News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski netted the Bundesliga's fastest hat-trick on his way to a sensational five-goal haul as a halftime substitute in their 5-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
Borussia Dortmund scored three times in the last 10 minutes to rally from a goal down and beat 10-man Hoffenheim 3-1 on Sunday, allowing them to maintain their lone pursuit of runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
Arturo Vidal and Douglas Costa struck as Bayern Munich disposed of Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0 on Saturday to claim their first win in three Bundesliga matches and power three points clear at the top.
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is willing to put his Champions League ambitions on the back-burner to help the Merseyside club claim their first English league crown in 29 years, the Egyptian forward has said.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday
Treble winners Bayern Munich edged past Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 courtesy of a Mario Mandzukic volley on Saturday to equal their club record of 27 games without defeat as minnows Hoffenheim demolished Hamburg SV 5-1.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos left Bernardo Silva, one of the country's brightest young players, out of his final 23-man Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday but included 18-year-old Renato Sanches.
Dutch teenager Max Verstappen is a rare talent comparable to the late Ayrton Senna, according to Red Bull's Formula One consultant Helmut Marko.
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.
Czech Republic goalkeeper Petr Cech ended a highly successful 11-year spell at English champions Chelsea when he moved to Premier League rivals Arsenal on Monday.
Real Madrid suffered an almighty fright before a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick hauled them back from 2-1 down and gave them a 4-2 win over rank outsiders Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Zinedine Zidane overcame the biggest challenge of his fledgling coaching career as Real Madrid brushed aside VfL Wolfsburg to overturn a first-leg deficit and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Runaway leaders Bayern Munich appeared to barely break sweat in a 4-0 win at Hanover 96 to chalk up their 14th Bundesliga win in a row on Sunday, leaving them a huge 19 points clear at the top.
'If you take a point or even lose, it's not ideal but there are still almost 30 games to go so this result won't be the deciding factor in who wins the title'
Schalke 04 striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar could not have dreamt of a better comeback after five months out when he scored the opening goal in his side's 3-0 victory at Hamburg SV on Sunday.
Draxler makes PSG debut as holders advance into French Cup last 32
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first five-goal haul in Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada while title-chasing Bayern Munich and Chelsea won again in Germany and England.
Holders Bayern Munich struck either side of the break to beat second division Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 on Wednesday and advance to the German Cup quarter-finals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich secured a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title with a game to spare after a 2-1 victory at Ingolstadt on Saturday helped them put the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit behind them.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Schalke 04 on Saturday that edged them closer to a record fourth consecutive league title.
VfL Wolfsburg came close to staging a minor Champions League miracle but their 3-0 loss at Real Madrid in the last eight on Tuesday for a 3-2 aggregate defeat was a reflection of a season of missed opportunities, club officials said.
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund struggled to a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday that ended their perfect start to the season of five straight league wins.
The Bundesliga was in danger of turning into another one-horse race on Sunday after second-placed VfL Wolfsburg were held 1-1 at home by promoted Paderborn, leaving titleholders Bayern Munich nine points clear at the top.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
"We are pleased with the win, the many chances and the 70,000-plus spectators."
Germany's coach Joachim Loew looks to have found the last piece of his jigsaw as they eye a fourth European crown, with Julian Draxler sparking the attack into life in the 3-0 Euro 2016 win over Slovakia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
When Vijay Mallya plants a kiss on anyone's cheek it makes for a story and picture, more so when the Virat Kohli is the one at the 'receiving end'. Also, when Michael Schumacher's son, Mick, makes his motor sport debut the picture becomes worth a thousand words. Here again, Rediff.com has these and a lot more exciting events from the week gone by snapped right here.
Borussia Dortmund edged past Freiburg 1-0 on Sunday courtesy of captain Sebastian Kehl's first goal in almost two years to go four points clear in second place in the Bundesliga.
An insatiable Lionel Messi scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a gutsy Girona side 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the standings.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Thiago Alcantara's sensational flying volley in stoppage-time earned Bayern Munich a 2-1 win at VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, extending their unbeaten run to 43 league games and increasing their Bundesliga lead to 13 points.
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben struck twice apiece as champions Bayern Munich annihilated promoted Paderborn 6-0 on Saturday to open an 11-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
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.