Marseille 0 Manchester United 0

Carlos Tevez has been left out of Argentina’s squad for the friendly with Portugal on February 9 in Switzerland but national team boss Sergio Batista does not want the Manchester City striker to be worried by his omission.

Rio Ferdinand has the chance to revisit an old haunt following today’s Champions League knockout stage draw.

Chelsea captain John Terry has issued a rallying cry to his team-mates as the defending champions look to end their slump against London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

MARSEILLE piled more pressure on Chelsea’s under-fire boss Carlo Ancelotti as a second-half goal from Brandao brought their unbeaten Champions League run to an end last night.

Marseille 1 Chelsea 0

MARSEILLE produced the performance of the night in the Champions League to boost their hopes of qualification.

WELL, there goes the unbeaten record at the Aviva.

IT may have been a chastening evening on the pitch but the news was better away from it with confirmation that Giovanni Trapattoni will be back on his feet in good time for the opening Euro 2010 qualifier in Yerevan.

LIKE a glitzy film premiere where the lead fails to show, Diego Maradona’s absence from the Aviva Stadium tonight has stripped the event of some of its star quality.

NO Maradona in the dugout, more’s the pity, but Argentina will certainly not be lacking in star quality on the pitch when they play the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium next Wednesday.

NO Maradona in the dugout, more’s the pity, but Argentina will certainly not be lacking in star quality on the pitch when they play the Republic of Ireland at the Aviva Stadium next Wednesday.

GABRIEL HEINZE has urged Diego Maradona not to make a snap decision on his future as Argentina boss.

Gabriel Heinze has urged Diego Maradona not to make a snap decision on his future as Argentina boss.

Argentina 0 Germany 4

Argentina 0 Germany 1

GERMANY playmaker Mesut Ozil and Spain striker David Villa are the surprise omissions from Opta’s team of the World Cup so far.

Argentina 1 Nigeria 0

Marseille 6 FC Zurich 1

MICHAEL CIANI scored at both ends and Bordeaux missed two penalties as the French champions leapfrogged Bayern Munich to move to the top of Group A last night as the visitors finished the game with nine men.

AC Milan edged a thrilling contest with Real Madrid 3-2 at the Bernabeu in the pick of tonight's Champions League games.

Argentina 2 Peru 1

RECENT Champions League winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka have sought to temper the growing anticipation that this is going to be Real Madrid’s year in Europe as their side prepare to host Group C rivals Marseille tonight.

REAL MADRID looked fabulous in attack but frail at the back as they began their Champions League Group C campaign last night with a 5-2 win over Swiss champions FC Zurich.

Marseille 1 AC Milan 2

New Marseille defender Gabriel Heinze insists he was not forced out of Real Madrid.

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make his debut for Spanish giants Real Madrid tonight at a pre-season friendly in Dublin.

The world’s most expensive player failed to let the torrential rain dampen his spirits today as he ran out with his Real Madrid teammates on the first leg of their Irish trip.

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to make his debut appearance when Real Madrid take to the training pitch today on the first leg of their Irish trip.

Cristiano Ronaldo touched down in Dublin tonight with his Real Madrid team-mates for a nine day training camp.

IN-DEMAND Valencia striker David Villa has stated that he has already made a decision on where his future lies.

Real Madrid winger Arjen Robben will not be joining Tottenham Hotspur, according to the player’s father.

BARCELONA have reached an agreement with Bayern Munich to sign French star Franck Ribery, according to reports in Spain.

MANCHESTER UNITED have posted the most spectacular profits for any British club — while at the same time being part of its biggest debt. Accounts to June 2008 reveal turnover at the club has risen an incredible 22% to £256.2million (e282m), underpinning a 7.5% increase in profits to £80.4m (e89.4m).

Manchester United will place their faith in Carlos Tevez to help them survive a striker crisis against Aston Villa tomorrow – but only after they rub salt into the proud Argentina star’s gaping wounds.

FORGOTTEN striker Bojan Krkic scored his first league goals of the season as Barcelona restored their six-point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga with a 2-0 win at Almeria last night.

Liverpool 4 Real Madrid 0 (Liverpool win 5-0 on agg)

Real Madrid 0 Liverpool 1

Liverpool midfielder Javier Mascherano has been named to lead Argentina in their friendly international against France next month.

Alex Ferguson has launched a stinging attack on Real Madrid’s claims they have done a deal to sign Cristiano Ronaldo and vowed: “I would not sell you a virus.”

NEW Real Madrid boss Juande Ramos says his side have nothing to fear in tomorrow’s highly-anticipated clash against Barcelona at the Nou Camp (9pm, live on Sky Sports).

Bernd Schuster left Real Madrid today by mutual consent with former Sevilla and Tottenham boss Juande Ramos named as his replacement on a six-month contract.

UNDER fire Real Madrid coach Bernd Schuster had few complaints about his side’s 3-1 defeat by Getafe on Saturday, admitting he felt from early on it was not going to be their night.