There were a few nerves at the end but Liverpool set up a Champions League semi-final with Spain's Villarreal after Roberto Firmino scored twice in a 3-3 second-leg draw with Benfica on Wednesday to ensure a 6-4 aggregate win.
The heroes of newly crowned European champions, Barcelona, paraded in an open-top, double-decker bus through cheering, packed streets and arrived to a roar of welcome at the Camp Nou stadium on Sunday.
Second tier Cardiff City beat 10-man Championship rivals Crystal Palace 3-1 on penalties on Tuesday to secure a dream League Cup final date at Wembley with Manchester City or Liverpool.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi rocked the Mines International Exhibition & Convention Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He addressed a crowd of over 15,000 Malay Indians.
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.
Ajax Amsterdam registered a 4-1 win at De Graafschap, their first title since 2014 and a record-extending 34th overall completed the double after they won the KNVB Cup earlier this month.
Former England captain John Terry will not be brought of international retirement to play at this year's World Cup finals in Brazil, manager Roy Hodgson said on Wednesday
The champion's 24th win from 25 professional fights sets up the prospect of a mouth-watering unification clash next year with fellow Briton Tyson Fury who holds the WBC belt.
Arsenal fought back from a goal down against old foes Chelsea to reach the League Cup final as Granit Xhaka poked home to complete a 2-1 second-leg win on Wednesday that set up a Wembley showdown with Manchester City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the European World Cup qualifiers played on Thursday
The best message the Prime Minister could bring to London is that he will return to India to focus on economic matters. Britain, on its part, should ensure that it addresses matters that concern India, instead of engaging in pomp during his visit, says Adam Roberts.
Manchester City move a step closer to the Premier League title after a game in which both sides finished with 10 men.
Indian 'Vedas' have since thousands of years considered sun as at soul of the universe and a nourisher of life, the PM said.
'Luis Enrique has been very important to us and we're all at ease with him.'
Hazard extra-time goal sends 10-man Real Madrid through to Copa del Rey final.
'Without Harry Kane many people were talking about Sonny (Son Heung-min) but today it was Lucas Moura who scored three goals and you know if you don't respect all the players, you cannot only have 11 players'
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Sunday
Chelsea manager Frank Lampard was delighted with the discipline of his team, who ended United's 19-game unbeaten run.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
Second-tier Reading booked an FA Cup semi-final meeting with holders Arsenal.
A round-up of all the international friendlies played on Tuesday
Terry, who missed the 3-0 win over Estonia at Wembley last Saturday with a knee problem, had earlier declared himself fit but locked his knee towards the end of an hour-long training session on the artificial turf at the Luzhniki Stadium.
A summary of Saturday's UEFA World Cup qualifiers.
Though deprived of victory, England, coming off a series of poor results, will take heart from the way they grew in confidence as the game progressed and will aim to show more of the same in Wednesday's Euro 2008 qualifier.
The 39-year-old appeared at Italy's Sanremo festival in March, where he sang a duet with Bologna coach Sinisa Mihajlovic and said he would like to try acting.
Their warning came on the last official day of campaigning before polling booths open at 7 am local time on Thursday with the final result expected early on Friday.
A night of wholesale team changes for the 11 Premier League sides in action produced one notable upset with top flight Stoke City losing 2-0 at second-tier Bristol City.
Cristiano Ronaldo played down talk of crisis at Real Madrid after the European and Spanish champions were trounced 3-1 on their Wembley debut against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Dutchman Ronald Koeman has signed a two-year-deal with Barcelona.
Images from Sunday's English Premier League matches.
Sean Dyche's Burnley side looked to have secured a crucial point in their fight to move clear of the bottom three but Eriksen broke their hearts with a clinical finish for third-placed Spurs in the 91st minute.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United will be without skipper Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Anthony Martial for their visit to Watford on Saturday when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
A video of the incident showed that Taison stuck his finger up at a section occupied by Dynamo fans and then hoofed the ball into the stands.
Qualifiers Spain and the United States suffered blows in friendlies, the world champions beaten 1-0 by eliminated South Africa on the SoccerCity pitch where they clinched their 2010 crown and the Americans losing 1-0 away to lowly Austria.
Argentina got their World Cup qualifying campaign off to the perfect start on Thursday when Lionel Messi's early penalty gave them a 1-0 win over Ecuador in a lacklustre match in Buenos Aires.
And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
