Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has played down this weekend's 'clasico' match at Real Madrid by saying a European Union summit meeting on Friday and moves to save the Euro were much more significant.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi set a Champions League scoring record when he took his tally to 14 in the competition so far this season as the holders knocked out AC Milan to reach the semi-finals on Tuesday.
Barcelona and Lionel Messi can write new chapters in the record books on Tuesday if they are able to break out of the straightjacket imposed on them by AC Milan and reach the Champions League semi-finals.
Manchester City's Abu Dhabi-controlled owner has agreed to sell a $500 million stake to US private equity firm Silver Lake, making it the world's most valuable soccer group with a $4.8 billion price tag.
Klitschko and his brother Vitali, also a former world heavyweight champion and now the mayor of Kyiv, have both taken up arms against invading Russian forces.
Bayer Leverkusen face what looks to be the near-impossible task of putting three goals past Barcelona at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and to do so they will need to dethrone the undisputed passing kings of Europe.
Two goals by Alexis Sanchez -- his first in the Champions League -- led Barcelona to a 3-1 first-leg win at Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday to put the holders in the driving seat in their round of 16 tie.
Not even 100 metres world record holder Usain Bolt could have caught AC Milan's Alexandre Pato when he streaked through to score against Barcelona after 24 seconds on Tuesday, Barca coach Pep Guardiola said.
King's Cup holders Real Madrid and 2011 runners-up Barcelona are on course to meet in next month's quarter-finals following Friday's draw for the last 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck a late goal to help Real Madrid beat third tier Ponferradina 2-0 away in a King's Cup last-32, first-leg match, on Tuesday, as the holders looked to recover from their demoralising 'El Clasico' defeat by Barcelona at the weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored as holders Real Madrid beat third tier Ponferradina 2-0 away in a King's Cup last-32, first-leg match on Tuesday, slightly easing the pain of their 'Clasico' defeat by Barcelona.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has shaken off his relatively poor early-season form in perfect time for Tuesday's Champions League Group G clash with fellow European giants AC Milan.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi is 34 goals short of becoming Barcelona's all-time top scorer after netting a hat-trick in the Champions League on Tuesday, and the only real question left is when he will achieve that accolade and not if.
Images from the Champions League second-leg match played on Wednesday.
A spot of Andres Iniesta magic and a late David Villa strike lifted profligate Barcelona to a 2-0 home win over competition newcomers Viktoria Plzen in Champions League Group H on Wednesday.
A hat-trick by Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona to an 8-0 rout of Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday as the champions responded with a devastating performance after a poor week by their high standards.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field...
The world's best player Lionel Messi lit up the opening night of the Champions League for Barcelona although holders Inter Milan and Manchester United endured less than sparkling starts on Tuesday.
Reaching the King's Cup final is of even greater importance than usual for Real Madrid following a demoralising setback in La Liga.
Holders Inter Milan earned their coach a reprieve to lead a group of seven teams through to the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday, a night lit up by Lionel Messi's customary finesse and Wayne Rooney's goalscoring return.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi scored twice as Ronaldo's Real Madrid came from behind to beat promoted Hercules 3-1 and Messi's Barcelona humbled 10-man Sevilla 5-0 in La Liga on Saturday.
Real Madrid and Barcelona are heading for a King's Cup showdown after the great rivals won their semi-final first legs on Wednesday. Real won a controversial game 1-0 at holders Sevilla thanks to a goal from Karim Benzema while Lionel Messi struck twice as 2009 winners Barca thumped Almeria 5-0 at the Nou Camp.
Lionel Messi celebrated a second successive World Player of the Year award with a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed second division Real Betis 5-0 in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
Eric Abidal crowned a superb defensive display with a rare goal to help Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and put the La Liga leaders through to the quarter-finals of the King's Cup on away goals.
Barcelona midfielder Xavi will announce on Thursday he is leaving the club he joined as an 11-year-old to sign a lucrative three-year deal with Qatari side Al Sadd, his agent told Reuters on Wednesday.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday. Like Inter, 2009 winners Barcelona only needed a win to go through with two games to spare but drew 1-1 at FC Copenhagen in Group D while Olympique Lyon's three-match winning streak came to a halt in an enthralling 4-3 defeat at Benfica in Group B.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo ended his early-season drought in emphatic style when he hit five goals in a 6-0 romp at Espanyol on Saturday to become the club's record scorer in La Liga.
The UEFA Champions League kicks off this week with powerhouses such as favourites Barcelona and holders Inter Milan yet to hit their stride, leaving the door open for nasty surprises in games they would ordinarily win.
Arsenal clawed back from a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 with Barcelona on Wednesday in a rip-roaring Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has a full squad available, including forward Karim Benzema, for Saturday's La Liga Clasico at home to Barcelona.
Bayern Munich booked their fifth successive Champions League semi-final spot with a 2-2 draw at Benfica on Wednesday to seal a 3-2 aggregate victory that kept the Germans on course for a treble of titles.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
The richest and most-hyped league in the world, the English Premier League, doesn't have a single representative in a select band of six coaches who have won the Champions League, both as player and manager.
Barcelona are travelling by bus to Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Inter Milan, showing not even grounded flights and a huge volcanic ash cloud can halt the brilliance of Lionel Messi and Co.
Tuesday's match was the latest masterclass from the South American trio, known in Spain as 'MSN', whose goals have put Barca on the brink of repeating 2009's treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup triumphs, the only time a La Liga club have achieved the feat.
Barcelona suffered their first Champions League defeat in 10 matches on Tuesday when goals from Aleksandr Ryazantsev and Gokdeniz Karadeniz gave Rubin Kazan a shock 2-1 win in their Group F clash.
Second-half headers from Diego Godin and Raul Garcia gave holders Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Valencia and a place in the King's Cup quarter-finals by 3-1 on aggregate.
Images from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg matches played on Wednesday
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