IMAGES from all the Bundesliga action on Saturday.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Rediff.com makes an assessment of the biggest gambles made by the leading Premier League teams this summer.
A solid defence helped Schalke 04 secure a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday that lifted them above their rivals into third spot in the Bundesliga in the battle for Champions League places.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben scored twice each as the champions crushed Hanover 96 4-0 in the Bundesliga on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of the table as rivals Borussia Dortmund lost to Hamburg SV.
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
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Holders Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to move into the German Cup semi-final and stay on course for a treble of titles on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league's top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions' 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between holders Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev:
AC Milan, Villarreal and Nice reached the knockout stage of the Europa League after posting wins on Thursday in the penultimate round of the group stage.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has expressed his delight with Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino after the forwards made their first-team debuts in the club's final warm-up match before the new Premier League season.
Wenger dropped Rob Holding for the visit to Stoke, preferring Shkodran Mustafi alongside Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac at the back.
Chelsea moved within touching distance of a first Premier League title in five years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United while Lionel Messi reached a landmark with his 400th career goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Germany coach Joachim Loew has named four talented youngsters, including three uncapped players, in his preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016.
RB Leipzig marked their first appearance in the Champions League knockout round with a deserved 1-0 victory at last season's runners-up Tottenham Hotspur
Holders Bayern Munich struck either side of the break to beat second division Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 on Wednesday and advance to the German Cup quarter-finals.
Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund struggled to a 1-1 draw at Nuremberg on Saturday that ended their perfect start to the season of five straight league wins.
France striker Kylian Mbappe went off nursing a shoulder injury as they beat Uruguay 1-0 with an Olivier Giroud penalty in a rematch of their World Cup quarter-final on Tuesday.
Reports in British media put the latest bid at 125 million euros.
Borussia Dortmund edged past Freiburg 1-0 on Sunday courtesy of captain Sebastian Kehl's first goal in almost two years to go four points clear in second place in the Bundesliga.
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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.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Schalke 04 on Saturday that edged them closer to a record fourth consecutive league title.
Bayern Munich showed no signs of letting up as they routed Eintracht Frankfurt 5-0 on Sunday for their 10th straight home win of the season in the Bundesliga.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
Borussia Dortmund's Ciro Immobile struck twice in the second half to secure a 2-0 victory.
Arsenal led a list of nine clubs who grabbed a second win in as many games in the Europa League group phase as France striker Olivier Giroud scored his 100th goal for the club in a 4-2 win at BATE Borisov on Thursday.
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
Manchester City progressed to the knockout stages of the Champions League from Group F on Tuesday after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Olympique Lyonnais, a team Pep Guardiola hailed as one of the toughest he has ever faced.
Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich edged past Werder Bremen 2-1 on Saturday for a Bundesliga record 13th consecutive win over them to stay three points clear at the top of the table.
The Bundesliga enjoyed a bumper afternoon of stunning goals and penalty drama on Saturday with Hakan Calhanoglu's viciously swerving 40-metre free kick for Hamburg SV the pick of the bunch.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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