BAFETIMBI GOMIS struck four times as Lyon routed 10-man Dinamo Zagreb 7-1 in Zagreb and completed a remarkable nine-goal swing to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League ahead of Group D rivals Ajax.

New manager Alejandro Sabella has left Manchester City’s unsettled striker Carlos Tevez out of the Argentina squad for a pair of friendlies in Asia next month.

THEY may have rested their star names, but a largely second-string Barcelona consigned Rubin Kazan to a place in the Europa League after easing to a narrow victory at the Nou Camp.

Tottenham qualified for the last 16 as Group A winners in their maiden Champions League season after a typically high-scoring draw was coupled with a surprise 3-0 defeat for holders Inter Milan.

LIONEL MESSI struck two goals as Barcelona moved top of Group D after squeezing past FC Copenhagen at the Nou Camp last night.

Bayern Munich will take their fight against Frank Ribery’s ban, which rules him out of this month’s Champions League final, to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Bayern Munich today lodged their appeal against Franck Ribery’s three-match European ban for his sending-off in the Champions league semi-final first leg against Lyon.

BAYERN MUNICH have confirmed their intention to appeal against the three-match ban handed to Franck Ribery which is set to rule the Frenchman out of next month’s Champions League final.

LYON against Bayern is a semi-final clash no one expected, and so far it has lived down to expectations.

ARJEN ROBBEN may have been Bayern Munich’s Champions League saviour once more but he was still forced to issue an apology following the 1-0 semi-final first leg win against Lyon on Wednesday night.

THE conqueror of Fiorentina and Manchester United, Arjen Robben, again produced the moment of individual brilliance that settled a Champions League game, although the former Chelsea winger’s 70th-minute winner was just one of several talking points.

FULL-BACK Aly Cissokho has backed Lyon to complete a “difficult” Champions League quarter-final win over Bordeaux – and claims his side have the quality required to go on and win the competition.

Lyon 1 Real Madrid 0

Lyon 1 Real Madrid 0

UNDER-FIRE Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has admitted star duo Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard might need surgery to solve the injury problems which have plagued their season.

Liverpool goalkeeper Jose Reina has called on his team-mates to show “heart, passion and belief” despite last night’s draw in Lyon leaving their Champions League hopes hanging by a thread.

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard returned for the Champions League encounter against Lyon at Anfield but the surprise selection was teenage defender Martin Kelly.

LYON are almost assured of playing in the group stage of this year’s Champions League after they recorded a thumping 5-1 win against Anderlecht in the first leg of their qualifying play-off last night.

ARSENAL and Celtic could be set to meet for a place in the lucrative Champions League group phase.

Lyon could finally have been successful in their search for a striker after Fenerbahce accepted an offer for Daniel Guiza.

ATLETICO MADRID were indebted to Leo Franco for keeping their Champions League hopes alive as the Spanish side claimed a barely-deserved draw against Porto in the first leg of their last-16 tie last night.

ATLETICO Madrid captain Antonio Lopez has told his team-mates to forget about their poor league form as they prepare to face Porto tonight.

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

Porto 2 Arsenal 0

REAL MADRID secured their progression and kept alive their outside hopes of winning Group H after Raul’s early strike earned them a 1-0 victory over BATE Borisov.

LIVERPOOL fans may believe that this was their weekend, but even beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge doesn’t quite match the achievements of Hoffenheim and Leixoes.

Arsenal 4 Porto 0

Manchester United’s Carlos Tevez has been named in the Argentina squad for the upcoming World Cup Qualifiers against Paraguay and Peru.

MANUEL NEUER was FC Schalke 04’s hero, capping an outstanding performance with two penalty saves as the Bundesliga side won through to the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals at the expense of ten-man FC Porto.

SCHALKE captain Marcelo Bordon has questioned the commitment of his team-mates ahead of tonight’s Champions League last-16 clash at Porto.

GERMANY striker Kevin Kuranyi fired his side a step closer to a Champions League quarter-final berth as his early goal was enough to seal a 1-0 first-leg win over FC Porto last night.

Schalke 1 Porto 0

Chelsea booked their place in the last 16 of the Champions League with a convincing 4-0 victory away to Norwegian side Rosenborg.

Liverpool 4 Porto 1

Besiktas 0 Porto 1

Porto 1 Liverpool 1

SEVILLA showed they are in fine shape ahead of Wednesday’s tough Champions League match against Arsenal with an impressive 4-1 home win over Recreativo Huelva last night.

Andriy Shevchenko’s 58th European goal could prove vital to Chelsea’s continued progress in the Champions League but they were left with a major concern over the fitness of captain John Terry ahead of Sunday’s Carling Cup final.

PRIMERA LIGA leaders, Barcelona, who face Liverpool at the Camp Nou on Wednesday, suffered a 2-1 defeat to Valencia at the Mestalla last night.

MANAGERS heading for football’s January sales look like they’ll be buying in the High Street rather than Bond Street.

ARSENAL successfully negotiated a potentially fraught trip to Porto but endured a few heart-stopping moments before clinching their place in the Champions League knockout stages.

Arsenal successfully negotiated a potentially fraught trip to Porto but endured a few heart-stopping moments before clinching their place in the Champions League knockout stages.

PORTO have thrown Champions League Group G wide open as they notched up an impressive 3-1 victory in Hamburg to boost their chances of qualification and end any lingering hopes that the German side still had.