Milestone and sending-off for Xabi
Xabi Alonso is unlikely to forget Tuesday's meeting with Shakhtar Donetsk in Lviv, and not only because it was his 100th Champions League appearance (six for Bayern, 47 for Real Madrid, 39 for Liverpool, and eight for Real Sociedad). The 33-year-old's milestone match also included a 65th-minute dismissal for a second bookable offence, Alonso's second sending-off in the Champions League. The Spaniard automatically misses the return leg In Munich on 11 March.
FCB juniors triumph at Algarve Cup
Marco Stefandl and Niklas Dorsch have won the Algarve Cup with the Germany U-17 juniors. The two FCB youths featured in two of their country's three matches in Portugal. After 1-0 successes against the hosts and the Netherlands, coach Christian Wück's team ensured they retained the trophy by rounding off their programme with a 2-1 win against England. The Germans will now be in good heart for the forthcoming European championship qualifying tournament in March against Slovakia, Italy and Ukraine.