UCL Roundup: Arsenal, Liverpool Advance; City, Spurs Among Big Exits
Arsenal and Liverpool both progress into the next round of the UEFA Champions League with Manchester City, Chelsea, Newcastle and Tottenham’s European Campaign’s all coming to an end. Here is a round-up from the Round of 16 fixtures involving the six Premier League sides: Chelsea 0-3 PSG (PSG win 8-2 on aggregate) Following a tough night in the French capital last week, it didn’t get any better in London. Chelsea did have a few good chances but were no where near clinical enough – exact opposite of PSG as they were excellent in front of goal seeing off Chelsea with three goals. Chelsea started on the wrong foot as Kvaratskhelia fired PSG ahead followed by a Barcola strike eight minutes later. Mayulu sealed the win if it wasn’t already done to keep the holders in the competition as the Premier League side exit. Manchester City 1-2 Real Madrid (Real Madrid win 5-1 on aggregate) The first leg was far from expected as Valverde’s first half hat trick gave the Madrid side a valuable lead going into the leg in Manchester. Pep’s side got off to the worst start possible which saw Bernardo Silva shown red which gave the visitors a penalty after 22 minutes where Vinicius Junior dispatched to put Real Madrid further ahead. City pulled one back before the break through Haaland but was still going to be an uphill battle. City continued to huff and puff but couldn’t find another as in the dying minutes, Vinicius Junior grabbed his second to dump Man City out of the competition. Arsenal 2-0 Bayer Leverkusen (Arsenal win 3-1 on aggregate) Arsenal got the job done on home soil after a 1-1 draw in Germany last week. The Gunners were dominant for majority of the game which paid off after 36 minutes as Eze with an outstanding strike from distance right into the back of the net gave Arteta’s side a deserved lead going into the break. Arsenal were in need of a second to see off any worries where Declan Rice made no mistake and doubled the advantage on the night to see Arsenal through following a deserved victory in North London. Liverpool 4-0 Galatasaray (Liverpool win 4-1 on aggregate) It was a disappointing night in Turkey in the first leg as Liverpool fell short as the Turkish side ran away 1-0 winners but the second leg was total opposite. Liverpool started brightly where Dominic Szoboszlai had Arne Slott’s men level on aggregate after 25 minutes. Ekitike put the hosts in front six minutes into the second period and just two minutes on they had a third as Gravenberch handed Liverpool the advantage going into the latter stages. Salah had then got in on the act with a strike just after the hour mark sure no upset was on the cards and Liverpool continue. Barcelona 7-2 Newcastle (Barcelona win 8-3 on aggregate) Following a 1-1 draw in Newcastle last week, the game began as a very exciting contest. Raphinha put Barca ahead very early on but Elanga had the Premier League side back on level terms nine minutes on. Just a few minutes later, Barcelona were ahead once again, this time through Bernal who smashed the ball home in a exciting start. 10 minutes on, Elanga netted the fourth goal of the half to draw Newcastle level once again but Barca were given a late first-half penalty following a push from Trippier where wonderkid Yamal netted into the bottom right-hand corner. It continued to go down hill as the La Liga side went onto score another 4 with Lopez on target, Raphinha scoring his second as well as Robert Lewandowski grabbing a brace to end the Newcastle dreams in style. Tottenham 3-2 Atletico Madrid (Atletico Madrid win 7-5 on aggregate) The first leg was a complete horror show as three costly errors saw Atletico go ahead by three goals within 15 minutes which saw Kinsky get subbed off after just 17 minutes which saw Tottenham go on to lose 5-2 in the Spanish capital. However, it was a much improved performance in North London but just wasn’t enough to go through. Kolo Muani had Spurs’ ahead after half-an-hour where Spurs were ahead at half-time. Atletico responded right away as former Manchester City man Jullian Alvarez equalised for the visitors. Xavi Simons regained the lead for Tottenham but Hancko cancelled out the goal on 75 minutes as Atletico refused to let Tottenham have any chance of getting back into the match. Tottenham won it late on through a Simons penalty but just wasn’t enough to win the game over both legs as Igor Tudor’s men crash out. UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Draw: PSG v Liverpool Real Madrid v Bayern Munich Barcelona v Atletico Madrid Sporting CP v Arsenal
Robertson coy on future ahead of crunch Champions League tie
Scotland captain Andy Robertson has shut down transfer talks linking him to Celtic, as his side looks to overturn their Champions League knockout tie against Galatasaray. The 32-year-old’s Liverpool contract runs out in the coming months, but contract plans are not at the forefront of his mind ahead of the season run-in. “I don’t think the day is the day to discuss that. “I think 24 hours before a massive Champions League game, I don’t think anyone should really be talking about their future. “We’ve got such a massive game ahead of us. “I know it’s a boring answer, and I can only apologise for that, my full focus as being a part of this time is trying to get through tomorrow night. “We’ve obviously given ourselves an uphill battle, and I think full focus has to be on that. “There’ll be time to talk about my future but I’m not sure today’s that day.” Robertson will lead Scotland to a first World Cup appearance in 28 years, and looks set to feature in the upcoming friendlies against Japan and Côte d’Ivoire. With two Premier League titles, a Champions League medal, and several domestic trophies to his name, his 2017 move to Liverpool has become a roaring success.
Arsenal 2-0 (3-1) Bayer Leverkusen: Post-match reaction
Post-match reaction from Arsenal’s win against Bayer Leverkusen, which sees Mikel Arteta’s men progress through to the Last 8 of the Champions League. Mikel Arteta on Eze’s special strike opening up the tie: “Yes, I think it’s true, I think we started the game so well. We were a threat from every angle, their ‘keeper maintained them in the game I think, and we needed a magical moment from Ebs to score a wonderful goal, a wonderful strike, to give us the lead. In the second half we had periods of domination, periods where they dominated as well because they are a really good side, and they are really good in what they do. And again, Declan’s actions opened the opportunity to go on and win the game and the tie, and unfortunately as well we had four or five situations where we should have probably scored the third one and put the game to bed. But overall, I think we fully deserve to be in the quarter-finals.” On Declan Rice’s display: “He was immense. Him and the whole team – I just mentioned the soul of the team, I think the manner that they go for every ball, the passion that they show and the reaction is remarkable. Doing it every three days at that level is so difficult.” On David Raya’s crucial saves: “I don’t know what they generated, again in two games it was a set-piece last time and then a header before that, and today an action. He makes an incredible save, that’s why he’s here, he’s absolutely amazing.” Leandro Trossard:“It was a good performance from us, especially how we dominated that first half with a lot of chances. “I think we enjoyed ourselves]a lot on the pitch today, you could see that, it transmitted on to the crowd as well, I think we were very good and it was a perfect one for us. “We just needed to get the business done and I think we did it in a very good way.” Eberechi Eze on his goal: “I don’t know if I could dream of scoring a goal like that! I just saw the opportunity to shoot & thankful to God it worked today. It’s a special goal, I’m going to remember it for a long time.” On the season run-in: “The clear aim is to win trophies… it’s what we want to do, it’s what we’ve had as our goal from the start”. We’re in the final stages of all competitions, we’ll keep pushing, working. God willing, it comes through.” Declan Rice: “I’m shattered. It’s non stop. We are obviously still in all competitions. It’s been every 3 days since October. We’ve been coping with it best we can. You find energy and ways to win on nights like this.”
Enzo Fernandez hints at Chelsea exit following PSG defeat
Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez last night hinted at a move away from London following Champions League exit against PSG. The London side were knocked out of the Champions League last night against the holders, PSG following an 8-2 defeat across the two legs with the midfielder suggesting a move away could be on the cards. After being asked about where Enzo will be come next season he said: When quizzed on where he would be playing next season, Fernandez said: “I don’t know. There are eight games left and the FA Cup. “There’s the World Cup and then we’ll see.” Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior stated: “I haven’t seen that” “It’s hard for me to speak on speculation after a game. I need to focus right now on the most important things, which is making sure we have the right result against Everton.” Enzo arrived to Stamford Bridge in 2023 joining from Portuguese side, Benfica for over £100million which is the second highest British transfer record just behind Isak with his move to Liverpool in the summer. The blues’ will be expecting a large sum of money should Fernandez depart so they aren’t losing out on money with only a few clubs across the world being able to afford what the Premier League would like. Enzo has played 160 times for Chelsea with 28 goals and 29 assists for the Stamford Bridge outfit where he has won 2 trophies during his time which was the UEFA Conference League and FIFA Club World Cup. Where he may go isn’t decided but a move to the Saudi League could be a potential switch or possibly a team like Bayern Munich or PSG may decide to come in for the Chelsea man.
“I Could’ve Potentially Played My Last Football Game” – Kasper Schmeichel Reveals Extent of Injury Woe
Celtic goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel fears he may never play football again after being told of the recovery time for his persistent shoulder injury. The Danish international faces 10-12 months out of action, which would see him out beyond the expiry of his Celtic deal, expiring this summer. It also means he misses a potential World Cup this summer, and the 39-year-old is under no illusions of the stark reality ahead of him. He told CBS last night: “I’m going to need two surgeries to fix my shoulder. “I’ve torn the bicep, torn the rotator cuff, dislocated the shoulder, torn the labrum. Everything is gone. “It’s like an outfielder doing his ACL and achilles at the same time. It’s looking like 10-12 months of rehab.” Schmeichel wouldn’t be back in action until after his 40th birthday, and likely without a club if Celtic now choose not to extend his contract at Parkhead. “I could’ve potentially played my last ever football game. “I’ve been a footballer since the day I was born, that kind of thought is devastating. It’s very hard to wrap my head around at the moment. “By the time I get back fit I could be plus 40. “I’m going to give it everything I can to see if I can get back. It would be probably one of the greatest feats of my career if I could ever get back from an injury like this.” The former Premier League winner’s last game in the sticks came in a 2-1 home defeat to Hibernian last month.
