Girondins Bordeaux survived a second-half scare to grab a 2-1 win over Olympiakos Piraeus on Wednesday and give France a second team in the Champions League quarter-finals.
Girondins Bordeaux are on course to reach the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time after Michael Ciani's first-half header earned Laurent Blanc's side a 1-0 victory at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Arsenal, VfB Stuttgart and Olympiakos Piraeus all scored 2-0 away wins in their final Champions League playoff matches on Tuesday to take a big stride towards the group stage before next week's second legs.
Holders Barcelona booked a Champions League last 16 berth with a 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday and were joined by Group F rivals Inter Milan, who sealed their passage with a 2-0 home defeat of Rubin Kazan.
Rediff.com presents a selection of the Pultizer Prize winning images that unveil Europe's massive refugee crisis.
Manchester United's big-money signing Marouane Fellaini faces several weeks on the sidelines after having an operation on his wrist.
'General Secretary Xi Jinping has greenlighted a brutal campaign of repression against Chinese Muslims, a human rights violation on a scale we haven't seen since World War II. Now, the PLA has escalated border tensions with India'
Atalanta's Josip Ilicic and Robin Gosens scored quickfire second-half goals to give them a comfortable 2-0 win over a toothless Liverpool
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.
Greek Super League leaders Olympiakos Piraeus set a club record 17 successive league wins by beating Levadiakos 3-1 at the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Ajax, semi-finalists last season, came from behind to beat PAOK 3-2 for a 5-4 aggregate win over the Greeks while Red Star knocked out FC Copenhagen on penalties after a bizarre shootout involving 22 spot-kicks.
Primera Liga champions and leaders Real are at home to Greek title-holders Olympiakos Piraeus while injury-hit Barcelona are away to Rangers in this week's Champions League fixtures.
Jose Mourinho, sacked by Manchester United last season after his reign there turned sour, has been charm personified since swapping punditry for the Tottenham job.
The Journalists Newspaper reported that the Greek champions' place in Europe's elite competition would be at risk if corruption claims against club president Marinakis were proven.
Dinamo Zagreb midfielder Arijan Ademi failed a drug test after their Champions League match against Arsenal last month and is under investigation by UEFA, the club said on Wednesday.
Ricardo Quaresma scored a stoppage-time goal to give Porto a 1-0 victory over Besiktas.
Roma knocked Real Madrid out of the Champions League and reached the quarter-finals, where they were joined by Chelsea and Schalke 04.
Roma came from behind to beat Real Madrid while Chelsea were held in Tuesday night's Champions League matches.
Arsenal suffered a shock Europa League exit to Olympiakos Piraeus on away goals after a 2-1 extra-time home defeat, while Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers cruised into the last 16 with emphatic aggregate wins on Thursday.
Holders FC Barcelona have been placed in Group E, along with Bayer Leverkusen, AS Roma, Dinamo Zagreb.
Manchester United midfielder Michael Carrick is likely to be out for up to a month with an ankle injury in a further blow to the troubled Premier League champions, British media reported on Friday.
Arsenal enjoyed an easy 2-0 victory at Aston Villa on Sunday to soar to the summit of the Premier League and leave their hapless opponents rooted at rock bottom.
Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny is the best defender in the Premier League, according to former England and Manchester United centre-back Rio Ferdinand. Ferdinand also praised the Gunners backline in Wednesday's impressive 3-0 Champions League win over Greek champions Olympiakos Piraeus, which sealed their progress to the knockout stages for a 16th consecutive year.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
Former France defender Eric Abidal, who returned to playing after undergoing a liver transplant in April 2012, announced on Friday he was ending his career for 'personal reasons'.
The former Brazil international pulled a groin muscle in Sunday's 2-1 home defeat by PAOK Salonika.
A rare headed goal from Rivaldo earned Olympiakos Piraeus a 1-0 win over Akratitos in the Greek first division.
Greece indefinitely suspended its Superleague soccer fixtures on Monday after the owner of the club PAOK Salonika was filmed wearing a gun holster as he strode onto the pitch to protest about a disallowed goal.
Thirteen teams have now qualified for the last 32 including Bayer Leverkusen, FC Zurich and Lazio who had already secured places in the next stage of the competition.
\nArgentine forward Javier Saviola clinched a 1-0 win in Champions League Group A match.
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