The gaze of the sporting world will fall on Germany this weekend as the Bundlesliga becomes the first major soccer league to emerge from the shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. All 18 clubs will crank back into action in what could act as a catalyst for other leagues to follow suit.
Werder Bremen's Niclas Fuellkrug made his Germany debut at the age of 29 this week, scoring the winner in their warmup match against Oman on Wednesday after coming on as a substitute.
The Englishman lasted 31 games, winning only 12, before the owners pulled the trigger.
Arsene Wenger withdrew Jack Wilshere from the heat of battle against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday and said he may have to protect the midfielder from his own desire to play.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice to steer champions Bayern Munich to a 2-1 win at Hamburg SV on Friday that stretched their lead at the top to 11 points as the Bundesliga resumed following a one-month winter break.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino's proposal for a bigger World Cup is complete insanity, putting more pressure on already stretched players and risking damage to the sport's showcase event, Borussia Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke said on Thursday.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring as Juventus beat visiting Bologna 2-1 on Saturday to move four points clear at the top of the Serie A table. Ronaldo struck from close range after 19 minutes, but Danilo levelled for the visitors soon afterwards.
Levante striker Roger Marti brushed off squandering a penalty to score the winning goal as his side pulled off a shock 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid
Paulo Dybala came off the bench to give unbeaten Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win away to a brave Bologna side who had the better of the match and hit the post in stoppage time on Sunday.
Real Madrid moved into the semi-finals of the Champions League after their makeshift defence held on for 0-0 second-leg draw with Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday to complete a 3-1 aggregate win.
VfL Wolfsburg ended Arminia Bielefeld's sensational German Cup run, crushing the third division club 4-0 on Wednesday to book a spot in their first Cup final in 20 years where they will face Borussia Dortmund.
Schalke 04 needed Leon Goretzka's late deflected winner and an own goal to snatch a 2-1 win against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday and leapfrog them into fourth place in the Bundesliga in the battle for a Champions League spot.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben scored twice each as the champions crushed Hanover 96 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of the table as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost to Hamburg SV.
Injured Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben is unlikely to recover in time for the side's Champions League quarter-final return leg in Benfica next week, coach Pep Guardiola said on Friday.
The flying wingback is one of the key players in the north African outfit whose last-16 match in the Qatar World Cup against Spain, at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan, gives them a chance to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time.
Bundesliga leading scorer Robert Lewandowski grabbed an early goal to give leaders Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at Cologne that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with seven matches left in the season.
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he was worried about the impact manager Juergen Klopp was having at his old team's great rivals Liverpool.
Arsenal will face manager Arsene Wenger's former club Monaco with defending champions Real Madrid pitted against German club Schalke.
Chelsea confirmed on its website that they had parted company with the German coach
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale have been shortlisted for this year's coveted Ballon d'Or award.
Former Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur coach Andre Villas-Boas will take over Russian side Zenit St Petersburg this week after agreeing on a two-season contract, the club said on Tuesday.
Neuer made the squad despite playing in just one official game, a friendly against Austria on Friday, since breaking a bone in his foot in September but talented 22-year-old Sane was the biggest name to miss out.
Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick as Hertha Berlin beat Hanover 96 3-1 on Friday, their second win in three matches helping them climb to fourth in the Bundesliga.
Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare, while Paris St Germain secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man RC Lens.
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Italian side Napoli has moved into second place in their Champions League Group F on Wednesday with a 3-2 win over French side Marseille at Sao Paolo.
Former European champions Steaua Bucharest and English Premier League Southampton suffered shock defeats by Scandinavian teams in Europa League qualifiers on Thursday.
VfB Stuttgart continued their unbeaten run under new coach Thomas Schneider on Friday, climbing to sixth with a 1-1 home draw against Nuremberg who are still looking for their first Bundesliga win of the season.
Former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who has won eight Olympic gold medals in his illustrious career, is all set to swap his spikes for studs as he revealed signing for a football team.
Inter Milan face Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and PSV Eindhoven in Group B which features three former European champions.
In the third-tier Europa Conference League, English Premier League club Leicester City will face Danish side Randers and Scottish club Celtic will take on Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the knockout playoff round.
New Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp made it three wins from his last three matches with a 1-0 success at Rubin Kazan in Russia that left them second in Group B, two points behind Swiss club Sion on Thursday.
Former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Xavi has backed incoming ManchesterCity manager Pep Guardiola to leave his mark on the Premier League after taking over from the departing Manuel Pellegrini on July 1.
Werder Bremen snatched a 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart thanks to Anthony Ujah's second-half equaliser in a relegation derby of former German champions on Sunday to stay one point above the relegation zone.
Lazio, having endured a miserable start to the season, had high hopes of victory at Genoa, who were languishing in the relegation zone at the start of the day.
Real Madrid defender Eder Militao has tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of their Champions League home game against Inter Milan.
Arsenal and Galatasaray are facing disciplinary action after supporters of the Turkish club lit red flares and threw them onto the pitch, briefly holding up play, in their Champions League group match on Wednesday.
German champions Bayern Munich will continue to reap the benefits of manager Pep Guardiola's coaching even after the Spaniard leaves the club at the end of the season, midfielder Xabi Alonso has said. Guardiola, who has won numerous trophies with Barcelona and then Bayern, will take over as head coach of English Premier League side Manchester City from July. The Spaniard, who will be replaced at Bayern by Italian Carlo Ancelotti, looks set to lift his third successive Bundesliga in his final season and Alonso has hailed the manager's influence. "Pep is ahead of his time. He is very demanding of himself and his players, but once you get to know it (the style), then it is the way we like to play," Alonso told Sky Sports on Monday.
From Shraddha Kapoor gyrating at the opening ceremony of an IPL match to breathtaking moves on the soccer field, here are Images that made memorable sporting moments
Images from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
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