Club record signing Giannelli Imbula scored his first goal for Stoke City to set his new side on their way to a 3-1 Premier League win at Bournemouth. Imbula's superb volley nine minutes in at the Vitality Stadium put Stoke ahead and two goals early in the second half by Ibrahim Afellay and Joselu put them out of sight before Matt Ritchie pulled one back.

VfL Wolfsburg warmed up for their midweek Champions League clash at Ghent with a 2-0 win over Ingolstadt for their first victory since knocking Manchester United out of the Champions League last December. Dieter Hecking's Wolfsburg won for the first time in six matches ahead of Wednesday's clash at Belgian league leaders Gent in their last 16, first-leg match.

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique joked that his recent lost voice is due to being bombarded by questions over Brazilian star Neymar's future. The 24-year-old was last month crowned as the world's third best player for his stunning form in 2015 and has helped keep Barca on course to repeat their treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey from last season.

In a stellar 12-year career, Lionel Messi has won the world player of the year award five times and broken endless goalscoring records, but he had never been named player of the month in Spain, until now. The 28-year-old Argentine forward received the award for La Liga's player of the month for January on Friday, the first time he has won a prize inaugurated in 2013.

Sevilla set up a meeting with Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey after a 2-2 draw away to Celta Vigo on Thursday saw them win their semi-final 6-2 on aggregate. Unai Emery's side had done the damage in last week's first leg at home, winning 4-0 to leave Celta with a mountain to climb in the return at Balaidos.

A top-of-the-table clash between champions Juventus and leaders Napoli has seen its first casualty 48 hours ahead of kick-off after match referee Nicola Rizzoli pulled out injured. In a move that will be viewed with some suspicion by Napoli fans, Gianluca Rocchi or Daniele Orsato are now being tipped to replace Rizzoli for Saturday evening's clash in Turin.

Louis van Gaal believes Manchester United can still force their way into the Premier League title race after playing "sparkling football" in their last two games. United manager van Gaal has been under pressure for much of the season due to his team's dour performances and inconsistent results But the Dutchman believes a victory at Chelsea on Sunday would underline why he is so confident and set United up for a late challenge to the top four clubs.

Arsenal coach Arsene Wenger warned on Friday of the growing threat facing the Premier League posed by the cashed-up Chinese Super League in the wake of a record spending spree. Brazilian midfielder Alex Teixeira became China's third record signing in just over a week after Jiangsu Suning forked out 50 million euros (£38.5 million, $56 million) to sign him from Shakhtar Donetsk.

Lazio have been slapped with a fine and face stadium restrictions for their next two league games after fans of the Italian capital club targeted Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly with racist monkey chants. Senegal international Koulibaly was the victim of the abuse in a 2-0 win over Lazio on Wednesday, when the match referee Massimiliano Irrati was forced to halt play for three minutes.

Caen continued their fine season by beating Nice 2-0 at their Stade Michel d'Ornano as the visitors failed in their bid to move second in Ligue 1 behind runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain. The hosts took the lead when Julien Feret teed up Rony Rodelin to drive in his sixth league goal of the season.

Barcelona right-back Martin Montoya has joined Real Betis on loan till the end of the season, the European champions confirmed on Monday. Montoya had been on loan at Inter Milan, but that deal has now been cut short to allow him to join La Liga strugglers Betis.

A representative of Brazilian club Santos told a Spanish court they had felt cheated by Neymar and his father after details of the football star's transfer to Barcelona emerged, judicial sources said. Appearing before a judge in a Madrid court specialising in major financial affairs, Fatima Cristina Bonassa, representing the club where the player started his career, said the Brazilian striker was an adult at the time of transfer and knew what he was signing.

Bayern Munich's bad luck continued on Wednesday as new signing Serdar Tasci suffered concussion in his very first training session and had to sit out his introductory press conference. "He went into a collision with his head and was shaken, it means he has a slight concussion.

Everton defeated Newcastle 3-0 for their first home win in the Premier League since November as the struggling Magpies were left inside the relegation zone. Aaron Lennon was on target after 23 minutes while Ross Barkley tucked away two late penalties although Everton should have won more comfortably, being denied by the woodwork three times in six second-half minutes.

Jurgen Klopp praised his young Liverpool players after a 0-0 FA Cup fourth-round draw against West Ham. Klopp named inexperienced youngsters Cameron Brannagan, Brad Smith, Kevin Stewart and Joao Teixeira in his line-up as he made 10 changes to the side who overcame Stoke on penalties last Tuesday to reach the League Cup final.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal has admitted that he cannot know what reception he will receive when his side return to Old Trafford to face Stoke City on Tuesday. United were booed off following their most recent home game, a 1-0 defeat by Southampton last weekend, and despite a 3-1 win at second-tier Derby County to reach the FA Cup fifth round on Friday, Van Gaal conceded it may not have been enough to mollify supporters frustrated by recent performances.

Borussia Dortmund trimmed Bayern Munich's lead in the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win over Ingolstadt on Saturday as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice to leave him with 20 league goals. 'Auba' - the African player of the year for 2015 - headed second-placed Dortmund into a 77th-minute lead at home.

Second-half goals by Daley Blind and Juan Mata brought relief for manager Louis van Gaal as Manchester United overcame second-tier Derby County 3-1 in the FA Cup. Van Gaal had admitted prior to the fourth-round tie that defeat at the iPro Stadium could cost him his job, having seen his side booed off following last weekend's 1-0 loss to Southampton at Old Trafford.

Michel Platini's appeal against his eight-year ban from football will be heard by FIFA judges on February 15, a source close to the suspended UEFA president told AFP. "The appeal will be held on February 15," the source said. The 60-year-old Frenchman was banned for eight years on December 21 over a two million Swiss franc ($2 million/1.8 million euro) payment that FIFA leader Sepp Blatter authorised for Platini.

Former Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic has announced his retirement from football at the age of 34. Vidic won five Premier League titles and the 2007-08 Champions League in an eight-year spell at Old Trafford, but conceded injuries had forced him to call time on his career.