A summary of the concluding day's action in the Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 and Saudi Pro League.
Holders Bayern Munich crushed Hanover 96 4-1 with two goals from Thomas Mueller to reach the German Cup round of 16 On Wednesday.
Champions Bayern Munich crushed Stuttgart 5-1 on Tuesday to ease into the German Cup quarter-finals after a six-week winter break. Hamburg SV striker Ivica Olic scored a hat-trick against 1860 Munich to lead his team into the quarter-finals and show why Bayern Munich rushed to sign him for next season.
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.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben is doubtful for their Champions League Group F encounter against Valencia on Wednesday but team mate Franck Ribery is set to play.
Lahm, a defensive midfielder, is among Germany's most successful players of all time, having won almost every trophy with club and country, including seven Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and the World Cup.
Barcelona centre half Gerard Pique acknowledged his team were thoroughly second best as Bayern Munich romped to a 4-0 win in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice as champions Bayern Munich eased past Freiburg 3-1 on Saturday to secure a record 15th win in a row and the Pole became the first foreign player to score 33 goals in a Bundesliga season. Erling Haaland scored twice as Borussia Dortmund beat closest challengers RB Leipzig 2-0 away on Saturday to wrap up second place in the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich do not have an agreement in place to sell French midfielder Franck Ribery to Real Madrid next season, Bayern general director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich went on a 70 million euro spending spree after their humiliating fourth-placed finish in the Bundesliga last season and are eager to avenge their failure to win silverware by grabbing all four titles this time.
Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored eight minutes from time to give champions Borussia Dortmund a nervous 2-1 win at 10-man VfB Stuttgart on Saturday and delay the all but inevitable Bayern Munich title party by at least a week.
The Polish forward scored 15 goals on the way to Bayern Munich's sixth Champions League title, hitting the target in every match before the final except a group game against Tottenham Hotspur when he was rested.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich effortlessly cruised to a 1-0 victory at Hoffenheim on Sunday courtesy of a Mario Gomez goal that kept them on course for the title with a 17-point advantage at the top.
The club won its 18th German crown with four games left.
Bayern, who won the Champions League in 2013, have yet to hit top form this season, with many players tired after the World Cup and others, including Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Rafinha, out injured.
Arsenal named a strong side captained by Mesut Ozil while Real had Bale on the bench and Eden Hazard, wearing the number 50 shirt, starting alongside fellow new signing Luka Jovic in attack.
Jose Mourinho refused to comment on the performance of English referee Howard Webb in his side's 2-1 Champions League semi-final first leg defeat by Bayern Munich on Tuesday, except to say that the Bavarians' first goal was offside.
Visitors Schalke put a dent in Bayern Munich's Bundesliga title hopes by snatching a 1-0 win over the champions in a bad-tempered game on Saturday.
Eintracht Frankfurt stunned Bayern Munich with two late goals to beat the Bundesliga leaders 2-1 on Saturday and leave the top spot up for grabs.
Flawless Bayern Munich struck twice in three minutes to beat Schalke 04 2-0 on Saturday and stay top of the Bundesliga with four wins from four as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 at Hamburg SV to end a 31-match unbeaten run.
Treble-winning Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes will take time out next season but fell short of announcing his retirement on Tuesday following his club's most successful season to date.
Bayern Munich swatted aside Raja Casablanca 2-0 in a one-sided Club World Cup final on Saturday that did little to boost the credibility of a tournament which struggled to an anti-climax.
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.
Sane joined City from Schalke 04 in 2016 and had 39 goals and 45 assists in 135 appearances in all competitions. He was an integral part of their league title winning squads in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
The Arsenal manager said the Champions League draw offers Arsenal a chance to exact revenge for one of their worst displays in Europe.
Bayern Munich have signed midfielder James Rodriguez from Real Madrid on a two-year loan deal with an option to buy the player, the German champions said on Tuesday.
Manchester United, comprehensively outplayed by local rivals Liverpool and Manchester City at Old Trafford recently, face an even tougher challenge when holders Bayern Munich come calling in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich summoned up all their famous resilience to oust Real Madrid in a nerve-jangling Champions League penalty shootout on Wednesday, denying Jose Mourinho's expensively-assembled side a tilt at a 10th European crown and setting up a final showdown against Chelsea next month.
Bayern Munich led the charge into the last 16 of the Champions League when they beat Viktoria Plzen 1-0 to chalk up a record-equalling ninth straight victory in the competition on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola had predicted there was nothing he could do to contain the sublime talent of Lionel Messi during their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona on Wednesday -- and he was proved right.
Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery will stay at the German club, extending his contract for another four years until 2015, German Bild newspaper said on Thursday.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the football matches played on Tuesday.
Kovac, who succeeded the retired Jupp Heynckes, surprisingly put Germany international Mats Hummels on the bench and partnered Jerome Boateng with Niklas Suele in central defence.
Bayern Munich set several Bundesliga records en route to Saturday's title success. Here are some of the records broken and some they can still improve in the remaining six games.
Another Champions League final another defeat, time is running out for Bayern Munich's home-grown talent to claim the top prize in European club football and cement their status as a golden generation.
Bayern Munich and Real Madrid will steer clear of the histrionics which have marred previous fixtures between the pair in the past, Jupp Heynckes, coach of the Bavarian side, said on Monday.