The UEFA Champions League semi-finals will be German vs Spanish contests after Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund were drawn to play at home against Real Madrid and 2012 finalists Bayern Munich were pitted against Barcelona.
VfL Wolfsburg came close to staging a minor Champions League miracle but their 3-0 loss at Real Madrid in the last eight on Tuesday for a 3-2 aggregate defeat was a reflection of a season of missed opportunities, club officials said.
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Inter Milan's aversion to Europa League football continued with a 3-1 defeat at Sparta Prague, while AS Roma ended a continental hoodoo stretching back seven games with a 4-0 home win over Romanian side FC Astra on Thursday.
Images from Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will not stoke his rivalry with fellow new recruit Pep Guardiola at Manchester City next season because it could damage his team's Premier League title hopes.
Man City set to release skipper Gundogan and Mendy
Leicester City's Nampalys Mendy fired home the decisive spot kick as they beat Southampton 6-5 on penalties after a 0-0 draw, on Tuesday, to book a League Cup quarter-final with holders Manchester City.
A new year is born but Arsenal still frustrate their fans after summing up the season by beating Europa League combatants Newcastle United 7-3 at the weekend and then needing an own goal to draw 1-1 at lowly Southampton.
Arsenal has scored 10 goals in 11 league games this season to find themselves 15th in the Premier League
Included in Barcelona squad to face Dortmund
The central defender has been without a club since leaving Championship (second-tier) side Aston Villa following their playoff defeat by Fulham at Wembley Stadium last season.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag backed Bruno Fernandes to continue his role as stand-in skipper.
Manchester City must rebuild for title challenge: Guardiola
Jose Mourinho's Chelsea turned from domestic whipping boys back to European stalwarts on Wednesday, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G.
Ten-man Arsenal suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City on Sunday in another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Champions League winners Real Madrid outclassed Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 on Wednesday to clinch the UEFA Super Cup for a record-equalling fifth time and kick off their season with a trophy.
VfB Stuttgart edged past surprise package Freiburg 2-1 on Wednesday to set up a German Cup final against Bayern Munich and secure a European spot for next season.
Turkish side Fenerbahce will be unable to compete in the Europa League this season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) upheld a UEFA-imposed two-year ban from European competition over a match-fixing scandal on Wednesday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted the current squad at his disposal is too small to mount any serious challenge for trophies this season, and believes he needs to bring in more quality players to improve their chances.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid will be without forward pair Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, midfielder Toni Kroos and defender Pepe for Tuesday's UEFA Super Cup encounter with Sevilla in Trondheim, Norway.
Barcelona will meet Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw on Friday while Manchester City face Tottenham Hotspur in an all-Premier League clash.
City did not replace Argentine striker Sergio Aguero last year when the club's all-time top scorer moved to Barcelona on a free transfer.
The UEFA president said that without a second-leg to fall back on, teams have been forced to go for goals.
Up for sale and saddled with debt, a squad in need of an overhaul and a manager that splits the club and its supporters - Liverpool are a long way from their famous glory days.
Alessandro Del Piero, almost certainly playing his last home game for Juventus at the age of 37, celebrated with a goal as the Serie A champions beat Atalanta 3-1 on Sunday to finish their campaign unbeaten.
Spain became the first country to have five teams in the Champions League group stage in one season after Valencia squeezed past Monaco .
Liverpool scored three goals in 12 dramatic first-half minutes, two of them from Emre Can, on their way to a hugely entertaining 4-2 win over Hoffenheim which took them back to the Champions League group stage after a two-season absence on Wednesday.
Manchester United will be without midfielder Anderson for their Premier League run-in because of a hamstring injury, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday.
Lionel Messi scored one goal and created another as Champions League winners Barcelona lifted their fourth European Super Cup trophy Friday with a 2-0 victory over Porto, who finished with nine men.
Newcastle United continued their push for Europa League football next season when two excellent goals from Papiss Cisse and a superb strike from Hatem ben Arfa gave them a 3-1 win at West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League on Sunday.
Porto coach Andre Villas Boas moved a step closer to an expected move to Premier League giants Chelsea after resigning his post with the Portuguese and Europa League champions on Tuesday.
West Ham United have condemned the behaviour of some of their fans after Fiorentina's Cristiano Biraghi was hit by a cup during the Europa Conference League final.
Liverpool have assured Rafa Benitez that his job is secure despite the club joining the Champions League also-rans.
Introducing goalline technology at soccer stadiums would prove a cheaper, as reliable aid to referees than UEFA's method of two additional assistants, according to manufacturers.
Liverpool and Juventus, forced into the indignity of beginning their season in the Europa League qualifying rounds, both won 2-0 away on Thursday as European club football ventured into deepest Siberia.
Marco Ruben's header put Villarreal up to third in La Liga with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, after Valencia fell to a solitary Ivan Rakitic strike in a pulsating encounter with Sevilla.
Michael Laudrup became the latest manager to fall victim to a jinx that has now claimed five of the last six men who led their clubs to victory in the League Cup final when the Dane parted company with Swansea City on Tuesday.