Rediff.com brings you the top highlights of the soccer weekend.
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.
As Leicester City celebrates its unexpected title triumph, Bikash Mohapatra/Rediff.com lists similar success stories across Europe's top leagues.
Leaders Bayern Munich eased past VfB Stuttgart 2-0 on Saturday to grab their first win of the year, as did Borussia Dortmund who beat Freiburg 3-0 to climb off the bottom of the Bundesliga table.
A solid defence helped Schalke 04 secure a 1-0 win at home to Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday that lifted them above their rivals into third spot in the Bundesliga in the battle for Champions League places.
World number two Maria Sharapova will doubtless be anxious to settle a few scores at the year's first major -- the Australian Open.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic's preparations for Wimbledon have been laid back in the extreme.
Borussia Dortmund completed their spectacular implosion this season, losing 2-1 at struggling Werder Bremen.
Arjen Robben grabbed his 100th goal for the club as undefeated Bayern Munich outclassed Freiburg 2-0.
Bayern Munich's Thomas Mueller scored a hat-trick as the undefeated champions crushed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 to open up a seven-point lead at the top.
The Mercedes-Benz Museum at Stuttgart, Germany traces the remarkable history of the 125-year old Mercedes-Benz brand.
Indian-origin German football Bundesliga coach Robin Dutt has been sacked by his club SV Werder Bremen owing to the team's poor start in the new national championship season.
Borussia Dortmund's miserable domestic season continued when they lost 1-0 at home to fellow strugglers Hanover 96 on Saturday, their fourth Bundesliga defeat in a row.
Russian tennis star Maria Sharapova, who celebrated her 27th birthday on Saturday brought in her big day in German style.
From Maruti to Honda, every big manufacturer has lined up launches in the domestic market.
Moritz Stoppelkamp scored an extraordinary goal from deep inside his own half, a Bundesliga record 83 metres, to cap a 2-0 win for upstarts Paderborn over Hanover 96 on Saturday, helping the promoted side go to of the table.
Bayern Munich will be without experienced Franck Ribery when they meet Manchester City in their Champions League Group E opener on Wednesday with fellow winger Arjen Robben also doubtful, coach Pep Guardiola said.
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.
Japan international Shinji Kagawa sparkled on his return to Borussia Dortmund, scoring one goal for the Ruhr Valley club and helping set up another in a 3-1 win over Freiburg on Saturday.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
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.
Former Germany midfielder Thomas Hitzlsperger has become one of the few high profile sportsmen, and the first well-known footballer from his country, to publicly reveal that he is gay.
The Sony World Photography Awards, an annual competition hosted by the World Photography Organisation, has announced the winners of its Open categories and National categories for 2017. This year's contest attracted 227,596 entries from 183 countries. Scroll down for a sensational selection of open winners and runners-up from the Sony awards.
Rafa Nadal's return to form was stopped in its tracks when he lost his opening match at the Aegon Championships to Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-4 on Tuesday.
All England Club officials on Tuesday announced a seven percent overall rise, down from 10.5 percent last year, meaning overall prize money has surged by an eye-popping 152 percent since 2011 to 26.75 million pounds.
Three luxury compact cars from BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi now run on Indian roads. Choosing the best of the trio is no easy task.
Sania Mirza and her doubles partner Cara Black stormed into the finals of the Portugal Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over third seeded American pair of Liezel Huber and Lisa Raymond in Oeiras, Portugal.
Russian Grand Prix winner Lewis Hamilton might cover the distance in a matter of minutes but it has taken more than half a century for Mercedes to add their names to the likes of Ferrari, McLaren and Williams.
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.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
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.
Thiago Alcantara's sensational flying volley in stoppage-time earned Bayern Munich a 2-1 win at VfB Stuttgart on Wednesday, extending their unbeaten run to 43 league games and increasing their Bundesliga lead to 13 points.
Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi have sharply increased their sourcing from India.
Arsenal's Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs are doubtful for the Champions League Group F trip to last season's runners-up Borussia Dortmund with coach Arsene Wenger eager to make amends for last month's loss to the Germans.
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.
Sony World Photography Awards recently announced the winners of its first-ever mobile phone photography category.
Holders Bayern Munich crushed Hanover 96 4-1 with two goals from Thomas Mueller to reach the German Cup round of 16 On Wednesday.
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.
Bayern Munich had to put their Bundesliga title celebrations on hold on Saturday after beating gutsy Mainz 05 2-0 while Borussia Dortmund also won, 3-0 at Hanover 96.
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