KEVIN DE BRUYNE

Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland took their high-flying scoring acts into Europe as the Champions League returned, while last season’s standout star Karim Benzema limped off with an injury after less than 30 minutes.

Manchester City came from 3-1 behind to draw 3-3 with Newcastle in a Premier League thriller.

Temperatures soared in England and no one was feeling the heat more than Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag.

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi was omitted from the 30-man list of nominees for the prestigious award.

Is a first World Cup title since 2002 on the horizon? Semifinalist at the World Cup in 2018, finalist at the European Championship in 2021. The star of the last World Cup at the age of 19 and he is only getting better. Surely there can't have been many bigger group-stage matches than this at a World Cup? UPCOMING FRIENDLIESWith this World Cup taking place in the middle of many countries' domestic seasons, there will not be the usual pre-tournament build-up of friendlies.

The World Cup in Qatar takes place from Nov. 20-Dec. 18.

One of the most eagerly anticipated World Cups in memory — as much for off-the-field reasons as those on it — is just around the corner in Qatar and excitement is building after the qualification period was wrapped. The tournament starts on Nov. 21 and the final is set for Dec. 18.

Britain Soccer Champions League Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring his side's third goal from penalty during the Champions League semi final, first leg soccer match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at the Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Tuesday, April 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Dave Thompson) (Dave Thompson)MANCHESTER, England — (AP) — Manchester City just couldn’t shake off Real Madrid. In a wild Champions League match that resembled a basketball game at times, City beat Madrid 4-3 in the first leg of the semifinals but will leave Etihad Stadium wondering how the record 13-time champions were still in it. Ultimately, Karim Benzema’s cheeky “Panenka” penalty in the 82nd minute saw Madrid escape with some hope of pulling off a comeback in next week’s second leg at Santiago Bernabeu. Benzema kept his composure while all around him were losing theirs, giving Madrid renewed belief of reaching a first final since 2018.

Manchester City just couldn’t shake off Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The destination of the Premier League title is in leader Manchester City’s hands after a 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

Manchester City has given Liverpool further hope in the English Premier League title race by stumbling against Crystal Palace for the second time this season.

Manchester City has completed the double over Manchester United with a second derby win of the Premier League season.

Man City dropping points, Newcastle winning a game and a drone stopping play.

Pep Guardiola's biggest challenge now might be convincing his Manchester City players the English Premier League title race is not over.

Manchester City’s grip on its Premier League title hasn’t been this strong all season.

APTOPIX Britain Soccer Premier League Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne, center, celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Leicester City at Etihad stadium in Manchester, England, Sunday, Dec. 26, 2021. Even Manchester City, coasting at 4-0 after 25 minutes, managed to shake things up with a 10-minute second-half implosion to end up delivering a nine-goal thriller. And Chelsea is now level on points with Liverpool after coming from behind to beat Aston Villa 3-1. Palace failed to get its match at Tottenham called off but the Premier League board on Sunday did approve two postponements for Tuesday. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_SportsCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Manchester City is six points in front at the top of the Premier League after beating Leicester 6-3.

Tottenham has come from behind to beat Leeds 2-1 and earn a first win under Antonio Conte in the Premier League.

Mohamed Salah is in the form of his life and the Liverpool forward scored his latest wonder goal in a 5-0 win at Watford in the English Premier League.

Mohamed Salah was too busy being asked about his wonder goal against Manchester City to get the chance to savor it again for himself after full time at Anfield.

Britain Soccer Premier League Liverpool's Mohamed Salah scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield, Liverpool, England, Sunday Oct. 3, 2021. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP) (Peter Byrne)LIVERPOOL, England — (AP) — Anfield had only five minutes to celebrate and savor the individual genius of Mohamed Salah before the Liverpool fans were silenced. A high ball over the top from Manchester City captain Kevin De Bruyne on the halfway line reached Phil Foden on the left flank. A second half of high quality saw the winners of the last two Premier League titles draw 2-2 on Sunday after Rodri made a late intervention to prevent Fabinho scoring a winner for Liverpool. The moment of brilliance from Salah came in the 76th as he weaved his way into the penalty area, skipping past City players and undeterred by a push from Foden before restoring Liverpool's lead.

Kevin De Bruyne scored Manchester City's second equalizer in the front of the Kop to secure a 2-2 draw at Liverpool in the Premier League.

Britain Soccer English League Cup Manchester City's Cole Palmer, right, is congratulated by teammates after scoring his team's fifth goal during the English League Cup third round soccer match between Manchester City and Wycombe Wanderers at Etihad Stadium, in Manchester England, Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2021. Pep Guardiola’s team last tasted defeat in the League Cup in October 2016, and hasn’t trailed since the first leg of the semifinals in January 2018. Liverpool and City are tied on a record eight League Cup titles. Everton was one of three Premier League teams taken to a penalty shootout by lower-league opposition, and fell to an 8-7 loss to second-tier Queens Park Rangers following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes. It was also 3-0 between the teams in the opening round of the Premier League.

Manchester City’s players fell behind during a game in the English League Cup for the first time in nearly four years but immediately put that right.

The prospect for Tottenham of life without Harry Kane might not be so terrifying after all.

APTOPIX Spain Belgium Portugal Euro 2020 Soccer Belgium's Axel Witsel, from left, Belgium's Eden Hazard and Belgium's Thorgan Hazard celebrate after scoring their side's first goal during the Euro 2020 soccer championship round of 16 match between Belgium and Portugal at the La Cartuja stadium in Seville, Spain,Sunday, June 27, 2021. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis, Pool) (Thanassis Stavrakis)SEVILLE, Spain — (AP) — Belgium held Cristiano Ronaldo scoreless and defeated defending champion Portugal 1-0 Sunday to advance to the quarterfinals of the European Championship. Belgium played most of the second half without Kevin De Bruyne, who had to be substituted after being tackled from behind. The top-ranked Red Devils have won all four matches so far at Euro 2020 and won all 10 qualifiers for the tournament. ___More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports___Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoniCopyright 2021 The Associated Press.

Belgium held Cristiano Ronaldo scoreless and defeated defending champion Portugal 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals of the European Championship.

APTOPIX Denmark Belgium Euro 2020 Soccer Belgium's Kevin De Bruyne reacts after Thorgan Hazard scored during the Euro 2020 soccer championship group B match between Denmark and Belgium, at the Parken stadium in Copenhagen, Thursday, June 17, 2021. (Wolfgang Rattay, Pool via AP) (Wolfgang Rattay)COPENHAGEN — (AP) — Substitute Kevin de Bruyne set up one goal and scored the winner himself to give Belgium a 2-1 victory over Denmark in a European Championship game marked by an emotional tribute to Christian Eriksen in the first half. It was Denmark’s first game since Eriksen’s collapse, and the hosts started at a furious pace at a raucous Parken Stadium. Eriksen remains in a nearby hospital after suffering cardiac arrest in the team’s opening game against Finland. Play resumed at a more normal pace after the tribute to Eriksen, but Denmark still had the better chances in the first half.

Denmark played for the first time since Christian Eriksen collapsed on the field during a European Championship match and lost to Belgium 2-1.

___Denmark and Belgium players have halted their European Championship match for a stadium-wide minute’s applause for Christian Eriksen. ___UEFA has paid a special tribute to Christian Eriksen before Denmark’s game against Belgium at the European Championship. ___Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand has changed his team’s formation for the European Championship game against Belgium to make up for the absence of Christian Eriksen. ___Andriy Yarmolenko and Roman Yaremchuk both scored again at the European Championship in Ukraine’s 2-1 victory over North Macedonia. Eriksen is recovering in a Copenhagen hospital after suffering cardiac arrest during Denmark’s game against Finland at the European Championship.

(AP Photo/Dave Thompson, Pool, File) (Dave Thompson)The Latest on soccer’s European Championship:___Belgium coach Roberto Martinez says playmaker Kevin De Bruyne is ready to play at least part of the game against Denmark on Thursday. ___Large numbers of fans have been chanting for Turkey as the team warms us for its European Championship game against Wales in Baku. ___Denmark coach Kasper Hjulmand expects Christian Eriksen to wear his match jersey while watching the team’s European Championship game against Belgium from the hospital. ___Austria forward Marko Arnautovic has been suspended from the team’s game against the Netherlands on Thursday for insulting a North Macedonian opponent. Just 4-3-3!” in a message to coach Frank de Boer to play an attacking lineup in the team’s opening match at Euro 2020.

(AP Photo/Dave Thompson, Pool, File) (Dave Thompson)The Latest on soccer's European Championship:___Kevin De Bruyne has not traveled to St. Petersburg with the Belgium squad for Saturday’s European Championship game against Russia. Tukey will face Italy at the Stadio Olimpico in Group A of Euro 2020. The England team has been doing the anti-racism gesture since last year. The gesture has been booed by a section of England fans but the team will continue to take a knee at Euro 2020. The announcement comes a day before Russia plays Belgium in St. Petersburg in its opening Euro 2020 match.

The all-English Champions League final between Manchester City and Chelsea contains some intriguing matchups and themes.

Now known as the "dirty dozen," 12 powerful European soccer clubs tried to form their own enclosed league.

Manchester City has won the League Cup for a fourth successive season by beating Tottenham 1-0.

Manchester City's quadruple dream has been extinguished by Chelsea after losing 1-0 in the semifinals of the FA Cup.

Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup sixth round soccer match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)With an unprecedented quadruple still a possibility for Manchester City, the pressure on Pep Guardiola is intensifying heading into the final two months of the season. I will not watch games.”Few would begrudge him the break, with an intense 34-match, four-month stretch -- featuring games every three or four days -- concluding with a 2-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. AdIndeed, Guardiola’s players are sweeping all before them this season, having also reached the final of the English League Cup, the quarterfinals of the Champions League and forged a 14-point lead in the Premier League. "I’m looking forward to everyone coming back safe.”Southampton is the other team through to the FA Cup semifinals after beating second-tier Bournemouth 3-0 earlier Saturday.

It was left, then, to Crawley to provide the so-called “giant killing” long associated with the storied competition, with a British reality TV star helping the fourth-tier team complete a stunning 3-0 win over Leeds. For Crawley, the road to Wembley Stadium is still very much open, with the dominant win over Leeds proving a fairy-tale moment for one of its late substitutes, in particular. After some time at Brentford, Tsaroulla is making his way in the game at Crawley and was in tears after the full-time whistle having scored his first senior goal. Timo Werner scored for the first time in 13 games to help Chelsea to a 4-0 win over fourth-tier Morecambe. On Saturday, sixth-tier Chorley eliminated second-tier Derby and Premier League team West Bromwich Albion was ousted by third-division Blackpool.

Manchester City's Kevin De Bruyne takes a shot at goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford in Manchester, England. There have been 150 top-flight Man U v Man City derbies with United having won 58 and City 45, with 47 draws. (AP Photo/Paul Ellis/ Pool via AP)MANCHESTER – Being shut out of the Manchester derby might not have seemed so bad for fans after all. United and City drew 0-0 in a drab Premier League encounter that saw the rivals manage only two shots each on target between them on Saturday. So the 183rd Manchester derby was the first one in an empty stadium.

The fans — 2,000 from West Ham, 2,000 from Chelsea — had contrasting experiences on opposite sides of London. Chelsea’s players treated their select group of attending fans to a comeback of their own at Stamford Bridge. The match saw respective managers Frank Lampard, of Chelsea, and Marcelo Bielsa, of Leeds, meet for the first time in the Premier League. Meanwhile, Guardiola didn’t make a single substitution, at a time when he is pushing the Premier League to increase the number of replacements from three to five for player-welfare reasons. It’s now 11 goals in 11 games for the Everton striker after scoring the equalizer in a 1-1 draw at Burnley.

Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez reacts during the English Premier League soccer match between West Ham and Manchester City, at the London Olympic Stadium Saturday, Oct. 24, 2020. Star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will be on board, recently back from injury and fresh from protestations about the workload being forced on soccer players this season. “I try to demand everything from my players,” City manager Pep Guardiola said at the weekend, “but there is a limit for human beings.”Sympathy is usually in short supply when it comes to Man City and the debate over workload and fixture congestion. In short, being the busiest team in English soccer in recent years appears to be taking its toll. If he is to add to his collection of trophies won at City since 2016, don’t expect them to come easily this season.

Early in what proved to be a painful Merseyside derby for Liverpool, Van Dijk was the subject of a reckless lunge by Jordan Pickford that saw the Everton goalkeeper clatter into the extended right leg of the Netherlands defender. Van Dijk roared in agony and, tellingly, stayed down. There was no official word from Liverpool on the potential length of his absence, but Van Dijk reportedly left hospital on crutches in the evening. Van Dijk might have been marking Keane and Calvert-Lewin for both of those Everton chances. For Southampton’s second goal, Kurt Zouma underhit a back pass before goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made two errors in a matter of seconds to allow Che Adams to score.

Lyon's Moussa Dembele, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his team's third goal during the Champions League quarterfinal match between Manchester City and Lyon at the Jose Alvalade stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, Saturday, Aug. 15, 2020. (Franck Fife/Pool Photo via AP)LISBON Lyon stunned Manchester City to reach the Champions League semifinals for the first time in a decade, with Moussa Dembl scoring twice for the French outsiders Saturday to seal a 3-1 win that sets up a meeting with Bayern Munich. It leaves Pep Guardiola without a Champions League title since 2011 with Barcelona, falling short in three attempts with Bayern Munich and once again in his fourth season at City. Guardiola's decision to deploy an unfamiliar five-man defense to match Lyon's system backfired with the back line easily beaten for Maxwel Cornet to score in the 24th minute. And there was a glaring miss by City forward Raheem Sterling, blazing the ball over an empty net, before Dembl scored again.

(Oli Scarff/Pool via AP)Manchester United and Chelsea qualified for the Champions League at the expense of Leicester on a frantic final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, while Bournemouth and Watford were relegated to end five-year stays in the top flight. United won 2-0 at Leicester through goals by Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard to give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team a third-place finish. Captain Jack Grealish scored Villa's goal in what could be his last game for his boyhood club. Bournemouth did what it had to do and beat Everton, 3-1, but ended up one point behind Villa. Also, Southampton beat Sheffield United 3-1, with Danny Ings scoring his 22nd goal of the season.

Liverpool's Jordan Henderson holds the English Premier League trophy aloft after it was presented following the Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield stadium in Liverpool, England, Wednesday, July 22, 2020. (Paul Ellis, Pool via AP)LONDON Jordan Henderson was voted player of the year by soccer writers on Friday after captaining Liverpool to its first English league title in 30 years and also playing a leading role in raising money for Britains health service during the coronavirus pandemic. Henderson beat Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne to the award by the Football Writers Association. As grateful as I am, I dont feel like I can accept this on my own, said the central midfielder, who lifted the Premier League trophy on Wednesday. Jordan Henderson is both the ultimate professional and now a bona fide Liverpool legend.

(Adrian Dennis/Pool via AP)WATFORD As the ball rolled past him and Manchester City's score racked up, goalkeeper Ben Foster increasingly feared for Watford's Premier League survival. It wasn't even lifted by Watford's last desperate roll of the dice firing its third manager of the season. Sterling set up the third when his close-range shot was saved by Foster Watford's star performer and Phil Foden tapped into an empty net in the 63rd minute. Javi Gracia was still at the helm when City crushed Watford 6-0 in the final game of last season in the FA Cup final. The Champions League doesn't resume until August when City will be protecting a 2-1 lead over Real Madrid in the last-16.

(AP Photo/Peter Powell,Pool)Aston Villa is out of the Premier Leagues relegation zone for the first time in five months. The fight to avoid dropping out of the worlds richest domestic league is heading to the final day of the season, with two relegation places still to be filled and three clubs in realistic danger. Arsenal lost to a relegation contender two days after beating Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals, highlighting the inconsistency that still bedevils Mikel Artetas team. CITY ROUTIf Watford does go down, at least it wont have to play Manchester City next season. Kevin De Bruyne provided the cross for Laportes goal for his 19th assist of the season, one off Thierry Henrys record for one season.

City fans are celebrating a squad of lawyers outsmarting UEFAs judicial machinery in extra time and saving the club from a devastating two-year Champions League ban. It is still the biggest sanction for an English club since City was fined 30 million euros in the original 2014 FFP case for overspending. Clubs across Europe made a combined profit of 140 million euros in 2018 compared to losses of 1.163 billion euros in 2009 before FFP was implemented. The CAS verdict only reinforces City fans grievances with European footballs governing body. Meanwhile, City could end an extraordinary season by lifting UEFA's biggest club prize for the first time: The European Cup.

Manchester City's Raheem Sterling, second right, celebrates after his team's fourth goal during the English Premier League soccer match between Manchester City and Liverpool at Etihad Stadium in Manchester, England, Thursday, July 2, 2020. (AP Photo/Laurence Griffiths,Pool)MANCHESTER Even a 4-0 drubbing is forgivable for Jrgen Klopp now the Premier League trophy has been sealed. Its a reminder of how good Man City is, Klopp said. Were going in a direction thats really bad for the beautiful game, Mourinho said, the game that everybody fell in love with.Still, Mourinho did not want his players using that frustration as an excuse. After reaching last seasons Champions League final losing to Liverpool Tottenham might not qualify for any European competition next season.