Rayo Vallecano forward Alvaro Garcia netted an early goal to give his side a surprise 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou on Sunday, moving Real Madrid another step closer to sealing their 35th LaLiga title.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Holders Inter Milan earned their coach a reprieve to lead a group of seven teams through to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, a night lit up by Lionel Messi's customary finesse and Wayne Rooney's goalscoring return.
Inter Milan coach Andrea Stramaccioni is still holding out hope that Wesley Sneijder will play for the club again but a move to the English Premier League looks the most obvious choice for the talented Dutch playmaker.
AC Milan took their time but eventually eased past bottom side Novara 3-0 to stay on the tail of Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday as Udinese and Inter Milan also won.
A goal in each half from Mancini and Adriano gave Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in their opening Champions League Group B game on Tuesday.
Images from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Inter Milan coach Jose Mourinho's dream move to Real Madrid is far from a done deal, Inter president Massimo Moratti said on Tuesday.
Inter Milan's influential playmaker Wesley Sneijder is a doubt for Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg in Barcelona due to a thigh problem.
Premier League leaders Manchester City face a tricky match at Napoli but they would also advance to the next stage with victory in southern Italy.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday. Like Inter, 2009 winners Barcelona only needed a win to go through with two games to spare but drew 1-1 at FC Copenhagen in Group D while Olympique Lyon's three-match winning streak came to a halt in an enthralling 4-3 defeat at Benfica in Group B.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
Inter Milan have no intention of listening to offers for playmaker Wesley Sneijder amid reported interest from Manchester United, club president Massimo Moratti said on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich crowd favourite Thomas Mueller will leave the German record champions at the end of the season after 25 trophy-laden years.
European champions Barcelona will quickly renew acquaintances with their former striker Samuel Eto'o when they begin the defence of their trophy at Inter Milan in their opening Champions League match next month. The draw also brought together AC Milan and nine-time European champions Real Madrid in another mouthwatering Italian versus Spanish clash with Brazil forward Kaka facing his old club at his new Bernabeu home on Matchday Three.
Confusion continued to reign over the future of Inter Milan coach Rafael Benitez on Tuesday after club president Massimo Moratti played down widespread speculation that he had been sacked.
Leaders Inter Milan kept up their relentless pursuit of a fourth straight Serie A title when Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice in a 2-0 home win over Fiorentina on Sunday.
Salvatore Schillaci, who was born in the Sicilian city of Palermo and was hospitalised there, suffered from colon cancer.
Inter Milan kept alive their dreams of landing a treble after they stormed into the Italian Cup final with a 2-0 aggregate win over Fiorentina on Tuesday. Samuel Eto'o fired home a second half goal to give Inter a 1-0 second leg win at Fiorentina to make sure they stayed in the hunt for the Cup, Serie A and Champions League trophies.
A spectacular piledriver from Juan Cuadrado gave Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, ending a run of seven successive Serie A wins for their opponents in a pulsating end-to-end match on Sunday.
AS Roma took a big step forward in their drive for a surprise Serie A title on Sunday when they beat relegation-threatened visitors Atalanta 2-1 to take the top spot from champions Inter Milan.
Inter Milan have halted talks with Real Madrid about selling Maicon and the chances of Liverpool's Javier Mascherano joining the European champions look remote, club president Massimo Moratti said on Monday.
Barcelona top the LaLiga standings with 15 points, four ahead of Real Madrid and Villarreal. Girona are seventh on seven points.
Inter Milan's 2-0 win over Bayern Munich in the Champions League final will be remembered more for Diego Milito's two brilliant goals and the sub-plots and intrigues surrounding the game rather than the football.
Barcelona thrashed Real Betis 5-1 on Wednesday to book their spot in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard is very keen to join Inter Milan, the Italian club's director Gabriele Oriali said on Thursday. Chelsea said this week they would not enter into negotiations with the Serie A champions over the England player, who has a year left on his contract.
Saturday's Champions League final between Bayern Munich and Inter Milan is so much more than just one game of soccer with a myriad of intertwined storylines promising an intriguing night whatever happens on the field.
City fans were in dreamland after their side finally lifted the Champions League trophy
Liverpool stuttered into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate win over Inter Milan after suffering a 1-0 loss to the Italian side, who were reduced to 10 men, at Anfield on Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur trounced a sorry Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League on Thursday while last year's European champions Chelsea were humbled 1-0 by Steaua Bucharest after being stung by a Raul Rusescu penalty.
Barcelona and Inter Milan reached an agreement in principle to swap Inter striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic for Barca forward Samuel Eto'o plus cash, the Primera Liga and European champions said on Friday.
Inter Milan sealed a fifth straight Serie A title thanks to the quick integration of new signings and coach Jose Mourinho's tactical nous, which may now lead to other clubs trying even harder to secure his services.
Inter Milan are so used to winning titles that immediate celebrations of their fifth scudetto in a row on Sunday were slightly muted and Jose Mourinho stayed even more silent before being persuaded to speak.
After a week of controversy caused mainly by FIFA president Sepp Blatter's comments about racism, UEFA will hope that action on the pitch dominates this week's Champions League headlines as the group stage reaches crunch time.
Holders Inter Milan faced almost certain elimination from the Champions League after collapsing to a stunning 5-2 home defeat by a makeshift Schalke 04 team in their quarter-final first leg at the San Siro on Tuesday.
Man United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams had already faced each other in the group stage.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday.
Inter Milan, Real Madrid and company will put their faith in attacking football again this week as Europe's leading lights seek early qualification for the Champions League knockout stages.
