A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Real Madrid secured a club record 16th straight victory when Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale struck in a laboured 2-1 win at Malaga on Saturday that put them five points clear of second-placed Barcelona in La Liga.
Mouth-watering matches lined up as PSG to face Bayern and Barcelona in Champions League opening stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugged off the boos of his own supporters to fire Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 6-2 to stay level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Wednesday after the Catalans crushed Osasuna 7-1, condemning the minnows to relegation.
A summary of Tuesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Rashford, one of Europe's top talents before falling out of favour at United and spending the latter part of last season on loan at Aston Villa, joins a stellar attacking cast featuring Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, Dani Olmo and Ferran Torres.
Villarreal are a point behind in second after overcoming Barcelona 3-1 at home, and were joined on 18 points by Valencia.
Juventus were given a chance to avenge last year's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid when they two sides were drawn together for the quarter-finals of this year's competition on Friday.
Real Madrid defender Nacho was the unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat at Valencia this weekend and move three points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Serie A leaders Juventus suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday, with coach Maurizio Sarri returning to his former club for the first time, though Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to score for an eighth league game in a row for the visitors.
images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Barcelona closed to within two points of leaders Real Madrid after thumping Levante 5-1.
The injury list in the La Liga keeps growing as the season progresses and this time Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale are the unfortunate victims...
Coach Massimiliano Allegri dismissed suggestions that the newly crowned Serie A champions have nothing to lose
'Did I leave too soon? No, my story was over, it had to end. There was no bitterness, I'd reached the end of my tether.'
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner, who has made no secret of his ambition to reach 1,000 career goals, reiterated earlier this month that he has no plans to slow down, even if his family thinks otherwise.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
IMAGES from UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
Hegerberg hat-trick fires Lyon to fourth straight Champions League
Sporting marked the final home game of coach Ruben Amorim's reign in stunning fashion as Viktor Gyokeres' hat-trick saw them come from behind to thrash Manchester City 4-1 and maintain their superb start to the Champions League on Tuesday.
Manchester City came from behind to beat Club Brugge 3-1 and secure their place in the Champions League playoffs
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City survived a scare to beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Parken Stadium on Tuesday, with Phil Foden scoring late to ensure a two-goal cushion ahead of the second leg.
Barcelona beat Atletico to set up cup final against Real Madrid
Man City ease to 3-0 win over Liverpool as Guardiola celebrates 1,000th game in style
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) and LaLiga have taken steps to tackle an increase in racist abuse with measures including partial stadium closures.
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.
Real, chasing a 15th European Cup, levelled in the 83rd with Vinicius's penalty, after Rodrygo was felled by a clumsy challenge from Kim Min-jae, to set up a mouth-watering return leg in Madrid next week.
Images from the Nations League final between Portugal and Spain at Allianz Arena, Munich, Germany, on Sunday.
A summary of Friday's action in the FIFA World Cup 2026 UEFA Qualifiers.
Cristiano Ronaldo has signed a two-year contract extension with Al Nassr, the Saudi Pro League side announced on Thursday, which will keep the Portuguese forward at the club well past his 42nd birthday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Koopmeiners leads Atalanta past Milan into Coppa semis
Villarreal fought back to shock Barcelona 3-2 on Sunday, handing the LaLiga champions their first league defeat since late December.
A second-half double from Antoine Griezmann earned Atletico Madrid a stunning 4-3 comeback home win over Sevilla in LaLiga on Sunday.
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