Juventus's pursuit of the Serie A title gathered pace on Monday as they opened up an 11-point lead at the top of the table after Arturo Vidal scored twice in a 2-0 win at Lazio.
Two first-half goals by Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille in their opening Champions League Group D match on Tuesday.
Hosts France were made to work hard by Albania but two late goals sealed the Group A match in their favour. Antoine Griezmann and Dimitri Payet scored late to earn the nervous hosts the result they sought.
Albania's football team were knocked out of the European Championship in the group stages but they were feted on their return home on Thursday as if they had won the tournament.
Albania's first win at Euro 2016 against Romania on Sunday was the ultimate display of coach Gianni De Biasi's one-for-all and all-for-one mentality.
Albania are unlikely to pose much of a threat to France but Paul Pogba and Antoine Griezmann will be expected to produce sharper performances in Wednesday's Group A match when victory should assure the hosts a last 16 spot in Euro 2016.
An early goal by defender Fabian Schaer earned Switzerland a 1-0 victory over debutants Albania whose captain was sent off before halftime in the Euro 2016 Group A match on Saturday. Switzerland, bidding to reach the knockout stages for the first time, scored in the fifth minute and were given a further boost by a second yellow card for Albania skipper Lorik Cana.
Albania qualified for Euro 2016, their first ever major tournament, when a 3-0 away win over Armenia clinched second place in Group 'I' above Denmark on Sunday sparking wild celebrations across the country.
The Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez double act struck again on Sunday with both players scoring to give Juventus a 2-0 win at AC Milan which strengthened their grip on Serie A.
Juventus defeated second-placed Lazio 2-0 at home on Saturday to take another huge step towards their fourth straight Serie A title and boost their confidence for Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash in Monaco.
The politically-sensitive Euro 2016 qualifier between Serbia and Albania was abandoned on Tuesday following a brawl between players from both sides after a flag stunt.
Poland struck twice on the break to stun wasteful World Cup winners Germany 2-0 on Saturday, earning their first ever victory over their illustrious neighbours and taking control of Euro 2016 qualifying Group D.