Jose Mourinho's Chelsea turned from domestic whipping boys back to European stalwarts on Wednesday, beating his former club Porto 2-0 to top Champions League Group G.
Mario Goetze scored twice as world champions Germany outclassed rivals Poland 3-1 to take over the top spot in European Championship qualifying Group D at Allianz Arena on Friday.
Captain Paul Pogba produced an outstanding performance garnished by two goals to help Manchester United to a resounding 3-0 win at Swiss debutants Young Boys Bern in their Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday.
Holders Real Madrid reached the Champions League final for a third year in a row after taking advantage of Bayern Munich's carelessness in attack and defence to draw 2-2 in their semi-final second leg on Tuesday, and winning 4-3 on aggregate, at the Santiago Bernabeu, in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Borussia Dortmund steam-rollered hapless Freiburg 5-0 while Bayern Munich plodded past VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 as the two unbeaten arch-rivals remained level on points at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Barca won their fifth European Cup in 2015 and the signs of decline have been evident over the past five years since -- but no-one envisaged a fall as great as this.
A sloppy Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to Real Betis on Saturday in a further blow to their hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
Schuerrle hits treble for the world champs; Lewandowski helps Poland thrash Georgia
Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League final on away goals on Tuesday after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, in which both sides missed a penalty, with the exhilarating tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Once again Barcelona's Lionel Messi leads the race for UEFA Player of the Year, 2012-13.
Germany's Champions League semi-finalists went on scoring sprees in the Bundesliga on Saturday with Borussia Dortmund blasting five first-half goals in a 6-1 win at Greuther Fuerth and champions Bayern Munich beating Nuremberg 4-0.
League leaders Bayern Munich demolished Hamburg SV 9-2 with four goals from striker Claudio Pizarro and two from Arjen Robben on Saturday to put one hand on the Bundesliga trophy with seven games to play.
As the superlatives rained down on treble-winning Bayern Munich on Sunday, it was difficult to see where the all-conquering Bavarians could find room for new signing Mario Goetze and, if speculation turns out to be true, Robert Lewandowski.
Robert Lewandowski struck twice in the first half as holders Bayern Munich cruised past Schalke 04 3-0 on Wednesday to reach the German Cup semi-finals.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
World Cup hosts Russia got their Nations League campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win away to Turkey thanks to goals from Dennis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba on Friday.
Neither co-hosts Poland or Ukraine survived the group stage, but still produced memorable moments.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich, already crowned Bundesliga champions last week, lifted the league trophy in an empty stadium on Saturday after crushing hosts VfL Wolfsburg 4-0 on the final matchday. Bayern can win more silverware next week with the German Cup final against Bayer Leverkusen. They are also still in the Champions League.
UEFA has fined England, Poland, Scotland and Lithuania for failing to control their fans in recent European Championship qualifying matches, the governing body said in a statement on Friday.
A round-up of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Bayern left fuming over Champions League 'robbery'.
Blue Samurai will not think about playing for a draw to qualify for the World Cup's knockout rounds, according to captain Makoto Hasebe.
Paris St Germain reached the Champions League semi-finals despite a 1-0 home defeat by holders Bayern Munich as they progressed on away goals
Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League while Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi could be out for up to two months with a knee injury and rampant Bayern Munich extended their perfect start to seven league wins.
Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund further challenged Bayern Munich's hold over German football on Saturday by crushing their rivals 5-2 with a treble by Poland's Robert Lewandowski to lift the German Cup.
Greece substitute Dimitris Salpingidis scored a second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw with Euro 2012 co-hosts Poland in a pulsating opening match on Friday in which the Greeks missed a penalty and both sides finished with 10 men.
Bayern Munich secured a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title with a game to spare after a 2-1 victory at Ingolstadt on Saturday helped them put the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit behind them.
World champions Germany survived a late scare to see off Saudi Arabia 2-1 on Friday and claim a first victory this year, putting a five-game winless run behind them as they finalised their World Cup preparations.
Bayern Munich put upstarts RB Leipzig firmly in their place by sweeping to an emphatic 3-0 home win, with all the goals coming in the first half, in a disappointingly one-sided top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on Wednesday.
Poland's lack of a competitive game in more than two years may have played a part in Franciszek Smuda's otherwise vibrant young side being held to a 1-1 draw by a streetwise Greece in Euro 2012's opening game on Friday.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Leaders Bayern Munich's express start to the season finally ran out of steam on Friday with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, following 10 wins out of their 10 previous Bundesliga games.
Bayern Munich were left to rue a number of missed chances in their Champions League last 16 first leg against Juventus on Tuesday after the Germans squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 despite dominating for much of the game.
A round-up of Thursday night's matches from the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
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