Champions Bayern Munich eased past hosts Fortuna Duesseldorf 4-1 on Sunday with winger Kingsley Coman scoring twice, to go a point clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
A summary of Sunday's action in the FIFA World Cup qualifiers across Europe.
Manchester City crushed Leeds United 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday to make it seven Premier League wins a row and move four points clear at the top of the table.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
A stunning strike by Romelu Lukaku gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday although they had to cling on for three points in the face of heavy pressure from the promoted side.
Bayern Munich eased past title rivals Borussia Dortmund 3-1 on Saturday to secure their 10th consecutive Bundesliga crown in front of a sold-out home crowd and with three games to spare, while Paris St Germain secured a record-equalling 10th French top flight title after stuttering to a 1-1 home draw by 10-man RC Lens.
Arsenal named a strong side captained by Mesut Ozil while Real had Bale on the bench and Eden Hazard, wearing the number 50 shirt, starting alongside fellow new signing Luka Jovic in attack.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Monaco's firepower was far too hot to handle for Olympique de Marseille as the Principality side moved top of the French Ligue 1 standings with a 4-0 home win on Saturday.
World champions Germany will not be present at the Euro 2016 final in Paris after being knocked out by hosts France 0-2 at Marseille. French football fans painted the town red, white and blue after Antoine Griezmann scored twice to take his country within a striking distance from European glory. The Les Blues will now face Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in the final at Paris.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona's pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid.
A round-up of Saturday's matches in Ligue 1, Serie A and Bundesliga.
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
Robert Lewandowski struck twice as champions Bayern Munich eased past Freiburg 3-1 on Saturday to secure a record 15th win in a row and the Pole became the first foreign player to score 33 goals in a Bundesliga season. Erling Haaland scored twice as Borussia Dortmund beat closest challengers RB Leipzig 2-0 away on Saturday to wrap up second place in the Bundesliga.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is willing to put his Champions League ambitions on the back-burner to help the Merseyside club claim their first English league crown in 29 years, the Egyptian forward has said.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Levante striker Roger Marti brushed off squandering a penalty to score the winning goal as his side pulled off a shock 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid
IMAGES from the Bundesliga matches played across Germany on Tuesday.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid fell to their heaviest league defeat of the season
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Former world number one Novak Djokovic suffered a surprise second-round exit at the Barcelona Open when the Serb was beaten 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 by world number 140 Martin Klizan on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's La Liga title bid took a dent after Zinedine Zidane's leaders were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday, denied all three points by a late strike from Santi Mina. Lazio mounted a superb second-half comeback at the Olympic Stadium to beat Inter Milan 2-1 and move above Antonio Conte's side into second place in Serie A on Sunday.
Gareth Southgate's plea for England to play with adventure and style was answered only fitfully as his reign as caretaker manager began with a 2-0 win over Malta in a World Cup Group F qualifier on Saturday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An inexperienced Germany suffered an embarrassing 3-1 defeat to Slovakia in a storm-affected friendly ahead of Euro 2016.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Liverpool thrashed Atalanta 5-0, Real Madrid boosted their chances of reaching the Champions League knockout stages with a 3-2 home victory over Inter Milan and Bayern Munich came from behind to crush RB Salzburg 6-2.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
