While four French clubs secured progress to the knockout phase of the Champions League this week, another was busy firing a popular coach as Lyon parted company with Pierre Sage and lined up Paulo Fonseca as his replacement.

Bayer Leverkusen are taking the belief gained from finishing in the top eight of the Champions League standings into the latter stages of their Bundesliga title defence.

Ange Postecoglou said his team's 3-0 win over Elfsborg in the Europa League on Thursday was "made in Tottenham", after three youngsters scored to fire Spurs into the last 16.

Bayer Leverkusen have reached an agreement with Roma over a dry loan for Mario Hermoso until the end of the season. The Spaniard will return to the Italian capital in June 2025 as no option to buy was included in the deal.

The jury is no longer out on Antony – his January loan move to Real Betis arguably means that the winger’s career at Manchester United is finally over. There seems to be a uniform agreement among fans and pundits that he is among the worst signings the Premier League has ever seen.

Check out the match-ups for the Champions League knockout phase play-off draw following Friday's draw which took place at 12:00 CET at the House of European Football in Nyon, Switzerland.

Ruben Amorim said Manchester United's progress to the Europa League last 16 with a 2-0 win over Romanian side FCSB will be crucial to his bid to revitalise his troubled team.

Ligue 1 club Rennes announced Thursday the sacking of coach Jorge Sampaoli, with former Newcastle defender Habib Beye taking over the hotseat in Brittany until the end of the season.

Barcelona's two-time Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati said Thursday she was against Saudi Arabia hosting the women's Spanish Super Cup.

Manchester United booked their place in the Europa League last 16 with a 2-0 win at Romanian side FCSB, while troubled Tottenham turned to their young guns to advance via a top-eight finish on Thursday.

European football body UEFA hailed the "more dynamic" new format of the Champions League as a huge success after the first phase concluded on Wednesday while all of the continent's biggest clubs survived to reach the knockout stage.

Warren Zaire-Emery is an injury doubt for Paris Saint-Germain's two-legged Champions League last 16 play-off tie next month after picking up an injury in Wednesday's crucial win at Stuttgart.

Neymar announced Thursday he was returning to Brazilian club Santos, where he started his career, after ending his injury-plagued spell with Saudi Arabia's Al Hilal. The Brazilian star thus returns to the club where he rose to fame after a failed spell in Saudi Arabia.

Barcelona player Pedri Gonzalez spoke to the club's official media following his renewal until 2030 with the Catalan giants. The Tenerife midfielder admitted that this contract extension is the nicest thing that has happened to him in a long time.