Leaders Chelsea suffered a blow to their hopes of winning the English Premier League title when they were beaten 2-1 at home by Arsenal.

Villarreal beat last-place Recreativo Huelva 2-1, and 10-man Valencia recovered to defeat Real Betis 3-2 as both teams moved ahead of injury-ravaged Real Madrid in the Spanish league.

Veteran striker Alessandro Del Piero and Argentine international Lionel Messi sprinkled a little stardust over European football at the weekend with the Italian striking a memorable blow for soccer's golden oldies.

Lionel Messi scored twice as Spanish league leader Barcelona beat Sevilla 3-0 and moved six points clear of rival Real Madrid, which lost to Getafe 3-1 and incurred more injury problems.

Thus far, Scolari has led Chelsea to the top of the table despite a series of injuries to key players like Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, Ricardo Carvalho and Michael Ballack.

Rafael Benitez has admitted that he was mystified by the latest hamstring problem to be suffered by star Spanish striker Fernando Torres. Torres faces at least three weeks out after picking up the injury in the 1-0 Champions League win over Marseille at Anfield on Wednesday.

Mark Viduka will be among the substitutes when Newcastle make the short trip to his former club Middlesbrough for Saturday's English Premier League game at the Riverside Stadium.

Spanish league leaders Barcelona look to build on their impressive Champions League demolition of Sporting Lisbon when they travel to Sevilla on Saturday.

AC Milan took until stoppage time to salvage a draw at unfashionable Portsmouth in the UEFA Cup as the Italians missed a chance to join Manchester City, CSKA Moscow and St Etienne in qualifying for the knockout phase early.

After being bogged down by disputes within the team and the removal of William Gallas as skipper, Arsene Wenger believes that Arsenal's 1-0 win over Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League on Tuesday may prove to be a turning point.

Holders Manchester United failed to secure top spot in Group E of the Champions League but qualified for the knockout stage of the competition after another 0-0 draw with Villarreal at El Madrigal on Tuesday.

Peter Thangaraj, the towering custodian of the Indian team which won the gold in the 1962 Jakarta Asian Games, passed away following a massive heart attack at Bokaro on Monday night, family sources said.

Chelsea can wrap up a spot in the knockout phase of the Champions League for a seventh straight season with a win over Bordeaux on Wednesday.

Liverpool will look to the return of talismanic skipper Steven Gerrard to help guide them into the knockout stages of the Champions League as they seek a victory over Marseille on Wednesday.

Inter Milan will be looking to wrap up qualification to the Champions League second round and fulfill coach Jose Mourinho's prediction when they host Panathinaikos in Group B on Wednesday.

William Gallas will play for Arsenal against Dynamo Kiev in the Champions League at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday but manager Arsene Wenger said the captaincy had now passed permanently to Cesc Fabregas.

Barcelona were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw at home to midtable Getafe, but remain three points clear at the top of the Spanish Liga.

AC Milan drew 2-2 with Torino, squandering a chance to pull within one point of the Serie A lead.

The host nation for the 2018 World Cup will be chosen by FIFA in December 2010, Jerome Valcke, secretary general of world football's governing body, said.

Sulley Muntari scored a second-half goal on Saturday to give Inter Milan a 1-0 win over Juventus to stay top of the Serie A.