In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Daniel Sturridge led Liverpool to a great win over Swansea while Gareth Bale helped Real Madrid to go top of the La Liga table, after shock defeats of Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, with a 3-0 win over Elche at the weekend. Chelsea clung to top place in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Everton, while Bayern Munich opened a 19-point lead in the Bundesliga with their 14th successive league win while closest rivals Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund lost. Rediff.com brings you a glance of the footballers of the weekend.
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Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted to feeling frustrated after his side missed out on top spot in their Champions League group and an easier draw in the knockout stages.
Napoli suffered an agonising exit from the Champions League after beating Premier League leaders Arsenal 2-0 on Wednesday.
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Lionel Messi stole Cristiano Ronaldo's thunder again by plundering yet another hat-trick for Barcelona and Basel ruined Jose Mourinho's Champions League return with a shock win at Chelsea.
If Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, soccer's most expensive duo, can produce the brilliance that prompted Real Madrid to invest $260 million in, the Spanish giants could finally land their 10th European Cup this season.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho saluted the passion of the Galatasaray fans on Tuesday after his team scrambled past the Turkish side into the Champions League semi-finals.
Barcelona are keen to sign the Brazilian playmaker, who joined Liverpool from Inter Milan for 8.5 million pounds ($11.03 million) in 2013, and have already had an initial bid worth 80 million euros rejected by Liverpool last month.
Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey says he has yet to reach an agreement with the Premier League club about his future. The Wales international, who joined the club in 2008, is in the final year of his contract.
Liverpool's Brazil midfielder Philippe Coutinho is on the verge of signing for La Liga leaders Barcelona in a club-record deal, according to Spanish media reports.
'It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season'
The Champions League is set for some much-needed drama this week with the conclusion of a group stage which has been all too predictable and produced an embarrassing procession of one-sided matches.
Barcelona lost for the second straight La Liga game in a 1-0 home reverse against Celta Vigo but there was no such trouble for Manchester City, who beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 thanks to Sergio Aguero.
Kevin Volland ties record for fastest Bundesliga goal.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri is expecting a "boring" match against AS Monaco in the Champions League on Tuesday, believing that both sides will adopt a cautious approach.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's world record signing Gareth Bale scored on his debut in Spain, while Arsenal's new recruit Mesut Ozil also lived up to expectations in his first appearance in England's Premier League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lightning struck twice for Marc-Andre ter Stegen on Saturday when the Borussia Moenchengladbach goalkeeper scored a bizarre own goal in a 1-1 draw at Eintracht Braunschweig and his opposite number also put through his own net.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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
A five-point lead at the top of the Premier League should have been enough to put a smile on Arsene Wenger's face, yet it was the convincing manner of Saturday's 2-0 victory over Liverpool that most pleased the Arsenal manager.
A five-point lead at the top of the Premier League should have been enough to put a smile on Arsene Wenger's face, yet it was the convincing manner of Saturday's 2-0 victory over Liverpool that most pleased the Arsenal manager.
Paris St German threatened action against Joey Barton on Wednesday after the Olympique Marseille midfielder likened Brazilian defender Thiago Silva to a transsexual and called him an 'overweight ladyboy'.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
The title credentials of leaders Arsenal and third-placed Liverpool will come under scrutiny when they meet in a heavyweight Premier League clash on Saturday.
Former Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who recently joined Australian A-League club Central Coast Mariners to pursue his dream of playing football, has said that his touch in the game is getting better and he feels like he is steadily improving in football.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
Brazilian Kaka looked a player reborn while producing a superb display in AC Milan's 1-1 Champions League draw with Barcelona on Tuesday.
When Bayern Munich take on Borussia Dortmund in the first all-German Champions League final on Saturday, it will not only be a clash of footballing cultures but also a showdown of two different coaching styles.
Champions Bayern Munich lifted their 22nd Bundesliga trophy on Saturday after a comfortable 3-0 over Augsburg as they prepare for the all-German Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund in two weeks.
Treble winners Bayern Munich demolished Schalke 04 4-0 with a stellar performance on Saturday to join Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund at the top of the table after they drew 1-1 at Nuremberg.
The Indian ace drew with GM Peter Leko of Hungary in the first game of the semi-final in the Dortmund Sparkassen chess tournament.
Brazil (Selecao) might be the most loved -- and most successful -- football team across the globe, but the Germans (Die Mannshaft), says Bikash Mohapatra, are easily the most consistent in the history of football.
Arsenal's dramatic 2-1 Champions League win against Anderlecht on Wednesday rescued three valuable points but the victory only served to paper over the ever-widening cracks.
Juergen Klopp, who has breathed new life into Liverpool in his seven months in charge, would seal his place in the hearts of the club's supporters if he pulls off victory over Sevilla in Wednesday's Europa League final.
The resumption of the German Bundesliga next weekend amid the COVID-19 crisis will give hope to other European leagues that they can also successfully return, according to Schalke 04 coach David Wagner.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus strolled to a 3-0 home win over bottom side Crotone in the Italian Serie A on Monday, with the victory taking the champions up to third in the standings.
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