The Belgian forward came off the bench to make his Real debut in Saturday's 3-2 win over Levante, having had his start to life at the club hit by a thigh injury the day before the La Liga season began.
Messi doesn't need to win a World Cup to prove his greatness, feels iconic former Argentine striker Hernan Crespo.
Lazio won 2-0 at Legia Warsaw on Thursday to qualify for the Europa League knockout stages after a tie marred by violence when Italian fans fought with Polish police on the way to the stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo's goal, which took his league tally for the season to 21, meant that he joined Fabio Quagliarella and Gabriel Batistuta as the only players to have scored in 11 consecutive league appearances. He also reached yet another milestone with his 1,000th match for club and country in a remarkable career which has seen him play for Sporting, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Portugal.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Images from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League hopes were crushed by mid-table Belgian side Gent, who booked their spot in the last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Thursday as the hosts paid the penalty for Dele Alli's first-half red card.
Fiorentina promoted team manager Vincenzo Guerini to the role of head coach on Thursday after sacking Delio Rossi for punching his own player during a match.
Claudio Ranieri has received an honour from the Italian president after the soccer manager led rank outsiders Leicester City to the top of the English Premier League.
Napoli maintained their two-point advantage at the top of Series with a 2-0 victory at Lazio on Wednesday in a game suspended due to racist chanting as Juventus beat Genoa 1-0 to break a club record for consecutive league wins in a single season.
Ronaldo's replacement Dybala scored in the 77th minute with a goal the Portuguese would have been proud of. After a quick exchange of passes, the Argentine twisted past Alessio Romagnoli and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a right foot shot.
Lazio, having endured a miserable start to the season, had high hopes of victory at Genoa, who were languishing in the relegation zone at the start of the day.
Chelsea banking on other big strikers with Costa still doubtful
Dimitar Berbatov finally completed a switch from Manchester United to Fulham on Friday following a merry-go-round week in which he backed out of moves to Serie A clubs Fiorentina and Juventus.
Immobile strikes in Lazio's win, in contention for golden boot. IMAGES from the Serie A matches played on Wednesday.
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani is to quit after 27 years at the Serie A club, he told the ANSA news agency on Friday.
AC Milan have strengthened their midfield with the signing of Italy's Riccardo Montolivo and Mali's Bakaye Traore who were both free agents, the Serie A runners-up said on Thursday.
Juventus beat Cagliari 3-1 away on Thursday to end a three-match winless streak and move four points clear at the top of Serie A.
Sergio Romero saved a penalty and Eder scored with a run from the halfway line as Sampdoria beat Fiorentina 3-1 to go third in Serie A on Sunday.
Juventus bounded to the top of Serie A by securing a battling 2-0 victory at Palermo after former striker Amauri condemned AC Milan to a 2-1 defeat at home to Fiorentina on Saturday.
AC Milan risked surrendering top spot in Serie A on Saturday after a late goal by substitute Amauri condemned the champions to a 2-1 home defeat by lowly Fiorentina.
Former Real youth player Joselu pulled a goal back for Alaves in the 59th minute, powering in a header from a free kick, but Benzema rounded off the victory for second-placed Real with an exquisite solo run and goal in the 70th minute.
An Italian court has sentenced former Juventus general manager Luciano Moggi to five years and four months in jail for his role in the 2006 match-fixing case which led to Juve being demoted and having their 2005 and 2006 Serie A titles taken away.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
New Chelsea signings David Luiz and Marcos Alonso are not ready for a first-team place in Sunday's Premier League clash with SwanseaCity, manager Antonio Conte said on Friday.
Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
Antonio Di Natale, last season's Serie A top scorer, grabbed his seventh goal of the campaign to give Udinese a 1-0 win over Palermo and keep them one point behind leaders Juventus on Sunday.
Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal was dropped by coach Antonio Conte on Sunday and is also likely to be fined after returning late from a World Cup qualifier with Chile.
Juventus look set to wrap up their fourth successive Serie A title in the next seven days although the crowd violence which marred Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Torino could take the shine of their celebrations.
AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been banned for three games for swearing at a linesman, Serie A said on Monday, as it handed down a second hefty suspension on the Swede in two appearances.
Napoli rediscovered their scoring touch as they brushed aside Inter Milan 3-0 on Friday, sending their opponents' new coach Stefano Pioli back to the drawing-board.
Juventus rehire Allegri.
Samuel Eto'o scored twice as Inter Milan swatted aside Bologna 4-1 on Saturday to record their fourth successive win under new coach Leonardo and continue their ominous climb up the Serie A table.
Napoli striker Lorenzo Insigne was held up at gunpoint and robbed as he was driving through crime-plagued Naples over the weekend, his agent said on Monday. Insigne was driving with his wife and two friends late on Saturday when he stopped at a traffic light. A gunman on the back of a motorbike pulled level with the car and forced the four occupants to hand over their valuables. As he drove away, the thief asked Insigne, who comes from Naples, to dedicate a goal to him at Monday night's Serie A clash with Fiorentina, local media reported. Italian media said the masked robber got away with a Rolex watch, jewels and 800 euros ($872.48) in cash.
AS Roma boosted their Serie A title challenge with a 1-0 win at Udinese on Tuesday amid controversy over whether Davide Astori's header had crossed the line for the game's only goal.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The rapid outbreak of coronavirus pandemic across Italy has been linked to the UEFA Champions League match between Italian club Atalanta and Spain's Valencia at the San Siro stadium in Milan on Feburary 19. The first cases of the virus were reported in northern Italy in the week that Atalanta enjoyed one of the finest nights in their history, beating visitors Valencia 4-1 in the Champions League last-16, first-leg match.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Juventus' wretched start to the season continued when they needed a late penalty to avoid defeat as the Serie A champions were held to a 1-1 home draw by early leaders Chievo Verona on Saturday.
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