Sixteen-year-old Romelo Lukaku scored twice in nine minutes to give Anderlecht a 3-1 victory at Ajax Amsterdam on Thursday, sending the Belgians into the knockout stages of the Europa League.
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The old format was skewed in favour of the bigger clubs, who could rest players for a first leg and swallow defeat before calling on their stars to turn the tie around in the return game.
Barcelona left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
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Six-time champion Mary Kom defeated Colombia's Valencia Victoria in her quarter-final bout to secure her maiden World medal in the 51kg category, in which she won an Olympic medal back in 2012.
Valencia midfielder Pablo Aimar was discharged from hospital on Sunday after spending the night under observation after a blow to the head.
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IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Real Madrid rekindled their hopes of challenging for the Primera Liga title with a 3-2 defeat of Santander on Saturday.
Valencia striker David Villa has torn a thigh muscle and will be out of action for around three weeks, the La Liga club said on Monday.
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Samuel Eto'o did the star turn as Real Mallorca beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Primera Liga.
Spanish rivals Villarreal and Valencia had to settle for a goalless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final.
Ten-man Arsenal suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City on Sunday in another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Valencia striker David Villa has no intention of moving to a club outside Spain, his agent was quoted as saying on Friday. The Times newspaper quoted Valencia vice president Fernando Gomez on Thursday as saying that the Primera Liga club had discussed the sale of the Spanish international to Manchester City.
There were mixed fortunes for league leaders around Europe over the weekend with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool winning but Olympique Lyon and Hoffenheim going down to defeats.
Valencia tore Real Madrid apart 3-0 on Saturday to give Barcelona the chance to wrap up the Primera Liga title as early as Sunday's game against Villarreal.
Thierry Henry came off the bench to rescue a point for Barcelona as the leaders came back to draw 2-2 at Valencia in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
'I have a long contract still to go, I am enjoying myself and we are winning trophies. I want to continue doing this at Real Madrid'
Several players from United's first-choice starting line-up, including Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard, are resting after the World Cup and could miss the opening league fixture against Leicester City in less than two weeks' time.
An early goal from Gonzalo Higuain earned Juande Ramos his first Spanish Primera Liga win as Real Madrid coach when the champions beat Valencia 1-0 on Saturday. Ramos, who replaced Bernd Schuster last week, watched Argentine striker Higuain score after only three minutes and Dutch winger Arjen Robben run riot but it needed several saves from Iker Casillas to make sure of victory for the home team.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Since losing two of their opening three Premier League fixtures, United have rediscovered their form to put away Burnley, Watford and Young Boys -- the last a 3-0 victory on Wednesday to begin their Champions League campaign.
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Hamburg led a trio of former European champions into the UEFA Cup knockout phase on Thursday and previous winners Valencia also secured a last 32 place. Aston Villa and Ajax Amsterdam progressed from Group F along with Hamburg, whose 2-0 victory at Slavia Prague meant Villa qualified despite a 2-1 home defeat by Slovakia's Zilina.
Here are six who could make the biggest impact in this season's English Premier League.
Barcelona and Sevilla claimed the final two places in the King's Cup semi-finals on Thursday, Barca knocking out city rivals Espanyol 3-2 and Sevilla coming through on away goals against holders Valencia. Sevilla, the 2007 winners, will play Athletic Bilbao for a place in May's final in Valencia, while Barca take on Real Mallorca.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Inter Milan have signed Argentina midfielder Ever Banega on a three-year contract, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, who helped Sevilla lift their third straight Europa League title last season, scored five league goals in 25 appearances as they finished seventh in La Liga.
They joined Valencia and Stuttgart on top of their respective divisions after weekend action in Europe's main leagues.
The shock of the season saw Barca suffer their first league loss since going down 2-0 to Malaga on April 8, 2017, ending an incredible, record-breaking sequence that had lasted 43 games.
The victory saw Spain finish top of League A4 with 11 points after six games, joining France in the final four tournament, which will take place in October 2021.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone may have played down the significance of Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad but it has raised further questions about the champions' ability to defend their title.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Messi agreed the new contract with Barcelona in July but the club did not release the usual photo of the player putting pen to paper, fuelling speculation he could depart in June 2018, when his previous deal ran out, for free.
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