Ivory Coast can complete a remarkable recovery and put a successful seal on an absorbing Africa Cup of Nations tournament if they can beat Nigeria on Sunday and claim the title on home soil.

Xabi Alonso's unbeaten Bayer Leverkusen took control of the Bundesliga title race on Saturday, thoroughly outclassing Bayern Munich in a 3-0 home win to go five points clear at the top of the table.

Jude Bellingham struck twice as leaders Real Madrid took control of La Liga with a punishing 4-0 win over second-placed Girona on Saturday, opening up a five-point cushion.

Liverpool survived a scare from struggling Burnley to regain first place in the Premier League with a 3-1 win at Anfield on Saturday.

Hosts Qatar retained the Asian Cup with a 3-1 win on Saturday against surprise packages Jordan with Akram Afif the home hero with a hat-trick of penalties.

Erling Haaland scored for the first time since November as the Manchester City striker's double fired the champions to the top of the Premier League with a gritty 2-0 win against Everton on Saturday.

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said Saturday goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen and winger Raphinha are fit again after injury to help the team's ailing title defence.

Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger is set to miss important upcoming matches against Girona and RB Leipzig as the club confirmed Saturday he has a thigh injury.

"Beijing does not plan, for the moment, to organise the match in which Lionel Messi was to participate," said the Beijing Football Association

Barcelona Sporting Director Deco said that they are not looking to sign French forward Kylian Mbappe as it would only make the Spanish club “worse”.

No single player symbolises Ivory Coast's remarkable turnaround to reach this weekend's Africa Cup of Nations final quite like striker Sebastien Haller.

Games like kanamachi, gollachut, dariyabandha have provided unfiltered joy to generations of young children in Bangladesh.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique said Kylian Mbappe had recovered from a heel injury and would be in the squad to face Lille on Saturday.

Manchester City can provisionally return to the top of the table with a home win over Everton in the early Premier League match on Saturday, although manager Pep Guardiola said he preferred to see where his team stood once the schedule evened out.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou led a chorus of disapproval on Friday over a controversial proposal to introduce blue cards and sin bins.

Following the dramatic and confusing final of the SAFF U-19 Championship Women’s Championship on Thursday night, where both Bangladesh and India were declared joint winners, India coach Shukla Dutta told Indian media that they deserved the title and were robbed.

Bayern Munich still have room for improvement and must up their game on Saturday at unbeaten league leaders Bayer Leverkusen, who have been playing close to their performance limit, said Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel on Friday.

Mohammedan Sporting Club missed an opportunity to go top of the Bangladesh Premier League following a 1-1 draw against Rahmatganj MFS at the Birshrestho Ft Lt Matiur Rahman Stadium in Munshiganj on Friday.

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez channelled his inner Lionel Messi when he scored his side’s third goal in a classy 3-1 win in a fourth-round FA Cup tie against Aston Villa at Villa Park on Thursday. 

France coach Didier Deschamps admits he is ‘happy to go back to Italy’ for the Nations League after his experience at Juventus.