Champions League news

• Referee stays on Champions League final after apology for attending far-right event

  02-06-2023 12:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Szymon Marciniak says he was ‘unaware of true nature’ of event Polish referee expresses ‘deepest apologies’ for his involvementUefa has given Szymon Marciniak the go-ahead to referee next Saturday’s Champions League final after he apologised for his appearance at an event organised by a far-right politician and provided clarification regarding his involvement.Marciniak, who also refereed the World Cup final, spoke at an event in Poland on Monday organised by Sł
  
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• Is it any surprise Sancho is shining away from Manchester United circus? | Barney Ronay

  02-05-2024 19:52 via theguardian.com
  
  Although he was superb for Dortmund against PSG, this is not the time to start clamouring for a Euros place or United return for player who has had a tough two yearsPerhaps the most telling Jadon Sancho clip to emerge from a wonderfully creative attacking performance during Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League semi-final first leg was the one that appeared after the match.This was Sancho’s interview on CBS sports with a visibly buzzed-up Jamie Carragher, who had spent the evening pus
  
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• Jadon Sancho represents a high value for Manchester United, says Ten Hag

  02-05-2024 16:41 via theguardian.com
  
  Manager praised winger’s display for Dortmund against PSGSancho was loaned to German club in January after falloutErik ten Hag has said he is happy for Jadon Sancho after the winger produced a display in Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League win over Paris Saint-Germain that showed he “represents a high value” for Manchester United.Sancho was among Dortmund’s best performers in Wednesday’s 1-0 victory in the semi-final first leg. The 24-year-old joined the Germ
  
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• Champions League team of the week: Jadon Sancho is back to his best

  02-05-2024 14:23 via theguardian.com
  
  The semi-finals kicked off with standout performances from a trio of Premier League loanees and two old hands rolling back the clockGoalkeeper: Gregor Kobel, Borussia DortmundFrom a small pool of goalkeepers, only Dortmund’s Kobel kept a clean sheet. And if he could thank the post and bar for that on a couple of occasions – a Kylian Mbappé special rattled the woodwork at one point – he gave a solid performance in the Westfalenstadion. PSG rained 14 shots on Kobel’s
  
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• Dortmund win ends Premier League hope of extra Champions League spot

  02-05-2024 09:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Five Bundesliga clubs will be in next season’s tournamentAston Villa lead Spurs in battle for fourth place in EnglandBorussia Dortmund’s win at home to Paris Saint-Germain has confirmed that the Bundesliga, not the Premier League, will get an extra spot in next season’s Champions League.England’s slim hopes of overhauling Germany in the Uefa coefficient rankings have been extinguished and the Bundesliga’s top five finishers will play in the Champions League. Only th
  
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• Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSG: Champions League semi-final, first leg – as it happened

  01-05-2024 23:33 via theguardian.com
  
  Despite a plethora of chances for both sides, Niclas Füllkrug’s first-half goal was enough to give Dortmund the advantage going into next week’s decisive leg5 min: Dortmund see plenty of the ball. Sancho popping up all over the place as well, already looking far more confident and assured when compared to his Manchester United self.3 min: Ryerson makes a glorious nuisance of himself down the right. Dribbling hard. Pressing hard, too, upon losing control. He wins a throw deep in
  
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• Füllkrug’s rocket hands Dortmund Champions League edge over PSG

  01-05-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  As the final whistle blew on this pulsating, perplexing game you could see the Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain players stumbling around in a kind of daze, still trying to process things. Wondering how their combined efforts and errors had resulted in just a single goal. Wondering whether – for all the boldness and brittleness of the men in yellow – this really could be Borussia Dortmund’s year.Niclas Füllkrug’s first-half goal ultimately settled matters, even if ver
  
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• Füllkrug’s rocket gives Dortmund slim advantage over PSG as Sancho shines

  01-05-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  As the final whistle blew on this pulsating, perplexing game you could see the Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain players stumbling around in a kind of daze, still trying to process things. Wondering how their combined efforts and errors had resulted in just a single goal. Wondering whether – for all the boldness and brittleness of the men in yellow – this really could be Borussia Dortmund’s year.Niclas Füllkrug’s first-half goal ultimately settled matters, even if ver
  
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• Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSG: Champions League semi-final, first leg – live

  01-05-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  Minute-by-minute updates on the action at Signal Iduna ParkAny thoughts or comments? Feel free to email Scott5 min: Dortmund see plenty of the ball. Sancho popping up all over the place as well, already looking far more confident and assured when compared to his Manchester United self.3 min: Ryerson makes a glorious nuisance of himself down the right. Dribbling hard. Pressing hard, too, upon losing control. He wins a throw deep in PSG territory. It’s flung in long, but the ball’s cle
  
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• Can Bayern Munich win Champions League with revolution afoot? | Jonathan Liew

  01-05-2024 19:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Tuchel is leaving and Rangnick likely to come in, with several Red Bull alumni already in place amid disquiet among fansThere is always something now. There is always something later. Even as the sweat was drying on Bayern Munich’s 2-2 draw against Real Madrid on Tuesday night, thoughts were beginning to turn, with alarming speed, to new plans and new eras. While the outgoing Thomas Tuchel dissected the performances of Kim Min-jae and Leroy Sané in the broadcast zone, the top brass
  
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• Borussia Dortmund v PSG: Champions League semi-final, first leg – live

  01-05-2024 19:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Minute-by-minute updates on the action at Signal Iduna ParkAny thoughts or comments? Feel free to email ScottIf this first leg of the second semi-final proves to be even half as entertaining as last night’s 2-2 draw between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, we’ll be doing pretty well. The 1997 champions and the 2020 runners-up get down to business in the Westfalenstadion at 8pm BST. It’s on! Continue reading...
  
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• Toni Kroos proves the pass master yet again to point the way for Real Madrid | Sid Lowe

  01-05-2024 01:04 via theguardian.com
  
  The irreplaceable German midfielder refused to allow Bayern to escape with the game – and his control kept Madrid in the tieThomas Tuchel had warned that you don’t see Real Madrid’s goals coming, so Toni Kroos helpfully pointed it out, but still Bayern Munich couldn’t stop it. There are times, the German coach had said on the eve of this most classic of European confrontations, when you watch their games, analysing them closely, and everything seems to be under control, w
  
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• Carlo Ancelotti admits Jude Bellingham ‘not at his best’ against Bayern Munich

  01-05-2024 00:25 via theguardian.com
  
  Bellingham taken off with fatigue and cramp in second halfAncelotti: ‘He was just tired. He will get back to his best’Carlo Ancelotti admitted that Jude Bellingham was “not at his best” in the first leg of Real Madrid’s Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich, but backed him to come good in the return game at the Bernabéu next week.Ancelotti revealed that Bellingham was suffering from cramp and fatigue during the game, a problem that has often affli
  
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• Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid: Champions League semi-final, first leg – as it happened

  30-04-2024 23:36 via theguardian.com
  
  Vinícius Júnior scored twice while Harry Kane notched his 43rd goal of the season as European royalty traded blows in Munich4 min: Bellingham tries to switch play from right to left with a first-time speculative hoof. Rodrygo can’t latch onto the ball and Kimmich tidies up. A nice open start to this semi-final.2 min: Real reply to that early concern with a period of nerve-settling possession. They ping it around and eventually Bellingham is caught offside. Continue reading...
  
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• Vinícius Júnior gives Real Madrid edge in semi-final after Kane rouses Bayern

  30-04-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  These are Real Madrid’s principles, and if you don’t like them … well, they have others. Carlo Ancelotti’s side were pummelled by Bayern Munich for long periods here, run left and right, hassled and jostled and almost toppled. And yet – of course – here they are, still standing, even marginal favourites courtesy of the magical right boot of Vinícius Júnior.Vinícius’s late penalty salvaged a game that Thomas Tuchel and Bayern had thr
  
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• Vinícius Júnior earns Real Madrid edge in first leg after Harry Kane lifts Bayern

  30-04-2024 23:10 via theguardian.com
  
  These are Real Madrid’s principles, and if you don’t like them … well, they have others. Carlo Ancelotti’s side were pummelled by Bayern Munich for long periods here, run left and right, hassled and jostled and almost toppled. And yet – of course – here they are, still standing, even marginal favourites courtesy of the magical right boot of Vinícius Júnior.Vinícius’s late penalty salvaged a game that Thomas Tuchel and Bayern had thr
  
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• Bayern Munich 2-2 Real Madrid: Champions League semi-final, first leg – live reaction

  30-04-2024 22:57 via theguardian.com
  
  Champions League semi-final updates, 8pm BST kick-offLive scoreboard | Read Football Daily | And you can mail Scott4 min: Bellingham tries to switch play from right to left with a first-time speculative hoof. Rodrygo can’t latch onto the ball and Kimmich tidies up. A nice open start to this semi-final.2 min: Real reply to that early concern with a period of nerve-settling possession. They ping it around and eventually Bellingham is caught offside. Continue reading...
  
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• Kane and Bellingham take different paths to Champions League duel | Jonathan Liew

  29-04-2024 20:53 via theguardian.com
  
  While Harry Kane has navigated his career like he always has another season, his England teammate plays like this is his lastThere were a few tourists from Madrid taking selfies outside the Allianz Arena on Monday lunchtime and, as footballing pilgrimages go, this is one you really have to want. Wedged between two major road junctions and approached either through a concrete jungle of slip roads or a 40-minute schlep on the train followed by a long trudge past a sewage treatment plant, perhaps t
  
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• Jude Bellingham’s duel with Harry Kane a reminder of divergent paths

  29-04-2024 20:53 via theguardian.com
  
  While Kane has navigated his career like a man who always has another season, his England teammate acts like this is his lastThere were a few tourists from Madrid taking selfies outside the Allianz Arena on Monday lunchtime and, as footballing pilgrimages go, this is one you really have to want. Wedged between two major road junctions and approached either through a concrete jungle of slip roads or a 40-minute schlep on the train followed by a long trudge past a sewage treatment plant, perhaps t
  
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• English clubs’ hopes of extra Champions League spot hanging by a thread

  19-04-2024 00:28 via theguardian.com
  
  Liverpool and West Ham exits likely to mean no fifth spotItaly and Germany well set to take two extra placesThe Premier League’s hopes of securing an extra spot in next season’s expanded Champions League are hanging by a thread after the exits of Manchester City and Arsenal from this season’s competition on Wednesday were followed by those of West Ham and Liverpool from the Europa League on Thursday. Germany are the strong favourites to pip England to the prize.The situation ha
  
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• Kyle Walker urges Manchester City to channel the pain after ‘cruellest’ defeat

  18-04-2024 23:30 via theguardian.com
  
  Domestic double the target after Champions League exitFA Cup tie against Chelsea a chance to ‘do something special’Kyle Walker says Manchester City must channel the anguish of their Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid into the pursuit of a domestic double. The 33-year-old spoke of the cruelty of Wednesday night’s penalty shootout defeat by Madrid, which followed a second leg at the Etihad Stadium that City dominated from the start of the second half of normal time
  
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• Manchester City’s gripping system failure offers glimmer of hope to others | Barney Ronay

  18-04-2024 20:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Madrid being cast as underdogs is a grotesque measure of where we are but absorbing tie was a telling clash of contrastsIt turns out Pep Guardiola was right after all. Manchester City’s pursuit of the double-treble will now remain “a hypothetical dream”.This was Pep’s own excellent phrase before Wednesday’s second leg against Real Madrid, a formulation that suggests even Guardiola’s dreams are full of theory, algebra, hypotheticals, like a footballing ver
  
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• As City and Arsenal exit Europe, is the Premier League really the world’s best? | Max Rushden

  18-04-2024 15:27 via theguardian.com
  
  In a game where Eric Dier is among those who moved abroad and kicked on, plenty believe the English arrogance is realIt’s that Mitchell and Webb sketch reprised. Premier League fans looking around nervously. Are we … the farmers? (credit to Charlie on X who asked me this question). How can we carry on if the Premier League isn’t “The Greatest League In The World”™? The Champions League quarter-finals have been a salutary reminder that there are good footballe
  
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• English clubs in nervy wait as Germany closes on extra Champions League spot

  18-04-2024 14:59 via theguardian.com
  
  Thursday’s European ties could spell end of hopes for fifth placeItaly and Germany currently the likeliest to take two extra spotsEngland’s hopes of securing an extra spot in next season’s expanded Champions League are hanging by a thread after the exits of Manchester City and Arsenal from this season’s competition on Wednesday night – with Germany now the strong favourites to pip them to the prize.The picture could become more gloomy or even terminal for England by
  
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• Champions League team of the week: Kimmich breaks record … and Arsenal

  18-04-2024 13:59 via theguardian.com
  
  A round packed with goals brought us a smiling Ousmane Dembélé, a frustrated Bukayo Saka and match-winning performance from a goalkeeperIf Tuesday night’s Champions League second legs tipped one way and then the other with attacking flair, then Wednesday was a night for grit to win the day – and English football to be the loser. It also brought a restoration of the old order, with Bayern and Real Madrid to meet in the semi-finals.Goalkeeper: Andriy Lunin, Real Madrid Co
  
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• Manchester City and Arsenal crash out of Champions League – Football Weekly Extra

  18-04-2024 13:14 via theguardian.com
  
  Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Lars Sivertsen and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid and Bayern account for Manchester City and Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finalsRate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.On the podcast today: you can never write off Real Madrid. Manchester City dominated them for almost the entire 120 minutes, but they stayed in it and ultimatel
  
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• ‘It’s why we went abroad’: Kane relishes semi-final clash with Real’s Bellingham

  18-04-2024 13:00 via theguardian.com
  
  Bayern Munich striker looking forward to Champions League tieKane admits Wednesday’s win over Arsenal ‘feels amazing’Harry Kane says the Champions League semi-final meeting between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid justifies the decisions he and Jude Bellingham made to continue their careers on the continent.Two of England’s biggest stars will face each other in 12 days’ time after their clubs overcame Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. A final on familiar territ
  
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• 'We lacked that magic moment': Mikel Arteta rues small margins in Arsenal defeat to Bayern – video

  18-04-2024 07:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Mikel Arteta said Arsenal 'lacked that magic moment' after losing to Bayern Munich and missing out on a first Champions League semi-final since 2009. Joshua Kimmich’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate win. 'I thought we had the capacity and the quality to win the semi-finals because the margins have been very small,' Arteta said. 'But those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don't have yet and we have to learn it.'‘Small margins’: Arteta sa
  
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• 'We lacked that magic moment': Mikel Arteta rues small margins in Arsenal defeat by Bayern – video

  18-04-2024 07:31 via theguardian.com
  
  Mikel Arteta said Arsenal 'lacked that magic moment' after losing to Bayern Munich and missing out on a first Champions League semi-final since 2009. Joshua Kimmich’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate win. 'I thought we had the capacity and the quality to win the semi-finals because the margins have been very small,' Arteta said. 'But those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don't have yet and we have to learn it.'‘Small margins’: Arteta sa
  
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• 'I don't have any regrets': Pep Guardiola proud of Man City performance after shootout loss – video

  18-04-2024 07:26 via theguardian.com
  
  Manchester City came from behind in their quarter-final second leg at the ­Etihad Stadium, after Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute strike cancelled out Rodrygo’s opener early in the first half. Despite the holders dominating ­possession, Real held on until the end of extra-time and eventually prevailed following a penalty shootout. 'We did everything, I don't have any regrets with what we have done,' said Guardiola. Continue reading...
  
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