Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to maintain their winning home run this season and keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table.
Mexico have confirmed Miguel 'Piojo' Herrera will coach the national squad at the World Cup finals in Brazil next year.
Atletico Madrid were handed a chance to avenge last season's Champions League final defeat by city rivals and record 10-times winners Real after the two sides were drawn together in the last eight on Friday. Paris St Germain and Barcelona were paired together having met in the group stage, with the French side winning in Paris and the Catalans coming out on top in Spain.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
Jonatan Soriano's love affair with the Europa League continued as last season's top scorer grabbed a hat-trick on Thursday to help Salzburg become one of four teams to reach the knockout stages.
Manchester City went top of the Premier League after securing a controversial 2-0 win at Newcastle United on Sunday with an early Edin Dzeko goal and a stoppage time effort from Alvaro Negredo.
Lionel Messi marked his 300th La Liga appearance with a record-equalling hat-trick and an assist for Neymar as Barcelona stayed hard on the heels of leaders Real Madrid with a 5-0 romp at home to Levante on Sunday.
New Liverpool boss Juergen Klopp made it three wins from his last three matches with a 1-0 success at Rubin Kazan in Russia that left them second in Group B, two points behind Swiss club Sion on Thursday.
Barcelona left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
World Cup winners Germany are no mood to experiment against minnows Gibraltar in their Euro 2016 qualifier on Friday, promising a goal bonanza to make amends for recent poor results.
Barcelona lost for the second straight La Liga game in a 1-0 home reverse against Celta Vigo but there was no such trouble for Manchester City, who beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 thanks to Sergio Aguero.
La Liga champions Real Madrid beat Getafe 3-1 on Saturday with a goal from Gareth Bale and two strikes from Cristiano Ronaldo to go 12 points behind leaders Barcelona and warm up for next week's Champions League game at Paris St Germain.
Diego Costa continued his rich vein of form as he helped leaders Chelsea to a 3-0 win over Aston Villa while Louis van Gaal enjoyed only his second Premier League win as Manchester United manager following a 2-1 victory against West Ham.
Real Madrid were the big winners in Spain as their success at Almeria was followed by a Barcelona draw and a surprise Atletico Madrid defeat.
Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Following Angel Di Maria's nightmare stint, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com says the 'Theatre of Dreams' has never been a happy a hunting ground for players from the continent
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Images from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
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