Atletico meet city rivals Real Madrid in the final at Jeddah.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers refused to criticise defender Kolo Toure after his glaring error gifted West Bromwich Albion striker Victor Anichebe an equalising goal in their 1-1 Premier League draw on Sunday.
Barcelona star forward Lionel Messi and Read Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo have been named in the 40-man shortlist for the UEFA's Team of the Year.
Arsenal survived a late scare to regain top spot in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa on Monday, both their goals arriving in the space of a minute in the first half.
Barcelona will travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach for their Champions League match on Wednesday without Lionel Messi but the Spaniards have enough options and firepower to plug the gap left by the Argentine, coach Luis Enrique said.
Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez is keeping the balance amidst the World Cup hype by reading inspirational books
Real Madrid's faltering title defence continued as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday which saw them fall 16 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 3-0 to stay nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
Past and present Barcelona team mates Carles Puyol, Javier Mascherano, Neymar and Luis Suarez were all there, as was Gerard Pique and his pop star wife Shakira.
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at the five best winter transfers in 2014.
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Lionel Messi returned to training on Monday after recovering from a stomach bug that caused him to miss Barcelona's goalless draw against Malaga on Saturday.
Villarreal went top with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday after a toothless Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to 10-man Malaga and Lionel Messi suffered a serious injury as Barcelona beat Las Palmas 2-1.
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Yet even without a transfer fee, Messi's colossal salary, reported to be the highest in world football, means very few clubs would be able to afford him.
Giorgio Chiellini, famously bitten by Uruguay forward Luis Suarez during a 2014 World Cup match, comes across as a typically bruising centre back but off the field, the Italy defender is a quiet and dignified figure.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
Clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona are rarely short on drama and Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' may have more than its usual share with Luis Suarez poised to return from a biting ban and Barca teammate Lionel Messi on the brink of equalling the top-flight scoring record.
'Every time he plays for us he is improving. He's a great athlete, wins his challenges and is quick on his feet. He started settling us to be fair'
Women's champion Serena Williams, bidding for her 22nd Grand Slam title, will have to overcome No 4 seed Agnieszka Radwanska in the first singles semi-final at the Rod Laver Arena.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says Sunday's defeat to Arsenal in the FA Cup will not halt his team's momentum as they head into the crucial final stretch of the season.
Images from Day Nine of the 2013 US Open in New York on Tuesday.
Their stunning football has been a pleasure to watch for both fans and neutrals this season.
Lionel Messi scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol and send them 13 points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Mario Balotelli is heading back to the Premier League. The Milan striker has agreed on a 16 million pounds (20 million euros) move to Liverpool.
Serena Williams had to dig deep to fend off Latvian challenger Jelena Ostapenko as she wrapped up Friday's play at the Fed Cup in Seattle with a hard-fought victory that gave the United States a 2-0 advantage. Williams' experience and savvy ways showed in critical moments against the 22-year-old Ostapenko as she prevailed 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in a match that took one hour and 46 minutes.
France's chance against Argentina in the World Cup last 16 might be that Lionel Messi does not benefit from the same support with the national team than at Barcelona, his club team mate Samuel Umtiti said on Thursday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was shocked by the wild knee-high challenge on world player of the year Lionel Messi that triggered a straight red card for Atletico Madrid's Brazilian defender Filipe Luis on Saturday. The coach, whose side won 2-1 at home to go three points clear in La Liga, protested angrily on the touchline after the left back's studs-up tackle against the Argentine forward shortly before half time. "Did you see my reaction? Then you can imagine what I was thinking. It shocked me but I am not going to go into details about it," he told a news conference at the Nou Camp.
Big-serving Isner reaches Montreal second round
Uruguay, with 3.3 million people, are into a quarter-final with Argentina's conquerors France after four straight wins including a stunning 2-1 knockout victory over Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal.
England have been reported to world governing body FIFA after racist abuse was heard from visiting fans at last week's World Cup qualifier in San Marino.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
'A ridiculous goal conceded from a corner will be the epitaph of this team, which repeated the mistakes of Rome'
Former champion Maria Sharapova cruised into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open with a ruthless 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Italy's Francesca Schiavone on Friday.
Barcelona have announced they will appeal the yellow card given to Lionel Messi during the team's 2-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday.
Manchester City swept aside second-tier Cardiff City 2-0 with first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on Sunday to reach the FA Cup fifth round in their quest to win an unprecedented four trophies this season.
Form guide for American Serena Williams ahead of Thursday's US Open semi-final clash against Latvia's Anastasija Sevastova:
Praise comes in from all quarters as Argentine breaks Raul's Champions League record.
La Liga champions Barcelona stayed on the heels of leaders Real Madrid by coasting to a 3-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday as Lionel Messi became the club's top scorer from free kicks.
Former champion Maria Sharapova survived a tough battle with Spain's Carla Suarez Navarro on Sunday, winning 7-5, 6-3 to book her place in the fourth round of the BNP Paribas Open.
