Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
Brief reports of English Premier League matches on Saturday:
Three time European champions Inter Milan were stunned 2-0 at home by Israeli side Hapoel Beer-Sheva and Manchester United were floored by a late goal from Feyenoord as the Europa League group stage got underway on Thursday.
Chelsea re-signed David Luiz and Premier League champions Leicester City broke their transfer record for striker Islam Slimani as English clubs exceeded the one billion pounds barrier when the curtain fell on transfer deadline day.
The three teams with 100 percent records in this season's Champions League can secure their places in the knockout stage this week with two games to spare.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris on Friday with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up. All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France -- 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
Manchester United opened up the Premier League title race with a convincing 2-0 home victory over leaders Chelsea on Sunday that leaves second-placed Tottenham Hotspur just four points behind.
European champions Bayern Munich led the charge into the last 16 of the Champions League when they beat Viktoria Plzen 1-0 to chalk up a record-equalling ninth straight victory in the competition on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus strolled to a 3-0 home win over bottom side Crotone in the Italian Serie A on Monday, with the victory taking the champions up to third in the standings.
Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur kept up the distant chase of Premier League leaders Chelsea with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Southampton to cut the gap to 10 points on Sunday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Lionel Messi was at the top of his game as Barcelona earned a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to move up to third in La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
United are 16th in the standings with a game in hand heading into the international break.
Napoli brush aside lowly Crotone to go third in Serie A.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
World champion Marc Marquez underlined his dominance of MotoGP when he swept to a record-equalling 12th pole position of the season on a good day for Spain at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
France's hopes of reaching the World Cup finals are hanging by a thread after a 2-0 first-leg defeat away to Ukraine in their playoff on Friday while Cristiano Ronaldo's late winner gave Portugal the edge against Sweden.
Wayne Rooney made history by equalling Bobby Charlton's Manchester United record and becoming the club's leading all-time goalscorer after netting his 249th goal (543 matches) during an FA Cup match against Reading on Saturday.
Edinson Cavani scored early for Paris St Germain but a series of wasted chances came back to haunt them as Ajax Amsterdam equalised late to deny the French a winning start on the road in a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group F on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney struck with a 74th-minute free kick to give England a 1-0 win over 10-man Estonia in a Euro 2016 Group E qualifier on Sunday and move to within six goals of Bobby Charlton's record tally of 49.
A match by match look at this weekend's English Premier League fixtures.
(Reuters) - Real Madrid, Manchester United and Paris St Germain reached the last 16 of the Champions League on Wednesday on a night when the goals flowed all over Europe with United the highest scorers in a 5-0 win at Bayer Leverkusen.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
As we sit at home and miss live action, the wondrous phenomenon of sport has delivered so many past glories that we will probably never run out of things to see, recalls Dhruv Munjal.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Jubilant fans thronged central Belgrade, bringing traffic at the main Republic Square to a halt as they waved Serbian flags and hooted their car horns.
Chelsea were given a stiff examination by Stoke City at Stamford Bridge on Saturday before extending their lead at the top of the Premier League.
Images from the English Premier League matches played at Old Trafford on Saturday
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the EPL, La Liga and Serie A on Tuesday.
Images from the Champions League football matches played on Wednesday night.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick.
Champions League holders Real Madrid will face former European champions Liverpool, FC Basel and debutants Ludogorets of Bulgaria following the group stage draw on Thursday.
