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Gennaro Gattuso warned Juventus head coach Andrea Pirlo that his illustrious playing career will count for little in his new job.

Pirlo, who has not had a coaching job and only took over as Juve's Under-23s boss last week, was handed the reins in Turin on Saturday in the wake of Maurizio Sarri's dismissal.

Sarri was sacked after just a single season in the job, after leading the Serie A champions to defeat to Lyon in their Champions League last-16 tie the previous evening.

The former midfielder – who won four Serie A titles, one Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana during a four-year spell with Juve – has signed a two-year deal, and he is now gearing up for his first-ever coaching job at one of the world's biggest clubs.

And Gattuso, who played alongside Pirlo at Milan and for Italy, provided an honest assessment of the job's difficulties for his former team-mate.

"Well he's screwed now… That's the job," Gattuso told Sky Italia following Napoli's defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Saturday.

"He's lucky to be starting at Juventus, but this profession is one where a great playing career is not enough.

"You have to study, to work hard, and you don't get much sleep."

Gattuso's first job in coaching came at FC Sion, with the 42-year-old then having spells at Palermo, OFI Crete and Pisa before he took charge of Milan's youth team in 2017.

He was promoted to first-team head coach following Vincenzo Montella's sacking later that year, though he was dismissed at the end of the 2018-19 campaign after a fifth-placed finish, going on to replace Carlo Ancelotti at Napoli, who he guided to the Coppa Italia title this term.

"Being a player and being a coach is really not the same thing at all," Gattuso added.

"It's a totally different profession and we can't learn it just from books, we need to get in there and work hard. It's a different world."

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said that winning this season's Europa League would be the greatest achievement of his career.

United face off against FC Copenhagen in Cologne in a one-off quarter-final, and will take on either Wolves or Sevilla should they advance. 

Looking further ahead, a possible date with Inter could await in the final – an intriguing proposition with Inter currently carrying three former Man Utd players: Alexis Sanchez, Ashley Young and Romelu Lukaku.

Solskjaer became a legendary figure during his playing days at Old Trafford, winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the Champions League. The Norwegian famously scored the winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final to seal a treble. 

However, despite all he achieved in his playing career, Solskjaer has insisted that nothing would compare to lifting a trophy as Red Devils boss. 

“I am ambitious - and one of my dreams is to lift the trophy as a manager for this club," the 47-year-old said.

"I owe my career to this club, so winning something as manager would be the proudest moment of my football life. It would be the biggest achievement.

"As a player, I was part of a fantastic team and, sometimes, you just ride a wave. Roy Keane would say his back was sore because he carried me and he is probably right!

"I contributed as well as I could, I was always ready. To lift a trophy now would be the best moment of my career."

Solskjaer guided United to a third-place finish in the Premier League in the 2019-20 season, meaning they have reached the Champions League next term.

The manager is hopeful that winning a trophy to cap off the current season will be a springboard to bigger and better things in 2020-21.

"Winning trophies makes you think, ‘I want more of this,'" he said.

"It also means more dedication and more focus because it makes you think, ‘This is what I wanted.’ Some players may rest on their laurels once they have won something, but looking at this group it would mean what we’re doing now is working.

"It’s all in their hands. They know they’re at Man Utd and know we have the resources to build.

"We put a plan together as a club 18 months ago when I sat down with Ed Woodward and it wasn’t going to be a quick fix. We want to build. We have been to the semi-finals of the EFL Cup and the FA Cup and the next step is to get past that.

"That would be another step forward for this team."

Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly has been dragged on social media after failing to help the Serie A club stop Lionel Messi and Barcelona in the second leg of their Uefa Champions League round of 16 fixture.

Barcelona won the encounter by 3-1, thanks to goals from Clement Lenglet, Messi and Luis Suarez, and they progressed to the quarter-final with a 4-2 aggregate score.

During the game, Koulibaly conceded a penalty towards the end of the first-half after kicking Messi's leg from behind, which resulted in the third goal that was scored by Suarez.

Generally, it was a torrid night for the African star who made just one successful tackle and three interceptions in Barcelona.

His performance against Messi, a five-time Ballon d'Or winner, has got fans talking and they think his reported €80 million asking price should be slashed.

Bayern Munich are serious contenders for Champions League glory, but Luis Suarez says Barcelona's quarter-final with them will be 50-50.

Barca overcame Napoli 3-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday to seal a 4-2 aggregate victory and set up a meeting at the Estadio da Luz on Friday with Bayern, who beat Chelsea 4-1 to make it 7-1 over the two legs .

It could have been a very different story in Catalonia had Dries Mertens' second-minute effort found the back of the net rather than the post.

However, Clement Lenglet headed Barca in front seven minutes later and Lionel Messi's excellent solo goal was followed by a penalty from Suarez.

Napoli pulled one back from the spot through Lorenzo Insigne in first-half stoppage time, but Barca held firm to book their place in the last eight in Lisbon.

With the remaining games to be contested as one-offs rather than two-legged affairs, Suarez sees nothing to separate Quique Setien's men and the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal champions.

"Everyone has a chance in a single game, it's 50-50," Suarez told Movistar .

"Bayern are a great opponent, they are a contender for the title, like all of the eight in Lisbon, but it is 11 against 11 for 90 minutes.

"You have to play the games to see which team does thing better to advance to the semi-finals."

On the game against Napoli, he added: "It's what we wanted. For two weeks since La Liga ended we've been preparing for the match knowing the difficulty of an opponent who made things tough for us in the first leg," said Suarez in a TV interview.

"The important thing is that we qualified and now think about the next opponent.

"Napoli are a team that generate a lot of chances in the league. We knew they would get them. We had a scare early on but we scored first. A goal from them would have created uncertainty, but I think we managed the game well.

"The Napoli goal generated a bit of caution in us. We knew what we were going to come out to in the second half.

"We had to think about attacking. We knew were not going to have much space."

Kylian Mbappe's chances of playing for Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League quarter-final against Atalanta are improving by the day after the attacker was spotted training on Saturday. 

While working out solo, Mbappe was seen with the ball at his feet and even took a few shots at goal as the 21-year-old suggested he could be fit for some action on Wednesday night. 

The Frenchman injured his right ankle late last month in the Coupe de France final against Saint-Etienne with early reports indicating he'd be out for at least three weeks, meaning he would miss the Atalanta game. 

Mbappe's recovery, however, appears to be defying early expectations and he was named in the PSG's travelling squad to face Atalanta. 

Thomas Tuchel previously hinted that Saturday would be a defining day for Mbappe and his hopes of playing in the Champions League clash next week. 

"The deadline is short, super short," the PSG boss told reporters. "We spoke with the doctor today and we decided to meet again on Saturday to see what phase he is in and if it is possible that he is on the bench against Atalanta. But I do not expect too much."

Atalanta are likely preparing for Mbappe to play some part in the clash with midfielder Remo Freuler recently declaring he's skeptical that the Frenchman wouldn't be involved. 

"I know Angel Di Maria is suspended but I will only believe in Mbappe and [Marco] Verratti's absence when I see the team on the pitch," Freuler told Eco di Bergamo. 

"It's a Champions League quarter-final, everyone wants to be there and they are doing everything possible to take part in it." 

PSG have had a tough run of injuries with Veratti injured in mid-week training, while both Layvin Kurzawa and Thilo Kehrer have been ruled out. 

Tuchel himself was also an unexpected addition to the club's injury list with the German coach spraining his ankle and a breaking a bone in his foot during a PSG training session on Thursday night.

Despite those injuries, Tuchel will still be in attendance for the Atalanta game but will likely be forced to stay seated as he watches his side attempt to keep their Champions League campaign going. 

Captain Samuel Bastien was the hero as Standard Liege recorded a 1-0 win over Cercle Brugge in Saturday’s Belgian topflight opener.

The 23-year-old’s second-half strike proved the difference between both teams in the keenly contested encounter at Stade Maurice Dufrasne.

Having missed out of a place in Europe owing to the cancellation of the Belgian 2019-20 season owing to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Reds entered the new term with the ambition of making an appreciable impact.

Against Paul Clement’s men, they put up a solid display, albeit, the first half ended 0-0.

In the second half, they stepped up their game and deservedly went ahead in the 55th minute courtesy of Bastien strike after firing past goalkeeper Warleson thanks to an assist from Maxime Lestienne.

That goal proved to be the decider as no more goal was scored despite several attacking moves by both teams.

Just like Bastien, Cameroon's Collins Fai was on parade from start to finish while Morocco's Selim Amallah was replaced by Duje Cop in the game's 87th minute. Burkina Faso forward Abdoul Tapsoba was brought in for Lestienne with 12 minutes left to play.

Amallah's compatriot Mehdi Carcela and DR Congo's William Balikwisha were unused substitutes by manager Philippe Montanier.

For the visitors, Kenya international Johanna Omolo saw every minute of action while Republic of Congo’s Guy Mbenza came out for Thibo Somers in the 83rd minute. Mali’s Aldom Deuro was an unused substitute.

Liege are guests of Waasland-Beveren on August 17 while Cercle Brugge will be gunning for their first win of the season when they welcome Royal Antwerp to Bruges' Jan Breydel Stadium on August 16.

Bastien went on social media to revel in his team’s victory and strike on social media.

“First match and first victory. The Rouches family together from near and far. We continue,” he tweeted.

Born in Meux to Congolese parents, the 23-year-old midfielder is eligible to represent DR Congo at the senior level despite featuring for Belgium at the U19 and U21 levels. He joined the Belgian outfit from Serie A outfit Chievo Verona on August 26, 2016.

Frank Lampard vowed that his Chelsea charges would return to the Champions League better and with more experience after seeing their 2019-20 campaign ended in emphatic fashion by Bayern Munich on Saturday. 

The odds were stacked against the Blues going into the last-16 second leg, with Bayern 3-0 up on aggregate. 

Chelsea were also missing a host of key players through injury, and paid the price in a one-sided clash at the Allianz Arena. 

Robert Lewandowski hit twice while Ivan Perisic and Corentin Tolisso also found the net as the Bundesliga champions ran out 4-1 winners, with Tammy Abraham scoring the Blues' consolation. 

Bayern advanced to the quarter-finals with a 7-1 aggregate advantage, inflicting Chelsea's biggest-ever defeat over two legs in European competition. 

Lampard nevertheless refused to criticise his depleted charges, and insisted that they would come back a stronger team for the 2020-21 edition. 

"It's a good exercise for us to go up against Bayern and their Champions League experience, with a lot of our players having debut seasons," the Blues manager stated to  BT Sport  as his first season at the helm at Stamford Bridge officially came to a close. 

"I can see where I want us to go and I know we'll be back.

"They performed all right. Difficult to say after a 4-1 defeat, not happy but when you concede two early we did get back into the game after that.

"When you match our Champions League appearances to theirs, I saw lots of good things in the team and also some of the bad we have seen this season. We had individual errors that gave them goals and at this level that will finish you off.

"It is a work in progress. It is not the norm for Chelsea. We lost the best player in the league pretty much in Eden Hazard. People would not normally commend coming fourth for Chelsea. We want more but the feeling is we have achieved something with the group we have. Now is the time to think where we can improve."

Chelsea goalkeeper Willy Caballero commended Bayern as worthy victors, while also committing his future to the Blues for the coming season. 

"A few things wrong, we arrived here with a difficult score from the first game. But we conceded the penalty and it was a little bit difficult," the Argentine told BT Sport .

"We showed good character to play the game and then they showed more quality in our box so they deserve to be in the next round.

"We did a proper tournament in the Premier League - we are in the Champions League [next season] which is good for the team, there's nothing to regret today.

"I have a contract for one more year. I'm really happy to play in this shirt and I would like to keep playing. I became the first choice and we will see what happens in the future, I will work hard to have this opportunity again."

Sheffield Wednesday defender Moses Odubajo has responded to fans’ complaints after his debut season with the Owls, by calling for more constructive criticisms.

 A fan called Odubajo out for giving away 'many penalties' during the 2019-20 Championship season,  a tweet which forced to the 27-year-old defender to demand for constructive comments as Sheffield Wednesday aim for success next campaign.

"Of course not. I’ll hold my hands up like I always have and own my mistakes but to be reminded of them every game when we’re trying to push forward as players and a team. Again, it’s not constructive but counter productive from fans who apparently want to see their team succeed," he said.

In another lengthy response, the ex-Brentford and Hull City right-back who played 22 league matches last season, urged fans to support Garry Monk's side ahead of the commencement of the 2020-21 season.

The Anglo-Nigerian also called for respect between the club, players and the fans.

“Just to clarify, for people in my mentions  - yes, fans pay to watch us play. Yes, fans deserve more and we will work as a team and as individuals to improve. Yes, players get paid to play. Yes, fans are entitled to their opinions,” Odubajo tweeted.

“But that’s not my point. My point is that for a dialogue to happen between fans, staff, players & the club generally, it has to be respectful on both sides for us to get anywhere.

“Football is full of opinions but we have a tough season ahead of us and it’s important to consider which opinions are helpful in our journey next season. We have to enter this season united - with the fans behind us. Divided, we will always fall.”

Sheffied Wednesday ended the 2019-20 Championship season in the 16th place and they will hoping to surpass the mark when the new campaign begins on September 12.

Mamelodi Sundowns coach Pitso Mosimane has praised his two super-subs in the form of Keletso Makgalwa and Lyle Lakay who spearheaded his team to victory over Bidvest Wits in the Nedbank Cup semi-final on Saturday evening.

The Brazilians boss explained the reasoning behind taking off Themba Zwane and Sibusiso Vilakazi, saying they have to stress about the upcoming Premier Soccer League (PSL) clash against Orlando Pirates on Tuesday night.

On the other hand, his counterpart Gavin Hunt refused to blame goalkeeper Brighton Mhlongo who was singled out for their loss by many on social media for conceding the last goal of the encounter.

“He [Lakay] helped us there and Keletso also, you know the two super-subs. We could not stay on with the big-name players, Themba Zwane and [Sibusiso] Vilakazi,” Mosimane told the media.

“You know we needed the super-subs and it’s a lesson to everybody to say, you need the depth to continue on this thing.

“So, we are saving them for the game on Tuesday and I told the guys if they think this is stress, the serious stress is coming on Tuesday but at least we are in the final. That’s what is important for us, the team fought, and yeah it’s a good spirit.

“But you can see we are not the same, we don’t have the flow, we don’t play as good as we always play but it’s a cup match and it’s football under Covid-19.

“After not playing football for four months and we score three goals - I think that’s the positive side of it.”

Speaking after the match, the experienced Clever Boys manager said they are now turning their focus to the league clash against the PSL log leaders, Kaizer Chiefs, on Wednesday night at FNB Stadium.

“That’s our life and story at the moment, it’s our lives at Bidvest Wits at the moment. So, yeah we’ll pick ourselves up, try and go again on Wednesday,” added the four-time PSL winner.

“Look, I can’t get involved in that debate [on whether Mhlongo is to blame for the third goal or not], those are bad mistakes, in the two last goals in my point of view…the first goal as well.

“You know you really have to question some of the decisions but that’s football and that the way our life at Bidvest Wits is at the moment, you know and I feel for the players.

“As I said they don’t deserve it but we lost to a better team. We had them, we wanted them, but we didn’t take advantage of the situation.

“You can’t concede goals like that, certainly all three of them. But I’m not going to finger any blame here.”

Turning to the league assignments, Masandawana are looking to secure a win and narrow the gap between them and Amakhosi to one point and also avenge the defeat they suffered to the Buccaneers in the first round.

Moreover, the sixth-placed Clever Boys are also looking to bounce back to winning ways and derail coach Ernst Middendorp’s PSL title ambitions.

Ernestina Abambila made her debut as Medyk Konin were forced to a 1-1 draw by Katowice in their first Polish Ekstraliga game of the season on Saturday.

The 21-year-old Ghanaian midfielder joined the Polish outfit from Spanish Primera Iberdrola side Sporting Huelva after seeing out her short-term contract with the Huelva based team.

Abambila arrived at Sporting for the remainder of the 2019-20 season from Swedish side Assi in January, made six appearances in all events before the league cancellation due to Covid-19.

Upon her arrival in Poland, she has immediately given a starting role after her good showing in few pre-season warm-up games, including a 2-2 draw against Czech Republic giants Slavia Prague.

Abambile formed a three-woman midfield along with Nikol Kaletka and Gabriela Grzywińska and put up a fine display in her central role.

Klaudia Fabova scored the opening goal of the match for Medyk after benefitting from a fine build-up after just eight minutes in the encounter.

However, Xofia Buszewska netted the equaliser 10 minutes later to ensure the visitors forced a stalemate at Stadion Miejski.

The Black Queens midfielder featured for the duration of the game, but could not help Medyk Konin to a winning start.

The result leaves Medyk in fourth position on the log with a point from the opening match. They will aim to earn their first win of the campaign against Alice Ogebe's Sportis Bydgoszcz on August 14. 

The gulf in quality between Bayern Munich and Chelsea was painfully exposed over two legs for the Londoners, who went down to their biggest-ever aggregate defeat in European football thanks to Saturday's heavy defeat. 

Frank Lampard's side travelled to the Allianz Arena in search of a minor miracle. 

Chelsea had been thrashed 3-0 at Stamford Bridge in the Champions League last-16 first leg, meaning they needed to beat the Bundesliga outfit by at least that margin to keep their faint hopes alive in the competition. 

Their task was made even more difficult by a spate of injuries, with Christian Pulisic, Cesar Azpilicueta, Pedro and Willian all unavailable for Saturday's visit; meaning the final result raised few eyebrows as Bayern showed their dominance. 

Robert Lewandowski opened the scoring from the penalty spot nine minutes in and added a second towards the end, while Ivan Perisic and Corentin Tolisso also hit the net in a 4-1 victory for the hosts. 

Tammy Abraham scored Chelsea's only goal of the game and indeed the tie, as the west Londoners ultimately went down 7-1 on aggregate over the two legs. 

Never before had the Blues conceded seven in a single European tie, marking an unwanted piece of history for Lampard in his debut season on the bench at Stamford Bridge.

It is also the side's biggest-ever European aggregate defeat, surpassing a 4-1 loss at the hands of Barcelona in 2018. 

Lewandowski's second goal was additionally the 16th conceded by Chelsea in this season's Champions League, another new low for the club, who have struggled defensively throughout Lampard's debut campaign.

The Blues shipped 79 goals in all competitions in the 2019-20 season, an average of 1.44 per game. It is their worst average since the 1990-91 campaign, when they conceded 1.64 goals per game.

Meanwhile, Lewandowski is having a season to remember in 2019-20, bringing his Champions League tally up to 13 with Saturday's double after smashing 34 goals in just 31 games to spearhead Bayern's latest successful Bundesliga defence. 

But he is far more than just a goalscorer: Lewandowski was involved in all seven of his side's goals against Chelsea, scoring three and assisting a further four. 

Bayern move on to face Barcelona in the quarter-finals, after the Catalans saw off Napoli's challenge to win 3-1 at Camp Nou on Saturday, and 4-2 on aggregate.

Former Kayserispor coach Robert Prosinecki believes Ghana international Bernard Mensah will make a good signing for Turkish giants Galatasaray.

The midfielder has been heavily linked to The Yellow-Reds for a summer move owing to a fine showing last season.

The 25-year-old made 25 appearances in the Super Lig, scoring five goals and providing eight assists.

“He is a very smart and qualified football player. There are many teams that want him," Prosinecki, who has left Kayserispor following their poor league performances last season, said, as reported by Turkish portal Skor. 

"Mensah can give the best show of himself at Galatasaray in Turkey and that could be helpful, I think."

Galatasaray rivals Fenerbahce and Besiktas are also reportedly interested in the Ghanaian.

“I have been thinking about the whole season for days," Mensah said, as reported by Fanatik, on Friday.

"We have come to the end of a long marathon and I am very sorry for the results we got. Although we stay in the league, I apologize to all the people of Kayseri on my behalf.

"I also read the transfer news about me on social media. None of them yet reflect the truth.

"My priority is, of course, the interests of Kayserispor. I am happy living with my family in Turkey."

Mensah joined Kayserispor on a permanent contract from Atletico Madrid last summer following an initial loan deal. In his first term with the Anatolian Star, he scored three times and set up one goal in 24 league outings.

Before joining Kayserispor, he spent the 2017-18 season on loan at Kasimpasa where he played 30 league matches in which he scored five times and assisted five other goals.

Mensah caught the eye of Atletico after impressing for Vitoria Guimaraes in the Portuguese top-flight. After signing for Diego Simeone's outfit, he was immediately sent out on loan to Spanish La Liga club Getafe.

Upon his return to Los Rojiblancos, the attacker failed to convince Simeone for a place in his team set-up and was, thus, sent out on loan again, this time back to former club Guimaraes for the 2016-17 campaign.

He was on the books of Ghanaian side Feyenoord Academy before leaving for Portugal.

A full senior international, Mensah made his Ghana debut in a friendly fixture against Togo in 2015, scoring in the game. 

Sekou Koita scored off the bench as reigning Austrian Bundesliga champions Salzburg claimed a comeback 4-1 friendly win over OGC Nice on Saturday with Amine Gouiri netting the only goal for the French side.

The Bulls started off their pre-season with a 2-2 draw against Slovenian side NK Bravo on August 3 with German-Nigerian teenage striker Karim Adeyemi finding the back of the net in the game.

They started on the backfoot here with Gouiri giving Nice the lead in just the seventh minute of play, remaining 1-0 going into half-time. It was his third goal in two games having netted twice in a 6-0 demolition of Slovakian outfit Dunajska Streda the last time out.

Salzburg then came to life in the second-half, Koita starting the goal glut in the 49th minute followed by Zlatko Junuzovic and a brace from Mergim Berisha.

Koita was part of the Salzburg team that lifted a 14th Bundesliga title last season. The Malian forward was limited to just 16 league appearances due to injury but still managed to score eight goals and provide three assists, the highlight coming in a 4-1 victory over Austria Vienna in which he was involved in all four goals (two goals, two assists).

He also scored three times in four Austrian Cup outings which Salzburg also won to cement a domestic double.

Other Africans to play for Salzburg in Saturday’s friendly included Cameroon midfielder Mohamed Camara and the Zambian duo of Enock Mwepu and Patson Daka. The latter finished as the club’s top scorer with 24 goals in 31 league appearances and 27 overall, taking over the goalscoring mantle from teenage sensation Erling Haaland who transferred to Borussia Dortmund in January.

For Nice, goalscorer Gouiri is a new signing from Lyon in a deal worth €7 million. The 20-year old Franco-Algerian started his career at youth level with Les Gones before moving into the first team in 2017. He however made just 15 appearances across the board.

Patrick Vieira’s men have played seven pre-season games since the beginning of July, but have only won twice, drawing once and losing four times.

They finished last season in fifth and will begin the new Ligue 1 campaign with an away tie against Amiens on August 23.

Lionel Messi was in fine form as Barcelona progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals, with a 3-1 second-leg defeat of Napoli sealing a 4-2 aggregate victory.

An action-packed first half at Camp Nou saw Barca take a three-goal lead, before Lorenzo Insigne pulled one back from the spot in stoppage time.

Clement Lenglet's ninth-minute header broke the deadlock, with Messi netting an exquisite second prior to winning a penalty which Luis Suarez converted.

Insigne's spot-kick gave Napoli hope, but Barca had enough to book their place in the last eight, where Bayern Munich await.

Dries Mertens clipped the woodwork inside two minutes but Barca swiftly took control – Lenglet heading home unmarked from Ivan Rakitic's inswinging corner, with the goal standing after a VAR check for a possible foul on Diego Demme.

Further punishment followed when Messi bundled his way through a crowd of defenders and, despite an untimely slip, he curled a wonderful finish beyond David Ospina.

It appeared Barca had gone 3-0 up by the half-hour mark, only for Messi to have a second goal ruled out for handball, yet Barca had their third when Suarez scored from the spot after Kalidou Koulibaly clumsily kicked Messi.

Napoli were handed a lifeline two minutes later, however, with the referee harshly deeming Rakitic to have fouled Mertens – Insigne converting the resulting penalty.

Insigne could have doubled his tally early in the second half, but failed to test Marc-Andre ter Stegen with a close-range header.

Arkadiusz Milik looked to have made an instant impact after his introduction from the bench late on, only for his header to be disallowed for offside as Barca secured their place in Portugal with minimum fuss.

What does it mean? Barca still have hope

It has been a dismal season on the domestic front for Barca, but their hopes of a sixth Champions League title remain intact.

However, an imperious Bayern side will present an altogether different challenge than Gennaro Gattuso's side after their 7-1 aggregate victory over Chelsea, and the Blaugrana will have to display a quality which has often been lacking this term in order to progress further.

Messi turns on the magic to lift Setien 

It has not been easy for Quique Setien since he was appointed in January, and the Barca boss could well have been under severe pressure had his side gone out on Saturday.

However, Messi turned on the style to quieten the doubters – at least for now.

Koulibaly found wanting

Raphael Varane made two calamitous mistakes for Real Madrid against Manchester City on Friday, and another of Europe's finest defenders struggled this time out.

Koulibaly seemed to go down easily in the build up to Barca's opener when Demme was pushed into him, while Messi got the better of him to win the penalty from which Suarez made it 3-0.

What's next?

Bayern are Barca's opponents in the last eight, with the game to take place in Lisbon on Friday. Napoli, meanwhile, will turn their attention to next season.

Robert Lewandowski maintained his impressive scoring streak as Bayern Munich beat Chelsea 4-1 at the Allianz Arena to seal a 7-1 aggregate victory in their Champions League last-16 tie.

Bayern took a 3-0 lead into Saturday's second leg after a thumping win in February's reverse fixture and completed the job in style to set up a quarter-final with Barcelona in Lisbon on Friday.

Lewandowski opened the scoring from the penalty spot and rounded things off late on with his 53rd goal of the season after setting up Ivan Perisic and substitute Corentin Tolisso.

Tammy Abraham had pulled one back for Chelsea but treble-chasing Bayern - who lost Jerome Boateng to an apparent knee injury - became the first side ever to put seven past the Blues in a two-legged European tie.

The first half of Barcelona's Champions League last-16 tie against Napoli was filled with action and excitement, but there was also no shortage of controversy thanks to the actions of the ever-divisive Video Assistant Referee (VAR). 

Match official Cuneyt Cakir referred to VAR no less than three times in the opening 45 minutes, which finished with Barcelona holding a commanding 3-1 lead at Camp Nou. 

First Napoli were incensed when Clement Lenglet's opening goal was allowed to stand, despite replay footage showing that the defender had clearly pushed his marker aside before heading home from a corner with nine minutes on the clock. 

Lionel Messi then doubled Barca's lead on the night with an outstanding individual goal, only to find himself on the wrong side of a VAR call minutes later. 

The Argentine thought he had doubled his tally after chesting down Frenkie de Jong's cross in the box, but after a lengthy consultation Cakir deemed that he had used his arm to control the ball before firing past David Ospina. 

But there was still more drama to come, as the video assistant awarded Messi a penalty after the Barca captain was pole-axed by a clumsy challenge from Kalidou Koulibaly. Leo was still smarting from that hit, leaving Luis Suarez to step up and convert. 

At least there was no doubt around Napoli's sole strike of the half, a clear penalty decision four minutes into injury time dispatched with expert precision by Lorenzo Insigne. 

Both teams, then, were left with cause to gripe over VAR, and they were joined by plenty of observers on social media who questioned the use of the technology.

Mamelodi Sundowns secured a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Bidvest Wits in the Nedbank Cup semi-final match on Saturday night. 

Sundowns were without their key attacking midfielder Gaston Sirino, who was serving a two-match suspension and he was placed by Sphelele Mkhulise in the starting line-up.

Motjeka Madisha and Ricardo Nascimento started at the heart of the Sundowns defence with Pitso Mosimane's side yet to concede a single goal in this season's competition.

On the other hand, Wits were missing several key players including Thabang Monare and the team's two first-choice goalkeepers Brandon Peterson and Ricardo Goss.

Brighton Mhlongo got a chance to start in goal for Gavin Hunt's side, while Terrence Dzvukamanja, who had netted twice in his last two competitive games, spearheaded Wits' attack.

Sundowns did most of the attacking in the opening stages of the match, but Wits were solid and compact with Thulani Hlatshwayo marshalling the Students' defence.

However, the first real chance of the game went to Hunt's men following a mistake by Uganda's first-choice Denis Onyango from Deon Hotto's long-range shot.

Cole Alexander pounced onto on a loose ball after Onyango failed to handle the ball, but the Wits midfielder placed his shot over the crossbar from close range.

Masandawana looked dangerous every time they attacked and they had an opportunity to break the deadlock when Sibusiso Vilalakzi set-up Themba Zwane, who fired straight at Mhlongo.

Mosimane's side was awarded a penalty after Buhle Mkhwanazi was adjudged to have handled fouled Madisha in the Wits box 10 minutes before half-time. 

Nascimento then stepped up and converted from the spot-kick to make it 1-0 to Sundowns heading into the half-time break.

Wits came back rejuvenated following their half-time team talk with Hunt with the veteran coach having introduced Rowan Human and Zitha Macheke at the beginning of the second half.

Haashim Domingo, who is set to join Sundowns at the end of the current season, played a delightful through pass for Hotto, but Onyango came out to deny the Namibian winger from close range.

Wits kept pushing and they did restore parity in the 76th minute through Dzvukamanja, who pounced on a mistake from Madisha before sliding past beat Onyango to make it 1-1.

It was end-to-end stuff as Mhlongo came out and misjudged Onyango's long-ball and Keletso Makgalwa pounced and fired home to make it 2-1 to Sundowns with nine minutes left.

Masandawana's defence then went to sleep and they were punished by Dzvukamanja again as the Zimbabwean forward dribbled past Madisha, before scoring and the match looked destined for extra-time.

However, Lyle Lakay had other ideas as the super-sub snatched a late winning goal in stoppage with a brilliant curling free-kick to seal Sundowns' 3-2 win over Wits on the night.

As a result, Masandawana advanced to the Nedbank Cup final where they will take on Bloemfontein Celtic on September 09, while Wits bowed out of the South African FA Cup.

Marcus Rashford says his battle with Anthony Martial to be Manchester United’s top scorer for 2019-20 remains a friendly rivalry.

Two highly-rated frontmen have delivered on a consistent basis for the Red Devils this season.

Both have posted personal bests in terms of goals, with individual bars being raised as United have enjoyed a welcome upturn in fortune as a collective.

Academy graduate Rashford has been on an upward curve for some time, with the England international now 22 years of age and no longer a fresh-faced rookie.

He has found the target on 22 occasions through 42 appearances in the current campaign.

It appeared at one stage as though injury would bring his season to a premature conclusion, but a coronavirus-enforced break ended up working in his favour.

Rashford has returned to the fold alongside Martial and helped United to a third-place finish in the Premier League and the quarter-finals of the Europa League – where they will meet FC Copenhagen.

He has three goals since the restart, but none in his last three outings.

France international Martial took in a similar run before netting the winner in a continental clash with LASK last time out, with that effort taking him to 23 for the season.

He now leads an in-house Golden Boot race at Old Trafford, but Rashford insists collective success – rather than individual acclaim - remains the focus of everyone on United’s books.

“Tony wins, I win, we all win. That’s my guy,” Rashford posted on social media.

Rashford and Martial have not been the only success stories for United in 2019-20, with Mason Greenwood also joining the attacking party.

The talented teenager has enjoyed a breakthrough year and grabbed 17 goals of his own.

A collective return of 62 efforts from his front three means that Red Devils boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer now boasts one of the most devastating front lines in Europe.

Liverpool’s fearsome trident of Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino are considered to sit towards the top of that pile, but Rashford, Martial and Greenwood have registered five goals more than a rival unit at Anfield.

KCCA FC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anisha Muhoozi has promised the club will be going for the double in the 2020/21 season. 

The Kampala-based side finished second in the abandoned Ugandan Premier League season after managing 50 points in the 25 games played, four less than eventual winners Vipers SC. The administrator has now set her eyes on the new campaign.

"The KCCA FC fans should expect a colourful, competitive new season as we are geared at reclaiming the premier title or better said, winning a double," Muhoozi said as quoted by the Sports Nation.

The 13-time league champions held a meeting to budget for the new campaign which was eventually approved.

The Federation of Uganda Football Association (Fufa) officials were part of the meeting and the administrator has explained why they had to be present.

"As per Fufa licensing guidelines, they [Fufa] guided that they need to be present in the meeting that approves end of year financials, appoint external auditors, and budget approval," Muhoozi continued.

"We have always had board meetings where many issues are discussed so this was not any special, we just included Fufa as per licensing requirement."

The 2018/19 champions have signed Ashraf Mugume, Charles Lwanga, Denis Iguma, Italian Stefano Mazengo Loro, Bright Anukani and Bright Anukani. 

The team will represent the nation in the Caf Confederation Cup.

In an earlier interview, new signing Anukani, who joined from Proline FC stated he is aiming at helping the team reach the group stages of the competition.

"I am excited to play for KCCA and will be happy to play in all the games and more especially the Caf games, because they will improve my career and my target is to reach the group stage because when I was at Proline we did not reach there but I want to do it while at KCCA,” Anukani told Sanyuka TV.

"I feel happy to have signed for KCCA because it is a big club and every player like me out there wants to play in a club like this and so I am happy to be here and I hope it will be for a long term deal and I will also win them trophies."