Bayern conquer the world!

Bayern Munich racked up their fifth title of 2013 by coasting to a 2-0 victory over Raja Casablanca in the final of the Club World Cup.

The German side dominated proceedings throughout and had little difficulty in dispatching Casbalanca - who surprised the likes of Monterrey and Atletico Mineiro en route to the final - to end a magnificent year on a high as world champions, adding the trophy to their Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal, UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup titles.

Pep Guardiola's men broke the deadlock inside the first 10 minutes, with defender Dante turning home from Jerome Boateng's knock down in Marrakech.

And their advantage was quickly doubled midway through the first half as Thiago Alcantara netted with a fine strike from just inside the area.

Casablanca provided more stern resistance in the second half, but Faouzi Benzarti's team never looked like mounting a comeback, with Bayern comfortably holding on to secure their first triumph in an inter-continental competition since their 2001 success in the Intercontinental Cup.

Guardiola made three changes to the side that beat Guangzhou Evergrande 3-0 in the semi-final, with Dante, Xherdan Shaqiri and Thomas Muller all coming in against Casablanca, who named an unchanged team.

Bayern's superiority took only seven minutes to surface as Dante's powerful close-range effort was allowed to stand despite suspicions of offside, the goal coming just after Mouhssine Iajour had gone close at the other end.

The gulf in class was evident throughout the first half, and Bayern should have doubled their lead when David Alaba's tame finish was saved by Casablanca goalkeeper Khalid Askri following excellent build-up play with Muller.

Casablanca proved a threat on the counter but their task was made even harder in the 22nd minute, as Thiago met Alaba's pull-back with a sumptuous finish that flew past Askri and into the top corner.

The Bavarians spurned chances to extend their advantage further as Dante headed over from a corner, before Shaqiri forced Askri into another strong save.

Casablanca almost pulled a goal back in bizarre fashion when goalkeeper Manuel Neuer cleared the ball straight to Chemseddine Chtibi.

However, the midfielder failed to capitalise with a poor effort that flew well wide.

Bayern were denied a penalty shortly before the interval, despite Ismail Benlamalem appearing to bring down Franck Ribery.

Fortune continued to keep Casablanca's faint hopes alive just after the hour as the crossbar kept out Shaqiri's close-range effort.

Casablanca captain Mohsine Moutaouali somehow fired over after Neuer had saved from Vivien Mabide's effort, but that proved to be the last chance of a largely uneventful second half, with Bayern closing the game out to seal the world title 37 years to the day of their maiden inter-continental cup triumph.

UEFA Champions League knockout draw in full!

The draws of the UEFA Champions League knockout stage have been held, and wasn't it breathtaking? 

The eye catching ties are Arsenal's face off with Bayern Munich for the second time and Yaya Toure's reunion with Barcelona. 

Dortmund will be the happier German team as they face Zenit will Moyes will be relieved to face Olympiakos. 

Another exciting reunion will be Drogba's Galatasaray against Chelsea.  

Here are the fixture list in full.

Arsenal vs Bayern Munich

Zenit St. Petersburg vs Borussia Dortmund

Shalke vs Real Madrid

Galatasaray vs Chelsea

Bayer Leverkusen vs Paris Saint- Germain

AC Milan vs Athletico Madrid

Olympiakos vs Manchester United

Manchester City vs Barcelona

"Bayern are not Europe best" - Guardiola

The Spaniard believes his team are not the best in Europe despite their impressive start of the season

His side sits comfortably at the top of the Bundesliga table and also secured qualification as group leaders in the Champions League but still feels there is enough room for improvement in his team.

 "We are not the best team in Europe," he said. "The last year was incredible, the club earned Jupp lots and lots of praise. This year we do not deserve the praise. We're not the best team in Europe. We can improve a lot."

The Bavarians trainer has also asked his team for a response when they face Hamburg on Saturday after their home defeat at the hands of Manchester City.

"A win (on Saturday) is important to keep our enemies at bay. We have struggled a lot to have this advantage. I'm surprised by how difficult every single game is in the Bundesliga. It's important to win against Hamburg in order to keep the distance to Leverkusen, Dortmund and Gladbach."

He also warned  that it is to early to declare the tittle race over as the season is still far concluded.

  "I have the feeling that people think the Bundesliga is already decided," he added. "That's not true, we are only in December!"

Ribery deserves Ballon d'Or - Thierry Henry

The former Arsenal legend has backed his compatriot to triumph in the race for the Ballon d'Or ahead of Messi and Ronaldo.

The New YorkRed Bull striker said he back the Bayern star to win the award due to his unselfish performance for both club and country.

 "Ribery is a great player, a different kind of player." Henry told Sky Sports.

"He prefers to create goals than score them. He's the kind of player you want to play alongside. Obviously, I'd like him to win."

He also gave his opinion about the other contenders, Ronaldo and Messi, noting that the Real Madrid star's attitude clouds his performance but people should shun his attitude and focus on his statistics and believes Messi is still at the very peak of the game despite Ronaldo's amazing start of the season, claiming he was always left astounded by the Argentine's performances on the training pitch.

"There's always debate surrounding Ronaldo, his attitude and all that. However, there comes a time when you have to stop talking about his attitude, look at his stats and at what he's doing. Stop talking and simply watch him play."

About Messi : "Even in training he always wants to win. He doesn't complain when he's fouled. He asks for the ball, goes around anyone and scores. He collects the ball right in front of you, wherever you are and scores again. I'd never seen anything like it before."

Bayern caught napping by City

Bayern Munich wining streak of 10 games was put to end by a resilient City side who came from two goals down to claim all three points from the disappointing host.

The Bavarian side were up to a dream start five minutes into the game when Muller lost his marker to put a fine finish past Joe Hart from a great across the field pass from Dante. Six minutes later the host will go on to double their lead after Götze got the final touch after several scramble in the box from a Toni Kroos corner kick.

As the game went on it seemed City will receive a hammering and the host will go on to claim another victory but Bayern were duly punished for their complacency in the 28 minute when a Navas cross was not properly dealt with leaving David Silva with an empty goal to drill the ball through. City maintained the momentum and both team went for the break with City a goal down.

The second half began with both teams creating half chances but it was the club from Manchester that got the next goal in the 57th minute with Kolarov equalizing from the penalty spot after Dante was adjudged to have brought down Milner in the area.

Five minutes later the Milner completed the comeback for his side as he squeezed the ball from the far left corner of the box into the bottom right corner after Boateng failed to deal with a Silva cross into the area making the Milner the first Englishman to score for City in the Champions League.

Late substitute Negredo failed to capitalize on a Dante error to put his side for up which would have seen them finish top of the group. However, Bayern were able to deny the English side another goal and ensured they finished top of the group. 

Ribery, Messi and Ronaldo make final cut for Ballon d'Or prize

Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Franck Ribery were named on Monday as the final three players under consideration for the 2013 Fifa Ballon d’Or. The short listing of the trio will come as no surprise to most football fans, but the final announcement on January 13 is far from a foregone conclusion. 

Real Madrid star Ronaldo is arguably the world’s form player as we reach the end of the year, with his stunning hat-trick in Portugal’s World Cup qualifying decider against Sweden leaving most observers gobsmacked. There have been other huge feats too on the way to racking up 67 goals in 57 games over the course of the calendar year, with his 33 in 21 in 2013-14 so far including hat-tricks against Northern Ireland, Galatasaray, Sevilla and Real Sociedad even before that crucial treble in Solna. Supporters of 

Ribery, meanwhile, will point to the huge effect his performances over the year had on Bayern Munich becoming the most feared club in Europe. The 30-year-old, named 2012-13 Player of the Season by Uefa, was the star performer as Bayern won a unique treble of the Bundesliga, DFB-Pokal and, most memorably, the Champions League. While his goals record of 22 in 51 matches might be a low return in comparison to Ronaldo and Messi, his impact upon Bayern’s magnificence as a team unit cannot be underestimated. Die Roten remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga in 2013 thus far, with only an inconsequential Champions League loss to Arsenal and the German Supercup defeat to Borussia Dortmund blotting their copybook during a Ribery-inspired year. He was also key to France's last-gasp qualification to the 2014 World Cup. 

Messi is the reigning four-time holder of the award, but 2013 has been one of the most difficult years of his senior career. He may well have scored 45 goals in 46 games for Barcelona and Argentina combined, but a string of injuries have hampered his progress following on from a calendar year in which he netted a record 91 times. His run of scoring consecutively against every opponent La Liga had to offer looked set to make this year even bigger for the Argentine, but since early-April his brilliance has been restrained by regular visits to the treatment table. Still, that cannot take away from just what a spectacular record he set over those 19 league games between November 2012 and the end of March 2013. This year’s Ballon d’Or looks set to be the closest-fought contest in years. All eyes will be on Zurich in five weeks time.