Arsene Wenger praised his Arsenal players for the 'resilient and disciplined' way in which they qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over AC Milan on Thursday.
Barcelona were handed their first defeat of the season by Atletico Madrid after a 2-1 loss on Sunday.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Holders Manchester City will take on RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in Group G.
Real Madrid fan Rafael Nadal has extended his support over the appointment of new manager Zinedine Zidane, saying that he deserves to lead one of the most important clubs in the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to renew his contract and said he wanted to see out his career in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo's immediate future at Real has been in doubt all season, with speculation growing throughout the year that he was plotting a move to Paris Saint-Germain but the prolific Portuguese has now made it clear he wants to stay at the club. "Real Madrid would be making a smart decision if they offered me a new contract," Ronaldo told Spanish television programme La Sexta on Wednesday. "I want to stay here, there have been good moments and bad moments. Four years ago I wasn't happy here but now I am and I can't think of a better club to be at than Real Madrid, there's no team like it. The other clubs can forget it." Ronaldo overtook Raul Gonzalez as Real's all-time top scorer earlier this season and on Saturday will be hoping to inspire the team to their 11th European Cup success when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan.
Real Madrid star Vinicius racially attacked for 10th time this season.
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
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.
Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres is poised to complete a record-breaking move to Liverpool.
A naturally shy character who rarely gave interviews or spoke Spanish in public, Bale never ingratiated himself to Madrid supporters
Last season's treble winners Barca are in their worst run of form in La Liga since coach Luis Enrique took charge in August 2014.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
Bayern said the 30-year-old striker was signed until 2027 after protracted talks between the two clubs.
Bruges scored four times in the last 17 minutes to beat Maribor 4-3 in the Europa League on Wednesday while Atletico Madrid and PAOK Salonika were among six teams to qualify for the knockout stage.
Madrid won only two of their seven pre-season games
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
The Real Madrid forward apologises after Real Madrid dumped out of King's Cup by Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid have moved to broaden their options in attack by agreeing to sign Mexico striker Javier Hernandez on loan from Manchester United for the 2014-15 season.
Manchester City have one just victory from their last 10 games across all competitions.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane shrugged off his first setback since taking over from the sacked Rafa Benitez after his new team could only manage a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in La Liga.
Real Madrid's attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema need to score twice in the Champions League final on May 28 against Atletico Madrid to hit the century mark for goals this season for the first time.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 27th career hat-trick and Gareth Bale struck twice as Real Madrid bounced back in style from consecutive defeats with a thumping 8-2 La Liga win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
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.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
Real Madrid need both Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema to step up a level to cover for Cristiano Ronaldo's absence and Marco Asensio will also be given a more prominent role.
Manchester City boosted their defensive options by signing Argentine centre back Martin Demichelis from Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
The Indian Super League (ISL) said on Friday it is looking into allegation that former France midfielder Robert Pires was punched in the face by an opposition coach during a halftime altercation in Thursday's match in Goa.
Zinedine Zidane's Real side demonstrated their new-found grit to re-take the lead
Promoted Alaves dealt champions Barcelona a shock 2-1 defeat at the Nou Camp on Saturday while Cristiano Ronaldo returned from injury to help Real Madrid thrash Osasuna 5-2 and go two points clear at the top of La Liga. With Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Andres Iniesta on the bench, Barcelona went behind to the visitors in the 39th minute before Frenchman Jeremy Mathieu equalised in the 46th. Ibai Gomez then scored the winner in the 64th.
Striker Mariano's header was glanced onto the crossbar by Sociedad's Andoni Gorosabel while the loose ball fell to Marco Asensio, whose shot was deflected wide for a corner from which Raphael Varane header hit the top of the bar.
Lionel Messi overhauled Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano's La Liga goals tally as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid each won on Saturday to pull three points clear of Real at the top.
There were a few nerves at the end but Liverpool set up a Champions League semi-final with Spain's Villarreal after Roberto Firmino scored twice in a 3-3 second-leg draw with Benfica on Wednesday to ensure a 6-4 aggregate win.
David De Gea has left Manchester United following the end of his contract after 12 seasons with the Old Trafford side.
Lionel Messi scored twice as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a persistent Valencia side, who had Eliaquim Mangala sent off in the first half, to win 4-2 on Sunday and stay on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.
Liverpool received a relatively kind draw for the group stage of this year's Champions League
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