Barcelona's Luis Suarez hit a brace and set up a double for a spritely Lionel Messi to score in his first start after injury in a rampant 6-1 Champions League victory over AS Roma on Tuesday.
A stunning free kick from Willian seven minutes from time gave Chelsea a nervy and hard-fought 2-1 UEFA Champions League Group G win over Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday to lift some of the gloom surrounding Stamford Bridge.
Images from Thursday's action in the Europa League Europa League - Round of 16 Second Leg - matches.
Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany is likely to be sidelined for about a month after suffering a recurrence of a calf problem on Tuesday as his side qualified for the Champions League quarter-finals.
The 25-year-old ended a breakthrough season for Liverpool in disappointing fashion when he was withdrawn injured in the first half of the Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid in Kiev on May 26.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Tuesday night's matches in the Champions League.
China is going to be an indispensable partner in Russia's ongoing crisis with the US, while on its part, China cannot remain indifferent if Russia gets crushed by the US, lest it loses 'strategic depth', observes Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar.
The Welsh winger is thriving in the absence of Ronaldo and Madrid have three wins from four La Liga matches.
Marriages are are bound to happen pandemic or not.
These images prove we live in a wonderfully weird world.
These 12 images prove that we truly live in an incredibly bizarre world.
The newborns opens their eyes to see the world fighting a deadly disease.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.
Ukraine has claimed that it has "compelling evidence" that Russian crew operated the missile system that downed a Malaysian jet with 298 people on board and accused Moscow of helping rebels in trying to destroy evidence.
A shaky truce crumbled in troubled Kiev on Thursday morning, when gunfire erupted at Independence Square which has been ground zero for anti-government protesters in Ukraine.
Portugal, Denmark, Poland, Serbia, Austria, Croatia and Ukraine are among countries which will again be able to enjoy league football, albeit in unusual circumstances with no spectators allowed at games.
'Will the Crimean peninsula's flavour change again as even more Russians come stomping through? Will the Russian bear be content with lunching on Crimea? Or will he eventually bumble into Kiev's Independence Square to squat for good?' Rediff.com's Vaihayasi Pande Daniel looks back on a trip to Crimea, the setting for Tennyson's famous poem, Charge of the Light Brigade.
Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich's Mezhyhirya residence that had been closed off for nearly a decade was thronged by Ukrainians to see what Yanukovych was hiding.
Grabavo, where Flight MH17 exploded and crashed, is in the eastern province of Donetsk. It is 40 odd kms from the Russian border and for many years, was called Stalino after Josef Stalin.
Troubled AC Milan were held to a goalless draw by AEK Athens
World champions Spain will start their campaign for a third successive European Championship in a group with Ukraine, Slovakia, Belarus, Macedonia and Luxembourg, meaning an emotional trip back to Kiev for Vicente del Bosque's team who lifted the trophy there in 2012.
Having seen the domestic league and cup double go to Porto last term, Benfica missed a string of chances against PAOK in a one-sided first half as they enjoyed 72% of possession.
'If the Russian forces do capture Kyiv and set up some sort of provisional government, they might run into an insurgency, for which the geography is just right, it could prove costly for them.' 'In that event, the whole exercise could turn out to be counter-productive -- and costly in both foreign policy and domestic terms.'
The 10 images that prove we live in a bizarre world.
Ramos, 32, announced debut rap composition 'SR4' little more than a week ahead of Real's Champions League final against Liverpool in Kiev.
Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between holders Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev:
She threw a distance of 63.72m in the women's discus throw at the National Inter-State #Athletics Championship to punch her ticket to the Games.
A collection of oddball, amazing moments from the world!
In the high-pressure cooker that is politics, tempers can be explosive and fuses short. Rediff.com brings you some of the most dramatic political punch-ups and fist fights from across the globe where parliaments turned into boxing rinks.
Several records and milestones were set after Real Madrid beat Liverpool 3-1 in the Champions League final on Saturday. With the victory Real became the first team to win three straight titles in the Champions League era.
Thomas Meunier volleyed a spectacular last-minute goal to give Paris St Germain a 2-1 win at FC Basel, which took them into the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday.
This is Liverpool's second consecutive Champions League final and their fourth in 14 years, last winning the coveted trophy in 2005.
Since winning the first of his record 17 Grand Slam titles on Centre Court in 2003, no one had managed to eject grasscourt master Roger Federer from Wimbledon before the quarter-finals. On Wednesday, Sergiy Stakhovsky wiped the smile off the Swiss's face after evicting him from his own back yard.
Ten photos that prove we live in an odd, odd world!
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
These images prove we live in a wonderfully weird world.
Spain's Xabi Alonso and a child celebrate with the trophy after defeating Italy.
