Juventus overcame a sluggish first-half display to kick off the defence of their Serie A crown with a 2-0 victory at home to Parma on Saturday.

A pair of quick-fire goals shortly before the hour from Stephan Lichtsteiner and Andrea Pirlo proved the difference between the sides, after Arturo Vidal had seen a first-half penalty saved.

Midfielder Mario Goetze admitted he was delighted to score Borussia Dortmund's winning goal in their 2-1 victory over Werder Bremen on Friday as the 50th season of the Bundesliga kicked-off.

The 20-year-old suffered with a persistent groin problem last season which kept him out of football from December until May, when he was involved in the last three games as Dortmund won the league title.

Liverpool said Saturday they have reached agreement with Real Madrid to take the Spanish outfit's playmaker Nuri Sahin to Anfield on a season-long loan.

Arsenal had also been tracking the Turkey international.

His seven Tour de France titles stripped away and his legacy in tatters, Lance Armstrong is heading back outdoors and into the public eye.

A day after the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency punished Armstrong with a lifetime ban from professional cycling and erased 14 years of his career after concluding he used performance-enhancing drugs, Armstrong is scheduled to ride in a mountain bike race in Aspen, Colo., on Saturday and follow it up by running a marathon there Sunday.

Lance Armstrong will be stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said Thursday after the cycling icon announced he would no longer fight the drug charges that have stained his legacy.

USADA said Armstrong will be barred from cycling for life for using performance-enhancing drugs to win cycling's most prestigious race from 1999-2005, charges that Armstrong has vehemently denied.

Chinese 110m hurdler Liu Xiang has said he felt healthy before his spectacular exit from the London Olympics, after reports that his injury was known to authorities before the race but hushed up.

Liu, in his first major interview since he devastated Chinese fans by crashing out of the Games with a ruptured Achilles tendon, told state broadcaster CCTV that he "felt healthy standing on the starting line".

With the Bundesliga set to celebrate its 50th year when the new season starts Friday, six of Germany's top teams go into the new campaign licking their wounds following first-round German Cup defeats.

The Bundesliga celebrates its half-century on Friday when defending champions Borussia Dortmund host Werder Bremen.

Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Thursday in the opening leg of the Spanish Super Cup, giving Tito Vilanova a victory in his first meeting as head coach against counterpart Jose Mourinho.

The first meeting of the season between Spain's top clubs provided more of the usual heated rivalry to match the scorching summer night. It lived up to the expectations of the 91,728 fans as Vilanova faced Mourinho a year on from a famous clash that saw the Madrid manager poke his counterpart in the eye.

Chelsea are set to sign Nigeria forward Victor Moses from Wigan after the European champions finally met the Latics' asking price.

The Blues had seen four bids for Moses rejected by Wigan chairman Dave Whelan during the course of a fractious transfer saga that had lasted since the end of last season.

Juventus and its fans are hoping to turn their attention from the courtroom to the pitch when the club starts its title defense against Parma on Saturday.

The drama of coach Antonio Conte being banned for 10 months has seemingly had little effect on the defending Serie A champion as stand-in Massimo Carrera has already steered the team to two trophies.