Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
Having absorbed the body blow of losing striker Radamel Falcao in the close season, Atletico Madrid have emerged as genuine contenders to break the title stranglehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
Neymar made his return to the pitch after a three-month injury lay-off as Paris St Germain celebrated their eighth Ligue 1 title with a 3-1 win against Monaco at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
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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.
Chelsea moved within touching distance of a first Premier League title in five years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United while Lionel Messi reached a landmark with his 400th career goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
Atletico Madrid's problems deepened as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Villarreal in La Liga on Friday, stretching their winless run to four games in all competitions.
Juergen Klopp got a taste of the problems at Liverpool as his first home game as manager ended in a frustrating 1-1 draw against Rubin Kazan who played more than 50 minutes with 10 men in the Europa League on Thursday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Jonatan Soriano's love affair with the Europa League continued as last season's top scorer grabbed a hat-trick on Thursday to help Salzburg become one of four teams to reach the knockout stages.
Chelsea returned to their early-season form to open up a five-point lead in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued to make mincemeat of La Liga defences and Juventus extended their lead in Serie A. In France, Olympique Lyonnais retained top spot with a 2-0 win at RC Lens.
Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
All the latest football news from around Europe.
Images from football matches played across Europe.
Makes us wonder how these cyclists don't fall short of breath as they pedal to the finish line. Here's a glimpse of the tricky but beautiful terrain that outlines the Tour de France...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Roberto Firmino's goal gave Brazil a 1-0 victory over Chile in a feisty friendly at the Emirates Stadium in London on Sunday, their eighth successive win since last year's disappointing World Cup campaign.
Photographic summary of the football matches played across Spain, Italy and France
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brescia left Mario Balotelli on the bench after coach Fabio Grosso said the maverick striker had not put in enough effort in training during the week.
Inter will be his sixth club in a career which began when he made his debut for Anderlecht as a 16-year-old and has taken him to Chelsea, West Bromwich Albion and Everton.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata scored a goal and then missed a penalty as his side began their La Liga campaign with an eventful and nervy 1-0 win at home to Getafe on Sunday which saw both teams reduced to 10 men.
The victory saw the unfashionable Madrid club tighten their grip on the coveted fourth spot in the table by moving on to 58 points after 36 games, three points clear of nearest challengers Sevilla, who lost to Leganes on Friday.
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Former FIFA official Jerome Champagne formally announced on Monday that he will stand against incumbent Sepp Blatter in next year's election for president of the world soccer body.
Mario Mandzukic and Nikola Kalinic grabbed hat-tricks as Croatia achieved a record win as an independent nation by demolishing San Marino 10-0 in their final Euro 2016 warm-up match in Rijeka.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
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