However, Zenit St Petersburg's Russia Cup tie against Spartak Moscow on Sunday saw a brawl of another level as the game descended into chaos. Six players were shown red cards after a mass fight took place in the injury time at the end of the second half.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Friday upheld the ban on Russian clubs from European competitions for the coming season and Russia's exclusion from international tournaments, as a result of the war in Ukraine

Russian captain Artem Dzyuba has asked to be left out of the squad for friendly matches later this month because of the "difficult situation in Ukraine", coach Valery Karpin said on Tuesday

Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta has urged his teammates to show an immediate response after falling off the top of the Premier League and finishing a disappointing second in their Champions League group.

Reece James revealed on Thursday that burglars broke into his house and stole his Champions League winners' medal while he was playing for Chelsea.

Champions League: Having slumped to a 3-1 defeat away to Lazio in their opening game last week, Borussia Dortmund were under pressure to pick up three points.

Pavel Mamaev and Alexander Kokorin attacked two officials in an upmarket Moscow cafe after a drunken night out in October 2018.

AC Milan will be a stiff challenge for a less-than-impressive Arsenal.

Jonas headed a dramatic injury-time winner to help Benfica beat 10-man Zenit St Petersburg 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Zenit Saint Petersburg are the third team to qualify for the knockout stages after Manchester City and Real Madrid.

Brazilian international Hulk scored two goals to help Zenit St Petersburg record a 3-2 win over Valencia in their Champions League clash.

Hulk is the top goal-scorer in the most recent Russian soccer championship, with 15 tallies in 28 games. Hulk has not been called to play for Brazil by Dunga since last September.

Kerzhakov met a cross from Hulk to net the winner which lifted the Russian club into second place in the group with four points. Porto slipped to third, one point behind Zenit.

It was a familiar feeling for Zenit as the Russians were also beaten in Spain on matchday one last season by Malaga, but in truth they deserved little more from a disappointing display that only sparked into life for a brief spell after half-time.

AC Milan, Zenit St Petersburg and Real Sociedad also booked their place at European football's top table. But it was to be Celtic's night, with Stokes doing brilliantly to set up James Forrest to make it 3-0 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate with virtually the last kick of the game.

Former European champions AC Milan and PSV Eindhoven were locked at 1-1 in their playoff, Kazakhstan champion Shakhter Karagandy stunned Scottish club Celtic 2-0, Real Sociedad won at Lyon by the same score and Viktoria Plzen beat Maribor 3-1 in the Czech Republic.

The first legs will be played on July 30 and 31, with return matches on Aug. 6 and 7. Winners advance to a playoff round, which will decide the final 10 places in the 32-team group stage.

Arshavin, born in Saint Petersburg in 1981 when it was still known as Leningrad, started his career in the Zenit reserves in 1999 while still a teenager. Almost a decade at the club saw him score 71 goals in 310 matches and win Russian premier league titles as well as the UEFA Cup in 2008. He also lit up the 2008 Euro where Russia reached the semi finals.