'We will need to have a good day to get past a rival of this magnitude'
Barcelona midfielder Xavi raised the King's Cup aloft alongside Andres Iniesta in his final appearance at the Camp Nou on Saturday and now victory in the Champions League would make it a perfect send-off for the club legend.
The PSG striker came second to tennis legend Borg on a list of Sweden's all-time sporting greats.
A long-range strike from Alessandro Diamanti helped struggling Bologna beat Genoa 1-0 and move out of the relegation zone, relieving some of the pressure on manager Stefano Pioli.
Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique expects Lionel Messi to bounce back from a difficult summer with his usual enthusiasm -- and does not rule out a return to international football.
Italian PM Conte confirmed that football clubs would return to training on Monday along with other sports teams but could not give any details about when Serie A would resume.
Barca, who had a rather disappointing season, managed to restore some pride with victory over last season's second division champions in what was the final match to be played at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice on his LA Galaxy debut, including a winner in stoppage time, as his new team battled back from three goals down to defeat the upstart LAFC 4-3 in a thrilling match on Saturday.
Sevilla missed a chance to get their La Liga campaign up and running when the Europa League holders surrendered the lead and were held to a 1-1 draw at Levante on Friday.
New strikers Carlos Bacca and Luiz Adriano bagged their maiden Serie A goals to give AC Milan their first points of the season with a 2-1 home win over Empoli on Saturday.
Lionel Messi scored twice in the second half to help Barcelona to a 2-0 win over Arsenal in their UEFA Champions League round of 16, first leg match at the Emirates Stadium in London on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich and coach Pep Guardiola will part ways after three seasons at the end of the current campaign and Italian Champions League-winning coach Carlo Ancelotti will replace the Spaniard, club Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said on Sunday.
Manager Claudio Ranieri has challenged Leicester City to put in their best performance of the season when they host FC Copenhagen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Fiorentina players paid tribute on Tuesday to Davide Astori, their captain who died suddenly on Sunday at the age of 31, while the club announced that it would retire the defender's number 13 shirt.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Inter Milan have completed the signing of Brazil centre back Miranda from Atletico Madrid as they look to shore up a defence that struggled during a disappointing 2014-15 season.
Romelu Lukakuare still five points off the Champions League places after Antonio Candreva's equaliser rescued a solitary point in a 2-2 draw at Torino in a thrilling Serie A clash on Saturday.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League last 16 first leg matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
AS Roma suffered another European humiliation on Tuesday when they had two players sent off, lost 3-0 at home to Porto and missed out on the Champions League group stage.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has leapt to the defence of Paul Pogba after the under-fire midfielder came in for further criticism following a below-par performance in Monday's FA Cup quarter-final defeat at Chelsea.
Barcelona are convinced Brazil captain Neymar will commit his long-term future to the Nou Camp as protracted negotiations between the Spanish champions and the striker continue over an extension to his current deal, which expires in June 2018.
Atletico Madrid have moved to strengthen their forward line for next season following the exit of Mario Mandzukic by agreeing to buy Colombia striker Jackson Martinez from Porto.
Their work in the transfer market has also added to the positivity around the club after German manager Juergen Klopp made some major moves that have clearly strengthened his squad.
Gonzalo Higuain burst into life by scoring a hat-trick in the final half hour, his first league goals of the season, to help Rafael Benitez's erratic Napoli thrash Verona 6-2 in Serie A on Sunday.
Images from Wednesday's action in the Champions League.
Italy's renowned World Cup winner Alessandro Del Piero has called the Indian Super League football tournament an 'adventure' and said he was 'enthusiastic' about embarking on this new journey.
Argentine striker Carlos Tevez will join Shanghai Shenhua from boyhood club Boca Juniors, the Chinese Super League side said on Thursday.
A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Saturday.
Spain's biggest selling sports daily Marca summed it up in Monday's headline after Barcelona wrapped up a fifth La Liga title in seven years and their 23rd overall on Sunday: 'Messi's League'.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real, Barca topple United off perch to become top earning clubs
