Manchester United have completed the signing of Frenchman Gabriel Obertan on a four-year contract, the Premier League champions said on Wednesday. The 20-year-old, who can play in a number of different attacking positions, has joined United from French club Girondins Bordeaux.
Bayern Munich general director Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has urged the troubled German side to lift their game or face elimination at the Champions League group stage.
Holders Paris St Germain reached their third consecutive League Cup final when goals by Argentina's Ezequiel Lavezzi and Angel Di Maria gave the French champions a 2-0 victory over Toulouse.
Didier Drogba scored twice on his return from a three-match European suspension as Chelsea drew 2-2 at Atletico Madrid to seal their place in the knock-out round of the Champions League on Tuesday. They were joined in the last 16 by Manchester United, Porto and Girondins Bordeaux, although four-time European champions Bayern Munich are on the brink of elimination after losing at home to the French champions.
A late Bafetimbi Gomis goal gave Olympique Lyon a 2-1 home win over Toulouse to send the seven-times champions to the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Olympique Lyon suffered another setback when Lorient knocked them out of the French League Cup with a 1-0 home win on Wednesday.
The status quo remained the same in Europe's top leagues as Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Olympique Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen all won to remain at the top of their leagues. Lyon enjoy the healthiest advantage after a win over last season's runners-up Girondins Bordeaux gave them a seven-point cushion in France while Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen retained slender goal difference leads in England and Germany.
Olympique Lyon coach Claude Puel is under no illusions that his side face a monumental task to reclaim a Ligue 1 title they owned for seven successive seasons without their two most influential players.
Bayern Munich, facing an early Champions League exit, revived their chances of reaching the last 16 on Wednesday as they beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 and rivals Juventus lost at Girondins Bordeaux. AC Milan missed a chance to qualify when they were held 1-1 at home by Olympique Marseille and Real Madrid produced an uninspiring 1-0 win over Swiss champions FC Zurich in the same group.
Olympique Lyon's hopes of clinching an eighth consecutive Ligue 1 title suffered another blow when they were held to a goalless draw at home to Paris St Germain on Friday.
Monaco handed Paris St Germain their first defeat of the season in Ligue 1 when a couple of late goals earned them a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.
Former European champions Liverpool and Inter Milan sealed their berths in the Champions League last 16 but last season's finalists Chelsea still have work to do after a 1-1 draw at Girondins Bordeaux on Wednesday.
A 25-metre half-volley from Miohel Bastos helped Olympique Lyon defeat AS Nancy 3-1 to grab top spot in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Two first-half goals by Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 2-1 win at Olympique Marseille in their opening Champions League Group D match on Tuesday.
England will need to stick to the tactics used in Saturday's European Championship draw against Russia when they face Wales on Thursday.
Chelsea completed a clean sweep for English teams in the Champions League group stage after beating Cluj 2-1 on Tuesday to join holders Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool in the last 16 of the competition.
A late Brandao goal gave Olympique Marseille a 2-1 win at Lorient which sent them two points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Edinson Cavani silenced his critics when he scored four goals in Paris St Germain's 6-0 victory at Caen in Ligue 1 on Friday.
Steven Gerrard scored a controversial penalty deep into injury time to earn Liverpool a 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in Champions League Group D on Tuesday. The Liverpool captain converted from the spot after he was challenged in the box by Mariano Pernia and Swedish referee Martin Hansson awarded a debatable penalty kick.
Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon lost 2-0 to Lille at the Stade de France on Saturday and saw their advantage at the top cut to just one point.
Chelsea, last season's beaten finalists, are taking nothing for granted in their first match against Romanian opposition despite Cluj's lack of European experience.
Chelsea's World Cup winning coach Luiz Felipe Scolari becomes the latest to try to guide the rich London club to European club football's big prize on Tuesday when the Champions League groups stages kick off.
Holders Manchester United will face familiar foes Celtic in this season's Champions League group stage.
Images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
The fixtures for the group stages in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, which kicks-off on Wednesday.
Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has suffered another injury setback after a foot problem picked up in training ruled him out of a return against Girondins Bordeaux in the Europa League
Striker Julio Cruz headed in 10 minutes from time to spare defender Nicolas Burdisso's blushes and give Inter Milan a 3-3 draw at Anorthosis Famagusta in Champions League Group B on Tuesday. A win would have put the Serie A champions through to the last 16 but instead the group leaders gifted Anorthosis three goals.
Barcelona reached the last 16 of the Champions League despite being held to a 1-1 draw by a determined Basel at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.
Two goals by Mirko Vucinic guided AS Roma to a surprise 3-1 win over last season's runners-up Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday. Former Chelsea defender Christian Panucci tapped in the first from close range on 34 minutes and Montenegro striker Vucinic struck twice at the start of the second half as Roma ended a run of five consecutive defeats. The Londoners pulled one back through captain John Terry in the 75th.
Thailand's twin ATP doubles stars Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana navigated a smoke-filled corridor with wet towels wrapped around their faces to avoid a dangerous hotel fire Monday in Bordeaux, France, where they are competing in an ATP Challenger event.
Substitute Lionel Messi scored two late goals, including one in stoppage time, to lead 2006 winners Barcelona to a 2-1 victory at Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League on Wednesday. Last season's runners-up Chelsea were held to a 0-0 draw at surprise packages CFR Cluj, who were playing in Romania's third division just six years ago.
Luiz Felipe Scolari said his Chelsea team did not play as well as he would have liked despite their emphatic 4-0 win over Girondins Bordeaux in their opening Champions League Group A match on Tuesday. Bordeaux manager Laurent Blanc, a winner at Stamford Bridge during his spell in central defence with Manchester United at the start of the decade, said Chelsea were far the better team.
A goal in each half from Mancini and Adriano gave Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in their opening Champions League Group B game on Tuesday.
Giant-killer Saurav Ghosal notched up the biggest title of his career by winning the inaugural Ornano International Open, stunning third seed Davide Bianchetti in the final of the $ 15,000 PSA Tour squash event in Bordeaux.
National squash champion Saurav Ghosal toppled fifth seed Amr Swelim of Egypt to enter the final of the US $ 15,000 Ornano International Open in Bordeaux on Saturday. The fifth-seeded Indian came from behind to beat top seed Renan Lavigne 7-11, 15-13, 11-5, 11-5 in the quarter-final and then quelled the challenge of Swelim 10-12, 11-2, 11-2, 3-11, 14-12 in the semi-finals.
Olympique Lyon stayed on course for a seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title by winning 2-1 at mid-table Valenciennes on Sunday.
Zinedine Zidane has been reappointed as Real Madrid coach nine months after resigning, replacing Argentine Santiago Solari.
Wales winger Gareth Bale has enough firepower to terrorise opponents in this month's European Championship in France, midfielder Joe Allen has said.
Olympique Lyon wrapped up a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title with a convincing 3-1 win at AJ Auxerre.
A round-up of matches played in the Serie A and French Ligue 1 on Sunday
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