January could be a crucial month in determining Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique's future at the club.

While runaway league leader PSG is unbeaten in domestic competition heading into Sunday's Trophée des Champions (the French super cup) against Monaco, it is a far different story in the Champions League.

Arsenal is back into second place in the Premier League and in no rush to add players in the transfer window.

Mikel Arteta's team beat Brentford 3-1 on Wednesday to leapfrog Nottingham Forest and close the gap on league leader Liverpool to six points.

Even after marking his 500th game in charge of Manchester City with a much-needed victory, Pep Guardiola insisted his team has "no chance" of winning a fifth straight Premier League title.

Guardiola looked visibly relieved after City ended a five-game winless run in all competitions by beating Leicester 2-0 on Sunday, only a second victory in 14 matches after the worst stretch of results in the Spanish manager's illustrious career.

Erling Haaland's failure from the penalty spot and Bruno Fernandes' latest red card compounded the woes of Manchester City and Manchester United on another tough day for the two Premier League giants.

There were no such problems Thursday for Liverpool, which rallied to a 3-1 win over Leicester in foggy conditions at Anfield and moved seven points clear atop the standings approaching the halfway point of the campaign.

The world football players' union disagreed with FIFA's temporary changes to transfer rules on Monday following the landmark Lassana Diarra judgement.

Former France international Diarra challenged FIFA 's rules due to a dispute with a club dating to 2014, and the European Court of Justice ruled in October that some rules were contrary to European Union law because they restricted freedom of movement and were anti-competitive.

Kylian Mbappé added to his scoring streak with a superb strike in Real Madrid's 4-2 win over Sevilla in the Spanish league on Sunday to finish the year on a positive note after hitting what he called "rock bottom" in early December.

Mbappé sent a right-footed shot into the upper corner 10 minutes into the match for his fourth goal in as many games with Madrid in all competitions. It was Mbappé's sixth goal in his last eight matches with Madrid.

Liverpool heads into Christmas with a four-point lead, a game in hand and as the overwhelming title favorite in the Premier League on the back of a wild 6-3 win at Tottenham on Sunday.

As for Manchester United and its new manager Ruben Amorim, they stumble into the festive period in 13th place — as low as they've been at Christmas since the 1989-90 season — and with a familiar sinking feeling.

The organization that represents European football leagues on Thursday rejected latest proposals for a breakaway super league.

Detailed plans for a new rival to the Champions League — the Unify League — were released this week by Madrid-based A22 Sports Management.

When Atletico Madrid led the Spanish league in spending on summer transfers, Diego Simeone's club was making a bet it could challenge for its first title since 2021.

On Saturday, Atletico can move to the top of the table with a win at a Barcelona side that is struggling to reproduce its great start to the campaign. And to make matters worse for Hansi Flick, the hosts will be missing injured star Lamine Yamal for its last game before a short winter break.

Real Madrid meets Mexican club Pachuca in the final of the watered-down Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, with Kylian Mbappé expected to be available to play for the Spanish powerhouse after nursing a left-thigh injury.

The tournament — being played in a new format after FIFA expanded the Club World Cup for 2025 — brings together the champions of all six soccer confederations. It takes place every year while the bigger Club World Cup will happen every four years.