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.
The neighbourly rivalry and the intriguing prospect of a duel between Real Madrid team mates Sergio Ramos of Spain and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo meant the Group B match was always going to be one of the highlights of the opening round.
Uruguay will head to the World Cup on a winning note after beating Uzbekistan 3-0 in a chilly warmup in front of their own fans on Thursday.
Rewind five years and Liverpool hosted Chelsea with three games remaining, knowing victory would have left them six points clear and a first league title since 1990 almost secure.
Manchester City reached the League Cup final, shattering second-tier Bristol City's hopes of a remarkable upset, as the Premier League leaders survived a late fightback to win 3-2 on Tuesday and clinch the tie 5-3 on aggregate.
Portugal rested Cristiano Ronaldo and still overcame new-look Italy 1-0 in their opening Nations League match on Monday, giving visiting coach Roberto Mancini plenty to think about. Forward Andre Silva scored three minutes after halftime in the League A Group 3 game to give the Portuguese their first win over Italy in a competitive match since 1957.
Manchester City secured a record 15th straight victory in all competitions with a 3-1 win at Championship side Swansea City in the FA Cup fifth round on Wednesday.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Sergio Aguero's hat-trick led Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday and back into second place in the English Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
France stretched their unbeaten run against Croatia to eight games after a late goal by Kylian Mbappe gave the world champions a 2-1 win in their Nations League top-tier Group 3 match on Wednesday.
Liverpool opened up an eight-point lead at the top of the Premier League with an emphatic and hugely impressive 3-1 win over defending champions Manchester City.
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.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
The dynasty will only be built on European success, though, and after the quarter-final exit to Liverpool, Manchester City's owners, who want a gilded continental powerhouse to match United's global lustre, will demand it and back those demands with huge funding.
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.
Former Cup winners Coventry, now plying their trade in the bottom division of the Football League, revived memories of happier times as Jordan Willis and Jack Grimmer scored the goals in a 2-1 victory at the Ricoh Arena.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday night.
Manchester City marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Manchester City are top on goal difference, with Chelsea second and Liverpool dropping to third, two points ahead of Arsenal, who routed Fulham 5-1.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
Manchester City came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in a breathless and pulsating Premier League encounter, at Anfield, on Sunday. All four goals came in the second half.
Defeat left United in sixth spot, three points behind fourth-placed Chelsea, who they face this weekend.
Huddersfield Town were left celebrating wildly after securing their Premier League safety on Wednesday with a dramatic and resilient 1-1 draw at Chelsea, a result that looks almost certain to condemn Swansea City to relegation.
Having left it late to earn a 3-2 win in the first leg, City took a while to hit their stride at The Etihad on Tuesday but when they did Guardiola's team produced a magnificent attacking display that will ring alarm bells around Europe.
IMAGES from the EPL matches played on Saturday
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from Sunday's Premier League action.
Monaco's firepower was far too hot to handle for Olympique de Marseille as the Principality side moved top of the French Ligue 1 standings with a 4-0 home win on Saturday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Manchester City needed a second-half penalty from striker Erling Haaland to break the resistance of a dogged Crystal Palace.
A summary of Tuesday's qualification matches next year's FIFA World Cup.
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.
Monaco owe most of their recent success to their young guns, but when they face Manchester City looking to overturn a two-goal deficit in their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, they will turn to a more experienced player in Radamel Falcao.
Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scored a hat-trick as coach Pep Guardiola maintained his 100 per cent record at the club with a commanding 4-0 victory against Borussia Moenchengladbach in their rearranged Champions League Group C opener on Wednesday.
