New Bayern Munich manager Carlo Ancelotti has no plans to rip up the foundations laid by predecessor Pep Guardiola and says he will look to continue the club's tradition of attacking football when the season kicks off in August.
Coach Ottmar Hitzfeld was relieved to see Bayern Munich restore normal service at the Allianz Arena with a 2-0 win over Karlsruhe on Saturday.
A round-up of Wednesday's UEFA Champions League last-16 first leg matches.
'This protest was never intended to disrupt the game or injure people.'
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich powered past third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 with an impressive display of high-pressing football on Sunday.
Bayern travel to Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday and host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the first group match of their Champions League defence.
Pep Guardiola suffered a minor wardrobe malfunction.
Arsenal's substitutes' bench was a man short against Bayern Munich on Tuesday after the Premier League side got caught up in red tape.
Erling Haaland set another scoring record as Manchester City beat Bayern Munich
The Bundesliga became the first major sports league to restart last week after more than two months following an easing of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in Germany, but games are played without fans for health safety reasons.
Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has asked UEFA, the ruling body of European football, to drop the away-goals rule, according to reports.
Images from the Nations League matches played on Tuesday.
I'm not sure how the stoppage will affect everybody, but Bayern Munich may have a slight advantage because they are playing football now and they are getting their match sharpness back, I wouldn't be surprised if they are now the favourites'
In separate statements, the clubs announced that the matches would take place at each of their stadiums and would raise money for boosting healthcare resources in Italy and Spain, but not in Germany.
Croatian forward Ante Budimir scored twice to help Osasuna earn a shock 4-2 home win over leaders Barcelona.
Empoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to advance to their first ever Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday after a resilient performance helped them to hold the defending champions to a 1-1 draw in regular time.
'We could tweak a few things along the way if things do not go to plan, but we have a certain style of play and Belgium do too. I am sure it will be a wonderful game of football. The winner will be the team who makes the fewest errors.'
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
A lacklustre Bayern Munich needed a long-range goal from Spaniard Xabi Alonso to secure a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday that put them into the quarter-finals of the German Cup.
The Champions League final was set to be staged at Zenit St Petersburg's stadium on May 28.
Bayern Munich celebrated their record-extending ninth consecutive Bundesliga title on Saturday with a 6-0 demolition of Borussia Moenchengladbach and a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski, who edged closer to a 49-year-old scoring record.
IMAGES from the UEFA Nations League matches played on Monday.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Images from Wednesday's action in the Champions League.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United.
Rodrygo and new recruit Jude Bellingham scored first-half goals to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to kick off their LaLiga season.
Photos from soccer matches played across top European Leagues on Saturday.
Mesut Ozil's unhappy spell continued on Tuesday when the Arsenal and Germany midfielder suffered an injury against Bayern Munich that manager Arsene Wenger said is likely to keep him out for several weeks.
Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw in Nyon on Friday.
German fans have finally got their wish for a more exciting Bundesliga season and the title race will really hot up when leaders Bayern Munich lock horns with Borussia Dortmund on Saturday. Bayern's shock 2-1 defeat by Mainz 05 at the Allianz Arena in midweek means a home victory for second-placed Dortmund at the weekend would lift them within two points of the Bavarians with nine matches to go. Such is the worldwide interest in the top of the table clash, it will be broadcast to 208 countries. "Everyone wanted more suspense in the Bundesliga. Now you have it so all is well," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola told reporters. "We are not perfect. Sometimes you have to lose to understand what you need to do in order to become an even better team." Bayern, who are chasing a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga crown, had an 11-point lead earlier in the season. The defeat by Mainz and a 2-2 draw at Juventus in their Champions League last-16 first leg, after leading 2-0, have raised alarm bells among the supporters. "The results against Juve and Mainz were not good but our performances were," said Guardiola who is leaving at the end of the season to join Manchester City.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In a statement, UEFA suggested alternative dates for the gesture during the tournament.
PSG went ahead in the first half, but Mauricio Pochettino's side lost control after the break
Robert Lewandowski's hat-trick helped give coach Carlo Ancelotti a flying start to his first Bundesliga campaign as Bayern Munich cruised to an easy 6-0 win over Werder Bremen at the Allianz Arena on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich stumbled to a 1-1 draw against visiting Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to leave them with only a slim Bundesliga lead after being held for the third game in a row with the same scoreline.
A summary of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage action, on Wednesday.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
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.
