Olympique Marseille let 10-man Ajax Amsterdam off the hook in a UEFA Cup first leg meeting of former European champions on Thursday, while holders Zenit St Petersburg suffered a 2-0 defeat at Udinese. The only other emphatic victory in the first legs came from ambitious Manchester City, 2-0 winners at home to Danish club AaB Aalborg.
Ukraine's Metalist Kharkiv, due to play Schalke 04 in the Champions League playoff round later this month, have been kicked out of the competition, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Wednesday.
La Liga players dominate this year's Best Player in Europe shortlist, announced by the continent's governing body UEFA on Monday, with seven of the top 10 contenders for the prestigious award currently plying their trade in Spain.
AC Milan's place in the Champions League is not a foregone conclusion and could be blocked by UEFA's emergency panel.
Former European champions Ajax Amsterdam made a shock exit from the UEFA Cup on Thursday after a 3-2 home defeat by Dinamo Zagreb gave the Croatians victory on the away goals rule.
Earlier, Messi's World Cup-winning team mate Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin award for the world's best goalkeeper.
Cyprus inflicted more soccer pain on neighbours Greece on Thursday when Omonia Nicosia knocked out AEK Athens in the UEFA Cup second qualifying round.
Manchester City are in danger of an early exit from Europe after a shock 1-0 home defeat by Danish side Midtjylland in their UEFA Cup second qualifying round first-leg match on Thursday.
Sweden's Helsingborg and Greek side Panathinaikos became the first clubs to reach the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup on Thursday while former European champions Bayern Munich missed their chance to reach the last 32, a 1-1 draw in Portugal against Braga ensuring the Bundesliga leaders still have work to do to qualify from the group stage.
Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw by Aberdeen, while Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Bolton Wanderers in the UEFA Cup last 32 first-leg matches.
'The whole team is motivated with what's happening in Palestine, it's a difficult time for all families. But we're professional players, we should keep it up the same way as we've been working in the last few weeks.'
Jose Mourinho has been charged with using abusive language against a match official, governing body UEFA said
Goalkeeper Andres Palop emerged as Sevilla's hero by saving three penalties in the shootout to give his side victory over Espanyol.
Racing Strasbourg, bottom of Ligue 1 and without a league win this season, secured their place in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup on Thursday with a 1-1 draw at AS Roma.
UEFA has reduced on appeal a fine and two-match ban given to coach Jose Mourinho after allegations that two of his Real Madrid players engineered deliberate red cards in last month's Champions League game with Ajax Amsterdam.
Schalke 04 have asked UEFA to check whether Galatasaray striker Didier Drogba was eligible to participate in Wednesday's 1-1 Champions League draw in Istanbul, the German club said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea captain John Terry has criticised the standard of UEFA's elite referees following his side's elimination from the Champions League by Inter Milan last week.
Napoli were charged by the Italian football federation over match-fixing on the final day of the 2009-10 season and sanctioned by UEFA on Friday over stadium and fan problems this term.
UEFA has cut the price of the cheapest seats for the Champions League final at Wembley after the outcry at the cost of tickets for the same fixture two years ago.
AZ Alkmaar sunk Newcastle United 2-0 on Thursday to reach the UEFA Cup quarter-finals on the away goals rule.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won the award five times, did not receive a nomination for the first time in 20 years.
Manchester City held their nerve to beat Sevilla 5-4 on penalties
Middlesbrough scored four times in an hour to beat Steaua Bucharest 4-2 to reach the UEFA Cup final for the first time
An early penalty by Alexis Mac Allister and a Darwin Nunez brace helped Liverpool to thrash Sparta Prague 5-1.
The sight of Welsh players bringing kids on to the pitch after their quarter-final victory over Belgium at the European Championship last week may have warmed the hearts of millions around the world, but for UEFA it appears to have been a step too far.
Tottenham Hotspur have been charged by UEFA after their Europa League game against Partizan Belgrade on Thursday was suspended for several minutes following three separate pitch invasions which appeared to be part of an online prank.
Manchester City have lodged a complaint with European soccer's governing body UEFA about what they said was racist abuse directed towards striker Mario Balotelli during a Europa League match against Porto.
2004 Champions League finalists Monaco were eliminated 2-1 on aggregate by Swiss side Basel.
Up to 50 of Chelsea fans possessing tickets were stopped from entering the ground for Tuesday's Champions League game at CSKA Moscow.
Spanish prosecutors last month filed a complaint against Barcelona over payments of 7.3 million euros ($7.95 million) from 2001 to 2018 to firms owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira.
Europe's soccer governing body UEFA said on Saturday it had opened disciplinary proceedings against the soccer federations of Croatia and Turkey for crowd trouble during the Euro 2016 tournament in France.
Chelsea, and particularly striker Didier Drogba, are likely to be in big trouble with UEFA after chaotic scenes marred the end of Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg at Stamford Bridge. Andres Iniesta's stoppage-time equaliser for a 1-1 draw sent Barcelona through on the away goals rule and sent Drogba round the bend.
Dinamo Bucharest sent Everton crashing with a 5-1 defeat in the first leg of their UEFA Cup first round tie.
A summary of Tuesday's first leg quarter-final action in the UEFA Champions League.
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