Cristiano Ronaldo hit a hat-trick in Real Madrid's 4-1 Champions League win at Ajax Amsterdam on Wednesday but big spending trio Zenit St Petersburg, Paris St Germain and Manchester City failed to win.
Chelsea coach Roberto Di Matteo will have to address his side's shortcomings on the road in Europe on Tuesday with the Londoners unable to afford a slipup against Nordsjaelland, a team new to rubbing shoulders with the continent's elite.
Injury-plagued England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff has been left out of IPL champions Chennai Super Kings' final 15-member squad for next month's Champions League Twenty20 in South Africa.
Paris St Germain would be odds-on certainties to easily beat Chelsea and take a big step towards the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday if statistics and domestic form decided matches.
The additional cash will now give the Centre more headroom for stimulating the economy.
Youngsters Theo Walcott and Bojan Krkic could take centre stage when Arsenal visit Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at the Nou Camp on Tuesday.
Inter Milan battled to a 2-1 win over an impressive Chelsea to hold a slight advantage after their Champions League last-16 first leg at the San Siro on Wednesday.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has asked the organisers of Champions League Twenty20 to rework the event's schedule as a clash of dates with the domestic season in London could prevent the counties from playing in the cash-awash tournament.
The players associations of South Africa and New Zealand feel there should be a separate window for the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Champions League but insist the cash-awash Twenty20 events should co-exist and not compete with international cricket.
Holders Bayern Munich left Champions League aspirants Manchester City chasing shadows with a 3-1 win on Wednesday to serve notice Pep Guardiola will leave no stone unturned to re-establish their continental dominance.
Barcelona are preparing to unleash the speedy Neymar on Celtic in the Champions League, hoping the 'next Lionel Messi' can inspire them in the absence of the real one when they face the team who stunned them last season.
Trinidad & Tobago might have notched up a convincing 25-run win over Brisbane Heat on Sunday, but captain, Denesh Ramdin is not satisfied with the performance of his batsmen.
It also recommended that the RBI accounting year (July-June) may be brought in sync with the fiscal year (April to March) from the financial year 2020-21 as it could reduce the need for interim dividend being paid by the central bank.
Paceman Brett Lee, all-rounder Moises Henriques and opening batsman Phil Hughes on Friday joined their NSW Blues team-mate David Warner in the Champions League All-Star XI team.
The Champions League Twenty20 match between Cape Cobras and Victoria in Bangalore on Saturday was pushed by back by an hour after an under-22 cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir was detained by the city police in Bangalore after explosive detectors found traces of RDX in his kit bag.
Barcelona and AC Milan qualified for the last 16 of the Champions League as expected with room to spare on Tuesday and surprise package APOEL Nicosia are poised to join them after continuing to punch above their weight.
Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi has denied asking for a window for the IPL and Champions League in the Futures Tour Programme of the ICC, saying there is a natural space for these two events in the calendar. 'We have never propagated that we should be part of the Future Tours Programme for the IPL or Champions League because I think there is a natural window for these two events,' he said.
After a morale-boosting win over Royal Challengers Bangalore, Kolkata Knight Riders are in for a tough battle when they take on rampaging group B toppers Warriors in their Champions League clash at the M Chinnaswamy stadium on Saturday.
New South Wales made a sensational fightback by smashing 16 runs in the final over before defeating Trinidad and Tobago via the Super Over Eliminator in a dramatic Champions League Twenty20 match in Chennai on Wednesday.
New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee, on Tuesday, pulled out of the Champions League Twenty20 cricket tournament after suffering a knee injury.
Pakistan all-rounder Abdul Razzaq is jittery about obtaining an Indian visa to represent Leicestershire in next week's Champions League Twenty20 and has sought the English county's help in the matter.
Lionel Messi's Barcelona gave an emphatic response to the doubters when they made Champions League history by overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit to oust seven-times European Cup winners AC Milan on Tuesday.
AC Milan have been left dwelling on the past as they prepare to host Barcelona in a Champions League last-16 first leg tie on Wednesday when Lionel Messi will try to score for the Catalans for the 15th match in a row.
Images from the Champions League second leg semi-final match between Manchester United and Schalke 04.
A semi-final berth seems like a distant possibility for Auckland Aces but the New Zealand side will look to keep itself in the calculations by taming the demoralised Perth Scorchers when the two teams lock horns in their final round-robin Champions League Twenty20 match in Centurion on Tuesday.
Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni blamed loss of momentum due to free hits conceded as one of the reasons for his side's defeat at the hands of Highveld Lions in Champions League Twenty20 in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Prolific Australian all-rounder Shane Watson could be ordered to return midway through the ongoing Champions League Twenty20 by the country's Cricket Board, which wants him to take a break after his stellar performance in the recent World Twenty20.
Lionel Messi's seemingly endless love affair with the Champions League continued with another virtuoso two-goal performance on Wednesday for Barcelona.
Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Suresh Raina on Wednesday joined the Test squad ahead of the first Test against Australia in Mohali after completing their Champions League Twenty20 engagements for Chennai Super Kings in South Africa.
It is going to be a battle between Mahendra Singh Dhoni's spirited leadership and the strategic acumen of experienced Anil Kumble when their teams Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore take on each other in the Champions League Twenty20 semi-final in Durban on Friday.
The glitzy Champions League Twenty20 gets underway on Friday under the watchful eyes of the International Cricket Council's Anti-Corruption and Security Unit (ACSU) and the shadow of the spot-fixing scandal that has shaken the core of the game.
Mumbai Indians coach Robin Singh says the team's key players have recovered from injuries and are raring to go.
Chelsea's caretaker manager Roberto Di Matteo is hoping to avoid what he described on Tuesday as the "worst-case scenario" with reserves and youngsters on the bench for the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Images from the Champions League second-leg semi-finals played at the Stade Gerland in Munich on Tuesday.
The spirit, which saw off Real Madrid earlier in the competition will be revived if Lyon are to fell Bayern Munich on Tuesday and book their place in a first Champions League final.
There are no less than six automotive launches in the next four weeks.
Stuart Clark did the spadework and David Warner then set the tone of the chase as New South Wales crushed Somerset by six wickets with 8.1 overs in the Champions League Twenty20 in Hyderabad on Sunday.
Although disappointed with Chennai Super Kings' ouster from the Champions League T20, India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni feels that it will be a "blessing in disguise" ahead of his team's important ODI series against England which starts from October 14.
Following their crucial five-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in the Champions League Twenty20, in Chennai, on Sunday, New South Wales captain Simon Katich backed his side to continue their good form in the rest of the tournament.
Super substitute Demba Ba slide home Chelsea's second goal to secure a semi-final place.
