Bayern Munich's director of sport Christian Nerlinger admitted he was "mystified" by his team's first-half performance in the goalless draw at bottom side Freiburg which saw them slip to third in the German league.

Even Bayern coach Jupp Heynckes said Bayern's performance in the opening 45 minutes was "sluggish" as the Bavarian giants came off second best to a spirited Freiburg team who are threatened with relegation.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger remained defiant despite facing further questions about his future in the wake of their 2-0 defeat at Sunderland in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The club are now heading towards their seventh season without a trophy, but Wenger told his critics: "We will stay united, fight, and focus on the next game. It is important for us to show strength and resilience."

Vitali Klitschko unanimously out-pointed Dereck Chisora for a 10th successive defense of his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight title in a stormy clash at the Olympiahalle on Saturday.

After being slapped by Briton Chisora at Friday’s weigh-in, Ukrainian Klitschko got revenge over his provocative challenger but he spent a lot of the fight on the back foot before earning scores of 118-110, 118-110 and 119-111 from the judges.

Real Madrid went 13 points clear of Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday as Karim Benzema grabbed a double in a 4-0 win over 10-man Racing Santander.

Jose Mourinho’s men have given Barca little margin for error having now won 18 of the last 19 games since they drew 0-0 at Santander at the end of September.

President Barack Obama lauded Muhammad Ali Saturday as he joined a host of celebrities in offering birthday wishes to the boxer known simply as "The Greatest."

"Happy birthday, champ," Obama told Ali through a video message, saying he wished he could have attended the swanky dinner gala in Las Vegas featuring some of the biggest names in sports, film, television and music.

AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Saturday urged Arsenal captain Robin van Persie to jump ship if he wants to win anything.

Van Persie's side were thrashed 4-0 by Ibrahimovic's Milan in the San Siro on Wednesday, to effectively end the London club's Champions League hopes.

Victoria Azarenka admits that her bid to win two Middle East tournaments in as many weeks is an emotional one as the young Belarussian returns to Dubai where she nearly quit the game a year ago.

This time last year the 22-year-old from Minsk thought she would quit the women's tour after early defeats in Doha and Dubai.

Former Queens Park Rangers manager Neil Warnock made a swift return to football on Saturday after being confirmed as the new boss of Championship side Leeds.

Warnock, controversially fired by QPR last month after successfully guiding the Londoners into the Premier League, began his reign by vowing to return the Yorkshire giants to the top-flight.

Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose biography has sold more than 500,000 copies, is following up on the success by launching his life story as an interactive iPad app.

Sara Ohrvall, a spokeswoman for Swedish publisher Albert Bonnier, said the "I am Zlatan Ibrahimovic" application, based on the paperback biography with the same name, "is the first interactive biography app in the world."

Dutch coaching legend Guus Hiddink is on the verge of signing an 18-month contract with Russia's Anzhi Makhachkala that will make him one of the world's highest-paid managers, news reports said Friday.

The Sport Express daily said the 65-year-old manager will sign a deal with tycoon Suleyman Kerimov's club after joining them in Belek, Turkey, where Anzhi are currently training.