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PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich (agg: 3-3): Champions League quarter-final, second leg – as it happened

Eric Choupo-Moting’s goal was not enough for the holders, who went out on the away goals rule after another stunning end-to-end contest

In the other tie, Chelsea went through against Porto as expected, though they were beaten 1-0 on the night. They’ll play Real Madrid or Liverpool in the semis.

Related: Chelsea v Porto: Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live!

Blimey. After all that, Paris Saint-Germain will play Manchester City or Borussia Dortmund in the semis. If this estimable, wildly emotional victory doesn’t make them believe they can win the Champions League, nothing ever will.

PSG have put the holders Bayern out in one of the greatest European quarter-finals of all time. Neymar is growling with delight, Mbappe smiling, and Mauricio Pochettino is embracing all his players with considerable feeling. There is so much mutual respect in the post-match hugs and handshakes between the two sets of players. It was a stunning game - not quite as eventful as last week, but even more dramatic because so much was at stake.

Chapeau.

90+3 min Sane twists Bakker inside out again, this time in the area, but he picks the wrong cross and Navas stretches to claim at the near post.

90+2 min Hernandez makes a superb last-ditch tackle on Neymar, who looked set to finally score the goal he has threatened all night. Mbappe was square, desperate for a pass, but Hernandez did so well to partially block it off and make Neymar’s mind up for him.

90+1 min Sane’s inswinging cross is headed miles wide by Coman, who had to jump towards the ball at a very awkward angle. I think he was trying to knock it square to Musiala.

90 min Herrera is booked. Four minutes of added time.

89 min PSG are so close to an immense, triumphant defeat. Mbappe breaks one on one with Hernandez down the left, turns and plays the ball infield for Neymar, who is haring up in support with no Bayern outfield players near him. Neuer sprints outside his area and slides to poke the ball away from Neymar.

88 min Another PSG change: Angel Di Maria, who has had a terrific game, is replaced by Ander Herrera.

87 min Javi Martinez is playing as a centre forward.

86 min After a bit of pinball in the PSG area, Muller’s low shot is blocked by Kimpembe. The flag went up soon after, though whether that was for an offside before or after Muller’s shot I’ve no idea. It was a good chance for Muller: 12 yards out, in space, with the ball rolled slowly back towards him.

86 min “It’s been maligned, but situations like this for me show the value of the away goals rule,” says Paul McGrory. “A goal for Munich and the swing is huge, PSG go from in to out with no inbetween. Can’t think of another scenario in football where the draw or extra time is so removed, and you can see it affect the tension and intensity of the game.”

Yep. I feel slightly guilty for loving it, but I love it.

85 min A slightly strange Bayern substitution: Javi Martinez is on for Choupo-Moting.

84 min Coman’s shot deflects behind for a corner. The level of desperation is quite something.

83 min AT THE OTHER BLOODY END, Di Maria cuts inside on the edge of the area and has a shot blocked.

82 min: So close from Sane! He twisted Bakker inside out, a textbook bit of skill, and guided a cross-shot just wide of the far post. Muller was desperate for a square ball but Sane hedged his bets with the cross-shot.

81 min A free-kick to Bayern on the left wing. Kimmich’s dangerous inswinger is headed up in the air by a PSG defender, and then a panicked Navas runs into his own man Paredes and flattens him. The referee, bizarrely, gives a free-kick against Bayern for the foul by the PSG goalkeeper Navas on the PSG midfielder Paredes.

79 min Mbappe threatens to go through again, this time legitimately, and Hernandez does superbly to dispossess him.

78 min: Mbappe has a goal disallowed! He was put through by Neymar, just past the halfway line, and charged through on Neuer before roofing the ball spectacularly. Then the flag went up, and VAR confirmed it was the correct decision.

77 min Neymar spins a majestic pass out to Kean with the outside of his left foot. He runs confidently at Pavard in the area ... and then wallops the ball into orbit.

76 min Lots of Bayern pressure now. You’d hope so, in the circumstances.

74 min Boateng fouls Neymar on the halfway line. One thing Neymar has done very well tonight, apart from hit the woodwork, is to draw fouls, with each one eating up time and stalling Bayern’s momentum.

74 min Normally in this situation, the popular cliche is ‘Bayern will get one chance, it’s up to them to take it’. But in this game, I’m tempted to say that each team will get at least five more chances.

73 min A PSG change: Julian Draxler off, Moise Kean on.

72 min “All this ‘attacking play’ and ‘quality’ and ‘excitement’ is all well and good,” says Matt Dony, “but it’s no 2003 final, is it? Proper, pure football.”

Related: Juventus 0 - 0 Milan (aet; Milan won 3-2 on penalties)

71 min The marvellous Jamal Musiala comes on to replace Alphonso Davies. That means Alaba will go to left-back.

69 min Sane’s very deep cross from the right hangs in the air forever on its way to the unmarked Coman.He cushions a careful header into the six-yard box, where Paredes makes a desperate clearance just in front of ... a Bayern player, I haven’t a clue who it was and I’m not rewinding it because I’ll probably miss four goals.

69 min Mbappe concedes a corner, which sums up how hard PSG are working defensively, and how desperate they are to see this through. Nothing comes of the corner.

68 min Muller is booked for a late tackle on Paredes, who takes the opportunity to waste 20 seconds. Every little helps.

66 min The ghosts of Champions League past must be running riot in the heads of the PSG players. But if they get through this, they’ll feel like they beat anyone and finally win the bloody thing.

65 min Draxler’s dangerous low cross is claimed well by Neuer.

63 min Choupo-Moting is penalised for fouling Dagba as they jumped for a deep cross. That looked like a 50/50 call, and had the referee not blown his whistle, Coman would have had a clear shot from 10 yards.

62 min: Chance for Bayern! Sane cuts inside Bakker and angles a stunning pass into the area for Muller, who runs on the blind side of Kimpembe and twists to hit a first-time shot that is crucially smothered by Navas. The ball rebounds off Muller and behind for a goalkick. If Navas was at fault for the goal, he’s partially made up for it with two or three terrific saves since.

61 min Can’t we just put them both through, like they do in Masterchef?

60 min A reminder, as if you need one, that PSG are ahead on the away goals rule.

59 min Mitchel Bakker replaces Diallo at left-back.

58 min “Please pass along to Mr. Bommen that if he can stand listening to Spanish commentary, Champions League games can be watched over the air on Univision,” says Matt Burtz (and a few others - thanks).

57 min An injury blow for PSG. Abdou Diallo’s left hamstring can take no more, and he’s going to have to come off.

55 min Dagba is booked for fouling Coman.

53 min: GLORIOUS BLOODY FOOTBALL SKILL AND DRAMA! Mbappe, on the left edge of the area, drives a superb angled pass to Di Maria, eight yards from goal at the far post. He controls it on the chest, then shifts it away from Davies in the same movement. Neuer flies out so Di Maria pokes the ball through his legs and across the face of goal, where the stretching Neymar is this close to putting it into the empty net. “That’s a Paul Gascoigne moment,” says the BT Sport commentator Paul Dempsey. Indeed it was. The skill from Di Maria was glorious.

53 min Alaba is booked for pulling back Neymar. He wasn’t on a card going into the game.

52 min I feel like I’ve used the phrase ‘at the other end’ more in this tie than ever before, such is the speed with which the game moves from one end to the other. Talking of which, at the other end Coman shoots high and wide from 25 yards.

52 min Neuer charges from his area to beat Mbappe to yet another through ball. To say Bayern are living on the edge is an appreciable understatement.

50 min At the other end, Pavard’s cross deflects behind for a corner. The pace is spectacular; it’s like a basketball game being played at 1.5x speed. Early doors and all, but this has to be up there with the greatest European Cup quarter-finals ever played.

Related: The Joy of Six: European Cup quarter-finals

49 min A PSG free-kick is half cleared to Paredes, 35 yards from goal. He flips a nice pass over the defence to Neymar, who takes it down elegantly on the chest and lifts a half-volley over the bar. That was a really tough chance, for most people anyway.

47 min Sane’s fast, flat cross just evades the head of Muller, stooping forward at the near post. Choupo-Moting, at the far post, can’t kill an awkward ball and it eventually rebounds to the edge of the area. Alaba picks up possession and sweeps a fine shot just wide of the far post. This is deliciously tense.

47 min “Not sure how you can call that Navas save a mistake before Choupo-Oting headed it in,” says Robert Lin. “He did incredibly well just to keep out the shot in the first place. Why Alaba was alone in eight yards out is the real question. Navas is the only reason PSG are still in this tie.”

You might be right Mrs Navas, I’ll have another look. We barely get time to look at a replay, never mind form a watertight opinion, when the game is this eventful.

46 min Peep peep!

“I’m just wondering who you had to kiss up to at Guardian Towers to get this MBM,” says Espen Bommen. “You are actually getting PAID to watch this! Over here in the US it’s on a streaming channel so I am paying $10 a month for basically just the Champions League. This game is worth every penny!!”

We’re very lucky, it’s true, but working in the MBM bunker isn’t without its downsides.

Half-time reading

Related: David Squires on … how a streaker tried to end the great Alexander-Arnold Wars

That was another mesmeric 45 minutes. Neymar hit the post twice and the bar for PSG, who were terrifyingly incisive on the break. Bayern smothered PSG and created plenty of half and three-quarter chances before the much maligned Eric Choupo-Moting headed them in front after a mistake from Keylor Navas. PSG are still on course for the semi-finals, just. More, please!

45+2 min: Sane misses an excellent chance! He broke dangerously into the area, hugging the ball on his left as Diallo (I think) backpedalled. Eventually he opened his body to steer a curling shot towards the far corner. At least that was the plan: it was straight at Navas and he saved comfortably.

45 min Two minutes of added time. CAN WE NOT MAKE IT TWO YEARS PLEASE.

45 min The resulting corner leads to a brief game of head tennis in the PSG area. They really need half-time.

44 min PSG are still ahead in the tie, but only on the away goals rule. Alaba tries to change that with a sweet, swirling strike from 25 yards that is pushed away by the flying Navas. That’s a fine save.

42 min Mbappe beats two defenders with a series of stepovers and drags a low shot just wide of the far post. The referee had blown for something, I think obstruction by Neymar on a Bayern defender, so it wouldn’t have counted.

It came down the Bayern left, where Coman - who has had a great first half - beat Dagba and crossed into the middle. Muller steered the bouncing ball deftly into the path of Alaba, whose low shot from eight yards was saved by Navas. But he could only spoon the ball up in the air, and Choupo-Moting muscled Kimpembe out of the way and headed into the net from close range. That’s a mistake from Navas.

And now Bayern have taken the lead!

39 min: Now Neymar hits the post! This is extraordinary. Neymar played a fine pass to release Mbappe, who gave it back to Neymar in the area. He slid a low shot that beat Neuer and hit the post. I’d love to describe it in more detail, but there’s no time because...

39 min Bayern don’t have many attacking options on the bench, just Jamal Musiala really. They are starting to look a little desperate.

37 min: Neymar hits the bar! Ah that was sheer delightful football. Di Maria’s free-kick was headed away to Neymar, 25 yards out in the inside-left channel. He chopped the ball behind his standing leg to beat Coman, then moved inside on his right foot and shaped a delicious curling shot that hit the top of the bar.

36 min Boateng is penalised for roughhousing Mbappe on the left wing. Bayern haven’t a clue how to defend against him.

35 min Replays suggest that Neymar shot’s in fact hit the post. I’m not sure whether Neuer got a touch as well - and either way I think he had it covered - but it definitely hit the post.

34 min Neuer denies Neymar for the third time tonight. Neymar hypnotised Hernandez on the edge of the area with a series of stepovers, then shifted the ball inside and crashed a left-footed shot towards the near post. Neuer plunged to his left to push it away.

34 min This is a good spell for PSG, their best of the match.

32 min Mbappe, just inside the Bayern half, is wrongly flagged offside after being put through on the right wing by Di Maria. It’s hard to see Mbappe going the full 90 minutes without getting a one on one.

31 min This is so good. The pace of the game is barely legal.

28 min Neymar beats Hernandez with a brilliant turn, then falls over and appeals for a penalty. Both players were pulling each other’s shirts, so the referee gives nothing.

27 min: Brilliant save from Neuer! A stunning counter-attack from PSG almost ends in a goal. Di Maria curled a crisp pass down the left to Mbappe, who beat the offside trap and played a superb square ball to the unmarked Neymar on the other side of the area. Neuer charged from his line to block the shot. Mbappe needed eyes in the side of his head to see that pass.

27 min Now Kimmich drives just wide from 20 yards after Bayern win the ball high up the field. His scream of frustration tells you that it was a pretty decent opportunity. PSG really need a breather, or a goal.

26 min A majestic flick from Choupo-Moting finds Sane, charging infield from the right. He manipulates the ball nicely on the run but then curls tamely wide from 20 yards. That was a decent chance.

25 min Danilo makes two important clearances in the space of 10 seconds. Bayern are applying a helluva lot of pressure now.

23 min Coman, who has started superbly, wins the ball 30 yards from the PSG goal and finds Muller on the left of the penalty area. His low cross is cleared. After a slowish start, this is beginning to engage the viscera.

22 min Coman beats Dagba with a lovely feint and stabs a cross that hits Danilo and goes behind for a corner. I think the ball hit his arm, though it was down by his side and there’s no VAR interruption. Kimmich’s corner is headed away by Mbappe. Bayern are starting to rev up.

21 min “With all due respect to Princes,” begins Peter Oh, “could the PSG ground be renamed Parc des Bus, just for today?”

19 min Kimmich sprays a terrific pass out to Coman on the left. He plays in the overlapping Davies, whose cutback misses everyone at the near post. The ball comes to Kimmich, backing up the play on the edge of the area, but his touch is slightly too heavy. PSG break terrifyingly, three on three, but Di Maria’s scoop over the defence runs through to Neuer.

18 min Di Maria is receiving treatment after being fouled by Davies. He’s in quite a lot of pain but is going to continue.

15 min Davies zips infield and finds Choupo-Moting, whose touch lets him down on the edge of the area. He looks like a man who is painfully aware of who he is replacing.

13 min It’s been a relatively comfortable start for PSG. Bayern have had their moments but there hasn’t been the onslaught that Mauricio Pochettino would have feared. Yet.

11 min “Gotta love those Sopranos malapropisms (see 19.28),” says Michal Pac Pomarnacki. “My favourite one is Little Carmine’s ‘the sacred and the propane’ closely followed by Bobby’s ‘Quasimodo predicted all this’.”

9 min At the other end, Mbappe scorches past Pavard and cuts the ball back towards Neymar at the near post. Hernandez gets there first, but his clearance hits Kimmich and rebounds towards Neymar on the six-yard line. His shot on the turn is very well smothered by Neuer.

9 min Bayern are looking dangerous. Sane cuts inside from the right, past three players, and angles a pass to Coman on the left side of the area. His first-time cross is poor and PSG clear, for about two seconds. Kimmich picks up the loose ball and floats it into the area, where Muller arrives and tries to find Choupo Moting with a clever backheader. He gets too much on it and Navas claims.

7 min Coman runs onto a long ball down the left and plays it back to Choupo-Moting just inside the area. He dithers for half a second and is crowded out by PSG defenders. That wasn’t a bad opportunity.

6 min Bayern are trying to pin PSG back, as they did for most of the first leg. The full-backs Davies and Pavard have already had plenty of the ball in the final third.

3 min Neymar plays the ball down the right wing to Mbappe, who looks offside but is allowed to continue and leaves everyone in his slipstream. He cuts into the area and drives a low shot across the face of goal. The angle was really tight, so it wasn’t much of a chance.

1 min Kimmich, who will miss the first leg of the semi-final if he is booked, leaves an early one on Paredes.

1 min Peep peep! Bayern kick off from left to right. Both teams are wearing their home strips.

The players stand to attention for the Champions League theme. Most shift on the spot; Kylian Mbappe stares straight ahead, like the killer he is. What a bloody footballer.

“Prediction, Rob?” says John Ryan. “I see a PSG win; in games like this where everyone is focusing on one team (here Bayern) needing to win and how, it so often ends up being the other (here PSG) who ends up strolling it...”

If Bayern don’t pick up any more injuries, I think they’ll do it. But - newsflash - I don’t really have a clue.

“At 63, and a Spurs supporter since 1967, I became a PSG fan the moment Poch took over,” writes Michael A. “I will never forgive Levy for not backing him and hiring Jose. Wouldn’t it be the coldest meal ever served should Poch win the CL?”

That’s what they say.

Pre-match reading

Related: Pochettino urges PSG to boost home form in Bayern Munich test

PSG make one change from the first leg: Leandro Paredes, available again after suspension, replaces the injured Marquinhos. Danilo, who started in midfield in Munich, will move into the back four. Marco Verratti is on the bench after recovering from Covid.

Bayern have made two changes, both enforced. The injured Niklas Sule and Leon Goretzka are replaced by Alphonso Davies and Jerome Boateng. That means David Alaba will move into midfield alongside Joshua Kimmich. Bayern’s injury list is such that they have only seven substitutes, most of them very inexperienced.

The permutations

Bayern need to win by two clear goals, or by any margin having scored at least four. Unlikely, but not beyond the realms given last week’s excitement.

Hello and welcome to live coverage of Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich from the Parc des Princes. If this game is half as entertaining as the first leg, then it’ll be 50 per cent as exciting. That match, which ended 3-2 to PSG, was a classic of its kind; a week later I am still struggling to recall a game with so few lulls in the action.

Tonight’s match could be even more exhilarating, mainly because the stakes are higher. There are no second chances; by 11pm tonight, one of the favourites will be out of the Champions League. And last week’s result means that, unless we get to the stage where Bayern lead 3-2 tonight, the tie will never be level. One of the teams will always need a goal (or two, in Bayern’s case, as things stand) to avoid elimination.

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Chelsea v Porto: Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live!

Stay tuned. We’ve still got post-match reaction from Chelsea manager Tommy T and a match report from Sid Lowe to come.

Meanwhile in Paris: Holders Bayern Munich have gone out, eliminated by Paris Saint-Germain on away goals after a 1-0 win for the German side in the second leg.

Related: PSG 0-1 Bayern Munich (agg: 3-3, PSG win on away goals): Champions League quarter-final, second leg – live!

It was not a good game. But Chelsea will not care. Mehdi Taremi gave them a late scare, leaping high to score with a shinned right-foot bicycle kick into the top corner from 12 yards after connecting with a Nanu cross from the right. It was the one moment of high quality in a fairly dreary contest in which Porto were thoroughly underwhelming. It’s job done for Chelsea, who will face Real Madrid or Liverpool in the last four.

Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeep! It’s all over in Seville, where Chelsea have advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League with a minimum of fuss.

90 +4 min: Scrap that, he shinned it. It’s a 6.2 on the Sinclair Spectrum.

Porto score: Taremi scores with an astonishing overhead kick. It’s an 8.8 on the Sinclair Spectrum but I’d need to see it again.

90+3 min: Through on goal with only Marchesin to beat, Pulisic takes one touch too many and allows the goalkeeper to save at his feet.

90+2 min: Chelsea substitution: Olivier Giroud on for Kai Havertz.

89 min: Pulisic is getting battered here ... and not in a good way. He’s on the deck again after being fouled once again. I didn’t spot the perpetrator on this occasion. We’ll have four minutes worth of extras.

89 min: And another, as they play down the clock keeping the ball by the corner flag.

88 min: Luis Diaz is booked for a foul on Pulisic. From the free-kick, Chelsea win a corner.

87 min: Pulisic tries to put Ziyech in behind with a ball into space from inside his own half. It’s a tired effort that’s nowhere near the substitute.

85 min: Chelsea substitution: Hakim Ziyech on for Mason Mount.

83 min: Porto substitution: Sergio Oliveira off, Fabio Vieira on.

82 min: This has been very disappointing from Porto, who were a lot better in the first leg. I think Chelsea may have, even on a subconsious level, underestimated them a little in that game, a mistake they weren’t going to make twice.

81 min: Time to start time-wasting, Chelsea. Thiago Silva obliges, going down in his own box under no pressure from anyone. There’s a pause as he receives treatment.

80 min: From that one, Rudiger puts it out for a third in quick succession at the near post. Oliveira sends the ball in but it ends up in the arms of Benjamin Mendy. Chelsea look like they could comfortably defend these set pieces all night.

79 min: From that corner, Porto win another – Reece James putting the ball out.

77 min: Marchesin is forced to the edge of his box to gather a through ball. Porto really need to get the collective finger out - they’ve been fairly pedestrian and very toothless, considering what’s at stake here. They win a corner.

75 min: Porto triple-substitution: Nanu, Luis Diaz and Evanilson on for Wilson Manata, Jesus Corona and Moussa Marega.

74 min: Corona is booked for a pull on the shirt of Jorginho.

73 min: There’s a triple-substitution “ahoy” from Porto. Thiago Silva sticks out a leg and puts a Chancel Mbemba cross into the Chelsea penalty area out of play. That looks like it could have gone anywhere.

72 min: Mendy shepherds the ball out of play under pressure from Taremi as the striker chases a long ball from the back in vain.

69 min: Pepe gives the ball away with a loose pass, prompting Kante to ping the ball forward for Pulisic. His first touch lets him down, taking him wide of the Porto goal, where Pepe makes amends for his original error by relieving him of the ball.

67 min: Manafa loses the ball and Chelsea break on the counter. Manafa recovers well enough to foul Pulisic and put a stop to his gallop but avoids a booking.

64 min: Taremi directs a header from about 12 yards towards the bottom corner. Benjamin Mendy saves. There wasn’t much pace on the looping cross from Corona, so the substitute was unable to get much venom behind his effort.

63 min: Porto substitution: Mehdi Taremi on for Marko Grujic - a striker with 15 goals to his name this season on for a midfielder.

62 min: Pepe and Sanusi combine down the left at pace but the full-back’s cross is too close to Benjamin Mendy, who grabs it gratefully.

61 min: Scrappiness abound with little of note to report. It looks like Porto are preparing to make a change.

58 min: Good defending from Wilson Manafa, who gets across to put in a stout block on Mason Mount as the Chelsea midfielder bore down on goal from the inside left and pulled the trigger. On the touchline, Porto manager Sergio Conceciao gets booked, presumably for dissent.

55 min: Now Chelsea put Porto under the cosh for a bit, also without threatening the opposition goal.

54 min: Pulisic fails to react quickly enough to steer a high velocity Ben Chilwell pull-back goalwards. He shins it with his right peg and the ball drifts harmlessly wide.

53 min: Reece James repels another Porto attrack, putting the ball out of play for a throw-in. Chelsea are under sustained pressure here but Porto still haven’t had a shot on target.

52 min: Porto win two corners in quick succession. Oliveira tries to pick out Pepe at the near post with the second one but Antonio Rudiger clears with a header.

49 min: While you wouldn’t say Porto have been playing with the handbrake on, at some point they’re going to have cut loose and throw caution to the wind. If theydo happen to score twice, which is looking unlikely, they would go into extra time as the “away” team with the added value that brings to any goals they might score in the extra half-hour. Chelsea, by contrast, would not enjoy the advantage of having a “home” crowd cheering them on for those extra 30 minutes. It’s not really fair, is it?

47 min: Neat work in a confined area from Chilwell and Kante over by the touchline by the halfway line keeps the ball in play as Chelsea try to get forward.

46 min: Play resumes with no changes in personnel on either side. Almost immediately, Sergio Oliveira is booked for a foul on Pulisic. He’s caught bang to rights but shakes his head sadly at referee Clement Turpin’s apparent impetuousness.

Peep! It’s all sqaure at the break, a scrappy half drawing to a close. Porto had the pick of what few chances there were, with the topically named Jesus Corona failing to capitalise on a Benjamin Mendy error before snatching at a presentable opportunity after good work by Chancel Mbemba, only to send the ball sailing over the bar. Chelsea remain in the box seat.

45 min: A Sergio Oliveira header towards the edge of the Chelsea box is cleared by Cesar Azpilicueta.

42 min: The game continues to be punctuated by one foul after another. It’s not a great spectacle but no Chelsea fans watching it will mind.

40 min: Elsewhere in the Champions League, Bayern Munich have just gone ahead against Paris Saint-Germain, with Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting bundling home a header from about one yard out. It’s 3-3 on aggregate in that one but PSG still have the advantage on away goals.

39 min: More niggle as Pepe fouls Pulisic in the centre-circle.

38 min: Rudiger gives the ball away to Grujic, who advances on the Chelsea penalty area. He runs into traffic and the ball is cleared.

37 min: The deadlock remains unbroken with Chelsea holding a two-goal aggregate lead. Uribe tries to halve the deficit from distance but his low and fairly feeble effort is blocked.

34 min: Chancel Mbemba it was with the pass for Corona and it was a beauty that deserved a more composed and accurate finish.

32 min: Chance! Jesus Corona manages to give Ben Chilwell the slip, spinning the defneder to get on a pass from deep. His first touch is good and he attempts to blast the ball past Benjamin Mendy from 10 yards or so but balloons it over the bar. He had more time than he realised to pick his spot and should have scored.

31 min: Picked out by an excellent pass from Jorginho, Kante over hits his long diagonal towards Ben Chilwell. Goal kick for Porto.

30 min: Pepe is the latest go down in a heap, fouled by Pulisic. This is very, very scrappy, which will suit Chelsea just fine.

27 min: Pepe makes a crucial block, cutting out a Havertz cross from the right with Chelsea attacking on the break and Mount waiting in the centre. The ball finds its way back to Havertz, who attempts to cross again. It’s Pepe to the rescue again, this time conceding a corner. It’s taken and Porto struggle to clear their lines until the ball goes out for a throw-in off Ben Chilwell.

25 min: Oliveira is penalised for a foul on Pulisic in a game that has plenty of side-niggle going on.

24 min: A quarter of the way through the game and both teams will be fairly satisfied with their evening’s work so far. Porto have had the upper hand without laying much of a glove on Chelsea, who are defending well and looking dangerous on the break.

21 min: Jesus Corona is flat on his back down near the corner flag after running into Jorginho. He’ll live.

19 min: Otavio sends the ball into the Chelsea penalty area, where Grujic gets his head to it. Ben Chilwell clears at the back post and Chelsea attack on the break with Kante on the ball. He holds the ball up well and Reece James ends up being teed up on the edge of the box by Mason Mount. He pulls a poor effort well wide.

18 min: Throw-in for Porto deep in CHelsea territory after Thiago Silva put the ball out. It’s taken and Marega wins a corner off Rudiger.

16 min: Porto have looked more threatening than Chelsea in these early stages, without creating any particularly good chances. A goal for the Portuguese side would really put the cat among the pigeons. Or indeed, the swallows.

15 min: The camera cuts to Thomas Tuchel on the Chelsea bench, where he looks to be having quite the animated conversation with himself.

13 min: Otavio is fouled by Jorginho, who lunges in to stop him advancing up the field. Nothing comes of the free-kick and moments later, Havertz is penalised for a foul on Pepe, wide on the right, a long way out.

11 min: From 12 yards out and a tight angle, Jesus Corona tries to sidefoot into an empty net after a hideous piece of miscontrol from Benjamin Mendy as he fielded a backpass. Jorginho is on hand to get a crucial deflection. The ball goes out for a corner, from which nothing comes.

10 min: Free-kick for Porto after a Pulisic foul on Sergio Oliveiro in the centre-circle.

9 min: Reece James twists and turns under pressure from Zaidu Sanussi out on the right flank. He eventually gets a cross in, but it’s straight into the hands of Marchesin at the near post.

7 min: Mason Mount picks up the ball and shuffles and shimmies towards the edge of the Porto penalty area. He unleashes a shot which is deflected off a defender.

6 min: Porto right-back Wilson Manafa slings a cross to the far post, where Otavio and Uribe try to link up. The ball rolls wide.

5 min: Moussa Marega has a scuffed shot from a tight angle blocked after being teed up by Mateus Uribe. Porto have started well.

3 min: Kai Havertz goes to ground holding the back of his head after contesting a high ball with Pepe. It was a 50-50 challenge, although Pepe did sort of lead with his arm.

2 min: N’Golo Kante breaks up a Porto attack on the edge of Chelsea’s penalty area and sends his team on their way. A long diagonal ball is playeed towards Reece James on the right flank but he’s unable to keep it in play.

1 min: Agustin Marchesin gets an early touch in the Porto goal, fielding a backpass comfortably under pressure. The sound of swallows screeching is now the only thing I can hear.

1 min: Chelsea get the ball rolling, their players wearing blue shirts and shorts with white socks. Porto’s wear white shirts and shorts with blue socks.

Crikey! You can actually hear the shrill tweeting of said swallows on the pitchside microphones. Sounds like quite the invasion.

Not long now: With each skipper brandishing a club pennant, Cesar Azpilicueta and Pepe lead their respective sides out behind referee Clement Turpin and his team of match officials on a warm night in Seville.

According to Sid Lowe, the Guardian’s man in the stadium, there are lots of bugs making fizzing around making him itchy, but there’s a flight of swallows on hand to gobble them up. The last of the pre-match formalities get under way and kick-off is not too far away.

Thomas Tuchel speaks: He tells BT Sport that Mateo Kovacic picked up a light injury in training yesterday and is out. He also reveals that Andreas Christensen is not fully recovered from the muscle injury he sustained in the first leg. “We have Thiago back but not too many changes because we are on a good run and the squad feels confident that this is the moment to go,” he says.

BT Sport: Rio Ferdinand and Joe Cole are the studio pundits tonight, in the company of Gary Lineker, and it doesn’t seem to have crossed any of their minds that Chelsea might actually go out tonight.

Of course everything is in the London side’s favour ahead of kick-off, but I thought Porto were fairly unlucky to lose 2-0 last week. They’re a good team and I have a feeling they might give Chelsea plenty to think about, particularly if they can score first. Whoever does go through will face Liverpool or Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

Those teams: No big surprises in the Chelsea side, who will line up in a 3-4-3 with Kai Havertz, presumably, in a kind of floating False Nine role.

Of course it is dangerous to presume anything, as I thought Mehdi Taremi was a certainty to start for Porto, but he is on the bench. On loan from Liverpool, Marko Grujic keeps his place in midfield and local paper the Echo reported today that the 25-year-old Serbian has no shortage of admirers in Serie A and the Bundesliga. Sergio Oliveira, as expect, starts.

Chelsea: Mendy, Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, James, Jorginho, Kante, Chilwell, Mount, Havertz, Pulisic

Subs: Caballero, Kepa, Christensen, Zouma, Alonso, Emerson, Hudson-Odoi, Ziyech, Abraham, Giroud, Werner

Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic, Mason Mount and Thiago Silva start for Chelsea. We’ll have the full line-ups for you very shortly.

Thomas Tuchel speaks: “We don’t approach games like this or change the approach,” said the Chelsea manager, upon being asked if his side would be more passive tonight, considering their lead. “For us it is important that we focus on us, play the best game possible as this increases the chances to have a result. In terms of a result, it is easier for Porto because they need to score three goals to get through, for them if it is clear. For us, if we start in this way then we could completely lose our heads. I hope we embrace the challenge and feel it.”

Sergio Conceicao speaks: “We have to be a compact, cohesive team,” said Porto’s manager, when asked how his side would approach the game. “We have to score goals, but also to avoid conceding. We were good in the first leg, but not very good; if we were, we would have won. We will try to improve on what was a good team performance.

Related: Thomas Tuchel tells Chelsea to focus on the present and seal progress past Porto

Chelsea have a full squad to choose from, which is no mean feat at this point in a gruelling season, although Andreas Christensen is a doubt due to a tight hamstring. Out of form and favour, Tammy Abraham was also a doubt but is expected to be fit if required.

Seville’s Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium is the venue as the players of Chelsea and Porto reconvene for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final. Chelsea are the “home” team tonight and carry a two-goal advantage into the second leg but Porto can take heart from a decent performance in defeat, despite the absence through suspension of arguably their two best attackers, Sérgio Oliveira and Mehdi Taremi.

Both players are expected to line up tonight and while Chelsea have a crucial advantage they will be well aware theirs is only a job half-done. Kick-off in Seville is at 8pm, but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.

Related: Mason Mount’s star turn and Chilwell give Chelsea advantage over Porto

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We need to be 100% against Real Madrid, Jürgen Klopp tells Liverpool

  • Klopp: ‘We cannot just take comebacks for granted’
  • Liverpool play at Anfield after losing quarter-final first leg 3-1

Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool must deliver the perfect performance and not rely on their reputation for rousing Anfield comebacks to overcome Real Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final.

Liverpool require another European recovery to salvage hopes of a third Champions League final in four seasons after last week’s 3-1 defeat in Spain. The second leg takes place on the fifth anniversary of Liverpool’s Europa League quarter-final comeback against Borussia Dortmund, when Dejan Lovren’s stoppage-time header sealed a 5-4 aggregate win after the Reds trailed 4-2 overall in the 66th minute.

Related: Vinícius Júnior double for Real Madrid punishes careless Liverpool in first leg

Related: Liverpool stage sensational comeback to beat Barcelona and reach final

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‘I trust them’: Guardiola backs City to pass Dortmund test and reach last four

  • Manchester City take 2-1 lead into the second leg in Germany
  • ‘We deserve to be in the position we are,’ says Guardiola

Pep Guardiola admits to being unsure whether Manchester City are now better equipped to handle difficult moments in their Champions League quarter-final second leg at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday but stated he would be “crazy” not to trust his players after 27 wins from the past 29 games.

City hold a 2-1 advantage as they seek to progress to the semi-finals for the first time under Guardiola. The manager’s team have been knocked out at this stage in the past three seasons: by Liverpool (5-1 on aggregate), Tottenham (4-4, on away goals) and Lyon (3-1).

Related: Jadon Sancho remains sidelined as former side Man City visit Dortmund

Related: ‘Direct discrimination’: extremely vulnerable fans barred from Carabao Cup final

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Jadon Sancho remains sidelined as former side Man City visit Dortmund

  • Englishman out of Champions League quarter-final second leg
  • Marco Reus and Mats Hummels also doubts for German side

Jadon Sancho has been ruled out of Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League quarter-final second leg against his former club Manchester City. The England winger is back in training after six weeks out with a thigh injury but the match at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday comes too soon.

The German side go into the game looking to overturn a 2-1 deficit after defeat against the Premier League leaders in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last week.

Related: Manchester City set to sign ‘new Neymar’ Kayky from Fluminense

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Thomas Tuchel tells Chelsea to focus on the present and seal progress past Porto

  • Chelsea won Champions League quarter-final first leg 2-0
  • Tuchel: ‘There is no match other than the next game’

Thomas Tuchel has warned Chelsea that they will be in danger of squandering their commanding 2-0 lead over Porto if they lose themselves in dreams of winning the Champions League.

Given Tuchel’s history in this competition, it is unsurprising he is taking nothing for granted before returning to Seville for the second leg of his side’s quarter-final against Porto on Tuesday night. Chelsea’s manager famously lost from this position two years ago, going out in the last 16 to a weakened Manchester United on away goals, and knows from bitter experience the tie is not over yet.

Related: Mason Mount’s star turn and Chilwell give Chelsea advantage over Porto

Related: Manchester United floor PSG as Marcus Rashford’s late penalty caps comeback

Related: Kai Havertz stars as free-flowing Chelsea steamroller Crystal Palace

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Pochettino urges PSG to boost home form in Bayern Munich test

  • ‘I agree we’ve been better away from home,’ says manager
  • Marquinhos out of squad with adductor muscle injury

Mauricio Pochettino has said Paris Saint-Germain must show “solidarity and solidity” if they are to knock Bayern Munich, the holders, out of the Champions League, despite leading 3-2 from the away leg of their quarter-final.

After PSG’s victory at the Allianz Arena last week, the former Tottenham manager is hoping his team’s home form will match their away performances on Tuesday. The French champions advanced from the last 16 with a 4-1 away win in the first leg against Barcelona before a 1-1 draw in the return leg at the Parc des Princes. In Ligue 1, their best display of the season came last month in a 4-2 win at Lyon, which was followed nine days ago by a 1-0 home defeat against Lille.

Related: Bayern v PSG was pure footballing fun – until you delve beneath the thrills | Jonathan Wilson

Related: Mbappé urges PSG teammates to repeat display against Bayern Munich

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Solskjær laments Manchester United suspensions despite win at Granada

  • Maguire, Shaw and McTominay all to miss home second leg
  • ‘Not a perfect night’, says manager after win in Europa League

Ole Gunnar Solskjær was delighted at Manchester United’s 2-0 Europa League quarter-final first leg win over Granada, though admitted it was not a “perfect night” as Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw and Scott McTominay were all booked and will miss next week’s return game at Old Trafford through suspension.

Related: Rashford’s touch and Fernandes’s calm help Manchester United sink Granada

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Europa League roundup: Roma seal fightback at Ajax, Villarreal beat Zagreb

  • Ajax 1-2 Roma; Dinamo Zagreb 0-1 Villarreal
  • Ibañez strike puts Roma in control, Moreno seals Villarreal win

Ibañez crashed home a spectacular volley two minutes from time to give Roma a 2-1 away win over Ajax in their Europa League quarter-final first leg.

A missed penalty and a horror goalkeeping slip cost Ajax dearly as they lost a half-time lead and left them facing a tough task in next week’s return leg in Rome.

Related: Rashford’s finishing touch helps Manchester United sink Granada

Related: Tomas Holes ruins Arsenal’s night as Slavia Prague snatch last-gasp equaliser

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Granada 0-2 Manchester United: Europa League quarter-final – as it happened

Goals from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes put Manchester United in control of their quarter-final at the half-way stage

Related: Europa League roundup: Roma seal fightback at Ajax, Villarreal beat Zagreb

Related: Tomas Holes ruins Arsenal’s night as Slavia Prague snatch last-gasp equaliser

Sid Lowe has filed his match report, which is my cue to head off. Thanks for your company - goodnight!

Related: Rashford’s finishing touch helps Manchester United sink Granada

Peep peep! That’s a very good night’s work for Manchester United. The game was rubbish, in truth, but United can live with that after such a favourable result. Marcus Rashford scored a classy goal in the first half and Bruno Fernandes added another penalty in the last minute. Granada struggled to lay a glove on United: their only shots on target long-range efforts from Kenedy. United didn’t have many attempts either, but they made theirs count.

90+3 min That second goal makes a big difference to the second leg. It means Solskjaer should - should - be able to start with Fernandes and Rashford on the bench, which is important as they are both in need of a rest.

Fernandes clipped it towards the bottom-left corner. Silva went the right way and got hands on it, but the ball slithered through his hands. That’s a very rare example of a goalkeeping error at a penalty.

Bruno Fernandes scores - just!

89 min: PENALTY TO UNITED! Brice has been penalised for fouling Fernandes off the ball. Everyone was waiting for a Telles cross, and Fernandes went over after a shove to the face by Brice. It looks a bit soft but it was also stupid from Brice, and it’s not going to be overturned by VAR.

88 min If it stays like this it will be Manchester United’s 11th clean sheet in the last 17 games. They’ve needed them, as the goals have dried up a wee bit, 9-0 victories notwithstanding.

86 min And Granada have brought on Luis Suarez (no, stop it) and Yan Brice for Gonalons and Soldado.

85 min Donny van de Beek has come on to replace Mason Greenwood.

84 min Matic is booked for leading with the arm and brushing the face of Puertas.

83 min: Good save from Silva! James did really well, dummying to shoot before reversing a pass to Fernandes. His shot from close range was smothered by Silva. Actually, scratch all that: replays showed Fernandes was offside, so it wouldn’t have counted.

81 min Mathis’s long-range shot deflects behind for a corner. There have only been four shots on target in the whole game: three from Kenedy and the goal from Rashford.

79 min United waste a couple of minutes by passing the ball around in defence and midfield. It’s been a really slow game, the antonym of that deranged thriller between Bayern and PSG last night.

75 min And two more changes for Granada: Dimitri Foulquier and the talented Venezuelan Darwin Machis replace Kenedy and Neva

74 min Another change for United: Pogba off, Matic on. Pogba had a 6.5/10 kind of game.

73 min James surges promisingly down the left but then overhits his cross.

73 min “They may be plucky underdogs, but Granada are a cynical disgrace,” says Duncan Edwards. “I’ve counted at least three times them complaining to the ref about nonexistent elbowing.”

Some of their tackling has been surprisingly brusque as well. They’ve clearly decided the English don’t like it up ’em.

72 min: Harry Maguire is out of the second leg as well - he’s been booked for a foul on Soldado. That means United will be without Shaw, Maguire and McTominay next week.

70 min Herrera breaks forward dangerously but slightly overhits his pass to Neva, whose cross deflects behind off Lindelof. Had the pass been softer, Neva would have been able to shoot first time.

70 min “That Bergkamp goal against Argentina was all well and good,” says Ian Copestake, “but talk about a one-footed player!”

69 min Herrera shoots over from the edge of the area.

69 min Granada had a good spell either side of half-time. Since then, however, United have kept them at arm’s length. You never really know in the peculiar world of behind-closed-doors football, but you’d think Granada need at least a draw tonight if they are to have a serious chance of going through next week.

68 min “Watching football without fans in the ground is kind of like an Imitation of Life, wouldn’t you say?” says Peter Oh. “I’d go as far as saying that I’ve been Losing My Religion.”

67 min For the third time tonight, a sweet long-range strike from Kenedy is too close to de Gea. He has been lively though.

66 min Talking of Spurs, Roberto Soldado has a speculative pop from 25 yards. Goal kick to Manchester United.

65 min Another Manchester United change: Edinson Cavani replaces the goalscorer Marcus Rashford, who is presumably being protected with Sunday’s revenge mission at Spurs in mind.

64 min “I’ve a friend who, how can I say it nicely, really does not want to like Rashford,” says Hiruy Gulilat. “This just makes me a defender of Rashford, without pay! And that control before the goal is not making it easy for him.”

63 min I shan’t tell you what’s happening in the other quarter-finals in case you plan to watch any games on delay. But if you want to know the latest scores, this link is your friend.

62 min Fernandes’s corner is headed over by Pogba at the far post. There were plenty of bodies around, but it still looked like a decent chance.

60 min Maguire sells himself near the halfway line and is beaten by Herrera. Granada have a two-on-two attack as a result but Lindelof’s positioning is excellent and he blocks Herrera’s pass towards Soldado.

58 min Maguire rumbles forward from the halfway line, beats Gonalons with some extravagant sleight of hip and rifles a long-range shot not far wide. He really should do that more often.

58 min We’re all friends here, so let us speak frankly: so far, this has been a dog of a game.

54 min Fernandes’s deep free-kick hits the head of Maguire at the far post and ricochets to safety. I’m pretty sure Maguire was unsighted, as otherwise it would have been a decent chance.

54 min Duarte’s night is over. He limps off, German runs on to replace him.

53 min Duarte is going to try to continue, though he’s limping heavily.

51 min Domingos Duarte boots James up in the air - and injures himself in the process. I don’t think he’s going to be able to continue. Either way, he won’t be playing next week: he was booked for that agricultural hack at James, his third yellow card of the tournament.

50 min The next corner is headed away by McTominay, but only as far as Kenedy on the left edge of the box. He whistles a good shot towards goal, but it’s too close to de Gea.

49 min Granada have won five or six corners either side of half-time. Make that six or seven, with Montoro’s near-post corner headed behind for another by Pogba...

47 min United have switched their front players: James to the left, Rashford central, Greenwood on the right.

46 min Peep peep! Granada begin the second half.

United have made a half-time substitution - Alex Telles is on for Luke Shaw.

That goal was Rashford’s 20th of the season, to go with 22 in 2019-20. Those are really decent numbers for a wide forward in a team that are good but not great.

“Putting aside magnificent art-pop for a second, Rashford’s first touch for the goal was absolutely filthy, and shouldn’t be shown without some kind of warning message,” says Matt Dony. “It was pre-watershed!”

If that’s an excuse to link to something I wrote ten years ago, then I don’t know what is!

Related: The Joy of Six: football first touches | Rob Smyth

“Hi Rob,” says David Wall. “What is the weather like in Spain this evening? I imagine it’s noticeably warmer than it has been in Manchester over the past week so it’ll be important for United’s players to replenish their Electrolyte levels at half time. If not then there’s a risk of a couple of Daysleepers in the defence as they’ll tire later in the game. With them having the lead in the away leg of the tie will Solskjaer be asking for more Drive in the second half, or will be an Apologist for taking a more defensive approach?”

I hope you’re proud of yourself, Matt Dony.

Peep peep! Mason Greenwood had half a chance to double the lead just before the break, but tried one stepover too many and was dispossessed. As it is, Marcus Rashford’s expertly taken goal has put United in control of the tie. It was a forgettable half, very sluggish, though Granada started to attack with more aggression after going behind. See you soon for the second half.

Marcus Rashford is the first English player to score eight goals for #mufc in European competition in a single season (excluding qualifiers) since Bobby Charlton in 1964/65 #mulive [opta]

45 min This is Granada’s best spell. They’ve been quite aggressive at times, particularly with Rashford and Fernandes, and I suspect we’ll see more of that after half-time.

44 min A nice corner routine from Granada. Montoro clips it outside the area to Kenedy, who cuts across a sweet volley that is comfortably saved by de Gea. It was straight at him, but a really good strike.

43 min “R.E.M. songs, is it, Martyn Crooks?” says Matt Dony. “United a goal up and looking to go through to the Great Beyond of the semi-finals. Granada have got players who could make a difference, though, if they tune themselves in. What’s The Frequency, Kenedy?”

Alexa!

42 min Luke Shaw is also out of the second leg: he has been booked for fouling Puertas.

41 min Montoro angle sthe resulting free-kick towards Herrera, whose volleyed cross hits the outside of the post! De Gea had it covered, I think, although the movement of his hands wasn’t entirely convincing. Moments later, Soldado drags a half chance wide of the near post.

40 min McTominay is booked for a foul on Puertas. That means he’ll miss the second leg.

39 min United have had 71 per cent of the possession. Rashford’s goal is the only shot on target at either end.

38 min A nice move from Granada ends with Dias flashing an excellent ball across the six-yard box.

35 min Fernandes’s long-range shot deflects behind for a corner. Nothing comes of it. The game has been a stinker, in truth, but United won’t care now they have taken the lead.

33 min Rashford’s angled run and finish were good, but the key to the goal was that velvety first touch.

32 min Herrera’s cross-shot almost falls kindly for Soldado, who is unable to sort his feet out at very short notice.

Ah, it was an exceedingly simple goal. Lindelof drove a 60-yard pass over the defence to Rashford, who killed the dropping ball majestically and slid it past Silva from 10 yards.

Marcus Rashford scores, and I’ve no idea what happened because they were showing a replay of the Soldado shot!

30 min Puertas gets to the byline and stabs the ball across to Soldado, who shoots into the side netting from a very tight angle. He had no chance of scoring from there.

28 min At the other end, Kenedy hammers a bouncing ball over the bar from a very tight angle.

27 min McTominay, the only man playing with much urgency, clips an excellent pass over the defence to find Rashford on the left of the area. He plays the ball back to Fernandes, whose outside-of-the-foot strike is blocked. Rashford picks up the loose ball and tries a big curling shot towards the far corner. He gets too much on it.

25 min Herrera goes down holding his face after a challenge with McTominay in the centre circle. McTominay did slap him, though I’m 99.9 per cent sure it was accidental. The referee agrees.

23 min Granada are very well organised defensively, and so far United haven’t threatened to open them up.

19 min Rashford wallops the free-kick over the bar. On the plus side, he doesn’t seem to be feeling his ankle any more.

18 min Fernandes is fouled 28 yards from goal by Herrera. The free-kick is a fair way to the left of centre, but Rashford looks like he wants to have a shot.

17 min Nothing is happening. The game is now taking place almost exclusively in Granada’s half, but not so much in their third.

14 min United are starting to have more of the ball, though it’s all fairly slow and safe for now. Granada look happy to play on the counter-attack.

11 min Rashford is still on the field. It’s hard to know whether he’s okay, as he’s had no reason to break into a sprint since that blocked shot in the fifth minute.

9 min Yes, it is the same Kenedy of Chelsea/Newcastle/Watford/Fluminense fame.

8 min Pogba loses the ball to Kenedy in a dangerous area, then brings him down and is booked. United, as is their wont, have started quite sluggishly.

7 min Rashford, who was a doubt for this game, looks like he’s struggling a little.

6 min The game is stopped for a few seconds because of a streaker. He looked very pleased with himself as he charged naked across the field.

5 min United break through Pogba, who plays a fine long pass out to Rashford out on the left. He cuts inside and has a shot blocked.

4 min It’s been a lively start from Granada, with most of the early exchanges taking place in the United half.

2 min “Predictions Rob?” says John Ryan. “I see United getting three, at least...”

I’m going for 2-1 Granada.

1 min Peep peep! United, wearing their Joy Division tribute kit, kick off from left to right. Granada are in their red and white home strip.

Related: Which football teams have played in kits inspired by musicians? | The Knowledge

The players stroll onto the field. It’s a crisp night in southern Spain, and the only shame is that there aren’t 19,000 supporters here for the biggest game in Granada’s history.

Apropos very little, BT Sport’s Curb Your Enthusiasm-themed FA Cup adverts never fail to make me smile. Whoever came up with the idea deserves an award.

@AFCWimbledon v West Ham ⚒️
January 2019

"Two strong centre forwards...there's only going to be one winner!"

What the cup?!

#EmiratesFACup | Third Round | This weekend pic.twitter.com/uehhm5wOOL

Sutton v Leeds ⚪️
January 2017

"Leeds always produce, they're in a good place at the moment!"

What the cup?!

#EmiratesFACup | Third Round | Starts January 8th pic.twitter.com/xp8GkkvyxJ

“Agree that Granada is an incredible place,” says Martyn Crooks. “I lived there for a few months as a student; at the time CF Granada were playing the third-tier football. The only time I was at El Estadio Los Carmenes was to see an R.E.M. concert. That evening I witnessed an attempt to relive their glory day, not too unlike recent Manchester United.”

Look, the new album is a return to form.

We tend not to do live blogs from the ground. More’s the pity.

Welcome to the House of Dreams, @ManUtd. #UEL #GRAMUN pic.twitter.com/kUISV9GLhH

“God, I love Granada,” writes Ian Copestake. “Not the team (didn’t know they had one!). The place! If only it was one the coast it would be THE best place on the planet.”

When you wrote ‘not the team’, I thought you were about to start eulogising Coronation Street and the Krypton Factor.

The route to Europa League glory for Granada and United

Semi-final Roma or Ajax

Pre-match reading

Related: Roberto Soldado: ‘I can’t believe I’m meeting Manchester United again’

Related: Solskjær welcomes Henderson and De Gea rivalry for Manchester United

David de Gea starts in goal for Manchester United, one of three changes from the team that beat Brighton on Sunday. Scott McTominay and Daniel James replace Fred and Edinson Cavani. That probably means Mason Greenwood will move to centre forward.

Granada (4-2-3-1) Silva; Diaz, Vallejo, Duarte, Neva; Herrera, Gonalons; Puertas, Montoro, Kenedy; Soldado.
Substitutes: Banacloche, Fabrega, Foulquier, Nehuen Perez, German, Suarez, Brice, Machis, Molina.

Hello. Let’s start with a trip to Dictionary Corner:

nearly
ADVERB
Nearly is used to indicate that something is not quite the case, or not completely the case.

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Arsenal 1-1 Slavia Prague – Europa League quarter-final, first leg – as it happened

Tomas Holes scored in injury-time to give the Czech side a first-leg advantage after Nicolas Pépé had scored for Arsenal

Related: Europa League roundup: Roma seal fightback at Ajax, Villarreal beat Zagreb

Related: Rashford’s finishing touch helps Manchester United sink Granada

Related: Tomas Holes ruins Arsenal’s night as Slavia Prague snatch last-gasp equaliser

The Arsenal manager laments his side’s failure to see the game out after taking the lead late on. “The game was under control ... then we played two or three balls that we shouldn’t do and then we conceded the corner. They put a lot of big boys in there and then anything can happen. “ But he remains confident his team can prevail in the second leg. “The final result leaves a difficult taste. But the mindset is to go there and win the game.”

The Czechs have the advantage going into the second leg thanks to Holes’ late away goal. Arsenal were sluggish for most of the match but were given impetus by late substitutions. Two of them - Aubameyang and Pepe - combined to make a breakthrough at least and seemingly give Arsenal a precious first-leg lead. But they couldn’t hold on to their lead for even a few minutes, wilting under pressure again. Slavia celebrated at the final whistle as if they think they’ve done the hardest part of this tie. Arsenal will have a job on their hands to prove them wrong.

Slavia have stolen an away goal in the final seconds! Arteta throws his hands to his face! IT came from a crisply delivered corner by Provod. Pépé could only deflect it onwards from the edge of the six-yard box and Holes beat Soares to it at the back post to send a plunging header into the net!

90+3 min: Masopust and Provod comebine slinikily on the right and then Provod surprises everyone by unloading a ferocious let-footed shot from a difficult angle. Leno reacts well to push it it for a corner!

90+1 min: Arteta roars at Leno for taking too long over a goalkick, as if the Arsenal manager is the only who realises there is an opportunity to increase their first-leg lead in the remaining minutes.

90 min: There will be at least four more minutes.

Arsenal substitution: Ceballos on, Smith Rowe off.

The substitutes make the difference and Arsenal have the goal they wanted! Aubameyang did well to outfight Zima to collect a long clearance from Xhaka, and then the Gabon international slipped a pass through for Pépé, who outpaced the retreating Zima and dinked the ball over the advancing keeper!

Slavia substitution: Traoré on, Olayinka off.

Slavia substitution: Masopust on, Stanciu off.

82 min: Pépé plays lays a square pass off to Martinelli, about 20 yards out. The newcomer shoots first time, forcing the keeper to palm it over for another corner. The pressure from Arsenal is building ...

80 min: Pépé wins a corner. Arsenal are finally playing with the tempo and intensity they should have shown from the start. Can they get the goal they crave?

78 min: Aubameyang almost makes his mark immediately, but pokes just wide after cute play between him, Smith Rowe and Pépé.

Arsenal substitutions: Aubameyang, Pepe and Elneny on, Lacazette, Sakar and Partey off.

77 min: Kuchta skips past Holding easily down the left and then crosses. From in front of goal Soares hooks it away, but only as far as Sevick 10 yards out. The midfielder bangs a shot badly wide! That could have been their away goal, instead it’s a big escape for Arsenal.

75 min: Good work by Lacazette down the left to win possession and then deliver a useful cross. The ball breaks to Partey, who has been disappointing today, and from the edge of the box the midfielder curls a low shot a yard wide.

74 min: You can almost sense a goal coming in this. Slavia are becoming increasingly confident going forward, and Arsenal have found a little more urgency.

Arsenal substitution: Martinelli on, Willian off.

72 min: Kuchta shows his strength to hold off Gabriel and and then motor into the box. but Gabriel leaps to his feet and chases back to regain possession.

70 min: Martinelli is warming up for Arsenal as Arteta considers ways to sharpen up his attack. No sign of Aubameyang being readied yet though.

Slavia substitutions: Kuchta and Linger on, Dorley and Sima off.

65 min: Slavia seem to fancy their chances of nicking an away goal and have become more ambitious in the last few minutes. That is leaving Arsenal with more counter-attacking opportunities. Saka leads the latest one, firing a dangerous cross whizzing across the face of goal. Lacazette stretches to meet it but can’t divert it on the target.

62 min: Sevcik tries to trick his way past Lacazette near half-way. The Frenchman isn’t fooled. He nicks the ball off Sevcik and suddenly he has a clear run at Slavia’s goal from over 50 yards out! He chugs forward, just fast enough to remain ahead of the retreating defender, and when the keeper comes to meet him near the edge of the area, Lacazette steers the shot around him ... and onto the crossbar! And a defender prevents Smith Rowe from collecting the rebound!

60 min: Willian gives the ball away. Then he chases back to win back possession in his own half. Then he gives the ball away again with another slack pass. Someone somewhere is counting all these misplaces passes, all I can do is tell you Arsenal have committed far too many of them.

58 min: Slavia play their way out nicely from the back, and suddenly Provod is romping into Arsenal’s territory with Boril bombing forward to his left. He duly slips the ball through to Boril, whose shot from 18 yards is a little bobbly. Leno blocks, to Arsenal’s relief.

56 min: Saka remains Arsenal’s most threatening outlet but he has just ruined a dangerous break by overhitting a cross from the right when Lacazette and Smith Rowe and Soares were waiting for a presentable delivery.

53 min: Gabriel is down receiving treatment on his left ankle after being caught by Sima as the pair contested a high ball/

51 min: Gabriel dashes across to cut out a through-ball towards Stanciu, at the expense of a corner. That could have been averted if the communication between Gabriel and Leno had been better. The corner triggers a flurry of pressure but Arsenal eventually scramble the ball away.

49 min: Willian curls the freekick from the right-hand corner of the box around the wall ... and it crashes against the outside of the post!

48 min: Bellerin curls a low pass around the right back, giving Saka a chance to chase. Zima resorts to pulling the winger back, a blatant foul just outside the box. Arsenal have a freekick, Zima gets a booking.

47 min: A sloppy start to the second period by Arsenal, as they are forced back by Slavia’s pressing and then Leno kicks the ball straight out of play when attempting a simple pass to Soares.

46 min: No moves from Arteta yet but Slavia have made a change for the second half, with Sevcik replacing Hromada.

The score is the same as it was at the start, and not much has happened since then. It’s been a disappointingly low-key affair so far. Slavia have not had to strain themselves too hard to keep Arsenal at bay and have not offered much of a test to the Arsenal defence. If either manager can stimulate even a little improvement for the second period, his team could win this. Maybe Aubameyang will come off the bench to make the difference, after all?

42 min: Smith Rowe hasn’t been able to exert much influence so far. But Lacazette comes deep again to receive the ball in midfield, then he turns and plays a clever pass through to Saka on the right. Saka’s cross is cleared behind for a corner, which is probably the best he could have hoped for, since there were no Arsenal players in the box.

39 min: Soares beats his man down the left and digs out a useful cross. Holding’s header from 10 yards is touched over by the keeper.

38 min: Lacazette booms the freekick into the wall.

37 min: Lacazette comes back to sabotage a Slavia attack. Arsenal counter quickly, Bellerin leading the charge. Inevitably he feeds Saka, who tries to skip his way into the box but is chopped down, giving Arsenal a freekick about 23 yards out, a touch to the right of the D.

35 min: Slavia build their way forward for the first time in a while and manage to fire off a shot, but Olayinka’s piffler from 20 yards is easily stopped by Leno.

34 min: Arsenal have got the upper hand in the last 10 minutes or so, with Slavia barely threatening. But there’s still not enough intensity or sharpness about Arsenal’s attacking.

32 min: Bellerin knows what time it is. He feeds Saka. But this time the 19-year-old gets curl when none was needed and his cross from the right floats into the keeper’s arms.

29 min: Holding releases Saka again. The young winger runs into the right-hand side of the box, draws out the keeper and then tries to curl a left-footed shot into the far corner ... but he fails to get any curl on it and drifts harmlessly wide. A poor finish but it’s clear that Saka is Arsenal’s most dangerous player and they should keep supplying him. Holding twigged that a while ago.

28 min: Partey burst through midfield then feeds Lacazette at the edge of the box, coming in from the right. The Frenchman takes a touch to tee himself up for a shot ... and then blasts the ball high over the bar.

26 min: A lovely pass by Holding sends Saka scampering down the right. He clips the ball back from the byline but Bah does well to get to it before Willian. Slavia then hurtle forward but their attack comes to a half when Holding gets involved again.

24 min: Lacazette does well to collect a ball into the left-hand channel by Gabriel. Then he lays it back for Willian, who’s bundled to the ground by Bah. That gives Arsenal a freekick wide on the left, a few yards short of the corner flag. Saka delivers an outswinger. Gabriel backpedals to meet it near the penalty spot but can’t get much power or accuracy into this header. Goalkick.

21 min: Gabriel gives the ball straight back to Slavia after breaking up a move by the visitors. He’s been far from the only culprit.

19 min: Slavia play their way out from the back under hotch-potch pressing from Arsenal. Coordinated pressing was one obvious thing that Arteta brought to Arsenal but it’s looked more haphazard - and thus less effective - recently, including in this match so far.

17 min: Holding tries to drop a pass from half way over the top of the Slavia defence and into the path of Saka. But he overhits it. The team are showing each other plenty of respect so far, with each quick to fall back in number and make it difficult for the other to find a way through.

15 min: Provod spanks a lovely diagonal pass to the right. When the cross comes in, Bellerin does very well to beat an attacker to it and nod it away. But it breaks to Provod, who tries to drive it at goal from 20 yards. HE catches it nicely but the ball whizzes just over.

13 min: There’s another positive - a smart pass by Saka, who has been Arsenal’s most inventive player so far. He slides a pass through to the overlapping Bellerin, but that’s as good as it gets, because Bellerin’s low cross fails to beat the first defender.

11 min: “Arsenal still have a clean sheet? Good,” writes Charles Antaki, finding a positive amid a drab start to this game.

9 min: Saka tries a clever pass forward from the right-hand touchline. Lacazette scampers after it but goalkeeper was alive to the danger and beat him to the ball at the edge of the area.

7 min: There’s a confidence to Slavia’s play, you can tell they are a team accustomed to winning. But Dorley’s shot from the edge of the area hits his own man after a clever corner kick routine.

5 min: Holes, a midfielder deployed in defence because of injuries, rushes across to make a good tackle in the box on Saka, snuffing out Arsenal’s first attack.

4 min: Very circumspect from Arsenal so far. Slavia have had most of the ball but not been able to pick a way through their hosts.

2 min: Soares, not Bellerin, has started at left-back. Arsenal defenders have been the busier so far, as Slavia make a bright start, without threatening.

1 min: The visitors do the kickoff thing, and Arsenal-Slavia Prague is go!

The players are out on the grass, lining up for the tournament jingle. The Slavia goalkeeper, Ondrej Kolar, is sporting a Phantom of the Opera-style protective face mask as a result of the injury suffered against Rangers.

The Arsenal manager says the weekend’s defeat to Liverpool is “out of the system - now we have to play with the ambition and passion that the game deserves.” An and asked why Aubameyang is out of the system today, Arteta replies: “We had to pick the right team to start the game in the best possible way.” He suggests the captain may get the chance to make an impact later: “We have the option to make five subs and that’s a big thing. We want to use our squad to the maximum.”

“As a Gooner, I’m unsure about this one,” write Bill Hargreaves, echoing the sentiments of thousands. “Which Arsenal will turn up? The one represented by Saka at his best (his usual mode), or the one represented by one of Willian’s less good days? I have a good feeling, believing in Mikel’s ability to rouse the troops after the lame showing against Liverpool. Whatever happens, I won’t be celebrating too hard for some time, I suspect. Hashtag iffy re-build.”

Kieran Tierney hasn’t made it, so Hector Bellerin is expected to play at left-back. But Bukayo Saka is back after missing the last three matches - none of which Arsenal won - and so are Emile Smith Rowe and Granit Xhaka. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been dropped to the bench. Captain Dispensable.

Arsenal: Leno; Soares, Holding, Gabriel, Bellerin; Smith Rowe, Xhaka, Partey; Willian, Lacazette, Saka

Hello and welcome. Fourteen months into Mikel Arteta’s reign there are still more questions than answers at Arsenal. But one thing is for sure: winning the Europa League would be an honourable achievement, because it will be hard to do. Their opponents today are pretty much everything that Arsenal are not: reliable, powerful and truly in synch with each other. Those qualities, plus a splash of flair, enabled them to oust Leicester and Rangers in previous rounds and should help them poke at Arsenal’s well known frailties. It’s anyone’s guess as to how Arsenal will cope: they unquestionably have the ability to beat the Czech champions, even heavily, but that will require them having one of their good days, where they operate as a real collective in which their individual flourishes. Do that and they could earn a nice first-leg lead and take one step towards a semi-final meeting with either Villarreal or the conquerors of Spurs, Dinamo Zagreb. But fail to do that and Arsenal will find themselves facing the prospect of a joyless campaign. The stakes are high. Will Arsenal rise to them? that’s what we’re here to find out.

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Bayern v PSG was pure footballing fun – until you delve beneath the thrills | Jonathan Wilson

Dominant super-rich elite forget how to defend but proposed new Champions League would not ensure endless excitement

After the rush of exhilaration, the comedown. Paris Saint-Germain’s 3-2 win away to Bayern Munich on Wednesday was extraordinary, full of high-tempo drama, of brilliant players doing brilliant things – so long as it wasn’t defending. There were great goals, great saves, great crosses, injuries all over the place, and by the time it was over, the eternal nearly men of PSG had ended the European champions’ 19-game unbeaten run in the competition. And yet in the cold light of morning, it’s perhaps impossible not to feel a slight qualm: it was magnificent, but was it football?

It was a superior example of the type, but this was a game typical of the latter stages of today’s Champions League. After the dutiful slog of the group stages, the frenzied bacchanal of the knockouts. This is the upside of the financial structure of modern football. Create a small elite of super-rich clubs so they can concentrate the best players at a handful of franchises and this is the sort of quality that can ensue.

Related: Mbappé urges PSG teammates to repeat display against Bayern Munich

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‘Unreal potential’: Sima’s rapid rise from farmland practice to Arsenal tie

Slavia Prague forward is hot property and Senegal international after rising from obscurity in France and Czech Republic

At the tail end of a harsh south Bohemian winter, the higher echelons of European football could hardly have seemed further away. Abdallah Sima was 18 when he arrived at FC Taborsko, then in the Czech Republic’s third tier, shortly before Covid-19 stopped play. Lodged in a rural apartment, there was little to do except train: so it was that Sima’s first two months were spent on a flattened patch of farmland, flanked by piles of chopped timber, kicking balls between cones with the former football coach who owned his accommodation.

On Thursday evening, though, Sima will step out at the Emirates Stadium as one of the most highly prized young forwards around. When Slavia Prague took him from Taborsko last July, he had yet to play a competitive match and the move was viewed as a punt: Sima would begin in the Czech champions’ B team and sink or swim from there, although his advisers were not shy in telling the Slavia hierarchy he would not require such a significant adaptation spell.

Related: Kieran Tierney could miss rest of season with knee injury in Arsenal blow

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Thomas Tuchel delighted at Chelsea’s response to West Brom setback

  • Chelsea beat Porto in Champions League quarter-final first leg
  • West Brom had inflicted first defeat under Tuchel at weekend

A happy Thomas Tuchel praised Chelsea’s reaction to adversity after they took a potentially decisive 2-0 win from the away leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie against Porto, saying their response to a shock weekend defeat by West Brom will unite his players.

Well-taken goals from Mason Mount and Ben Chilwell, the first either player had scored in this competition, secured an ultimately comfortable victory in Seville even if Tuchel accepted Chelsea rarely hit full flow. There had been pressure to bounce back after the 5-2 setback on Saturday, which was the German’s first defeat since taking over and came to look even more consequential when Antonio Rüdiger and Kepa Arrizabalaga clashed in training the following the following day.

Related: Mason Mount forces ‘honest scuffler’ critics to eat their words | Jacob Steinberg

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Mbappé urges PSG teammates to repeat display against Bayern Munich

  • French side won 3-2 in Champions League quarter-final first leg
  • Thomas Müller laments his side’s failure to score more goals

Kylian Mbappé urged his teammates to “play again like a team” after the forward scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain to steer the visitors to a 3-2 victory against the Champions League holders Bayern Munich in their quarter-final first leg.

Mbappé scored his eighth goal of the competition in the 68th minute after Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting in the 37th and Thomas Müller on the hour had cancelled out a two-goal PSG lead.

Related: Bayern Munich 2-3 PSG: Champions League quarter-final – as it happened

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