RB Leipzig continued their remarkable first season in the Bundesliga when they brushed aside Mainz 05 3-1, their fifth win in a row, to go level on points with leaders Bayern Munich on Sunday.
Manchester City survived a scare to beat FC Copenhagen 3-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at the Parken Stadium on Tuesday, with Phil Foden scoring late to ensure a two-goal cushion ahead of the second leg.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Manchester City's spending of more than 180 million pounds ($223.58 million) was the second-biggest outlay ever worldwide by a club in the January transfer window.
Read Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham has been suspended for two games by La Liga for showing contempt towards the referee having received a red card after the final whistle in their 2-2 draw with Valencia on Saturday.
Victor Boniface rattled the post with a powerful shot eight minutes after the restart as Leverkusen picked up where they had left off.
Bayern Munich on Tuesday signed RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann to take over from Hansi Flick next season on a five-year contract, bringing to Munich one of Europe's most sought after young managers.
Bayern Munich will secure the Bundesliga title on Saturday
Bayern Munich claim Bundesliga title following Bayer Leverkusen draw
Real have not lost any of their last six games against Liverpool in the Champions League
Barcelona will face a struggling Galatasaray team who are 13th in the Turkish top-flight.
PSG's Brazilian star striker Neymar was probably dazed in all the celebration that he swapped shirts with Leipzig defender Halstenberg post match.
Inter edge Genoa to go top
Leicester City suffered a frustrating night on the south coast as they were held to a 1-1 draw in the Premier League
Barcelona were drawn in Group E with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Barcelona closed in on the LaLiga title as they picked up a 1-0 win over Osasuna and holders Real Madrid went down to
Liverpool were drawn on Thursday to face champions Real Madrid when they return to the Champions League, which has been expanded to a 36-team league format.
The 33-year-old centre back Lovren has faced Neymar on three occasions and lost every time, with the unstoppable Brazilian scoring four goals against him.
Bayern Munich put upstarts RB Leipzig firmly in their place by sweeping to an emphatic 3-0 home win, with all the goals coming in the first half, in a disappointingly one-sided top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on Wednesday.
Bayern kick off their season on Saturday with the German Super Cup against RB Leipzig. The Bundesliga starts next week.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Sunday
Holders Manchester City will take on RB Leipzig, Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys in Group G.
World soccer governing body FIFA had said in April that it would be flexible with transfer windows and allow them to be moved "so they fall between the end of the old season and the start of the new season."
Holders Manchester City cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals for the seventh consecutive season with a 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen.
Atletico Madrid's fears of further disruption to their trip to the Champions League 'Final Eight' tournament in Lisbon have been eased after the rest of the squad tested negative for COVID-19, following two positives the previous day.
Erling Haaland became the third player in Champions League history to score five goals in a game as he led Manchester City to an unrelenting 7-0 rout of RB Leipzig in the second leg of their last-16 tie.
Barcelona made a disappointing start to their Champions League campaign by losing 2-1 to AS Monaco on Thursday.
Manchester City spent more than 180 million pounds ($223.58 million) -- more than the combined amount paid by the other 19 English top-flight clubs in a relatively quiet window.
The Bavarians, who have won the last seven league titles in Germany, last lifted Europe's top club trophy in 2013.
The draw also produced a clash between two former European champions with AC Milan facing Serbia's Red Star Belgrade while French league leaders Lille face Ajax Amsterdam in a fascinating tie.
Fans protested against Monday night football in the Bundesliga as Eintracht Frankfurt beat visiting RB Leipzig 2-1, delaying the start of both halves of the match, the second by throwing hundreds of tennis balls onto the pitch.
Manchester City will return to action in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday against RB Leipzig at the Etihad Stadium.
A summary of Thursday's second leg quarter-final matches in the Europa League.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente left Barcelona's 17-year-old defender Pau Cubarsi and midfielders Marcos Llorente and Aleix Garcia out of his 26-man squad
Schick on target again as Leverkusen win, Leipzig thrashed 5-1
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
Eintracht Frankfurt beat 10-man West Ham United 1-0 in their Europa League semi-final
His mother Elisabeth had passed away last month.
'We love him, not just for the goals he scores, but for many many other things.'
