Four-time European champions Ajax Amsterdam find themselves among the pre-qualifiers for the Champions League this year as Dutch football pays the price for its declining record in continental competition.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Leicester City will play Barcelona, Celtic and Paris St Germain in this year's International Champions Cup (ICC), the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
Leicester City's win over Newcastle on Monday not only sent them five points clear of Tottenham Hotspur at the top of the Premier League, it effectively ended the challenge of Manchester City and Arsenal.
Sevilla will bid for a record-extending seventh Europa League title when they face AS Roma in the final in Budapest on May 31, after Jose Mourinho's side drew 0-0 at Bayer Leverkusen to secure a 1-0 aggregate victory in their semi-final.
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
Having knocked out Real Madrid with a 4-1 win at the Bernabeu in the previous round, Ajax came from behind to beat Juventus 2-1 in Turin and complete a remarkable 3-2 aggregate win in their quarter-final.
The 30-year-old joins Luke Shaw in the treatment room after the left back pulled out of the England squad with an injury on Monday.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar combined to devastating effect as Barcelona swatted Celtic aside 7-0 at the Nou Camp to lay down a marker in Champions League Group C on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are both back for domestic duties as second-placed Barcelona resume their chase of La Liga leader Real Madrid with a tricky trip to red-hot Real Sociedad on Sunday. Barcelona, into the Champions League last 16 as Group C winners with a 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday, are four points behind Real Madrid who will host Sporting Gijon on Saturday without the injured Gareth Bale. "We have achieved our aim, which was to qualify as first of our group and now we need to turn our focus to La Liga," Barcelona centre back Javier Mascherano told www.fcbarcelona.com.
Dutch soccer star Robin van Persie returned to his home ground on Monday as he signed with Feyenoord Rotterdam hoping for a positive ending to his dwindling career.
London sides Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal made winning starts as did fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
Action from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Roundup of the Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
If Atletico Madrid's 2013 King's Cup triumph was a shock and their 2013-14 La Liga title a surprise, few would raise an eyebrow if Diego Simeone's ruthlessly efficient side were to win another major trophy.
Chelsea turned again to experienced Dutchman Guus Hiddink to guide them out of a crisis when they named him interim manager on Saturday for the rest of the season following the sacking of Jose Mourinho.
Images from UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Atletico Madrid got their La Liga campaign up and running in less than convincing fashion when Antoine Griezmann's deflected free kick secured an edgy 1-0 win at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino is hoping video replays will be used at the 2018 World Cup in Russia to help referees avoid serious mistakes during the tournament.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Anthony Martial went from villain to hero as his second-half equaliser earned Manchester United a deserved point in a 1-1 draw against CSKA Moscow in Champions League Group B on Wednesday.
Inter, Liverpool sweating on last-16 spots
Paris St Germain revived their Champions League campaign with a 2-1 win over Liverpool in Group C on Wednesday, leaving the English club's hopes of reaching the last 16 hanging in the balance.
Rediff.com takes a look at a few other players who shunned champion sides for mediocre clubs in the Premier League.
Manchester United, Sevilla and Celtic led a parade of clubs with continental pedigree to book the first places in this season's Europa League knockout stage.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United will be without skipper Wayne Rooney, Marouane Fellaini, Michael Carrick and Anthony Martial for their visit to Watford on Saturday when the Premier League resumes after the international break.
Napoli kept alive their hopes of advancing from Group C after Lorenzo Insigne, Victor Osimhen and Matteo Politano secured a 3-0 home win over Legia Warsaw.
Newcastle United have signed Serbian forward Aleksandar Mitrovic from Belgian side Anderlecht, subject to a work permit, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid put last week's painful defeat by Real Madrid behind them with a 3-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday that included two goals in the space of a minute and allowed them to return to the top four in La Liga.
Sunderland are banking on the guile of Dick Advocaat to save them from relegation after the English Premier League strugglers appointed the Dutchman as head coach until the end of the season.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino has said Ajax have an unfair advantage because the whole of the Dutch league programme was postponed to help Erik ten Hag's side prepare.
Valencia sign Kondogbia on loan from Inter
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.
Major world record deals are here.
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