Olympique Marseille are on their knees and will have two key players missing when they host formidable Bayern Munich in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday but hope springs eternal.
Olympique Marseille hit a new low when they were knocked out of the French Cup quarter-finals 3-2 after extra time at third division Quevilly on Tuesday.
Striker Javier Hernandez's double helped move Manchester United four points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 4-0 win at Wigan Athletic on Saturday.
Holders Barcelona will begin their defence of the Champions League with a home match against AC Milan after the two old rivals were drawn in the same group on Thursday.
Surprise package FC Basel will be the only reigning domestic champions in action in the Champions League this week as they host Bayern Munich in the first leg of the round of 16.
Images from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Former France World Cup winner Marcel Desailly is among the candidates to become new Ghana coach, the Black Stars said on their website (www.ghanafa.org) on Monday.
Schalke 04, Lokomotiv Moscow and Stoke City sealed places in the last 32 of the Europa League but a 2-0 defeat at Salzburg left Paris St Germain coach Antoine Kombouare looking over his shoulder on Thursday.
Arsenal midfielder Samir Nasri will miss the start of the season after breaking his leg on Tuesday at the club's training camp in Austria.
Olympique Marseille emerged from a nightmare start to their Ligue 1 title defence by beating Lorient 2-0 on Saturday.
France forward Hatem Ben Arfa is joining Olympique Marseille from French champions Olympique Lyon, Marseille said on Wednesday.
Champions Olympique Marseille lost ground in the Ligue 1 title race after being held to a 0-0 draw at struggling Monaco on Sunday.
Olympique Marseille became the first team to retain the French League Cup when a late Taye Taiwo goal gave them a 1-0 win over Montpellier in a scrappy final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Javier Hernandez struck twice to lift Manchester United to a 2-1 win over Olympique Marseille on Tuesday and a place in the Champions League quarter-finals for the fifth year in a row.
Fans dived in the sea at the Vieux Port as Olympique Marseille ended an 18-year wait for the French title when late goals by Mamadou Niang and Lucho Gonzalez secured a 3-1 home win over Stade Rennes on Wednesday.
Olympique Marseille opened a one-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after they were held to a goalless home draw by Stade Rennes in a rescheduled game on Wednesday.
Roundup of the Champions League match played on Tuesday.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
Stephane Mbia struck two minutes from time to give Olympique Marseille a 1-0 win at lowly Sochaux which sent them five points clear at the top of Ligue 1 on Wednesday.
Zinedine Zidane will accept an offer from Jose Mourinho to work more closely with the Real Madrid coach, the former France great has said.
Loic Remy's first-half goal earned Olympique Marseille a 1-0 home win against Nancy as Ligue 1 champions extended their unbeaten run to seven matches on Saturday.
Five-times European champions Liverpool suffered a 1-0 defeat at Lille after a late goal by forward Eden Hazard while Juventus beat underdogs Fulham 3-1 in Europa League last 16 first leg matches on Thursday.
Hamburg SV and Werder Bremen stayed on course for an all-German UEFA Cup semi-final clash with 3-1 victories over Manchester City and Udinese respectively in their quarter-final, first legs on Thursday. Shakhtar Donetsk beat visitors Olympique Marseille 2-0 while Dynamo Kiev drew at Paris St Germain in a lacklustre goalless affair leaving open the possibility of a Ukrainian semi-final if the French clubs fail to put in improved performances.
Olympique Marseille and Paris St Germain supporters clashed on Sunday after their Ligue 1 game was postponed and the whole PSG team quarantined when three players were diagnosed with H1N1 flu.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice to lead Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Olympique Marseille in Champions League Group C on Wednesday.
Playmaker Lucho Gonzalez produced a dazzling display to steer Olympique Marseille to a 4-1 home win over Nice that took the Ligue 1 leaders two points clear on Sunday.
Werder Bremen goalkeeper Tim Wiese saved two first-half penalties as the Bundesliga side began their UEFA Cup campaign with a 3-0 win over Braga.
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.
Olympique Marseille must have no fear when they host Liverpool in their Champions League Group D opener on Tuesday despite painful memories of the English club's last visit, said midfielder Mathieu Valbuena.
Nice became the first top-flight side to fall to a club from a lower league in this season's French Cup when they lost 2-1 at third division strugglers Plabennec in the round of 64 on Sunday.
The title race in Europe's top leagues remained tense at the weekend with Inter Milan losing at Napoli and Liverpool keeping the pressure on Manchester United. VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich both lost in Germany and Barcelona were held at Valencia but Olympique Marseille went five points clear.
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.
Inter Milan went 10 points clear in Serie A, while French champions Olympique Lyon were knocked off the top of the Ligue 1 table by Olympique Marseille.
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.
Seven-times winners AC Milan, buoyed by Ronaldinho's return to form, will sail into the Champions League knockout stages if they beat visiting Olympique Marseille on Wednesday.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo will be sidelined for three to four weeks after he aggravated an ankle injury in Portugal's 3-0 win over Hungary, the La Liga club said on Sunday.
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.
Chelsea's Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba has signed a new three-year contract, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will be out of action for up to three weeks with a hamstring strain, the Premier League club said on Thursday.
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.
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