Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho sprung to the defence of new goalkeeper Asmir Begovic after the Bosnian conceded four goals against the New York Red Bulls.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
World champions France recovered from two goals down to beat Belgium 3-2 in a thrilling Nations League semi-final on Thursday with a last-minute strike from Theo Hernandez securing a place in Sunday's showpiece match against Spain.
Champions Real Madrid were beaten at home by promoted Cadiz, while Barcelona fell to their first defeat in La Liga under new coach Ronald Koeman as they lost to Getafe.
Images from matches played across European leagues on Saturday
Finland, who came third with three points, must wait until the end of the group stage to see if their adventure in a first ever major tournament will continue and they need a series of results to go their way if they are to make the last 16.
A superbly-executed strategy by coach Antonio Conte helped Italy to a deserved 2-0 win over Belgium in their Euro 2016 opener with outstanding goals by Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle on Monday.
Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ball through Thibaut Courtois' legs from a tight angle.
Paris Saint-Germain took a crucial advantage after beating Chelsea 2-1 in an entertaining UEFA Champions League Round of 16 first leg tie at the Parc des Princes in Paris on Tuesday.
Rampant Wales defeated Belgium 3-1 to reach the Euro 2016 semi-finals with a victory that included a sensational strike by Hal Robson-Kanu and a goal for captain Ashley Williams on Friday.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Chelsea a 1-0 win over Manchester United in a compelling Premier League clash on Sunday
Here are the list of awards handed out after the FIFA World Cup
A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea's defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half.
Zinedine Zidane's side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
Raheem Sterling's stunning individual goal earned Liverpool a 1-1 draw with Chelsea in a rip-roaring League Cup semi-final first leg at Anfield on Tuesday but the dominant Merseysiders could be left to rue a missed opportunity.
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte gave short shrift to media reports linking him with a move away from the English Premier League leaders and said he was eager to build "something important" at Stamford Bridge.
Belgium have a real chance at lifting trophies, captain Eden Hazard has said.
Brazil coach Tite felt a terrible bitterness after they were knocked out of the World Cup by Belgium in the quarter-finals on Friday and said his side never got the breaks in an enthralling end-to-end contest.
Kevin de Bruyne came off the bench to inspire Belgium in a 2-1 comeback win over Denmark
Real, who have not won the title since 2017, lead the table on 74 points, four ahead of Barca with five games left and have a superior head-to-head record over the Catalans which would give them the trophy if both teams finished the season level on points.
Chelsea opened up a six-point lead at the top of the Premier League despite being held to a 1-1 draw against top-four hopefuls Southampton in an absorbing game at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
Fellow Spaniards at Chelsea convinced me to join club, says Kepa
PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
Formula One esports race was the third in a series designed to give fans something to watch after the COVID-19 pandemic stalled motorsport worldwide and left Formula One still waiting to start its season.
Chelsea will look to stretch one of the longest unbeaten sequences in the top flight when the runaway leaders entertain arch-rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-1 on Sunday in a highly entertaining 'Clasico' which surely will signal the end of hapless coach Julen Lopetegui's spell in charge of Real.
Italy were clinical in their approach as they beat Belgium 2-0 in their Euro 2016 Group E encounter on Monday.
Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea reached the League Cup final after Branislav Ivanovic's towering extra-time header secured a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in a rip-roaring semi-final second leg at an electric Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Belgium's soccer team received a hero's welcome in Brussels on Sunday, after achieving their best-ever World Cup result in Russia.
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
It was the third game in a row in which Real had broken the deadlock thanks to a penalty and they sealed the win when Benzema turned provider and allowed Marco Asensio to tap into an empty net early in the second half.
Two goals from Eden Hazard helped Chelsea cruise to a 4-0 victory at Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League on Saturday for their first league win of 2018.
Unai Emery's Villarreal were much improved in the second half and had spurned numerous chances before Moreno's leveller.
Paris St Germain substitute Edinson Cavani, criticised by French media lacking composure in front of goal, responded in style to earn a 2-1 home win over Chelsea in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
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