Champions Chelsea have not enjoyed the best of starts at home this season and face their biggest test yet on Saturday with the visit of free-scoring leaders Manchester City.
Chelsea kept up their 100 percent start to the English Premier League season by snatching a 2-1 win at a stubborn Newcastle United on Sunday, grabbing victory thanks to a late own goal by DeAndre Yedlin.
Coach Zinedine Zidane learned the lessons of predecessor Rafael Benitez's disastrous tactics in the last encounter and employed defensive midfielder Casemiro in favour of more attack-minded players, opting instead to sit and wait for Barcelona.
It will be "immensely difficult" for Real Madrid to improve their squad but they still plan to make more signings in the close season, new coach Rafa Benitez said.
If there is one lesson Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has learned during his two seasons in Spain it is that resting on your laurels is not an option at the world's richest club by income.
Duvan Zapata scored a goal of sheer brute force and determination to set Napoli on the way to a 2-0 win over Sassuolo which moved them another step closer to second-placed AS Roma in Serie A on Monday.
Two goals from in-form Gervinho, including the winner two minutes from time, gave AS Roma a thrilling 3-2 victory in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Newcastle United put their faith in Rafa Benitez on Friday, hoping the Spaniard will keep them in the Premier League after they won only six of 28 league games under the sacked Steve McClaren.
Real Madrid's Welsh winger Gareth Bale has joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored thrice to help his side thrash Espanyol 6-0 in a ruthless attacking display in La Liga clash at Santiago Bernabeu.
Defender Miguel Britos was sent off for head-butting an opponent as Napoli lost 3-1 at champions Juventus on Saturday, all but ending their hopes of Champions League football next season.
In leading Real Madrid to their 11th European Cup less than five months after inheriting an unhappy team from Rafael Benitez, Zinedine Zidane has cemented his heroic status at the Bernabeu and appears to have assured his immediate future.
Just as he did two years ago, Sergio Ramos left his footprint all over Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph over Atletico Madrid following a turbulent 12 months.
'We've always been behind Zidane because he is a humble person who likes to listen, and that always makes things easier'
David Beckham believes Real Madrid should give his former team mate at the club, Zinedine Zidane, time to succeed even if the French great fails to inspire them to victory in the Champions League final later this month.
Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
A bizarre own goal briefly gave Serie A leaders Juventus the jitters, triggering memories of last week's dramatic collapse at Verona, before they recovered to beat lowly Chievo 3-1 on Sunday.
Zidane was accompanied on stage by his wife and four sons, who all look good to follow in the footsteps of their father.
Lazio survived a storming Napoli fight back, including a missed penalty, as they won 4-2 on Sunday to finish third in Serie A and qualify for the Champions League playoff round after both teams finished with 10 men.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo has signalled strong support for coach Carlo Ancelotti and sent a clear message to club president Florentino Perez that he does not want the Italian to be sacked.
'I understood that if I dedicated myself solely to coaching, I could get much better at it'
Arsenal can cut down the deficit to Premier League leaders Manchester City and challenge for the title this campaign, midfielder Granit Xhaka said.
Two goals in three devastating second-half minutes helped Napoli reach the Italian Cup final on Wednesday with a 3-0 win over AS Roma in the second leg of their semi-final in Naples, to clinch the tie 5-3 on aggregate.
Napoli booked a clash with AS Roma in the Italian Cup semi-finals after a late instinctive Gonzalo Higuain backheel lifted Rafael Benitez's side to a 1-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday.
Two goals in three minutes from Napoli's Goran Pandev were not enough to secure victory as his side threw away a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 at home to Udinese in an end-to-end Serie A thriller on Saturday.
Real Madrid's 5-0 thrashing of Granada on Saturday equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions. Reuters Sport takes a look at the factors behind their run.
Napoli's decision to loan Emanuele Calaio to Genoa came back to haunt them on Monday when the 32-year-old scored with a late free kick in a 1-1 Serie A draw costing his owners two points in the race for a Champions League spot.
Vietto slotted the ball home with seven minutes to go after Karim Benzema had given visitors Real the lead early on.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Gijon spoiled Asier Illarramendi's return to Real Sociedad's midfield after rejoining from Real Madrid this week when they held the Basque club, coached by Scot David Moyes, to a 0-0 draw in San Sebastian.
AS Roma's Radja Nainggolan scored his first goal for the club as they edged lowly Bologna 1-0 away in a closely-fought Serie A match on Saturday to move within six points of leaders Juventus.
AC Milan clung on to beat Parma 5-4 away in Serie A on Sunday despite an dreadful defensive display which included Mattia De Sciglio scoring an extraordinary own goal from near the halfway line late in the match.
Barca overcome solid Bilbao challenge to scrape through 1-0.
Manchester United teenager Marcus Rashford wrote another chapter in his fairytale introduction to top-flight football, scoring a brilliant goal to secure a 1-0 win in his first derby match against Manchester City on Sunday.
Carlo Ancelotti has become Real Madrid president Florentino Perez's latest managerial victim, just 366 days after delivering the club their much-awaited La Decima, a 10th Champions League title.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
The Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez double act struck again on Sunday with both players scoring to give Juventus a 2-0 win at AC Milan which strengthened their grip on Serie A.
Juventus made light work of bitter rivals Inter Milan on Sunday, winning 3-1 to increase their Serie A lead to nine points after AS Roma were washed out and Napoli blundered to a 3-0 defeat at Atalanta.
Images from the EPL matches played on Sunday
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