Champions League Archives

PSG vs Liverpool – Match Preview

PSG host an out of form Liverpool in the first leg of this Champions League Last 8 tie. These sides were drawn in the same group in the 2018/19 Champions League. In the first meeting, which took place at Anfield, Liverpool won 3-2, courtesy of a stoppage time strike from Brazilian forward Firmino. In the return fixture, PSG ran out 2-1 winners, with the goals coming from Bernat and Neymar. These sides also met in the Last 16 of the Champions League last season. Despite getting outplayed throughout, Liverpool won the first leg 1-0 in Paris, courtesy of a late strike from Elliot, and a stellar display from Alisson. In the second leg, PSG won 1-0 after 120 minutes, courtesy of an early strike from Ballon d’Or winner Dembele, which sent the tie to penalties, where the French outfit ran out 4-1 winners, courtesy of heroics from current Manchester City goalkeeper Donnarumma. The reigning Champions of Europe did not have a successful group phase, finishing outside of the automatic knockout places. As a result, PSG had to face fellow French side AS Monaco over two legs for a spot in the Last 16. The French champions overturned a two-goal deficit to win the first leg 3-2 away from home against 10 men. In the second leg, Monaco hit the front just before half time to level the tie, but once again, Monaco got a man sent off, and PSG capitalised, scoring two quickfire goals. Teze levelled the tie on the night in injury time, but it proved to be just a consolation. Luis Enrique’s men were drawn Chelsea in the Last 16, where they comfortably progressed, winning 8-2 across the two legs. Liverpool had a solid Champions League, league phase, finishing third, only behind Bayern Munchen and Arsenal. Arne Slot’s men faced Turkish outfit Galatasaray in the Last 16. In Turkey, Liverpool lost 1-0, courtesy of an early strike from Lemina. However, in the second leg, Liverpool turned the deficit around, winning 4-0 in Merseyside, courtesy of goals from Szoboszlai, Ekitike, Gravenberch and Salah, to set up a meeting with PSG in the Last 8. PSG come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back league wins, against Nice and Toulouse, and in their last four matches in all competitions, the French outfit have found the net fifteen times. On the other hand, Liverpool come into this fixture off the back of back-to-back defeats against Brighton in the Premier League and a 4-0 defeat against Manchester City in the FA Cup in their last outing. France World Cup winner Christophe Dugarry believes that PSG will “wrap up” the quarter-final in the first leg in Paris: “It’s going to be a walk in the park, honestly. Liverpool are disastrous. Fourteen wins, ten losses, and seven draws since the start of the season in the league. They’re catastrophic. “I’m not going to say they have bad players, but they don’t play together. “In my opinion, the difference in level is colossal. I think PSG will wrap up the quarter-final in the first leg.” “They have no legs, they have nothing. Technically they have good players, they’re not clumsy, but they play at a snail’s pace. “When you see the intensity Paris Saint-Germain manages to bring today, with their legs back, with their mental strength and everything else they’ve regained…there’s no comparison between the two teams. “It’s going to be a massacre! It’s going to be a massacre.”

April 7, 2026

Sporting Lisbon vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Champions League action on Tuesday, looking to bounce back from back-to-back cup defeats. These two sides have met three times in the past three years. The first of those three came in a 2-2 draw in Lisbon in the first leg of the Last 16 of the Europa League. In the return leg in N5, Sporting Lisbon progressed on penalties after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes. And the most recent meeting between these sides came in November 2024, when Arsenal won 5-1 in Lisbon. Sporting Lisbon enjoyed an impressive Champions League, league phase, finishing within the top 8, above the likes of Manchester City, Real Madrid and reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain. This match will be far from easy for the Gunners, as in the last 16, the Portuguese outfit overturned a 3-0 first leg deficit against Norwegian side Bodo Glimt. Rui Borges’ side won 3-0 after 90 minutes, which sent the tie into extra time, where goals from Araujo and Nel sent Sporting through, to set up a Last 8 meeting with Arsenal. Arsenal are yet to lose in this season’s Champions League. The Gunners won all 8 of their league phase matches which resulted in a 1st place finish. Mikel Arteta’s men were then drawn against Bayer Leverkusen in the Last 16, where they won 3-1 across the two legs, drawing 1-1 in Germany, then winning 2-0 in England. Sporting Lisbon come into this first leg clash off the back of back-to-back league wins against Alverca and Santa Clara, and in their last three matches in all competitions, they have found the net thirteen times, while Arsenal come into this meeting off the back of back-to-back cup defeats against Manchester City in the League Cup Final, then against Southampton in the FA Cup. Sporting Lisbon will be without their captain Morten Hjulmand for Tuesday’s first leg through suspension. Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta confirmed that Jurrien Timber and Bukayo Saka will not be available for Arsenal in Lisbon, however, Declan Rice, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel will all be available for selection. Viktor Gyokeres scored an impressive 97 times for Sporting Lisbon in only 102 appearances, and manager Rui Borges hopes that the Swede will receive a positive reception from the Sporting faithful when he returns to Lisbon on Tuesday: “He is a great player, and I am sure he will be welcomed by everyone because he marked the history of Sporting, and he deserves this acknowledgement. “I always try to be balanced, and I try to understand everyone. He had the ambition, and after talking to the management, they came to an understanding so ultimately everything that happened was correct for both sides; both Sporting and the player got what they wanted. He wanted to take that step in his career and we respect that. “Players will change, but the club stays the same, and Sporting will go on winning. I wish him (Gyokeres) all the best and I am sure he will be very welcome here because the admiration we have for him is great.” Rui Borges on Arsenal: “It is a great team, and great teams always want to win. They want to be in all competitions. “They will be like a wounded beast tomorrow. They will be more focused, more willing to show their collective and individual capacity. “Frankly, I think it will make things more difficult for us the fact that they have not had the best two last matches. But Arsenal will be facing a very motivated team. We believe we can do something extraordinary tomorrow, something that has never been done by Sporting.” Mikel Arteta on Sporting Lisbon: “Before we played them as well, when you look at what they’ve done, especially at home, the way they have behaved in this Champions League, the teams that they have beaten, we know the difficulty of the match. That’s why we want it even more.”

April 6, 2026

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

March 18, 2026

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.”

March 18, 2026

Champions League debut disaster for Antonin Kinsky sees him substituted after 17 minutes

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was subbed off after just 17 minutes on his Champions League debut in a 5-2 defeat at Atletico Madrid. The young goalkeeper had a horror start in goal, conceding three goals in the space of 15 minutes. A horrendous season for Spurs just got a whole lot worse, as they seen their Champions League hopes most likely disappear in a 5-2 defeat to Atlético Madrid. And it was goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who seen three of they five goals go past him in the first 15 minutes of the match. A slip and slide disaster from Kinsky and defender Micky van de Ven, led to the errors for the first three goals. It was the young Czech goalkeeper’s first appearance for Spurs since October. Alongside that, his Champions League debut in a knockout clash with Spanish giants Atlético Madrid, which sparked attention on why Igor Tudor chose him for such an important fixture. Moments after Julian Alvarez made it three, Igor Tudor went to his bench to remove Kinsky. Following the substitution, Tudor did not acknowledge the young goalkeeper who had his head in his hands, following what was a disastrous 17 minutes. Speaking on TNT Sports, former Spurs goalkeeper Joe Hart said: “He’s had a bad 14 minutes, there’s absolutely no getting away from it. “Even the stadium is feeling sorry for him. You see Tudor doesn’t even acknowledge his goalie. If that’s man management, I’m flabbergasted.” Tudor’s horror start now leaves questions about his future, and with no win since being appointed, many supporters have already had enough of the former Juventus manager.

March 11, 2026

Real Madrid v Manchester City- Match Preview

Another enthralling tie in this seasons Champions League sees 15-time winners Real Madrid take on Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Around this time last year, it was the Kylian Mbappe show, as the Los Blancos’ knocked Manchester City out in fine fashion, resulting in a 6-3 aggregate score. However, these teams have already met this season at the Bernabeu, and it was payback from Manchester City, as they took all three points back to Manchester. For City, it was a win last weekend away in the FA Cup to a difficult venue in St James Park.Guardiola’s side are also unbeaten in 11 competitive matches in all competitions. As for Madrid, it was a last-minute winner away to Celta Vigo to keep their La Liga title hopes alive. Player to watch: Antoine Semenyo He has hit the ground running in Manchester since being signed in January, and with seven goals already for The Citezens, he will be looking to get off to a dream start if he is to make his Champions League debut this evening in Madrid. Player to watch: Vinicius Junior With eight goal contributions in the Champions League so far, the Brazilian was a key factor to Madrid’s progress in the last round against Benfica. And if Madrid are going to progress further in this competition, Alvaro Arbeloa may have to rely on a moment of magic from the very talented winger. On regards to the fixture, Guardiola said: “When we are here, we have to prove ourselves, for my experience arriving in Champions League, semi-finals, finals, if you are not who you are it is more difficult. “We arrive better because we have the squad. Last season we arrive with a lot of fatigue.” Arbeloa on the importance of Vini Jr, he said: “For us, regardless of who is on the field, as long as he is there, he’s going to be very important. “We have key players missing who are fundamental to our team, some of the best in the world, who have earned their place through performance. Vini is taking on a lot of responsibility and is our offensive cornerstone. We need the best from him if we want to eliminate Manchester City.”

March 11, 2026

Bayer Leverkusen vs Arsenal – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Champions League action on Wednesday, in the first leg of the last 16, looking to continue their perfect start to their European campaign. The last meeting between these sides came in a friendly at Emirates Stadium ahead of the 2024/25 campaign, where Arsenal won 4-1 courtesy of goals from Zinchenko, Trossard, Jesus and Havertz. The last meeting between these sides in the Champions League came back in the 2001/02 season where Arsenal also won 4-1. Pires, Henry, Vieira and Bergkamp got the goals. The German outfit finished 16th in the league phase, winning 3, drawing 3 and losing 2, which as a result, meant they had to go through a 2-legged play-off against Greek side Olympiacos, where they won 2-0 across 2 legs to set up a last 16 meeting against Mikel Arteta’s men. Arsenal enjoyed a perfect league phase, winning 8 of their 8 matches. In that run, the Gunners beat Serie A leaders Inter Milan 3-1 in Italy, Spanish side Atletico Madrid 4-0 in N5 and Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich at home. Kasper Hjulmand’s side sit 6th in the Bundesliga, 3 points behind RB Leipzig in 5th and 9 ahead of Frankfurt in 7th, winning 13, drawing 5 and losing 7 of their 25 matches. Die Werkself have only conceded 4 goals in their last 7 Bundesliga matches and have only lost 1 of their last 7 league games. The Gunners have not lost in their last 11 matches and are League Cup finalists, where they will face Man City, sit 7 points clear at the top of the Premier League and beat League One Outfit Mansfield Town on Saturday to qualify into the last 8 of the FA Cup. In their last outing against Mansfield Town, the North London outfit became the first Premier League side to reach 100 goals in all competitions this campaign. Mikel Arteta on the win against Mansfield: “Because of the pitch, they have to adapt as well. Because of the energy that the supporters put in, which I think was extraordinary. The intensity, the banter at times, the interactions and the belief that they put in towards the team. “And then, because you really have to earn it. We had moments where it should have been two or three [up] when you don’t close the games and they have hope and belief. That becomes more and more dangerous and after they equalise in the game, you really have to dig in to earn the right to win it.” On Max Dowman’s performance against Mansfield: “Well, I’m very proud of him, very proud as well of Marli, obviously, two 16-year-olds, starting in the FA Cup. That tells us a lot about them, their personality and the quality that they have. And Max, yeah I think he was exceptional.” Kasper Hjulmand ahead of Wednesday’s meeting with Arsenal: “Because of a German team and perhaps playing Bayern four times, Arsenal would be better for a bit of variety. “They are the best teams in Europe. We want to play against the best and are looking forward to this big challenge.”

March 9, 2026

Arsenal vs Kairat Almaty – Match Preview

Arsenal return to Champions League action on Wednesday, looking to respond after losing against rivals Manchester United on Sunday. Arsenal come into this fixture off the back of a 3-2 home defeat to Manchester United, which was their first defeat since December 6th, when Aston Villa scored a late winner at Villa Park. Kairat Almaty come into this fixture off the back of a 4-1 defeat at home against Club Brugge. In Kazakhstan, the league works differently. The season runs from March until October. In their last league outing, which was back on October 26th, Kairat drew 1-1 at home to FC Astana to clinch the title and book their spot in the UEFA Champions League qualification rounds, where they beat Slovenian side Olimpija Ljubljana 3-1 on aggregate, Finnish side KuPS 3-2 on aggregate, after losing the first leg 2-0 away, Slovakian side Slovan Bratislava 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-0 win at home and a 1-0 loss away, and finally Scottish Champions Celtic 3-2 on penalties after both legs finished goalless, to book their spot in the Champions League group phase for the first time in the club’s history. Although Mikel Arteta’s side have struggled in the Premier League recently, their Champions League form has been immense. The Gunners have played 7 and won 7, with their most recent win coming against Serie A leaders 3-1 in Milan. In those 7 games, Arsenal have scored 20 goals and only let in 2. Kairat currently sit bottom of the Champions League table. The Kazakhstan side have played 7, drawn 1 and lost 6, with that 1 draw coming against 30th place Pafos, who had a man sent off after 4 minutes. Despite being bottom, the fact Kairat reached the group stage and have earned the chance to play some of Europe’s elite is a special achievement and one that will go down in Kairat’s history. Both Mikel Merino and Declan Rice will be suspended for Wednesday night’s match after both players picked up a yellow in Milan. Bukayo Saka after Manchester United defeat: “I think we didn’t show our best level for the full game, which is frustrating. “It’s such a big game with a lot riding on it. Obviously, the Emirates has been a place where we’ve been so strong this season. “It’s a tough loss to take, but we have to stick together. We go again next week; we’ll try and get back to winning ways. “In football, you can score, you can concede – it’s your reaction after it. Obviously, we would have wanted to make it 2-0, but we didn’t. Overall, we’re just not too happy with the performance.” Mikel Arteta’s reaction to defeat against Manchester United: “First of all, I congratulate Man United for the victory – a game of moments, I would define it. “The first 30 minutes was total dominance from our side in the areas that we wanted to score the goal, had another two massive chances to score. “I take full responsibility [today], they have to take full responsibility for what they’ve done for seven months, in the manner that they behaved, how much they want it. And now, in the process of winning, you have to lose or draw. It’s how you react to that. Now we have another opportunity, the best place to talk is on the pitch, in three days’ time, when we play in the Champions League again.

January 26, 2026

Who is Liam Rosenior?

Chelsea have today announced the appointment of new manager Liam Rosenior. The 42-year-old arrives in West London on a five-and-a-half-year deal replacing the outgoing Enzo Maresca. This will be Rosenior’s first venture into Premier League management, arriving from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who are under the same ownership group as Chelsea. The move has thereby been met with controversy from Strasbourg fans protesting their multi-club ownership structure. The French side currently sit 7th in Ligue 1 and topped the league phase of the UEFA Conference League. Rosenior also led Strasbourg to a 7th place finish last season. Prior to coaching in France, Rosenior was in charge of Hull City, where he was dismissed narrowly missing out on play-offs. Interestingly, Rosenior worked with current Chelsea forward Liam Delap during his time at Hull, whilst also coaching current Chelsea midfielder Andrey Santos last season at Strasbourg. Much has been made on Chelsea’s transfer strategy in recent years, but it is becoming clear that Todd Boehly and the Chelsea higher-ups are in favour of younger coaches with Maresca also taking charge in his early 40s. According to Transfermarkt, Rosenior favours a 3-4-2-1 formation, a complete switch from the 4-2-3-1 the team will be used to. But Chelsea fans will hope that the club’s return to a back three will come with the successes brought by both Antonio Conte and Thomas Tuchel. As a player, Rosenior played as a right-back for clubs like Brighton and Hull City. He has also been on record earlier this season saying he is a fan of Manchester United when he shared his admiration for Sir Alex Ferguson ahead of Strasbourg’s clash with Aberdeen. It is yet to be confirmed whether Rosenior will be in the dugout for Wednesday’s trip to Craven Cottage or if he will first take charge during Chelsea’s Saturday night clash away to Charlton in the FA Cup. Either way, Rosenior will have big shoes to fill, being tasked to replace the man who led Chelsea to the UEFA Conference League and the FIFA Club World Cup titles.

January 6, 2026

Chelsea announce Liam Rosenior as new head coach

Chelsea have announced Liam Rosenior as Enzo Maresca’s replacement in the Stamford Bridge dugout. Rosenior arrives from Ligue 1 side Strasbourg, who are under the same ownership group as the West London side. Rosenior departs France having guided his team to finish at top of the UEFA Conference League phase whilst also sitting 7th in France’s top flight. Prior to Strasbourg, the Englishman started his managerial career with Hull City, where he was sacked after narrowly missing out on the play-offs. Rosenior would then take over from outgoing Patrick Viera at Strasbourg. In his first interview with the club, Rosenior said: “I am extremely humbled and honoured to be appointed Head Coach of Chelsea Football Club. This is a club with a unique spirit and a proud history of winning trophies. ‘My job is to protect that identity and create a team that reflects these values in every game we play as we continue winning trophies. To be entrusted with this role means the world to me and I want to thank all involved for the opportunity and faith in undertaking this job. I will give everything to bring the success this club deserves. ‘I believe deeply in teamwork, unity, togetherness and working for one another, and those values will be at the heart of everything we do. They will be the foundation of our success. ‘I am excited to work with this extremely talented group of players and staff, to build strong connections on and off the pitch, and to create an environment where everyone feels united and driven by the same goal. ‘There is a real hunger to win, and I will give everything, every single day, to help this team compete and win at the very highest level to make everyone connected and proud to be a part of Chelsea Football Club. ‘I want our fans to be proud of who we are and what we represent in every single game that we play. They are the soul of this enormous, historic and huge football club. ‘I cannot wait to meet you all. I cannot wait to get started.” The 42-year-old coach has signed a contract until 2032. Chelsea make the short trip to Fulham tomorrow where it is unknown if Rosenior will take charge yet. If not, Chelsea have another short trip to Charlton on Saturday in the FA Cup, where it is likely the Englishman would be in the dugout.