Manchester City and Manchester United will Thursday put aside their fight for the Premier League when both try to propel themselves towards the Europa League quarterfinals.

Deprived of involvement in the business end of the Champions League after underwhelming group-stage campaigns, both are using the continent's bridesmaid tournament as a chance to retain their profile beyond the domestic game - even if supremacy at home is the main target.

APOEL became the first Cypriot side to reach the Champions League quarter-finals Wednesday when they beat Lyon 4-3 on penalties after their last 16 tie was level 1-1 on aggregate following extra time.

Goalkeeper Dionisis Chiotis was the hero of the night after saving penalties from Alexandre Lacazette and Michel Bastos.

Lionel Messi's record five-goal haul in the 7-1 Champions League rout of Bayer Leverkusen prompted Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola to hail the Argentine master the game's greatest talent.

Guardiola was not alone in his admiration after the defending champions sailed into the quarterfinals on a 10-2 aggregate.

Tony Parker scored 32 points to lead the San Antonio Spurs to a 118-105 NBA victory over New York on Wednesday, dealing the Knicks their third straight defeat.

Tim Duncan added 17 points for the Spurs, who also got 17 from Manu Ginobili in the Argentine's second game back after a fortnight out with an abdominal strain.

Chelsea caretaker manager Roberto di Matteo said a top-four Premier League finish was his priority after ducking questions about a long-term managerial role at Stamford Bridge.

Di Matteo steered the London club to the FA Cup quarterfinals after his first match in charge following Andre Villas-Boas's sacking ended in a 2-0 win away to Birmingham City at St Andrew's here on Tuesday.

LeBron James scored 21 points and Chris Bosh added 20 to lead the host Miami Heat past the New Jersey Nets 108-78 on Tuesday while the Detroit Pistons edged the Los Angeles Lakers 88-85 in over-time.

Miami snapped a two-game losing streak in overwhelming fashion. Bosh scored 16 points in the first half while James added 10 and Dwyane Wade scored all 13 of his points in the first half.

Dirk Nowitzki scored 28 points to power the Dallas Mavericks over the New York Knicks 95-85, denying Knicks star Jeremy Lin another highlight-filled victory over the reigning NBA champions.

Lin, whose parents were born in Taiwan, became a global sensation last month for the Knicks, coming off the bench to spark the Knicks to a seven-game win streak with big-scoring, clutch shooting and inspired passing.

Arsenal fell one goal short of forcing extra time against AC Milan in the Champions League, going down 4-3 on aggregate in the last 16 despite winning 3-0 in the second leg on Tuesday.

Milan, seven-time winners, advanced to the quarterfinals for the first time since winning the title in 2007. Milan crushed the Gunners 4-0 in the first leg at the San Siro on February 15.

Carlos Tevez marked his first public appearance for Manchester City in more than five months with a goal as the Premier League leaders' reserves beat Bolton 3-1 on Tuesday.

Tevez, who played for 45 minutes behind closed doors last week, appeared in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 boosted by media personnel in the Manchester district of Hyde.

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp on Tuesday ruled himself out of the running to succeed sacked Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas.

Villas-Boas was sacked on Sunday, a day after his side suffered a 1-0 defeat to West Bromwich Albion. The loss was the latest in a string of league defeats that has left Chelsea off the pace in the race for a Champions League spot next season.