Football

Despite picking up just 15 points from 10 games, the poorest away record in the top eight, City sit just one point behind Arsenal and Leicester at the top of the standings following a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Jorge Messi says today he (Lionel) is where we never dreamed he could be, a magical place that he started towards in 2007.

Hosts Shillong Lajong were held to a goalless draw by Mumbai FC in their opening match of the I-League football tournament here on Sunday.

Zinedine Zidane got off to a flying start as Real Madrid coach when Gareth Bale hit a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after a Lionel Messi treble had fired Barcelona to the top of La Liga.

Rudi Garcia's position at Roma is scarcely more comfortable after winning once in their last nine outings, a run which included the 6-1 Champions League drubbing by Barcelona which reportedly had club president James Pallotta seething.

Genoa remained fourth from bottom with 16 points, two points above the relegation zone.

Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney rose to second place on the all-time Premier League scoring list with a clever winner against Swansea City on Saturday.

Van Gaal has parted with a few of his strikers this season which includes the likes of Radamel Falcao, Robin van Persie and Javier Hernandez but the Dutchman says he has no regrets about letting them go.

Gerrard could return to English Premier League team Liverpool in a coaching role after his playing days with the Los Angeles Galaxy come to an end.

Manchester United were unlucky not to beat Chelsea despite dominating the game, skipper Wayne Rooney said following the goalless home draw against the struggling champions.

Louis van Gaal hinted after United's feeble 2-0 loss at Stoke on Saturday that he could quit before being forced to relinquish the hot seat and the game against Chelsea could well be his last.

Arsenal could be without forward Alexis Sanchez for the busy Premier League Christmas programme after he aggravated a hamstring injury in training, manager Arsene Wenger said on Monday.

The head of European football, Michel Platini, vowed on Monday to go to court to fight a decision by the independent Ethics Committee of the world football body FIFA to ban him for eight years, calling it a "pure masquerade".

For Klopp the honeymoon enjoyed by any new manager is now over, with the five-times European champions only one place higher in the table than when Brendan Rodgers was sacked two months ago.

Swansea were held to a goalless draw by West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday that keeps them in the relegation zone.

Roma ended their winless streak with a 2-0 victory over Genoa in Serie A on Sunday to relieve some of the pressure on coach Rudi Garcia.