UEFA Champions League News
Raphinha struck a second-half winner to give Barcelona a lion-hearted 1-0 victory at Benfica on Wednesday as they overcame a red card for Pau Cubarsí early in the game to steal an advantage in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Barcelona’s teenage defender Cubarsí was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute, but the visitors hung on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance.
Continue reading...Harry Kane scored twice for Bayern as Raphina’s goal grabbed a first-half lead for ten-man Barça.
Jeyland Mitchell caught Thuram’s heel – VAR calls over the German ref, and it’s awarded.
Bayern Munich v Bayer Leverkusen teams
Continue reading...A late own goal from Brandon Mechele and a Marco Asensio penalty give Villa the edge
Unai Emery: “We know their potential and we know we have to be strong, defensively, offensively, tactically. We have to try to stop their gameplan and skills. We have to try to win the match, not concede. This is our challenge.
“We try always to improve. It is a good experience we had here. They deserve to be here, we deserve it, too, but today will be a different match. Hopefully we can show our best performance collectively and individually.”
Continue reading...As Real Madrid prepare to host Atlético Madrid in a city derby in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti said he is looking forward to another battle against his rival Diego Simeone.
Heading into their 27th clash, with the two managers having faced each other more often than any other rival in their careers, they are tied at nine wins each along with eight draws.
Continue reading...Aston Villa and Arsenal will fancy their chances of progress, while Liverpool will face a challenge to oust in-form PSG
Villa produced probably their worst performance of the season in losing the meeting of the sides in the group stage, Brugge winning 1-0 with a penalty awarded after Tyrone Mings, not realising a goal-kick had been taken, picked up the ball. Villa may be grateful for that: had they taken a point from that game they would have been facing Bayern in the last 16. That said, as domestic form has stagnated, the victory over Bayern, a repeat of the scoreline from the 1982 European Cup final, probably represents the high point of their season so far. Domestically this hasn’t been a great campaign for Brugge either. They lie eight points behind Racing Genk but for them too the Champions League has provided salvation. They sneaked into the playoffs with three wins but then were much the better side against Atalanta, winning home and away.
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A Bigger Cup needs a Bigger Draw. Last year Uefa set out the tournament brackets from the quarter-final onwards, showing Real Madrid which particular jails they might need to escape to win the competition for the 15th time. This year Uefa have gone one better by doing the draw for the rest of the tournament at the last-16 stage. It’s a punch up the bracket for Manchester City, who can now empathise with every failed Bullseye contestant. Look what they could have won: Atlético Madrid in the last 16, then Arsenal or PSV Eindhoven in the quarter-finals, then maybe Liverpool in the semis.
Continue reading...The last 16 beckons, and there were plenty of storylines to digest. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action
Feyenoord
Continue reading...Ryan Flamingo scored in extra time to give PSV Eindhoven a 3-1 home win on Wednesday in the second leg of their Champions League knockout phase playoff against Juventus, overturning a first-leg deficit and putting them into the last 16.
The tie was level at 3-3 on aggregate after 90 minutes and went into extra time before Flamingo poached a 98th-minute winner as Juventus became the third Italian side eliminated from the competition, after Milan and Atalanta on Tuesday.
Continue reading...The Atalanta striker Ademola Lookman said comments by his coach, Gian Piero Gasperini, describing him as “one of the worst penalty takers” he had ever seen after Tuesday’s Champions League exit were “deeply disrespectful” and hurtful.
Club Brugge stunned Atalanta 3-1 in the second leg of their playoff to dump the Italian side out with a 5-2 aggregate win and reach the last 16. Lookman pulled back one goal for Atalanta when they were 3-0 down. However the London-born Nigeria forward, who has scored 15 times this season, then had a penalty saved by Simon Mignolet, after which Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the spot-kick.
Continue reading...An heroic Celtic performance ended in heartbreak when Alphonso Davies settled the tie with 30 seconds remaining
“Speaking of Father Ted,” begins Matt Emerson, “I see that Tom from Craggy Island has swapped his ‘I Shot JR’ T-shirt for an Ipswich Town kit and is going by the name of ‘Liam Delap’.”
Continue reading...Milan were left to rue Théo Hernandez’s sending-off following a dive as Feyenoord pegged them back on the night and advanced 2-1 on aggregate to the Champions League last 16 with a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their playoff.
Hernandez earned his second yellow card for the seven-time European champions for a dive in the 51st minute when Milan were dominating. The Italian side had cancelled out their first-leg deficit almost immediately, with forward Santiago Giménez striking against his former team in the first minute at San Siro.
From a short corner move, Christian Pulisic floated a pass towards the far post where Malick Thiaw placed a header back across goal and Giménez nodded the ball over the line. The Mexican declined to celebrate against the club he left in January, and soon after played in João Félix who put his effort over the bar.
Continue reading...The knockout stages are here, and there were plenty of storylines to digest. We hand out honours and dishonours from the latest round of action
Feyenoord
Continue reading...Michael Olise and Harry Kane gave Bayern Munich the edge going into the second leg against Celtic, who pulled one back through Daizen Maeda
Justin Kavanagh emails: “Great photo of Rod! He’s certainly got the gladrags on tonight, but does that bandage on his right fist suggest he’s already had some handbags? If so, it probably won’t be the last we’ll see at Celtic Park tonight in what should be a quite tasty match. Don’t spare the Rod, Bhoys.”
The main plan for Celtic here is to keep it tight early on against one of the most exciting front fours in Europe. You do not get many Musiala-type players in the Scottish Premiership.
Continue reading...Before the German club face Celtic in a Champions League playoff we recount a rich history that goes back decades
Given Bayern Munich’s lengthy and storied history in European competition, it may come as no surprise that they have jousted with Scottish clubs over several decades. But the variation and drama attached to many of those fixtures gives cause for contemplation as the German team return to Glasgow for a Champions League playoff against Celtic.
Bayern are heavy favourites to progress, largely because of the economic tilt towards clubs of their standing in the modern era. It was not always thus, however, as a glance at the record books outlines.
Continue reading...Pep Guardiola admitted that Manchester City cannot be competitive if they continue to concede late goals as they did when surrendering an 86th-minute lead in Tuesday’s 3-2 home defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League playoff first leg.
City held the advantage at the Etihad Stadium through Erling Haaland’s 80th-minute penalty, with the striker’s 19th-minute opener having been cancelled out by Kylian Mbappé on the hour. Yet Guardiola’s side collapsed as the final whistle approached.
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