Barcelona's 2-1 loss at Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League last week was down to a lack of intensity while Sunday's 1-0 reverse at Athletic Bilbao in La Liga exposed their relative physical frailty.
Strict rules govern transfers, with clubs able to negotiate terms with players only if they are out of contract or once a fee has been agreed with the seller. The laws also govern indirect approaches via an intermediary.
Defensive injury concerns for veteran squad leader Vincent Kompany and Barcelona's Thomas Vermaelen have eased and coach Roberto Martinez has sent standby defender Laurent Ciman home.
Manchester United suffered a setback as they were shocked by FC Copenhagen.
A summary of Tuesday night's matches in the Champions League.
Arsenal's young guns continued to shine as they dismantled Standard Liege 4-0 on a hectic night of Europa League action that produced a full house of Spanish victories on Thursday. A summary of the matches.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
A controversial freekick by Ryan Giggs gave Manchester United a 1-0 win over Lille and sparked a near-walkout by the French side in the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie.
An inspired second half goal from Edison Mendez was enough to give PSV Eindhoven a slender 1-0 win over Arsenal in the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round match
Skipper Raul struck twice as Real Madrid got the better of old foes Bayern Munich with a 3-2 win at the Bernabeu in the first leg of their Champions League first knockout round tie on Tuesday.
England manager Roy Hodgson appeared to play down the old rivalry between Scotland and England when he said Tuesday's friendly was just another game, despite the intense atmosphere likely at Celtic Park.
On a good night for English clubs in the Europa League, Manchester United hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0, while Wolverhampton Wanderers also thrashed Besiktas 4-0 in Group K, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Standard Liege and finish first in their pool. The upset of the night came in Group J as Crivelli scored a 90th-minute winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach to send Basaksehir through and knock the Germans out, with AS Roma grabbing the runner-up spot thanks to a 2-2 home draw with Wolfsberger as the Europa League group stage concluded on Thursday.
The 35-year-old Swedish striker will play for the English Premier League leaders from January 1 to March 12.
Palpreet Singh, winner of the ACG-NBA Jump National Finals, India's first national basketball talent search program, was selected 11th in the fourth Round of the NBA D-League Draft held in New York.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
The 34-year-old Sweden striker called time on his international career.
The ace golfer blasted four birdies on his last five holes to finish tied 17th with a card of four-under 65 in the final round.
The Dutch striker has spent four seasons at Stamford Bridge, making 177 appearances and scoring 87 goals.
Tracy McGrady scored 37 points as the Houston Rockets fought back from three losses to beat the Dallas Mavericks 101-83 in the NBA playoffs on Thursday.
Barcelona ended Celtic's 19-match unbeaten home run in Europe with a 3-1 win in the Champions League.
Ireland is set to appoint Martin O'Neill as manager and Roy Keane as his assistant, more than a decade after the former captain walked out on the team at the 2002 World Cup, FAI chief executive John Delaney said on Tuesday.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba handed Olympique Marseille a slender 1-0 lead over Inter Milan in quarter-final, first leg match.
Vince Carter scored 37 points to help the New Jersey Nets clinch the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a 102-93 win over the Boston Celtics.\n
The 32-year-old said that despite his age he still retained a fierce appetite for the game.
Paul Pierce scored 23 points and Ricky Davis added 18 to spark the Boston Celtics to a 100-86 win over the Indiana Pacers.
The Celtic and Sweden striker quit international soccer after the 2002 World Cup finals where he was not fully fit
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday.
Chelsea, Liverpool, Celtic, AC Milan, AS Roma and Bayern Munich join Manchester United for the Champions World series. \n\n
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Napoli began their Europa League group stage campaign in scintillating fashion.
The Italians won 9-8 after the two sides drew their Champions World Series match 1-1.
Bayern Munich struggled to a 1-0 win over TSV 1860 Munich four days before their Champions League showdown with Celtic.
The Liverpool striker was fined two weeks' wages for the spitting incident that marred the UEFA Cup tie with Celtic.
Chelsea reached the Champions League knock-out stage on Tuesday despite a 1-0 defeat by Basel in Group E after a late Mohamed Salah goal shocked the 2012 title winners, with Jose Mourinho saying they deserved to lose. Barcelona, without Lionel Messi but already into the last 16, went two goals down in Amsterdam but looked a different side in the second half after Ajax's Joel Veltman was sent off.
