Manchester City took a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. In anothr match, Liverpool took a firm grip of their Champions League tie with Benfica as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a 3-1 victory in Lisbon.
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Barcelona have been drawn to play Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. The other last-four tie will see Juventus, in their first semi-final since 2003, take on Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid, the defending champions.
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La Liga on Sunday released a statement saying Lionel Messi's Barcelona contract is still valid, days after his shock announcement that he wants to leave the club and hours after he failed to attend a pre-season medical.
Messi announced he wanted to leave Barcelona, on Tuesday, after spending his entire career at the Catalan club.
Chelsea ticked off three more points in their Premier League title quest with a 2-1 victory over Manchester City on Wednesday but Tottenham Hotspur's Houdini-like 3-1 win at Swansea means the race is far from over.
Holders Manchester City held their nerve to beat Leicester City 3-1 on penalties and reach the League Cup semi-finals after an entertaining last-eight tie ended 1-1 on Tuesday.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich suffered their first league defeat in 18 months when they slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg on Saturday as Sascha Moelder's first-half strike ended their record 53-game unbeaten league run.
Only one point separates the two sides with Chelsea on 31 and City on 30 but Antonio Conte's impact at Stamford Bridge appears greater than his City counterpart Pep Guardiola's at the Etihad.
The English Premier League boasts some of the top managers in the game but to see the best players in the world you have to watch Spanish soccer, Barcelona president Josep Bartomeu said.
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Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is leaving the Spanish La Liga champions at the end of the season when his contract expires after three trophy-laden seasons at the club.
Liverpool snatched three points with a wild 1-0 victory over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
The three sides who have bossed the ball the most in Russia, Spain, Germany and Argentina have all said "do-svidaniya" before the quarter-finals.
Liverpool were sent spinning to a 2-0 defeat at promoted Burnley in the English Premier League on Saturday while Chelsea came from behind to win 2-1 at Watford thanks to late goals from Michy Batshuayi and Diego Costa.
Pep Guardiola's insatiable team were already thinking beyond the magnificent 2018-19 campaign and contemplating a third straight English title win next season with the Spaniard having said they will get even better.
Bayern Munich go into their Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday knowing the game will make or break their season.
The Danish international scored the winner as Spurs beat Bournemouth 1-0 in the Premier League on Saturday and Eriksen has set his sights on another good showing against the European champions at the Santiago Bernabeu.
German champions Bayern Munich have completed the transfer of former World Cup winner Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid on a two-year deal as they seek to boost their midfield options following a string of injuries.
"After feeling strange in the second half of the Burton game in September, I underwent a series of tests," he said.
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Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league's top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions' 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.
Manchester City chalked up yet another victory to maintain their stranglehold of the Premier League title race but pursuers Manchester United and Leicester City both secured important wins to enhance their top-four bids on Sunday.
Bayern Munich secured a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title with a game to spare after a 2-1 victory at Ingolstadt on Saturday helped them put the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit behind them.
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The following are talking points from the weekend's Premier League action:
They say never go back, but United fans had been longing for Ronaldo to rejoin their side for many years, more in forlorn hope than anything else.
The enduring image of Luis Enrique for many soccer fans is the Spain player with blood gushing from his nose after a vicious elbow from Italy defender Mauro Tassotti during the 1994 World Cup quarter-final in Boston.
Bayern Munich will be without experienced Franck Ribery when they meet Manchester City in their Champions League Group E opener on Wednesday with fellow winger Arjen Robben also doubtful, coach Pep Guardiola said.
Bayern Munich are confident they have overcome a mini-slump just in time for their Champions League round of 16 second leg against Juventus on Wednesday as they chase a treble of titles this season.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
Sergio Aguero's hat-trick led Manchester City to a 3-1 win over Arsenal on Sunday and back into second place in the English Premier League, two points behind leaders Liverpool.
Arsenal's new manager Unai Emery faces a baptism of fire after the Gunners were handed an opening day fixture at home to Premier League champions Manchester City.
Manchester United manager Lous van Gaal has again dismissed reports he will leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, saying on Friday he does not have to answer to the media. The Dutchman's future has been the subject of persistent speculation after United's Champions League group-stage exit and indifferent Premier League displays sparked discontent among fans. Former Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was linked with Van Gaal's job last and United were forced to deny a report that they had met with Pep Guardiola, the Bayern Munich boss who has said he wants to manage in the Premier League next season. "I don't think that the press have to help me with my decisions. First they have sacked me. Now they are interfering with my future. I don't have to answer," Van Gaal told reporters. "I have a relationship with the players of Manchester United. That is the most important thing. "Not everything the media are writing is true."
Rejected former boss David Moyes says Manchester United must not become a club that are continuously sacking managers and should give his under-fire successor Louis van Gaal time to build a successful side.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
