Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will resume their perennial battle to be crowned the world's best footballer after they headed the shortlist of 30 players for the 2016 Ballon d'Or announced on Monday.
From heroes to zeros and back again, Leicester City's remarkable rollercoaster ride took another twist as a superb 2-0 victory over Sevilla put them in the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday.
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.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Genoa blew away Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday, scoring three times in an astonishing first half hour on the way to a pulsating 3-1 win.
But Saturday's Champions League final against his former club Juventus is a reminder that the Frenchman hasn't quite had it all his own way.
Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon saved a penalty and Andrea Pirlo curled in a trademark free kick late in the game to give the Serie A leaders a dramatic 1-0 win at Genoa on Sunday.
Giorgio Chiellini's assertion that Tottenham Hotspur 'always miss something to arrive at the end' would have chiselled deep into a nerve for fans of the north London club.
Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination after being thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and few believe lightning can strike twice.
Defender Diego Godin scored a dramatic goal nine minutes from time to send Uruguay through to the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 win over Italy, on Tuesday, which sent the four-times champions home.
The Portuguese forward then fired in the penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Xavi slams Real Madrid over Casillas exit
Departing Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas was forced out by club president Florentino Perez and is too good to play for a 'third-tier' side like Porto, his parents were quoted as saying on Sunday.
Juventus need to beat Manchester City to reach the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday and many fans still believe the best way to achieve this is by fielding Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala together in attack.
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Edin Dzeko scored twice to set up a 3-1 win for AS Roma away to Napoli in the battle for second place in Serie A on Saturday and Paulo Dybala also notched up a brace for leaders Juventus in their 2-1 win over Udinese.
Second half goals from Presnel Kimpembe and Kylian Mbappe gave the impressive French side a clear advantage ahead of the return in Paris on March 6.
A summary of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo is a colossal figure in club football having completed a hat-trick of Champions League (1 Manchester United, 2 Real Madrid) victories. The three-time Ballon d'Or winner, Ronaldo has won several league titles. But the Portuguese magician tasted success for the first time with the national team as Portugal defeated hosts France to lift the 2016 Euro title.
Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back three minutes later with a typically opportunist goal, the Argentine's 13th in the league this season, to set up a tense final half hour.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose rare talent burst into the limelight with a splendid goal against Italy at Euro 2004, was a shadow of his brilliant best when Sweden lost 1-0 to the same opponents on Friday. Sweden's 34-year-old captain again looked his age after a subdued display in an opening 1-1 draw with Ireland and an early Euro 2016 exit looms for a side with one point from two games before facing Belgium in their final Group E match next week. The tall and powerful striker, who left the pitch without saluting the crowd and did not stop to talk to anyone, has failed to produce a shot on target so far in the tournament.
From sharp, flying tackles and tough possession-fights, bloodied noses to scissor kicks in attempt to finding those crucial goals and the ecstatic celebrations thereafter, Rediff.com gives you a quick rewind of all the excitement that has transpired over the last five days across France...
To the few uninitiated, Alessandro Del Piero, garlanded with marigold, was mistaken for a Hollywood star before football aficionados sent across the message that the biggest attraction of the inaugural Indian Super League had just landed in New Delhi.
Seydou Keita cancelled out a superb Carlos Tevez free kick as second-placed AS Roma fought back with 10 men for a fiery 1-1 draw at home to leaders Juventus who stayed on course for a fourth successive Serie A title on Monday.
Valverde said he was concerned about the team's away form after they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 by promoted Granada
Costa Rica made it to the last 16 of the World Cup with a 1-0 victory over four-times winners Italy in their Group D clash on Friday. Captain Bryan Ruiz headed the team to victory with a 44th-minute goal.
Winning goals from Luis Suarez and Neymar on the counter-attack to sink Juventus in the Champions League final encapsulated the new direct play from Barcelona that saw them become the first European side to win the treble for the second time.
Juventus staged a superb revival to battle back from two goals down and rescue their Champions League hopes with a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in their last 16 first leg on Tuesday.
Champions Juventus returned to the top of Serie A with a 4-0 home rout of Cagliari on Wednesday, while former leaders Napoli dropped to second after being held to a goalless draw at Genoa.
The two losses in Blind's first two games left the Dutch floundering in fourth place in Group A, needing to overhaul a two-point deficit on third placed Turkey with two games to play in October to have any chance of reaching the Euro 2016 finals via the November play-offs.
Juventus won 2-0 at Lazio on Friday to extend their winning run in Serie A to five matches thanks to an early own goal from Santiago Gentiletti and a glorious Paulo Dybala effort.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Germany's younger generation can rightfully feel they are the ones to be trusted when the world champions line up for a Euro 2016 semi-final next week after they stood up to be counted in the country's first tournament victory over Italy on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Giuseppe Rossi continued his remarkable comeback with a 15-minute hat-trick as Fiorentina recovered from two goals down to defeat previously unbeaten title-holders Juventus 4-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Real Madrid paid more than 200 million euros ($227.76 million) to assemble their forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, but the attacking trio failed them again in Wednesday's Champions League exit to Juventus.
Real Madrid top Forbes' most valuable soccer teams list, followed by their La Liga counterparts, FC Barcelona. Here is the list of the 10 most valuable soccer teams (in billions):
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of all the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Having battled to break down one of Europe's meanest defences in the quarter-finals, Real Madrid will have to do it all over again when they face Juventus in their Champions League semi-final.
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