Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Barcelona rarely looked capable of repeating their heroic comeback in the last 16 against Paris St Germain.
Midfielder Riccardo Montolivo missed out on his second straight major tournament due to injury on Tuesday while Daniele De Rossi was included in Italy's 23-man squad for next month's European Championship in France.
A referee has admitted to making a mistake in awarding Italy's second goal during their 4-2 defeat to Brazil at the Confederations Cup, FIFA said on Sunday.
Egypt's crucial performer has been battling against time to be fit for the Group A encounter since hurting ligaments in an awkward fall in the early stages of last month's Champions League final.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is expecting an even greater impact from Luis Suarez this season with the cloud of disciplinary problems no longer hanging over the Uruguay striker.
Barcelona striker Neymar is confident the Catalans can launch another remarkable Champions League comeback as they look to overturn a 3-0 quarter-final deficit against Juventus on Wednesday.
Luis Suarez scored an equaliser and was just wide with what could have been a spectacular winner as Uruguay were held to a 3-3 draw by Costa Rica in a friendly.
Cristiano Ronaldo showed nerves of steel to score an injury-time penalty and send holders Real Madrid into the semi-finals of the Champions League in extraordinary circumstances as they lost 3-1 to Juventus on Wednesday but won a thrilling tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Italy will even be back to four teams in the Champions League group stage this season -- although that is thanks to a controversial re-formulation of the competition by UEFA rather than a significant improvement in performances by Serie A clubs.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We will need to have a good day to get past a rival of this magnitude'
Italy's Daniele De Rossi scored a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw against Spain in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday, sparing home goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's blushes after he gifted the visitors the lead. Buffon, making his 164th appearance, rushed out of his area as Vitolo broke clear but the 38-year-old completely mistimed his tackle, allowing the Spaniard to go round him and put the ball into an empty net in the 55th minute. Italy, who had been outplayed in the Group G clash, fought back and levelled in the 82nd when Eder was fouled by Sergio Ramos and De Rossi converted the spot kick, their only shot on target in the match.
Juventus slumped to another surprise defeat on Wednesday when the champions lost 1-0 at Sassuolo while AS Roma reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 home victory over Udinese.
The Belgian forward came off the bench to make his Real debut in Saturday's 3-2 win over Levante, having had his start to life at the club hit by a thigh injury the day before the La Liga season began.
World Cup hosts Russia got their Nations League campaign off to a flying start with a 2-1 win away to Turkey thanks to goals from Dennis Cheryshev and Artem Dzyuba on Friday.
Barcelona's hopes of staging another sensational Champions League comeback fell flat against a hardened Juventus side who held the Catalans to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate.
Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination after being thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and few believe lightning can strike twice.
Luis Suarez ended his nine-match biting ban in fine style on Friday, grabbing the second-half equaliser that gave Uruguay a 2-2 draw in an enthralling battle with Brazil in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Italy's football authorities have ordered AC Milan to play its next game behind closed doors and fined the club 50,000 euros ($67,900) following abusive chants by supporters against southern club Napoli.
Defender Diego Godin scored a dramatic goal nine minutes from time to send Uruguay through to the World Cup last 16 after a 1-0 win over Italy, on Tuesday, which sent the four-times champions home.
Italy coach Antonio Conte said he wants more of the team's supporters at Euro 2016 to show their pride by wearing blue shirts after they secured their place in the knockout stages with a 1-0 win over Sweden on Friday. As the Azzurri secured their second straight win with Eder's late goal, Conte was impressed by the vast number of Swedish supporters inside the stadium in Toulouse wearing their side's bright yellow shirts. Italy, in contrast, looked under-represented in the stadium.
Luis Suarez struggled to get into his stride with new club Barcelona after his ban for biting an opponent expired in October and the Uruguay striker is determined to avoid the same fate when the new season starts next month.
Juventus won a second consecutive double when substitute Alvaro Morata's extra-time goal secured a 1-0 Italian Cup final win over AC Milan who missed out on Europe for a third successive season on Saturday.
Hertha Berlin's Salomon Kalou scored twice, including a stoppage-time penalty, to earn a last-gasp 2-2 draw at Bundesliga leaders Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.
Luis Suarez has progressed from his impressive debut La Liga campaign to produce the most prolific season of his career and fire Barcelona to a second straight title, free of the stigma of his ban for biting which accompanied him to Spain in 2014. It was fitting that the Uruguayan should score a hat-trick in the comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada on Saturday to clinch the title, taking his tally to 40 goals in 35 games. He is the first player other than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi to finish as La Liga top scorer since 2009 but his contribution to Barca's title triumph goes beyond his goals and 16 assists. For Suarez is the hardest working of the feted 'MSN' partnership he forms with Messi and Neymar, a trio who have delivered 90 of Barcelona's 112 league goals. He is also the most willing to close down opponents and run into space and, naturally, he has shown himself to be the player who is keenest to throw himself into any physical battle.
Stopping prolific Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the Champions League final will be a formidable task, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after his side clinched their place in next month's showpiece in Berlin.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Portugal became the first team to qualify for the Nations League semi-finals when they held Italy 0-0 on Saturday, the second time in a year that the hosts have been knocked out of a competition following a goalless draw at the San Siro.
Antonio Conte far exceeded expectations with a limited Italy squad at Euro 2016 and the coach, who is heading for pastures new at English club Chelsea, is likely to prove a tough act for replacement Giampiero Ventura to follow.
Title contenders Germany will come face to face with their ultimate tournament nightmare when they take on Italy in their Euro 2016 quarter-final in Bordeaux on Saturday.
Like an ailing heavyweight, Spain and their hopes of a third straight European title ended in a tame surrender as their 2-0 defeat by Italy represented the definitive end to a golden era in their footballing history. A first-half effort from defender Giorgio Chiellini and a stoppage-time goal by striker Graziano Pelle sent the Azzurri into the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 and left Spain to mull over a second successive failure on the international stage.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final 2nd leg matches played on Tuesday
Luis Suarez is starting to "feel like a footballer" once again after being allowed to train with new club Barcelona following his appeal against a FIFA ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup.
Juventus clinched a place in the Champions League knockout stages when a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo assist set up Mario Mandzukic to give them a 1-0 win over Valencia on Tuesday.
As another eventful year draws to a close, Rediff.com gives you a pictorial look back at the best and worst moments that shaped the sports stories this year.
Sevilla will attempt to draw Bayern Munich out of their comfort zone and take the game to the Germans,
Goalkeeper and captain Gianluigi Buffon announced his retirement as the Azzurris unable to qualify for first time since 1958.
When Massimiliano Allegri arrived in Turin last July, Juventus ownership had set two goals for him - win a fourth straight "Scudetto" and reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
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