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.
Real, chasing a 15th European Cup, levelled in the 83rd with Vinicius's penalty, after Rodrygo was felled by a clumsy challenge from Kim Min-jae, to set up a mouth-watering return leg in Madrid next week.
Paris St Germain coach Laurent Blanc admitted it would be hard to play football when they visit Lorient in Ligue 1 on Saturday eight days after the deadly attacks in Paris.
'Football Leaks' documents, showing the two clubs had inflated sponsorship revenues to meet the requirements, were obtained by the German publication Der Spiegel.
Twice UEFA Cup winners Sevilla failed to reach the knockout phase after a 1-0 defeat at Sampdoria eliminated the Spaniards. Sampdoria's victory sent them through from Group C along with VfB Stuttgart, who thumped Standard Liege 3-0 to progress to Friday's last 32 draw. Paris St Germain, twice winners Tottenham Hotspur, NEC Nijmegen and Olympiakos Piraeus also sealed places in the first knockout round.
Arsenal will have another chance to beat Bayern Munich in a Champions League knockout tie after the sides were paired in the round of 16 following Monday's draw. The teams met in the knockout stages in 2005, 2013 and 2014 with the German champions winning on all three occasions. Bayern, who finished as runners-up in their group, will host the first leg.
'To see a player that I have always followed, who is an example for me, to see him leave now brings me a lot of pain.'
Galtier said all other players returned as per the schedule and will be available for Wednesday's game, including France striker Kylian Mbappe.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger spoke last week of his desire to keep the 24-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain, who was also a target for champions Chelsea.
Bayern CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen said there would a 'a new direction' next season with a new coach.
Reigning champions France take on Argentina in a showpiece final at Lusail Stadium with both teams looking to add a third star to their crest.
Olympique Lyon failed to capitalise on a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and missed a chance to narrow the gap with Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux when they slumped to a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Lille on Sunday.
A controversial penalty three minutes into added time gave Paris St Germain a 2-1 win over fellow Ligue 1 strugglers Racing Lens in the French League Cup final at the Stade de France on Saturday.
Barcelona have agreed a deal with Guangzhou Evergrande to sign midfielder Paulinho for 40 million euros, the Spanish club announced on Monday.
The Brazilian signed a five-year contract and will be officially unveiled on Monday.
Monaco handed Paris St Germain their first defeat of the season in Ligue 1 when a couple of late goals earned them a 2-0 home victory on Sunday.
Barcelona have signed centre back Samuel Umtiti from Olympique Lyon for 25 million euros ($27.75 million), the La Liga winners said on Tuesday.
Paris St Germain went out of the Europa League despite a 4-2 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, losing their place to fellow big spenders Salzburg who fought back to win 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava.
Hamburg SV will play Manchester City in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals and could meet Bundesliga rivals Werder Bremen in the last four. Shakhtar Donetsk will play Olympique Marseille and Dynamo Kiev face Paris St Germain with the winners lined up to meet in the semis after the draw was made by UEFA on Friday.
Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyon lost 2-0 to Lille at the Stade de France on Saturday and saw their advantage at the top cut to just one point.
The Brazilian Football Confederation released a video that showed the Paris St Germain player training with the rest of the squad before they flew off to St Petersburg for Friday's Group E match against Costa Rica.
Pochettino, who is well aware of Messi's game-changing abilities having worked with the 35-year-old last season, said he was still the best player in the world.
Girondins Bordeaux reached the French League Cup final with a 3-0 away thrashing of Paris St Germain on Wednesday.
Champions League title holders Porto face a struggle to qualify for the knockout phase after Paris St Germain held them to an uninspired 0-0 draw on Tuesday.
PSG missed a midnight deadline for a transfer certificate to be submitted to France's professional football league (LFP) from Spain's football authorities, sports daily L'Equipe and other local media reported.
PSG made hard work of beating Strasbourg 4-2 in the French Ligue 1, while Real Madrid registered a comfortable 4-1 win away to Alaves in their opening game.
RMC sport and sports daily L'Equipe said he had died aged 73 after having a heart operation in Paris.
Manchester City completed the signing of Brazilian striker Jo from CSKA Moscow on Wednesday in what new manager Mark Hughes said he hopes would be the first of several major signings. City said the 21-year-old had signed a four-year deal and that his fee is a club record, though the amount was not disclosed.
Former Nigeria international Jay-Jay Okocha has signed a one-year contract with Qatari first division team Sports Club, while Australia's Tony Popovic is also moving to the Gulf state.
Olympique Lyon wrapped up a record seventh consecutive Ligue 1 title with a convincing 3-1 win at AJ Auxerre.
Olympique Lyon needed a late long-range Juninho free kick to beat second division Sedan 1-0 on Wednesday and advance to the French Cup final.
Kylian Mbappe sent a letter to PSG last month stating that he had no intention of extending his contract, which expires in 2024.
Paris St Germain took a big step towards the Ligue 1 title when Edinson Cavani's hat-trick inspired them.
Ancelotti still hoping Real can claim top-eight finish in Champions League
At the end of a World Cup in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi headed home after the first knockout round and Brazilian Neymar failed to deliver, the game perhaps needed a new talent to excite the global public.
The Catalan club is also close to reaching a deal to sign Sporting Lisbon's highly rated young winger Ricardo Quaresma.
'It wasn't easy, but I called him last night (Sunday) and we had a difficult and tough conversation. I feel bad as he's a player who has always been at the top level and has a future with the national team.'
Real Madrid had courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the player, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May 2022 when the Spanish club had a bid rejected.
Ronaldinho said on Friday he was determined to avoid the mistakes of last season and make this one his best at Barcelona.
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