Lionel Messi conjured a magical headed goal to set a depleted Barcelona on their way to a 3-0 win at Real Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday that stretched their lead over Real Madrid at the top to eight points.

Barcelona suffered a 2-1 defeat at Arsenal and AS Roma's miserable run continued with a 3-2 home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk in Champions League last-16 first-round matches on Wednesday.

Barcelona revive their entertaining rivalry with Arsenal on Wednesday in the first leg their Champions League last 16 tie that will showcase two of the most technically gifted and attractive sides in world soccer.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to lift Real Madrid to a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad on Sunday which trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to seven points.

How to clone Lionel Messi? Set up a Barcelona soccer school in Argentina.This was the thinking behind the Catalan club when they decided to look for more Argentine talent to nurture in their rich, world famous youth scheme.

Second seeded Grandmaster Abhijeet Gupta went down fighting to Sipke Ernst of Holland while Dejan Bojkov of Bulgaria annexed the crown in the Groningen International open chess tournament which concluded in Groningen (The Netherlands), on Friday.

Barcelona are the club everyone wants to avoid in the draw for the Champions League Round of 16 on Friday and Barca coach Pep Guardiola has said he does not want to face a French side.

Barcelona have agreed a record shirt sponsorship deal with the Qatar Foundation worth 30 million euros ($40 million) a season through to the end of the 2015-16 campaign, the La Liga champions said on Friday.

World champion Viswanathan Anand had to settle for a draw with lowest rated David Howell of England but local hero Luke McShane downed compatriot Nigel Short to shoot into sole lead after the second round of the London Chess Classic in London, on Friday.

Barcelona conjured up a magical performance that rolled back the years to Johan Cruyff's 'Dream Team'of the 1990s to crush arch-rivals Real Madrid 5-0 and move two points clear at the top of La Liga on Monday.

Barcelona will ignore attempts by Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho to play mind games, according to Lionel Messi.

World champion Viswanathan Anand played out a draw with Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria to remain in joint-second after end of the eighth round in the Pearl Spring Chess tournament in Nanjing, China, on Thursday.

World Champion Viswanathan Anand struck back with vengeance and outclassed Wang Yue of China with black pieces in the sixth round of the Pearl Spring Chess tournament.

World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out a quick draw with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to remain in second spot after the end of the third round of the Bilbao final masters tournament.

Barcelona paid the price for wayward finishing as they were held to a 1-1 draw by their bogey-team Rubin Kazan in Champions League Group D on Wednesday.

Russian side Rubin Kazan continued to frustrate Barcelona by holding the Spanish side to a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group D on Wednesday.

Champions Barcelona suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Hercules on Saturday when Nelson Valdez struck twice to give the tiny promoted club a shock La Liga victory at a stunned Nou Camp stadium.

Barcelona have agreed a transfer fee with Liverpool for Javier Mascherano and the Argentine midfielder is expected in Spain for a medical this weekend, the clubs said on Friday.

Cesc Fabregas is torn between staying with Arsenal or moving back to Barcelona and has said he is still in real doubt over where his future lies.

Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi continued to disappoint at the Young Grandmasters Tournament of the 43rd Biel Chess Festival here as the Indian drew his seventh round game against Dmitry Andrikin of Russia to lie at the bottom of the points table.

German international Mesut Ozil, who impressed one and all with his skills at the recently-concluded World Cup in South Africa, has become hot property. He is on the radar of top European clubs like Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Barcelona.

World's second youngest Grandmaster ever Parimarjan Negi played out a draw with Nguyen Ngoc Truong Son of Vietnam in the fifth round of the Young Grandmasters tournament, apart of the 43rd Biel chess festival in Biel.

World's second youngest ever Grandmaster Parimarjan Negi was shocked by Maxim Rodshtein of Israel in the first round of the Young Grandmasters tournament, a part of the 43rd Biel Chess Festival.

Securing a deal with Arsenal for the transfer of Spain midfielder Cesc Fabregas will not be easy, Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola will sign a contract extension on Wednesday, the La Liga champions said on their website (www.fcbarcelona.com).

Andres Iniesta took his penchant for scoring dramatic goals to new heights on Sunday when the midfielder smashed home the winner deep into extra time to give Spain their first World Cup triumph.

The 2010 French Open poster is the creation of a Pakistani-born Indian artist Nalini Malani. Her design, portrays a woman tennis player, stretching across two globes while playing a shot.

Sevilla claimed their second King's Cup triumph in four years when Diego Capel's early strike and a late breakaway goal from Jesus Navas fired them to a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Barcelona are in talks to strengthen their championship-winning squad with Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Valencia striker David Villa, according to club vice president Rafael Yuste. Talks with Valencia on Villa's transfer "are on the right track," Yuste said in an interview with Catalan radio station Ona FM quoted by Spanish news agency EFE.

Barcelona are in negotiations to buy Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas and Valencia striker David Villa, acording to club vice president Rafael Yuste.

Australian Mark Webber won the Spanish Grand Prix for rampant Red Bull on Sunday after leading from start to finish at Formula One's most predictable circuit.

Australian Mark Webber won the Spanish Grand Prix for rampant Red Bull on Sunday after leading from start to finish at Formula One's most predictable circuit.

World champion Viswanathan Anand missed out on a chance to score a crucial victory and had to settle for a draw against challenger Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the ninth game of the World Chess Championship in Sofia on Thursday. The players are locked 4.5-4.5 with just three more encounters remaining in the 12-game affair.

Defending champion Viswanathan Anand and challenger Veselin Topalov played out a draw on the 58th move in the seventh game of the World Chess Championship in Sofia on Monday.

World champion Viswanathan Anand put aside the experts' claim that the challenger will make a comeback at the half way stage, and played out another draw to maintain his full point lead over Veselin Topalov of Bulgaria in the sixth game of the World Chess Championship 2010 now underway in Sofia on Saturday.

Grandmaster G N Gopal outclassed GM Darwin Laylo of Philippines to move into the joint second spot after the end of the fifth round of the Asian continental chess championship Subic Bay, Phillipines.

Defending champion Viswanathan Anand won the second game of the World Chess Championship against Bulgarian challenger Veselin Topalov to level the score at 1-1, in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Sunday. The Indian Grandmaster, who played white, won on the 43rd move.

Kaka came off the bench after six weeks out injured and produced a clinical finish from Cristiano Ronaldo's assist to keep Real Madrid hot on the heels of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday. After Barca's nervy 3-1 win at home to basement side Xerez in the earlier kickoff, Brazil's World Cup-bound playmaker Kaka struck eight minutes from time to fire Real to a nail-biting 2-1 victory at 10-man Real Zaragoza.

Fernando Verdasco found strength to haul his way back from a set and a break down to reach the final of the Barcelona Open with a 6-7, 7-5, 6-1 win over fellow Spaniard David Ferrer on Saturday. Under hot sun at the Reial Club de Tennis, Verdasco initially appeared to be feeling the effects of his run to the final at last week's Monte Carlo Masters but he dug deep to set up a clash with French Open runner-up Robin Soderling.

French Open runner-up Robin Soderling ruined Eduardo Schwank's 24th-birthday celebrations when he thrashed the unseeded Argentine 6-2, 6-3 in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open on Friday.