Copenhagen, who finished second in Group A ahead of Manchester United and Galatasaray, trailing only Bayern Munich, return to competitive action after a two-month winter break.

Juve's title hopes took a hit at the Allianz Stadium in Turin after Lautaro Giannetti poked home the only goal of the game in the 25th minute.

The final of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) yesterday had entered the 81st minute, with the score line reading 1-1 and hosts Ivory Coast, who had come back from the brink multiple times in the competition, conjuring up an attack against opponents Nigeria.

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos on Monday doubled down on his criticism of players moving to Saudi Arabia, due to the human rights situation in the country.

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi congratulated the Argentina Under-23 team for their win 1-0 win over rivals Brazil to book a spot in this year's Paris Olympics.

Messi, who won an Olympic gold with the Argentina team in 2008, took to social media to laud the youngsters.

"When I think about all we have been through, we are miracle survivors. We never gave up and we managed to come back from so many tough blows."

"One thing is the contract, the other is how comfortable he feels. He knows we will have a top team next year."

Xavi Hernandez's side, third, shared the spoils with their relegation-battling opponents, 19th, after a thrilling battle at the Olympic Stadium, but now trail leaders Real Madrid by 10 points.

Nigeria looked set to repeat their 1-0 victory over the Ivorians here at the Ebimpe Olympic Stadium during the group stage when captain William Troost-Ekong -– who had netted a penalty to decide that first meeting -– rose to head in the opener late in the first half.

Champions in Rio 2016 and the Covid-delayed 2020 Tokyo Games, Brazil only needed a draw against their arch continental rivals on the final day of the South American pre-Olympic tournament in Venezuela.

Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen outplayed champions Bayern Munich for a 3-0 victory on Saturday that sent them five points clear at the top of the league and put them firmly in charge of the title race.

Scott McTominay kept alive Manchester United's hopes of finishing in the Premier League's top four as the midfielder's late goal clinched a vital 2-1 win against Aston Villa on Sunday.

Declan Rice scored on his return to West Ham as Arsenal smashed David Moyes' men 6-0 in a statement of intent in the Premier League title race on Sunday.

The England international, Madrid's top goalscorer with 20 strikes in 29 matches across all competitions, will miss the Champions League last 16 visit to RB Leipzig on Tuesday.

The Iranian Football federation has called upon the world soccer’s governing body, the Fédération Internationale de Football Association FIFA, to suspend Israel’s soccer federation over the country’s war in Gaza.

Regarding his thunderbolt, Vinicius added: “I don't tend to shoot from outside the box but I felt confident and I didn't get to play the last game and it came off. I'm thrilled but now we have to rest up before Tuesday." 

"What do I think we were missing? In training we show what we can do much better because we are courageous, because we play football freely," Mueller said.

Marcus Thuram was key to Inter's win at a soaking Stadio Olimpico in Rome as, with his team trailing at half-time, the France attacker made it two goals each shortly after the break and forced the Angelino own goal which put Inter ahead in the 56th minute.

League leaders Madrid opened up a five-point gap on shock title challengers Girona, second.