“It’s the halfway stage of the Champions League quarter-finals, which is the perfect time to pause for breath to reflect. In football parlance, the job is only ‘half done’ for Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, all of whom go into the second leg next week with a lead. As for Real Madrid, Liverpool, Sporting CP and Barcelona, they ‘have it all to do’ to reach the last four. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Champions League quarter-final bracket and predictions
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“The whistles got louder and louder. Joe Gomez was standing on the touchline at the Parc des Princes, using a towel to dry the ball before he could take a throw-in, and the locals were not impressed. The Liverpool defender looked uncomfortable, but he kept on drying. Eventually, with the noise reaching a crescendo and the referee hurrying him along, he hurled the ball into the penalty area. Nothing came of it, but at least Gomez had given Paris Saint-Germain something to think about — even if their supporters took it as an affront. …”
“The graphics are laid out and printed on A4. They are slipped into plastic sheets and placed in files. Corner kicks. Dead-ball routines. Designs that have defined this season in football, making celebrities out of specialist coaches, their impact so outsized they have become almost as prominent as head coaches. The discourse around set pieces has changed accordingly. Whenever they are brought up in the context of today’s game, it’s about the quality of the delivery, the block on the goalkeeper, a push on the back of a defender, a training-ground routine well-executed. The conversation is hardly ever about a free-kick shot. A curler. A daisy-cutter. A kiss on the underside of the bar. A goal of the year. …”
“It was bound to end like this: a long and arduous odyssey that started in 1982 on a crumbling terrace culminated on a grey, drizzly afternoon in December watching my team get hammered 3-0 in a brand spanking new stadium named in conjunction with an international commercial law firm. A glorious away win thanks to a last-minute winner would have been somehow too poetic. This was how it was meant to be, when I finally completed the 92. As with that game at Everton, most games were as an away 
“Goals from Desire Doue and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia ensured Paris Saint-Germain built a convincing first-leg lead against a Liverpool side that struggled to lay a hand on the European champions. Arne Slot’s side will take limited consolation in the knowledge that it could have been worse, were it not for some erratic fishing from the hosts and a couple of important saves from Giorgi Mamardashvili. Liverpool lined up with three at the back, which meant Mohamed Salah was reduced to a place on the substitutes’ bench — where he remained for the duration, despite Liverpool chasing the game. …”
Scissors Kick 