Real Madrid's Intercontinental Cup triumph marked a remarkable milestone for Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday as the Italian became the manager with the most titles in the club's history with a total of 15 trophies.
That kept Real top of LaLiga on 50 points, one ahead of Atletico in second who missed a chance to leapfrog them. Barcelona, third on 45 points, visit Sevilla on Sunday with a chance to close the gap in the title race.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid's pursuit of a record-extending 36th Spanish title
Brazilian teenage striker Endrick came off the bench to score two goals in extra time and help Real Madrid rescue a hard-fought 5-2 win over Celta Vigo.
Carlo Ancelotti's side were then reduced to 10 men in the 79th minute when Vinicius Jr was shown a straight red card for slapping Valencia goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski.
A summary of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Ronaldo had won his first Ballon d'Or in 2008 while he was playing for Manchester United and still holds the record of the last Premier League player to claim the top prize. Messi won his first in 2009 and was nominated for 16 years.
IMAGES from football matches played across European Leagues on Saturday.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said that he understands the club fans booying him and his team in their 5-2 win over Celta Vigo.
Named in the Brazil squad for the upcoming FIFA Under-17 World Cup, wonderkid Vinicius Junior is set to become the most expensive footballer ever to play in a competitive tournament in India.
Real Madrid won the Club World Cup for a record extending fifth time after beating Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal 5-3 in the final on Saturday.
Real Madrid got their LaLiga title defence off to a limp start as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Mallorca.
Girona thrash Osasuna for first win of the season
Real Madrid reached an agreement with Brazilian side Flamengo to sign 16-year old forward Vinicius Junior in July 2018.
Images from Sunday's action in LaLiga and Serie A.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Bundesliga and La Liga.
A round-up of Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg between Real Madrid and Arsenal, Inter Milan and Bayern Munich.
Kylian Mbappe could not have anticipated a better start to his Real Madrid career as he scored a debut goal to help his new team win the European Super Cup.
A stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria and a second-half header from Omar Alderete gave Paraguay a well earned 2-1 home win over Argentina.
A double from Vinicius laid the foundation for a thumping Champions League win.
Roundup of the matches being held across major football leagues in Europe
Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions
'OK. RM was not happy we were celebrating KDB goal,' Haaland, whose son has scored 51 goals for city in his first season in England, said on Twitter.
Real Madrid paid for defensive mistakes as they were held to a 3-3 draw at lowly local rivals Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
A Dani Carvajal strike in the ninth-minute of stoppage time rescued Real Madrid, earning them a 3-2 comeback win at home against bottom side Almeria on Sunday in a frantic LaLiga tussle that was marked by VAR controversy.
Real Madrid strike late to beat Dortmund and win 15th UEFA Champions League
IMAGES from football matches played across European leagues on Saturday
Girona's Castellanos hits Real Madrid for four in fresh blow to title hopes
Brazil spread the ball beautifully with a plethora of one-touch passing combinations that cornered the South Koreans who had no plan to defend against so much talent.
Sporting marked the final home game of coach Ruben Amorim's reign in stunning fashion as Viktor Gyokeres' hat-trick saw them come from behind to thrash Manchester City 4-1 and maintain their superb start to the Champions League on Tuesday.
Vinicius Junior's second half tap-in steered Real Madrid to a 1-0 victory over Liverpool in the Champions League final on Saturday.
Kevin De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser with a rasping low strike to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid
Serbia goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic denied Brazil's potent strike force on several occasions in a goalless first half of their World Cup Group G match on Thursday.
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr. scored in extra time as Real Madrid fought back to beat local rivals Atletico 3-1 and reach the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Last year, goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma finished 10th in the Ballon d'Or rankings after being named Man of the Match in Italy's victory against England after a penalty shootout in the European Championship final.
'Cristiano scored 50 goals and you can't find someone today who scores that many. Some of us have to take a step forward and, while not scoring 50, what we need is two or three players who score 15, 20, or 10 goals and we don't have that.'
Now, with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo venturing into smaller leagues as they near the end of their brilliant careers, 2024 may finally be the year for the next in line in football royalty.
Empoli beat Juventus 4-2 on penalties to advance to their first ever Coppa Italia semi-finals on Wednesday after a resilient performance helped them to hold the defending champions to a 1-1 draw in regular time.
