Football

Brendan Rodgers' decision to rest Steven Gerrard failed to pay dividends as even the Liverpool captain's emergence off the bench failed to inspire his side

Martinez expects his team to overcome a difficult start and recapture the league form that saw them finish an impressive fifth in the previous campaign.

Arsenal will again be without Walcott for Saturday's Premier League trip to Stoke City as the England forward is still recovering from a thigh injury.

Soldado scored his first Premier League goal in almost 10 hours to give Tottenham a 2-1 victory over Everton on Sunday.

Atletico climbed above Barcelona into second in La Liga when Niguez and Turan fired the champions to a 2-0 win at home to Deportivo.

Manchester United's 3-0 win over Hull City in the Premier League on Saturday was their best performance of the season, said manager Louis van Gaal.

Atletico de Kolkata's erratic run in their away matches continued as a spirited Pune City FC held them to a 1-1 draw.

Van Persie scored 31 goals in his first season at Old Trafford, firing United to the Premier League title in 2013.

Liverpool manager Rodgers wants his faltering players to use their disappointing start to the season as a catalyst for a revival in fortunes.

Lionel Messi will be looking for a hat trick of hat tricks when Barcelona take on Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Torino are struggling at the moment, sitting 15th in the league after losing their past two matches. They have also managed to score just seven goals all season.

Chennaiyin FC were stunned by ten men NorthEast United as they handed Marco Materazzi's side a 3-0 defeat at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium, Guwahati.

After the resignation of assistant coach Arthur Papas, the FC Goa support staff has been beefed up with the addition of three Brazilians on request of manager Zico.

FIFA secretary general Valcke said he did not know how much damage had been done to the organisation by the row over the non-publication of the Garcia report in full.

Messi is even with Raul Gonzalez's all-time record of 71 Champions League goals, and he could better that on Tuesday when Barcelona travel to Cypriot club APOEL.

The first tournament will be a 16-team event, where besides the 10 I-League teams, two AIFF academies would be a part of it.