The only winner Sunday was Manchester City. And Romelu Lukaku certainly lost out.

What a pulsating, entertaining encounter for Lukaku to miss — not out of his own choosing — as Chelsea recovered to draw 2-2 with Liverpool without the temporarily exiled striker.

After watching Real Madrid lose its first match in three months, Carlo Ancelotti had one simple message for his players: The holidays are over.

Madrid's run of 15 consecutive games without a loss in all competitions came to an end Sunday when it slumped to a 1-0 defeat at modest Getafe in the Spanish league after a nearly two-week winter break.

Qatari Nasser Al-Attiyah won the first special of the Dakar Rally on Sunday to extend his race lead after victory in the prologue.

The 51-year-old, looking to win the race for the fourth time, finished the stage 12 minutes and seven seconds quicker than nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb in second place.

Lionel Messi has tested positive for Covid-19 and has entered self-isolation, his club Paris Saint-Germain announced on Sunday.

The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner was one of four PSG players to test positive for the virus ahead of a French Cup match against Vannes.

Chaos has reigned in the Premier League in December, with COVID-19 outbreaks decimating squads, forcing the postponement of 16 games and fueling talk of a pause in play that never materialized.

Manchester City has risen above it all.

European champions Chelsea announced Thursday an annual loss of £145.6 million ($196.7 million, 173.5 million euros) for the year to June 30 2021 despite their Champions League triumph.

The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus in the Barcelona squad swelled to 10 on Thursday, potentially jeopardizing the team's return to league play after Spain's winter break of nearly two weeks.

Qatar wants to attract 1.2 million people to the World Cup but will struggle to accommodate many of them.

With ticket sales beginning in January, supporters are in for a shock when they look for somewhere to stay: Qatar already looks sold out.

Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the ATP Cup in Australia ahead of the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, organizers said Wednesday.

No reason was given but the top-ranked Serb has declined to comment on his vaccination status in recent months and Australia's strict regulations require all players, officials and fans to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Losses for Liverpool are about as rare as penalty misses by Mohamed Salah.

Both happened on Tuesday and, even at the halfway stage of the season, it could cost Jürgen Klopp's team the Premier League title.