The last-16 knock-out round kicks-off this week with Chelsea visiting Paris on Tuesday; Zidane to coach Real Madrid as manager in his first match in Europe
Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea added another heart-stopping save to his collection as his team held a highly-impressive Sevilla side to a 0-0 draw away from home in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.
A goal by Salomon Rondon gave Venezuela an upset 1-0 win over Uruguay in Philadelphia on Thursday that put them on the verge of the Copa America Centenario quarter-finals with the record 15-times champions facing elimination. When midfielder Alejandro Guerra lobbed Fernando Muslera from more than 30 metres, the Uruguay goalkeeper chased back but only managed to tip the ball onto the bar and striker Rondon raced in to tap it into the net in the 36th minute. Venezuela, who beat Jamaica 1-0 in their opening Group C match, have six points, three more than Mexico, who beat Uruguay 3-1 on Sunday and were playing the Jamaicans later on Thursday in Pasadena. For Venezuela, looking for their maiden title, it was a first win in nine Copa America meetings with Uruguay while Rondon became the first "Vinotinto" (red wine) player to score at three tournaments.
Real Madrid are set be thrown out of the Spanish King's Cup after playing banned Russian winger Denis Cheryshev in their last-32 win over Cadiz on Wednesday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
Lionel Messi fittingly sealed Barcelona's 26th La Liga title on Saturday by coming off the bench to score the goal in a 1-0 win over Levante in front of a jubilant Nou Camp crowd, who celebrated a remarkable eighth league crown in 11 years.
European champions Portugal came up against a superior version of themselves as they were knocked out of the World Cup by Uruguay on Saturday. Although Uruguay forward Edinson Cavani and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo will grab the headlines -- the former for his two brilliantly goals and the latter for what could well be his World Cup farewell -- Uruguay owed their 2-1 win to a superb all-round performance.
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Mexico scored twice in the final five minutes to beat Uruguay 3-1 in a pulsating Copa America Group C match in which each side had a man sent off on Sunday.
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
Chelsea rounded off the UEFA Champions League group stage with a 3-1 victory over Sporting.
As Barca prepare for a trip to Madrid to play Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, they are still reeling from Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League reverse at Paris St Germain, when their defence was badly exposed by the Ligue 1 title holders.
Mexico's national coach Victor Vucetich says he has been notified by the country's soccer federation that he is no longer in the job, according to an interview posted on Thursday night on ESPN.com.
Get the latest from the World of football news and more on Rediff.com.
From Cristiano Ronaldo picking up the third Golden Boot award of his career to Phoenix Suns cheerleaders, Rediff.com has it all snapped right here...
Rewind five years and Liverpool hosted Chelsea with three games remaining, knowing victory would have left them six points clear and a first league title since 1990 almost secure.
A summary of Saturday night's matches in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Southampton suffered an embarrassing 1-0 League Cup quarter-final defeat at third tier Sheffield United on Tuesday while Chelsea powered through with a 3-1 win at Derby County.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
Toni Kroos netted his first for Real Madrid and was hailed as the best player on the pitch by his coach as the hosts tore apart Rayo Vallecano 5-1 in La Liga on Saturday to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored a 50th freekick goal for Barcelona as he led his side to a quick-fire comeback to win 3-2 at Valencia on Sunday and keep the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Rank outsiders Iceland enjoyed a superb big-stage debut as they clinched a shock 1-1 draw against Euro 2016 Group F favourites Portugal on Tuesday.
New of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Saturday.
It all ended in tears as Argentina and Colombia went out in the round of 16, the latter on penalties, while Uruguay and Brazil both lost their quarter-finals on Friday, to France and Belgium respectively.
Football news from Ligue 1, Bundesliga and La liga.
Uruguay have one of the best recent records of all 32 World Cup sides, having won all six of their games this year, conceding precisely zero goals.
Juventus and Inter, who have 42 points each from 17 games, both play on Monday while Lazio, with 39 from 17, have an outstanding fixture at home to Verona to come in early February.
As Chelsea's season suffered a final sorry implosion with an FA Cup defeat at Everton on Saturday, it was fitting that it should end with another display of fury from their angry young man, Diego Costa. While the inquest into the Premier League champions' dismal campaign will continue long after their 2-0 quarter-final reverse at Everton, the immediate topic consuming social media centred on the combustible Spain striker's sending-off, surprisingly his first for Chelsea. Alan Shearer, one of England's greatest strikers, joined the debate by telling BBC viewers the Brazilian-born forward had become "tiresome". Much of the attention focused on whether Costa, who became embroiled in a late face-to-face brouhaha with Everton's Gareth Barry, had gone as far as biting his opponent, Luis Suarez-style. Another question was whether he spat at the feet of referee Michael Oliver after being booked earlier for an altercation with Barry. "It's tiresome from him now. He spends too much time abusing and fighting and scrapping," Shearer said. "You can't do that every game because you turn the ref against you."
Chelsea wrapped up their pre-season tour of the United States on a high note by beating Barcelona in a shootout after their International Champions Cup match ended 2-2 on Tuesday.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Sunday night.
Be it the jam-packed stadiums at the UEFA Champions League, the intense trans-Tasman rivalry in cricket, there are certain events that enthralls fans. Brendon McCullum blasting into history with the fastest Test hundred in his farewell Test; but that wasn't enough as Australia completed a 2-0 clean sweep of the Kiwis. Rohit Sharma, yet again showing why is considered to be a special talent in limited-overs cricket as India thrashed host Bangladesh in the Asia Cup opener. In Champions League football, Lionel Messi's Barcelona proving too hot for old-rivals Arsenal. Be ready to be amazed as Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this super photo feature.
Having won all their three group matches with ease, South American giants Brazil will start clear favourites when they take on the unfancied Honduras in a pre-quarterfinal match of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, in Honduras.
A Lionel Messi masterclass, netting a brilliant free kick before laying on two more goals, put Argentina's World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a resounding 3-0 win over Colombia in San Juan on Tuesday.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
A summary of the Euro 2020 qualification matches played on Friday.
Two Steven Gerrard penalties helped Liverpool to a crushing 3-0 victory at bitter rivals Manchester United on Sunday to leave them breathing down the necks of Premier League leaders Chelsea.
A round-up of Wednesday's night's UEFA Chmpions League matches.
