No one with even the hint of a soul would begrudge a single comma, vowel or exclamation mark involved in the tsunami of jubilant praise that rained down on Joaquin after his delicious hat trick for Real Betis in their win against Bilbao on Sunday. The very first triplete of goals in his entire career, and they were scored at home, smashed into Athletic's net before 20 minutes of the match had passed, snatching, from the all-time great Alfredo Di Stefano, the record for the oldest man to score...

Another lovely weekend of football, another set of great footballing numbers to crunch through. Here are the best of the lot.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Everton looked a different team as they took apart Chelsea 3-1, Manchester United stunned City 2-1 in the derby and Jose Mourinho seems to have forgotten his trusty ol' bus at Old Trafford - his free-scoring Spurs team smashed Burnley 5-0.

Meanwhile, Liverpool just keep on winning - they dismissed Bournemouth 3-0 away. The only team that looks like they can...

The transfer windows in Europe's top leagues are closed, but it's never too early to look forward to January. Click here to view the latest transfers, and keep up to date with the newest gossip below.

TOP STORY: FFP could prompt fire sale at Real Madrid

It could be a busy January at the Bernabeu, as Real Madrid look to balance their books to comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

The Spanish giants splashed enormous sums in the summer, bringing the likes of Eden Hazard, Luka Jovic and Ferland...

Goals from Raphael Varane and Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid a 2-0 win over a poor Espanyol side on Saturday to keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table.

Vinicius Junior impressed in his first start since October, the teenager being denied three times by former Madrid keeper Diego Lopez in the first half. It was centre-back Varane who eventually opened the scoring, staying upfield after a corner and slotting the ball past Lopez.

In the second half there were more Real...