Last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund were spared a Champions League exit when a dramatic late goal from Kevin Grosskreutz sent the German side into the last 16 on Wednesday.
Sanaya Dalal on feminism, France and the burqa
Mario Gomez scored four opportunist goals as Bayern Munich shattered Champions League records and ruthlessly ended Basel's surprise run with a 7-0 win on Tuesday to reach the quarter-finals.
Less than two years after taking charge, coach Didier Deschamps has turned the France team, described as a bunch of overpaid mutineers four years ago, into a competitive outfit with a credible shot at a World Cup last-four spot.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid maintained their perfect records in La Liga while Premier League club Arsenal dropped points but returned to the top of the table.
Spanish striker Sergio Contreras Pardo's opportunistic first-half strike gave NorthEast FC a 1-0 victory over Sachin Tendulkar co-owned Kerala Blasters FC in the second match of the Hero Indian Super League, in Guwahati, on Monday night. The former Marseille frontman, popularly known as Koke, struck at the stroke of half-time with a snap angular right-footer from the top of the box, sending the ball past former England custodian David James's far right.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was again the chief tormentor as French champions Paris St Germain won 3-0 at Bastia to stay eight points clear at top of the Ligue 1 on Saturday.
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
Edinson Cavani enjoyed a memorable comeback after spending four weeks on the sidelines with a thigh injury as he scored in Paris St Germain's 2-0 win over Olympique Marseille on Sunday to help his side move eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1.
Manchester rivals City and United have so far not taken their domestic form into Europe and will be among 15 teams attempting to win their first matches in the Champions League group stage this week.
As football fans arrive to watch Euro 2016, France's trade unions have undertaken a series of strikes to provoke a make-or-break situation. Claude Arpi encounters both Gallic beauty and ugliness in the country of his birth.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Paris St Germain clinched their first French league title since 1994 on Sunday thanks to heavy investment from Qatar as they proved that money spent on the right players can buy success.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger admitted to feeling frustrated after his side missed out on top spot in their Champions League group and an easier draw in the knockout stages.
Napoli suffered an agonising exit from the Champions League after beating Premier League leaders Arsenal 2-0 on Wednesday.
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 look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
The wheel will have come full circle for Galatasaray forward Didier Drogba when he takes to the pitch for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg match at Real Madrid.
A weekend of surprise results across Europe's big leagues saw Bayern Munich's unbeaten run come to an end, Napoli knocked off top spot in Serie A and Manchester City toppled in the Premier League where Leicester City are the new leaders.
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.
Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga saved a matchpoint before beating world number six Tomas Berdych 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the Marseille Open final to claim his 10th ATP Tour title on Sunday.
Images of the Champpions League matches that were played on Tuesday.
Mesut Ozil guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Napoli while a late Cesc Fabregas header gave Barcelona a laboured 1-0 win at 10-man Celtic in the Champions League on Tuesday.
Rohan Bopanna and his British partner Colin Fleming fought their way to the semifinals of the ATP Open 13, edging past James Cerretani and Adil Shamasdin, in Marseille.
The goal machines of Bayern Munich, Chelsea and Shakhtar Donetsk cranked into top gear on Tuesday as the Champions League captivated its continental audience with a record 40 goals in one eight-game night.
Roger Federer beat an injured Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-2 to set up an all-Swiss Monte Carlo Masters final with Stanislas Wawrinka after the Australian Open champion ousted David Ferrer.
Striker Radamel Falcao scored his sixth and seventh goals in as many Ligue 1 matches as big-spending Monaco beat Bastia 3-0 at home on Wednesday to maintain their grip at the top of Ligue 1.
World champion Marc Marquez underlined his dominance of MotoGP when he swept to a record-equalling 12th pole position of the season on a good day for Spain at the Australian Grand Prix on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo bagged his first five-goal haul in Real Madrid's 9-1 hammering of Granada while title-chasing Bayern Munich and Chelsea won again in Germany and England.
David Beckham is likely to feature in the Paris St Germain squad for the first time when the Ligue 1 leaders take on arch rivals Olympique Marseille on February 24, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
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.
Seven-times champions AC Milan, knocked out of the Champions League by Barcelona in the last two seasons, were drawn against the Catalans again in the group stage of this season's competition on Friday.
Michael Essien is poised to make a first international appearance in more than two years after being named as a surprise inclusion in Ghana's squad for a key World Cup qualifier against Zambia next month.
Borussia Dortmund fans will be offered tea and pies at Zenit St Petersburg on Tuesday but there will be no such generosity on the pitch with the Russians intent on reaching their first Champions League quarter-final.
Round up of the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were thumped 4-0 away by city rivals Atletico Madrid to open up the Spanish title race, while Chelsea strengthened their hold on top spot in the English Premier League after a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.
Action from the world of European football.
Chelsea returned to their early-season form to open up a five-point lead in the Premier League, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued to make mincemeat of La Liga defences and Juventus extended their lead in Serie A. In France, Olympique Lyonnais retained top spot with a 2-0 win at RC Lens.
© 2025 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances