By Tim Stannard (@stannardsports)

1) Barcelona still reeling on morning after night before

So apparently, Leo Messi picked up Cristiano Ronaldo’s gauntlet, laid out nicely on the Vicente Calderon turf on Wednesday night, sniffed it and put it carefully back down on the grass. The dramatic drop-off into the world of dodgy form for little Leo is matched by that of the entire Barcelona team with a puzzled Luis Enrique admitting that the club is in bit of a hole, after a premature ejection from the Champions League at the quarterfinal stages.

The result might not have raised a few eyebrows had it not come off the back of eight points lost in the past nine available in La Liga. Losing to the mighty Atletico Madrid is not exactly an embarrassment as much as Real Madrid tripping up against Wolfsburg. But it’s the reason why the Barcelona press are slightly up in arms about the whole business, with ‘Mundo Deportivo’ riffing off the ‘Lost theme’ for Thursday’s front cover, in a theme that will keep everyone going in bar talk until Barcelona’s next match. That just so happens to be at home to Valencia on Sunday and just so happens to be live on beIN SPORTS from 2.25PM ET. But for instant kicks, tune in to the XTRA at 10PM ET with reaction on the days after the nights before from the streets of Barcelona and Madrid.  

2) Klopp faces current v ex rematch in big Europa League night in Anfield

Bayern Munich had a minor scare against Benfica but prevailed with a 3-2 aggregate win to produce a tasty four team tussle in Friday’s Champions League draw and have Pep Guardiola admitting that he may find it hard to repeat his success at the Bundesliga club elsewhere. The Europa League final four will also be drawn although there is some work to be done to whittle that number down from eight with the second leg of the quarterfinals being played on Thursday.

Once again, Liverpool v Borussia Dortmund will be the stand-out tie with Jurgen Klopp completing a double-date with his ex and hoping to get to the third base of Friday’s draw. The Anfield club will still have to work furiously to achieve a much-needed semi with the tie nicely balanced at 1-1.  

Villarreal are defending a 2-1 lead at the home of Sparta Prague, whilst Shakhtar Donetsk also hold the same scoreline but are facing Sporting Braga in Ukraine, although not exactly at home due to some trouble with some Russians in the east of the country. Actually, it’s ‘2-1 City’ in the Europa League with Sevilla hosting Athletic Bilbao in an all La Liga affair in the Sanchez Pizjuan with the Andalusians holding the advantage in this tie. The good people of Canada can catch those last two clashes on beIN CONNECT from 2.30PM ET.  

3) Drogba to take legal action of charity claims whilst a soccer great forced into retirement  

Didier Drogba has said that he will be taking action against the ‘Daily Mail’ after a story published concerning the Montreal Impact player’s charity foundation. The paper says that only 1% of the $2.4 million raised in the UK has been spent on charitable causes over the past five years, and that the foundation is under investigation.

In an official statement, the former Chelsea striker claims that “despite sending legal letters and 67 pages worth of documents advising the Daily Mail that their information was factually incorrect and libelous, they have decided to ignore the facts so I am issuing legal proceedings against them today.”

Sad news from Germany with former FIFA Women’s World Player of the Year, Nadine Kessler, forced to retire at the age of 28 due to persistent knee problems. Kessler won the prestigious award in 2014 and says she is “looking forward to new challenges.”

4) Pele contemplates playing return

Pele has joked that he is considering coming out of retirement at the age of 75 to play for Brazil in the 2016 Rio Olympics. To be fair, he is still probably more useful that Neymar at the moment.

Man-of-the moment in the Premier League, Claudio Ranieri, has said that he fancies six or seven more years at Leicester City despite probable offers over the summer to lure him elsewhere.

5) Sharapova still faces hearing despite Meldonium ban doubts

Despite Wednesday’s admission from the World Anti-Doping Agency, that some suspensions due to failed doping tests for Meldonium could be overturned due to a lack of scientific knowledge of how long the substance remains in the body, the International Tennis Federation has said that Maria Sharapova will still face a formal hearing after a failed test during January’s Australian Open.

Fernando Alonso has been declared ‘provisionally’ fit for the weekend’s F1 GP in China after breaking a rib in a crash in Australia a month ago, however, the Spaniard still faces more tests before a final decision is taken, potentially after the first practice.

But why watch four wheels when two are so much better. So stay tuned all weekend for coverage of the SBK Superbikes and Moto America on the home of all things fast between your legs.