandowski to Poland that the striker is the first name coach Adam Nawalka writes on the team sheet despite his goal drought at Euro 2016. Most forwards who go more than 10 hours without scoring would be warming the bench and facing criticism from the media and fans. But the Bayern Munich striker will be a key part of Poland's efforts to defeat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Thursday's quarter-final in Marseille. After scoring 13 goals in the qualifying, Lewandowski's statistics in his first four games in France make disappointing reading: no goals, two attempts on target, three attempts off target and three blocked attempts.
Manchester United kept up their impressive chase for a top-four spot with a comfortable 3-0 win at relegation-threatened Aston Villa in the English Premier League on Thursday. Relegation-threatened Bournemouth had a late goal disallowed by VAR as they had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham Hotspur.
On a day of frenetic spending that took the Premier League total to a record far above one billion pounds ($1.29 billion), Antonio Conte's side also missed out on two of their other targets - Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Fernando Llorente.
The Senegal international, 26, joined Liverpool from Southampton in 2016 for 34 million pounds ($43.8 million) and has scored 40 goals in 89 games for the Anfield club.
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
2016 is at the halfway stage and the year has already seen some stunning sporting wins, underdogs emerging triumphant on the biggest stages of them all.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to build his team around midfielder Paul Pogba despite media speculation linking the French World Cup winner with a move away from Old Trafford.
Tite was asked about reports that he was set to take charge of the Champions League winners during a news conference ahead of Sunday's friendly against Austria, although it was not clear where they had originated.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
Champions League holders Real Madrid will face former European champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the group stage draw on Thursday.
Iran and Nigeria laboured to the first stalemate of a scintillating World Cup on Monday with a dismal 0-0 draw that left both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since 1998.
Iran and Nigeria laboured to the first stalemate of a scintillating World Cup on Monday with a dismal 0-0 draw that left both sides still chasing their first victory at a finals since 1998.
Thirty-two countries, ranging from Finland and Sweden to Armenia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia and Kazakhstan, have declared interest in hosting matches at Euro 2020 which will be staged across the continent.
Iceland have already exceeded expectations by qualifying second in their group behind Hungary and will go into the game with nothing to lose and the whole world, beyond England, willing them on.
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...
Ousmane Dembele's late strike rescued a 1-1 draw for champions Barcelona at Atletico Madrid but Sevilla moved top with a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. European champions Real Madrid were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Eibar.
Kane takes to world stage as England edge past Tunisia
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale lashed home to deny La Liga champions Barcelona victory in an ill-tempered 'Clasico' which finished 2-2.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
Messi memes quickly sprung up on the internet.
World Cup hosts Russia got their Nations League campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win away to Turkey thanks to goals from Dennis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba on Friday.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
India cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the sole Indian sportsman to figure on Forbes' list of the world's most valuable athlete brands, a list that has been topped by American basketball player LeBron James and includes golfer Tiger Woods and tennis stars Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
Wales's Euro 2016 victory over Belgium, officially the second-best team in football, showed again that you can have all the attacking talent in the world but if you are weak at the back you will be found out at the highest level.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup Group D match played between Argentina and Iceland at Kazan Stadium on Saturday
As the countdown to 2018 starts, it's time to rewind those moments in sport that stood out this year.
A Brazilian labour court ordered a partial stop to construction on the Arena Amazonia in the jungle city of Manaus after the death of a worker who fell off the stadium's roof raised safety concerns ahead of the 2014 football World Cup.
