Champions League

Nigerian-born Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma's eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery's side a slender lead for the second leg at the Allianz Arena in Munich next Tuesday. Villarreal stunned six times European Cup winners Bayern Munich with a deserved 1-0 win after creating a hatful of chances in a frantic Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. In the end Nigerian-born Dutch forward Arnaut Danjuma's eighth minute strike gave Unai Emery's side a slender lead for the second leg at the Allianz Arena

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone was happy with his side's defending in Tuesday's 1-0 Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat at Manchester City but said they must get a bigger share of possession in the return leg if they are to advance. Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute strike was the only goal in a game that featured few clear-cut chances, with Atletico failing to produce a single shot on target after spending much of the contest camped in their own half. "In the

Paris St Germain will face Real Madrid in a titanic clash in the last 16 of the Champions League while Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid after UEFA declared the original draw void due to a technical error in the process on Monday. Earlier, United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams had already faced each other in the group stage while the Premier League side's ball was not added to the bowl as a potential opponent for Atletico Madrid. United

A second-string Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw with Switzerland's Young Boys in Champions League Group F in a poor quality match at Old Trafford on Wednesday. United were already assured of top spot in the group and a place in the last 16 while Young Boys finished bottom and were eliminated. With little at stake, interim United manager Ralf Rangnick made 11 changes from the team which beat Crystal Palace on Sunday and if it was a chance for some

Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season. First-half goals from Thomas Mueller and Leroy Sane put the Germans, who won all six matches to top Group E, firmly in the driving seat before Jamal Musiala tapped in the third just past the hour. Barcelona had advanced to at least the round of 16 every time

Lionel Messi scored two second-half goals as Paris Saint-Germain fought back to beat RB Leipzig 3-2 when the sides met in Paris two weeks ago. Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi will miss Paris Saint-Germain's Champions League clash with RB Leipzig due to injury, his club confirmed Tuesday. The 34-year-old six-time Ballon d'Or winner has a problem with his left hamstring and a painful knee, PSG said, and sits out Wednesday's match away to Leipzig. The Argentinian scored two second-half goals as PSG fought back

Jurgen Klopp's side were superb throughout as they maintained their 100% start in the competition. Mohamed Salah's prodded finish set them on their way at the Estadio do Dragao, which once again proved a happy hunting ground. And with memories of 4-1 and 5-0 victories in recent campaigns fresh in the mind they delivered a performance brimming with pace, precision and energy. Sadio Mane extended their lead on the stroke of half-time with a back-post tap in and with the Reds wearing black

REUTERS LIVERPOOL, England, Sept 15 - Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson struck a rare Champions League goal to earn his side a 3-2 victory over AC Milan in a rip-roaring Group B opener at a rocking Anfield on Wednesday. Henderson rifled home in the 69th minute to settle an absorbing contest between the two European heavyweights whose only two previous meetings had been in finals. With Anfield welcoming back fans for a Champions League night for the first time in 18 months, Liverpool had

REUTERS MANCHESTER, England, Sept 15 - Manchester City, last season's Champions League runners-up, crushed RB Leipzig 6-3 in a thrilling Group A game on Wednesday as Christopher Nkunku scored a hat-trick for the German side. It was a hugely entertaining match at the Etihad Stadium and although City manager Guardiola will be happy with the three points he will be concerned about the spaces his team left for the German side to exploit on the break. Nkunku became only the fourth player to

REUTERS Paris St Germain have been labelled as the side to beat in the Champions League since Lionel Messi joined during the close season but coach Mauricio Pochettino warned that he had not yet turned his stellar cast of players into a team. PSG signed Messi as a free agent from Barcelona to assemble a formidable attacking trio with France striker Kylian Mbappe and Brazil forward Neymar, but they have yet to show what they are capable of together. "We're not a team

REUTERS ISTANBUL, Aug 26 - Lionel Messi's new club Paris St Germain will play Manchester City, managed by the Argentine's former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, after being drawn together in Champion's League Group A on Thursday. Messi joined Qatari-owned PSG, who will also face Bundesliga side RB Leipzig and Belgium's Brugge, from Barcelona this month after the Spanish side were unable to afford a new contract for the forward. The draw pits two of European soccer's wealthiest teams against each other once again

LAUSANNE: Up to 16,500 spectators will be allowed to attend the Champions League final in Porto on Saturday, UEFA announced on Tuesday (May 25) with the opening of ticket sales. The figure permitted by the Portuguese authorities is one-third of the capacity of the Estadio do Dragao which took over hosting the final in mid-May after Istanbul was ruled out by COVID-19 problems. UEFA had already allocated 6,000 tickets each to finalists Chelsea and Manchester City. To this will be added the traditional

LONDON: Mateo Kovacic has three Champions League winners' medals tucked away but the Croatian has never played a minute of a final. The versatile midfielder hopes that changes on Saturday when Chelsea take on Manchester City in Porto. "I've played my part in three (Champions League winning teams) at Real Madrid, not the biggest, maybe not like here," Kovacic, who was injured for the 2016 final in Milan and was an unused substitute in Cardiff in 2017 and Kiev in 2018. Obviously, I

BIRMINGHAM: Liverpool and Chelsea grabbed the final two Champions League places but Leicester City fell short of a top-four finish for the second successive season on a nerve-jangling final day of the Premier League season on Sunday. Liverpool avoided any drama as they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to finish in third spot - a silver lining to a difficult season in which their attempted defence of the title crumbled. Chelsea lost 2-1 at Aston Villa - a result that could have been curtains

BURNLEY, England: Liverpool moved into the Champions League qualifying spots after a 3-0 win at Burnley on Wednesday took them above Leicester City and into fourth place with one round of Premier League matches remaining. Roberto Firmino struck two minutes before halftime and a Nathaniel Phillips header made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute before a superb late strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain secured a fourth straight win. The victory moves Liverpool onto 66 points, ahead of fifth-placed Leicester on goal difference while Chelsea

Juan Cuadrado scored a double as Juventus kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Serie A champions Inter Milan on Saturday despite spending most of the second half with 10 men. The result lifted Andrea Pirlo's side into fourth place with one game remaining, although Napoli will knock the Turin club back into fifth if they beat Fiorentina on Sunday. Both sides were awarded first-half penalties in a game dominated by VAR decisions. Cristiano Ronaldo scored on the

LONDON: Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he has enjoyed chasing teams throughout his career as the battle to qualify for next season's Champions League goes down to the final three games of the season. Liverpool moved within four points of fourth-placed Chelsea with a game in hand after Thursday's (May 13) 4-2 Premier League victory over Manchester United. The Merseyside club were already crowned champions at this stage last season but Klopp said he still enjoys playing catch-up to the sides ahead of

MANCHESTER, England: Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool boosted their hopes of a late push into the top four and Champions League football next season with a 4-2 Premier League win at Manchester United on Thursday (May 13). The fixture, re-arranged after fan protests 10 days ago led to the match being postponed, took place after a massive security operation foiled another attempt at disruption from protesters. After spending seven hours inside the ground having arrived early to avoid attempts to block their

LONDON: Chelsea slipped up in their push for a Champions League spot when they lost 1-0 at home to Arsenal in the Premier League on Wednesday (May 12) with Emile Smith Rowe's first-half goal settling the London derby after a defensive mix-up by the hosts. The visitors capitalised on a wayward back pass by Chelsea's Jorginho to goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga who scrambled back to palm it off the line. The ball fell to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who cut it back for Smith Rowe to

TURIN, Italy: Juventus started the season looking to win a 10th straight Serie A title but instead find themselves in danger of missing out on a Champions League spot after a 3-0 home defeat by top-four rivals AC Milan on Sunday left them fifth with three games left. Goals from Brahim Diaz, Ante Rebic and Fikayo Tomori secured the win and sent Milan up to third on 72 points from 35 matches, leaving Juve a point behind fourth-placed Napoli and needing teams to