Real Madrid tightened their grip on top spot by beating Alaves 3-0 at home in La Liga on Sunday to provisionally move five points ahead of nearest challengers Barcelona despite coach Zinedine Zidane making a string of changes in defence.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is under pressure to break up his misfiring attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale when he takes the La Liga leaders to Alaves on Saturday.
The players celebrated with their families and loved ones in the stadium as each player lifted and kissed the trophy that had Real Madrid etched on it.
Liverpool laboured to a 2-0 win over Denmark's Midtjylland on Tuesday as a goal from Diogo Jota and a Mohamed Salah penalty secured a hard-fought Champions League Group D victory at Anfield.
European champions Real Madrid turned on the party tricks as they sailed into the Club World Cup final by crushing Cruz Azul 4-0 in Marrakech.
Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo will be looking to rekindle some of the magic they once served up under Carlo Ancelotti on Wednesday when they face their old coach in the latest edition of Real Madrid's rivalry with Bayern Munich.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Holders Real Madrid breezed into the last 16 of the Champions League with two games to spare when a Karim Benzema strike secured a 1-0 win in their Group B match at home to a toothless Liverpool on Tuesday.
Technology that could change football in coming years.
Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead in the 20th minute with an irresistible piece of control and finish after a pinpoint pass from Luka Modric.
Real and Barca have won the title in 15 of the last 16 seasons, with Atletico breaking the duopoly in 2014.
Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive La Liga victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
Olivier Giroud said he had breathed a sigh of relief after scoring the first goal in Euro 2016 and wished the boos he has faced throughout his career would now go away. The France striker, who opened the scoring with a brave header in Friday's 2-1 win over Romania on Friday, now has eight goals from his last eight games for the national team. Giroud, who has scored 18 goals for France, is the team's most prolific striker since Didiers Deschamps took over as coach in 2012. "My statistics speak for themselves," Giroud told a news conference at France's training camp outside Paris on Saturday. "People say I get better through adversity but I'd be happy to live without all the mudslingers," he added.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick as his side thrashed arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-1 on Sunday in a highly entertaining 'Clasico' which surely will signal the end of hapless coach Julen Lopetegui's spell in charge of Real.
Real Madrid are hoping the fit-again Cristiano Ronaldo can lead them into the Champions League final although strike partner Karim Benzema remains a doubt for Wednesday's return match with Manchester City.
Real Madrid suffered an almighty fright before a Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick hauled them back from 2-1 down and gave them a 4-2 win over rank outsiders Kashima Antlers in the Club World Cup final on Sunday.
Real Madrid stayed hard on the heels of leaders Barcelona when in-form striker Karim Benzema scored to set them on their way to a 2-1 win at battling city rivals Atletico in La Liga on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo broke his four-game scoring drought with a hat-trick as Real Madrid trounced lowly Malaga 7-0 in La Liga on Thursday to trim the gap with leaders Barcelona back to seven points.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Barcelona star Gerard Pique and his Colombian pop star partner Shakira have found themselves at the centre of a storm.
France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up. Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites. A state of emergency is also still in force after last November's Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday's opening game.
Deschamps has proven both innovative and brave as coach, and is now one victory away from joining an elite club.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was disappointed that he was only asked about the referee's decisions after his side earned a 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday to climb above Barcelona and top La Liga.
Diego Costa scored four goals as Real Madrid were embarrassed 7-3 by rivals Atletico Madrid in the final match of their United States tour, in New Jersey, on Friday
Real Madrid's miserable run of results continued on Saturday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Levante, their third successive loss in all competitions which piles more pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui.
Real Madrid secured a club record 16th straight victory when Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale struck in a laboured 2-1 win at Malaga on Saturday that put them five points clear of second-placed Barcelona in La Liga.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
And what an exciting week it has been, with players returning to packed stadiums, some memorable individual and team performances and a medical incident which had the world on edge.
Pepe opened the scoring for Real with a looping header that flew past Jan Oblak in the 52nd minute and it looked like the hosts would earn three points to move five clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
A Paco Alcacer header gave Valencia a 2-2 draw in a highly charged La Liga clash against third-placed Real Madrid who had taken the lead with eight minutes remaining on Sunday.
A summary of Wednesday night's matches inthe UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo's bullet header helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory .
Each Round of 16 game was entertaining. Laxmi Negi/Rediff.com picks the games to remember.
Gareth Bale was once again subjected to whistling from a section of the Bernabeu crowd.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale will return to action for Real Madrid's La Liga game with Villarreal on Wednesday, coach Zinedine Zidane said.
Ronaldo's nomination comes after the 33-year-old last week denied rape allegations levelled against him by a woman who sued him in court in the United States.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo ended his early-season drought in emphatic style when he hit five goals in a 6-0 romp at Espanyol on Saturday to become the club's record scorer in La Liga.
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