Antoine Griezmann scored twice as Diego Simeone's men moved to within four points of their opponents and pulled five clear of fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao in the race for Champions League qualification.

Chelsea face a huge challenge to avoid breaching Premier League sustainability rules after posting an £89.8 million ($112 million) loss for the 2022/23 season.

Following a spell on the sidelines this season, Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish has returned to the form he was in when the club won the treble last term, manager Pep Guardiola said ahead of Saturday's Premier League clash with Luton Town.

In one of the most bizarre fan-player interactions ever, a supporter was seen assaulting Al-Ittihad forward Abderrazak Hamdallah after their 4-1 loss to Al-Hilal in the Saudi Super Cup title in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Tottenham Hotspur must aim to build long term consistency to achieve their 'ultimate goal' of winning the Premier League title, manager Ange Postecoglou said ahead of Saturday's trip to Newcastle United.

United scored 45 goals this season, the lowest among the top 10 teams in the standings.

Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen of 2023-24 stand on the cusp of greatness, with just 11 matches theoretically between them and a record undefeated season for a top-five European league team.

Manchester City were the second-highest spenders in the top flight.

Chelsea are ninth in the Premier League but just five points adrift of sixth-placed Manchester United with a game in hand.

United announced this week that Murtough was stepping down from the football director role after 11 years at Old Trafford in a variety of positions.

Haaland has netted 30 times this season and scored 52 goals last term when City won the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup.

As part of their sponsorship agreement with music streaming platform Spotify, Barcelona have worn logos of rock band the Rolling Stones, and artists Drake and Rosalia in previous Clasicos.

As the title race approaches its final stretch, leaders Arsenal face a potentially decisive reunion with their former boss Unai Emery.

“They are fine and only went to hospital for a routine check-up,” said a spokesperson for the England captain.

With 24 wins and four draws in the league this season, Leverkusen are on the cusp of going through a Bundesliga season undefeated.

"It just was a really bad game, oh my god. We started well, really well, and then didn't continue. I think even before they scored, we just lost the plot a little bit, we were everywhere and nowhere," Klopp told reporters.

Jorge Jesus' side, top of the Saudi league and still alive in the King's Cup and Asian Champions league, are bidding for a quadruple of trophies this season.

After numerous instances of abuse hurled at Real Madrid and Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, among others, Infantino told a meeting of South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) there were "problems" in the sport.

Jonas Hofmann and Victor Boniface scored after coming off the bench as Bayer Leverkusen beat West Ham 2-0 at home on Thursday in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.

Atalanta stunned Anfield as Gianluca Scamacca scored twice in a 3-0 win on Thursday to leave Liverpool with a mountain to climb to reach the Europa League semi-finals.