Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain scored in a 2-0 victory away to Racing Santander on Sunday to ensure Real Madrid hold top spot in La Liga before next weekend's visit of title rivals Barcelona.
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic made his debut for Barcelona in the second half of their 1-0 defeat by Manchester City in the Joan Gamper Trophy on Wednesday.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
A magistrate lifted on Thursday a ban on France striker Karim Benzema meeting teammate Mathieu Valbuena, whom he is suspected of trying to blackmail over a sex video, which has meant the two cannot feature on the same team. The public prosecutor appealed, but dropped an earlier statement that the ban would have to stay in place until the appeal was heard. The magistrate separately upheld a ban on Benzema contacting other people linked to the investigation. Real Madrid player Benzema, who denies any wrongdoing, has been suspended indefinitely from the France team because of suspicion of involvement in a scam to blackmail Valbuena over a video sex tape. Being allowed to meet Olympique Lyonnais midfielder Valbuena could, at least in theory, enable the two to play for the same team. French Prime Minister Manuel Valls has said that Benzema should not play for France before being cleared.
Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix will be the 1,000th race of the Formula One world championship since the first at Silverstone in 1950.
Arjen Robben's superb strike sent Bayern Munich through to the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals on Tuesday despite a 3-2 defeat by Fiorentina in a thrilling last 16 second leg.
An injury time goal from Lukas Podolski rescued a 2-2 friendly draw for Germany against Ivory Coast on Wednesday, the home team's first game since last week's suicide of keeper Robert Enke.
While the signing of a hard-working player who won two Premier League titles at City in five years since joining from Aston Villa is a coup for Liverpool, it also signifies the start of a squad makeover at City.
Manchester United has reportedly identified French defender Eliaquim Mangala as the ideal replacement for Rio Ferdinand, who will be leaving Old Trafford at the end of the season.
Striker Glenn Murray scored a brace and Jose Izquierdo curled in a shot from outside the box to lift promoted Brighton to 10th in the standings, leaving West Ham in 17th just above the relegation zone.
Bayer Leverkusen needed a second-half goal from defender Manuel Friedrich to earn a 1-1 draw with visitors Borussia Dortmund on Friday and move a point clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Manchester City midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is facing a potentially lengthy spell on the sidelines after he was carried off on a stretcher with a suspected knee ligament injury in Wednesday's League Cup semi-final win over Everton.
Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to settle Real Madrid's jitters with a superb lob that completed a 4-2 home victory over Real Valladolid in La Liga on Saturday.
RB Leipzig scored twice in the opening 13 minutes but had to survive a late comeback from Manchester United to cling on to a 3-2 win on Tuesday that sent them into the Champions League knockout stage and eliminated the English side.
Former champions ATK suffered a 0-2 defeat to two-time runners-up Kerala Blasters in the opening match of the fifth Indian Super League (ISL) at the Saltlake Stadium, in Kolkata, on Saturday.
List of US Open men's singles champions since the Open Era began in 1968:
A round-up of Saturday's qualifying matches for the Euro 2020 Finals.
Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini has been charged with misconduct for his comments about the referee after his side's 2-0 Champions League home defeat by Barcelona, UEFA said on Friday.
Real Madrid squandered a chance to climb above Barcelona to the top of La Liga when they were held to a 0-0 draw at mid-table Osasuna on Sunday. A win would have put Real first in the standings on goal difference after Barca dropped their first home points of the season in a 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Saturday.
Wayne Rooney marked his 500th game in English league football with a coolly-taken Panenka-style penalty for Derby County in their 1-1 draw against Fulham in the Championship on Friday. The 34-year-old ex-England and Manchester United captain, who made his debut for the Midlands club earlier this month after returning from a playing stint in the United States, cleverly chipped in a 55th minute penalty for the lead.
Arsenal striker Robin van Persie will miss the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester United with a groin strain.
Roger Federer said his 'lethargic' countrymen got what they deserved at the World Cup after they were beaten 1-0 by Sweden in the Round of 16.
Indian hockey coach Jose Manuel Brasa has expressed confidence about the team winning the Champions Challenge Tournament in Argentina next month.
Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of moving into the top four stalled in a 2-2 draw at bottom club Norwich City, while several VAR interventions overshadowed the action. Images from EPL matches played on Saturday.
Third-tier Alcorcon lost 1-0 to Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday but dumped the nine-times European champions out of the King's Cup 4-1 on aggregate. Alcorcon operate on a budget of just over one million euros ($1.50 million), some 400 times smaller than Real's.
Germany's exit has no bearing on England preparations for the World Cup latter stages and they will be going all out to win their final Group G match against Belgium, coach Gareth Southgate said on Wednesday.
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for 10-man Real Madrid in a 2-0 home win over Getafe on Saturday that eased the pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. Real have 22 points from nine games and are one point behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna, Gerard Pique scoring in his own net in the last minute.
Manuel Pellegrini's future as Real Madrid coach was called into question on Wednesday after the big-spending side's 4-0 thrashing at third-tier Alcorcon in the first leg of their King's Cup tie.
Schumacher believes that Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio remains the greatest F1 driver. Do you agree?
Real Madrid suffered an astonishing 4-0 defeat at third-tier side Alcorcon in the King's Cup on Tuesday, humiliated in the first leg by a club with a budget more than 400 times smaller than the La Liga giants.
Depleted Real Madrid ended a disappointing week with a 0-0 draw at Sporting Gijon on Saturday, handing champions Barcelona the chance to open a three-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Schalke 04 won 2-1 at struggling VfB Stuttgart to stay on the heels of the Bundesliga leaders on Saturday while Bayern Munich notched their first victory in three games with a 2-1 triumph at Freiburg.
Cristiano Ronaldo powered-home a fourth-minute header to give Portugal a 1-0 World Cup victory over Morocco that took them top of Group B on Wednesday and meant the unlucky North African side become the first to be eliminated from the tournament.
Real Madrid suffered a shock 2-1 defeat by Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday as winger Jesus Navas and midfielder Renato stuck with headers in each half.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Manchester City passed the first big test of their "big four" credentials on Saturday when they beat Arsenal 4-2 to make it four wins out of four while Chelsea maintained their perfect record with a 2-1 win at Stoke City.
France wants to deport almost 50 Russian soccer fans, Alexander Shprygin, the head of a Russian supporters' group, said on Tuesday, saying French riot police had stopped a bus carrying fans in Cannes who were on their way to Lille.
The Bernabeu faithful have never taken Gareth Bale to their hearts with injury problems and a perceived lack of integration into the side often used as sticks to beat him with.
ManchesterCity's Ivorian midfielder Yaya Toure said he was the victim of racist abuse from the stands during his side's 2-1 Champions League victory away at CSKA Moscow on Wednesday.
A rocket launcher and a huge cache of weapons were seized in Lyon.
