Croatia edged closer to next year's World Cup with an emphatic 4-1 home win over Greece on Thursday in the first leg of their two-legged playoff.
Borussia Dortmund steam-rollered hapless Freiburg 5-0 while Bayern Munich plodded past VfL Wolfsburg 1-0 as the two unbeaten arch-rivals remained level on points at the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
English clubs took their spending on players for the season soaring past 1 billion pounds on Monday, but the biggest signing on transfer deadline day was that of a manager as Manchester City confirmed Pep Guardiola will take over this summer.
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.
Defending champion Germany suffered a shocking defeat, while Brazil, Spain and Argentina -- the other pre-tournament favourites -- managed just draws in their opening round matches.
Manchester City paid the price for missed chances as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Burnley on Saturday with Johann Berg Gudmundsson's 82nd minute equaliser earning the hosts a share of the points.
World champions Germany survived a late scare to see off Saudi Arabia 2-1 on Friday and claim a first victory this year, putting a five-game winless run behind them as they finalised their World Cup preparations.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Premier League leaders Manchester City turned on the style with a 3-1 win over Manchester United in their derby clash, on Sunday, leaving Pep Guardiola's unbeaten side two points clear of Liverpool.
Following is a match by match look at the English Premier League's weekend fixtures:
Football's winter transfer window closed on February 1, and, surprisingly, none of Europe's biggies made even a slight move, let alone sign a player.
Liverpool beat Leicester City 2-1 to post a fourth successive Premier League victory but conceded their first goal of the season after a nightmare mistake by new keeper Alisson.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
IMAGES from the Euro 2020 qualifiers
Two big derbies and an eventful weekend of football awaits us all...
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer continued his dream start as Manchester United caretaker manager with a 3-1 Premier League win over Huddersfield on his Old Trafford debut in the dugout on Wednesday.
'It was a crazy game where we had the bit of luck that we didn't have in Slovenia'
A round-up of results from the Nations League matches played on Sunday
Swansea City's hopes of salvaging their place in the Premier League suffered a potentially grievous blow as Ryan Fraser's deflected strike earned Bournemouth a 1-0 win on Saturday to secure another season of top-flight football for the Cherries.
France midfielder Paul Pogba said the finals in Russia might be his last World Cup but he hopes he will be fit for more.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Tuesday.
France produced a scintillating show as they put memories of one of the most painful moments in their soccer history to one side by crushing Bulgaria 4-1 in a World Cup Group A qualifier on Friday.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates with a display of free-flowing football that the Gunners have sorely lacked away from home this season.
Manchester City made sure of third place in the Premier League when they romped to a 5-0 win at Watford on Sunday to ensure a Champions League berth for next season.
Arsenal moved top of the Premier League table but were unconvincing in a 0-0 home draw with Middlesbrough who were well worth their point on Saturday.
Tottenham Hotspur's tenacious chase of leaders Chelsea continued as they claimed a 12th consecutive Premier League home win with a 4-0 rout of Bournemouth on Saturday to cut the gap to four points.
Manchester City displayed champions' swagger as they roared clear at the top with a 5-0 trouncing of Burnley but it was drama which engulfed their neighbours Manchester United and Jose Mourinho that dominated the Premier League agenda on Saturday.
With eight teams remaining at Euro 2016, a guide to the form of the quarter-finalists, looking at their strengths and weaknesses.
A summary of Thursday night's UEFA Champions League matches.
Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Switzerland struck twice in quick succession to stun Euro 2016 champions Portugal 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday and hand them a first competitive defeat in two years under coach Fernando Santos.
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