CSKA Moscow winger Yuri Zhirkov has been voted Russia's Player of the Year for the first time in a nationwide poll conducted by the country's Football Association. The 25-year-old beat Zenit St Petersburg playmaker Andrei Arshavin, one of the outstanding players at Euro 2008 where the Russians reached the semi-finals for the first time in 20 years.
Benfica, helped by an excellent Champions League debut from goalkeeper Ederson, clung on desperately then scored two late goals to beat Zenit St Petersburg 2-1 and reach the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Real Sociedad scored two brilliant goals to win 2-0 against a stunned Olympique Lyonnais side who finished with 10 men while AC Milan held PSV Eindhoven to a 1-1 draw in Champions League playoff first legs.
Russia forward Andrei Arshavin completed his transfer to Arsenal from Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday, the English Premier League club said. British media reported he has agreed a three-and-a-half-year contract and has cost Arsenal around 15 million pounds.
A late header by Linas Pilibaitis gave Lithuanians Kaunas a shock 2-1 victory over Rangers in the Champions League second qualifying round second leg on Tuesday.
A late header by Linas Pilibaitis gave Lithuanians Kaunas a shock 2-1 victory over Rangers in the Champions League second qualifying round.
Russia began their Euro 2008 preparations in style by crushing Kazakhstan 6-0 in a Moscow friendly on Friday.
Substitute Fredy Guarin gave former European champions Porto a late 2-1 Europa League win at Sevilla on Thursday while their old rivals Benfica beat VfB Stuttgart by the same score.
Dutchman Pim Verbeek was on Monday named new coach of South Korea's soccer team.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard came off the bench to score a hat-trick in the last 15 minutes as the struggling Premier League side came from behind to beat Napoli 3-1 in the Europa League on Thursday.
Olympique Marseille let 10-man Ajax Amsterdam off the hook in a UEFA Cup first leg meeting of former European champions on Thursday, while holders Zenit St Petersburg suffered a 2-0 defeat at Udinese. The only other emphatic victory in the first legs came from ambitious Manchester City, 2-0 winners at home to Danish club AaB Aalborg.
Werder Bremen produced a rousing fightback at the San Siro to eliminate favourites AC Milan from the UEFA Cup on Thursday and heap further pressure on coach Carlo Ancelotti. The Italian shrugged off fresh speculation this week that he could be sacked in May but will face further calls for his head after Claudio Pizarro scored twice as Werder hit back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 and reach the last 16 on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate.
Zenit St Petersburg's Brazilian striker Hulk has pulled out of Saturday's World Cup qualifying draw, only days after complaining of "gross and ugly" racism in Russian football.
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.
Seven-times champions AC Milan, knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the last two seasons, were drawn against the Catalans again in the group stage of this season's competition on Friday.
France international striker Antoine Griezmann has reached an agreement with Manchester United over a transfer from Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, Yahoo Sport has reported.
Benfica coach Rui Vitoria faces another test of his powers of improvisation as he tries to patch up a team without topscorer Jonas against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Liverpool received a relatively kind draw for the group stage of this year's Champions League
Defending champions Bayern Munich must face Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid after they were drawn together in Champions League Group A alongside Salzburg and Lokomotiv Moscow.
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.
Inter Milan's aversion to Europa League football continued with a 3-1 defeat at Sparta Prague, while AS Roma ended a continental hoodoo stretching back seven games with a 4-0 home win over Romanian side FC Astra on Thursday.
In the third-tier Europa Conference League, English Premier League club Leicester City will face Danish side Randers and Scottish club Celtic will take on Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the knockout playoff round.
West Bromwich Albion broke their club-record transfer fee to sign Venezuelan striker Salomon Rondon from Russian club Zenit St Petersburg, the Premier League club said on Monday.
Holders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday's draw for the first knockout stage.
Last year's finalists Juventus will face-off against Bundesliga champs Bayern.
Higuain had a disappointing Copa America tournament in July, scoring two goals during the competition and missing his spot kick as Argentina lost on penalties to Chile in the final.
Russia's bid to host the Euro 2028 or the Euro 2032 tournaments have also been declared ineligible, the Switzerland-based governing body said.
The 31-year-old is still recovering from the knee injury which forced him to limp out of the Euro 2016 final against France in the first half, coach Fernando Santos said.
After the game ended 1-1 in normal time, Malcom raced onto a diagonal ball from Antony and got the better of Jesus Vallejo before driving the winner into the far corner in the 108th minute to ensure Brazil repeated their Rio 2016 triumph.
Fees paid by Premier League clubs passed one billion pounds for the first time, according to financial analysts Deloitte. That was inflated by the world record 89 million pounds ($115.98 million) that Manchester United paid Juventus for France midfielder Paul Pogba.
Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Benzema, embroiled in a sextape scandal, were omitted from France's squad on Thursday for the games with Germany and England later this month while Hatem Ben Arfa was recalled.
Seven-time European champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in the standout last-16 tie in the Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
FC Basel won the Swiss Super League for an unprecedented sixth season in a row on Sunday.
European champions Real Madrid will face former champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the draw for the group stage of the Champions league on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Dick Advocaat has stepped down as manager of Premier League Sunderland after less than seven months in the job, the club said in a statement on Sunday.
Messi, whose deal expires in 2021, had called his side "weak" and "inconsistent" after they lost the league title to Real Madrid.
Robin van Persie's hat-trick lifted the gloom surrounding Manchester United and manager David Moyes as the English side beat Olympiakos Piraeus 3-0 to overturn a 2-0 first-leg deficit and reach the Champions League quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine was condemned by the sporting community on Thursday, with President Vladimir Putin's country losing hosting rights for the UEFA Champions League final while Formula One drivers said it was "wrong" to race there this year.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Monday.
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