Madrid  - Real Madrid came back to life on Saturday with a tight, tense 1-0 home win over Valencia.

Real won thanks to an early goal from Gonzalo Higuain and a stellar display from goalkeeper Iker Casillas.

Valencia left the Estadio Bernabeu complaining about the sending- off of captain Carlos Marchena, and bemoaning their lack of precision in attack.

Real only had 43 per cent possession, due to the counter-attacking style imposed by new coach Juande Ramos.

The win takes Real from sixth to fourth, with 29 points from 16 games.

Rome  - AC Milan vice president Adriano Galliani Saturday presented David Beckham to Italian media and fans, welcoming the English star as he joins the Devils on loan from Los Angeles Galaxy

The 33-year-old Beckham is to remain at Milan until March 9, after which he will rejoin the US team in California.

"Good evening everybody and first of all a heartfelt thanks to all of you," Beckham said at a press conference at the Giuseppe Meazza stadium.

Rome  - Lazio edged out visiting Palermo 1-0 Saturday in a game that the Sicilian guests ended with ten men at Rome's Stadio Olimpico.

Veteran Tommaso Rocchi came on in the second half to score the winner, deflecting home a low cross from Frenchman Mourad Meghni.

The win allowed Lazio to end a bad run that saw them notch two meagre points in five games. It moved on to sixth place on 27 points as the Serie A gears up for a three-week winter break after its 17th round.

London  - Sam Allaryce enjoyed the perfect start to his reign as Blackburn Rovers manager as his side beat Stoke City 3-0 in the English Premier League on Saturday.

Benni McCarthy scored twice and Jason Roberts got the other as Blackburn, who named Allardyce earlier in the week as replacement for the sacked Paul Ince, ended a run of six straight defeats.

Here’s sad news for Mohun Bagan fans. Due to knee and ankle injury, star striker and Mohun Bagan captain Bhaichung Bhutia has been ruled out from the team for 15-20 days.

On Sunday, Mohun Bagan has to face Dempo in the finals of the 12th Federation Cup.

During the second semifinal against East Bengal, Bhutia injured himself in the first session of the match. After the match, the Indian skipper was taken to a hospital and he underwent an MRI scan to evaluate the extent of the damage.

London, Dec 20 : European champions Manchester United and rivals Liverpool were handed relatively easy ties against Inter Milan and Real Madrid in the Champions League last 16.

The draw pits United against Jose Mourinho's Italian giants Inter while Liverpool will take on nine-times winners Real, a club repeatedly linked with Reds boss Rafael Benitez.

Chelsea also face an intriguing reunion with former manager Claudio Ranieri after being paired with Juventus while Arsenal take on Roma.