Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich face Borussia Dortmund on Saturday with relations between the German heavyweights seemingly at an all-time low.
Gonzalo Higuain netted twice, the first a superb individual effort, to give Napoli a 4-2 win at Lazio while Fiorentina beat Hellas Verona 4-3 in a Serie A scoring spree on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Champions Juventus continued their resurgence by beating Hellas Verona 3-0 at home for an eighth successive Serie A victory as Inter Milan remained top after winning 1-0 at Empoli.
Decision to sack Claudio Ranieri nine months after he led Leicester City to a historic title widely criticised.
When Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri was greeted with a hail of eggs and spat at on his first day at work he could not have imagined he would lead them to the brink of an unprecedented treble of titles in his first season.
World No 1 Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect tournament record and advanced to his fifth China Open final with a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Andy Murray on Saturday.
The enduring image of Luis Enrique for many soccer fans is the Spain player with blood gushing from his nose after a vicious elbow from Italy defender Mauro Tassotti during the 1994 World Cup quarter-final in Boston.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Napoli's decision to loan Emanuele Calaio to Genoa came back to haunt them on Monday when the 32-year-old scored with a late free kick in a 1-1 Serie A draw costing his owners two points in the race for a Champions League spot.
Carlos Tevez scored a stunning goal as Serie A leaders Juventus beat Torino 1-0 on Sunday to continue an extraordinary dominance of their neighbours.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
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.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi rescued a 1-1 draw at Villarreal with a sensational late free-kick on Sunday but could not prevent the champions finishing the weekend third in La Liga, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
A Neymar double and a clinical finish from Luis Suarez handed Barcelona a comfortable 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov that put them on the verge of qualifying for the last 16 of the Champions League for the 12th consecutive season.
With Liverpool still to visit Chelsea, who trail them by nine points with two games in hand, Juergen Klopp's side may have to beat Brighton & Hove Albion on May 13 and rely on their superior goal difference to qualify for the Champions League, assuming they do not secure it by winning this year's trophy.
A round-up of all football-related news...
Leicester's Mahrez finds form in time for January sales
Parma's Antonio Cassano grabbed his 100th Serie A goal with a stunning volley in a 1-1 draw at home to 10-man Bologna while Genoa's Davide Biondini secured the same result in an equally enthralling clash with Torino on Saturday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
The last-16 knock-out round kicks-off this week with Chelsea visiting Paris on Tuesday; Zidane to coach Real Madrid as manager in his first match in Europe
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
FIFA's Task Force for Women's Football has called for a target of 30 percent women's participation in the governing body's leading structures and top jobs, FIFA said on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Saturday
Everyone at Manchester City is flying high after the 1-0 derby win over Manchester United at the weekend but they could all come crashing back to earth after Wednesday's meeting with CSKA Moscow in the Champions League.
Arturo Vidal's double helped Juventus to their 12th straight league win with a 4-2 triumph over Sampdoria and saw the Italian champions restore an eight-point lead at the top of Serie A.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
Manchester City have signed French central defender Aymeric Laporte from Spanish club Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez struck to give the Serie A champions a 1-0 win over AC Milan on Saturday, handing coach Massimiliano Allegri a winning return to San Siro where he was shown the door eight months ago.
One of the most disappointing aspects of Barcelona's failure to win major silverware last season was the lack of on-field chemistry between Lionel Messi and Neymar.
AC Milan chief executive Adriano Galliani is to quit after 27 years at the Serie A club, he told the ANSA news agency on Friday.
AC Milan clung on to beat Parma 5-4 away in Serie A on Sunday despite an dreadful defensive display which included Mattia De Sciglio scoring an extraordinary own goal from near the halfway line late in the match.
Carlos Tevez scored twice to give Serie A leaders Juventus a 3-2 win over Fiorentina on Wednesday but Lazio prevented them from celebrating the title by thumping bottom club Parma 4-0, which condemned their opponents to Serie B.
Juventus defeated second-placed Lazio 2-0 at home on Saturday to take another huge step towards their fourth straight Serie A title and boost their confidence for Wednesday's crunch Champions League clash in Monaco.
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.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging four goals, while Juventus and Bayern Munich preserved their leads and FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the competition.
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.
