Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
If two or more clubs are level on points at the end of the group stage, a number of criteria will be taken into consideration to decide the qualifiers for the next round, starting with the head-to-head record among the teams in question. It then goes to superior goal difference and then goals scored in those matches.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Claudio Bravo was pictured leaving Barcelona Airport on Tuesday and his expected move to Manchester City is likely to trigger the departure of England goalkeeper Joe Hart. The 33-year-old Bravo is set for a medical this week at the Etihad Stadium where he will team up again with Pep Guardiola, his former manager at Barca. The Spanish champions said on Saturday they had reached a "preliminary agreement with City" for the sale of the Chile captain.
Luis Figo and Carlos Puyol find it inexplicable, while Raul thinks it's a testament to the quality of Spanish football but all three La Liga legends are sure that Barcelona's astonishing slump would not last too long.
La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract is still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Atletico Madrid delayed Barcelona's La Liga title celebrations by beating Valencia 3-2 at home in an entertaining game on Wednesday at a sparsely attended Wanda Metropolitano stadium.
Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the second year running and the third overall on Monday after a prolific, trophy-filled year with Real Madrid.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
The Bundesliga season will restart on May 16 after a suspension of more than two months, the German Football League (DFL) said on Thursday, becoming the first European league to resume amid the coronavirus pandemic. The DFL said the season would restart under the terms of a strict health protocol that bans fans from the stadium, with six games on Saturday, including the high-profile Ruhr valley derby between Borussia Dortmund and Schalke 04.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Robin van Persie's hat-trick lifted the gloom surrounding Manchester United and manager David Moyes as the English side beat Olympiakos Piraeus 3-0 to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
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.
Juventus may have become the only club to lose six European Cup finals but they took heart from pushing Barcelona to the limit in Saturday's riveting final and restoring the honour of Italian football, coach Massimiliano Allegri said.
Barcelona rubber-stamped a decade of domestic dominance by clinching the La Liga title on Sunday
Rediff.com brings you these and other exciting news from the week gone by in this photo feature...
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In an exciting weekend for football lovers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their extraordinary double act, both scoring hat-tricks as Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their battle for supremacy at the top of La Liga. Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday but no-one can get the better of Bayern Munich, who marched on in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. We present a summary of events in photos.
Amid talks of former Brazil and Real Madrid defender Roberto Carlos joining the Delhi team as marquee manager, the second season of the Indian Super League is kicking up the same kind of buzz that preceded the inaugural edition of the tournament.
Coach Massimiliano Allegri dismissed suggestions that the newly crowned Serie A champions have nothing to lose
There will be plenty of tension in the air in North London on Wednesday when out-of-sorts Arsenal face Borussia Dortmund seeking to qualify from the Champions League group stage for the 15th successive season.
The autopsy, which was based on blood and urine samples and released by the Buenos Aires Scientific Police, said Maradona had problems with his kidneys, heart and lungs.
Europa League favourites Manchester United secured a 1-1 draw on a threadbare pitch at Rostov, while Olympique Lyonnais beat AS Roma 4-2 helped by a fine individual goal from Nabil Fekir in their last 16, first leg ties on Thursday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Depleted Borussia Dortmund shrugged off the absence of more than half a dozen starting players to ease into the German Cup quarter-finals with a comfortable 2-0 win at third-tier Saarbruecken on Tuesday.
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
