IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Bitter defeat for Belgium in the World Cup semi-final is tempered by the fact that influential squad members will likely still be around in two years' time for the European Championship where they will have another realistic chance at a major title.
Dutch soccer star Robin van Persie returned to his home ground on Monday as he signed with Feyenoord Rotterdam hoping for a positive ending to his dwindling career.
Arsenal unveiled a statue of former striker Dennis Bergkamp on Saturday, the Dutchman becoming the fourth club great to be cast in bronze outside the Emirates Stadium in London.
The victory saw Spain finish top of League A4 with 11 points after six games, joining France in the final four tournament, which will take place in October 2021.
France have found a new hero in Antoine Griezmann and the striker has his eyes firmly set on lifting the Euro 2016 trophy after his two goals fired Les Bleus past Germany on Thursday and into the final.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne put on an attacking masterclass to help City rout Leicester City 5-1.
The 28-year-old Argentine has scored seven goals from direct free-kicks in this year's La Liga, the latest in Sunday's 5-0 triumph over Espanyol.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic says he is ready to win silverware with Los Angeles Galaxy after a full-page advert in Friday's LA Times confirmed his move to the MLS club from Manchester United.
Arsene Wenger remained defiant on Sunday after Arsenal's 3-2 capitulation at Manchester United prompted much criticism, with one distinguished former international suggesting their performance bordered on 'a joke'.
Former France defender Mikael Silvestre, who played for Indian Super League side Chennaiyin FC in the inaugural edition in 2014, feels that football is growing fast in India.
A downbeat Arsene Wenger said he has decided on his Arsenal future and would reveal all soon after his side slumped to a dismal 3-1 defeat at West Bromwich Albion on Saturday.
If ever a fixture was made for striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic it is Saturday's Manchester derby at Old Trafford, according to his former Barcelona team mate Thierry Henry.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
Portugal had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Spain in a heavyweight friendly on Wednesday after hammering the crossbar twice and missing a last-gasp open goal.
Manchester United's winless run continued but they gave under-fire coach Louis van Gaal crumbs of cheer with a committed display in an entertaining 0-0 draw with Chelsea while Arsenal went top of the table on Monday.
Arsenal can win the Premier League title this season if they can continue playing the type of game they did during Monday night's 2-1 win over Manchester City, midfielder Mesut Ozil has said.
'If you are a big player, and paid like a big player, you must play like a big player and behave like a big player'
A Ciaran Clark own goal earned Sweden a fortunate 1-1 draw against a spirited Ireland side in their Euro 2016 Group E opener at the Stade de France on Monday.
Chelsea's terrible start to the season plumbed new depths on Saturday when the Premier League champions lost 2-1 at West Ham United.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Be it the jam-packed stadiums at the UEFA Champions League, the intense trans-Tasman rivalry in cricket, there are certain events that enthralls fans. Brendon McCullum blasting into history with the fastest Test hundred in his farewell Test; but that wasn't enough as Australia completed a 2-0 clean sweep of the Kiwis. Rohit Sharma, yet again showing why is considered to be a special talent in limited-overs cricket as India thrashed host Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener. In Champions League football, Lionel Messi's Barcelona proving too hot for old-rivals Arsenal. Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Earlier this season Arsenal great Henry, who scored 175 Premier League goals for the club, said Sanchez had been Wenger's "best signing in the last six years".
Arsenal's Aubameyang compared to Henry after his derby double
Lionel Messi passed up the chance to net his 300th La Liga goal and instead put a hat-trick on a plate for team mate Luis Suarez with an outrageous penalty routine.
The Argentine scores a hat-trick to become the highest foreign goal scorer in the Premier League on Sunday. Also, in bagging a 12th Premier League hat-trick he surpassed the 11 of Alan Shearer with whom he had shared the record.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a colossal figure in club football having completed a hat-trick of Champions League (1 Manchester United, 2 Real Madrid) victories. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo has won several league titles. But the Portuguese magician tasted success for the first time with the national team as Portugal defeated hosts France to lift the 2016 Euro title.
Here is a look at what happened in their previous Euro semis...
Germany's players hailed their first victory against Italy in a major tournament as an exceptional moment in their history as they reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals by beating their old rivals 6-5 on penalties.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Spurs' triumph at the Etihad Stadium moved them within two points of Premier League leaders Leicester City and kept them in second place above Arsenal on goal difference with 12 matches to play
The South American trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez reached a scorching 108 goals for the season following the La Liga leaders' 8-0 destruction of Cordoba on Saturday but the team's defence is yet to dispel doubts
Belgium have scored 14 goals in five matches and were hugely impressive in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne combining to devastating effect to oust the five-times world champions.
Luis Aragones, the coach of Spain's 2008 European Championship-winning side, has died at the age of 75, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Saturday.
It is too early to say who has got the best of the most frenetic transfer market.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'You cannot sack all the players so sack the manager -- whether right or wrong'
Arsene Wenger often says he has no time to look back because he is so focused on the future but he spent a minute reminiscing on Friday on the 10th anniversary of the defeat to Manchester United that ended Arsenal's famous 49-match unbeaten run.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.