Chelsea struck the woodwork twice but could not find a breakthrough in an entertaining 0-0 Champions League draw at Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday that left everything to play for in Group G.
Two late goals in two minutes from Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez gave European champions Barcelona a dramatic 2-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday.
It was the ninth consecutive victory for Dortmund in all competitions this season and showed they had put last season's disappointing performances behind them.
A summary of Thursday's matches in Europe's second tier club football tournament
AS Roma supporters may be looking ahead to Barcelona's Champions League visit with some trepidation and coach Rudi Garcia certainly does not seem to be bursting with optimism.
Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the La Liga season to a phenomenal 13 goals in six appearances with his third treble of the campaign as Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Chelsea's Ruben Loftus-Cheek had a Europa League night to remember by scoring the first hat-trick of his career as the midfielder inspired them to a 3-1 home win over Belarus champions BATE Borisov on Thursday.
Arsenal will not sell striker Olivier Giroud, midfielder Jack Wilshere and winger Theo Walcott in the January transfer window despite their lack of playing time at the Premier League club, manager Arsene Wenger has said.
Former Arsenal star Alexander Hleb says he made a mistake by leaving the Emirates to join Barcelona in 2008, and expressed regret at turning his back on managerial 'great' Arsene Wenger.
As Barca prepare for a trip to Madrid to play Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, they are still reeling from Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League reverse at Paris St Germain, when their defence was badly exposed by the Ligue 1 title holders.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Friday
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.
Arsenal and Chelsea were among seven teams to reach the Europa League knockout stage on Thursday, while last year's runners-up Olympique de Marseille were eliminated at the group phase.
Manchester United ended their one-year Champions League hiatus in emphatic style when Wayne Rooney struck a hat-trick in a 4-0 destruction of Club Bruges that sent the three-times winners through 7-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.
On a night of close finishes in all five first-leg playoff games, the 21-year-old Dutch winger opened his United account with a memorable performance in the famous number seven shirt previously worn by George Best, Eric Cantona and David Beckham.
Real Madrid and Barcelona pulled two points clear in La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in Real's 3-0 stroll against Levante and Neymar hit four as Barca beat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 on Saturday.
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.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Bayern Munich carved out a 1-0 win at CSKA Moscow on Tuesday thanks to Thomas Mueller's first-half penalty in the strangely muted atmosphere of a cold, damp and deserted Khimki Arena.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez hit a brace and set up a double for a spritely Lionel Messi to score in his first start after injury in a rampant 6-1 Champions League victory over AS Roma on Tuesday.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Photos from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi equalled the Champions League scoring record of 71 goals when he struck for the second time in the 76th minute of Wednesday's Group F match at Ajax Amsterdam.
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