Barcelona and star player Lionel Messi triumphed at the seventh edition of the Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai on Sunday, taking home the prizes for best team and best player.

Messi had traveled from Argentina to attend the ceremony.

Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin will be sidelined at least two weeks with a partially torn left quadriceps tendon, the NBA team said Saturday.

Griffin was hurt during the Clippers' 94-84 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Christmas Day.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was full of praise for his side as they returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Premier League leaders Leicester City at Anfield.

Before Saturday's encounter, Liverpool had picked up just one point from their previous three league matches, culminating in last weekend's miserable 3-0 defeat by Watford at Vicarage Road.

Arsene Wenger believes referee Jon Moss incorrectly allowed three goals in his side's 4-0 rout at the hands of Southampton, but insisted his Arsenal team's performance was more of a concern.

Arsenal began Saturday's match well but simply fell apart after Southampton's opening goal, scored with a 30-yard shot by Cuco Martina on his first Premier League start.

Louis van Gaal said that he could jump before he is pushed after his position as Manchester United manager became even more precarious following a fourth successive defeat.

The under-fire Dutchman, 64, looked like a condemned man throughout United's sorry 2-0 loss to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday and then in the inquest that took place afterwards.

Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany faces another spell out of action after aggravating a calf injury just eight minutes into his comeback, manager Manuel Pellegrini revealed after his side's 4-1 thrashing of Sunderland.

Belgium center-back Kompany had missed eight successive matches with the problem before returning as a substitute after 62 minutes of City's stroll at Eastlands on Saturday.

Guus Hiddink admits the absence of Diego Costa is a major blow to Chelsea's hopes of taking advantage of Manchester United's struggles when they travel to Old Trafford on Monday.

Hiddink took charge of his first game since being installed as Chelsea interim manager, overseeing a frustrating 2-2 draw against Watford at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki passed Shaquille O'Neal for sixth place on the NBA all-time scoring list Wednesday, scoring 22 points to help defeat host Brooklyn 119-118 in overtime.

The 37-year-old German sank a jumper over Andrea Bargnani 2:09 into the second quarter to push past the 10 points he needed to overtake O'Neal, who finished with 28,596 points.

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry raised the tension levels for his Christmas showdown with Cleveland's LeBron James, saying he considers himself the world's best basketball player.

In an interview published Wednesday, the reigning NBA Most Valuable Player told Time magazine that in the next year, "you should expect me to keep getting better."

While the rest of Europe hibernates over the Christmas holiday period, England indulges in an orgy of football, with Boxing Day the highlight of this secular and often maligned tradition.

With barely any time to digest the Christmas turkey, teams come out the next day to play as part of a series fixtures running into the first days of 2016.