France are favourites in the Euro 2016 semi-final against injury-hit Germany but the world champions' absences will not affect their game, with a string of youngsters ready to step up, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Tuesday.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with relations between the German heavyweights seemingly at an all-time low.
Willian and Lionel Messi scored as Chelsea and Barcelona finished 1-1 after an absorbing first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday, while Bayern Munich, helped by two typical Thomas Mueller goals and two from Robert Lewandowski, romped to a 5-0 home win over Besiktas.
Germany waited for their last group match at Euro 2016 to field a proper striker in their starting line-up and were rewarded when Mario Gomez did just enough to give them a 1-0 win over Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
Bayern Munich came from a goal down to ease past hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 on Saturday and remain firmly on course to retain the Bundesliga title with four games remaining. The Bavarians are within touching distance of their eighth consecutive league crown, but Leverkusen's 17-year-old Florian Wirtz stole some of the spotlight at the end, becoming the youngest Bundesliga scorer when he netted in the 89th minute.
Napoli rediscovered their scoring touch as they brushed aside Inter Milan 3-0 on Friday, sending their opponents' new coach Stefano Pioli back to the drawing-board.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
Leaders Bayern Munich's express start to the season finally ran out of steam on Friday with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, following 10 wins out of their 10 previous Bundesliga games.
Levante striker Roger Marti brushed off squandering a penalty to score the winning goal as his side pulled off a shock 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid
England's Adam Lallana scored his first international goal with the last kick of the game as they beat 10-man Slovakia 1-0 in their World Cup Group F qualifier on Sunday to get new manager Sam Allardyce's reign off to a winning start.
Real Madrid left back Marcelo admitted he was fortunate not to concede a penalty during their 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich at the Bernabeu, a let-off that helped the holders reach the Champions League final 4-3 on aggregate on Tuesday.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Monday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique had a nerve-racking experience having to watch their stellar run from the sidelines.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola shrugged off criticism.
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.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben sparkled on his comeback from injury after almost two months, scoring the champions' first goal in a 4-0 demolition of Cologne on Saturday for their 1,000th victory in the Bundesliga that put them 10 points clear at the top.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich thrashed Bayer Leverkusen 5-1, while Barcelona came from behind to beat Valencia 3-1 in LaLiga at Camp Nou on Sunday.
It is a measure of the importance of captain Robert Lewandowski to Poland that the striker is the first name coach Adam Nawalka writes on the team sheet despite his goal drought at Euro 2016. Most forwards who go more than 10 hours without scoring would be warming the bench and facing criticism from the media and fans. But the Bayern Munich striker will be a key part of Poland's efforts to defeat Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Thursday's quarter-final in Marseille. After scoring 13 goals in the qualifying, Lewandowski's statistics in his first four games in France make disappointing reading: no goals, two attempts on target, three attempts off target and three blocked attempts.
Manchester City's quadruple bid remained intact as Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne secured a 2-0 win at Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final clash
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
England have lost to Germany in their last three knockout meetings at major tournaments
Borussia Dortmund steam-rollered hapless Freiburg 5-0 while Bayern Munich plodded past VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 as the two unbeaten arch-rivals remained level on points at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Antoine Griezmann had plenty of painful memories to erase in Thursday's European Championship semi-final against Germany and he did that in style, scoring twice to lead the host nation to an historic 2-0 victory over the world champions.
Title contenders Germany will come face to face with their ultimate tournament nightmare when they take on Italy in their Euro 2016 quarter-final in Bordeaux on Saturday.
In what was a thrilling match of end to end action, Germany powered past Ukraine by a 1-0 margin in their Euro 2016 Group C campaign-opening match in Lille on Sunday.
Two late moments of Lionel Messi magic and a goal from Neymar helped Barcelona break the resistance of Bayern Munich in a pulsating 3-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Captain Paul Pogba produced an outstanding performance garnished by two goals to help Manchester United to a resounding 3-0 win at Swiss debutants Young Boys Bern in their Champions League Group H opener on Wednesday.
In-form Borussia Moenchengladbach struck three times in 14 minutes in the second half to floor champions Bayern Munich 3-1 on Saturday and inflict their first Bundesliga defeat of the season.
Last season's runners-up Liverpool, big-spending French league champions Paris St Germain and Carlo Ancelotti's Napoli were thrown together in the pick of the groups while holders Real Madrid must face last season's semi-finalists AS Roma.
World champions Germany cruised to a comfortable 4-1 victory over Azerbaijan to stay on track for a spot in next year's World Cup in Russia, while England laboured to a 2-0 victory over Lithuania.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Germany's new-look team made a promising return to the international stage with a 1-1 draw against Serbia in a friendly on Wednesday, showing signs of improvement following a disastrous 2018.
The 25-year-old striker, who stands 1.76 metres tall, caught the eye on the big stage against Germany, driving home a penalty at the end of the first half before poking in the ball on 72 minutes following a rare blunder by Germany goalkeeper Manuel Neuer.
Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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