Two goals from Gonzalo Higuain plus a Lionel Messi penalty handed Argentina a convincing win in Buenos Aires on Friday night. Real Madrid striker Higuain scored in either half, with Barcelona forward Messi converting from the spot a minute before the interval.

Argentina controlled the tempo from the outset, looking to find gaps in the visitors’ defence at every opportunity. They went close to breaking the deadlock several times only to be denied by Venezuela goalkeeper Daniel Hernandez but, just before the half-hour mark, Primera Division rivals Messi and Higuain linked up to give their country the lead.

Messi supplied the pass which put Higuain through one on one with Hernandez, and the Madrid man made no mistake with a neat cross-shot past Hernandez.

The gulf in quality between the teams became even more evident thereafter and Argentina duly doubled their lead in the 44th minute, Messi despatching the penalty after Venezuela defender Gabriel Cichero had handled the ball inside his area.

Messi was again the provider when Higuain made it 3-0 after 58 minutes, supplying the perfect pass for his colleague to slot home.

Colombia enjoyed a convincing 5-0 rout of Bolivia to remain hot on Argentina’s heels. The win kept Jose Pekerman’s second-placed side within four points of Argentina, who have played one game more than the Colombians.

The Cafeteros controlled the match from the first whistle but had to wait until the 20th minute to open the scoring, Macnelly Torres tapping home from Guillermo Cuadrado’s cross.

The floodgates opened after the interval in Barranquilla. Carlos Valdes took advantage of a kind rebound following a corner to double his team’s lead four minutes into the second half, with Teifilo Gutierrez swiftly adding a third on the counter-attack.

The misery was not over for Xabier Azkagorta’s side, though. Four minutes from time, Radamel Falcao latched onto Pablo Armero’s pass and notched a fourth goal and then, deep into stoppage time, substitute Armero made no mistake when one on one with goalkeeper Sergio Galarza.

In Montevideo, fourth-placed Uruguay lost ground in the qualification race as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Paraguay.

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez looked to have won it for Uruguay when he broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute with a superb volley, but four minutes later Edgar Benitez capitalised on a Diego Lugano error to restore parity.

Finally, man of the match Jefferson Farfan grabbed the game’s only goal three minutes from the end to earn Peru a 1-0 triumph over Chile in Lima.

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The complete Champions League draw set the following quarterfinal matchups: Real Madrid vs. Galatasaray, Malaga vs. Borussia Dortmund, PSG vs. Barcelona and Bayern Munich vs. Juventus.

Barcelona, which came from 2-0 down in the first leg of the last round to beat AC Milan 4-2 on aggregate, will face its former striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Ibrahimovic is suspended for the first-leg match.

David Beckham, playing for Paris Saint-Germain, is the only English player left in the competition.

Bayern Munich’s reward for seeing off Arsenal is a meeting with Celtic’s conquerors Juventus, considered to be the most competitive matchup in the draw.

Real Madrid head coach Jose Mourinho is aiming to become the first manager to win the Champions League with three different clubs, having achieved it previously with Porto and Inter Milan.

His side saw off Manchester United in the first knockout round and also qualified from a tough group comprising the domestic league champions of Spain, Germany, England and Holland.

Steve McManaman, a former Liverpool and Real midfielder who carried out the draw for UEFA, said: “Real have had to do it the hard way so far — they have beaten a lot of good teams.”

Galatasaray’s squad includes two former Mourinho favourites — ex-Chelsea striker Didier Drogba and former Inter midfielder Wesley Sneijder.

Unlike in previous seasons, UEFA did not also make the draw for the semifinal pairings at the same time. That draw will now take place next month.kept apart in the draw for the UEFA Champions League quarterfinal draw Friday.

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The South American football federation has banned the Brazilian club’s supporters because of the death of a visiting 14-year-old Bolivian fan, who was killed by a flare when San Jose visited in a previous Copa Libertadores match.

Despite this, four supporters challenged the ban in the Brazilian courts and were allowed to enter the Pacaembu.

Despite the quiet in the ground, it took Jose Guerrero only nine minutes to open the scoring, pouncing on a loose ball in the box to fire home.

The hosts continued to dominate the game, but Alexandre Pato (twice), Paulinho, Renato Augusto and Guerrero all missed chances.

Early in the second half the Brazilians finally doubled their advantage and secured the victory: Ralf crossed for Pato and this time the former AC Milan forward made no mistake.

Another Brazilian giant, Fluminense, came back to claim a 2-1 victory over Huachipato in Chile to lead Group Eight.

The first half was very poor, with few goal chances, the best one wasted by Wellington Nem for the visitors when he hit the crossbar.

But just before the break, defender Leandro Euzebio made a mistake allowing Huachipato’s Braian Rodriguez in and the striker showed no mercy.

Fluminense was rejuvenated in the second half and in the 66th minute Fred found Wellington Nem, who this time made no mistake and equalized with a powerful shot. And 10 minutes later, Wagner jumped off the bench and almost immediately made it 2-1.

Meanwhile, in a Group One match in Ecuador, Argentinian side Boca Juniors claimed a key win over Barcelona, 2-1.

Boca lost its first game at home against Mexican side Toluca, but the Argentines fully recovered Wednesday.

After a goalless first half, the hosts opened the scoring through Juan Manuel Martinez in the 58th minute, after a header from Lucas Viatri, and when Barcelona was trying to recover, Claudio Perez made it 2-0 with a header four minutes later.

The Ecuadorians narrowed the gap in the 92nd minute, after a needless foul by Clemente Rodriguez into the box, with Michael Arroyo scoring the penalty kick.

Finally, in a Group Four match in Chile, Iquique beat Ecuador’s Emelec, 2-0 with first-half goals from Sebastian Ereros and Manuel Villalobos.

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The Argentina international sustained the injury just seven minutes into the 2-0 victory at the San Siro and is now set for a long spell on the sidelines.

An Inter statement read: “Diego Milito underwent diagnostic tests at the Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo in Pavia this evening, after being forced off the pitch with an injury in the seventh minute of the match against Cluj.

“The tests revealed that the striker has damaged his anterior cruciate ligament and fibula collateral ligament.”

It is another blow for Milito, who returned from a month-long absence in Sunday’s Serie A win over Chievo.

Inter boss Andrea Stramaccioni admitted the injury was the major downside of a win achieved thanks to two goals from Milito’s replacement, Rodrigo Palacio.

“Unfortunately it takes some of the shine off tonight’s win, which was otherwise very positive,” Stramaccioni told Mediaset.

“It’s his cruciate ligament, a new type of injury for Diego, nothing to do with the problems he’s had before. We’re gutted for Diego as a person first and foremost, and then of course for what he represents as a player.

“We need to see when he’ll have the operation. We have to wait for more information.”

Milito’s absence is a major blow to fourth-placed Inter’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League.

Stramaccioni added: “Milito is a huge loss for us because he’s our only out-and-out centre forward.

“We’d planned for him and Palacio to play part of the game each tonight to keep them both fresh, but when you get injured seven minutes into the match it’s just sheer bad luck.”

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Torres, a mega-deal striker now with one goal in 13 games, missed a straightforward effort after 35 minutes and sliced a second-half shot out for a throw-in in another impotent display from last season’s Champions League winners at the Generali Arena.

With a stalemate looming and the visiting fans’ ire for Benitez and Torres increasing, Oscar came on for Juan Mata and scored with his first involvement, netting neatly following a one-two with Eden Hazard.

The result, following last Saturday’s 4-1 Barclays Premier League defeat of Wigan, saw Chelsea claim back-to-back wins for the first time since December and keep a clean sheet for a second time in eight games.

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Defender Schmelzer misses out with an ankle problem, midfielder Goetze has a flu virus and Reus picked up an adductor muscle injury in Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Bayer Leverkusen.

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger also pulled out on Saturday.

Ilkay Gundogan, despite an ankle injury Sunday, will link up with the team coach Joachim Low later in preparation for the trip to Paris.

Lazio striker Miroslav Klose is rated doubtful for Wednesday’s game.

Leverkusen forward Andre Schurrle is likely to be involved, though, and cannot wait.

“It is definitely going to be a cool game in Paris,” he said on the website of the German Football Association (DFB).

“Games against France are always great. I can’t wait.”

The withdrawals raise doubts about how important a friendly is in February — a month before Germany’s next World Cup qualifying matches.

However, Schurrle claims it is an important warm-up for those games and a date that Germany cannot do without if it is to be ready in March.

“Of course it’s an important game,” he said. “It is the first game of the new year and an important meeting. We have got to face good sides to fine-tune our movements before we get involved in World Cup qualifiers.

“Then, we are going to have to show who is the number one in the group.”

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Edin Dzeko’s 12th goal of the season put the hosts ahead from close range midway through the first half only for Daniel Sturridge to smash home his fourth in six matches since his move from Chelsea.

An even better trademark Steven Gerrard strike put Liverpool ahead with 17 minutes to go only but Sergio Aguero salvaged a point with an exquisite shot from the narrowest of angles.

All the early pressure was with City but once Liverpool had weathered that initial storm, it started to come into its own. Luis Suarez, busy without being particularly threatening, flashed a shot across Joe Hart and wide of the far post as it seemed the visitors were about to take control.

That notion was dispelled in the 24th minute as some neat interplay from Silva and James Milner from a throw-in on the left saw the latter cross low for Dzeko to sneak behind Daniel Agger and tap home from close range.

If that goal was founded in simplicity, Liverpool’s equalizer was made of pure brilliance, although it was viewed as controversial by indignant City players and their fans. Agger appeared to go through Dzeko to get the ball but referee Anthony Taylor saw no foul and with the Bosnia international collapsed on the turf in their own half Liverpool played on.

The boos grew louder as the Reds made their way upfield but almost a minute had expired — with City momentarily winning the ball back on the edge of its area — before Sturridge scored. Gerrard rolled the ball forward to the former City striker who smashed a fierce left-footed shot past Hart.

Liverpool finished the half the stronger and having continued that after the break, Mancini made a tactical switch 10 minutes in when he replaced Matija Nastasic with Aleksandar Kolarov and went to a back three.

That appeared to re-energize City but Gerrard hit a sweet strike in the 73rd minute that was very reminiscent of his goal in the 2006 FA Cup final. Gael Clichy’s poor clearance from Jose Enrique’s cross dropped to the midfielder 30 yards out and the England captain controlled the ball on his chest before unleashing a dipping low volley which gave Hart no chance.

Martin Skrtel was introduced for the tiring Enrique and after almost scoring at one end was involved in a mix-up with Reina which allowed City to equalize. Aguero raced onto Gareth Barry’s pass and the goalkeeper’s rush of blood saw him charge out to the left edge of his area, from where the Argentina international turned him and fired in impressively from a narrow angle.

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“I want to see out my contract at Real Madrid: I’m very clear about that. After that, well, I don’t know what’ll happen in the future,” Ronaldo said in an interview with FIFA.com.

Ronaldo was serving a suspension and did not play on Saturday against Osasuna. Real Madrid was held to a 0-0 draw, leaving the team 18 points behind leaders Barcelona at the halfway point of the La Liga season.

Retaining the league title is unlikely, Ronaldo admitted.

“We have not started the championship very well, for sure,” Ronaldo said. “We know that La Liga is an uphill struggle for us now, but nothing is impossible in football. We are going to work hard, win games and see what happens. And, of course, there is the Champions League and the Copa del Rey too. There is plenty for us to win this season.”

Ronaldo also acknowledged that he feels even more pressure to play well at Real Madrid than he did when he was under contract for Manchester United.

“I’ve been here for 3½ years now and I think that’s the case because everyone involved is totally focused on winning the club’s 10th European Cup. That creates a certain amount of anxiety, which can be felt at all times,” Ronaldo said, adding that he thinks the pressure sometimes gets to the team. “But we have to try and rise above it and not let what people say get to us, particularly the media, as Real Madrid get spoken about every day. At the end of the day it comes down to an individual decision, whether you want to read the papers or not. I don’t think what the papers say matters too much, so there’s no need to overdramatize the issue.”

Ronaldo defended coach Jose Mourinho’s style.

“People do protest and you have to respect that, though I think they should be a bit patient with him. To me it’s very clear that Mourinho always wants what’s best for the club and will fight to the death to defend it,” he said. “In my view he’s the best coach in the world, he’s got loads of experience and has won everything there is to win.”

Real Madrid hosts Valencia in Tuesday’s Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg, where Ronaldo will likely see action, along with Mesut Ozil, Karim Benzema and Ricardo Carvalho.

Regarding February’s Champions League last-16 match against his former club Manchester United, Ronaldo said he saw the ties as a difficult step towards a 10th European Cup for Madrid.

“Every Madridista wants that 10th European Cup — we are more than aware of that,” he said. “Last season we fell just short, which was very frustrating. The fact we face Manchester United next makes it more difficult. It is not going to be easy and I reckon the odds are about 50-50, but I am still very confident.”

Despite last week’s rumors he is being courted by Paris Saint Germain, Ronaldo gave no indication of the “sadness” he reported last September that sparked the speculation about his future.

“I’m doing something I like, something that I enjoy,” he said. “I know how fortunate I am and I feel very fulfilled.”

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Chelsea officials met the 27-year-old’s representatives on Sunday night and the deal on the table reportedly did not come close to meeting the point where he would consider leaving St James’ Park.

According to the Daily Mail, Ba earns £20,000 per week plus £20,000 in appearance fees and hoped to double that figure with his new contract, a prospect at which Chelsea balked.

However, while the Ba camp has indicated that the Senegal international does not now expect to be playing his football at Stamford Bridge next month, it is likely that the impasse represents only the initial skirmish in a battle which could run and run.

The Blues are among a series of clubs to have been linked with the former West Ham frontman, who scored his 12th and 13th goals of the season at Arsenal on Saturday, with the £7million release-clause ($11.3 million) in his contract due to become active once again on Jan. 1.

The Daily Mail is reporting that Ba would receive £2million ($3.2 million) himself from the buyout.

However, as yet, the Magpies insist they are yet to receive a bid that would trigger that clause.

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is growing increasingly weary of the Ba saga, saying Monday he feels “sorry” for Ba because he feels he’s getting bad advice.

“In some respects, I feel a little bit sorry for Demba as well because I think people who are representing him are not actually representing him,” he said. “There are people out there who are saying this who are not actually involved or want to be involved, and that’s the sort of world we are in.

“The contract is what it is, we are all aware of that, and for me as the manager I need it resolved as quickly as possible. That’s the best situation for our fans and for the club.”

Newcastle have spent recent months attempting to negotiate a new contract with Ba which would remove the clause and that remains on the table.

However, Pardew insisted it would not do so indefinitely.

“The situation with that is that it’s getting close to the point where we say ‘no more’, but the offer is still there,” he said.

The deal Ba signed when he joined Newcastle during the summer of 2011 was intensely complicated as a result of the medical condition of his knee, and they have spent recent months attempting to renegotiate it.

However, the two sides have been unable to reach agreement and with the player’s network of representatives clearly active behind the scenes, the waters are becoming increasingly muddied by the day.

What is clear is that any deal would cost significantly more than £7million ($11.3 million) when he signs after and agent fees, as well as a lucrative wage packet, are taken into consideration.

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