(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.
Egemen Korkmaz's second-half header earned Fenerbahce a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Benfica and eased the tears of team mate Cristian on Thursday.
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals will be German vs Spanish contests after Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund were drawn to play at home against Real Madrid and 2012 finalists Bayern Munich were pitted against Barcelona.
A stoppage-time goal from Branislav Ivanovic helped Chelsea become the first English club to win all three of UEFA's major trophies as they beat Benfica 2-1 in the Europa League final.
Chelsea's rollercoaster of a season could yet end with another night of European glory after they knocked FC Basel out of the semi-finals on Thursday to set up a Europa League final against Benfica.
Barcelona twice threw away the lead to draw 3-3 at Levante on Tuesday in a potentially fatal blow to their chances of winning the La Liga title.
Barca won their fifth European Cup in 2015 and the signs of decline have been evident over the past five years since -- but no-one envisaged a fall as great as this.
Tottenham Hotspur trounced a sorry Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday while last year's European champions Chelsea were humbled 1-0 by Steaua Bucharest after being stung by a Raul Rusescu penalty.
Celtic's bid to make the last 16 of the Champions League has been backed by Lionel Messi who believes the Scottish club's fans deserve to see their side progress.
Chelsea have agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for the return of Brazil international defender David Luiz, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. "The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical," said a statement on the club website (www.chelseafc.com). PSG paid a reported 50 million pounds ($65.59 million), a world record fee for a defender, when Luiz moved to west London in June 2014.
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea has been named in the Premier League club's squad for a pre-season tour of the United States despite reported interest from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen scored his first goal for the club since last month's move from Tottenham Hotspur to set up a 2-0 win at Ludogorets Razgrad in their Europa League last 32, first leg on Thursday. Getafe pulled off a surprise 2-0 home win over last year's Champions League semi-finalists Ajax Amsterdam, while Manchester United were held 1-1 at Club Brugge in wet and windy conditions. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Diogo Jota scored a second successive hat-trick in the competition to lead his side to a 4-0 victory over Espanyol and Arsenal won 1-0 at Olympiakos Piraeus with a late Alexandre Lacazette goal.
Former Portugal and Benfica great Eusebio, who suffered a stroke during his stay in Poland to watch Euro 2012, was discharged from a Lisbon hospital on Wednesday, the hospital said.
England coach Roy Hodgson gave Celtic's tall goalkeeper Fraser Forster a first international call-up when he named the 24-year-old in his squad for this month's World Cup qualifiers against San Marino and Poland.
A touch of romance has returned to the Champions League quarter-finals with seven countries, including Cyprus, represented in this week's first legs with AC Milan-Barcelona topping the bill.
Titleholders Barcelona were given a tough draw against Italian champions AC Milan in the Champions League quarter-finals on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand will miss the Premier League champions' opening Champions League Group C match against Benfica in Lisbon on Wednesday, the club said on Tuesday.
Real Madrid and Chelsea look set to join Barcelona and Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals when they complete their last eight ties at home to APOEL Nicosia and Benfica respetively on Wednesday.
Former Portugal and Benfica great Eusebio is in a stable condition after doctors conducted a coronarography to examine the condition of his heart after he was taken to hospital in the Polish city of Poznan on Saturday.
Manchester United midfielder Angel di Maria's transfers might have amounted to more than 100 million euros, but the price of the Argentine when his first ever transfer was made was just 20 footballs.
Portuguese great Eusebio, acknowledged as one of soccer's greatest ever strikers, has died aged 71, Portuguese media reported on Sunday.
Chelsea captain John Terry revealed he played with two cracked ribs and could hardly breathe during his team's Champions League 2-1 triumph over Benfica on Wednesday.
Manchester United and Manchester City could both get knocked out of the Champions League on Wednesday while French champions Lille will also endure a nerve-wracking 90 minutes.
The All India Football Federation, on Wednesday appointed Portugal's Luis Norton de Matos as the head coach of the India U-17 team for the FIFA U-17 World Cup scheduled to be held in October this year.
Premier League leaders Manchester City face a tricky match at Napoli but they would also advance to the next stage with victory in southern Italy.
Real Madrid host Olympique Lyon aiming to continue their perfect start in the Champions League on Tuesday but some of the other heavyweights are still playing catch-up.
Nemanja Vidic travelled with the Manchester United squad for their Champions League visit to Romania on Monday while fellow central defender Rio Ferdinand remained at home, the club confirmed on their website.
Spain forward Ansu Fati became the national team's youngest ever goalscorer as the 17-year-old inspired Luis Enrique's side to a resounding 4-0 win at home to Ukraine in the UEFA Nations League on Sunday.
Holders Barcelona will begin their defence of the Champions League with a home match against AC Milan after the two old rivals were drawn in the same group on Thursday.
Manchester United's Brazilian midfielder Anderson will be sidelined until February with a knee injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.
Manchester rivals City and United have so far not taken their domestic form into Europe and will be among 15 teams attempting to win their first matches in the Champions League group stage this week.
Chelsea blew the title race wide open when they came from behind to beat Premier league leaders Manchester United 2-1 thanks to Frank Lampard's controversial 79th-minute penalty at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich have signed 18-year-old Portuguese midfielder Renato Sanches from Benfica and Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels, the Bundesliga club said on Tuesday.
The British transfer record was smashed twice on Monday as Liverpool sold Fernando Torres to Chelsea but raided Newcastle United for an immediate replacement in the shape of burly England frontman Andy Carroll.
IMAGES from the Champions League semi-final played between PSG and Leipzig at Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica in Lisbon on Tuesday.
Arsenal teetered on the brink of elimination before coming from behind to win 2-1 at Udinese and qualify for the Champions League for the 14th season in a row on Wednesday.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
Arsenal's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League for the 14th time in a row were in the balance after a 1-0 win at home to Udinese in the first leg of the playoffs on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the Champions League quarter-final played between Barcelona and Bayern Munich in Lisbon on Friday.
