The Champions League trophy on display at holders Paris Saint-Germain’s Parc des Princes stadium last August
“The holders and the record winners — Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid — will compete in the Champions League’s knockout play-offs this month. Twelve of the 36 teams were eliminated in January following the wild final round of the league phase, so things are starting to shape up. Last month’s draw means we can forecast the possible matchups in the round of 16, which starts in March. …”
NY Times/The Athletic (Video)
Champions League play-offs: How they work and which clubs are in danger
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“Welcome to the latest edition of Inside Barcelona, our weekly series to follow throughout La Liga’s 2025-26 season. Every week, we will bring you key information and analysis on the biggest talking points, cutting through the noisy world of all things Barca with reporting you can trust. The information contained in this article reflects multiple conversations with various sources at the Spanish champions, all of whom wanted to speak anonymously to protect relationships. …”
“Xabi Alonso’s response to a question about his preferred playing style in his first press conference as Real Madrid head coach last May was instructive. … Alvaro Arbeloa’s response to the same question seven-and-a-half months later, after being promoted to the first-team job from coaching in the club’s academy in the wake of Alonso’s January 12 sacking, was much simpler. …”
“… Anatoliy Trubin has had a bit more time to process what happened in the 98th minute of Benfica’s final Champions League group game against Real Madrid. But it still doesn’t feel entirely real. To recap: because of injuries and a couple of VAR reviews in the first half, the game was still going six or seven minutes after every other fixture on the last, chaotic day of the group stage had finished. That meant Benfica knew what they had to do to make it into the playoffs for the knockout stages. Well, in theory they did. …”
Scissors Kick 