Manchester's two-pronged assault on the Champions League finally sprang to life on Tuesday when United won their first match of the campaign by beating Romanians Otelul Galati 2-0 away and City left it until stoppage time to beat Villarreal 2-1.
Espanyol struck three goals in four minutes to snatch a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home to third-tier Mirandes in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
David Moyes made light of his first dismissal when he leapt over a fence into the stands to watch the rest of the match and accepted crisps from a girl.
Bayern Munich are not unbeatable despite their impressive nine-game winning streak without conceding a goal, Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko said on Monday.
The European champions, who were humbled 3-0 by tiny Eibar last week, took a fortuitous lead when Valencia midfielder Daniel Wass nodded a Dani Carvajal cross into his own net in the eighth minute after former Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista had failed to clear the danger.
'I arrived at Manchester United a boy, and I left a man'
Former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic criticised Gareth Bale for lacking leadership qualities
"Our club has reached an agreement with Gelson Martins, making him a new Atletico player," said a statement from last season's La Liga runners-up.
Liverpool, Paris St Germain, Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev, Sparta Prague and Villarreal reached the knockout stages of the Europa League on Thursday in contrasting fashions.
Brazilian defender Filipe Luis scored for the second game running as Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Tuesday to rack up a fifth straight win in La Liga and provisionally consolidate third place in the standings.
Manchester United and Liverpool, English football's two most decorated clubs, were drawn together in the last 16 of the Europa League on Friday.
A thunderous free-kick by Paraguay striker Oscar Cardozo gave Benfica a 2-1 first-leg home win over Braga in their all-Portuguese Europa League semi-final on Thursday.
Coaches finally put World Cup hopefuls out of their misery on Tuesday when they named their final squads for the tournament, shattering some dreams while also handing out the opportunity of a lifetime.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque sprung three surprises in his 23-man squad for the World Cup in South Africa, including Barcelona pair Victor Valdes and Pedro plus Athletic Bilbao midfielder Javi Martinez. Goalkeeper Valdes replaces Villarreal's Diego Lopez as Spain's third-choice behind number one and captain Iker Casillas of Real Madrid and number two Pepe Reina of Liverpool.
The last time Stanislav Cherchesov walked out at Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium to face Fernando Hierro's side, the Spaniards were heavy favourites but the Russians reached the next round.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Real Madrid's La Liga title hopes suffered a huge blow with a surprise 1-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday which left Jose Mourinho's side seven points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
Manchester United flirted with calamity before coasting into the Europa League last 16 as debutant Marcus Rashford helped them overcome an early blow with two goals in a 5-1 home victory over Midtjylland on Thursday.
Real Madrid knocked bitter city rivals Atletico out of the King's Cup on Thursday with a 1-0 win at a hostile Calderon to go through to the last four 4-1 on aggregate. Cristiano Ronaldo added to his phenomenal tally of goals this season with a 23rd minute strike to help set up a semi-final over two legs against holders Sevilla after the Andalusian club saw off Villarreal on Tuesday.
Real Madrid's expulsion from the King's Cup for fielding an ineligible player was upheld on Monday by the Spanish government's Disciplinary Committee for Sports (TAD) following an appeal by the 10-times European champions.
Lionel Messi celebrated a second successive World Player of the Year award with a hat-trick as Barcelona thrashed second division Real Betis 5-0 in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped Real Madrid fight back to beat classy Villarreal 4-2 on Sunday to cut Barcelona's La Liga lead to two points.
Athletic Bilbao survived a constant state of siege to hold a weakened Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg match on Tuesday. La Liga leaders Barca had won 10 successive games in all competitions, scoring 31 goals in the last seven, but they ran out of ideas against their resolute Basque visitors.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Real Madrid climbed back above arch rivals Barcelona to the top of La Liga when Gonzalo Higuain netted a late winner in a laboured 1-0 win at Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
List of major transfers in the top Premier League ahead of the 2019-20 season (all transfer fees as reported by British media):
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has decided to rest Lionel Messi, Neymar and most of his regulars for the King's Cup last 16, second leg match at Elche later on Thursday.
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.
Liverpool added another fairytale comeback to the history books as they fought back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Europa League semi-finals after Dejan Lovren's towering stoppage-time header secured a 4-3 win on Thursday.
Lionel Messi scored twice to help Barcelona shake off the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit with a 4-1 victory at Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday.
A moment of genius from Lionel Messi lit up the Nou Camp as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 win over Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday that put them two points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
The knee injury Barcelona forward Thierry Henry sustained in Saturday's 6-2 win at Real Madrid has made him a major doubt for the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United. Henry will miss the King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and the next three Spanish Primera Liga fixtures against Villarreal, Real Mallorca and Osasuna.
Real Madrid squandered a chance to climb above Barcelona to the top of La Liga when they were held to a 0-0 draw at mid-table Osasuna on Sunday. A win would have put Real first in the standings on goal difference after Barca dropped their first home points of the season in a 1-1 draw with Villarreal on Saturday.
Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday and AC Milan beat Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 but Sevilla suffered a shock defeat by Russians Krasnodar.
Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo may return after injury for Manchester United when the English champions begin their Champions League defence in their opening Group E encounter against Villarreal on Wednesday.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Barcelona were gifted their 19th Primera Liga title without kicking a ball on Saturday when second-placed Real Madrid were beaten 3-2 at Villarreal. Robert Pires, Cani and Joan Capdevila scored for the hosts, delivering Barca's second piece of silverware in a week after the Catalans overcame Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the King's Cup final on Wednesday. Barca can make it a treble by defeating Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.
Images from Wednesday's football World Cup qualifiers.