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.
Brazil defender David Luiz is overjoyed to be back for a second spell at Chelsea after leaving Paris St Germain on transfer deadline day. The 29-year-old, who quit Stamford Bridge for Paris two years ago, has returned for a fee that media reports put at 34 million pounds ($45.09 million). Luiz won the Champions League, Europa League and FA Cup in his three years at Chelsea after joining from Benfica in 2011.
Solskjaer took over as caretaker manager following the sacking of Jose Mourinho in December and United have secured 10 wins in 11 games under his charge.
At the end of a World Cup in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi headed home after the first knockout round and Brazilian Neymar failed to deliver, the game perhaps needed a new talent to excite the global public.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea's defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half.
Ajax were joined by Young Boys, who stunned Dinamo Zagreb 2-1 away for a 3-2 aggregate win over the Croatians, and AEK Athens who scraped a 1-1 home draw with FC Vidi after a 2-1 win in the first leg in Hungary.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his first Ligue 1 goal this season before missing a penalty as they beat En Avant Guingamp 3-0 to extend their lead to four points on Tuesday.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has decried the fans who booed manager Luis Enrique and the players in Sunday's laboured 2-1 home win over Leganes in La Liga as having a short-term memory.
Liverpool, Paris St Germain, Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague and Villarreal reached the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday in contrasting fashions.
Sanchez, 28, is currently in the final year of his contract. He has been linked with a move to Paris St Germain in the current transfer window.
Paris St Germain will play Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich. City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.
For the first time in 10 years, four English clubs have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Manchester City will be without David Silva, Raheem Sterling and captain Vincent Kompany for this weekend's visit to Chelsea, manager Manuel Pellegrini told reporters on Friday.
Manchester City are ready to face the best players in Europe, striker Sergio Aguero said after a 3-2 aggregate Champions League quarter-final victory over Paris St Germain booked their place in the next round. Aguero missed a first-half penalty on Tuesday but Kevin De Bruyne's 76th-minute strike saved the Argentine's blushes as it ensured City beat PSG to qualify for the semi-finals of Europe's elite club competition for the first time. City will be joined by 10-times European champions Real Madrid and with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Benfica all vying for places in the semi-finals, Aguero knows there is no easy route to win the Champions League. "At this point you cannot choose. To win the Champions League you have to play against the best and we were up against one of those, a favourite," Aguero told British media.
Champions League holders Real Madrid will face former European champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the group stage draw on Thursday.
Real Madrid's Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best soccer player in the world for the second year running at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday.
Injured Brazil striker Neymar has targeted May 17 for a return to training and vowed to work harder than ever to be ready for this year's World Cup in Russia.
A grenade-dropping drone, 3D fly-on-the-wall radar to see through a 20-m-thick wall and a 'dogo robot' armed with remote pistol are some of the latest weaponry provided to the National Security Guard to undertake lethal counter-terror operations with a punch of stealth.
Barcelona snapped a four-match winless run in La Liga with a 4-2 home victory over title rivals Sevilla on Saturday to reclaim top spot but the triumph was marred by talisman Lionel Messi fracturing his arm and being ruled out for three weeks.
Olympique Marseille and Paris St Germain supporters clashed on Sunday after their Ligue 1 game was postponed and the whole PSG team quarantined when three players were diagnosed with H1N1 flu.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's season-opening weekend fixtures:
A summary of all the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta has failed to recover from a calf strain and will miss Tuesday's Champions League Group F match at APOEL Nicosia.
A round-up of Tuesday night's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is poised to write the final chapter in a glittering career with Manchester United in England's Premier League and although drama is guaranteed, a happy ending is not.
A man who tried to rob Arsenal players Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac at knifepoint in a failed North London carjacking last July was sentenced to 10 years in jail on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid have endured a miserable season since Zinedine Zidane left in May, first sacking Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari.
Admission to five year integrated course in M.Sc. in software engineering and theoretical computer science at PSG College of Technology.
John Terry became the second Chelsea player this year to make 100 appearances in the Champions League when he captained his side against Sporting Lisbon in their Group G match in Portugal on Tuesday.
Unai Emery begins the task of steering Arsenal into a brave new post-Arsene Wenger world.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Juventus progressed to the Champions League last 16 after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal and a late header from substitute Alvaro Morata gave them a comeback 2-1 home win over Hungarians Ferencvaros on Tuesday.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
Juergen Klopp's Europa League nightmare came true on Friday when his Liverpool side was drawn to meet former club Borussia Dortmund in next month's quarter-finals.
Real Madrid's reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.
French midfielder Claude Makelele is to join Paris St Germain from Chelsea, the Ligue 1 club said on Monday. Makelele, who joined Chelsea in 2003 from Real Madrid, won 68 caps before announcing his retirement from international soccer after France's exit from Euro 2008.
Brazilian forward Neymar is faced with not just a bitter few days of what might have been, but a coming season of what to do now.
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