Straight-talking Antonio Conte has earned the utmost respect from his players at Stamford Bridge and has built a side that seems impervious to pressure, former Chelsea striker Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink has told Reuters.

Star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been told by Borussia Dortmund's director of sport to tone down any talk in future interviews about leaving at the end of the season.

Eight months after completing one of sport's most remarkable triumphs of the underdog, Premier League champions Leicester City stand potentially one more bad result away from a place in the relegation zone.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hailed their vibrant young frontline as the future of the club after they tore West Ham United apart in a bruising 4-0 Premier League win on Wednesday.

Jose Mourinho was far from happy after his Manchester United side failed to beat struggling Hull City at Old Trafford on Wednesday, walking out of one interview and claiming in another that he was treated differently from other managers.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive King's Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.

Marseille's star recruit Dimitri Payet made his debut on Tuesday but it was Brazilian Doria who booked the team's French Cup quarterfinal berth with a 2-1 extra time win over Lyon.

Premier League clubs have shelled out a record £1.4 billion in transfers this season, according to a report Wednesday that warned of over-reliance on big Chinese spending.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was at a loss to explain his side's appalling first-half display during their surprise 2-1 defeat by Watford at the Emirates Stadium.

Venezuelan midfielder Yangel Herrera has become the latest South American teenager to sign for Premier League side Manchester City, his club said on Tuesday.

Crystal Palace have signed Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho on loan until the end of season, the London club said on Wednesday.

Inter Milan's run of nine successive wins in all competitions ended when they lost 2-1 at home to Lazio in their Italian Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.

Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet went from zero to hero as Premier League leaders Chelsea were held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield, while Arsenal's title challenge was torpedoed by Watford's shock 2-1 win on Tuesday.

Having played seven matches in the J-Green Sakai Lady's Festival in Japan, the coaches and the players of the Bangladesh U-16 women's football team seem to have gotten a good idea about how their opponents in the AFC U-16 Women's Championship might fare.

The Spanish football league is likely to use the newly-introduced video refereeing system in 2018, league President Javier Tebas said.

Sunderland manager David Moyes hopes that signing players he has previously worked with will help them settle quicker and boost the club's fight for Premier League survival but has denied his policy is to only target familiar faces.

After selling Dimitri Payet to Olympique de Marseille for 25 million pounds ($31.2 million), West Ham United are offering fans a cut-price deal to get the French forward off their backs as well.

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho complained about the lack of help being afforded his team by the football authorities as he attempts to win silverware on four fronts over the final four months of the season.

Viewed as Premier League leaders Chelsea's closest rivals a month ago, Liverpool confront Antonio Conte's side at Anfield on Tuesday with their season on the brink of total collapse.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane believes he has no need to rush Gareth Bale back from a long-term ankle injury as the European champions extended their lead at the top of La Liga on Sunday.