Chelsea's unexpected misstep at Sunderland has given their rivals fresh hope that the Premier League leaders might not be quite as infallible as their early-season dominance has suggested.

Jose Mourinho's team remain unbeaten, but his big guns misfired in Saturday's 0-0 draw at Sunderland, allowing defending champions Manchester City to trim their lead to six points with a 3-0 success at Southampton.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique rejected suggestions his side had been fortunate to come away with all three points from Valencia after Sergio Busquets volleyed home the only goal of the game deep into stoppage time.

The Spanish international pounced after Diego Alves had made a great save from Neymar's header to ensure Barca close to within two points of leaders Real Madrid.

A last-gasp screamer from Andrea Pirlo saw Juventus stretch their impressive record over Torino in a 2-1 “Derby della Mole” win as Roberto Mancini suffered his first defeat back in the Inter hot seat on Sunday.

Juve's 11th win of the campaign stretched their lead over title rivals Roma to six points, although Rudi Garcia's men restored their three-point deficit with a stirring 4-2 home win over Mancini's visitors at the Olympic Stadium.

Former Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice, who was suspended indefinitely earlier this year after punching his now-wife, won his appeal Friday, meaning he could return to the National Football League.

Rice is now a free agent and eligible to sign with another team, the NFL Players Association said Friday.

Louis van Gaal admits Manchester United striker Robin van Persie is struggling for confidence after a bad performance against Arsenal.

Van Persie had only 13 touches of the ball in United's 2-1 win against his former club last weekend, three of which were while taking corners, before Van Gaal replaced him with 18-year-old James Wilson for the last 15 minutes.

Andy Murray has defended coach Amelie Mauresmo after former British number one Tim Henman said the Scot had not been "playing the right way" recently, questioning the partnership.

Henman claimed earlier this month that double Grand Slam winner Murray, who has slipped to sixth in the world rankings, was letting his opponents dictate matches and needed to play more offensively.

Russell Westbrook, in his first game back since breaking his hand, scored 32 points in just 24 minutes as the Oklahoma City Thunder hammered the New York Knicks 105-78 on Friday.

The all-star point guard shot 12-of-17 from the field and delivered eight assists and seven rebounds in his first National Basketball Association game since he fractured his right hand on October 30.

Brazil football legend Pele, who has been hospitalized for three days suffering from a urinary infection, reached out to his fans via social media Thursday to say he's "doing fine."

The Albert Einstein hospital in Sao Paulo said earlier that his condition had "improved" and that the 74-year-old -- widely regarded as the greatest player of all time -- was receiving renal treatment.

Tottenham was among nine teams to qualify for the knockout stage of the Europa League on Thursday after beating Partizan Belgrade 1-0 in a match that was briefly suspended because of three separate pitch invasions.

Inter Milan and Napoli also advanced to ensure there will be at least three Italian clubs in the last 32 of Europe's secondary competition.

A senior official says Galatasaray has sacked manager Cesare Prandelli following the side's elimination from European competition.

Galatasaray deputy president Abdurrahim Albayrak told Turkey's state-run Anadolu Agency Thursday that the club decided to part ways with Prandelli a day after the club's 2-0 loss to Anderlecht that eliminated the team from the Champions League. Galatasaray also failed to qualify for the Europa League.