Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale have been shortlisted for this year's coveted Ballon d'Or award.
Luka Modric pulled one back for Zinedine Zidane's shellshocked side with a brilliant strike from distance early in the second half before substitute Vinicius Jr reduced the deficit to one goal.
Spanish giants Barcelona and Real Madrid grabbed last-gasp 2-1 victories after a rash of red cards and crowd trouble in the La Liga.
Greece beat England for the first time as striker Vangelis Pavlidis's double earned the visitors a richly-deserved 2-1 victory.
Barcelona restored their two-point lead at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi finished a slick move to fire the champions to a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Malaga on Saturday.
Karim Benzema came off the bench to score 13 minutes from time and ruin any chance of a dream result for resilient Ludogorets as holders Real Madrid carved out a patchy 2-1 win in Wednesday's Champions League Group B match.
Likens the Portuguese's second debut at United against Newcastle to Ceasar entering Rome.
Atletico aim for Champions League revenge against Real at fourth attempt.
Liverpool frustrated by 10-man Arsenal in League Cup semi stalemate
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
(Reuters) - Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris St Germain reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday on a night when the goals flowed all over Europe with United the highest scorers in a 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Champions League holders Real Madrid will face former European champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the group stage draw on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
"I'm disappointed, obviously, as a Manchester United fan and a Real Madrid player," said David Beckham.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will return to action for Real Madrid's La Liga game with Villarreal on Wednesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Atletico celebrate anniversary with 3-1 comeback win over Mallorca
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Argentina's Di Maria to quit internationals after Copa America
James Rodriguez scored one goal and set up two more as Colombia thoroughly dismantled Panama in a 5-0 win at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Saturday to march into the Copa America semi-finals.
La Liga champions Barcelona stayed on the heels of leaders Real Madrid by coasting to a 3-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday as Lionel Messi became the club's top scorer from free kicks.
Luis Suarez struck twice and Lionel Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona who set a new Spanish record of goals in a calendar year with a 4-0 win over Real Betis that lifted them top of La Liga on Wednesday.
Spain striker Iago Aspas dealt a fresh blow to Barcelona's La Liga title hopes by striking a late free kick to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to the Catalans on Saturday as Quique Setien's side twice threw away the lead in a thrilling match. The draw put Barca back on top of the table on 69 points after 32 games but Real Madrid, on 68, can go two points clear at the summit if they beat Espanyol away from home on Sunday.
Bayer Leverkusen beat Freiburg 3-2 to edge closer to a first ever Bundesliga title.
Lionel Messi had two free-kick attempts while ex-Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic narrowly missed the target from inside the area.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayer Leverkusen crushed hosts VfL Bochum 5-0 to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
'Peace and love,' the Portuguese ace captions the image with his partner Georgina Rodriguez.
Sevilla and Real Madrid kept the pressure on leaders Barcelona with home wins in the Primera Liga on Sunday.
The Italian said he would avoid big changes to his team this time, after he tested midfielder Luka Modric up front in place of then-injured striker Karim Benzema in the last El Clasico in March, only to get hammered 4-0 by the Catalans.
Atletico Madrid right back Juanfran has thanked fans for the support he received following his penalty shootout miss in Saturday's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid. The defender's effort rebounded off the post before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning spot kick to hand Real their 11th European Cup in Milan. Spain international Juanfran was in tears and did not speak to the media after the match but on Monday he wrote a letter on the club's official website. "I will never forget your displays of affection when I came to ask for your forgiveness," he said. "Seeing my tears reflected in the faces of the thousands of Atleticos that packed that end of the stadium helped me cope with the tremendous sadness I felt in those hard times."
Paris St Germain are hoping their Parc des Princes crowd will help them overturn a 3-1 deficit in their Champions League last-16 return leg against Real Madrid as they try to cope without the injured Neymar.
Earlier, Messi's World Cup-winning team mate Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin award for the world's best goalkeeper.
In-form Luciano Vietto hit two second half goals as Villarreal, down to 10 men for the final 10 minutes, cruised to a 3-0 home victory over Deportivo La Coruna to go fifth in La Liga.
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
Check out the 10 most expensive transfers in British soccer history.
Lionel Messi completed a hat-trick to earn 10-man Barcelona a 3-3 home draw with Real Madrid.
All the action from soccer matches played in Europe on Monday.
Julen Lopetegui's side were awarded a penalty early in the game after a VAR review determined forward Nolito had been fouled by Valladolid's Javi Moyano as he shaped to shoot, even though his team mates had barely appealed for a foul.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances