Argentina, helped by a majestic Juan Roman Riquelme performance, maintained their perfect record in the World Cup qualifiers on Saturday while Ecuador coach Luis Fernando Suarez quit after a 5-1 loss to Paraguay. Riquelme scored two second half goals, including an exquisite free kick, in a 3-0 win over Bolivia which left Argentina with nine points from three games in the South American group.
Chelsea heaped more Christmas misery on Liverpool with a 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge and Olivier Giroud ended a seven-game scoring drought to help Arsenal win 1-0 at Newcastle United and return to the top of the Premier League on Sunday.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Reuters sports writers chose their team of the tournament.
A Neymar double and a clinical finish from Luis Suarez handed Barcelona a comfortable 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov that put them on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season.
'Les Bleus' will be inspired by the two-decade anniversary of their only World Cup win in 1998, while double winners Uruguay's modern generation are desperate to recreate the black-and-white-era glories of their 1930 and 1950 trophies.
La Liga leaders Barcelona handed Real Madrid more hope in the title race as they drew 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, only avoiding defeat thanks to some outstanding saves by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele scored twice and produced a mesmerising display to fire his side to a 5-1 win over Villarreal on Wednesday which stretched the champions' unbeaten run this season to 36 games with two remaining.
Barcelona left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
Ecuador's squad at the World Cup finals will comprise the following 23 players:
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
City are two points behind leaders Liverpool, but have a game in hand
Borussia Dortmund have signed Manchester United winger Adnan Januzaj on loan for a season, the German club said on Monday.
Two goals from Thomas Mueller and one from substitute Mario Goetze helped Bayern Munich kick off their Champions League campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory over Olympiakos.
Chelsea moved within touching distance of a first Premier League title in five years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United while Lionel Messi reached a landmark with his 400th career goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Messi opened the scoring after two minutes and eight seconds, the quickest goal of his career, slipping the ball through Thibaut Courtois' legs from a tight angle.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
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.
Luka Modric pulled one back for Zinedine Zidane's shellshocked side with a brilliant strike from distance early in the second half before substitute Vinicius Jr reduced the deficit to one goal.
Manchester United suffered a double blow on Thursday with Daley Blind ruled out for a 'long' spell due to a knee problem and Radamel Falcao receiving a "new injury" that will keep him out for at least two more weeks.
Images from football matches played across Europe.
Goal-line technology was used for the first time in a World Cup match to decide if the ball had crossed the line during France's Group E clash with Honduras on Sunday.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Quaison fires Sweden to extra-time World Cup playoff win over Czechs
Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
