Defending champions Bayern Munich survived a shaky second half and missed a late penalty against Arsenal on Tuesday to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
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Atletico Madrid's La Liga title challenge took a nosedive when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, leaving Real Madrid three points clear at the top.
Real Madrid suffered a humiliating 2-1 home defeat by Leganes on Wednesday to exit the King's Cup at the quarter-final stage on away goals.
Karim Benzema is returning to full fitness at just the right time for Real Madrid, who will play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. Coach Zinedine Zidane was relieved to see the Frenchman come back from a hamstring problem and score in Sunday's 3-2 triumph over Valencia, a result that kept Real just a point behind Barcelona with one game to go in the race for the league title. "He's not been at 100 percent for a while. We've seen that it wasn't easy for him physically," Zidane told Real's website. "(Against Valencia) he coped with it well and without any problems. We've got two games left. He's getting better every day and he's not feeling any discomfort from his last injury."
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
A leap in commercial and broadcast revenue lifted Manchester United into second place behind Real Madrid on the list of the world's richest clubs in 2013-14, according to Deloitte's latest Football Money League.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the Europa League knockout stage with emphatic wins on Thursday but holders Atletico Madrid and former winners Liverpool suffered surprise defeats.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Portuguese forward put his team on the verge of their third final in four years and took his tally to 103 goals in the competition as he helped Madrid vanquish their neighbours at the Santiago Bernabeu.
France and Spain will step up security ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals in Madrid and Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, top officials said, as Islamic State threats cast a shadow over Europe's top club soccer tournament.
Manchester City took a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. In anothr match, Liverpool took a firm grip of their Champions League tie with Benfica as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a 3-1 victory in Lisbon.
Zinedine Zidane cast doubt on his long-term future at Real Madrid by saying he is unsure if he will be in charge of the club next season. The former midfielder was named as Rafael Benitez's successor in January when he signed a contract until June 2018. But when asked what role he would have in the Liga club's transfer dealings for next season, Zidane said he did not know if he would still be at the Bernabeu. "I can't know what role I'm going to have if I don't know if I'm going to be here. We'll see what happens at the end of the season," Zidane was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca. The 43-year-old was also asked if Madrid would make another attempt to sign David de Gea after their move for the Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper fell through on the last day of the transfer window last August.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale said on Wednesday he has an extra incentive to reach a third Champions League final in four years because the title game will be played in his hometown of Cardiff. "This is the reason I came to Madrid - to play in the Champions League, to win the Champions League," the 27-year-old Bale said in an interview with UEFA.com. "To have the Champions League final in my home town is an even bigger motivation," he said.
France forward Griezmann, 28, rejected a move to Barcelona last year but announced in May he was leaving the Madrid side, where he has spent the last five seasons since signing from Real Sociedad in 2014.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
Barcelona were handed their first defeat of the season by Atletico Madrid after a 2-1 loss on Sunday.
Real Madrid fan Rafael Nadal has extended his support over the appointment of new manager Zinedine Zidane, saying that he deserves to lead one of the most important clubs in the world.
Arsene Wenger praised his Arsenal players for the 'resilient and disciplined' way in which they qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over AC Milan on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to renew his contract and said he wanted to see out his career in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo's immediate future at Real has been in doubt all season, with speculation growing throughout the year that he was plotting a move to Paris Saint-Germain but the prolific Portuguese has now made it clear he wants to stay at the club. "Real Madrid would be making a smart decision if they offered me a new contract," Ronaldo told Spanish television programme La Sexta on Wednesday. "I want to stay here, there have been good moments and bad moments. Four years ago I wasn't happy here but now I am and I can't think of a better club to be at than Real Madrid, there's no team like it. The other clubs can forget it." Ronaldo overtook Raul Gonzalez as Real's all-time top scorer earlier this season and on Saturday will be hoping to inspire the team to their 11th European Cup success when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan.
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais.
Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres is poised to complete a record-breaking move to Liverpool.
For months, the 2024 Ballon d'Or seemed to have a clear front-runner, with everyone anticipating the coronation of Vinícius Júnior as the new king of football.
Last season's treble winners Barca are in their worst run of form in La Liga since coach Luis Enrique took charge in August 2014.
Bruges scored four times in the last 17 minutes to beat Maribor 4-3 in the Europa League on Wednesday while Atletico Madrid and PAOK Salonika were among six teams to qualify for the knockout stage.
All the action from La Liga and Serie A matches played on Sunday.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Real Madrid have moved to broaden their options in attack by agreeing to sign Mexico striker Javier Hernandez on loan from Manchester United for the 2014-15 season.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 27th career hat-trick and Gareth Bale struck twice as Real Madrid bounced back in style from consecutive defeats with a thumping 8-2 La Liga win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
The Real Madrid forward apologises after Real Madrid dumped out of King's Cup by Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane shrugged off his first setback since taking over from the sacked Rafa Benitez after his new team could only manage a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in La Liga.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
Real Madrid fought back from the brink of elimination to beat Manchester City 3-1 after extra time and 6-5 on aggregate in an enthralling and dramatic Champions League semi-final on Wednesday.
Manchester City boosted their defensive options by signing Argentine centre back Martin Demichelis from Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema need to score twice in the Champions League final on May 28 against Atletico Madrid to hit the century mark for goals this season for the first time.
