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Messi: "I feel fine, but I don't know yet if I will be available for Sunday. I am grateful for all the messages of support I have received. As I have always said, for me the record is not an obsession. My colleagues have said they will help
me and with them, I am not worried. It would be great, and hopefully if I do it, it will stand for a long time like Muller's, but it's not something I worry about. If it doesn't happen, it doesn't matter. But we are close so we will try. They would continue to play with or without me, There are plenty of other players.

Andre Villas-Boas claims that the Europa League loses a sense of prestige when teams who have "failed" in the Champions League gain automatic entry to Europe's second-tier competition.

Spurs prove Europa ambitions 

Tottenham finished second in their group with a 3-1 win over Panathinaikos on Thursday and could face one of the Champions League casualties - Benfica, Olympiacos or CFR Cluj - in the round of 32.

But Villas-Boas believes there should be no reward for third-placed finishers in the group stage of the Champions League.

"I think it's extremely unfair," he said. "It would be much fairer if the clubs came in to the Europa League when they are knocked out of the last 16 of the Champions League.

"You can't give a bonus to teams who have failed, and in the situation as it stands, teams fail in the Champions League and are promoted to the Europa League, which, in my opinion, is a massive bonus.

"I've not made this up today. I have said this in UEFA meetings before. It's up to them to decide but I think it's not fair."

Spurs could face Villas-Boas's former side Chelsea if both teams progress past the second round and it is a challenge he would revel in.

"Sometimes it's destiny. Hopefully if we go through we can meet each other," Villas-Boas said. "They have a team that can win the trophy, so they will be up to the late stages of the competition. We hope to do so. If we cross it is going to be two magnificent games for sure.

Puyol hoping to face Milan

Carles Puyol says AC Milan are his preferred opponent in this season's Champions League last-16 games.

After Barca completed their Group G programme with a shaky 0-0 draw against Benfica at the Camp Nou, club captain Puyol said he was not worried about the draw but fancied taking on the Serie A side more than other possible opponents Arsenal, Shakhtar Donetsk, Porto and Galatasaray.

"I do not mind who our next rival is," Puyol told reporters. "(But) you know that I like to play against Milan, because I admire that team."

Puyol has happy memories of four clashes against the Rossoneri last season, with Barca taking four points from their two group-stage meetings and then overcoming Massimiliano Allegri's team 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals.

Barca will learn the identity of their next opponents in December 20's draw, with the first legs scheduled for February 12 and 13 and return games to be played February 19 or 20.

Puyol said a lot could happen between now and then, and his side would be concentrating on maintaining their Primera Division lead and progressing in the Copa del Rey.

"There is a long time until those games and we need to keep doing our own work," Puyol said. "It could be that a team which is strong now will not be strong then, or the other way around. For now we have to focus on the Copa and La Liga."

Barca cannot face fellow Spanish sides Valencia and Real Madrid, or Group G runners-up Celtic, in the next round.

Juve want Real Madrid clash

Juventus defender Leonardo Bonucci is hopeful of facing Real Madrid in the Champions League round of 16 after the Bianconeri finished top of their group with a 1-0 win over Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday.

Juventus are seeded for the next round and will face one of Porto, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Valencia, Celtic and Galatasaray.

But Bonucci, 25, believes Juve are ready to face the Spanish champions and assert their credentials as a European powerhouse.

"Looking at the seeds, they are the most prestigious teams. Only Real Madrid stand out in the second pot, but when you reach this level they are all difficult," he told Sky Sport Italia. "I want Real Madrid in the next round, as I have never played at the Bernabeu.

"We have grown over the course of the competition, proving we gained in confidence, belief and that we study our opponents carefully. We came here to play our game and we had said there would be no calculations or playing for a draw."

Assistant manager Angelo Alessio was on the sidelines for Juventus as Antonio Conte served the last match of his ban for failing to report match-fixing.

Conte will return to the touchline for Juve's Serie A clash with Palermo this weekend and Alessio praised the players and staff for responding to him throughout Conte's time in the stands.

"It's very satisfying that we have achieved this mission, as winning here and finishing top was exceptional," he said. "We have to thank the squad, as despite Antonio's absence from the touchline they were entirely at our disposal."

"We have been growing throughout the competition, culminating in the great performance against Chelsea and tonight's victory.

"We knew all about Shakhtar and that they are based mainly on individual talents, though they caused us some problems on the counter-attack. Once you block their creative centres, they are not very organised, so we were able to neutralise them.

"It was difficult to do without Antonio, but the team knows what it has to do and how it must move, so they helped the situation immensely. We had to call a few players today who weren't keeping their positions.

"I know what Antonio has been through over the last few months. I want to thank the staff who worked so hard to achieve this fundamental objective of qualification."

Shakhtar boss Mircea Lucescu conceded that Juventus outplayed his side, but he left a scathing evaluation of the referees' performance after Stephan Lichtsteiner appeared to be offside when providing the assist for Juve's winner.

"Juventus played a good game, prepared well, were aggressive and won the midfield battles, then took advantage of a refereeing error," Lucescu told Mediaset. "Juventus really were hungry for this game and they closed us all over the field, giving us very little space. Fortune favours the brave and it did tonight.In my view, the goal was offside.

"To reach a certain level, you need to have talent and history, but also a certain political strength in football. I thought a draw would've been the right result and we really missed Luiz Adriano, as our strikers were unable to do what Adriano does, particularly when helping out in midfield.

"In my view, the goal was offside. It's true there could've been a penalty for both teams too. I don't say the referee decided the match. I just saw that it was offside, while there was a clear penalty not awarded on Willian in Turin.

Lucescu suggested his young side may have lacked focus during the match and insists they must still prove themselves in Europe despite claiming the scalp of defending champions Chelsea.

"We must wait a few years before we are as respected as the big European clubs," he said. "It was a balanced match and a draw was right, but you could see Juventus wanted it much more than my players. Now we have a month off and perhaps my players were already thinking about their holidays.

"It's also possible some of my players were thinking about the transfer market, as they are young and lately there has been far too much talk around them. You can see a fraction of a second makes all the difference at this level.

(MUSTUMustafa)

(7/dec/12)