SOCCER

Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick helped second-placed Real Madrid overcome third-placed Villarreal 4-2 in a hard-fought encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu, while a Messi-inspired Barcelona extended their unbeaten run in the league to 26 matches with a 4-0 win at Deportivo Coruna.

Liverpool were dumped out of the FA Cup after a 1-0 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford in the third round, in Kenny Dalglish's first game in charge.

Chelsea were denied a victory at Stamford Bridge as Ciaran Clarke headed home a stoppage time equalizer for Aston Villa to level the scores 3-3 in Sunday's English Premier League fixture.

A cracking Saturday in the English Premier league saw all the top four record wins while West Ham climbed out of relegation for the first time in the season. Here's a round-up of all the action.

Beckham has had loan spells at Italian club AC Milan in 2009 and 2010, during the MLS off-season, but has so far rejected any move back to England stating that, as a Manchester United fan, a move back would be too close to home.

Arsenal hammered Chelsea 3-1 with a commanding performance to go second in the table behind Manchester United in Monday's late game in the English Premier League (EPL).

Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is of the opinion that he should be named FIFA Ballon d'Or coach of the year despite Spanish National team coach Vicente Del Bosque appearing to be the front-runner for the award having led Spain to their first World Cup triumph.

The postponed Premier League fixture between power houses Chelsea and Manchester United has been rescheduled for Tuesday, March 1, albeit provisionally.

FIFPro, the International Players' union, has supported calls to play the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar during winter instead of summer.

David Beckham admitted that he continues to harbor hopes of playing for the England National team and said that he would try and secure a loan move back to Europe to give himself the best chance.

English football superstar David Beckham received the BBC Sports Personality Lifetime Achievement award on Sunday at the 2010 BBC Sports Personality of the Year awards.

Arsenal skipper Cesc Fabregas admitted that his side is gripped with a fear of defeat when playing the big teams.

Inter Milan trampled over TP Mazembe to win the final of the Fifa Club World Cup and in doing so became the first Italian side to collect five major trophies in a calendar year.

Several Premier League fixtures were decimated by severe weather condition, with the postponement of Sunday's thriller between Chelsea and Manchester United topping the list.

Arsenal will renew their Champions League rivalry with Barcelona while Real Madrid faces Lyon, Manchester United face Marseille, Chelsea fight Copenhagen, and Bayern play Inter.

African football club TP Mazembe created history on Tuesday by becoming the first African side to reach the FIFA Club World Cup final after upsetting Brazilian club Internacional with a 2-0 win in Abu Dhabi.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter sparked controversy with his response to gay rights groups' criticism of FIFA, when he joked that the gay fans travelling to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup should refrain from any sexual activities.

Manchester United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory in the English Premier League encounter against Arsenal at Old Trafford with Park Ji-Sung scoring the game's only goal late in the first half.

The final group games of four of the eight groups in the UEFA Champions League, was played out on Tuesday, with group winners and second-placed qualifications to the knock-outs confirmed.

Chris Hughton was sacked as Newcastle United manager on Monday, landing the club in turmoil leading to press and fans all over England criticizing Newcastle owner Mike Ashley.

Anfield will welcome back Gerrad Houllier where his current club Aston Villa will take on Liverpool in the English Premier League on Monday.