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Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has ruled out signing former England defender Sol Campbell.

With an ongoing defensive injury crisis at United, the 35-year-old Campbell had been linked with a move in the January transfer window.

The center back has been without a club following an acrimonious exit from Notts County in September, although he has been training at former club Arsenal to stay fit.

Ferguson, however, said Friday that Campbell was a great player but he is not a player we are thinking about getting to come to United.

Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has admitted that Rafael Benitezs Reds are now targeting Europa League and FA Cup glory this season.

The Spaniard insists that a top-four finish, along with some silverware, will result in a successful campaign for the Reds.

Torres concedes that Liverpools campaign has not hit the heights they expected back in August after an early exit from the Champions League and a weak Premier League bid.

This season is not the season we were expecting at the beginning of the season, but these things happen, he told Sky Sports News.

We were thinking of trophies, first choice was the Champions League and the Premier League - we are out of the Champions League, and we are really far out from the Premier League, so we now change our targets.

We have to think the Europa League and FA Cup are the two competitions we can win this season and obviously trying to stay in the top four.

Torres insists that despite their indifferent campaign, Liverpool can still achieve much this season, but they need to remain united.

Staying together is the main thing now, he insisted. If we can stay together, manager, players, staff, everyone at the club, we have quality enough to stay in the top four and win trophies.

At the end of the season if we win one trophy, it will have been a nice season, so we are on target.

The people of Liverpool deserve to play in finals, whether it be in Europe or England, it is a long time since we played in a final and they deserve it, they deserve more trophies.

Looking ahead to the Super Sunday clash with Arsenal, Torres is hopeful they can overcome Arsene Wengers men.

Arsenal are doing quite well this season, he said. They are close to the top and playing with young players and doing really good. The mentality of the manager and players is brilliant.

But we are playing at Anfield and with the help of our supporters we can beat anyone.

Lionel Messi will miss Barcelonas Spanish league match against Espanyol on Saturday after the Golden Ball winner sustained an ankle injury that could jeopardize his playing at the upcoming Club World Cup.

Messi scored the winner in a 2-1 victory against Dynamo Kiev in the 86th minute on Wednesday before being helped off the field with a right ankle injury picked up in the closing moments from an opponents challenge.

Barcelona said Thursday that the Argentina forward would miss the crosstown derby match, the clubs final domestic game before it travels to the Club World Cup.

Barcelona said Messis availability for the international club competition would depend on his progress.

The Spanish and European champions hold a five-point advantage over Real Madrid in the domestic standings.

Messi has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season.

Stuttgart advanced to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 3-1 victory over Unirea on Wednesday, giving new coach Christian Gross an impressive debut.

Ciprian Marica, Christian Traesch and Pavel Pogrebnyak scored inside the first 11 minutes to stun the Romanian team, which went into the match with a two-point lead over Stuttgart in Group G.

Antonio Semedo pulled one back for Unirea in the 46th.

Stuttgart finished with nine points, one more than Unirea, which will now go to the Europa League. Sevilla beat Rangers 1-0 and won the group with 13 points while Rangers was eliminated with two points.

Stuttgart, which has gone eight games in the Bundesliga without a win and has dropped into the relegation zone, fired coach Markus Babbel on Sunday and appointed the 55-year-old Gross, a Swiss.

He is very positive, he makes a positive impression on players and he always wants to win, Stuttgarts midfielder Zdravko Kuzmanovic said after the match. We played very well.

Stuttgart got off to a flying start, finding the net with all of its three first three shots at goal.

Sami Khedira, back in the team after six weeks with a foot injury, crossed from the right and Marica, the Romanian striker, scored against his countrymen with a well-taken header in the fifth minute.

Unirea replied immediately and Jens Lehmann did well to turn away an attempt by Iulian Apostol.

The corner brought nothing for Unirea and on the counter attack Traesch doubled the lead in the eighth minute, his shot finding the far low corner after taking a slight deflection.

Pogrebnyak made it 3-0 in the 11th, picking up a pass form Khedira, dribbling past two Unirea defenders and slotting the ball through the feet of goalkeeper Giedrius Arlauskis.

Less than a full minute into the second half, Unirea pulled one back after a defensive error by Arthur Boka and Semedo scored past Lehmann.

Semedo nearly got another one shortly afterward but this time Lehmann blocked the shot.

Unirea had a few more attempts but Stuttgart held on to win comfortably.

Barcelona, Inter Milan, Stuttgart and Olympiakos advanced in the Champions League on Wednesday to complete the lineup for the next round.

Defending champion Barcelona needed an 86th-minute free kick by Lionel Messi to win 2-1 at Dynamo Kiev and edge Inter for first place in Group F.

Inter beat Russias Rubin Kazan 2-0 to advance, while Stuttgart took second place in Group G with a 3-1 win over Unirea Urziceni. Olympiakos beat already qualified Arsenal 1-0 to finish second to the Gunners in Group H.

Barcelona needed only to avoid a large defeat to advance and that looked possible when Artem Milevskiy scored an early goal for Dynamo, but Xavi Hernandez equalized in the 33rd after sustained pressure and European player of the year Messi made sure Barcelona qualified in first place ahead of Inter with his curling free kick.

Samuel Etoo and Mario Balotelli scored either side of halftime to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan. Etoo opened the scoring in the 30th after being set up by an exchange between Javier Zanetti and Balotelli, before the latter scored a long-range free kick in the 63rd.

Inter finished second in Group F with nine points, two behind Barcelona, leaving Rubin Kazan to drop into the Europa League as the third-place finisher.

Stuttgart secured second place behind Sevilla in Group G with victory in its first game under coach Christian Gross.

Ciprian Marica, Christian Traesch and Pavel Pogrebnyak scored inside the first 11 minutes to stun the Romanian team, which went into the match with a two-point lead over Stuttgart in Group G. Antonio Semedo pulled one back for Unirea in the 46th.

Sevilla had already qualified before beating Rangers 1-0.

Olympiakos advanced to the knockout stage through Leonardos second-half goal against Arsenal, which lost its unbeaten record but still topped Group H.

Standard Liege qualified for the Europa League in dramatic circumstances when goalkeeper Sinan Bolat scored an injury-time header to earn a 1-1 draw with AZ Alkmaar.

With Standards European campaign seconds from ending, Bolat sprinted forward for a last-second free kick and headed powerfully past Sergio Romero.

This is crazy, I still cant believe it, Bolat said. I thought Ill take a chance and head upfield.

AZ had held the lead for more than 50 minutes after Jeremain Lens scored in the 42nd.

The Dutch side finished last.

In the other group, Alberto Gilardino scored in injury time to give Fiorentina a 2-1 win at Liverpool and first place in its Champions League group.

Five-time European champion Liverpool was already eliminated ahead its final group match but led in the 43rd minute through Yossi Benayoun. Martin Jorgensen equalized for already qualified Fiorentina 20 minutes later and Gilardino secured his teams fifth straight tournament win.

Fiorentina topped Group E ahead of Lyon, while Liverpool finished third and faces the ignominy of being in the draw for the next round of the second-tier Europa League on Dec. 18 rather than the Champions League.

Lyon scored two goals in each half to rout last-place Debrecen 4-0.

At this club you try to stay in the big tournaments as long as possible, but its gone now, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard said.

Real Madrid, AC Milan, Bayern Munich and CSKA Moscow advanced Tuesday.

Manchester United, Bordeaux, Chelsea and FC Porto are the other teams in the draw for the next round, which will take place in Nyon, Switzerland, on Dec. 18.

Inter Milan advanced to the knockout round of the Champions League after Samuel Etoo and Mario Balotelli scored either side of halftime to secure a 2-0 win over Rubin Kazan on Wednesday.

Inter finished second in Group F behind Barcelona, after the defending European champion beat Dynamo Kiev 2-1. Kazan would have advanced with a win, but finished third and will play in the Europa League. Kiev was last with five points.

Last year we qualified early from the group and ended with two losses and seven points, Inter coach Jose Mourinho said. This time weve ended with a win and taken nine points from a tougher group.

We have six possible opponents in the draw. We can draw an English team and we know they are difficult because they have a totally different style to us. Or it could be one of two Spanish sides; Real Madrid or Sevilla or even the French team, Bordeaux.

Etoo was set up by Javier Zanettis and Balotellis exchange of passes in the 30th minute. Balotelli then fired home a long-range free kick to seal the result in the 63rd.

It was an impressive performance from the striker following recent arguments with Mourinho over his role.

I am satisfied for the team and Mario Balotelli is part of the team, Mourinho said. I hope Mario Balotelli takes the same attitude with him every time he takes the field.

Inter had the opening chance of the match in the eighth minute. Thiago Motta slipped the ball to Balotelli, who turned on the edge of the penalty area but shot straight at Kazan goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov.

Ten minutes later Gokdeniz Karadeniz forced Inter stopper Julio Cesar into a sharp save at his near post with a low drive, after Christian Noboa had split the Inter defense with a throughball.

Inter captain Zanetti started the move that led to the opening goal in the 30th. The Argentine wiggled along the left goal-line and cut the ball back to Balotelli. The striker backheeled the ball farther into the area and Etoo hammered the ball home from close range.

Just before halftime Maicon came close to doubling Inters lead. Etoo cut the ball back to him on the edge of the area, but Ryzhikov turned away his powerful long-range drive.

They are an attacking team and we needed to be the more attacking to win, Mourinho said. They trusted each other and they had the right attitude for a match of this importance.

Kazan had the first chance of the second period, five minutes after the break. From a corner Alejandro Dominguez found Karadeniz unmarked on the edge of the area, but he blasted high and wide despite having time to get his shot on target.

Just for us to be in the Champions League is a big step forward for our team and our football, Kazan coach Kurban Berdyev said. To be competitive in a group containing Barcelona, Inter and Dynamo Kiev is a great satisfaction for us.

Substitute Esteban Cambiasso drew a save from Ryzhikov after he had shot from the edge of the box in the 59th, and Balotelli then dragged a shot wide two minutes later.

However, the young striker doubled Inters lead in the 63rd, firing a free kick over the wall and past Ryzhikov.

A minute later Balotelli should have added his second, but slid his shot wide after Diego Milito had picked him out at the far post with a low cross.

Wesley Sneijder hit a post after linking up with Balotelli and Milito in the 73rd and Etoo went close with an injury time free kick.

Michael Owen scored a hat trick Wednesday to give injury-depleted Manchester United a 3-1 win over Wolfsburg and top spot in Group B of the Champions League.

Owen scored in the 44th, 83rd and 90th minutes to help Man United top the group with 13 points.

Edin Dzeko drew Wolfsburg level at 1-1 in the 56th, but the German club was eliminated after CSKA Moscows 2-1 win at Besiktas.

CSKA was second in the group with 10 points, three more than Wolfsburg and six in front of Besiktas.

Owen used Uniteds first real opportunity to put his team ahead. Nano crossed from the left, and Owen was left unmarked for an easy header.

Edin Dzeko also scored with a header off a perfect cross from Marcel Schaefer, knocking in the ball at the near post.

Owen notched his second in the 83rd, after substitute Gabriel Obertan shook off two defenders and found the former England striker at the far post with a pinpoint cross.

With Wolfsburg throwing everything into attack, Owen chipped the ball over goalkeeper Diego Benaglio after a counterattack.

Me getting three goals will probably grab the headlines, but it was a great team performance, Owen said. I was playing deep with us having so many players out and we were trying to protect the back four.

With 14 regular first-team players absent through injury, Uniteds only true defender was Patrice Evra and Wolfsburg tried to take advantage of the untested formation early in the game.

Michael Carrick, a midfielder playing center back, fouled Makoto Hasebe early in the match but Wolfsburg did not get a penalty.

We should have gotten the call, Wolfsburg coach Armin Veh said. I am very disappointed but my players gave it everything but we were not rewarded.

Wolfsburgs Andrea Barzagli headed over the crossbar in the 18th after a corner from Zvjezdan Misimovic, who then did the same a few minutes later when he had been left unmarked.

Hasebe had a good effort in the 42nd but goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak tipped it over the bar.

After notching the equalizer, Wolfsburg stepped up the pressure and Kuszczak did well to turn away a shot from Grafite in the 73rd, shortly after Owen failed to get a shot off in Wolfsburgs box.

Kuszczak then dived to his right to stop a shot from Dzeko.

Benaglio stopped Owens point-blank effort before the United striker got his third.

CSKA Moscow advanced to the knockout round of the Champions League on Tuesday by beating Besiktas 2-1.

Yevgeny Aldonin scored the winning goal in the fifth minute of injury time and Milos Krasic added the other in the 42nd.

CSKA claimed second place in Group B with 10 points, three points behind leader Manchester United, which beat Wolfsburg 2-1.

Krasic gave CSKA the lead after taking a pass from Lithuania defender Deividas Semberas and shooting inside the far post, leaving goalkeeper Rustu Recber helpless.

Bobo responded for Besiktas in the 86th minute when he turned in Ibrahim Uzulmezs low cross from the right.

CSKA Moscows victory came despite the suspension of defenders Sergei Ignashevich and Alexei Berezutsky. The pair was banned by UEFAs disciplinary committee after club doctors failed to inform the European governing body they were on cold medicine.

The club said doctors omitted the drug Sudafed from the list of medication it handed to doping officials after a match against Manchester United on Nov. 3.

Ignashevich and Berezutsky were fighting off a cold after playing for the national team in a World Cup qualifier, the club said in a statement. The substance is not on the prohibited list but UEFA insists it must be notified of its application, CSKA said.

Bayern Munich scored three second-half goals Tuesday to beat Juventus 4-1 and advance to the knockout round of the Champions League.

Juventus took the lead against the run of play when David Trezeguet volleyed home in the first half, but Bayern drew level before halftime when goalkeeper Joerg Butt converted a penalty.

Bayern quickly took the lead after halftime when Ivica Olic and Mario Gomez then scored with seven minutes remaining. Substitute Anatoliy Tymoshchuk added a fourth in injury time.

You could say that Juventus was bad, but you could also say that Bayern Munich was very good, Bayern coach Louis Van Gaal said. We controlled the pitch and controlled the ball, and perhaps this was too much for Juventus to handle.

Bordeaux won Group A with 16 points, followed by Bayern with 10. Juventus will play in the Europa League after finishing third with eight points, while Maccabi Haifa was last with zero.

The Bayern players played a great match and we couldnt cope, Juventus coach Ciro Ferrara said. We worked hard, but all too often we were second to the ball. We are out of this tournament and it hurts.

Bayern had much of the early possession, but Juventus took the lead when Claudio Marchisio crossed from the left and Trezeguet stretched to volley past Butt from the edge of the box.

Bastian Schweinsteiger nearly responded, but Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon reacted in time to stop his powerful drive.

Bayern pulled level with a penalty in the 29th after Martin Carceres brought down Olic and Butt came up from the other end of the field to slot the ball past Buffon.

Seven minutes into the second half, Bayern took the lead. Buffon parried Daniel Van Buytens header, but Olic reacted quickest to slot the ball into the unguarded net.

Juventus was unable to maintain possession, and defensive midfielder Felipe Melo struggled to cope with Schweinsteiger, who continued to test Buffon with long range shots.

We kept our shape and we wanted to keep up the pressure, even though it was hard to do so for the whole 90 minutes, Van Gaal said. We tried to do it in our last match but we couldnt. Tonight we did. We held on to the ball well and trusted ourselves. It is always hard against Juventus and I hope we can keep it up in our next match.

With seven minutes remaining, Gomez sealed the result with Bayerns third goal. Holger Badstuber sent in a corner, Van Buyten flicked on and Gomez tapped in at the far post.

With the final whistle approaching, Schweinsteiger left the ball to run free for Tymoshchuk to shot home from the edge of the box.

Tonight, I dont think we were united in meeting difficulties Ferrara said. We needed big performances from Diego and Felipe (Melo), but I dont think we can blame tonights loss on them.

Olympiakos is determined to beat Arsenal in the Champions League on Wednesday despite needing just a draw to reach the knockout phase.

Arsenal is a big team that has its sights set on the final … but we want to beat them, Olympiakos playmaker Luciano Galletti said.

Arsenal has already qualified for the next round, topping Group H with four wins and a draw after earlier trouncing Celtic 5-1 on aggregate in the playoffs.

Greek champion Olympiakos is in second place in the group and won both its home games, but has been held back by injuries that produced some shaky league performances early in the season.

Its form has improved since Brazilian coach Zico took over in mid-September. Olympiakos took the lead in the Greek title race after beating rival Panathinaikos 2-0 on Nov. 29, and followed up with a 1-0 win at Xanthi on Saturday.

The Greeks are looking to sign another striker but have been kept afloat by 21-year-old Costas Mitroglou, who scored both goals against Panathinaikos and was recently called up to the Greek national team, proving his place as his clubs main threat.

Former Real Madrid defender Raul Bravo said he hoped Olympiakos boisterous home support could unsettle Arsenal, which is likely to use younger players to protect regulars from further injury risks.

Well have a fantastic atmosphere and we can do it. Were playing at home and well go for the win, the Spaniard said.

Zico will have Moroccan midfielder Jaouad Zairi at his disposal following his recovery from a thigh injury that kept him sidelined on the weekend. He is still missing talented defender Vassilis Torosidis, who suffered swine flu while recovering from a knee injury.

Arsenal won its home leg against the Greeks 2-0 on late goals from Robin van Persie and Andrei Arshavin, but has continued to suffer serious injury setbacks. Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky was the latest casualty at the weekend, as the injury list grew following Arsenals 2-0 win over Stoke on Saturday.

Wengers selection troubles are set to provide an opening for emerging players like Jack Andrew Wilshere, a 17-year-old attacking midfielder, and 19-year-old midfielder Fran Merida, who performed well for Spain at the Under-20 World Cup in Egypt earlier this year.