Chelsea also got their Champions League campaign off to a good start, beating Werder Bremen 2-0.
Vidic's tough tackling attributes helped Serbia & Montenegro to qualify for the World Cup finals with a world record of conceding only one goal in 10 qualifying matches.
A Russian billionaire has offered incentives to Croatia for beating England in their final Euro 2008 Group E qualifier.
Manchester United have agreed an undisclosed fee with Spartak Moscow for defender Nemanja Vidic
Despite the defeat Chelsea remain top of the group with 10 points, the same as Werder and two ahead of Barcelona, in the Champions League.
The Champions League match lacked intensity, with the German champions already through to the last 16.
UEFA charges Arsenal and Cologne over crowd problems
Action from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Real Madrid failed in their attempt to sign France striker Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain on the final day of the transfer window as Cristiano Ronaldo completed his move from Juventus to Manchester United.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Napoli kept alive their hopes of advancing from Group C after Lorenzo Insigne, Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano secured a 3-0 home win over Legia Warsaw.
The three Premier League and three La Liga clubs in the last eight avoided each other, with Manchester City up against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool to face Portuguese side Benfica.
Spurs striker Bergwijn is major casualty as Netherlands trim squad
Russia's newest completed World Cup stadium, the Otkrytie Arena, in Moscow, was opened by the country's President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
Visitors Ajax had looked comfortable after former Southampton winger Tadic set up the first goal with a swerving cross before drilling home the second himself.
Abramovich handed Chelsea director control of firm on day of Ukraine invasion - filings
Images from action in the Europa League matches on Thursday.
"Our club has reached an agreement with Gelson Martins, making him a new Atletico player," said a statement from last season's La Liga runners-up.
The last time Stanislav Cherchesov walked out at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to face Fernando Hierro's side, the Spaniards were heavy favourites but the Russians reached the next round.
Russia introduced a raft of punitive economic measures and sports sanctions on Saturday after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane earlier in the week
The 32-year-old, who captained the Dutch to third place at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, has been overlooked by coach Danny Blind, who is not convinced about his form with Fenerbahce.
Liverpool went into last Sunday's Merseyside derby on the back of five wins from their previous six league games but were held to a 1-1 draw at Anfield by Everton and then to a goalless stalemate at home against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday.
If anyone was still wondering why Liverpool spurned Barcelona's bids for Brazilian playmaker Philippe Coutinho, his part in Saturday's 3-2 win over Leicester City provided the answer.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday and AC Milan beat Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 but Sevilla suffered a shock defeat by Russians Krasnodar.
Zenit St Petersburg's Brazilian striker Hulk has pulled out of Saturday's World Cup qualifying draw, only days after complaining of "gross and ugly" racism in Russian football.
Ultra-nationalist and schooled in their country's historical grievances, Russian soccer hooligans see themselves as fighting the Kremlin's geopolitical battles in miniature when they clash with foreign fans at the Euro 2016 tournament.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Thursday
'Yes, I was sure this was the right decision. We brought Roberto Firmino on for Mo Salah. We could have scored before, we could have scored afterwards, we could have scored all the time. We lived more or less in their box'
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has eased Real Madrid's injury concerns and could be fit to play in their Champions League match at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The 46-year-old has been hired to fill the sizeable void left by the departure of Frenchman Arsene Wenger who had been at the Arsenal helm since 1996.
Zenit St. Petersburg, led by Portuguese coach Andre Villas-Boas, won the Russian Premier League title.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Bayern Munich will not be deterred by what the club say are false reports of discontent in coach Pep Guardiola's team as they focus on becoming the first side to win a fourth straight Bundesliga title. "We can make German football history," sports director Matthias Sammer told reporters. "And I am not talking about the Champions League but the 'magical four'. This is what drives us." Bayern, who travel to Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, are eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga but they have had to deal with a number of issues on and off the pitch recently. A string of injuries to central defenders including Spaniard Javi Martinez, who will be out for four weeks, and Germany international Jerome Boateng, sidelined for three months, forced the Bavarians to bring in former Germany international Serdar Tasci on loan from Spartak Mosc
Napoli went down 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig, Arsenal and AC Milan enjoyed comfortable away wins, and Borussia Dortmund's Michy Batshuayi scored twice to secure a 3-2 victory in Europa League last 32, first leg action
Real Madrid are hoping the fit-again Cristiano Ronaldo can lead them into the Champions League final although strike partner Karim Benzema remains a doubt for Wednesday's return match with Manchester City.
Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
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