Unbeaten Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich opened up an 11-point gap at the top after goals from Thomas Mueller and Kingsley Coman eased them past Hertha Berlin 2-0 on Saturday, their 13th win in 14 league games.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi are the two best players in the world right now but Neymar will eclipse them both next year, former Brazil striker Ronaldo told Reuters.
Bayern Munich's perfect Bundesliga start came to a screeching halt when they drew 1-1 with visiting Cologne on Saturday after winning their first five matches of the season.
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League while Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi could be out for up to two months with a knee injury and rampant Bayern Munich extended their perfect start to seven league wins.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A revived Japan go into Thursday's decisive Group H match against an already-eliminated Poland knowing a draw would be sufficient to advance to the knockout rounds after they beat Colombia and drew with Senegal in their opening fixtures.
Portugal entered the Euro 2016 quarter-final after defeating Poland 5-3 on penalties in Marseille on Thursday.
Talismanic Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo struggled against Croatia producing just one shot on goal, but coach Fernando Santos defended his "amazing" captain.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Wednesday night's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Barca won their fifth European Cup in 2015 and the signs of decline have been evident over the past five years since -- but no-one envisaged a fall as great as this.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice in the first half as holders Bayern Munich cruised past Schalke 04 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semi-finals.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Borussia Dortmund steam-rollered hapless Freiburg 5-0 while Bayern Munich plodded past VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 as the two unbeaten arch-rivals remained level on points at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Kovac, who succeeded the retired Jupp Heynckes, surprisingly put Germany international Mats Hummels on the bench and partnered Jerome Boateng with Niklas Suele in central defence.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's La Liga title bid took a dent after Zinedine Zidane's leaders were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday, denied all three points by a late strike from Santi Mina. Lazio mounted a superb second-half comeback at the Olympic Stadium to beat Inter Milan 2-1 and move above Antonio Conte's side into second place in Serie A on Sunday.
Bayern Munich, already crowned Bundesliga champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium on Saturday after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 on the final matchday. Bayern can win more silverware next week with the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen. They are also still in the Champions League.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Brazilian Douglas Costa was in fine form as Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 1-0 in a pre-season tournament.
Champions Bayern Munich twice needed to come from a goal down to beat hosts Augsburg 3-2 on Friday courtesy of Kingsley Coman's two goals, and cut the gap with leaders Borussia Dortmund to two points.
A strong Poland side lost 2-1 to the Netherlands in a Euro 2016 warm-up friendly as Vincent Janssen and Georginio Wijnaldum scored to secure victory for a young Dutch team.
Bayern Munich's surprise 3-1 Champions League loss to Porto was the price the five-time European champions paid for a string of injuries and a tired squad.
Champions Bayern Munich comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday to lay down a marker as they eye a record-extending sixth straight German league title.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
A round of Saturday's matches in Series A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Sunday night.
Mesut Ozil guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Napoli while a late Cesc Fabregas header gave Barcelona a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
Arjen Robben scored a 90th minute winner in their 2-1 victory at Mainz 05 on Friday to send Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich into the winter break with a commanding 14-point lead.
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Bayern Munich scraped past Hertha Berlin 1-0 courtesy of an Arjen Robben goal to stretch their lead at the top of the table to 10 points and extend their unbeaten Bundesliga run to 16 games over two seasons.
In-form Borussia Moenchengladbach struck three times in 14 minutes in the second half to floor champions Bayern Munich 3-1 on Saturday and inflict their first Bundesliga defeat of the season.
Images from Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
