A breathtaking individual goal from Saul Niguez put Atletico Madrid in the box seat in their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory in a tense first leg on Wednesday.
Real's Cristiano Ronaldo will be going in search of his third consecutive World Player of the Year award
Chile qualified for the Copa America final after two goals from Eduardo Vargas gave them a 2-1 win over Peru in an action-packed semi-final marked by another controversial refereeing decision.
Messi scored twice and created goals for Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez as champions Barca moved top of the table with 22 points from 10 matches.
Barca lead the standings on 39 points from 18 games, three clear of second-placed Real Madrid who host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
The Colombian forward is heading to Italian champions Juventus on loan.
Juventus landed a fourth successive Serie A crown, and their first under coach Massimiliano Allegri, with four games to spare by winning 1-0 at Sampdoria on Saturday.
Juventus shattered Real Madrid's dream of a record-extending 11th European crown when Alvaro Morata scored against his former club to secure a 1-1 Champions League draw with the holders on Wednesday and send Juve into the final 3-2 on aggregate.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to score a hat-trick in just 18 minutes on Friday as Argentina hammered Panama 5-0 and eased into the quarter-finals of the Copa America.
Mexican striker Matias Vuoso and Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal both scored twice in a game that roared from end to end and never let up in intensity.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
Argentina and Chile advanced to the semi-finals of the Copa America on Saturday with Chile beating Mexico 7-0 and Lionel Messi getting a goal in Argentina's 4-1 win over Venezuela to equal his country's all-time scoring record.
The president of Chile's ANFP national football association Sergio Jadue has resigned from his post and gone to the United States to talk to the FBI about corruption at football governing body FIFA, local media reported on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.
Barcelona fell to a first home defeat in any competition for more than two years
Bayern Munich booked their fifth successive Champions League semi-final spot with a 2-2 draw at Benfica on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory that kept the Germans on course for a treble of titles.
Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored in each half as the Bundesliga leaders beat Werder Bremen 2-0 on Tuesday to reach the German Cup final and stay firmly on course for a treble of titles this season.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo may be on course for his worst domestic goal haul since 2010 but with two strikes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday he became the first player to score 100 goals in UEFA competitions.
Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored twice, including a 71st- minute bicycle kick, to given the Bundesliga leaders a 3-1 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Saturday and lift them 11 points clear at the top of the table.
James Rodriguez struck in the second half to give Colombia a 1-1 draw away against Chile in 2018 World Cup qualifying on Thursday as the hosts dropped their first points of the South American campaign.
Manchester City's Premier League home match against Arsenal has been postponed because players from the London club have had contact with the owner of Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus, who has contracted the coronavirus. Meanwhile La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Spanish league said.
Brazilian Douglas Costa was in fine form as Bayern Munich beat Real Madrid 1-0 in a pre-season tournament.
Argentina are odds-on favourites to win the Copa America for the first time since 1993 by beating Chile in Saturday's final.
Messi was Argentina's key man in their 1-0 win.
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.
A dramatic game featured missed chances, defensive howlers, scuffles and two video reviews, one producing a highly controversial outcome in the second half.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'This is very special because of how much I suffered. My statistics show I've won five league titles in seven years.'
Portugal's impressive midfielder Renato Sanches is finally ready for his Bayern Munich debut although the 19-year-old Euro 2016 winner still faces a tough challenge to claim a regular place in the team. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that Sanches could make his debut away to Schalke 04 on Friday (1830 GMT) if Arturo Vidal is still worn out after his long trip from South America, where he played two World Cup qualifiers for Chile in five days.
The past week saw a lot of brilliance in sports. It started with Juventus and Barcelona lighting up the Champions League with their inspiring football and, later in the week, Mercedes' Nico Rosberg stoked the F1 circuit in Spain, capping a brilliant win to cut teammate Lewis Hamilton's lead to 20 points. Rediff.com has this, and many more memorable moments snapped right here.
Bravo stopped Portugal's first three spot kicks from Ricardo Quaresma, Joao Moutinho and Nani while Chile converted their first three to win the clash of South American and European champions.
Luis Suarez had been told by new Barca coach Ronald Koeman that he was not in his plans for next season.
Goals by substitutes Leroy Fer and Memphis Depay gave the Netherlands a 2-0 victory over Chile on Monday that put them top of World Cup Group B and likely to avoid a second-round meeting with Brazil.
Seydou Keita cancelled out a superb Carlos Tevez free kick as second-placed AS Roma fought back with 10 men for a fiery 1-1 draw at home to leaders Juventus who stayed on course for a fourth successive Serie A title on Monday.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi scored two goals and set up two more as the Catalans thrashed Real Valladolid 5-1 to move top of La Liga on Tuesday.
Brazil required an untidy second half goal from Roberto Firmino to beat Venezuela 1-0 and extend their 100% record to three wins from three in a lacklustre World Cup qualifier in Sao Paulo on Friday.
Chile upset favourites Argentina with a penalty shootout victory in the Copa America final at MetLife Stadium on Sunday to retain their title in the world's oldest continental soccer competition.
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.
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.
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