Last season's Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored his first competitive goal for new club Bayern Munich but the champions had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 on Saturday.
Quadruple Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel went for five on Friday with the German choosing to have that numeral on his car when he is eventually deposed as number one.
Saul Niguez announced himself as one of Europe's most promising midfielders by scoring a stunning individual goal to edge Atletico Madrid a step closer to their second Champions League final in three years.
Mueller scores brace in is 200th Bundeliga match
Cesc Fabregas struck the winner as an experimental Spain side came from behind to beat Costa Rica 2-1.
Bayern Munich slumped out of the German Cup semi-finals 2-0 on penalties to Borussia Dortmund.
Portugal's impressive midfielder Renato Sanches is finally ready for his Bayern Munich debut although the 19-year-old Euro 2016 winner still faces a tough challenge to claim a regular place in the team. Coach Carlo Ancelotti has said that Sanches could make his debut away to Schalke 04 on Friday (1830 GMT) if Arturo Vidal is still worn out after his long trip from South America, where he played two World Cup qualifiers for Chile in five days.
Images from football matches held across Europe on Saturday
A second-string Spain celebrated coach Vicente del Bosque's two-year contract extension with a 2-1 away win over Equatorial Guinea in a friendly on Saturday that was marred by an injury to Xabi Alonso.
Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called for a big improvement after the European champions suffered a surprise early-season setback at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
Real Madrid continued their impressive start to the new year with Karim Benzema giving them a 1-0 victory in the King's Cup quarter-final first-leg tie away to Espanyol on Tuesday.
Following this stunning turn-around of fortunes for Barcelona, here is a flashback of some of the best come-from-behind wins recorded in Europe's premier club competition.
Bayern Munich go into their Champions League last-16 second leg at home to Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday knowing the game will make or break their season.
Neymar scored twice as Barcelona reached the Champions League semi-finals.
Barcelona and Bayern fought hard but failed to break the shackles until the 77th minute in the match when Messi struck the first and three minutes later struck his 77th Champions League goal to double Barca's advantage.
Thomas Mueller scored twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Hanover 3-1 on Saturday and stretch their advantage at the top to 11 points after VfL Wolfsburg slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola was brought to the club to extend their European dominance, but will leave at the end of the season having lost three successive Champions League semi-finals.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery scored a sensational volley to lead the German champions to a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with six matches left. Frenchman Ribery, who has missed most of the season due to injury, took off at the edge of the box and sent his mid-air volley past Lukas Hradecky in the 20th minute after the keeper had initially saved a shot from Mario Goetze. It was the 32-year-old's second goal of the campaign after being sidelined for eight months with an ankle problem and then suffering another injury that kept him out until last month. Bayern found no resistance from Eintracht and Xabi Alonso rattled the crossbar with a free kick early in the second half with the hosts enjoying close to 70 percent possession.
Luis Aragones, the coach of Spain's 2008 European Championship-winning side, has died at the age of 75, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Saturday.
Real Madrid set up a King's Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success.
Images from the Europa League semi-final first leg matches on Thursday.
Two late moments of Lionel Messi magic and a goal from Neymar helped Barcelona break the resistance of Bayern Munich in a pulsating 3-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
The South American trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez reached a scorching 108 goals for the season following the La Liga leaders' 8-0 destruction of Cordoba on Saturday but the team's defence is yet to dispel doubts
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola weathered his first major crisis at the German club, coming out stronger after his team crushed Porto 7-4 on aggregate on Tuesday to move into the Champions League last four.
Injury-ravaged Bayern Munich beat Hoffenheim 2-0 on Saturday, shrugging off a string of absences and their midweek Champions League defeat at Porto to close in on the Bundesliga title.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
Real Madrid's decision to sell midfielders Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria left many scratching their heads and consecutive La Liga defeats as well as a reverse to Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup set alarm bells ringing at the Bernabeu.
Atletico Madrid are not seeking revenge for their 2014 Champions League final defeat but instead want to write a new chapter in the club's history with their first European Cup after getting past Bayern Munich.
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.
New Chelsea signing Loic Remy grabbed the only goal as France squeezed past 2010 world champions Spain 1-0 in a friendly at the Stade de France.
English Premier League club Manchester City have named Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola as their new manager from July, hoping the Spaniard can emulate the glory years he enjoyed at Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League final on away goals on Tuesday after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, in which both sides missed a penalty, with the exhilarating tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate.
Tuesday's match was the latest masterclass from the South American trio, known in Spain as 'MSN', whose goals have put Barca on the brink of repeating 2009's treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup triumphs, the only time a La Liga club have achieved the feat.
Lionel Messi set a new Champions League scoring record with a hat-trick and Luis Suarez netted his first in Barcelona colours as the Spaniards comprehensively beat APOEL Nicosia 4-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with relations between the German heavyweights seemingly at an all-time low.
Barcelona striker Munir El Haddadi continued his dramatic rise in the game as part of a new-look Spain that have set their sights on Euro 2016 following a surprise early exit at this year's World Cup.
Argentina beat the Netherlands 4-2 via penalties to enter the final of the World Cup on Wednesday. The teams were goalless at the end of 120 minutes, and extra-time in the second semi-final.
Real Madrid can bury Atletico's hopes of winning La Liga with a third straight victory against their city neighbours on Sunday that would leave the capital's second club trailing by six points.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema took Real Betis apart to give Real Madrid a resounding 5-0 win on Saturday that put them level on 50 points with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Europa League kings Sevilla breezed past Manchester United into the semi-finals of their favourite competition as Youssef En Nesyri scored twice
