Juventus clocked up their 12th successive Serie A win on Sunday when they swept aside Chievo 4-0 away in a hopelessly one-sided encounter.
Mexico sprang the perfect trap for confident and overwhelming pre-game favourites Germany on Sunday to take advantage of the champions' defensive weakness in their opening match at the World Cup.
The Germans have lost just once in 23 games since their Euro 2016 semi-final defeat, cruising through the qualifiers with 10 wins in 10 matches.
Nine-times European champions Real Madrid fielded their big guns on Sunday for a friendly against Bournemouth that was all about a once-in-a-lifetime occasion for the English second tier club rather than the Spanish giants' 6-0 victory.
Tottenham Hotspur paid the highest price for two mistakes as their Champions League dream came to a bitter end against Juventus on Wednesday, manager Mauricio Pochettino said.
Mandzukic signing adds to the Serie A champs' big haul of strikers as Paul Pogba is targetted by Barca and PSG among other clubs
Dani Alves appeared to have won the game for Juventus when he headed them in front in the 83rd minute but Remo Freuler pounced to equalise six minutes later as he punished some sloppy defending.
Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
Germany look set to rely on players who did not win the 2014 World Cup to carry them past South Korea in their final Group F match on Wednesday and into the knockout stage.
World champions Germany know they must up their game when they kick off their world title defence against Mexico on Sunday if they are to confirm their status as tournament favourites.
James Rodriguez will return to Real Madrid's starting lineup for Sunday's La Liga game at home to Granada after being out for two months with a broken bone in his foot, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.
Jamie Vardy scored his first goal in the Champions League to give Leicester City some hope of staying in Europe's elite competition despite a 2-1 loss to an utterly dominant Sevilla in Wednesday's last-16 first leg.
In the history of football there has been no more devastating nullification of supposed home advantage than Germany's 7-1 humbling of Brazil in the 2014 World Cup semi-finals, so playing France in Marseille holds no fears for the world champions. That astonishing result in Belo Horizonte, particularly the opening 30-minute five-goal blitz that left the world aghast, underlined Germany's unique mental strength and belief in their own ability whatever the opposition or circumstances.
The host nation's bulging euphoria over France's Euro 2016 semi-final qualification is added motivation for Germany as they prepare to face them on Thursday, coach Joachim Loew said on Monday. The Germans, who will need to shuffle their lineup due to injuries to Sami Khedira and Mario Gomez and the suspension of defender Mats Hummels, are preparing to face a team brimming with confidence. "Such games are just great," Loew, who led Germany to the 2014 World Cup title in Brazil, told reporters.
Germany must come out firing from the first minute when they meet Northern Ireland on Tuesday or they could risk giving the underdogs the confidence to spring a surprise in their final Euro 2016 group game, centre back Mats Hummels said.
Cristiano Ronaldo's Champions League debut for Juventus lasted only 29 minutes as he was red-carded but the Italians began their Group H campaign impressively with a 2-0 victory at Valencia on Wednesday. Penalties either side of halftime by Miralem Pjanic sealed the points for the visitors as Valencia's return to European competition after a two-year absence fell flat.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and Real Madrid rattled in four goals before halftime in a 5-1 La Liga rout of Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu in Madrid.
Germany should really not be surprised by their earliest World Cup exit in 80 years.
France are favourites in the Euro 2016 semi-final against injury-hit Germany but the world champions' absences will not affect their game, with a string of youngsters ready to step up, team manager Oliver Bierhoff said on Tuesday.
Germany's main anti-immigrant party triggered outrage on Sunday when its vice-chairman said people would not want German black soccer star Jerome Boateng as their neighbour.
Germany coach Joachim Loew has named four talented youngsters, including three uncapped players, in his preliminary 27-man squad for Euro 2016.
The United States beat World Cup winners Germany 2-1 thanks to an 88th-minute goal from Bobby Wood in an entertaining international friendly in Cologne, on Wednesday.
Juventus moved nine points clear at the top of Serie A after defeating Palermo 4-0 at home on Sunday and Francesco Totti bagged a dramatic late equaliser as AS Roma drew 3-3 at Atalanta.
An injury to playmaker James Rodriguez could prompt Real Madrid to dip into the transfer market next month and they are interested in Cruzeiro midfielder Lucas Silva among others, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
Juventus need to beat Manchester City to reach the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday and many fans still believe the best way to achieve this is by fielding Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala together in attack.
Germany coach Joachim Loew has been forced to make changes to his team for Thursday's semi-final against hosts France at Euro 2016 because of injuries and a suspension, including replacing key goalscorer Mario Gomez.
Two defeats and one last-gasp victory in the group stage meant an embarrassed Germany made their earliest World Cup exit in 80 years on Wednesday.
Sarri was without Cristiano Ronaldo for the trip to the Gewiss Stadium as the Portuguese forward recovers from a knee problem ahead of Tuesday's Champions League meeting with Atletico Madrid in Turin.
Cristiano Ronaldo showed nerves of steel to score an injury-time penalty and send holders Real Madrid into the semi-finals of the Champions League in extraordinary circumstances as they lost 3-1 to Juventus on Wednesday but won a thrilling tie 4-3 on aggregate.
Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination after being thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and few believe lightning can strike twice.
Instead, Allegri said on Monday, he would throw on all his best attacking players in an attempt to outscore his opponents in the first leg at the Juventus stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit a late double as La Liga leaders Real Madrid thumped Almeria 4-1 to extend their Spanish record for consecutive victories in all competitions to 20.
Germany and Poland edged closer to the Euro 2016 knockout stage after playing out the first 0-0 draw of this year's tournament at the Stade de France on Thursday. The result means both teams have four points in Group C ahead of Northern Ireland, who have three after their 2-0 win against a Ukraine side who are still without a point and cannot now qualify for the last 16 at the finals.
South Korea's faint hopes of reaching the last 16 of the World Cup have faded further with news that captain Ki Sung-yueng will miss their final group game against Germany.
With Real Madrid facing an injury crisis ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid attention will be on talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them through but James Rodriguez may hold the key.
Napoli thrashed Frosinone 5-1 away to go top of Serie A on Sunday after previous leaders Inter Milan were sunk by a Domenico Berardi penalty in the fifth minute of injury time in a 1-0 home defeat against modest Sassuolo.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
In what was a thrilling match of end to end action, Germany powered past Ukraine by a 1-0 margin in their Euro 2016 Group C campaign-opening match in Lille on Sunday.
Juventus won 2-0 at Lazio on Friday to extend their winning run in Serie A to five matches thanks to an early own goal from Santiago Gentiletti and a glorious Paulo Dybala effort.
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