Barcelona made light of the suspended Lionel Messi's absence to remain just two points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid as Neymar netted his 100th goal for the club in a 4-1 win at Granada.

Angel Di Maria scored one goal and set up two more as Paris Saint-Germain thrashed Monaco 4-1 on Saturday to lift the French League Cup for the fourth successive season.

Bangladesh Premier League champions Abahani will be leaving for Kolkata this morning to take on Mohun Bagan in their second group match of the AFC Cup on Tuesday.

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich demolished Augsburg 6-0 with forward Robert Lewandowski scoring a hattrick to protect their 13-point advantage over second-placed RB Leipzig who beat bottom club Darmstadt 98 4-0 on Saturday.

Liverpool is under investigation by the Premier League over allegations it breached rules governing the transfer of youth players in a failed attempt to recruit a schoolboy from Stoke City, according to reports in the British media.

Everton defender Ramiro Funes Mori is set to miss the rest of the season after suffering a serious knee injury playing for Argentina.

The Netherlands Football Association (KNVB) have started talks with Louis van Gaal as they begin their search for a new coach but want the veteran trainer to take on a senior role in the organisation rather than at the helm of their national team.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho believes signing Barcelona star Neymar is "impossible".

Clint Dempsey scored his fourth goal in two games as the United States were held to a 1-1 draw in a hard-fought CONCACAF World Cup qualifying battle with Panama on Tuesday.

The United States remain in contention for a spot at next year's World Cup after Bruce Arena's side battled to a scrappy 1-1 away draw against Panama in CONCACAF qualifying on Tuesday.

Danny Blind was sacked as Netherlands coach on Sunday after a 2-0 defeat to Bulgaria left the team's chances of reaching the World Cup finals hanging by the slenderest of threads.

Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil insists he is comfortable at the North London club and will make a decision regarding his future soon with the German's contract due to expire at the end of next season.

A Chinese player with Shenhua Shanghai has been handed a six month ban by the Chinese Football Association for stomping on Belgian international Axel Witsel, an action which has already earned him a hefty fine.

Former Germany international striker Kevin Kuranyi said Friday he was calling time on his career despite money-spinning offers to play overseas in Qatar and China.

Record-breaking Germany face Azerbaijan on Sunday with head coach Joachim Loew insisting their simple goal is to "ruthlessly" secure World Cup qualification as quickly as possible.

Pierluigi Collina, the chairman of the FIFA Referees Committee, has warned of a global shortage of match officials if efforts are not made to tackle abuse and violence towards referees at the grassroots level.

Liverpool striker Roberto Firmino will replace Gabriel Jesus in the Brazil team to play Uruguay in Thursday's crunch World Cup qualifier, coach Tite said on Wednesday.

Gareth Bale's Wales hope to recapture the spirit of Euro 2016 when they attempt to revive their flagging World Cup qualifying campaign against Ireland in Dublin on Friday.

Contract negotiations with Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are on hold until the end of the season, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Wednesday.

Germany's Lukas Podolski capped his international swansong with a sensational goal to give the world champions a 1-0 victory over England in a friendly on Wednesday.