Sports

Genoa remained fourth from bottom with 16 points, two points above the relegation zone.

Real Madrid have fired coach Rafa Benitez after only seven months and replaced him with former player Zinedine Zidane.

Wayne Rooney scored the winner with a deft flick as Manchester United beat Swansea 2-1 in the Premier League to end their eight-game winless run and earn manager Louis van Gaal some respite on Saturday.

West Ham striker Carroll scored against his former club as the Hammers defeated Liverpool 2-0 on Saturday in their first league double over the Merseysiders since the 1963-64 season.

New Chelsea head coach Guus Hiddink is looking for contributions from all of his footballers as the defending champions seek to improve from their 14th position in the English Premier League (EPL) in the new year.

Rafa Benitez held on to his job last year but faces another tough test of his coaching credentials on Sunday when Real Madrid visits Valencia for their first Spanish league game of 2016.

Lagging behind in the race for Champions League qualification, top English clubs could be the most active players as they look for a strong finish to arguably the most unpredictable season in the Premier League's 24-year history.

Much-travelled Louis van Gaal has coached some of the biggest clubs in world football but Manchester United's fans are the best he has come across, the Dutch veteran said.

The frontrunner in the FIFA presidential election, Asian football chief Sheikh Salman Bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa, says he wants to divide the organisation into two separate entities as part of a 'turnaround' plan for the crisis-hit organisation.

Fletcher headed in a late winner as West Bromwich Albion moved further away from the drop zone by beating fellow struggler Newcastle 1-0 in the Premier League.

"It has been brought to the notice of ISL and concerns expressed by our partner Star India that FC Goa management have made adverse comments in media disputing the result of ISL 2015 finals played here in Goa on Sunday night," the ISL said in a statement.

Messi broke the deadlock and Suarez scored twice in the second half to give Barcelona a typically emphatic 3-0 win over River Plate in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.

Chelsea began the post-Jose Mourinho era with a 3-1 victory over Sunderland at Stamford Bridge to ease away from the Premier League's bottom three on Saturday while Leicester City moved five points clear at the top.

Messi missed Thursday's semi-final against Guangzhou Evergrande because of pain casued by a kidney stone and Neymar was recovering from a small strain in his adductor muscle.

The bronze medal in the recently-held Hockey World League Final, notwithstanding, India dropped a place to the seventh position in the latest International Hockey Federation for men.

Blatter has said he will defend himself before the FIFA ethics judges on Thursday though he has described the world body`s ethics commission as "the inquisition."