Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Real Madrid will go into next weekend's La Liga El Clasico at Barcelona eight points behind their great rivals after Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 5-1 comeback win at home to promoted Deportivo Coruna on Sunday.
Kaka, who has yet to play for Real Madrid in an official game this season, gave a reminder of his abilities with a hat-trick in his team's 8-0 rout of Colombia's Millonarios in the annual Santiago Bernabeu Trophy on Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho has given a heavy hint that he is planning to emulate Alex Ferguson at Manchester United by continuing to coach until he is in his 70s.
Jose Mourinho believes winning La Liga was the toughest of the seven league titles he has sealed in coaching stints in his native Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, the Real Madrid manager said on Wednesday.
Stuttering Spanish champions Real Madrid returned to winning ways in La Liga but were well short of their scintillating best in a laboured 2-0 victory at lowly city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Monday.
Pep Guardiola's decision to step down as Barcelona coach at the end of the season will change nothing for Real Madrid, Guardiola's Real counterpart and bitter rival Jose Mourinho said on Tuesday.
A summary of football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has sought to play down Cristiano Ronaldo's revelation two weeks ago that he was feeling 'sad' at the club.
Jose Mourinho refused to comment on the performance of English referee Howard Webb in his side's 2-1 Champions League semi-final first leg defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, except to say that the Bavarians' first goal was offside.
'You cannot sack all the players so sack the manager -- whether right or wrong'
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.
In just a few months at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho has been dismissed from the touchline and fined for his conduct as his side endured a poor start to the season -- yet the Portuguese is still enjoying being Manchester United manager.
Real Madrid notched their first victory of the La Liga campaign at the third attempt when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win for the champions at home to 10-man Granada on Sunday.
New Real Madrid signing Michael Essien is confident he has put a series of serious injuries behind him and is ready to fight for a place in the La Liga side after completing a loan move from Chelsea on Friday.
Chelsea nervously beat Benfica 2-1 in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday to seal a 3-1 aggregate victory and set up a semi-final with holders Barcelona later this month. Real Madrid completed an 8-2 aggregate, thrashing of APOEL Nicosia, in the night's other match.
Real Madrid and Chelsea look set to join Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals when they complete their last eight ties at home to APOEL Nicosia and Benfica respetively on Wednesday.
Tito Vilanova was still Pep Guardiola's Barcelona assistant when he hit the headlines last August after Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho jabbed him in the eye during a touchline scuffle in the Spanish Super Cup.
Data, complied by FA Fair Play delegates who attend every Premier League match, shows Chelsea have the least respect towards match officials, the Telegraph reported.
Real Madrid defender Pepe was handed a two-match ban on Friday for insulting the referee after the 1-1 La Liga draw at Villarreal.
Records promise to tumble again in the 2012-13 La Liga season as world powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona resume their duel for supremacy, threatening to cast Spain's other 18 clubs even further adrift.
The UEFA on Thursday also opened disciplinary probes into the Portuguese coach's sending-off at the Bernabeu and subsequent outburst after Wednesday's bad-tempered clash, which Barca won 2-0.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez believes hiring Jose Mourinho as coach and spending hundreds of millions of euros on players has finally laid the foundation for winning a 10th European title.
Jose Mourinho had a smile back on his face after his Manchester United side comfortably beat Burnley 2-0 at Turf Moor on Sunday to end a week of intense scrutiny in positive fashion.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho criticised midfielder Sami Khedira after the German international got himself sent off in Sunday's shock 1-0 defeat at tiny Levante.
'The mental level, the day by day, everything must be consistent until the last day so one of the things we have to improve is consistency'
Real Madrid have won 27 of their last 30 matches in all competitions, suffering only one league defeat against Barcelona, and a draw and a defeat against their arch-rivals which put them out of the King's Cup last month.
Since the billionaire from Russia took control of the London club in 2003, Claudio Ranieri, Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Guus Hiddink and Carlo Ancelotti have all left Stamford Bridge after failing to reach the Holy Grail.
Barcelona's bid for a fourth straight La Liga title is foundering due to their erratic away form but Tuesday's 3-1 Champions League victory at Bayer Leverkusen suggests they are unlikely to suffer the same problem in Europe.
Tottenham Hotspur have called off talks with Antonio Conte to become their new manager to replace the sacked Jose Mourinho
Manchester United will be without world record signing Paul Pogba for their Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday due to a suspension, the Football Association said on Friday.
European champions Barcelona have refrained from making an official complaint against Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho for last week's eye poking incident and have called for an easing of tensions with their arch-rivals.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has accused Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho of "wrecking Spanish football" following the European champions' stormy Spanish Super Cup win on Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Jose Mourinho did not attend the FIFA Ballon d'Or gala because he was warned by some of those who voted for him as coach of the year that their votes showed up as supporting other candidates instead.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has sarcastically labelled himself the worst manager in the history of football after he faced criticism following a recent slump in form.
Real Madrid and Barcelona were made to work hard before grinding out wins in La Liga at the weekend while Inter Milan scored a surprise derby victory over AC Milan in Serie A.
Jose Mourinho tried to conceal his obvious anger at the incidents which he clearly believed had cost Premier League leaders Chelsea victory over Burnley on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho has confirmed Diego Costa was taken to hospital with a rib injury suffered during Chelsea's Capital One League Cup match at StokeCity on Tuesday.
'The Europa League is a massive thing for us now -- it's a trophy and it gives us qualification for the Champions League. With the players we have got, we can be unstoppable'
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and his Sporting Gijon counterpart Manuel Preciado have escaped punishment over a row they had in November after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) decided no action was needed.
