Roberto Mancini admitted he will be disappointed to see Mario Balotelli leave Manchester City for AC Milan but insists the move is in the best interests of the Italy forward.

Balotelli was missing from English champions City's goalless Premier League draw away to Queens Park Rangers at Loftus Road on Tuesday as his reported £19 million ($30 million) transfer was finalized.

Chelsea midfielder John Obi Mikel has warned Africa Cup of Nations title favorites Ivory Coast not to write off Nigeria ahead of a mega quarterfinal clash this weekend.

Mikel excelled and Stamford Bridge teammate Victor Moses slotted two late penalties as the Super Eagles overcame gallant Ethiopia 2-0 Tuesday in this north-western town to finish second behind shock Group C winners Burkina Faso.

The post-Mario Balotelli era at Manchester City began in lackluster fashion as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday that prevented them from making up ground on Manchester United.

Victory for City would have cut United's lead to just two points but instead Alex Ferguson's side will tackle Southampton on Wednesday with an opportunity to re-open a seven-point lead at the Premier League summit.

The Los Angeles Lakers hung on to beat the New Orleans Hornets 111-106 Tuesday for their first three-game winning streak in five weeks.

Dwight Howard scored 24 points, and Kobe Bryant had 14 points and 11 assists in another pass-first performance for Los Angeles.

Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has had his top-of-the-range 4x4 stolen from outside his house, as he defrosted the windscreen with the engine running, police said on Tuesday.

The grey Chevrolet Captiva was taken from the driveway in Oldham, northwest England, just before 8:00 am (0700 GMT) on Monday, Greater Manchester Police said in a statement.

Baltimore Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs respects and understands President Barack Obama's opinion about the dangers of American football — and hesitation about having a child play.

The hard-hitting 2011 defensive player of the year also says that no matter how violent the sport, his 4-year-old son will be allowed to take it up if he wants.

A proposed Indian professional football league that was to feature the likes of former Argentina striker Hernan Crespo and Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro, has been scrapped owing to logistic problems.

The five-team tournament planned on the lines of the successful franchise-based Indian Premier League cricket tournament was announced with much fanfare by the Indian Football Association but things failed to move after a players' auction in January last year.

Mali set up an African Cup of Nations quarterfinal against host South Africa by holding Congo to a 1-1 draw Monday in their last group match at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

With Ghana winning its game against Niger in Port Elizabeth 3-0 to top Group B, a draw was all Mali needed to secure second spot and knock Congo out.

Didier Drogba is teaming up with Wesley Sneijder at Galatasaray, giving the Turkish club a second major signing in a week and boosting its chances of making deep run in the Champions League.

Galatasaray announced on its website Monday that Drogba had agreed to an 18-month deal, cutting short his stint in China where he had been playing for Shanghai Shenhua since leaving Chelsea after last season.

In years past, Novak Djokovic marked his victories at the Australian Open with rowdy late-night celebrations and bleary-eyed photo shoots the next morning in downtown Melbourne.

This year's win made history but inspired a more sober reaction.