'I have calmly accepted that, and since I need my players fit and ready to play, I have made this decision'
Fiorentina squandered a two-goal lead at home for the second time in five days on Monday and were jeered off the field following a 2-2 draw with Torino which heaped the pressure on coach Paulo Sousa.
Marcos Alonso scored for Fiorentina and then almost immediately gifted Gonzalo Higuain the equaliser for Napoli in a pulsating, end-to-end 1-1 Serie A draw on Monday.
Inter Milan went on a rare scoring spree to thrash Serie A newcomers Frosinone 4-0 and go clear at the top on Sunday, the first time Roberto Mancini's team have won a league match by more than one goal this season.
Croatia striker Nikola Kalinic believes his country are now one of the favourites at Euro 2016 after beating Spain to win Group D.
Rediff.com brings you some pictures that summarise the happenings in the sporting world in the week that was.
Atletico Madrid earned a 1-1 draw away to Girona in a chaotic and entertaining Copa del Rey last 16 first-leg match on Wednesday, leaving the tie finely balanced.
Benevento, beaten in their first 14 Serie A matches, grabbed their first-ever top flight point in extraordinary style on Sunday when goalkeeper Alberto Brignoli scored with a flying header deep into stoppage time to give them a 2-2 draw with AC Milan.
Croatia had shown glimpses of their potential at the last European Championships in France two years ago when they beat Spain but went out in the second round to eventual winners Portugal after conceding in extra time.
Mauricio Pinilla converted a late penalty to give Atalanta a 2-1 win over Inter Milan and condemn their troubled opponents to a third successive Serie A defeat on Sunday.
Juventus launched their bid for a sixth successive league title after their record signing Gonzalo Higuain came off the bench to grab a trademark winner in a 2-1 success over Fiorentina on the opening day of the Serie A season.
Juventus slumped to another surprise defeat on Wednesday when the champions lost 1-0 at Sassuolo while AS Roma reclaimed top spot in Serie A with a 3-1 home victory over Udinese.
Valencia sign Kondogbia on loan from Inter
Portugal are ready to move up a gear when they face Croatia in their mouth-watering last-16 clash in Lens on Saturday, coach Fernando Santos said.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
Images from soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
France are favourites as Moscow basked in sweltering summer sun
Check out the top footballers of the weekend.
Tottenham Hotspur's Europa League hopes were crushed by mid-table Belgian side Gent, who booked their spot in the last 16 with a 2-2 draw at Wembley on Thursday as the hosts paid the penalty for Dele Alli's first-half red card.
Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
Inter Milan's lead at the top of Serie A was cut when they lost 2-1 at home to Lazio on Sunday while AS Roma beat Genoa 2-0 to record their first win in eight games and ease the pressure on under-fire coach Rudi Garcia.
He also finished the season five goals clear of the next leading scorer, Cristiano Ronaldo of Juventus.
Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back three minutes later with a typically opportunist goal, the Argentine's 13th in the league this season, to set up a tense final half hour.
Carlos Bacca claimed the plaudits with a superb double strike, including a late winner to decide a pulsating clash that began at a hair-raising pace with four goals in the first half.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
Substitute Ricardo Quaresma turned in three minutes from the end of extra time as Portugal edged a tense encounter to book a UEFA Euro 2016 quarter-final date with Poland. After 116 minutes in which the teams failed to muster a single shot on target, Ivan Perisic headed against the upright.
Holders Spain lost for the first time in 15 matches at the European Championship finals on Tuesday when Croatia beat them 2-1 to win Group D at Euro 2016.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Napoli began their Europa League group stage campaign in scintillating fashion.
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.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Everton have agreed to sign Barcelona's Colombia centre back Yerry Mina for an initial 30.25 million euros ($34.97 million) and have also taken the club's midfielder Andre Gomes on loan, the Spanish champions said on Thursday.
Midfielder Andre broke the deadlock for the Euro 2016 finalists in difficult, wet conditions just after the half hour and Nani, celebrating his 29th birthday, scored direct from a free kick in the 89th minute.
Spain strolled to a 4-1 win at home to Israel, while Italy survived some first-half scares on the way to a 2-0 win and Ukraine registered a 1-0 home win over Ukraine in an action-packed game.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Mario Mandzukic and Nikola Kalinic grabbed hat-tricks as Croatia achieved a record win as an independent nation by demolishing San Marino 10-0 in their final Euro 2016 warm-up match in Rijeka.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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