Juventus missed the chance to retake the lead in Serie A as Parma held them to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday.

AC Milan had gone top with a 2-1 win at Udinese on Saturday but the draw, Juve's 10th in 22 league games this season, left them a point behind the rossoneri.

The most highly anticipated matchup of the Champions League's first knockout round was hardly even a contest.

AC Milan outclassed Arsenal on Wednesday to plant one foot firmly in the Champions League quarterfinals, beating the English club 4-0 in the first leg of their round of 16 series.

Arsenal defender Per Mertesacker has become the fourth Germany star forced out of the pre-Euro 2012 friendly against France because of injury, but coach Joachim Loew insists he is staying calm.

The towering centre-back picked up an ankle injury in the Gunners' 2-1 victory at Sunderland last Saturday and posted a picture of his swollen ankle on his Facebook page.

Thierry Henry will be looking to give the club he loves a farewell gift as he makes his final appearance for Arsenal against AC Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Henry's second spell at the North Londoners is set to come to an end on Thursday when he will return to the New York Red Bulls in Major League Soccer.

West Ham midfielder Ravel Morrison faces disciplinary action by the Football Association after being charged with an alleged homophobic comment posted on Twitter.

Morrison, who joined West Ham from Manchester United in the January transfer window, is alleged to have made the remark during an exchange with another user on the micro-blogging site.

Superstar Lionel Messi admitted he was relieved to leave here with the 3-1 win over Bayer Leverkusen which puts Barcelona on the verge of the Champions League quarter-finals after the Round of 16, first-leg clash.

Holders Barcelona took a giant step towards the last eight on Tuesday with a convincing win following a slow start as maestro Messi put in an impressive display after a quiet first half in this David versus Goliath clash.

Novak Djokovic has been awarded the top state honor in Serbia.

President Boris Tadic has decorated the tennis great with the Karadjordjeva Star Medal, the highest honor in the Balkan country.

LeBron James scored 35 points and Dwyane Wade added 22 to power the Miami Heat past Milwaukee 114-96 to avoid being swept by the Bucks in their three NBA meetings this season.

James also contributed a game-high eight rebounds and three assists for the Heat, who were determined not to allow Milwaukee to win all three games between the clubs this season.

Holders Barcelona face Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday on a desperate mission to save their season from falling apart.

Pep Guardiola's side find themselves a massive 10 points behind Real Madrid in La Liga after their shock 3-2 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday with his decision to put his faith in youth back-firing as he left stars Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta, and Cesc Fabregas on the bench with Leverkusen in mind.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 22 points and the Dallas Mavericks stretched their NBA win streak to four games with a 96-92 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.

Shawn Marion added 16 points for the Mavericks while Delonte West, Brendan Haywood and Vince Carter each contributed 10. The team improved to 18-11, 1 1/2 games behind first-place San Antonio in the Southwest division.