Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah have been nominated as finalists for The Best FIFA Men's Player Award, world soccer's governing body announced on Monday.
Belgium used a combination of daring, intelligence, resilience and not a little luck to oust World Cup favourites Brazil 2-1 in a memorable quarter-final tie on Friday that would have made a worthy final.
Holders Real Madrid were sensationally knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday after being thrashed 4-1 at home by an outstanding Ajax Amsterdam who overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals 5-3 on aggregate.
La Liga leaders Barcelona won a tight and tense 'Clasico' 1-0 at Real Madrid on Saturday, beating their great rivals at their Bernabeu home for the second time in four days and moving a staggering 12 points clear of them in the standings.
Ronaldo's nomination comes after the 33-year-old last week denied rape allegations levelled against him by a woman who sued him in court in the United States.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored the winner as Paris St Germain beat Chelsea 2-1 to knock them out of the Champions League for the second successive season at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Daryl Janmaat, Gerard Deulofeu and Roberto Pereyra all scored late on in response to Eden Hazard dragging Chelsea back into the game with a curler in the 82nd minute after Tiemoue Bakayoko was sent off for a second booking on the half-hour.
Lorenzo Insigne curled a quite wonderful shot beyond the reach of Belgium goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois after jinking in from the left flank.
Chelsea have two of the best three goalkeepers in the world, which will help make them serious contenders to win the Premier League this season, their manager Jose Mourinho told a news conference on Friday.
Renault's Chinese test driver Guanyu Zhou won a virtual Bahrain Grand Prix on Sunday as Formula One sought to entertain fans with esports action in a season stalled by the spreading coronavirus. The first seven rounds of the real championship have been cancelled or postponed, including the showcase Monaco Grand Prix, and it remains to be seen how many there will be ultimately.
Chelsea's Champions League semi-final defeat by Atletico Madrid hinged on a pivotal second-half minute and the expertise of a young goalkeeper on loan from the Premier League club to the Spanish side, Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday.
Holders Bayern Munich and nine-times winners Real Madrid will face each other in a mouthwatering Champions League semi-final this month with Atletico Madrid up against Chelsea.
With a star-studded squad that makes a mockery of the old joke 'who can name a famous Belgian?', young and talented Belgium should breeze past Algeria in the Group H opener.
Juventus's hopes of reaching the Champions League last eight suffered a blow when the two-times European Cup winners slumped to a 1-0 defeat in their last-16 first leg at Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday. Manchester City finally produced a Champions League performance worthy of their status as one of European football's elite clubs by beating Real Madrid 2-1 away in Wednesday's last-16 first leg after pulling off a stunning late fightback.
A superb strike from Jose Luis Morales condemned Real Madrid to a 1-0 defeat away to Levante on Saturday which saw them unseated at the top of the La Liga standings by Barcelona. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'.
Chelsea's Petr Cech will undergo a medical with Arsenal on Friday, according to British media reports, after the clubs agreed a fee for the 33-year-old goalkeeper.
Madrid were not at their best but moved three points clear of rivals Barcelona.
Belgium hammered the final nail into Egypt's halting World Cup warm-up campaign with an assured 3-0 win in Brussels on Wednesday that settled some nerves among the fancied hosts.
Real Madrid President Florentino Perez has vowed that his club will make a splash in this summer's transfer market.
Real were smarting from a surprise 1-1 draw at struggling Elche in their last match and were missing captain Sergio Ramos, who was out with a stomach bug.
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
Diego Costa scored twice but could not prevent Chelsea losing their 100 percent Premier League record in a controversial 2-2 draw at Swansea on Sunday.
European champions Real will play host side Al Ain FC in Saturday's final in Abu Dhabi as they bid to win the title for the third year in a row.
Striker Mariano's header was glanced onto the crossbar by Sociedad's Andoni Gorosabel while the loose ball fell to Marco Asensio, whose shot was deflected wide for a corner from which Raphael Varane header hit the top of the bar.
Antonio Conte's return to Italian football on Tuesday proved such a chastening experience as he watched his Chelsea side dismantled by AS Roma in the Champions League that he worries they could be set for a "very difficult" season.
Juventus substitute Cristiano Ronaldo was denied a stoppage-time winner by VAR as Udinese came from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw in their thrilling Serie A season opener on Sunday.
Sublime goals from Jamie Vardy and Riyad Mahrez sent Leicester City back to the Premier League summit after a deserved 2-1 win over lacklustre Chelsea whose march to the title last season seems a distant memory.
Images from action in the Spanish Super Cup and English Premier League
The world of esports came to the rescue in the absence of a race in Melbourne or indeed of any single-seater series with the Formula E and IndyCar calendars also ravaged by the fast-spreading virus. Red Bull's Verstappen finished 11th in an 'All-star Esports battle' while McLaren's Norris finished sixth in another virtual race.
Manchester City marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League
A superb second-half strike from Adnan Januzaj gave Belgium a 1-0 win over England on Thursday to see them top World Cup Group G with a perfect record and consign England to second place, with both sides already assured of going through to the last 16.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Goalkeeper Eduardo has joined Chelsea on a one-year deal from Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The 33-year-old, who has 35 caps for Portugal, spent two seasons with Dinamo, making more than 70 appearances. Eduardo was a non-playing member of the Portugal squad that won Euro 2016.
Real Madrid forwards Marco Asensio and Karim Benzema struck to give their side a 2-0 win at home to Eibar in La Liga
Belgium fought back from two goals down to beat Japan 3-2 with an added-time goal from substitute Nacer Chadli on Monday to set up a World Cup quarter-final with Brazil.
Sergio Aguero was acclaimed as "the best striker in the Premier League" by manager Manuel Pellegrini after his hat-trick helped Manchester City beat Chelsea 3-0 at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
The draw interrupted a run of four straight league wins for Zinedine Zidane's side and left them second on 67 points after 31 games, three behind leaders Atletico who thrashed Eibar 5-0 earlier in the day.
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
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