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Arsenal are “optimistic” that Bukayo Saka will be healthy and ready for their Champions League quarter-final first leg versus Real Madrid, according to David Ornstein.  Saka has missed the entirety of this year to date following a significant hamstring injury sustained against Crystal Palace on December 21.  He has been absent from the last 19 Arsenal matches and is expected to come back in April.  It is uncertain how soon in April the 22-year-old will be back, as Real Madrid is set to visit the Emirates on the eighth for a significant Champions League match.  The Gunners return to the Bernabeu for the second leg eight days later, and if Saka isn't available for the first leg, he is expected to play in the Spanish capital.  The Athletic correspondent Ornstein suggests there is “hope” for Arsenal and Saka.  Ornstein stresses that Saka will not be hurried or endangered by the club’s medical team.  "As first reported by John Cross, this seems to be Arsena...

•  Arsenal will meet Real Madrid in the upcoming round of the Champions League.  • Two pre-tournament favorites still struggling to meet expectations this season.  • Arteta foresees a close encounter between two elite teams.  Mikel Arteta has cautioned Arsenal that they need to perform at their highest level to overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals.  Having smoothly navigated their last 16 matchup against PSV Eindhoven, Arsenal must now brace themselves to face the defending European champions after Madrid triumphed in their contentious encounter with Atletico.  Urging Arsenal supporters to vocalize their presence at the Emirates, Arteta recognized that instances of personal excellence will probably determine which team advances to the next stage of the Champions League.  "The foremost requirement is that you must perform at your peak during both games, for every single minute," he cautioned. "Don't reveal anything, as they will s...

Diego Simeone has at least come up with a novel method of being eliminated from the Champions League by Real Madrid. Kylian Mbappe embarrassed Vinicius Junior while Arsenal is on standby.  All that for the privilege of confronting Arsenal.  "We're aware of the challenge, but I can't say which it is," Mikel Arteta replied when asked if he would prefer to face the experts of low-block painful play or meet the defenders of the Champions League at the quarter-finals stage.  However, the answer is clear: certainly not Atletico Madrid, but certainly not Real Madrid.  The scenario of imagining the Gunners either laboring frantically to dismantle Diego Simeone’s latest relentless creation or wearing their tinfoil hats to theorize ways around a team whose dominance in this competition has reached ridiculous levels soon faded into the cool Madrid air, as this knockout match shifted its focus from who might progress to who would endure, and what would yield first: justice or de...

Ousmane Dembele played a crucial role in propelling Paris Saint-Germain into the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday evening. The in-form winger netted the crucial goal that equalized the Round of 16 matchup versus Liverpool on aggregate. He subsequently converted one of the penalties in the shootout.  And what a punishment it was, as well. Dembele is inherently left-footed and positioned to shoot on his preferred side before curving his run and delivering an unbeatable right-footed shot past Alisson Becker, arguably the top goalkeeper in the world today.  Why Dembele Uses His Weaker Right Foot for Shooting   The French player is naturally left-footed.  The initial observation that Dembele opted to take penalties with his right foot occurred during his time at Stade Rennais. When questioned about it, the assailant provided a brief yet clear rationale for favoring his weaker side for shooting, claiming it allowed him to produce greater power.  The French i...

Jamie Carragher asserts that Liverpool's victory against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday was “one of the greatest heists you will ever witness in football.”  Alisson emerged as the hero for the Reds, making several incredible saves to maintain Slot’s team in contention before a late strike from substitute Harvey Elliott secured a one-goal advantage to take back to Anfield for the second leg.  Carragher maintains that PSG "smashed" Liverpool at the Parc des Princes and was astounded by what he saw post-match, asserting that Alisson delivered a stellar performance.  “Escaped from it?” "That's among the most significant heists you will encounter in football," Carragher stated on CBS Sports.  "I can't comprehend what I've just witnessed." PSG were truly exceptional and completely dominated Liverpool.  "The most recent occasion Liverpool triumphed in this tournament, Alisson Becker stopped a shot from Napoli in the final group match of the...

An expected response to Liverpool's victory, with even the Liverpool supporters acknowledging that they were extremely fortunate to leave PSG with a win.  LIVERPOOL   Damn it. PSG dominated them. As Southampton and various other clubs have done. However, they benefit from favorable circumstances. Boring!  Liverpool supporters complaining about how bad PSV are, yet Liverpool were worse. Just lucky fools.  Chris, Croydon   …I can confidently assert that this is the most significant theft in football since the Henry handball incident.  Paul  Liverpool were assaulted.  I was aware PSG would perform well, and I anticipated Liverpool would feel fatigued after a grueling few months. Yet, I can’t recall the last time Liverpool was so thoroughly controlled with 11 players…the beatings from Atalanta or Napoli seem insignificant in comparison. The entire team (or nearly all of them) appeared to be suffering from the flu.  All credit goes to PSG; they pe...

The race for the Champions League is currently the sole competition in the Premier League, but there's an exciting battle ahead of us. Five points separate Manchester City in fourth place from Aston Villa in tenth, and Nottingham Forest along with title-challengers Arsenal could – hopefully – still be drawn into the mix.  Success could largely depend on the influence of players recovering from injuries, and we've identified ten stars likely to make a comeback before the season concludes who could make significant contributions to help their teams.  We have utilized the outstanding Premier Injuries for the anticipated return dates of players, listed in chronological order.  Oscar Bobb (Manchester City) – Upcoming   In the midst of widespread disbelief last season that Manchester City failed to recognize Cole Palmer as the Messiah before letting him join Chelsea and dominate the Premier League, one reason that softened the blow of that clear mistake was Bobb's rise to ...

• The draw for the last 16 of the Champions League was finalized on Friday.  • Play-off victors join the top eight from the league stage in the following round.  • Madrid derby is one of the most fascinating matchups.  Two of the top contenders for this season's Champions League will clash in the last 16 as Liverpool faces off against Paris Saint-Germain in the main matchup of the round.  Friday's draw included the top eight teams from the league phase along with the eight teams that advanced from the play-offs. Manchester City, AC Milan, and Juventus were some of the notable teams to be eliminated early, while Real Madrid, Bayern Munich, and PSG advanced to the next stage.  PSG's reward is a massive matchup against Liverpool, which marks the most significant confrontation of the last 16. A Madrid derby is also on the horizon as Real faces Atletico, while Barcelona competes against Portuguese powerhouse Benfica and Arsenal clashes with Dutch team PSV Eindhoven....

• Kylian Mbappe scored a remarkable hat-trick to secure a 3-1 victory against Man City.  • The Frenchman has decisively recovered from a disappointing beginning.  • Jude Bellingham enthusiastic about the future with new teammate  Jude Bellingham has stated that Kylian Mbappe is currently "soaring" at Real Madrid, cautioning teams throughout Europe that they will find it difficult to contain the French star.  Following his notable free transfer to Madrid in the summer, Mbappe experienced a notoriously poor beginning to his time in Spain but, after reaching "rock bottom" with several missed penalties in December, has returned to his brilliant form in 2025.  Mbappe's hat-trick on Wednesday versus Manchester City raised his season total to 27 goals in 37 matches for Los Blancos, prompting Bellingham to commend his new teammate's influence this year.  "It's fantastic; you enter matches aware that he will make an impact if you pass him the ball," Bel...

• Erling Haaland remained on the bench as Man City fell to Real Madrid.  • Forward suffering from injury sustained in the last match against Newcastle United  • Pep Guardiola disclosed a crucial discussion that took place on the morning of the match.  Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has stated that Erling Haaland chose he "wasn't ready" to confront Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.  Haaland's absence from the starting XI before kickoff at the Bernabeu was unexpected, as Madrid comfortably handled the second knockout play-off.  Madrid possessed a narrow aggregate lead after a thrilling first leg comeback, but ultimately extended it to a four-goal margin thanks to Kylian Mbappe's hat-trick. A subdued City didn't truly challenge the Spanish giants until a late consolation, well after the match was no longer competitive.  Haaland, who injured his knee in the match against Newcastle United over the weekend, didn't leave the bench a...

• Man City heads to Spain for the second leg of their playoff match on Wednesday.  • Real Madrid triumphed in the initial match in Manchester with a score of 3-2, thanks to two late goals.  • Pep Guardiola was not particularly hopeful regarding City's prospects.  Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola stated that his team has only a "1%" chance of progressing to the Champions League round of 16 before the second leg of their play-off against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening.  Everything might have turned out quite differently. The current Premier League champions held a 2-1 advantage against Madrid with fewer than ten minutes left in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium last Tuesday, prior to two late goals that dramatically shifted the dynamic of the entire matchup.  Facing a 3-2 aggregate deficit before this week's crucial game in the Spanish capital, City must either beat Madrid by two goals in regular time or win by one goal and then succeed in the following pen...

We can figure out a lot of things from the finishing places now that the Champions League's new league phase is finally over.  In the simplest terms possible, we are aware of which eight teams have advanced directly to the round of 16, which 16 teams are on their way to the playoffs, and which 12 teams have been eliminated completely. However, for the teams that have managed to advance somehow, we also now understand their possible routes to the final.  The play-off draw was a seeded, paired draw. This indicates that the team that placed ninth was matched up with a team that ended in 23rd or 24th position. The team that placed 10th received the other one. The 11th and 12th match with the 21st and 22nd, continuing in this way until you reach the 15th and 16th paired with the 17th and 18th.  We might even launch items a little farther, as we still lack clarity on which part of the final last-16 bracket any team will land, but we do know, for example, that the clubs finishin...

Paris Saint-Germain will meet French rivals Brest in this season's Champions League quarterfinal play-offs, while Manchester City will play reigning champions Real Madrid. The enlarged 36-team table was ultimately finished Wednesday night after the Champions League's inaugural league phase concluded with 18 concurrent matches. The 16 clubs between ninth and twenty-fourth place will face off over two legs in February, as the teams that placed in the top eight automatically advanced to the round of sixteen and were not involved in Friday's draw.  Thiago Alcantara was there at UEFA's House of Football in Switzerland to interpret the specific ties, even though each club was already aware that it could only play one of two opponents in these play-offs depending on their final league phase table position. Complete draw for the 2024/25 Champions League knockout stage play-offs  [Second on the list are seeded teams] •  Juventus vs PSV • Feyenoord vs Milan • Brest vs PSG • Monac...