A thunderous free-kick by Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a 2-1 first-leg home win over Braga in their all-Portuguese Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Prolific Colombian striker Radamel Falcao scored four goals in Porto's 5-1 demolition of Villarreal in their Europa League semi-final first leg on Thursday. The Portuguese champions trailed at the break but an inspired second-half display put Porto on the brink of a place in next month's final in Dublin.
Coach Pep Guardiola was left thrilled after ManchesterCity revived their Champions League bid by beating his old club Barcelona 3-1 in a gloriously open Group C encounter at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.
Athletic Bilbao boosted their chances of securing a place in next season's Europa League when they fought back from a goal and a man down to snatch a 2-1 victory at struggling Osasuna on Sunday.
Manchester United's Jose Mourinho, humbled for the second time this season in front of the Chelsea fans who once idolised him, did not go quietly on Monday as he declared that he remains the London club's number one manager.
Petr Cech is making the switch from football to ice hockey after the former Chelsea and Arsenal goalkeeper signed for British fourth-tier outfit Guildford Phoenix.
Substitute Fredy Guarin gave former European champions Porto a late 2-1 Europa League win at Sevilla on Thursday while their old rivals Benfica beat VfB Stuttgart by the same score.
Fulham, languishing in the lowest division only 13 years ago, marched into the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday to keep their Cinderella story on course for a fairy-tale ending. With Liverpool joining the unheralded Londoners in the last four, along with Hamburg SV and Atletico Madrid, Fulham's lack of European pedigree was clear, but they produced an impressive performance to beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 and 3-1 on aggregate.
Goal-line technology would be used in the Champions League from the final qualifying round but not in the first three preliminary rounds. It could also be introduced in the Europa League from 2017-18.
Gladbach dominated the first half and missed a string of chances, with Freiburg goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow denying Plea and Lars Stindl in quick succession as the home side defended desperately.
Mario Balotelli enjoyed a dream start to his Manchester City career when he came off the bench to score the winning goal in his club's 1-0 Europa League playoff, first leg victory over Timisoara on Thursday.
Last-minute starter Adrian Ramos scored a first-half header to give Borussia Dortmund a 1-0 victory over Sporting on Wednesday and earn a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions League with two Group F matches to spare.
Paris St Germain went out of the Europa League despite a 4-2 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, losing their place to fellow big spenders Salzburg who fought back to win 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Karim Benzema's hat-trick earned Real Madrid a 3-1 win at reigning European champions Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. In another quarter-final match, Villarreal stunned six times European Cup winners Bayern Munich 1-0.
Italian football chief Gabriele Gravina said May 17 was being considered as a possible date for a restart but stressed that this was "an hypothesis".
Paul Pogba faces a race against time to prove his fitness for Monday's Premier League clash against Arsenal
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Manchester United said on Tuesday it was commencing a process to explore strategic alternatives, including a new investment or a potential sale, 17 years after the American Glazer family bought the English Premier League soccer club.
Lazio beat Sampdoria 6-5 on penalties to lift the Italian Cup after Wednesday's final at the Stadio Olimpico finished 1-1 following extra-time.
UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk were knocked out of the Europa League after being held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Fulham in their round of 32 tie Thursday. Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus progressed to the last 16 and Werder Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro scored a hat-trick as his side went through with a 4-1 win over former England manager Steve McLaren's Twente Enschede.
Chelsea have agreed a fee with Paris Saint-Germain for the return of Brazil international defender David Luiz, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday. "The move is now subject to him agreeing personal terms and passing a medical," said a statement on the club website (www.chelseafc.com). PSG paid a reported 50 million pounds ($65.59 million), a world record fee for a defender, when Luiz moved to west London in June 2014.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Juergen Klopp, who took over from Brendan Rodgers in 2015, led the club to three finals in three years -- Europa League and League Cup in 2016 and Champions League in 2018 -- but ended up on the losing side each time.
Manchester United's woes deepened as stunning goals by Moussa Sow and Jeremain Lens gave Fenerbahce a 2-1 Europa League win on Thursday that left Jose Mourinho's side facing a battle to reach the knockout stages.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Serie A and the English Premier League on Saturday.
The 46-year-old has been hired to fill the sizeable void left by the departure of Frenchman Arsene Wenger who had been at the Arsenal helm since 1996.
Chelsea have completed the signing of Basel's Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah, the Premier League club said on their website on Sunday.
"Chelsea Football Club and Antonio Conte have parted company," the London outfit said on their website.
'It was a great atmosphere, I am so pleased for all of the people who have had harder times with us this season'
Champions Manchester City will expect to get back to winning ways at home to Newcastle United in a match which pits Pep Guardiola against his fellow Spaniard Rafa Benitez.
Manchester United provided some blessed relief to under-fire manager Louis van Gaal by powering into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 romp at League One (third-tier) Shrewsbury Town.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
A first-half strike from Pedri gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Villareal to extend their lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga to 11 points
The $385 million acquisition of TEN Sports is set to make Sony Pictures Networks a major cricket broadcaster in Asia as it seeks to expand its Twenty20-dominated portfolio. Sony Corp-owned SPN holds broadcast rights for the annual cash-rich Indian Premier League Twenty20 cricket tournament while also having the rights for the domestic leagues in South Africa and the West Indies.
Atletico Madrid made a typically aggressive start to lay the foundations for a 2-0 victory at home.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola denied reports that his contract contains a 'break clause' that could allow him to leave at the end of the season. The Spaniard signed an extension last year until 2021 but with City's hopes of a third successive Premier League title now looking remote, questions have been raised about his future.
All the latest news from the summer transfer window...
Tottenham Hotspur's France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has signed a new contract that will take him through to 2022, the Premier League club said on Thursday. The 29-year-old, who captains club and country, has made 189 appearances for Spurs since joining from Olympique Lyonnais in 2012 for a fee of about 12 million pounds ($14.81 million). "I'm very pleased with this new contract," Lloris told the club website
