News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
An Aaron Ramsey strike and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, while Chelsea beat a stubborn Slavia Prague 1-0.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Bayer Leverkusen have signed South Korean forward Son Heung-min from Hamburg SV and have agreed with Chelsea for the transfer of winger Andre Schuerrle as the club prepare for next season's Champions League, they said on Thursday.
Images from Europa League matches played across Europe on Thursday.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat hosts Mainz 05 2-0 on Friday in coach Thomas Tuchel's return to his former club, ending their three-game winless run in the Bundesliga to close in on leaders Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league's top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions' 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.
Ghana midfielder Derek Boateng and Venezuela centre back Fernando Amorebieta have both joined Premier League Fulham on free transfers, the club said on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has drawn up a contingency plan in the event he fails to land his number one target, Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, before the transfer window closes on September 2.
Central defender Eric Bailly joined Manchester United from Spanish side Villarreal on a four-year contract with the option to extend for a further two years, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
In just a few months at Old Trafford, Jose Mourinho has been dismissed from the touchline and fined for his conduct as his side endured a poor start to the season -- yet the Portuguese is still enjoying being Manchester United manager.
Marcus Rashford grabbed a hat-trick on his England Under-21 debut as they crushed Norway 6-1 in a European Championship qualifier on Tuesday.
Chelsea are in the last chance saloon as far as a trophy goes and Fernando Torres, complete with his 'Mask of Zorro', must continue his recent improvement in swashbuckling style in Thursday's Europa League semi-finals.
Holders Chelsea should have striker Demba Ba and defender Ryan Bertrand available for Sunday's FA Cup semi-final against ManchesterCity at Wembley.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Juventus have 13 points from seven games, three behind leaders AC Milan who host Verona later on Sunday. Lazio have 11 points.
Villarreal secured their place in the Champions League qualifying round with a 2-0 win at local rivals Valencia on Sunday, guaranteeing fourth place in La Liga.
Liverpool defender Mamadou Sakho has been provisionally suspended for 30 days after failing an anti-doping test, European soccer's governing body UEFA said on Thursday.
Three Frenchmen, one a member of a far-right organisation, were held for questioning after allegedly assaulting Tottenham fans ahead of the London-based team's Europa League match against Olympique Lyon, police said on Thursday.
Given the improvements at Chelsea and Arsenal, it will still be a significant achievement for United to secure a top four finish and in the Champions League, a decent run in the knockout stages would also be a sign of progress.
Malaga will be free to compete in the Europa League next season after UEFA announced on Wednesday that the European ban imposed on the Spanish club had been lifted.
Manager Jose Mourinho has given a clear hint Chelsea will make a third big-money attempt to buy Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney before the transfer window closes on September 2.
Tottenham Hotspur have signed Netherlands striker Vincent Janssen from AZ Alkmaar on a four-year contract, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. The 22-year-old finished his first top-flight season as the highest scorer in the Dutch league by racking up 27 goals to lead AZ to fourth in the table and a place in the Europa League next season.
Everton's hopes of playing European football next season receded after they drew 0-0 at city rivals Liverpool on Sunday.
Manchester United's teenage striker Marcus Rashford was a late inclusion against Midtjylland in Thursday's Europa League clash after a team mate was injured in the warm-up and delivered two goals in a 5-1 win for a dream debut.
Egemen Korkmaz's second-half header earned Fenerbahce a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final against Benfica and eased the tears of team mate Cristian on Thursday.
The novel coronavirus outbreak has prompted India to withdraw from next month's shooting World Cup in Cyprus, the National Rifles Association of India (NRAI) revealed on Friday.
The UEFA Champions League semi-finals will be German vs Spanish contests after Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund were drawn to play at home against Real Madrid and 2012 finalists Bayern Munich were pitted against Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Benfica to sign their Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan for 25 million euros ($28.06 million), the La Liga club said on Thursday. The 28-year-old Gaitan, who is under contract at Benfica until June 2019, is currently with the Argentina squad competing at the Copa America. The deal is subject to a medical.
Manchester City's dismal exit from European competition is not an embarrassment and could boost the big-spending club's defence of the Premier League title, according to manager Roberto Mancini.
'We haven't managed to get ourselves in the top four. We needed other teams to help us out and we needed to help ourselves and we haven't done that'
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba has thanked Jose Mourinho for helping him 'improve as a person' despite the breakdown of their relationship in the last few months leading up to the former manager's sacking on Tuesday.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was named UEFA's Player of the Year, beating Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Buffon to the prize, European soccer's governing body announced during the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday.
Porto will face a disciplinary hearing after opponents Manchester City complained that striker Mario Balotelli suffered racist abuse during their Europa League match last Thursday.
Atletico Madrid made sure of at least a third-placed finish in La Liga and secured a berth in the Champions League group stages for next season with a 3-1 win away to struggling Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Chelsea's rollercoaster of a season could yet end with another night of European glory after they knocked FC Basel out of the semi-finals on Thursday to set up a Europa League final against Benfica.
VfB Stuttgart edged past surprise package Freiburg 2-1 on Wednesday to set up a German Cup final against Bayern Munich and secure a European spot for next season.
Barcelona have been drawn to play Pep Guardiola's Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals. The other last-four tie will see Juventus, in their first semi-final since 2003, take on Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid, the defending champions.
The Champions League rule which has denied Tottenham Hotspur a place in next season's competition because Chelsea won Saturday's final could be reviewed by UEFA's executive committee, president Michel Platini said on Wednesday.
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