Ajax to face United in final despite defeat at Lyon
Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League hopes were crushed by mid-table Belgian side Gent, who booked their spot in the last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Thursday as the hosts paid the penalty for Dele Alli's first-half red card.
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive La Liga victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
Europa League favourites Manchester United secured a 1-1 draw on a threadbare pitch at Rostov, while Olympique Lyonnais beat AS Roma 4-2 helped by a fine individual goal from Nabil Fekir in their last 16, first leg ties on Thursday.
Remi Garde parted company with Aston Villa almost five months after taking over as manager on Tuesday having failed to turn around the Premier League club's dismal season.
European football was given good and bad reminders of its past on Thursday with an impressive 2-0 win for once-mighty Ajax Amsterdam over Schalke 04 in one Europa League game but ugly scenes in the crowd at Lyon delaying another.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League second semi-final played at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Wednesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck a last-minute winner to put Paris St Germain in the French League Cup final with a 2-1 win at Nantes on Tuesday having opened the scoring as they boosted their hopes of a maiden domestic double.
Paris St Germain completed a domestic treble as they beat Olympique Lyonnais 6-5 on penalties to lift the French League Cup on Friday with the match ending in a 0-0 stalemate after regular and extra time. Second-half substitute Pablo Sarabia scored PSG's final penalty in the shootout after goalkeeper Keylor Navas had saved Bertrand Traore's spot kick to give the Ligue 1 champions and French Cup winners their ninth League Cup trophy.
Lionel Messi's early goal earned Paris St Germain a 1-0 win at Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday as they opened a two-point lead at the top of Ligue 1.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
Blue is definitely the colour for the discreet N'Golo Kante, now shining for France on the pitches of Euro 2016 after playing a key role in LeicesterCity's fairytale run to the Premier League title in England.
The Swedish striker has been in superb form this year for Paris St Germain, scoring eight goals in this season's Champions League - as many as Real Madrid's Ronaldo - to help the French side ease into the last 16.
Messi opened the scoring at the Nou Camp with an audacious chipped penalty then restored control in the tie after Lyon had pulled a goal back to make it 2-1, hitting a decisive third goal after a trademark dazzling run to shake off four defenders.
The French professional league (LFP) ended its season last week with 10 games left, awarding the title to Paris St Germain and leaving Lyon outside the placings for European competition next season.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos left Bernardo Silva, one of the country's brightest young players, out of his final 23-man Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday but included 18-year-old Renato Sanches.
'It could have been worse, but once again God spared me something more serious.'
Debutant Stephan El Shaarawy scored with a crafty backheeled volley to give AS Roma a 3-1 win over Frosinone in Serie A on Saturday, their first under coach Luciano Spalletti.
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
Whatever Karim Benzema does in a Real Madrid shirt his achievements are generally overshadowed by the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo yet the France forward has a splendid Champions League record of his own.
Nice defeat leaves Lyon 10 points behind leaders PSG
Everton have been handed the dubious distinction of being the 'dirtiest' Premier League team after a study on the all-time cards and fouls by www.dirtyteams.co.uk.
AC Milan, Villarreal and Nice reached the knockout stage of the Europa League after posting wins on Thursday in the penultimate round of the group stage.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Neuer, David Alaba, Jerome Boateng and Thomas Muller were a part of the Bayern Munich squad that won the Champions League in 2013, defeating Borrusia Dortmund in the final.
The three Premier League and three La Liga clubs in the last eight avoided each other, with Manchester City up against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool to face Portuguese side Benfica.
While Pep Guardiola has brought two Premier League titles, smashed records and produced some of the most glorious football the club's fans have ever seen -- European success remains elusive to his team.
Bastia game abandoned after fans attack Lyon players
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
Hegerberg hat-trick fires Lyon to fourth straight Champions League
Juventus will be hoping to make it 11 victories out of 11 against French teams in knockout ties when they face AS Monaco in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Wednesday.
Juventus's hopes of reaching the Champions League last eight suffered a blow when the two-times European Cup winners slumped to a 1-0 defeat in their last-16 first leg at Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday. Manchester City finally produced a Champions League performance worthy of their status as one of European football's elite clubs by beating Real Madrid 2-1 away in Wednesday's last-16 first leg after pulling off a stunning late fightback.
The return fixtures will be played on May 11 and the final in Stockholm on May 24.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
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