Manchester United's poor start to the season has left the club reeling and new boss David Moyes under scrutiny but Ryan Giggs will offer a reassuring presence when he reports for Champions League duty in Ukraine this week.
Spain became the first country to have five teams in the Champions League group stage in one season after Valencia squeezed past Monaco .
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is hoping the home crowd in Sweden sing his name on Wednesday, despite his determination to fire Paris Saint Germain into the knockout stages of the Champions League and end boyhood club Malmo FF's European adventure.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the sporting community on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin's country losing hosting rights for the UEFA Champions League final while Formula One drivers said it was "wrong" to race there this year.
Bayern Munich conceded a stoppage-time equaliser through VfB Stuttgart striker Serhou Guirassy from the penalty spot for a 2-2 on Saturday, the champions' third consecutive Bundesliga draw.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Inter Milan midfielder Christian Eriksen scored his first goal for the club since last month's move from Tottenham Hotspur to set up a 2-0 win at Ludogorets Razgrad in their Europa League last 32, first leg on Thursday. Getafe pulled off a surprise 2-0 home win over last year's Champions League semi-finalists Ajax Amsterdam, while Manchester United were held 1-1 at Club Brugge in wet and windy conditions. Wolverhampton Wanderers' Diogo Jota scored a second successive hat-trick in the competition to lead his side to a 4-0 victory over Espanyol and Arsenal won 1-0 at Olympiakos Piraeus with a late Alexandre Lacazette goal.
Inter, Liverpool sweating on last-16 spots
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Arteta, who will lead City in their Champions League opener against Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday because manager Pep Guardiola is suspended, also said that his team were better placed to challenge for top European honours this season.
A video of the incident showed that Taison stuck his finger up at a section occupied by Dynamo fans and then hoofed the ball into the stands.
Indian football hero of '80s, Chibuzor dies
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has been relying on second-string players to get the club through a mini injury crisis but should have several of his heavyweights back when Paris St Germain visit in the Champions League on Tuesday.
A summary of Tuesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from Thursday's action in the Europa League Europa League - Round of 16 Second Leg - matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben struck twice apiece as champions Bayern Munich annihilated promoted Paderborn 6-0 on Saturday to open an 11-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
images from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
United finished second last term, their best placing since the 2013 title win in Alex Ferguson's last season in charge, but the Red Devils were a massive 19 points behind champions Manchester City and never truly in contention.
Juergen Klopp, who has breathed new life into Liverpool in his seven months in charge, would seal his place in the hearts of the club's supporters if he pulls off victory over Sevilla in Wednesday's Europa League final.
Neymar Jr and Kylian Mbappe starred in PSG's win as they topped group A after thrashing Galatasaray 5-0. Juventus, who have already qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League, pumped in two goals to oust Leverkusen from the tournament, while Gabriel Jesus netted a hat-trick in Manchester City's 4-1 thumping of Dinamo Zagreb. Here are Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Luka Modric pulled one back for Zinedine Zidane's shellshocked side with a brilliant strike from distance early in the second half before substitute Vinicius Jr reduced the deficit to one goal.
Seven-times champions AC Milan, knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the last two seasons, were drawn against the Catalans again in the group stage of this season's competition on Friday.
Wednesday night saw a few surprise results while a debutant club makes a mark
IMAGES from the Europa League semifinal played between Manchester United and Sevilla in Cologne on Sunday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Ahead of the UEFA Champions League proper, which kicks-off next month, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com tells football fans what to expect in this year's competition.
Liverpool romed into the Europa League final with a 3-0 win over Villarreal on another magical night at Anfield to tee up a showpiece clash with holders Sevilla who swatted away visitors Shakhtar Donetsk 3-1 on Thursday.
Champions Chelsea have not enjoyed the best of starts at home this season and face their biggest test yet on Saturday with the visit of free-scoring leaders Manchester City.
Thomas Mueller scored twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Hanover 3-1 on Saturday and stretch their advantage at the top to 11 points after VfL Wolfsburg slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.
A summary of the opening day's action in the UEFA Champions league on Tuesday.
Tottenham Hotspur have shown impressive durability in the Premier League lately, but they will need to be at their most steadfast to deny champions and league leaders Manchester City who travel to Wembley on Monday.
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.
Paul Pogba repaid some of his world record transfer fee with two goals as Manchester United rediscovered their early-season shine, cruising to a 4-1 Europa League win over Fenerbahce to go top of their group on Thursday. Pogba scored a penalty and rifled United's third into the top corner. Anthony Martial also netted from the spot and Jesse Lingard fired home in the second half before former Old Trafford favourite Robin van Persie pulled one back for Fenerbahce. Inter Milan and AS Roma, though, had more testing evenings. Coach Frank de Boer breathed a sigh of relief when Inter survived an onslaught from Southampton to end a three-match losing streak with a 1-0 victory while Roma conceded twice late on to draw 3-3 at home to Austria Vienna.
Inter Milan's aversion to Europa League football continued with a 3-1 defeat at Sparta Prague, while AS Roma ended a continental hoodoo stretching back seven games with a 4-0 home win over Romanian side FC Astra on Thursday.
Is VAR sucking the life out of the game?
Rattled by embarrassing domestic defeats, Chelsea looked jittery before Olivier Giroud settled their nerves with a close range tap-in shortly after halftime at StamfordBridge following good work by N'Golo Kante and Willian in the build-up.