Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho sprung to the defence of new goalkeeper Asmir Begovic after the Bosnian conceded four goals against the New York Red Bulls.
Manchester City squandered a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Feyenoord in the Champions League on Tuesday.
German champions Bayern Munich sacked coach Carlo Ancelotti on Thursday, a day after they suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat to Paris St Germain in the Champions League.
A first-half penalty earned Lille a shock 1-0 home victory over holders Real Madrid in the Champions League group phase on Wednesday.
A summary of Saturday's action in the 2024 UEFA European Football Championship qualifiers.
Paraguayan prosecutors will not charge Ronaldinho Gaucho for possession of an altered passport, but the former Barcelona player has admitted guilt and agreed to face an alternative punishment, the lead official in the case said on Thursday. Ronaldinho and his brother and business manager Roberto Assis both entered Paraguay on Wednesday with false documents, officials said.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Southampton's 15 million pound ($19.19 million) purchase of Lazio centre back Wesley Hoedt brought the overall spend by England's 20 elite clubs to a record 1.184.9 billion pounds.
'There is no price limit to let him go or a price that we are ready to give in'
Barcelona's 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday.
Bayern Munich put upstarts RB Leipzig firmly in their place by sweeping to an emphatic 3-0 home win, with all the goals coming in the first half, in a disappointingly one-sided top-of-the-table Bundesliga clash on Wednesday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Olympique de Marseille will lead Ligue 1 into the two-week break thanks to Michy Batshuayi's half-volleyed winner in a 2-1 home victory over Lille on Sunday.
Ciro Immobile scored a 69th-minute penalty to earn hosts Lazio a 1-0 victory over 10-man Bayern Munich.
Jordan Ayew scored for Lorient against his former side Olympique de Marseille as the Ligue 1 leaders were held to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
Roundup of Champions League matches played on Wednesday night
Argentina look set to keep Julian Alvarez in attack for Sunday's World Cup final
Sporting director Leonardo Araujo, back for a second stint in the role, has said the Brazilian can leave if a buyer is found.
Lionel Messi scored twice to equal Raul's Champions League scoring record as Barcelona secured their place in the knockout stages by beating 10-man Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 on Wednesday.
The team may be able to rely on Real Madrid's young trio of Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo and Eder Militao and Premier League rising stars Bruno Guimaraes, Antony and Gabriel Martinelli, among others.
A round-up of matches played in the Serie A and French Ligue 1 on Sunday
Champions Paris St Germain provisionally moved back to the top of Ligue 1 as Adam Lang's own goal, Edinson Cavani's penalty and a second-half header from Lucas Moura downed promoted Dijon 3-0 at the Parc des Princes on Tuesday.
AS Roma's dramatic Champions League elimination by Porto, thanks to a late penalty awarded with a VAR review, was a 'terrible way to go out', their captain Daniele De Rossi said on Wednesday.
Giroud, at 36, brings experience and guile to France's attack, while Mbappe, 23, is blessed with pace
Paris St Germain will play Borussia Dortmund and Barcelona were pitted against an unpredictable Napoli, while Chelsea were drawn against Bayern Munich. City, who will be at home in the second leg, have yet to beat the Spanish side with two draws and two defeats in their previous four meetings.
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.
Lionel Messi drew level with Diego Maradona's number of World Cup goals and appearances on Saturday, but the current No. 10 knows that only winning the trophy at long last will earn him the same eternal love of his fellow Argentines.
Chelsea surged to the top of the Premier League with a 3-0 home win over Stoke City thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Frank Lampard and Willian at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.
It took Giroud, who owed his place in the starting lineup to Benzema's absence, 115 international appearances to score his 51 goals, while Henry needed 123 from 1997-2010.
Players who have been ruled out or are doubtful for the 2022 World Cup.
Kevin De Bruyne had to be replaced by Gabriel Jesus in the 60th minute on Saturday following a collision with Antonio Rudiger.
A sloppy Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to Real Betis on Saturday in a further blow to their hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Monaco's Colombia striker Radamel Falcao has recovered from a thigh problem after a three-week injury layoff, the Ligue 1 club's coach Claudio Ranieri said on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Colombia after missing the last three due to injury in which his team have dropped seven points. Messi was named on Friday in coach Edgardo Bauza's 26-man squad and will captain Argentina away to arch-rivals Brazil in Belo Horizonte on Nov. 10 and at home against Colombia in San Juan five days later. Argentina have slipped down the South American group standings to fifth after a shock 1-0 home defeat by Paraguay and 2-2 draws with Peru and Venezuela, all without Messi.
Edinson Cavani's potential absence for Uruguay would be a severe blow to their hopes of beating France in the World Cup quarter-finals, according to his former team mate and French midfielder Blaise Matuidi.
Brazil coach Tite has recalled veteran central defender Thiago Silva to his squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Bolivia and Venezuela.
Paris St Germain's Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Edinson Cavani each scored twice in a 4-0 win over Bastia as their reshuffled side opened up a three-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Carlo Ancelotti left his job at Paris St Germain because he felt he did not have the full trust of the management, the now Real Madrid coach said on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
