Arsenal scored twice in the opening seven minutes and ended the match as a contest with a third in the 19th as they crushed Manchester United 3-0 to move above them into second place in the Premier League at the Emirates on Sunday.
First-timers Bosnia joined holders Spain, England and Russia in grabbing Europe's remaining automatic spots for the 2014 World Cup finals on Tuesday as the last round of group matches ended in joy, despair and shattered nerves.
Poland struck twice on the break to stun wasteful World Cup winners Germany 2-0 on Saturday, earning their first ever victory over their illustrious neighbours and taking control of Euro 2016 qualifying Group D.
Ireland stunned world champions Germany 1-0 thanks to Shane Long's 70th-minute strike on Thursday to throw Euro 2016 qualifying Group D game.
Germany's defence will be put to the test in their opening Euro 2016 group match against Ukraine in Lille on Sunday with major questions still to be answered about the world champions' new-look rearguard.
Mario Mandzukic and Nikola Kalinic grabbed hat-tricks as Croatia achieved a record win as an independent nation by demolishing San Marino 10-0 in their final Euro 2016 warm-up match in Rijeka.
With eight teams remaining at Euro 2016, a guide to the form of the quarter-finalists, looking at their strengths and weaknesses.
You can see Messi, Suarez and other South American superstars play in the Copa America. Why then are soccer fans ignoring the oldest football tournament and looking forward to the European championships, which begins in France on Friday?
The 20-time English Premier League champions are far from their best, but, in the final analysis, it is the results that matter, and at the moment they are on a winning spree, says Bikash Mohapatra
Photos from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Angel di Maria's move from Real Madrid to Old Trafford was such a disaster that Manchester United was more than willing to incur losses of more than 15 million pounds on their investment. Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com looks at the Argentina star's nightmare year at the 'Theatre of Dreams'.
Schuerrle hits treble for the world champs; Lewandowski helps Poland thrash Georgia
Swiss qualifier Timea Bacsinszky continued to swipe past the seeds at the Wuhan Open on Wednesday by dumping World No 4 Maria Sharapova from the hard court tournament with a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Rediff.com brings the latest news on English Premier League, results, and transfers around the world of soccer.