PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
European champions Real Madrid turned on the party tricks as they sailed into the Club World Cup final by crushing Cruz Azul 4-0 in Marrakech.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
Rediff.com looks at the five best goals from the concluding round in the league stage.
Now, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo venturing into smaller leagues as they near the end of their brilliant careers, 2024 may finally be the year for the next in line in football royalty.
Holders Real Madrid breezed into the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare when a Karim Benzema strike secured a 1-0 win in their Group B match at home to a toothless Liverpool on Tuesday.
Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead in the 20th minute with an irresistible piece of control and finish after a pinpoint pass from Luka Modric.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Real Madrid produced a stunning comeback from two goals down to earn a devastating 5-2 victory at Liverpool
The injury list in the La Liga keeps growing as the season progresses and this time Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale are the unfortunate victims...
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
'I have much more freedom here (than at PSG). The coach knows that there is a number nine like Olivier who occupies the defences. I can wander around, go into space, ask for balls.'
Vinicius started a foundation that is building schools in impoverished areas and is investing in research to develop new ways to improve the education system in Brazil.
The late equaliser saw Valencia left on eighth spot with 27 points in the standings. Here are Images from the exciting draw played at Mestalla in Valencia, on Sunday.
Nacho left his team mates stunned as he tried to clear a cross in the 13th minute and headed the ball into the net.
Real Madrid were made to toil by the 10 men of Athletic Bilbao but eventually won 3-1 on Tuesday thanks to two strikes from Karim Benzema to go level on points with La Liga leaders Real Sociedad.
Real Madrid fans and players showed their support for Vinicius Jr who was subjected to racial abuse over the weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo's bullet header helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory .
The Germans were desperate to impress in front of a home crowd to make amends for their shock 2018 World Cup first-round exit, but instead they rarely broke through the French rearguard.
Real Madrid got off to a flying start in La Liga by beating Celta Vigo 3-1 away from home on Saturday with the help of a magnificent long range strike from Toni Kroos.
Al Hilal, managed by Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus, play Al Fayha on Saturday with Neymar expected to wear the number 10 shirt.
Real Madrid's talismanic forward Cristiano Ronaldo is set to face Manchester City in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg after coming through training on Monday.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has returned to training after recovering from a hamstring injury and could be fit to face Manchester City in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday. Ronaldo has not featured since April 20, but could return for the second leg having missed last week's 0-0 draw at the Etihad Stadium. The 31-year-old Portuguese trained with his team mates during the first half of Sunday's session before working out on the pitch alone, Real said on their website. Striker Karim Benzema also continued his recovery from a hamstring injury and Alvaro Arbeloa - who has not played since early April - completed some running exercises.
Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo will travel with the team for the first leg of the Champions League semi-final clash against Manchester City after recovering from a thigh injury.
Kevin De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser with a rasping low strike to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
With his calm guidance, Ancelotti gave Vinicius the confidence he needed to flourish.
"The result of the first leg, in this aspect, puts us a little in doubt. We will try to go all in out there from the first minute, but we have more questions and responsibility than our rival."
He owes his place in the team in Qatar to Karim Benzema's absence and will start again when the defending champions take on England in the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to rekindle some of the magic they once served up under Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday when they face their old coach in the latest edition of Real Madrid's rivalry with Bayern Munich.
Mane damaged his right fibula playing for Bayern Munich and his absence was confirmed on Thursday in a crushing blow to Senegal's hopes
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has hit back at Gareth Bale's agent for suggesting the Wales winger's team mates do not pass to him enough, telling Jonathan Barnett it would have been better to keep quiet.
Real Madrid have courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the 24-year-old, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May last year.
The Italian said he would avoid big changes to his team this time, after he tested midfielder Luka Modric up front in place of then-injured striker Karim Benzema in the last El Clasico in March, only to get hammered 4-0 by the Catalans.
Real Madrid equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions by crushing struggling Granada 5-0 on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of La Liga.
France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up. Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites. A state of emergency is also still in force after last November's Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday's opening game.
Al-Nassr are one of 40 clubs from 20 leagues across the confederation drawn in 10 groups to face one another from Monday, with only the winners guaranteed to advance to the knockout rounds in the quest for the top prize of US$4 million.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema rescued his side again by scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Saturday and revive his side's hopes of catching leaders Atletico Madrid.
A near-record crowd of 105,826 saw Real Madrid score three first-half goals and hang on for a 3-2 win against Chelsea in a friendly at Michigan Stadium on Saturday. The attendance was less than 4,000 shy of the United States record attendance for a soccer match, set two years ago at the same stadium in Ann Arbor when 109,318 watched Real Madrid and Manchester United square off.
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