Holders Napoli, already reeling after being deduced two Serie A points for match-fixing, were knocked out of the Italian Cup last 16 after suffering a last-gasp 2-1 home defeat by Bologna on Wednesday.
Forgotten man Massimo Oddo, only playing because of a raft of injuries, set up both goals to send AC Milan up to second in Serie A after an action-packed 2-1 win at 10-man Napoli in heavy rain on Monday.
Juventus missed the chance to join Inter Milan at the top of Serie A after losing 3-1 at promoted Napoli following two dubious penalties on Saturday.
Serie A leaders AC Milan slipped up for the second straight game in a 1-1 draw at Genoa on Sunday which opened the door for Napoli to cut the gap at the top to three points.
Napoli revived their hopes of claming Serie A's final Champions League qualifying slot and dented Juventus's when they heaped more misery on the Turin side with a 3-1 comeback win on Thursday.
Juventus made light work of bitter rivals Inter Milan on Sunday, winning 3-1 to increase their Serie A lead to nine points after AS Roma were washed out and Napoli blundered to a 3-0 defeat at Atalanta.
Napoli thrashed Frosinone 5-1 away to go top of Serie A on Sunday after previous leaders Inter Milan were sunk by a Domenico Berardi penalty in the fifth minute of injury time in a 1-0 home defeat against modest Sassuolo.
Champions Juventus returned to the top of Serie A with a 4-0 home rout of Cagliari on Wednesday, while former leaders Napoli dropped to second after being held to a goalless draw at Genoa.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
His ageing outfit are fifth in the English Premier League and in danger of missing the Champions League for next term as fans begin to wonder if one stellar year as coach of Porto has given the 34-year-old enough experience to cope at Stamford Bridge.
Ajax wary of attacking Napoli.
Ajax coach Schreuder and captain Tadic said losing the likes of Antony, Lisandro Martinez, Ryan Gravenberch and Sebastien Haller in the summer sales, made the club lack cohesion and confidence.
Marcelo Zalayeta capitalised on an early blunder by Inter Milan keeper Julio Csar as Napoli ended the leaders's unbeaten record in Serie A on Sunday with a 1-0 home win.
Juventus have been deducted 15 points for the current season by an Italian soccer court investigating its transfer dealings.
Napoli began their Europa League group stage campaign in scintillating fashion.
Alexis Sanchez had equalised for the visitors, scoring on the rebound after Manuel Neuer saved his 30th-minute penalty but the Gunners suffered when captain Laurent Koscielny limped off injured to leave the defence exposed.
Juventus moved a step closer to a second successive Serie A title after winning 2-1 in a pulsating "derby of Italy" at Inter Milan on Saturday, while Edinson Cavani came off the bench to inspire Napoli to a thrilling 5-3 win at Torino.
Antonio Cassano scored his first AC Milan goal and Robinho struck twice to help the Serie A leaders end a run of two straight draws in a 4-0 home thrashing of Parma on Saturday.
Napoli were charged by the Italian football federation over match-fixing on the final day of the 2009-10 season and sanctioned by UEFA on Friday over stadium and fan problems this term.
Images from the football matches played on Tuesday.
France international striker Antoine Griezmann has reached an agreement with Manchester United over a transfer from Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, Yahoo Sport has reported.
Now only Inter stand in the way of a treble that would match Manchester United's still unique feat of 1999.
Napoli kept their hopes of a first Serie A title since 1990 alive with an epic 4-2 win over 10-man Inter Milan after a Carlos Tevez hat-trick had put leaders Juventus six points clear with a 4-0 rout of Sassuolo on Sunday.
Italian finance police raided Serie A club Napoli's head offices on Wednesday, taking away a number of documents in an investigation into possible foul play.
Union Berlin's Paul Jaeckel scored a 76th-minute winner to give his team a 1-0 victory at VfB Stuttgart on Sunday and send them two points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
Two goals from in-form Gervinho, including the winner two minutes from time, gave AS Roma a thrilling 3-2 victory in their Italian Cup semi-final first leg against Napoli at the Stadio Olimpico on Wednesday.
Napoli's Marek Hamsik enjoyed a memorable return to his former club Slovan Bratislava, scoring one and creating another, in a 2-0 victory on Thursday as the Italians joined five others who made it two wins from two in the Europa League group stage.
Borussia Dortmund snatched a late goal at Atalanta to progress with a 1-1 draw, while AC Milan and Atletico Madrid, both with three-goal leads from the away legs, completed the formality of qualifying with 1-0 wins at home on Thursday.
Two of Europe's in-form teams clash in the Champions League on Wednesday when Serie A leaders Napoli take on a Borussia Dortmund side still on a high after hitting six goals in the Bundesliga at the weekend.
Images from the international friendly and Euro qualifying football matches played on Tuesday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Napoli shot to the top of Serie A with a controversial 3-0 win at 10-man Inter Milan on Saturday as Claudio Ranieri suffered his first defeat in charge and was sent off at halftime.
AS Roma coach Rudi Garcia succeeded where his three predecessors failed by taking his team to a 2-0 win over arch-rivals Lazio on Sunday and maintaining their 100 percent record in Serie A alongside Napoli who won 2-1 at AC Milan.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
Bento said the 30-year-old, who was injured midway through Tottenham Hotspur's Champions League match at Olympique de Marseille this month, joined the squad only in recent days.
Serie A leaders Juventus scored twice in as many minutes late in the second half through substitutes Jose Martin Caceres and Paul Pogba to beat second-placed Napoli 2-0 on Saturday.
IMAGES from soccer matches played on Monday.
'I think that the only thing that we lacked was to convert the chances. We were good in the high press. After going behind, we generated 20 chances and six or seven were very clear.'
AS Roma's lingering hopes of catching Serie A leaders Juventus were virtually extinguished after two stunning Pepe Reina saves kept them at bay and Jose Callejon's late goal handed third-placed Napoli a 1-0 home win on Sunday.