Arsenal snatched a dramatic 2-1 victory over Burnley to keep their title hopes on track after the referee Jon Moss awarded penalties to both sides and sent off home manager Arsene Wenger in injury time.
The Catalonian side put up a good fight to stay level in the first half at a half-empty Wanda Metropolitano stadium, with Lucas Hernandez hitting the post and Diego Costa denied when one-on-one with the visiting keeper.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
Barcelona travel to newly-promoted Osasuna without their first choice front line.
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.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was sad and frustrated after missing out on the Europa League final following Thursday's 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in his last European game in charge of the London club.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez would be a perfect fit for Atletico Madrid and the La Liga club are in talks with the Argentine's agents, coach Diego Simeone has said.
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Arsenal are not only hoping to win a first European trophy since 1994, but know their hopes of qualifying for next year's Champions League depend on winning the Europa League in the French city of Lyon next month.
Chelsea ran riot at Swansea City, scoring four times before halftime on the way to a 5-0 win that sent Jose Mourinho's side five points clear in the Premier League on Saturday.
Holders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday's draw for the first knockout stage.
Chelsea are growing in confidence after a poor start to the season and optimistic for Champions League qualification ahead of Tuesday's tie against last-placed Maccabi Tel Aviv in Israel, manager Jose Mourinho said.
A rousing 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid on Saturday may suggest otherwise, but Atletico Madrid are still rebuilding after losing several key players in the close season, coach Diego Simeone said on Monday.
Arsenal and Manchester City meet at The Emirates on Saturday when both teams will seek to roar into life after making spluttering starts to their Premier League campaigns.
Antonio Conte's title ranks as one of the finest of the Abramovich era because this title was so unexpected. Out of the blue, in fact.
Lionel Messi overhauled Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano's La Liga goals tally as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid each won on Saturday to pull three points clear of Real at the top.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone may have played down the significance of Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad but it has raised further questions about the champions' ability to defend their title.
Didier Drogba is expecting a 'crazy' Stamford Bridge atmosphere.
In case they needed it, the short trip to Crystal Palace will re-focus Chelsea's globe-trotting players on matters at home as the Premier League slips back into gear this weekend after the second international break of the season.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has called on the Football Association (FA) to ban players who dive in order to rid the game of play acting to win free kicks or penalties.
Atletico Madrid have been unable to repeat the magnificent achievements of last season in this campaign but can congratulate themselves on a job well done if they secure a lucrative Champions League berth on Saturday.
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
'I haven't always expressed myself well. I said I would like to play with Neymar and Mbappe, but that doesn't mean I want to go to PSG'
Real Madrid have signed Spain right-back Alvaro Odriozola from Real Sociedad on a contract until 2024, the European champions said on Thursday.
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.
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Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Former Brazil international Kaka made the most of his first appearance in the Major League Soccer All-Star Game as he helped lead his team past English Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Wednesday.
IMAGES from an exciting Europa League semi-final first leg match played at Emirates Stadium on Thursday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Ousmane Dembele's late strike rescued a 1-1 draw for champions Barcelona at Atletico Madrid but Sevilla moved top with a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. European champions Real Madrid were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Eibar.
Jose Mourinho added another entry to his extensive personal diary of conspiracies on Thursday when, after Chelsea were ripped apart 5-3 by Tottenham Hotspur, he blamed the defeat on a penalty that was not given.
West Ham United manager Sam Allardyce believes it is acceptable for players to "make a meal out of" contact if it helps them win penalties and free kicks.
Allowing independent panels to punish players retrospectively for diving and other infringements would be a "disaster", according to Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho.
Jose Mourinho will select a strong Chelsea side out of respect to high-flying Championship team Derby County when they meet in the quarter-finals of the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
'The problem with Petr is that an opponent is better than before'
Second-half headers from Diego Godin and Raul Garcia gave holders Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Valencia and a place in the King's Cup quarter-finals by 3-1 on aggregate.
Italy's Daniele De Rossi scored a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw against Spain in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday, sparing home goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's blushes after he gifted the visitors the lead. Buffon, making his 164th appearance, rushed out of his area as Vitolo broke clear but the 38-year-old completely mistimed his tackle, allowing the Spaniard to go round him and put the ball into an empty net in the 55th minute. Italy, who had been outplayed in the Group G clash, fought back and levelled in the 82nd when Eder was fouled by Sergio Ramos and De Rossi converted the spot kick, their only shot on target in the match.
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