Cristiano Ronaldo will not be the only number seven hoping to redeem himself when his Portugal side meet Austria in their Euro 2016 group F match in Paris on Saturday. Ronaldo's less heralded opposite number for Austria, Marko Arnautovic, also came into the tournament with high hopes only to start with a below-par display made worse by a sulky attitude.
Robin Dutt, Indian-origin manager of the German football Bundesliga first division club VfB Stuttgart, has been sacked following the team's relegation from the premier league.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski took the honours as the league's top scorer with 30 goals after netting in the champions' 3-1 victory over already-relegated Hanover 96.
Bayern Munich secured a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title with a game to spare after a 2-1 victory at Ingolstadt on Saturday helped them put the disappointment of their midweek Champions League semi-final exit behind them.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
Levante were relegated from La Liga after a six-season stay in the Spanish top flight as two late goals condemned them to a 3-1 defeat at Malaga on Monday.
Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored in each half as the Bundesliga leaders beat Werder Bremen 2-0 on Tuesday to reach the German Cup final and stay firmly on course for a treble of titles this season.
Bayern Munich's Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Schalke 04 on Saturday that edged them closer to a record fourth consecutive league title.
Bayern Munich winger Franck Ribery scored a sensational volley to lead the German champions to a 1-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday that sent them eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with six matches left. Frenchman Ribery, who has missed most of the season due to injury, took off at the edge of the box and sent his mid-air volley past Lukas Hradecky in the 20th minute after the keeper had initially saved a shot from Mario Goetze. It was the 32-year-old's second goal of the campaign after being sidelined for eight months with an ankle problem and then suffering another injury that kept him out until last month. Bayern found no resistance from Eintracht and Xabi Alonso rattled the crossbar with a free kick early in the second half with the hosts enjoying close to 70 percent possession.
Werder Bremen's on-loan Chelsea defender Papy Djilobodji has received a three-match ban for making a throat-slitting gesture in Saturday's 1-1 Bundesliga draw with Mainz.
Bayern Munich are confident they have overcome a mini-slump just in time for their Champions League round of 16 second leg against Juventus on Wednesday as they chase a treble of titles this season.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic bagging four goals, while Juventus and Bayern Munich preserved their leads and FA Cup holders Arsenal were dumped out of the competition.
Thomas Mueller and Thiago Alcantara struck twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich thumped Werder Bremen 5-0 on Saturday to open an eight-point gap at the top with their first win in three games. The Bavarians, who claimed one point from their previous two matches, terrorised visiting Werder with Kingsley Coman setting up three goals in an eye-catching dress rehearsal for the Champions League last-16 second leg against Juventus next week. "It may look easy ... but it was not," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola. "It was important to win after losing to Mainz 05 (last week). "As for Kingsley, he is a young player but today he showed his quality. We will need such a player on Wednesday." Guardiola can also count on Mario Goetze again after the attacking midfielder made his comeback from a four-month injury layoff.
Bayern Munich kept their five-point lead at the top of the table on Saturday, drawing 0-0 at second-placed Borussia Dortmund to stay on track for a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title.
Bayern Munich slumped to their first defeat for three months when the Bundesliga leaders suffered a shock 2-1 reverse at home to Mainz 05 on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 victory over 10-man VfL Bochum on Wednesday with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice to keep their treble hopes on track.
Borussia Dortmund reached the German Cup semi-finals with a 3-1 win at VfB Stuttgart on Tuesday as fans protested against high ticket prices by staying away at the start and throwing tennis balls on to the pitch.
A lacklustre Bayern Munich needed a long-range goal from Spaniard Xabi Alonso to secure a 1-0 victory over Darmstadt 98 on Tuesday that put them into the quarter-finals of the German 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.
Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus scored twice in a 3-1 victory at Werder Bremen on Saturday to put them within five points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich while Borussia Moenchengladbach continued their sensational winning run with a 4-1 demolition of Hertha Berlin.
Leaders Bayern Munich's express start to the season finally ran out of steam on Friday with a goalless draw at Eintracht Frankfurt, following 10 wins out of their 10 previous Bundesliga games.
"We are pleased with the win, the many chances and the 70,000-plus spectators."
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben sparkled on his comeback from injury after almost two months, scoring the champions' first goal in a 4-0 demolition of Cologne on Saturday for their 1,000th victory in the Bundesliga that put them 10 points clear at the top.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally became the highest scorer in Real Madrid's history while Bayern Munich set a record for the greatest number of successive wins at the start of a season in the Bundesliga this weekend.
AS Roma's Daniele De Rossi celebrated his 500th appearance for the club with a goal in their 3-1 win over Empoli at the Olympic Stadium as they moved up to second place in Serie A on Saturday.
Second-placed Borussia Dortmund beat hosts Mainz 05 2-0 on Friday in coach Thomas Tuchel's return to his former club, ending their three-game winless run in the Bundesliga to close in on leaders Bayern Munich.
Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski netted the Bundesliga's fastest hat-trick on his way to a sensational five-goal haul as a halftime substitute in their 5-1 demolition of VfL Wolfsburg on Tuesday.
In other matches, VfL Wolfsburg edged past Hertha Berlin 2-0; promoted Ingolstadt snatched a last-gasp 1-0 win at Werder Bremen
"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).
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Per Mertesacker is confident new goalkeeper Petr Cech will enhance Arsenal's defence and the centre back said he has already developed an understanding with the Czech international.
Armenia midfielder Henrikh Mkhitaryan scored twice as Borussia Dortmund thrashed Borussia Moenchengladbach 4-0 on Saturday to launch their season with a bang on coach Thomas Tuchel's Bundesliga debut with the club.
Bayer Leverkusen beat a second-string Bayern Munich 2-0 on Saturday to move up to third in the Bundesliga and get back on course for an automatic Champions League spot with three matches left in the season.
VfL Wolfsburg ended Arminia Bielefeld's sensational German Cup run, crushing the third division club 4-0 on Wednesday to book a spot in their first Cup final in 20 years where they will face Borussia Dortmund.
Holders Bayern Munich beat Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on penalties after a 0-0 draw to move into the German Cup semi-final and stay on course for a treble of titles on Wednesday.
Runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich showed no signs of letting up as they brushed aside Werder Bremen 4-0 in a bad-tempered match on Saturday.
Thomas Mueller scored twice as Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich came from a goal down to beat Hanover 3-1 on Saturday and stretch their advantage at the top to 11 points after VfL Wolfsburg slumped to a 1-0 loss at Augsburg.
Holders Bayern Munich struck either side of the break to beat second division Eintracht Braunschweig 2-0 on Wednesday and advance to the German Cup quarter-finals.
Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben struck twice apiece as champions Bayern Munich annihilated promoted Paderborn 6-0 on Saturday to open an 11-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga.
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