News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Rediff.com brings you a wrap of big stories in pictures with the Best Sports Photos of the Week.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid claimed their first trophy under Jose Mourinho when Cristiano Ronaldo's dramatic extra-time winner secured a 1-0 King's Cup final victory over arch-rivals Barcelona on Wednesday.
Gonzalo Higuain netted a neat volley to save dominant Real Madrid's blushes, helping the La Liga giants to a 2-0 victory over Ajax Amsterdam in Champions League Group G on Wednesday.
In a big blow to Real Madrid's title hopes, Real Betis held them to a goalless draw in their La Liga encounter on Sunday.
Angel di Maria's late intervention spared Real Madrid another inquest into the case of the misfiring forwards while Zlatan Ibrahimovic's sense of occasion salvaged a Champions League point for AC Milan.
Playing at the Parc des Princes against the team who denied them the title last year was the perfect occasion for PSG, owned by big-spenders Qatar Sports Investments since 2011, to wrap up their fifth title in the Qatari era.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A Lionel Messi masterclass, netting a brilliant free kick before laying on two more goals, put Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a resounding 3-0 win over Colombia in San Juan on Tuesday.
Champions Manchester City suffered a stunning 1-0 home defeat to Stoke City on Saturday as their cast of attacking talents were blunted in a lifeless display that cost them their first dropped points of the season.
Manchester United emerged from the transfer window with a rich icing and the brightest of cherries to decorate their cake but the suspicion remains that the team's base may crumble under pressure.
Juve forward Cristiano Ronaldo had an unusually quiet game after scoring a hat-trick against Atletico in last year's competition, although he came within inches of grabbing a last-gasp winner when he sent a shot just past the far post.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Neymar faces a race against time to be fit for this year's World Cup finals after the Brazil team doctor was quoted on Thursday saying that he would be out for up to three months with a foot injury.
A stunning goal from Angel Di Maria enabled the defending champions beat Nigeria 1-0 in Saturday's final at the Beijing Olympics.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
After losing only three league games last season Juventus have now lost the first two of the new campaign as a deserved 2-1 defeat at AS Roma on Sunday condemned the champions to their worst-ever Serie A start.
Barcelona winger Raphinha secured a 1-0 win in LaLiga for the second straight week this time at Athletic Bilbao as his side tightened their grip on top spot.
Colombia head to Copa semis after penalties win over Uruguay
How could a front six including Angel Di Maria, Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata fail to get a single shot on target in a 1-0 home defeat by Southmapton?
Europa League kings Sevilla breezed past Manchester United into the semi-finals of their favourite competition as Youssef En Nesyri scored twice
Striker Sergio Aguero scored twice to give Argentina a 2-0 win over fellow World Cup finalists Bosnia in a friendly at the Busch baseball stadium in St Louis, Missouri on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Ever the perfectionist, Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal is still chasing the complete performance despite a run of six straight victories that have propelled his side to third in the Premier League table.
Check out the 10 most expensive transfers in British soccer history.
I am not the best person to judge, I cannot separate sentiment from my objective decision. Whatever season Messi has had on footballing grounds, I would still vote for him.
Milan replaced Gennaro Gattuso with former Sampdoria coach Giampaolo during the close season in a bid to improve on last season's fifth place and to take them back to the Champions League.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck twice as Paris St Germain made up for their midweek Champions League defeat by crushing Toulouse 5-0 to stretch their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points on Saturday.
Germany have four players and Argentina three in the 10-man FIFA shortlist for the adidas Golden Ball, which is awarded to the World Cup's most outstanding performer.
After five misses in the World Cup's first penalty shootout, Argentina wisely practiced spot-kicks before flying to Sao Paulo for their last-16 clash with Switzerland.
Paris Saint Germain's Neymar, Laywin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes as well as Marseille's duo of Dario Benedetto and Jordan Amavi were given their marching orders after rival players threw punches and kicks at each other.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
Messi has spoken at length about the dream of winning a title with Argentina and his compatriots know how much an international trophy means to him.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos risks being hit with an extra game suspension which would rule him out of a potential Champions League quarter-final first leg after admitting he got booked on purpose in Wednesday's 2-1 win at Ajax Amsterdam.
Star footballers Lionel Messi, Manuel Neuer and Cristiano Ronaldo, who had been shortlisted for the FIFA Ballon d'Or award, have been selected by their peers for the 2014 FIFPro World XI team.
Substitute Lionel Messi scored his 38th goal for Argentina as they breezed past Slovenia 2-0 in their final World Cup warmup on Saturday.
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.