Champions Juventus returned to the top of Serie A with a 4-0 home rout of Cagliari on Wednesday, while former leaders Napoli dropped to second after being held to a goalless draw at Genoa.
Saturday's clash between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford is already shaping up as an early-season eliminator to challenge runaway leaders Manchester City for the Premier League title.
Champions Barcelona came through a gruelling La Liga test at a rainswept San Mames on Sunday, beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's first-half header.
A late goal by Toni Kroos sealed victory as Real Madrid defeated an impressive Celta Vigo side 2-1 to win their first home La Liga game of the campaign on Saturday.
European powerhouse France rallied from a goal down to hand a 5-1 drubbing on Honduras and qualify for the knockout stage as group toppers in the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Guwahati.
Chelsea struck the woodwork twice but could not find a breakthrough in an entertaining 0-0 Champions League draw at Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday that left everything to play for in Group G.
La Liga champions Barcelona began the new campaign with a 3-0 win over Alaves on Saturday with the help of a spectacular under-the-wall free kick from Lionel Messi, who scored twice, and a curling shot from substitute Philippe Coutinho.
AC Milan have made a habit of muddling through under coach Massimiliano Allegri and they did it again on Wednesday by scraping into the Champions League knockout stage with a performance which left opponents Ajax Amsterdam fuming.
Mbappe and Benzema inspire France to 2-0 win against Finland
Striker Kylian Mbappe will bounce back from missing the decisive penalty in France's shootout loss to Switzerland on Monday that saw the world champions exit Euro 2020 at the last-16 stage, coach Didier Deschamps said.
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.
A summary of Thursday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Arsenal missed the chance to heighten the congestion at the top of the Premier League and suffered fresh injury blows when a frustrating 1-1 draw at Norwich City failed to take them alongside leaders Manchester City and Leicester City on Sunday.
Victory for Gareth Southgate's England side in the eagerly-awaited Group D clash at a rain-swept Wembley stadium would have sealed a place in the last 16 but they produced a nervous performance against the Scots, who kept their own hopes alive.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri has underscored the unpredictable nature of the Premier League this season, stating that it seemed as if "nobody wants to win the league".
Images from the EPL matches played on Saturday
Kevin Gameiro grabbed a stoppage-time equaliser for Valencia after Denis Cheryshev had reduced the deficit with 20 minutes remaining, leaving the tie in the balance heading into the second leg at the Mestalla stadium on February 28.
Juergen Klopp's side remain seventh, six points behind the Champions League places, after only their second defeat in the 12 games since the German took over in October
Four months after quitting Liverpool for Manchester City, Raheem Sterling will have the first opportunity to justify the move by getting one over his former employers when the teams meet at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Qatar smashed 15 unanswered goals past Bhutan and the United Arab Emirates knocked in 10 against Malaysia in a lopsided round of World Cup qualifiers across Asia on Thursday
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
Match-by-match facts and statistics ahead of the Premier League fixtures on April 28-30
Arsenal fear Sanchez injury loss could be 'big blow'.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
A preview of the line-up action in the English Premier League from October 20-22.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Ghana's head coach Avram Grant hit out at African Nations Cup organisers for giving his side a shoddy bus and lengthy commute ahead of their critical Group C clash with Algeria.
Manchester City suffered their first home Premier League loss in eight months as a shock 3-2 defeat by Crystal Palace on Saturday left Pep Guardiola's champions trailing leaders Liverpool by four points.
Chennaiyin FC produced a clinical performance and pumped in goals in the second half to thrash Mumbai City FC 3-0 to consolidate their position at the top of the table in Indian Super League at the DY Patil Stadium.
The jury is still out on whether the Indian Super League (ISL) can wake the world's second most populous nation from its football slumber but the first week of the eight-team competition has at least made people sit up and take notice.
Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
Argentina's Sergio Romero launched himself left and right to save two penalties in a 4-2 shootout win over the Netherlands on Wednesday that sealed the South Americans' first World Cup final appearance in 24 years.
Pepe Reina produced three excellent saves to help lethargic Liverpool earn a point from a goalless and somewhat predictable Premier League draw at Birmingham City on Sunday.
AC Milan clung on to beat Parma 5-4 away in Serie A on Sunday despite an dreadful defensive display which included Mattia De Sciglio scoring an extraordinary own goal from near the halfway line late in the match.
West Brom, relegated from the Premier League last season, made 11 changes from the side that won at the weekend in the Championship and had five players -- including goalkeeper Alex Palmer -- making their debuts.
Odisha named an unchanged XI from the side that lost to Bengaluru FC while NorthEast coach Gerard Nus rang in four changes with Federico Gallego handed a start.
