France are favourites as Moscow basked in sweltering summer sun
It is too early to say who has got the best of the most frenetic transfer market.
English football clubs splurged on the final day of the transfer window, laying out 210 million pounds to take total gross spending to a record-high 1.4 billion pounds as the Premier League again flexed its unrivalled financial muscles.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich survived several first-half scares in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Schalke 04 on Saturday as Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the Bavarian club.
Monaco swept into the Champions League quarter-finals and left Manchester City to pick up the pieces of another failed European campaign after a 3-1 victory on Wednesday sent them through on away goals.
All the action that transpired on and off the football field
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice in the first half as holders Bayern Munich cruised past Schalke 04 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semi-finals.
Twelve of Europe's leading soccer clubs from England, Italy and Spain announced a breakaway league on Sunday but after 48 hours of massive pressure from fans, politicians and even British royals the six English clubs backed out
Images from Sunday's Premier League matches.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
The Champions League quarter-final between Liverpool and Manchester City is one of the most anticipated games of the season pitting the Premier League's runaway leaders against the top scorers in Europe's elite competition.
Juventus's hopes of reaching the Champions League last eight suffered a blow when the two-times European Cup winners slumped to a 1-0 defeat in their last-16 first leg at Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday. Manchester City finally produced a Champions League performance worthy of their status as one of European football's elite clubs by beating Real Madrid 2-1 away in Wednesday's last-16 first leg after pulling off a stunning late fightback.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Goals in each half from Kai Havertz and Christian Pulisic earned defending champions Chelsea a solid 2-0 first-leg victory over Lille in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday.
Leicester City added another tale of remarkable success to an incredible year by reaching the last 16 of the Champions League in their debut season with a 2-1 victory over Club Bruges.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
Mateo Kovacic's late strike avoided embarrassment for Real Madrid as the European champions surrendered a two-goal lead before drawing 3-3 with Legia Warsaw in an enthralling Champions League game played amid an empty stadium on Wednesday.
Tottenham Hotspur reached the semi-finals of the Champions League on away goals after a 4-3 (aggregate 4-4) defeat to Manchester City in a breathtaking quarter-final second leg game on Wednesday.
Olympiakos Piraeus battled back from a two-goal deficit to earn a 2-2 home draw with last year's runners-up Tottenham Hotspur in their Champions League Group B opener.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester City have signed French central defender Aymeric Laporte from Spanish club Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
A summary of all the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's season-opening weekend fixtures:
Cristiano Ronaldo scored two stunning goals and took his international tally to 70 as he led Portugal to an emphatic 3-0 win over Hungary in a World Cup qualifier on Saturday.
Defensive errors were again a common occurrence in the Arsenal backline, but Fiorentina failed to take advantage.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe starred in PSG's win as they topped group A after thrashing Galatasaray 5-0. Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, pumped in two goals to oust Leverkusen from the tournament, while Gabriel Jesus netted a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.