English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer.
With no European prizes left to chase this season, England's top clubs are focussed on winning the Premier League title, although that goal looks beyond all but Chelsea.
West Bromwich Albion have ruled out the prospect of Saido Berahino leaving the club during the current transfer window, leading Tottenham Hotspur manager Mauricio Pochettino to compare his club's pursuit of the striker to a frustrated love affair.
Bournemouth are in pole position in the race to be promoted to the Premier League after a 3-0 victory over fellow contenders Middlesbrough on Saturday.
Manchester City's impressive 2-0 victory at Everton on Sunday equalled a club record of nine successive Premier League wins.
Newly-acquired Spain forward Pedro highlighted his potential worth to Premier League champions Chelsea with a goal, assist and eye-catching performance in their 3-2 win at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday.
Photos from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Of the 220 players who started for Premier League clubs at the weekend, only 73, or 33.2 per cent, were eligible to play for England.
Rediff.com brings you the top highlights of the soccer weekend.
The Premier League kicked off in unique fashion on Saturday as an own goal by Tottenham Hotspur's Kyle Walker gave Manchester United a 1-0 victory in an undistinguished season opener at Old Trafford.
Arsenal's victory was scrappy and nervy but Laurent Koscielny's 72nd-minute winner was enough to move them two points clear at the summit after LeicesterCity's surprise push faltered with a goalless draw at home to 10-man Bournemouth.
Jose Mourinho's side had paid lavish sums to bolster key areas by this time last year but, having claimed the title at a canter, the motto of this transfer window seems to be: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Images from the English Premier League matches played at Old Trafford on Saturday
Seasonal cheer has been scarce for Louis van Gaal after a six-match winless sequence for his Manchester United side intensified rumours that he will be sacked and Stoke City are unlikely to be offering any solace on Saturday.
Manchester United's calamitous week hit rock bottom as Bournemouth famously consigned them to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday and, to rub salt into the wounds, neighbours Manchester City moved back to the top of the English Premier League.
Jamie Vardy equalled the English Premier League record by scoring for a 10th successive match as his Leicester City side went top after winning 3-0 at Newcastle United while champions Chelsea ended their slump with a 1-0 win over Norwich City on Saturday.
First-half goals by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi earned Arsenal a first win in four league games to revive their Premier League title hopes in the early kickoff at Goodison Park on Saturday.
Bitter rivals Arsene Wenger and Jose Mourinho had wildly contrasting afternoons on Saturday as Arsenal went top of the Premier League and champions Chelsea lost again with their manager being sent off.
FA Cup holders Arsenal have been drawn against runners-up Hull City, a repeat of last year's enthralling final, in this season's third round after the draw was made on Monday.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Goals rained in for Manchester City and Manchester United but Juergen Klopp's first game as Liverpool manager was solid rather than spectacular as they drew 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
Under-pressure Everton manager Roberto Martinez enjoyed some respite as his struggling side won for the first time in eight league matches.
Danny Rose scored a second-half equaliser to cancel out James Milner's penalty as Tottenham Hotspur came from behind to draw 1-1 with Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
Anthony Martial introduced himself to Manchester United fans with a superb goal to complete a 3-1 win over bitter rivals Liverpool and cap a much-improved performance from Louis van Gaal's side on Saturday.
There was the usual frenzy of last-minute deals as the English Premier League brought the curtain down on another bumper European transfer window in which Manchester City again flexed their financial muscle as the continent's top spenders.
Manchester City maintained their perfect start to the season with a 2-0 victory over promoted Watford as champions Chelsea suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The momentum that swept Leicester City away from relegation last season continued unabated at West Ham United on Saturday as their 2-1 win left them top of the Premier League.
Manchester United will travel to third-tier MK Dons in the Capital One Cup second round following the draw on Wednesday, the first time they have been involved at this stage of the competition for 19 years.
Tottenham Hotspur's tenacious chase of leaders Chelsea continued as they claimed a 12th consecutive Premier League home win with a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday to cut the gap to four points.
Chelsea came from behind to secure a 3-1 win at Manchester City and forge further clear at the top of the Premier League as a dramatic top-of-the-table clash ended in a mass brawl and two City players being sent off on Saturday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
Manchester United stretched their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions after Daley Blind, in-form striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic and substitute Henrik Mkhitaryan gave them a 3-1 home win over Sunderland on Monday. Left back Blind fired United ahead with a crisp 39th-minute shot after Ibrahimovic teed him up perfectly. The towering Swede doubled the lead with a clinical 82nd-minute finish for his 17th goal of the season. Fit-again Mkhitaryan put the icing on the cake with a spectacular backheel effort after a sharp Ibrahimovic cross from the right, although television replays suggested the Armenian was marginally offside. Striker Fabio Borini gave Sunderland fans something to cheer with a dipping late volley.
Alvaro Negredo and Edin Dzeko scored twice each as Premier League high-fliers Manchester City comprehensively quashed second tier Blackburn Rovers' hopes of causing an FA Cup shock with an emphatic 5-0 third-round replay win on Wednesday.
Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table but were unconvincing in a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough who were well worth their point on Saturday.
Philippe Coutinho inspired Liverpool to a comfortable 3-1 home win over Everton in the 228th Merseyside derby on Saturday to move provisionally up to third in the Premier League.
Stuttering Chelsea retained their Premier League lead by virtue of the alphabet heading into the new year but will need a quick riposte at home to Newcastle United on Saturday (2030 IST) to hold Manchester City at bay.
'Keep Calm And Carry On' could be Claudio Ranieri's motto for the second half of the season after Leicester City earned a 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday to put the heat back on Premier League leaders Arsenal.
At least three people were killed on Monday as St Jude, one of the worst storms to hit Britain in years, left around 2,70,000 homes without power, paralysed rail traffic and grounded some 130 flights at Heathrow, Europe's busiest airport.
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