King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
The Danes were certainly in no mood to risk defeat by pushing for a win they did not need to qualify.
River Plate battled back to beat arch Argentine rivals Boca Juniors 3-1 in extra-time in an unforgettable and unique Copa Libertadores final second leg, played in Madrid after violence had seen the original game postponed.
Rediff.com takes you back to the five own goals scored at the ongoing FIFA World Cup...
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has reaffirmed his commitment to the club by saying he wants to lead them into their new stadium in 2017. Simeone is under contract with Atletico until 2020 but he cast doubt on his future in May, immediately after the team's defeat to Real Madrid on penalties in the Champions League final. The Argentine coach has since stated he made those comments in the heat of the moment, although talk of his future has resurfaced following the team's disappointing start to the season.
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team's spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League.
A summary of Tuesday's qualification matches next year's FIFA World Cup.
Ousmane Dembele's late strike rescued a 1-1 draw for champions Barcelona at Atletico Madrid but Sevilla moved top with a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. European champions Real Madrid were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Eibar.
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
A round-up of Saturday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
PSV Eindhoven will miss striker Luuk de Jong when they entertain Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Ligue 1 goal this season before missing a penalty as they beat En Avant Guingamp 3-0 to extend their lead to four points on Tuesday.
Real Madrid's stuttering run continued as they were held 1-1 at home by La Liga minnows Eibar on Sunday, drawing a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in more than a decade.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
A round-up of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
IMAGES from the FIFA World Cup first semi-final played between France and Belgium on Tuesday
Analysis of the eight groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Monday
Ronaldo had failed to score in his last four league games for Real and his rotten run in front of goal looked set to continue when his spot-kick was turned away by visiting goalkeeper Roberto.
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
The global head of athletics, Sebastian Coe, has promised to do all he can to clean up the battered reputation of his sport and the organisation that runs it and has already made changes in the way the IAAF operates in Monaco.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos added: "It looks like us changing our coach worked. We have recovered some sensations we had lost and we have got the three points. Now our objective is to win all the games left and finish the season as well as possible."
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo capped a remarkable year by claiming a fourth Ballon d'Or award on Monday after leading Portugal to an emotional European Championship title and Real Madrid to a record-extending Champions League crown in 2016.
A bullet header from Nicolas Otamendi put Valencia on course for a 3-1 victory over Eibar in La Liga on Sunday that boosted their hopes of claiming a Champions League place.
Manchester City came out on top in an epic Champions League battle against Monaco whereasAtletico Madrid beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter.
Simeone's side leapfrogged Real Sociedad into fourth on 42 points, while Sevilla stayed third in the standings on 46 after beating Las Palmas 1-0, also on Sunday, thanks to a late strike from substitute Joaquin Correa
'The writer remains the most creative force in the process.' 'Producers need to be inventive in how they reward good writing.'
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Zinedine Zidane a ringing endorsement as Real Madrid coach after their 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the city derby at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
IMAGES from the La Liga matches played on Tuesday
Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to an abrupt and surprising end as Real Mallorca claimed a stunning 1-0 victory at a rocking Son Moix on Saturday to climb out of the relegation zone.
A summary of Wednesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Costa turned Juanfran's low cross into the net in the 69th minute for Atletico's third goal in the first leg of the last 16 tie against third division Lleida but immediately limped to the sidelines. He did return to the pitch, however, and completed the game despite bleeding from his knee.
Belgium have scored 14 goals in five matches and were hugely impressive in their 2-1 quarter-final victory over Brazil, with Romelu Lukaku, Eden Hazard and Kevin de Bruyne combining to devastating effect to oust the five-times world champions.
A Karim Benzema brace and an own goal by goalkeeper Noel Valladares awarded after confirmation by goalline technology gave France a 3-0 victory over 10-man Honduras in their World Cup Group E match on Sunday.