Football

Olympiakos beat 8-man Anderlecht 3-1 to advance, edging out two-time champion Benfica, whose 2-1 victory over Paris St. Germain was not enough.

Dempo goalkeeper Laxmikant Kattimani put up a valiant show as the five-time champions held a depleted United SC to a goalless draw.

Assaidi stunned Chelsea with a superb 90th-minute winner on Saturday as Stoke claimed their first league victory over the Blues in 38 years.

Ronaldo has not only led Portugal almost single handedly to the World Cup but has also netted 17 goals in the league so far.

Mourinho has struggled to repeat the consistency that was the hallmark of his first spell with the London club.

It has been a testing period for the former Everton manager since he replaced Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford, with United making their worst start to a Premier League season.

Match-fixing cannot be eradicated but English soccer in 99.9 per cent clean, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.

United SC now have 16 points from 10 matches, while East Bengal have 11 from seven outings.

Juventus, AC Milan and Napoli fortunes are so delicately poised that Serie A could easily end up with all three in the last 16 or none at all.

Pellegrini said "it was impossible to play better" after Sunday's 6-0 Premier League rout of Tottenham Hotspur.

Golden Boot winner Messi is uncertain when he will return to action for Barcelona having suffered a series of injuries this season.

France reached the World Cup against the odds after beating Ukraine 3-0, overturning a first-leg deficit with a performance full of pride and confidence.

Ghana have qualified for the World Cup with a 7-3 aggregate win over Egypt in the playoffs to seize the fourth of five African places.

England's under-fire goalkeeper Hart and left back Cole will start against Germany in Tuesday's friendly.

FIFA says its ethics committee prosecutor is going ahead with an investigation into allegations of match-fixing in international friendlies.

Frank Lampard will receive a special golden cap to mark 100 appearances for England on Friday when he captains a experimental team against Chile in a friendly.