SPANISH champions Barcelona sent out a warning shot to Champions League opponents Chelsea last night as they opened up a three-point lead at the top of the Spanish Primera Liga after their nearest rivals all faltered.

STEPHEN HUNT had waited 26 years to realise his dream of starting a Premiership game; within as many seconds of its kick-off he had also achieved notoriety.

A WIN is a win, even if the performance leaves a lot to be desired — that was the attitude of Cork Con manager Brian Walsh after this opening-round AIL Division 1 game at Temple Hill on Saturday.

DANIEL LEO makes no qualms about it. He would prefer to be in Dublin as a member of the Samoan national team but the Pacific Islanders concept is, he admits, the next best thing.

RYAN GIGGS has admitted Manchester United only have themselves to blame for allowing their Champions League dream to go right down to the wire.

Porto threw Champions League Group G wide open with a deserved away win over CSKA Moscow in the Lokomotiv Stadium last night, but their stay at the top was short-lived.

WILL the real Neil Best please stand up? “I don’t really like fighting, people get injured and lose teeth. My dentist charges enough as it is, I don’t want to give him any more money!” he told RTE, on accepting his man-of-the-match award at the end of a bruising encounter yesterday.

THIERRY HENRY insists France’s win over Spain was the perfect answer to Luis Aragones.

COMPANIES doing business in the developing world spend nearly €800 billion a year bribing officials and politicians — 20 times more than the current spend on international aid.

WHERE does the time go? Seems like yesterday Jim Purcell was giving a pal a dig out, walking divots back into the Semple Stadium turf.

ULSTER continue their search for the form that will take them to the knock-out stages of Europe after going down to a tense 21-15 defeat at Llanelli last night.

ROBERT Dipierdomenico hasn’t changed much in two decades. He’s as broad across the shoulders as he was back in 1984, when he starred for Australia in Compromise Rules games against Ireland.

WITH a surname made for headline writers, James Masters’ public profile has been enhanced by his scoring exploits with club and county ever since he captained Cork to victory over Mayo in the All-Ireland minor final of 2000.

DESPITE the fact that over an hour had passed since the final whistle, I sat in splendid isolation at the back of the main stand at Welford Road.

THOMAS O’Leary holds the halter of stable star Scarthy Lad in one hand, while the other hoses the ‘Stay Sound’ compound from the horse’s off foreleg. There’s a wistful, but resigned, look on his face as the plaster-esque substance dilutes and runs down the drain.

NEWCASTLE claimed a fine 1-0 win in Palermo to move to within touching distance of a place in the third round of the UEFA Cup.

UEFA are set to launch an investigation into Tuesday night’s stormy encounter between Barcelona and Chelsea.

THE most pulsating, dramatic, heart-stopping contest of a thrilling World Cup ended with Australia booking a last-16 meeting with Italy. Harry Kewell’s 79th-minute angled drive sent the Socceroos bouncing into the knockout phase for the first time in their history.

DWIGHT YORKE has revealed he may end his international career in the aftermath of Trinidad and Tobago’s world cup exit in Kaiserslautern.

A SIZZLER of a Sunday in Munich, although that had more to do with the scorching weather than the fairly modest amount of heat generated by the boys from Brazil.