ManchesterCity's season began to unravel when Kevin de Bruyne missed 10 matches with a knee injury but as he showed when he scored against Paris St Germain on Tuesday, anything is possible with him back in the team.
Rediff.com brings you the top highlights of the soccer weekend.
The victory saw the unfashionable Madrid club tighten their grip on the coveted fourth spot in the table by moving on to 58 points after 36 games, three points clear of nearest challengers Sevilla, who lost to Leganes on Friday.
Manchester United kept up the positive momentum of their pre-season tour with a 3-1 victory over Barcelona in the International Champions Cup on Saturday in Santa Clara, California.
Bayern, who won the Champions League in 2013, have yet to hit top form this season, with many players tired after the World Cup and others, including Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Rafinha, out injured.
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Leicester's EPL title credentials on show against champions Chelsea.
Barcelona snatched a late 2-1 win at Getafe with Paulinho's strike sending them seven points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Undefeated Bayern Munich stumbled to a 0-0 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday that ended a four-game winning streak in the league but they remain four points clear at the top.
Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich suffered their first league defeat in 18 months when they slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg on Saturday as Sascha Moelder's first-half strike ended their record 53-game unbeaten league run.
Hoffenheim ended champions Bayern Munich's 19-game winning streak in the Bundesliga on Saturday with a 3-3 draw after first taking the lead and then fighting back from two goals down.
January transfer window failed to materialise as Europe's top clubs largely kept their powder dry.
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Last season's Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored his first competitive goal for new club Bayern Munich but the champions had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 on Saturday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Manchester United signed Chile forward Alexis Sanchez from Arsenal in a swap deal with midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan after a protracted transfer saga finally ended on Monday.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League while Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi could be out for up to two months with a knee injury and rampant Bayern Munich extended their perfect start to seven league wins.
Chelsea ended their slump with a win over Arsenal while seemingly invincible Manchester City lost their 100 per cent record to West Ham United on a day of contrasting fortunes for the Premier League title favourites on Saturday.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.
Runaway leaders Bayern Munich survived a torrid opening against Nuremberg, who hit the bar and had two players carried off injured in the first half hour, before hitting back for a 2-0 win in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Manchester City have signed French central defender Aymeric Laporte from Spanish club Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
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Sevilla's love affair with the Europa League was immediately rekindled as last season's champions and three-time winners began this year's group stage with a 2-0 home victory over Feyenoord on Thursday.
Bayern Munich went top of the Bundesliga with a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday as rivals Borussia Dortmund slumped to their first defeat of the season with a 2-0 reverse at Borussia Moenchengladbach.
There was the usual frenzy of last-minute deals as the English Premier League brought the curtain down on another bumper European transfer window in which Manchester City again flexed their financial muscle as the continent's top spenders.
News of Van Gaal's impending departure from the club leaked out minutes after Saturday's 2-1 extra-time victory over Palace and, following relentless media speculation and a day of negotiations, it was confirmed by both sides on Monday evening.
Manchester United's calamitous week hit rock bottom as Bournemouth famously consigned them to a 2-1 defeat on Sunday and, to rub salt into the wounds, neighbours Manchester City moved back to the top of the English Premier League.
Barcelona's rampant trio of Neymar, Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi all found the net at the weekend and unsung Leicester City found themselves in the record books when their England striker Jamie Vardy scored for the 11th straight game.
Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Juventus consolidated their top-flight leads at the weekend while Paris St Germain proved too strong for Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Marseille.
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
Real Madrid's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo made up for his otherwise quiet night by scoring the winner to beat Barcelona 2-1 win at the CampNou in Barcelona on Saturday.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday
Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo won the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the second year running and the third overall on Monday after a prolific, trophy-filled year with Real Madrid.
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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.
Chelsea moved within touching distance of a first Premier League title in five years with a 1-0 win over Manchester United while Lionel Messi reached a landmark with his 400th career goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona.
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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.
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