Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 on Saturday to launch their season with a bang on coach Thomas Tuchel's Bundesliga debut with the club.
The victory moved second-placed Bayern, who take on Celtic in the Champions League next week, up to 17 points, two behind Dortmund who suffered their first home loss in 41 league matches.
Chelsea begin their Premier League title defence against Swansea City on Saturday in the unusual position of heading into a new season having been significantly outspent by their rivals.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
An 85th-minute equaliser by Naldo gave VfL Wolfsburg a 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund, maintaining their hold on second place and leaving the hosts in the Bundesliga relegation zone.
Bayern Munich eased past Nuremberg 2-0 on Saturday with Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben on target to maintain a perfect start to the season and join a cluster of teams with nine points at the top of the table.
Red Star, who won the European Cup in 1991 and reached the latter stages the following season, finished second in Group H behind Arsenal who crushed BATE Borisov 6-0.
Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored a hat-trick as the undefeated champions crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to open up a seven-point lead at the top.
Bayer Leverkusen beat a second-string Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday to move up to third in the Bundesliga and get back on course for an automatic Champions League spot with three matches left in the season.
Borussia Dortmund's miserable domestic season continued when they lost 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Hanover 96 on Saturday, their fourth Bundesliga defeat in a row.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez secured victory over nine-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga's top of the table clash, while Juventus won a 12th straight Serie A game to stay hot on the heels of leaders Napoli.
Manchester United's troubled season hit a new low on Saturday as Jose Mourinho saw his gamble on introducing a new tactical system backfire with an insipid 3-1 defeat to West Ham United in the Premier League.
Thomas Mueller scored twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Hanover 3-1 on Saturday and stretch their advantage at the top to 11 points after VfL Wolfsburg slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.
Jose Mourinho's side had paid lavish sums to bolster key areas by this time last year but, having claimed the title at a canter, the motto of this transfer window seems to be: if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
Leaders Bayern Munich eased past VfB Stuttgart 2-0 on Saturday to grab their first win of the year, as did Borussia Dortmund who beat Freiburg 3-0 to climb off the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Argentina and Brazil both lost their opening World Cup qualifiers on Thursday as the South American campaign for Russia 2018 started in unexpected fashion.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Holders Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup third round with a comfortable 3-1 win at Hamburg SV on Wednesday to continue their unbeaten domestic run as they prepare for Saturday's league clash against Borussia Dortmund.
Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ball through Thibaut Courtois' legs from a tight angle.
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An in-form Bayern Munich will be looking to notch up their fourth straight win in the Champions League group stage and seal a spot in the final 16 when the Bundesliga champions face Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday.
Barcelona snatched a late 2-1 win at Getafe with Paulinho's strike sending them seven points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Atletico Madrid demonstrated their remarkable team spirit to come roaring back from two goals and a man down to draw 2-2 at Liga debutants Girona on Saturday, after Antoine Griezmann had been sent off for the first time in his career.
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Striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund reclaimed top spot in the Bundesliga with an awe-inspiring 6-1 demolition of VfB Stuttgart on Friday.
Bayern Munich had to put their Bundesliga title celebrations on hold on Saturday after beating gutsy Mainz 05 2-0 while Borussia Dortmund also won, 3-0 at Hanover 96.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
There was the usual frenzy of last-minute deals as the English Premier League brought the curtain down on another bumper European transfer window in which Manchester City again flexed their financial muscle as the continent's top spenders.
RB Leipzig continued their remarkable first season in the Bundesliga when they brushed aside Mainz 05 3-1, their fifth win in a row, to go level on points with leaders Bayern Munich on Sunday.
An insatiable Lionel Messi scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a gutsy Girona side 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the standings.
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Barcelona lost for the second straight La Liga game in a 1-0 home reverse against Celta Vigo but there was no such trouble for Manchester City, who beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 thanks to Sergio Aguero.
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first five-goal haul in Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada while title-chasing Bayern Munich and Chelsea won again in Germany and England.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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