Images from football action around European leagues played on Sunday
Manchester City advanced to the Champions League quarter-finals despite suffering their first home loss in over a year, going through 5-2 on aggregate after a 2-1 defeat by Swiss champions Basel on Wednesday.
Juventus crushed visiting Sampdoria 5-1 on Wednesday to leapfrog the Genoa side into second place in Serie A but AC Milan's revival stalled when last-gasp goals earned Napoli a 2-2 draw.
Luis Suarez, whose four-month ban for biting an opponent expires on Friday, will make his official Barcelona debut in Saturday's La Liga clasico at Real Madrid, coach Luis Enrique said.
Manchester City suffered from deja vu as Luis Suarez's double gave Barcelona a 2-1 first leg lead in a Champions League last 16 tie at the Etihad although Lionel Messi's late penalty miss left the door ajar on Tuesday.
Juventus's Montenegro striker Mirko Vucinic has been left out of their squad for the trip to Lazio in Serie A on Saturday (1945 GMT) after his move to Inter Milan fell through this week.
Dutch and Arsenal striker Robin van Persie will be out of action for up to six weeks after partially rupturing a right ankle ligament on Saturday.
Colombia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup for the first time after a double from James Rodriguez gave them a 2-0 win over Uruguay in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.
Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro has been ruled out of Euro 2008 after suffering ankle ligament damage on Monday, the Italian football federation said. The 34-year-old defender collided with Giorgio Chiellini in Italy's first training session in Austria and his departure was confirmed after having tests in hospital.
Serie A leaders Inter Milan handed Genoa their first home league defeat of the season on Saturday when strikers Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Mario Balotelli sealed a hard-fought 2-0 victory. With 11 games left, the champions stay seven points clear of second-placed Juventus, who beat city rivals Torino 1-0 thanks to Giorgio Chiellini's 81st minute header from a Pavel Nedved free kick.
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real Madrid paid more than 200 million euros ($227.76 million) to assemble their forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, but the attacking trio failed them again in Wednesday's Champions League exit to Juventus.
Spain, chasing an unprecedented third successive European Championship title and looking forward to facing Germany or Slovakia in the next round, have the upper hand in recent history, having not lost a competitive match against Italy since the 1994 World Cup.
A look at the last 16 team as Euro 2020 enters the knockout phase.
Images from the FIFA World Cup qualifying matches on Sunday night.
Luis Suarez has received a second European Golden Shoe of his career after becoming the leading scorer in Europe's top domestic leagues last season.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is renowned for his wild touchline antics but a shrewd tactical move with a triple substitution swung Wednesday's Champions League game against Juventus firmly his side's way.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Juventus were promoted back to Serie A with three games to spare after a thumping 5-1 win at Arezzo.
Tearful goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon ended his 20-year Italy career in the saddest possible way on Monday with their first failure to qualify for the World Cup in 60 years.
Italy were clinical in their approach as they beat Belgium 2-0 in their Euro 2016 Group E encounter on Monday.
Biting opponents may be appalling but it is harmless and should not be punished as severely as a bad tackle, says controversial Barcelona striker Luis Suarez.
Belgium finished five points clear at the top of League A Group 2 and will meet world champions France and former World Cup winners Italy and Spain in the final four next October.
A restaurant in St Petersburg has struck a chord with the hordes of soccer fans in town for the World Cup by serving up pizzas featuring the faces of some of the tournament's biggest stars.
Pragmatic, difficult to beat, spearheaded by talismanic forwards and led by veteran, battle-hardened coaches -- few teams have as much in common with each other as Uruguay and Portugal who meet in a World Cup round of 16 tie on Saturday.
The Barcelona striker's clever, low free kick helped Uruguay to beat hosts Russia 3-0 on Monday and to clinch top spot in Group A with three straight wins.
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez has been given a two-match cup ban for using provocative language after their King's Cup last-16 first-leg clash against Espanyol, the Spanish federation said on Friday. At the end of a bad-tempered derby on Wednesday which Barca won 4-1, insults were exchanged by both sets of players in the tunnel after leaving the pitch.
FIFA defended the harsh punishment it handed down to Uruguay striker Luis Suarez for biting an opponent during the World Cup, despite complaints on Friday from his coach, politicians and even the man he bit that the record penalty was excessive.
There is no stopping master goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon in his ambition to add more major titles to his collection of the 2006 World Cup and seven Serie A championships.
Italy manager Antonio Conte named his provisional squad for the European Championship on Monday, and his selection was notable as much for the player he left off as for those he chose.
Dani Alves appeared to have won the game for Juventus when he headed them in front in the 83rd minute but Remo Freuler pounced to equalise six minutes later as he punished some sloppy defending.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League debut for Juventus lasted only 29 minutes as he was red-carded but the Italians began their Group H campaign impressively with a 2-0 victory at Valencia on Wednesday. Penalties either side of halftime by Miralem Pjanic sealed the points for the visitors as Valencia's return to European competition after a two-year absence fell flat.
He can be called a flawed human but definitely a great player. That's Luis Suarez for you.
Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez was at a loss to explain how Luis Suarez missed three golden chances in his side's 1-0 win over Egypt in their opening World Cup Group A game but refused to blame his leading striker.
Luis Suarez scored his first Uruguay goals since the World Cup finals and his biting bran in a 3-0 friendly win over Oman on Monday.
Luis Suarez is likely to play his first competitive game for Barcelona in La Liga's "Clasico" against Real Madrid later this month and he says it is no coincidence his four-month biting ban expires the day before one of biggest fixtures in world soccer.
Rediff.com's Norma Godinho captures classic moments from the planet's greatest sports competition: The FIFA World Cup.
Spain and Italy have undergone managerial changes since Antonio Conte handed Vicente del Bosque a tactical masterclass at Euro 2016, but Spain go into Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Turin in better shape than their Group G rivals.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
Juventus made light work of bitter rivals Inter Milan on Sunday, winning 3-1 to increase their Serie A lead to nine points after AS Roma were washed out and Napoli blundered to a 3-0 defeat at Atalanta.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances