European champions Spain staved off a battling Mali to emerge 3-1 winners in a rip-roaring, action-packed semi-final contest to enter the summit clash of the FIFA U-17 World Cup at the D Y Patil Stadium, in Mumbai, on Wednesday.
Raheem Sterling struck twice as the Premier League champions Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday to stay within two points of leaders Liverpool.
Inter Milan went on a rare scoring spree to thrash Serie A newcomers Frosinone 4-0 and go clear at the top on Sunday, the first time Roberto Mancini's team have won a league match by more than one goal this season.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
Russia manager Fabio Capello and Juventus coach Antonio Conte voiced support on Saturday for the introduction of 'time-outs' during matches in a move they said would benefit players, managers and commercial partners.
England beat Spain 5-2 to win FIFA U-17 World Cup
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Northern Ireland set a record of 10 games unbeaten with a 1-0 win over Slovenia after a goal by Conor Washington in a friendly on Monday in the build-up to their first European Championship.
Key moments in Chelsea's Premier League title-winning season.
The victory saw the unfashionable Madrid club tighten their grip on the coveted fourth spot in the table by moving on to 58 points after 36 games, three points clear of nearest challengers Sevilla, who lost to Leganes on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Saturday
European champions Spain produced a quality exhibition of tiki-taka as they decimated Iran 3-1 to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, at the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium in Kochi, on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Substitute Jesse Lingard struck twice in the second half as Manchester United fought back from 2-0 down to earn a 2-2 Premier League draw with Burnley at Old Trafford on Tuesday.
England became only the sixth team to end a European qualifying campaign with a 100 percent record when they beat Lithuania 3-0 in their final Group E match on Monday.
Francesco Totti made an instant impact on his return from a buttock injury when he scored one goal and helped set up another in AS Roma's 3-2 Serie A win over Udinese on Monday.
Chelsea overpowered West Ham United and Manchester City outclassed West Bromwich Albion as the Premier League title rivals signalled their intent at the start of a hectic holiday programme on Friday.
Leaders Chelsea stretched their Premier League winning run to a club record-equalling 11 as Diego Costa's header shortly before halftime secured a 1-0 victory at London rivals Crystal Palace on Saturday.
A summary of Tuesday's Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Premier League Swansea City fell victims to the first major giant-killing of the FA Cup third round on Sunday when they lost 3-2 away to League Two (fourth tier) side Oxford United.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
The good news for Schalke 04's defenders as they prepare to face Chelsea in their opening Champions League Group G match on Wednesday is that striker Diego Costa is nursing a slight hamstring injury.
'Sridevi touched my feet.' 'Kajol is magical.' 'You will feel Salman is not paying attention, but when the camera rolls, he does the step you just showed him.'
Mario Balotelli headed the decisive goal as Italy emerged 2-1 winners over England in another high quality World Cup match in the Amazon jungle on Saturday, to gain a key early advantage in a Group D containing three former tournament winners.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
It turned out to be an awesome experience, says Bienu Vaghela who visited Kuala Lumpur last November!
Jan-Fiete Arp (8th minute), Nicolas Kuehn (62nd) and Sahverdi Cetin (90+2) netted for the winners, while Ibrahima Soumah got the lone goal for Guinea in the 26th minute in the final Group C match at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium.
The Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez double act struck again on Sunday with both players scoring to give Juventus a 2-0 win at AC Milan which strengthened their grip on Serie A.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
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.
First-half goals by Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi earned Arsenal a first win in four league games to revive their Premier League title hopes in the early kickoff at Goodison Park on Saturday.
After qualifying for the 2014 World Cup with two games to spare everything looked positive for Italy but doubts are creeping in after two poor displays mean they are set to miss out on a place among the top seeds in Brazil.
The football fans in Kochi will get a chance to witness a fascinating contest between Brazilian attacking flare and Spanish 'tiki-taka' possession football in what could be a final before the final of this tournament.
Substitute Costa slipped the ball past the keeper from close range in the 48th minute of the second half to break the deadlock and extend Brazil's winning run to 11 matches.
Clashes between Real Madrid and Barcelona are rarely short on drama and Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' may have more than its usual share with Luis Suarez poised to return from a biting ban and Barca teammate Lionel Messi on the brink of equalling the top-flight scoring record.
An insatiable Lionel Messi scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a gutsy Girona side 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the standings.
Danny Welbeck's hat-trick in a 4-1 thrashing of a feeble Galatasaray side helped ignite Arsenal's Champions League campaign in a lop-sided Group D clash in north London on Wednesday.
Chelsea moved within touching distance of a first Premier League title in five years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United while Lionel Messi reached a landmark with his 400th career goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona.
