Lionel Messi made brilliance look routine with a stunning double to help Barcelona to a 5-0 win over Real Sociedad that restored the champions' two-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Belarus midfielder Aleksandr Hleb signed a four-year contract with Barcelona to complete his move from Arsenal, the Spanish Primera Liga club said on Wednesday. The 27-year-old, a long-term target for Barcelona, flew to Spain on Wednesday to take his medical, arriving just after the club had agreed to sell Brazilian Ronaldinho to AC Milan.
Barcelona suffered their first Champions League defeat in 10 matches on Tuesday when goals from Aleksandr Ryazantsev and Gokdeniz Karadeniz gave Rubin Kazan a shock 2-1 win in their Group F clash.
European champions Barcelona have injury worries up front for their Champions League Group F match at home to Rubin Kazan on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored with an acrobatic header on his La Liga debut to seal Barcelona's 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon as they opened their title defence in style on Monday.
Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger will be given the choice of whether to stay or leave the Bundesliga champions, manager Pep Guardiola said on Thursday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp is not about to change his team's trademark style against Champions League quarter-final opponent
Samuel Eto'o scored a scintillating home hat-trick for holders Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday as former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi's magic went missing in a 1-1 draw in Russia.
Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri is not losing sleep over his team's Premier League title defence and believes the pressure to succeed is more on the new managers of the big-name clubs.
Panathinaikos could be on the receiving end of a Champions League backlash from a wounded Barcelona on Tuesday after the La Liga giants were stunned 2-0 at fortress Nou Camp by unfancied Hercules at the weekend.
Champions Barcelona suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Hercules on Saturday when Nelson Valdez struck twice to give the tiny promoted club a shock La Liga victory at a stunned Nou Camp stadium.
Manchester City and Arsenal closed in on Premier League leaders Liverpool with contrasting victories on Saturday as Manchester United's bubble was burst by Fulham.
Here is a look at the clubs most likely to give City a run for their money next season.
Erling Haaland and Phil Foden scored hat-tricks to fire champions Manchester City to a rampant 6-3 thrashing of local rivals Manchester United in the English Premier League on Sunday.
Double strikes by Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi powered a rampant Barcelona to a 6-2 thrashing of champions Real Madrid in a spectacular Primera Liga clash at the Bernabeu on Saturday. The victory meant Barca, chasing their first title in three years, extended their lead over second-placed Real to seven points with four games left.
Barcelona were drawn in Group E with Bayern Munich, Benfica and Dynamo Kyiv.
As the domestic soccer season across Europe comes to a close, Associate Editor Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at an elite list of coaches who tasted league success in their first season in charge.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Images from the Champions League quarter-finals second leg match played on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi netted a brilliant first-half hat-trick and added a late fourth to fire holders Barcelona past Arsenal into the last four of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Barcelona restored their two-point lead at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi finished a slick move to fire the champions to a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Malaga on Saturday.
Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune have appointed former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager, Chinese and British media reported on Saturday.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been named the Premier League manager of the month for February, while in-form Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane picked up his fourth player of the month award.
Holders Manchester City cruised into the Champions League quarter-finals for the seventh consecutive season with a 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen.
Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee bagged two goals apiece as Manchester United thumped Everton 4-0 on Sunday in new manager Ruben Amorim's first Premier League match at Old Trafford.
Champions Manchester City's 12-match winning streak in the Premier League came to an end as Julio Enciso's stunner earned sixth-placed Brighton and Hove Albion a 1-1 draw.
Manchester won the English Premier League, the English League Cup and FA Cup this season
Seydou Keita hit a hat-trick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted twice to lead Barcelona to a 6-1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza and send the La Liga champions three points clear of Real Madrid on Sunday.
Frank Rijkaard will leave Barcelona at the end of the season and former captain Pep Guardiola will take over as coach of the team, club president Joan Laporta announced on Thursday. Former Netherlands international Rijkaard took charge of Barcelona in 2003 and led them to back-to-back league titles and victory over Arsenal in the Champions League final in Paris in 2006.
Manchester United have lost 11 of their 27 league matches this campaign, two more than all of last season. The two previous seasons with 12 league losses (2013-14 and 2021-22) led to managerial changes.
Manchester City won the English League Cup for the second successive season as the beat Chelsea 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the Wembley showpiece had ended 0-0 after extra time.
Chelsea won their second Champions League title and denied Pep Guardiola's Manchester City their first with Kai Havertz grabbing a first-half goal to secure a 1-0 win in Saturday's all-English final at the Estadio Do Dragao in Porto.
It would be a big surprise if Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola strays from the club's traditional, offensive 4-3-3. Manchester United are less tied to a set formation. Manager Alex Ferguson has frequently used the 4-3-3 to good effect, but if he decides to field Ji-sung on the right he may opt for a 4-4-2.
Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez has joined Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahli from Manchester City on a deal until 2027.
City did not replace Argentine striker Sergio Aguero last year when the club's all-time top scorer moved to Barcelona on a free transfer.
Sergio Aguero scored a dramatic late winner as Atletico Madrid twice came from behind to stun visiting Barcelona 4-3 on Sunday, leaving the Catalans just four points clear at the top in Spain.
Atletico players accused Manchester City of time-wasting in the final minutes, which the English club denied.
Manchester City moved four points clear of Arsenal atop the Premier League table with an 11th consecutive victory.
Seydou Keita made the most of a rare place in the starting lineup to give Barcelona a 1-0 win at home to Real Zaragoza on Saturday that put the champions 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
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