Lionel Messi broke the 200-goal barrier for his Barcelona career with his second straight hat trick in a 4-0 win at Viktoria Plzen on Tuesday night that advanced the club to the Champions League knockout stage.

AC Milan also advanced with a 1-1 tie at BATE Borisov, but Arsenal and Chelsea were held to draws and will have to wait until their final two games to earn a spot in the second round.

U.S. Open champion Rory McIlroy feels like it already has been a long year on and off the golf course. All he cares about now is a sprint to the finish.

Coming off a playoff win at the Shanghai Masters and its $2 million payoff, McIlroy is naturally a favorite at the HSBC Champions that starts on Thursday. It's a World Golf Championship that counts toward the European Tour money list and could go a long way toward helping McIlroy make up ground on Luke Donald.

AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri says his team will be playing for star forward Antonio Cassano when they tackle BATE Borisov here in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Cassano has spent the last two days in hospital after being taken ill on the return to Milan from Rome following Saturday night's 3-2 success over Roma.

Growing in belief and confidence with each game, Arsene Wenger's Arsenal can confirm their recent resurgence by reaching the Champions League last 16 with victory at home to Marseille on Tuesday.

After a wretched start to the season, in which they won just three of their opening eight games and were humiliated 8-2 by Manchester United, Arsenal have turned their campaign around with a run of eight wins in nine matches.

Roger Federer gave his hometown fans exactly what they were seeking as the four-time champion moved into the second round of the ATP Swiss Indoors on Monday with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 defeat of Potito Starace.

Federer, who is seeded three here behind 2009 winner Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, showed some rustiness against the world number 54 before he claimed his sixth win in six meetings with the Italian.

Lionel Messi is in the running for a third consecutive FIFA world player of the year award after being selected Tuesday among the 23 candidates for the 2011 prize.

Argentina forward Messi and seven of his teammates at European and Spanish champion Barcelona are on the Ballon d’Or shortlist, while archrival Real Madrid has five players nominated. Seven Spain internationals are in contention.

Inter Milan and Juventus have been fined by Italian sports justice authorities for the behavior of their fans during the pair's Serie A clash on Saturday.

Inter have been hit with a 20,000-euro fine after their supporters unfurled a banner evoking memories of the 1985 Heysel stadium tragedy.

French international Franck Ribery wants to see out his playing career at Bayern Munich, he told the German media on Monday.

"It's perfect for me here," he said in an interview with daily Bild.

Arsenal striker Robin van Persie has played down claims he used a Nazi salute to celebrate one of his hat-trick of goals in Saturday's stunning 5-3 win over Chelsea.

After his second goal at Stamford Bridge, which put Arsenal 4-3 up, the Dutchman was seen touching his shoulder with his right hand before raising it to the air.

AC Milan could secure qualification for the Champions League knock-out rounds if they come away from Belarus with three points on Tuesday.

Milan and Barcelona have been totally dominant in the group stages so far and if they both win they will both be through to the last 16 with a winner takes top spot clash to come at the San Siro in three weeks time.