VfL Wolfsburg sealed their first Bundesliga title by demolishing Werder Bremen 5-1 on the final day of the season on Saturday.
Competition favourites AC Milan will face Werder Bremen, one of the Champions League dropouts, in the last 32 of the UEFA Cup following Friday's draw in Nyon, Switzerland.
On a good night for English clubs in the Europa League, Manchester United hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0, while Wolverhampton Wanderers also thrashed Besiktas 4-0 in Group K, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Standard Liege and finish first in their pool. The upset of the night came in Group J as Crivelli scored a 90th-minute winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach to send Basaksehir through and knock the Germans out, with AS Roma grabbing the runner-up spot thanks to a 2-2 home draw with Wolfsberger as the Europa League group stage concluded on Thursday.
Out-of-favour England striker Michael Owen wound back the clock with a superb treble to lead Manchester United to a 3-1 win over VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday. Owen, who turns 30 next week, has been fighting to regain his place in Fabio Capello's side and his virtuoso performance will improve his chances of a recall ahead of next year's World Cup finals in South Africa.
Unai Emery's Villarreal were much improved in the second half and had spurned numerous chances before Moreno's leveller.
The fixtures for the group stages in the 2009-10 UEFA Champions League, which kicks-off on Wednesday.
UEFA Cup favourites AC Milan missed the chance to progress to the knockout stages as group winners when a late Mahir Saglik equaliser handed VfL Wolfsburg a 2-2 draw at the San Siro on Wednesday. As Group E's top side, Wolfsburg are guaranteed a tie against a third-placed side from another group in Friday's last 32 draw while seven-times European champions Milan must face a third-placed finisher from the Champions League group stage.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued from where he left off in the early stages of the UEFA Champions League, adding to his goal tally as Real Madrid beat AS Roma 2-0 in their round of 16, first leg tie on Wednesday.
Substitute Joel Pohjanpalo scored a hat-trick in the last 11 minutes to fire Bayer Leverkusen to a 3-1 win at home to Hamburg SV on an afternoon of late Bundesliga drama on Saturday.
Real Madrid's Croatia midfielder Luka Modric was named winner of the 2018 Ballon d'Or on Monday, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo's and Lionel Messi's decade-long hold on the prestigious award.
Bayern Munich's Bundesliga woes continued on Saturday when they blew a two-goal lead in a 3-3 home draw with VfL Bochum while promoted Hoffenheim took over at the top. Bayern were leading 3-1 with seven minutes to go through goals from Daniel van Buyten and Ze Roberto (2) only to allow Bochum to stage a comeback with two bad defensive lapses inside three minutes.
Bayern Munich secured their 21st German league title and completed a domestic double for the third time in four seasons when they drew 0-0 away to VfL Wolfsburg on Sunday. Bayern's draw stretched their lead over closest rivals Werder Bremen to 10 points with three games left and set off the traditionally soggy celebrations, as the players soaked each other, and anyone else on the field, with beer.
Bosnian striker Edin Dzeko scored a hat-trick as leaders VfL Wolfsburg crushed Hanover 96 5-0 away on Saturday to close in on their first Bundesliga title with one match left. The league's leading striker Grafite added two more for Wolfsburg, who are top with 66 points, two ahead of Bayern Munich who were held to a 2-2 draw at Hoffenheim.
Lahm, a defensive midfielder, is among Germany's most successful players of all time, having won almost every trophy with club and country, including seven Bundesliga titles, the Champions League and the World Cup.
Werder Bremen snatched a 1-1 draw at VfB Stuttgart thanks to Anthony Ujah's second-half equaliser in a relegation derby of former German champions on Sunday to stay one point above the relegation zone.
Schalke 04 overpowered local rivals VfL Bochum 3-0 to strengthen their bid for a return to the Champions League.
Manchester United's lead in England was cut to three points when they could only play out a 2-2 draw against Middlesbrough while Chelsea won 2-0 at Manchester City. A round-up of weekend action in the main European leagues.
Italy striker Luca Toni scored twice to steer Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich to a 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday.
Borussia Dortmund missed a bagful of chances to draw 1-1 at home with Augsburg on Tuesday, as they squandered the opportunity to make up ground in the Bundesliga title race heading into the winter break.
Since winning 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg in September, United have scored only twice in three Champions League games. In the Premier League the record is five goals in the last six games.
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.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
IMAGES from all the Bundesliga action on Saturday.
A stunning strike by Romelu Lukaku gave Inter Milan a 2-1 win at Brescia on Tuesday although they had to cling on for three points in the face of heavy pressure from the promoted side.
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.
Holders Barcelona will play Premier League leaders Arsenal in the last 16 of the Champions League, 10 years after the sides faced each other in the final, following Monday's draw for the first knockout stage.
Last year's finalists Juventus will face-off against Bundesliga champs Bayern.
Bayern Munich moved closer to a record-extending 30th league title after their Polish striker Robert Lewandowski ended a personal jinx in a 5-0 drubbing of struggling Fortuna Duesseldorf in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The result left leaders Bayern, who are chasing an eighth successive league title, top of the standings on 67 points from 29 games, 10 ahead of closest rivals Borussia Dortmund who visit bottom team Paderborn on Sunday.
Champions Bayern Munich comfortably beat Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 in the Bundesliga season opener on Friday to lay down a marker as they eye a record-extending sixth straight German league title.
Poland's Robert Lewandowski has chalked up so many big-game landmarks during his club career that the 27-year-old seems overdue a major tournament performance with his country.
Spanish forward Joselu struck deep into stoppage time as Hanover 96 rallied from two goals down to draw 2-2 at bottom club Freiburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar on Saturday.
Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw in Nyon on Friday.
The Olympics-bound hockey team beat VFL Bad Kreuznach 13-3 and Suaduwahl Club 10-1 in practice matches on Sunday.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
"I want to reach the highest level possible as a player and I think the most important thing is that at the end of the season we can be happy and maybe have some titles," playmaker De Bruyne told the City website (www.mcfc.co.uk).
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
The game was heading for extra time when Dutch striker Roy Makaay raced into the box and past a defender to hit the winner seconds before the final whistle.
The club won its 18th German crown with four games left.
Serie A witnessed some breath-taking football action, especially when AC Milan could not convert the umpteen chances they had against Sassuolo while Inter went to top. In Ligue 1 action, all the star players found the net for PSG. Here are images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances