Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger complained that criticism of his team was misplaced following their 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion and said that stay-away supporters were not necessarily protesting.

Alexis Sanchez scored twice as Arsenal returned to winning ways on Thursday following successive draws, climbing above Manchester City and into third place in the Premier League in the process.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane admitted he should have rested star Cristiano Ronaldo more in recent weeks after he limped off in Real's 3-0 win over Villarreal on Wednesday.

Ronaldo was seen holding his right hamstring before leaving the field in the closing minutes, putting at risk his presence in Madrid's Champions League semi-final, first leg at Manchester City next week.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal reacted angrily to suggestions that his club's supporters had voted with their feet by missing a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace at Old Trafford.

The Premier League side announced a near-capacity crowd of 75,277 for the win which maintained their bid to finish in the top four and claim a place in next season's Champions League.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp refused to get carried away after his rampant side crushed neighbors Everton 4-0 in a one-sided 226th Merseyside derby at Anfield.

Wednesday's Premier League encounter was little short of a humiliation for the visitors, who finished the match with 10 men after Ramiro Funes Mori's second-half red card.

A Paulo Dybala brace kept Juventus's title push on track but Francesco Totti stole the show in Serie A with two goals in a 3-2 win over Torino that moved Roma closer to Champions League qualification on Wednesday.

Juve's closest rivals Napoli had fired a warning shot after putting six unanswered goals, including a hat-trick from Belgium midfielder Dries Mertens, past Bologna on Tuesday.

Barcelona bounced back from their worst run of La Liga defeats for 13 years in emphatic fashion as Luis Suarez scored four in an 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo la Coruna on Wednesday.

Ivan Rakitic, Lionel Messi, Marc Bartra and Neymar were also on target as Barca reasserted their control on the Spanish title race.

Greece, beset by economic difficulties and a migration crisis, will hold a traditional ceremony Thursday for the Rio Olympics as Brazil battles its own political woes.

The dress rehearsal for the lighting of the Olympic flame in ancient Olympia went ahead smoothly Wednesday, and the official ceremony on Thursday will launch a four-month torch relay culminating at Maracana Stadium for the Games opening ceremony on August 5.

Bayern Munich has extended the contract of Germany's world-class goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, binding him to the Bundesliga giants until 2021, the club confirmed on Wednesday.

Neuer, who has been voted world goalkeeper of the year in 2013, 2014 and 2015, is set to see out his career with Bayern and will be 35 when his new deal expires.

Dries Mertens scored a hat-trick and Manolo Gabbiadini notched a brace as Napoli kept their faint Serie A title hopes alive as Bologna were thrashed 6-0 on Tuesday.

David Lopez rounded off the scoring a minute form time with a fortuitous goal as his prod rebounded off Bologna goalkeeper Antonio Mirante, hit him in the chest and the bounced in.

Jose Mourinho will manage England against a Rest of the World team coached by Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri in an Old Trafford charity match in June, organizers have announced.

The two former Chelsea managers will face off in the sixth Soccer Aid event on June 5, to raise money for the children's charity Unicef.