London sides Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal made winning starts as did fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
Barcelona missed a chance to virtually wrap up a third straight La Liga title when they surrendered the lead and lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad Saturday.
Spain are still favourites to finish top of Group E above Sweden, Poland and Slovakia but, after struggling to break down conservative sides such as Georgia and Greece in March, they know coming first will not be a procession.
Dramatic finale as Valencia denied by 10-man Levante
Dimitar Berbatov struck a spectacular hat-trick to steer Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Premier League and former Old Trafford favourite Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to lift Real Madrid to a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad on Sunday which trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to seven points.
Barcelona were hit with more bad news on Sunday when centre back Gerard Pique was ruled out for about two weeks with a calf problem.
Lionel Messi made brilliance look routine with a stunning double to help Barcelona to a 5-0 win over Real Sociedad that restored the champions' two-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Simeone's side leapfrogged Real Sociedad into fourth on 42 points, while Sevilla stayed third in the standings on 46 after beating Las Palmas 1-0, also on Sunday, thanks to a late strike from substitute Joaquin Correa
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Following public comments from La Liga chief Javier Tebas, who said it was "not ideal" for the second El Clasico meeting between Real and Barca last season to be played with the latter having already won the league title, the two sides will face off earlier this campaign.
Barcelona travel to newly-promoted Osasuna without their first choice front line.
Under-pressure Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez believes there is a campaign against him and the club and that the team is not playing as badly as is being made out ahead of the La Liga game against Real Sociedad on Wednesday.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has been given a two-match ban following his dismissal for kicking out at an opponent during their La Liga clash with Cordoba last Saturday, the Spanish league said on Wednesday.
Real Madrid have enviously looked on as Barcelona claimed six La Liga titles in the last eight years, but Zinedine Zidane's side can take a huge step towards a first crown since 2012 with victory over their bitter rivals at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
On a seismic day in the history of Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal in a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round victory
Images from action in the Europa League matches on Thursday.
Real Madrid romped to a 4-1 win at tiny Eibar on Saturday, provisionally returning to the top of La Liga, despite the absence of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo for Zinedine Zidane's side.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
Cristiano Ronaldo's bullet header helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory .
France forward Antoine Griezmann says he would only leave Atletico Madrid if manager Diego Simeone also quit the La Liga club.
Unbeaten in six games, the draw leaves third-placed Sevilla on 51 points, four ahead of Real Sociedad and five ahead of both Getafe and Atletico Madrid, while Levante are 12th on 35 points.
Gareth Bale was once again subjected to whistling from a section of the Bernabeu crowd.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique fears his side's shock elimination from the Champions League could disturb their bid to retain the La Liga title as they host Valencia on Sunday looking for a first win in four league games.
Valencia forward Carlos Soler scored a hat-trick of penalties as his side beat La Liga champions Real Madrid 4-1 at home in an extraordinary match on Sunday.
A late header by Imanol Agirretxe gave Real Sociedad, who are without a coach, a 2-1 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho scored two poacher's goals as they beat Manchester United 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday to set up a last-four clash against Southampton.
Manchester City's Premier League home match against Arsenal has been postponed because players from the London club have had contact with the owner of Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus, who has contracted the coronavirus. Meanwhile La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Spanish league said.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Images from football matches played in the Italian Serie A and the La Liga on Friday.
David Zurutuza struck twice to help Real Sociedad seal a remarkable comeback and beat Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga.
The home side spurned two chances to extend their advantage before the break but Barca levelled in the 52nd minute when Luis Suarez glanced in Lionel Messi's free kick.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
The England captain has been left out because of a rib injury.
Barcelona forward Neymar has trained with the squad for the first time since injuring his ankle last month and is close to a return to action, the club said on Monday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
La Liga's organising body announced on Monday that all clubs would begin testing their players this week as part of the first phase of a four-step protocol to return to playing matches, without spectators, in June.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone may have played down the significance of Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad but it has raised further questions about the champions' ability to defend their title.
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