Chelsea and Real Madrid moved into the last eight of the Champions League with minimum of fuss on Wednesday. The former drew 0-0 at home with a battling FC Copenhagen to complete a 2-0 aggregate victory, while the Spanish giants ended a six-year Champions League jinx, crushing Olympique Lyon 3-0 to advance to the quarter-finals for the first time since 2004.
Argentine striker Lisandro Lopez is set to join Olympique Lyon from Porto, the Ligue 1 club said on Tuesday. The two sides had agreed a fee of 24 million euros ($33.48 million), Lyon said on their website (www.olweb.fr).
Real Madrid reminded Olympique Lyon who they were up against in the Champions League by parading their French soccer spy Zinedine Zidane on Monday.
Marouane Chamakh struck late to give Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux a 1-0 win at Olympique Lyon on Sunday that put their title rivals eight points behind.
French fair play could help keep Liverpool's UEFA Champions League hopes alive when they take on Debrecen in Hungary on Tuesday. Five times champions Liverpool must win to have any hope of reaching the last 16 but they also need France's Olympique Lyon, who are already through, not to lose against Fiorentina in Italy.
Liverpool head for a decisive Champions League clash at Olympique Lyon on Wednesday with 10 players injured or doubtful for the game and coach Rafa Benitez facing the biggest crisis in his five-year Anfield reign.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez said his side must win their remaining three group games if the five-time European champions are to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League.
AC Milan will be given a stark reminder of their current plight when they come face to face with former talisman Kaka in Wednesday's Champions League game at Real Madrid.
Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery's bid to overturn a red card which has ruled him out of Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Monday.
Croatian striker Ivica Olic's superb hat-trick fired an unflinching Bayern Munich into their first Champions League final since 2001 on Tuesday as the German side demolished 10-man Olympique Lyon 3-0.
Bayern overcame the dismissal of French playmaker Franck Ribery to beat Olympique Lyon 1-0 with a deflected second-half goal from Arjen Robben in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday.
The chinks in Inter Milan's armour were exposed again as Tottenham Hotspur beat the holders 3-1 in Champions League Group A and all three teams able to secure last-16 qualification flopped on Tuesday. Like Inter, 2009 winners Barcelona only needed a win to go through with two games to spare but drew 1-1 at FC Copenhagen in Group D while Olympique Lyon's three-match winning streak came to a halt in an enthralling 4-3 defeat at Benfica in Group B.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo was named UEFA's Player of the Year, beating Lionel Messi and Gianluigi Buffon to the prize, European soccer's governing body announced during the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco on Thursday.
The status quo remained the same in Europe's top leagues as Chelsea, Barcelona, Inter Milan, Olympique Lyon and Bayer Leverkusen all won to remain at the top of their leagues. Lyon enjoy the healthiest advantage after a win over last season's runners-up Girondins Bordeaux gave them a seven-point cushion in France while Chelsea and Bayer Leverkusen retained slender goal difference leads in England and Germany.
Manchester United will look to eliminate AC Milan for the first time while Real Madrid seek a maiden victory over Olympique Lyon when the Champions League returns on Tuesday after its winter break.
New signing Yoann Gourcuff made an unhappy debut when Olympique Lyon slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Lorient in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Franck Ribery wants to leave Bayern Munich and join Real Madrid, sports daily L'Equipe quoted the France midfielder as saying on Thursday.
France striker Karim Benzema has joined Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon.
France striker Karim Benzema is set to join Real Madrid from Olympique Lyon after the two clubs reached agreement, French radio RMC said on Wednesday. A few details, notably salary and the length of his contract, still needed to be settled, RMC said, quoting Benzema's agent.
Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez refused to be drawn about his own future after a 1-1 draw at Olympique Lyon left his side in danger of not surviving the Champions League group stage.
It takes a lot to make Liverpool fans boo their own manager but when Rafa Benitez replaced Yossi Benayoun with Andriy Voronin in Tuesday's Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyon the jeers told their own story.
Liverpool will be without striker Fernando Torres for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Olympique Lyon at Anfield but midfielder Steven Gerrard is expected to be fit, manager Rafael Benitez said on Monday.
Bayern Munich will be without influential midfielder Franck Ribery in next month's Champions League final after UEFA imposed a three-match ban on the Frenchman on Wednesday.
Images from the Champions League second-leg semi-finals played at the Stade Gerland in Munich on Tuesday.
A late Bafetimbi Gomis goal gave Olympique Lyon a 2-1 home win over Toulouse to send the seven-times champions to the top of Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Yoan Gouffran netted in the first half to keep champions Girondins Bordeaux top of Ligue 1 with a 1-0 home victory against bottom club Grenoble on Saturday.
French club Olympique Lyon and Atletico Madrid of Spain booked their places in Thursday's draw for the Champions League group stages with convincing playoff wins on Tuesday.
Big-spending Real Madrid failed to qualify for the Champions League quarter-finals for the sixth straight season when Olympique Lyon dumped the Spaniards out 2-1 on aggregate on Wednesday.
Olympique Lyon coach Claude Puel is under no illusions that his side face a monumental task to reclaim a Ligue 1 title they owned for seven successive seasons without their two most influential players.
There were mixed fortunes for league leaders around Europe over the weekend with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool winning but Olympique Lyon and Hoffenheim going down to defeats.
Olympique Lyon suffered another setback when Lorient knocked them out of the French League Cup with a 1-0 home win on Wednesday.
Manchester City reached the Champions League quarter-finals after beating Real Madrid 2-1 (4-2 on aggregate) at the Etihad Stadium on Friday, with scorers Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus taking advantage of errors by defender Raphael Varane.
Holders Barcelona booked a Champions League last 16 berth with a 2-1 win at Dynamo Kiev on Wednesday and were joined by Group F rivals Inter Milan, who sealed their passage with a 2-0 home defeat of Rubin Kazan.
Olympique Lyon failed to capitalise on a Lisandro Lopez hat-trick and missed a chance to narrow the gap with Ligue 1 leaders Girondins Bordeaux when they slumped to a dramatic 4-3 defeat at Lille on Sunday.
Olympique Lyon's hopes of clinching an eighth consecutive Ligue 1 title suffered another blow when they were held to a goalless draw at home to Paris St Germain on Friday.
Inter Milan went 10 points clear in Serie A, while French champions Olympique Lyon were knocked off the top of the Ligue 1 table by Olympique Marseille.
Barcelona believe they can quickly regain their momentum after two indifferent league performances when they face Olympique Lyon in their Champions League last 16 first-leg clash at the Stade Gerland on Tuesday. Primera Liga leaders Barca lost 2-1 against Espanyol on Saturday, only their second defeat of the campaign. This followed a draw last week with Real Betis.
A 25-metre half-volley from Miohel Bastos helped Olympique Lyon defeat AS Nancy 3-1 to grab top spot in Ligue 1 on Saturday.
Olympique Lyon virtually guaranteed their place in the Champions League group stage for the 10th successive season after thumping Anderlecht 5-1 in the first leg of their playoff final on Wednesday.
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