Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.
Bayer Leverkusen went one point clear at the top of the Bundesliga despite conceding two late goals to draw 2-2 at Schalke 04 on Saturday.
The battle to avoid relegation is now a straight shootout between Hull City and 17th-place Newcastle United, who are two points better off heading into Sunday's final round.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday
Five talking points from the Premier League weekend:
Romelu Lukaku struck twice as Manchester United returned to winning ways after two successive Premier League losses with a 2-0 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor on Sunday.
Serena Williams blamed an "apple in her throat" for her failure to reach the final of the Italian Open after Jelena Jankovic came back from the brink against the American in Rome on Friday. Jankovic saved a match point before pulling off a thrilling 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 win over the world number one to set up a showdown with Spaniard Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, a 6-4, 6-2 winner over former French Open champion Ana Ivanovic.
Serena Williams started her 2010 season in the same devastating fashion in which she ended 2009, thrashing Spain's Marie Jose Martinez Sanchez 6-1, 6-2 in the second round of the Sydney International on Tuesday.
Kat Von D looked majestic in her red goth-inspired wedding gown.
Arsenal qualified for a 17th successive season with a nervy 1-0 win at home to Besiktas and Malmo made it for the first time with a 3-0 win over Salzburg, whose participation ended in the qualifiers for the ninth time in a row.
AS Roma edged closer to a first ever league and cup double by limping into the Italian Cup final after a 1-0 defeat at Udinese in Wednesday's second leg tie.
Manchester United climbed two places up to second in the Premier League after Marcus Rashford scored deep into stoppage time to give them a fortuitous 1-0 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday.
Leicester City stumbled on their march towards the Premier League title when they drew 2-2 with West Ham United and had goalscorer Jamie Vardy sent off at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
Jelena Jankovic came from 2-4 down in the second set to book her place in the semi-finals of the Indian Wells WTA tournament with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Russian Alisa Kleybanova on Thursday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
List of Wimbledon women's singles champions:
In a blistering attack on Donald Trump, Indian-American California Attorney General Kamala Harris has said the presumptive Republican presidential nominee has an "unstable temperament" and his dangerous policy positions make him "unfit" for holding a public office.
Here is a Factbox on Spaniard Garbine Muguruza, who beat American Venus Williams 7-5, 6-0 to win her first Wimbledon singles title on Saturday:
Arsenal squandered a two-goal lead as Watford hit back to draw 2-2 in new manager Quique Sanchez Flores's first game of his second stint in charge at Vicarage Road on Sunday.
Luis Fabiano's looping header and a Mario Alvarez own goal gave Sevilla a 2-0 win over Getafe in their King's Cup semi-final first-leg on Wednesday.
Chile qualified for the Copa America final after two goals from Eduardo Vargas gave them a 2-1 win over Peru in an action-packed semi-final marked by another controversial refereeing decision.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Andy Murray feels he let playing partner Laura Robson down by not delivering victory for Britain over Spain in the Hopman Cup final on Saturday.
Spain eased past Australia to book their place in the final of the Hopman Cup on Thursday, dashing any hopes the hosts had of advancing with an emphatic 3-0 whitewash.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real Madrid earned their first-ever win over Liverpool with a wondrous Cristiano Ronaldo goal spearheading a 3-0 Champions League victory at Anfield on Wednesday which appeared as classy as it was dominant.
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.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been given a four-match touchline ban after admitting a Football Association (FA) misconduct charge for appearing to push the fourth official during their Premier League win over Burnley on Sunday.
Marion Bartoli will play Aravane Rezai in an all-French final at the Tournament of Champions in Bali after both claimed straight-sets victories on Saturday.
Swansea City climbed out of the relegation zone after a first-half header by captain Ashley Williams gave them a 1-0 win over Watford on Monday just hours after they named Francesco Guidolin as their new head coach.
Southampton were left in the Premier League's bottom three after losing an early lead to draw 1-1 at home to fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
Germany eased into the Confederations Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win over Cameroon on Sunday as the VAR system was again thrust into the spotlight when the on-field official needed two reviews of an incident to reach the right verdict.
The coronavirus pandemic has spread to 146 countries with the worldwide death toll from the virus surpassing the 7,000 mark on Monday. Among the more than 1,73,000 cases recorded globally are government officials, celebrities and sports personalities as authorities around the world grapple to contain the spread of coronavirus. Hollywood actor Tom Hanks and his wife, actress and singer Rita Wilson, British actor Idris Elba, and Sophie Trudeau, wife of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, are some of the most well-known faces to be infected so far.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
Sevilla missed a chance to get their La Liga campaign up and running when the Europa League holders surrendered the lead and were held to a 1-1 draw at Levante on Friday.
Check out the 10 most expensive transfers in British soccer history.
Veteran Drogba showed that he still has a lot of steam in him as he scored in Chelsea's win over Spurs, while Aguero continued to top the goal-scorers' list this season, finding the net for City. Images from the EPL matches played across England on Wednesday.
Images from Wednesday's football World Cup qualifiers.
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