Rediff.com brings you the top highlights of the soccer weekend.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich survived several first-half scares in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Schalke 04 on Saturday as Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the Bavarian club.
Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
Bayern, who won the Champions League in 2013, have yet to hit top form this season, with many players tired after the World Cup and others, including Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Rafinha, out injured.
Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
Undefeated Bayern Munich stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday that ended a four-game winning streak in the league but they remain four points clear at the top.
January transfer window failed to materialise as Europe's top clubs largely kept their powder dry.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of the top-flight football matches played across Italy and Germany on Sunday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain became the second England international to leave Arsenal in two days when he joined Premier League rivals Liverpool for a reported 40 million pounds on Thursday.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund reclaimed top spot in the Bundesliga with an awe-inspiring 6-1 demolition of VfB Stuttgart on Friday.
Runaway leaders Bayern Munich survived a torrid opening against Nuremberg, who hit the bar and had two players carried off injured in the first half hour, before hitting back for a 2-0 win in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
Bayern Munich went top of the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as rivals Borussia Dortmund slumped to their first defeat of the season with a 2-0 reverse at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Fiorentina tore apart Italian rivals AS Roma to reach the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-0 win that left their opponents' season in tatters and under-fire coach Rudi Garcia tottering on the brink of the sack.
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
News of Van Gaal's impending departure from the club leaked out minutes after Saturday's 2-1 extra-time victory over Palace and, following relentless media speculation and a day of negotiations, it was confirmed by both sides on Monday evening.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Real Madrid's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo made up for his otherwise quiet night by scoring the winner to beat Barcelona 2-1 win at the CampNou in Barcelona on Saturday.
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the second year running and the third overall on Monday after a prolific, trophy-filled year with Real Madrid.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
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