Barcelona and Bayern Munich qualified for the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday but Chelsea were in danger of picking up the dubious honor of becoming the first titleholders to crash out in the first round.

Joining Barca and Bayern into the knockout stages were Valencia and Shakhtar Donetsk while Celtic still have work to do to book their ticket after defeat at Benfica.

Australian football declared Tuesday the "race is on" to bring David Beckham Down Under, with at least four clubs showing interest and one confirming it will lodge a compelling offer.

Speculation about the 37-year-old's interest in coming to Australia's A-League has been mounting ever since Football Federation Australia said last week that it had been approached by the player's representatives.

Arsene Wenger expects Arsenal to build on their derby demolition of Tottenham by marching towards the last 16 of the Champions League with a victory in their crucial clash against Montpellier on Wednesday.

Wenger's side routed arch rivals Tottenham 5-2 at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday to lift the gloom around the north London club following a disappointing run of one win in their previous four Premier League matches.

Sergio Aguero has urged his Manchester City teammates not to lose hope as they seek to keep their Champions League campaign alive against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

After drawing 2-2 at home to Ajax in their last outing, the English champions have no room for error and must beat Jose Mourinho's side at the Etihad Stadium to stand any chance of reaching the last 16.

Former France boss Raymond Domenech, who presided over a mutinous squad at the 2010 World Cup, Monday insisted his new book Tout Seul (all alone) was not an attempt to "settle accounts" - despite slamming midfielder Franck Ribery as a 'diva.'

"It is not about settling accounts," Domenech told broadcaster TF1 ahead of his book's publication on Wednesday.

Novak Djokovic and former three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten both scored in a charity football game played before a Brazilian league match in Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The exhibition was organized by Djokovic's Serbian countryman, Dejan Petkovic, who starred for several Brazilian clubs in the past decade.

Humbled by Celtic in the latest shock result in the Champions League, Barcelona travels to Russia this week as the competition favorites attempt for the second time to seal a place in the knockout stage.

The Champions League has thrown up a string of unpredictable scorelines this season and none bigger than Barca's 2-1 loss in Glasgow two weeks ago, preventing the Spanish giants joining FC Porto, Malaga and Manchester United in the last 16 with two games to spare.

The revitalized Los Angeles Lakers ran past the Houston Rockets 119-108 on Sunday for their fourth victory in five games since firing coach Mike Brown.

Kobe Bryant had 22 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for his 18th career triple-double, Dwight Howard had 28 points and 13 rebounds, and Pau Gasol scored his 15,000th career point as the Lakers ran away from their second straight opponent since coach Mike D'Antoni took over their practices.

It's a job for two when the Czechs win Davis Cup finals.

Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek gave the Czech Republic the title for the first time as an independent nation by beating Spain 3-2 in the final on Sunday. Each spent about 10 grueling hours on court, playing the opening singles, teaming up for the doubles and then completing the reverse singles.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton won the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas on Sunday ahead of 2012 title rivals Sebastian Vettel and Fernando Alonso.

Vettel, who started from pole but was overtaken by Hamilton on lap 42, now takes a 13-point lead over Alonso to the season-closing Brazilian Grand Prix next Sunday.