Champions Barcelona are determined not to let their crammed schedule get in the way of their bid to win back-to-back LaLiga titles even though they are third in the standings, coach Xavi Hernandez said ahead of Saturday's clash against Getafe.

A long-range shot from Robert Andrich took Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen to a 2-1 home win against Mainz on Friday, setting a new German record of 33 games unbeaten.

Mauricio Pochettino says Chelsea have started to "click" in recent weeks after a poor start to the season as he prepares his team to take on injury-hit Liverpool in Sunday's League Cup final.

Valencia's league match against Granada that had been scheduled to take place on Saturday has been postponed following a deadly fire in the eastern coastal city, LaLiga said on Friday.

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is expecting a tougher challenge from Manchester United in the coming years after British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe's purchase of a minority stake in the club was completed this week.

Spain's La Liga chief Javier Tebas believes it is almost certain that superstar striker Kylian Mbappe will be playing for Real Madrid next season, he told French daily L'Equipe in an interview published on Friday.

Bashundhara Kings ended their first round of matches in the Bangladesh Premier League om top of the table with a 1-1 draw against Sheikh Russel KC at the Bashundhara Kings Arena after country's traditional rivals Mohammedan SC and Abahani shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at the Rafique Uddin Bhuiyan Stadium in Mymensingh on Friday.

Manchester United were dealt another injury blow on Friday as in-form striker Rasmus Hojlund was ruled out for up to three weeks with a muscle injury.

Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel said he was not the only one responsible for his team's bad form and hoped the club's decision to part ways with him at the end of the season would liberate him and his players for the remainder of the campaign.

Chacarita forward Brandan needed medical treatment before the referee suspended the game.

They were meant to play Nigeria in Hangzhou and African champions Ivory Coast in Beijing.

The draws for the last 16 of both competitions will be made at UEFA headquarters in Nyon on Friday.

Saudi Arabian champions Al Ittihad had to bounce back from a Karim Benzema own goal against Navbahor in Jeddah on Thursday to seal a place in the Asian Champions League quarter-finals.

World Cup winner Toni Kroos announced his return to the German national team on Thursday ahead of Euro 2024 on home soil.

Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez said he was satisfied with the point from their 1-1 draw with Napoli in their Champions League last-16 match on Wednesday but he could not help feeling the first leg tie had been there for the taking.

Bayer Leverkusen coach Xabi Alonso said Thursday it was "not the right moment for me to talk about" his future, with the in-demand coach linked to Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

A Spanish court on Thursday sentenced former Brazil international Dani Alves to four and a half years in prison after finding him guilty of raping a young woman at a Barcelona nightclub in December 2022.

Abahani are mulling roping in Bangladesh national team captain Jamal Bhuiyan after Argentine coach Andres Cruciani convinced the team management that they would need a local midfielder like Jamal, who currently plays for Argentina's third-division outfit Sol de Mayo.

Lionel Messi created both goals as Inter Miami made a winning start to the new Major League Soccer season with a 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

Xavi is optimistic of Barcelona reaching the quarterfinals of the Champions League despite watching his dominant team held 1-1 at Napoli on Wednesday.