A touch of romance has returned to the Champions League quarter-finals with seven countries, including Cyprus, represented in this week's first legs with AC Milan-Barcelona topping the bill.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger was charged with improper conduct by UEFA Wednesday for comments made about the referee following Arsenal's Champions League exit to AC Milan.
Manchester United will be without world record signing Paul Pogba for their Premier League opener against Bournemouth on Sunday due to a suspension, the Football Association said on Friday.
Napoli jumped to second place in Serie A thanks to a laboured 1-0 win at lowly Cagliari while fellow title hopefuls Inter Milan suffered a 1-0 defeat at Parma in Monday's late game.
Real Madrid and AC Milan led a procession of six teams into the Champions League last 16 on Wednesday while big-spending Manchester City failed again on the European stage to further dent English soccer's standing.
Arsenal's miserable week got worse on Saturday when they were knocked out of the FA Cup in a 2-0 fifth round defeat at Sunderland while beleaguered Chelsea fared only slightly better by scraping a 1-1 draw against second tier Birmingham City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
AC Milan beat visitors Lazio 2-0 to claim consecutive Serie A wins for the first time since February thanks to Carlos Bacca's fifth goal of the season and an M'Baye Niang penalty on Tuesday.
Playmaker Andrea Pirlo is joining New York City FC from Italian champions Juventus later this month, the clubs said on Monday.
Morata to stay on loan at Juventus for another season
The FIFA World Cup knock-out phase kicks-off on Saturday in Qatar. Here's an overview of the teams advancing to the last 16.
Former AC Milan and Barcelona striker Ronaldinho walked out on Flamengo on Thursday after winning a court injunction releasing him from his contract, his lawyer said.
Images from the Serie A and La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Real Madrid coach Mourinho surprised many by including Kaka in the starting lineup for Wednesday's 4-1 Champions League win at Ajax and he responded with a performance full of verve and creativity that suggests he may be working his way back into contention.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 Champions League win at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday but big spending trio Zenit St Petersburg, Paris St Germain and Manchester City failed to win.
Juventus scored three goals in the opening 19 minutes to destroy AS Roma 4-1 and move three points clear in Serie A on Saturday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic will become the first player since Jean-Pierre Papin to score at least 30 goals in a French league season, the former France striker predicted on Tuesday.
AC Milan's season slumped to a new low on Sunday as they had two players sent off and lost 2-1 at Udinese while the bizarre postponement of the Cagliari-AS Roma match further damaged Serie A's fading credibility.
Juventus clinched their first Italian title for nine seasons on Sunday but not until Serie A had dished up its customary climactic mix of chaos, drama and controversy.
A summary of football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
AC Milan were booed off the pitch after suffering a shock 1-0 home defeat by Atalanta in Serie A on Saturday following a second-half Luca Cigarini strike that stunned the San Siro.
Barcelona wasted a golden opportunity to extend their lead at the top of LaLiga as they were shocked 1-0 at lowly Almeria on Sunday thanks to a first-half strike by El Bilal Toure.
Italy are back and they have a point to prove.
Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong has been included in the AC Milan squad to face Bologna after joining the Serie A side on a three-year-contract from English champions Manchester City on Friday.
After a week of controversy caused mainly by FIFA president Sepp Blatter's comments about racism, UEFA will hope that action on the pitch dominates this week's Champions League headlines as the group stage reaches crunch time.
Juventus, with 66 points from 27 games and chasing a ninth successive title, extended their lead to four points over Lazio, who visit Atalanta on Wednesday. Bologna are 10th.
Holders Barcelona were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at AC Milan in their Champions League quarter-final first leg as the attacking prowess of Lionel Messi and Zlatan Ibrahimovic was all but nullified on Wednesday.
Italy and AC Milan forward Antonio Cassano will be out for a "few months" and needs heart surgery after falling ill at the weekend, the Italian champions said on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi needs one more goal to break the Champions League season record of 12 goals, as title holders and favourites Barcelona visit AC Milan on Wednesday with the odds firmly stacked against the injury-hit Serie A team.
Struggling Inter Milan are praying their penalty curse does not strike again when they face Serie A leaders Juventus on Saturday.
Brazil have called on Kaka as a late addition for next month's Centenary Copa America in the United States, the Brazilian Football Confederation said on Thursday.
AC Milan's Brazilian striker Alexandre Pato was ruled out for a month with a thigh injury on Thursday, adding to a worrying injury list for the Italian champions.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic inspired AC Milan to a 4-0 demolition of Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday, although the sorry performance of the visitors had as much to do with the scoreline as the volatile Swede's brilliance.
Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker could be sidelined for a month with an ankle injury, manager Arsene Wenger said on the eve of Wednesday's Champions League game at AC Milan.
Barcelona need to avoid over-exuberance if they are to overturn a 2-0 deficit in Tuesday's Champions League clash at home to AC Milan, midfielder Cesc Fabregas said on Thursday.
The two-time Ballon d'Or winner and 2002 World Cup Golden Boot winner is currently in the intensive care unit recovering from pneumonia.
Barcelona face a daunting task to overcome AC Milan in the Champions League this month and must quickly recover their form after being dumped out of the King's Cup and beaten in La Liga by Real Madrid in five days.
Giampaolo Pazzini's double helped AC Milan take third place in Serie A with a 3-0 home victory over 10-man Lazio at the San Siro on Saturday.
Carlos Tevez could stay at Manchester City until the end of the season even though he has not kicked a ball for them since September and is unlikely ever to do so again.
AC Milan took their time but eventually eased past bottom side Novara 3-0 to stay on the tail of Serie A leaders Juventus on Sunday as Udinese and Inter Milan also won.
