Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Poland forward Robert Lewandowski became the second top Borussia Dortmund player to leave for arch-rivals Bayern Munich in less than a year when he agreed terms on Saturday to join them as a free agent at the end of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leaders Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo. It also helped the European champions extend their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions.
Holders Bayern Munich recovered from the shock of a stunning Patrice Evra goal to score three times in quick succession to beat Manchester United 3-1 and reach the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday.
Holders Spain lost for the first time in 15 matches at the European Championship finals on Tuesday when Croatia beat them 2-1 to win Group D at Euro 2016.
Czech Republic's Tomas Necid scored a stoppage-time penalty as they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 with Croatia in a dramatic Euro 2016 Group D encounter on Friday that was interrupted due to flares thrown on the pitch. With Croatia captain Dario Srna in tears during the national anthem having returned from the funeral of his father earlier in the week, the Croatians swarmed all over the Czechs from the first whistle, with Perisic opening the scoring in the 37th minute to lead at halftime.
Barcelona dropped their first points of the La Liga season as their star-studded forward line misfired in a 0-0 draw away to Malaga on Wednesday.
Fernando Torres stole the show with a dramatic double as Atletico Madrid secured a battling 2-2 draw at Real Madrid on Thursday that dumped the holders out of the King's Cup 4-2 on aggregate.
Paulo Dybala came off the bench to give unbeaten Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win away to a brave Bologna side who had the better of the match and hit the post in stoppage time on Sunday.
World champions Germany survived a late scare to see off Saudi Arabia 2-1 on Friday and claim a first victory this year, putting a five-game winless run behind them as they finalised their World Cup preparations.
A summary of the Euro 2016 qualifying group matches, played on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich had to put their Bundesliga title celebrations on hold on Saturday after beating gutsy Mainz 05 2-0 while Borussia Dortmund also won, 3-0 at Hanover 96.
France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.
Real Madrid tore apart Bayern Munich's ragged defence with a ruthless first-half display as they thrashed the defending champions 4-0 in their own stadium to reach their first Champions League final for 12 years.
Barcelona's rampant trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi all found the net at the weekend and unsung Leicester City found themselves in the record books when their England striker Jamie Vardy scored for the 11th straight game.
Holders Bayern Munich eased past CSKA Moscow 3-1 on Wednesday to set a Champions League record with their 10th straight victory and underline their ambitions to become the first team to successfully defend the title.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
New coach Luciano Spalletti failed to inspire AS Roma as they were held 1-1 at home by bottom club Verona on his debut on Sunday and Juventus notched their 10th Serie A win in a row by hammering Udinese 4-0 away.
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg-matches played on Wednesday
Juventus striker Gonzalo Higuain again showed his killer instinct with two expertly-taken goals in a late 3-1 win at Torino after their less illustrious neighbours had scored first and dominated the Serie A game on Sunday.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
European champions Bayern Munich led the charge into the last 16 of the Champions League when they beat Viktoria Plzen 1-0 to chalk up a record-equalling ninth straight victory in the competition on Tuesday.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
A round-up of the World Cup qualifying matches played on Friday.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Croatia, helped by a mistake by veteran goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, held Italy to a 1-1 away draw on Sunday, but their evening was ruined by their fans who twice interrupted play by throwing flares onto the pitch.
Real Madrid earned their first-ever win over Liverpool with a wondrous Cristiano Ronaldo goal spearheading a 3-0 Champions League victory at Anfield on Wednesday which appeared as classy as it was dominant.
Spain strolled to a 4-1 win at home to Israel, while Italy survived some first-half scares on the way to a 2-0 win and Ukraine registered a 1-0 home win over Ukraine in an action-packed game.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Anthony Martial went from villain to hero as his second-half equaliser earned Manchester United a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.
Indian shuttler Ajay Jayaram overcame Rajiv Ouseph of England to enter the men's singles final of the $50,000 Yonex Dutch Open Grand Prix, in Almere, The Netherlands.
Andy Murray clinched the Vienna Open title on Sunday with a 5-7, 6-2, 7-5 victory over David Ferrer, one of the Briton's main rivals in the battle to qualify for the ATP World Tour Finals.
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