Real Madrid were made to toil by the 10 men of Athletic Bilbao but eventually won 3-1 on Tuesday thanks to two strikes from Karim Benzema to go level on points with La Liga leaders Real Sociedad.
Atletico Madrid demonstrated their remarkable team spirit to come roaring back from two goals and a man down to draw 2-2 at Liga debutants Girona on Saturday, after Antoine Griezmann had been sent off for the first time in his career.
Kazakhstan's Astana fought back to beat a youthful Manchester United side 2-1 at home, Arsenal's woes continued as Frankfurt's Daichi Kamada scored twice to secure a 2-1 win.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Buffon have been nominated for the UEFA's Player of the Year award, the sport's European governing body said on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich are not unbeatable despite their impressive nine-game winning streak without conceding a goal, Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko said on Monday.
Bundesliga leading scorer Robert Lewandowski grabbed an early goal to give leaders Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory at Cologne that sent them eight points clear at the top of the table with seven matches left in the season.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
Kevin-Prince Boateng scored his first goal for Schalke 04 on Saturday to earn his team a 1-0 win at Mainz 05 and champions Bayern Munich beat Hanover 96 2-0.
Atletico Madrid were handed a chance to avenge last season's Champions League final defeat by city rivals and record 10-times winners Real after the two sides were drawn together in the last eight on Friday. Paris St Germain and Barcelona were paired together having met in the group stage, with the French side winning in Paris and the Catalans coming out on top in Spain.
New signings Radamel Falcao and Diego scored to give Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Celtic as the Europa League group stage kicked off on Thursday.
The injury will also rule him out of the reigning European champions' two Champions League quarter-final legs against last year's runners-up Paris St Germain, scheduled for April 7 and April 13.
All eyes will be on Manchester City as the window opens, with Roberto Mancini expected to add more firepower to a squad who have emerged as genuine contenders for the Premier League title.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Raul scored his 400th professional goal to set Schalke 04 on their way to an emphatic 4-0 win over VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday, handing visiting coach Felix Magath an unhappy return to the club he left just under one year ago.
Any sliver of a doubt over whether Cristiano Ronaldo would lead Portugal into the Euro 2016 was erased on Tuesday when he was named in their 23-man squad for the finals.
Images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema rescued his side again by scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Saturday and revive his side's hopes of catching leaders Atletico Madrid.
Bosnia striker Edin Dzeko's first Premier League goal gave Manchester City a 1-0 win at struggling Blackburn Rovers on Monday to keep alive their hopes of a top-three finish.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Manchester United's 3-2 Champions League defeat at VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday was difficult to understand, said manager Louis van Gaal after they crashed out in the group stage for the first time since 2011.
Salomon Kalou scored a hat-trick as Hertha Berlin beat Hanover 96 3-1 on Friday, their second win in three matches helping them climb to fourth in the Bundesliga.
Lionel Messi scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol and send them 13 points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Kane began the night level on 19 goals with Liverpool's Mohamed Salah in the race for the Golden Boot.
A sparkling two-goal display by Carlos Tevez overshadowed a promising debut by Edin Dzeko as Manchester City claimed a nervy 4-3 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers to go top of the Premier League on Saturday. Dzeko, a 27 million pounds ($42.77 million) buy from VfL Wolfsburg, made a good first impression as City led 4-1 but they were hanging on at the end against the doughty visitors.
New signing Edin Dzeko made his debut but it was partner Carlos Tevez who scored twice in a nervy 4-3 home win over Wolverhampton Wanderers that took Manchester City top of the Premier League on Saturday.
Hertha Berlin snatched their first Bundesliga victory of 2016 on Friday, edging past Cologne 1-0 thanks to a Vedad Ibisevic goal as the visitors tightened their grip on third place.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Sevilla's Kevin Gameiro grabbed a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Zenit St Petersburg on Thursday to send the Europa League holders into the semi-finals after woeful goalkeeping had threatened to ruin their night.
Fulham, languishing in the lowest division only 13 years ago, marched into the Europa League semi-finals on Thursday to keep their Cinderella story on course for a fairy-tale ending. With Liverpool joining the unheralded Londoners in the last four, along with Hamburg SV and Atletico Madrid, Fulham's lack of European pedigree was clear, but they produced an impressive performance to beat VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 and 3-1 on aggregate.
Five-times European champions Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdogs Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski netted the Bundesliga's fastest hat-trick on his way to a sensational five-goal haul and was officially recognised by Guinness World Record.
Champions Bayern Munich opened up an eight-point lead in the Bundesliga at the start of the German season's one-month winter break by beating Hanover 96 1-0 on Saturday amid mounting speculation over the future of coach Pep Guardiola.
Bayern Munich's party was wrecked by Borussia Moenchengladbach who hit back for a 1-1 draw at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, forcing the Bavarians to wait at least a week to clinch a fourth straight Bundesliga title.
Until this season Manchester City's progression in the Champions League could be measured in baby steps but on Tuesday they can make a huge leap forward when they host Real Madrid in their first European semi-final for 45 years.
AC Milan were handed a comfortable UEFA Cup assignment on Tuesday after being drawn with Heerenveen, Braga, Portsmouth and Wolfsburg in the group stage.
Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson strongly believes that Michael Owen deserves a place in England coach Fabio Capello's World Cup squad.
Manchester United's injury crisis deepened on Monday as they prepared for a Champions League match against Germany's Vfl Wolfsburg with only one first-team defender in their 19-man squad.
Fernando Torres will face his former club Atletico Madrid in the Europa League semi-finals after scoring twice to help Liverpool beat Benfica 4-1 at Anfield on Thursday.
Bayer Leverkusen squandered a chance to go two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga on Sunday when they conceded an injury-time equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Werder Bremen.
