The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Paris St Germain will play Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich. City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.
Juventus scraped a 2-2 draw with Swedish underdogs Djurgarden, while Liverpool strolled to a 2-0 win at Graz AK in the Champions League's third qualifying round.
Lionel Messi assumed the rare role of fan on Thursday conveying his best wishes to his idol and Argentina great Pablo Aimar who retired on Wednesday.
Arsenal will have to produce the biggest second leg comeback in a Champions League knockout tie to avoid a seventh successive exit at the last 16 stage when they host Bayern Munich on Tuesday.
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Juan Mata praised Jose Mourinho's remarkable knack for coming out on top on the biggest occasions after Manchester United beat Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 on Wednesday to signal the Portuguese coach's 12th triumph in a final from 14 attempts.
Forty years on from his father's success, current Milan captain Paolo Maldini is 90 minutes away from holding up the Champions Cup, again on English soil.
The 30-year-old joins Luke Shaw in the treatment room after the left back pulled out of the England squad with an injury on Monday.
Spurs beat Ajax 3-2 in the second leg of the semi-final on Wednesday and will face Liverpool on June 1 in Madrid.
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.
Higuain had a disappointing Copa America tournament in July, scoring two goals during the competition and missing his spot kick as Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final.
Anthony Martial went from villain to hero as his second-half equaliser earned Manchester United a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.
'You realise the fear when Barcelona could get knocked out. It would hurt UEFA a lot. I don't know what they have to do for someone to send one of them off'
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Manchester United defender Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has joined Wolves on a season-long loan, the Premier League club confirmed on Twitter.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone, a month on from a second Champions League final defeat to Real Madrid in three years, has made it clear that his immediate future is with the Spanish club. The Argentine, who has been at Atletico since 2011 and is under contract for another four years, said after the loss on penalties to Real that he wanted to explore his options. But now he says he is only concentrating on making the team better. "I spoke in the heat of the moment," Simeone told reporters on Wednesday in Buenos Aires. "We Argentinians are like that. Others are not at fault for beating you, I learned that a long time ago.
United are unbeaten in all competitions since Solskjaer replaced Jose Mourinho in December and their improvement is down to the Norwegian's insistence on an attacking style of play, as opposed to the defensive fare served up by his predecessor.
VfL Wolfsburg have completed the signing of talented winger Kevin de Bruyne from Chelsea with the Belgian agreeing to a five-year contract, the Bundesliga club said on Saturday.
'That was quite an empty period in this club with no evolution in areas that are important'
Paris St Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points with a 4-3 home victory against Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday but the French champions were again exposed at the back and had Neymar sent off. A Marquinhos double, Edinson Cavani's 200th PSG goal and a goal by Kylian Mbappe put the capital side on 65 points from 26 games but they lost captain Thiago Silva to a muscle injury and Neymar picked up a straight red card for a late challenge in stoppage time.
China can challenge for World Cup glory by 2026 , says Eriksson.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday '
'Before the start of the season I felt Manchester United will be a lot better this year and they were my tip for the title'
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.
Neymar has been included in Paris St Germain's squad for Wednesday's Champions League game against Bayern Munich after recovering from a foot injury, coach Unai Emery said on Tuesday.
Holders Sevilla swept into a second consecutive Europa League final.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is expecting a "boring" match against AS Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday, believing that both sides will adopt a cautious approach.
Liverpool failed to muster a single shot on target in a Champions League game for the first time since a 1-0 defeat to Benfica in February 2006.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the best sporting action from the week gone by.
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.
Parma, joint bottom of Serie A alongside Cesena, have signed Uruguay midfielder Cristian Rodriguez and Portugal forward Silvestre Varela, both on loan, the club said on Tuesday.
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
'I selected the team, I selected the strategy and I am as disappointed as the players, but the buck stops with me.'
