“Paris Saint-Germain vs Barcelona. Bayern Munich vs Arsenal. This week, four of the favourites to win the Champions League were pitted against each other. Since the start of last season, they make up four of the top five for wins across Europe’s top competition and their respective leagues. Despite the absence of jeopardy in the league phase in early October, these two matches showed some of their strengths and weaknesses — here is what The Athletic spotted. …”
NYT/ATH
Paris Saint-Germain sparkle on the pitch while the city of light burns around them
“Tell you who would have loved this? Who would have been utterly engrossed scrolling the hashtag #Paris on Tuesday night as two things happened simultaneously, the harrowing of the Barcelona defence at the Parc des Princes, and the harrowing of Paris itself via tales of city-centre thuggery and end-of-days political doom‑mongering. The big man, Guy Debord himself. The Society of the Spectacle, you say? Actually, I think we’re past that now. Hold the society bit. We’ll just take the spectacle. The great Parisian Situationist philosopher wasn’t really one for managed fun. But it was impossible not to be bowled over by the extraordinary pre-match show for Paris Saint‑Germain versus Barcelona, Champions League Matchday Three. …”
Guardian
“This was the night Rio Ngumoha announced himself on the Champions League stage Liverpool’s prodigiously gifted 18-year-old was excellent in the 6-3 win over LASK last week but against sterner opposition in the form of Villarreal he delivered a display that had Merseyside — and, indeed, the whole of Europe — salivating. He produced two assists to write his name into Liverpool’s record books, becoming the youngest player to assist a goal in the Champions League, and helped Andoni Iraola’s side overcome a dreadful start which saw them fall 2-0 behind after 29 minutes but ultimately win 4-3 thanks to two goals from Alexis Mac Allister, and strikes by Ronald Araujo and Florian Wirtz. Our experts analyse the big talking points. …”
“While Thomas Tuchel continues to 
“THERE are surprise early leaders in the Bundesliga in the form of Freiburg, who won 5-0 against Borussia Mönchengladbach, taking their tally for the season to 10 goals in three games. Freiburg’s Yannik Engelhardt and Igor Matanovic scored two apiece. After the game, Gladbach’s third defeat of the campaign, coach Eugen Polanski became the first Bundesliga coach to be sacked this season. Polanski was appointed a year ago and had a win rate of 29.73% in his 37 games with Gladbach. Borussia Dortmund also maintained their 100% record with a 3-0 win against Paderborn with goals from Serhou Guirassy, Maximilian Beier and Marcel Sabitzer. Bayern Munich made hard work of beating newly-promoted Elversberg, who fell to their first defeat since arriving in the top flight. Harry Kane and Lennart Karl scored Bayern’s goals. Augsburg kept pace with the leaders but were denied a 2-1 win by a last-minute goal from Leverkusen’s Patrik Schick. Frankfurt picked up their first win at Mainz with Can Uzun netting twice in a 3-1 win. …”
“THE first ‘big six’ clash of the season saw two clubs with a 100% record come face-to-face. Arsenal played host to Chelsea at the Emirates but the hosts received a shock in the first minute when Morgan Rogers netted his second goal since arriving from Aston Villa. Former Chelsea man Kai Havertz scored the equaliser in the 25th minute with a shot that goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez should probably have stopped and the game was clinched by Martin Ødegaard in the 50th. Arsenal showed they are out to retain their title and Chelsea suggested they are a better equipped side than last season, but they are still some way from being contenders. Manchester City also have a 100% record after beating Coventry City with a goal from Erling Haaland. Liverpool secured their first win under new manager Andoni Iraola as they beat Ipswich Town at Portman Road (pictured). …”
Torino’s Nikola Vlasic equalises from the spot against Inter Milan in Serie A
Bournemouth might have unearthed another top talent in Alvaro Rodriguez
“… Standing off to one side, his arms tightly folded across his chest, Kylian Mbappe wears a face like thunder. As he paces across the room to join his team-mates’ huddle, they abruptly fall quiet. The clatter of his studs across the floor ruptures the silence. Reaching Dembele, Mbappe puts his hand on his team-mate’s shoulder and says: ‘Good job.’ Then, leaning in and lowering his voice to a menacing whisper, he adds: ‘Never do that again.’ A look of horror flashes across Dembele’s face. The scene — it should be said — is a work of pure fiction. …”
“Spain defeated France, 2-0, in the World Cup semifinal on Tuesday, first scoring off a penalty kick. The second goal came following a breakdown in France’s defense in the 58th minute. Here’s a 3-D view of Spain’s second goal. …”
“World Cup games mean more. England have only ever played 80 games in the finals, which is to say, not much more than two Premier League seasons in the 76 years since they first entered. Those games draw huge audiences: more than 17 million in the UK watched Saturday’s win over Norway, even though it was after midnight by the time it finished. In most countries, 
“A fresh row over racism towards the 
Uzbek referee Ilgiz Tantashev holds France star Kylian Mbappe during a match against Paraguay at Philadelphia Stadium on July 4
Mbappe described Celeste Amarilla as “despicable” after her multiple social media posts following France’s World Cup win over Paraguay on Saturday.
“I was born in the late 70s of a mother from Martinique and a father from Lorraine region in eastern continental France: I was always aware that, for good and bad, France was more than white, more than Europe, more than what most thought and took for granted. I looked to history to make sense of the very existence of my family, and the history I found was a history of exploitation, slavery, abuse ignored by most French people. Growing up in the 1980s, there were few places where French flags were acceptable: government buildings, sporting events, right-wing and fascist meetings. …”
“Michael Olise is probably the best creative player in the world at the moment. He racked up 26 assists for Bayern Munich last season. It was his shift into a more central role that transformed 
Bradley Barcola beats the onrushing Edouard Mendy to score France’s second goal
“King Charles III is pondering a tactical dilemma. His best player, Harry Kane, hasn’t turned up to the tournament because he didn’t deem it important enough to make the two-week voyage. … Sound familiar? Well, the names have been changed but all these things once happened in the biggest tournament that football has to offer. Welcome to the wild and wonderful story of the 1930 World Cup. There were only 13 teams in the first World Cup, or as the United States team manager called it at the time, the World’s Championship of Soccer Football….”
France’s players aboard the ship taking them to the 1930 World Cup in Uruguay.
“
“It would be easy to look at Saturday’s Champions League final between 
“THE TWO second legs may not have been as captivating as the first, but nobody could complain at the overall quality of the penultimate stage of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League. For Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, their success underlined that they are probably the two best teams in Europe this season. Bayern Munich, arguably, are also in the continent’s top three, but they looked decidedly pedestrian against Luis Enrique’s livewires. PSG’s speed and energy, a feature of their approach these days, was too much for a tired-looking Bayern. They had Harry Kane sorted out, although the England captain finally got a sight of goal in added time, but it was too little, too late. As for Arsenal, they beat Atlético Madrid at their own game, playing them tight and matching them muscle-for-muscle. Arsenal have shown this season they have more savvy than in previous campaigns that have promised much and delivered little. …”
Ousmane Dembélé fires the ball past Manuel Neuer for the early breakthrough for PSG.
“We were served up an all-timer of a game at the Parc des Princes last week, and the second leg promises more of the same. For Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, the 2025-26 season will be measured by the Champions League. The contest resumes at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, with PSG holding a one-goal lead. Twenty-four hours after the fireworks in Paris came a different sort of game. Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, two coaches who have built reputations on defensive identity, played out a tense, attritional first leg that finished 1-1. Two ties, two shades of intensity. A reminder that the same sport can grip you in entirely different ways. The second legs will decide who walks out at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30. But who will be in the final? Here are the numbers and trends that may give us a clue. …”
“Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are meeting in this season’s Champions League semi-finals. A place in the final in Budapest at the end of May is at stake, of course, but so too is making history for both sides. Atletico and Arsenal, who play their first leg in Madrid tonight (Wednesday), are arguably the two biggest clubs never to have won the Champions League or its forerunner, the European Cup. Atletico have been finalists three times, Arsenal once, and both will envy the likes of Crvena Zvezda, PSV and Steaua Bucharest, who have all claimed the continental title. Each of those three would be considered ‘smaller’ clubs than Atletico or Arsenal, as would two-time winners Porto. But Porto and, for example, Hamburg and Feyenoord, could retort that their size can be measured by their trophy cabinet. …”
Franz Beckenbauer (left) shakes hands with Abelardo of Atletico Madrid ahead of the European Cup final replay in Brussels
“… That statement was completely illogical yet also made perfect sense, and therefore proved a fitting appraisal of a truly logic-defying game in Paris on Tuesday. This first leg of a Champions League semi-final was unquestionably the best match of the European season, probably the best of the decade so far and presumably the best many people watching it around the world have ever seen. Football is not generally a sport where you need to check the scoreboard to understand the state of play. Here, with so much going on, sometimes you needed to double-check: yes, it really was 
“The best Champions League match ever? The best football match ever? 
“The Champions League is approaching its conclusion. Only four teams are left, with holders Paris Saint-Germain hosting a seemingly all-conquering Bayern Munich and Arsenal travelling to Atletico Madrid in this week’s first legs of the semi-finals. The winners of those ties will meet in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30. 
“Paris Saint-Germain have won 11 of the past 13 French league titles and, going into this weekend, stood four points clear of Lens at the top of Ligue 1. Bayern Munich have already wrapped up this season’s Bundesliga title, their 13th in 14 years. According to Deloitte, Bayern are the third-richest club in the world by revenue, PSG fourth. They meet in the 
“Fifty days out from the World Cup, France are in ominously impressive form and will go into the tournament as one of the favourites to lift the trophy. After a curious Euro 2024, where Les Bleus went out in the semi-finals having scored only three goals from open play (two of which were own goals), head coach Didier Deschamps used the subsequent Nations League campaign to recalibrate his misfiring attack. 
“Liverpool were outplayed and outclassed in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain. Even if they managed to escape Paris with the tie still alive, they have their work cut out to overturn the 2-0 deficit. Luis Enrique’s reigning European champions are unquestionably one of the best teams in the world — but PSG are not unbeatable. The Athletic explores how other teams have earned positive results against the Ligue 1 side, and how Liverpool can turn this quarter-final around. …”
“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. …”
“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. …”
“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. …”
“If you were picking a match to play after losing 4-0 to Manchester City, it would not be a trip to France to face defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain. Yet that’s the challenge for Arne Slot and his players as they aim to bounce back from this season’s latest low and keep their hopes of winning the Champions League alive. 
Can PSG become the first team other than Real Madrid to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990?
“It has not been a great week for Premier League clubs in the Champions League. Just two of the six teams that made it into the last 16 are through to the quarter-finals, with the other four losing their ties by a combined score of 28-11 on aggregate. Newcastle United’s 8-3 loss to Barcelona and Chelsea’s 8-2 against Paris Saint-Germain will especially sting, given both Premier League sides matched their opponents for a sizeable part of the four games. …”
“We’re at the business end of the Champions League, with the eight quarter-finalists now decided. It’s a heavyweight line-up, with four of the competition’s five most successful clubs still in the tournament, plus last year’s winners Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League leaders Arsenal. Real Madrid (15), Liverpool (six), Bayern Munich (six) and Barcelona (five) have won 32 of the 70 European Cup/Champions League trophies between them since Madrid lifted the first trophy back in 1956, but who has their name on this year’s trophy? …”
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s technical brilliance was in evidence against Chelsea
“The received wisdom was that the Premier League would have three, possibly four, of its six representatives in the quarter-finals of the Champions League. It might now be lucky to have one. Expectations have flipped in 48 hours. It is one of the reasons we love this sport and, in particular, this competition. Fatigue has been the lens through which people have viewed the shortcomings of the Premier League teams halfway through the round of 16. …”
“… Italy’s fourth World Cup was won in typical Italian fashion — they rarely win international trophies in great style, but there’s always great drama involved. This success played out with Serie A, their domestic top flight, in a crisis. The Calciopoli scandal revealed that various club executives had been effectively choosing favourable referees for their teams’ matches. A complex storyline that was unfolding throughout the tournament, the main sporting consequence was that Juventus were stripped of the previous two years’ Serie A titles and relegated to the second division. …”
“The shock value is notable. The Serie A champions not making it through the Champions League league phase. The current best in class and league leaders by 10 points 
“… Joseph Oughourlian, owner of Racing Club de Lens, was responding to a question from The Athletic about what it would mean for Lens — a city in northern France with a population of just 35,000 — to pip Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title. With 20 matches played in Ligue 1, and 14 remaining, Lens trail the European champions by just two points, having been leading at Christmas for the winter break. They will have a keen eye on PSG’s next match, at home to Marseille in Le Classique on Sunday night. For Lens to even be in the title mix at this stage is a remarkable achievement. …”
“When UEFA changed the format of the Champions League, it was for nights like this. The Swiss model, now more famous than Swiss Cottage station on the London Tube network but not yet as famous as Swiss cheese, replaced the old eight groups of four model (less catchy) in 2024. The final day was pretty good last year, with 64 goals in the 18 games, but no big teams dropped out and the big will-they-won’t-they? of the night saw Paris Saint-Germain stroll past Stuttgart 4-1 to avoid an early elimination (wonder what happened to them). …”
“Newcastle and Paris Saint-Germain are both now in the Champions League knockout phase play-offs after a tense 1-1 draw at Parc des Princes. Both went into the game in the top eight teams — who go straight to the last 16 — but results elsewhere mean they will need two-legged play-offs to advance further. Vitinha put PSG ahead with a beautifully-placed finish after Ousmane Dembele had missed an early penalty given harshly against Lewis Miley for a handball. And though the hosts dominated the majority of the first half, Joe Willock headed in an equaliser just before the break with Newcastle’s first shot on target. …”
Galatasaray should now make the play-offs, despite a tricky-looking final-day trip to Manchester City “We are down to next Wednesday’s final-day bonanza in the Champions League, with 18 simultaneous games to close out the initial league phase. Seven matchdays in, only Arsenal and Bayern Munich have guaranteed spots in the round of 16 in March. Third-placed Real Madrid and Juventus in 15th are separated by just three points, and with some of the teams in-between them playing each other in the final round of matches, expect the table to undergo a bewildering amount of change during Matchday 8. …”
“It is almost three years since a stark verdict was delivered on the chaotic scenes that preceded the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. ‘It is remarkable that no one lost their lives,’ concluded an independent review of that fraught evening that ended with Real Madrid beating Liverpool. UEFA, as event organisers, was found to 
“When you are called out by your head coach for the ‘ridiculous’ number of goals the team has conceded so far this season, the ideal response is not to let in another four in the next game. Arne Slot did not mince his words when talking about his Liverpool side’s defensive record this season ahead of the Champions League tie against Dutch visitors PSV on Wednesday. …”
“Tottenham may have put in a more positive display against PSG than against Arsenal on Sunday, but they came away from Paris defeated in an eight-goal thriller despite twice taking the lead. Richarlison headed in during the first half after a great team move from Spurs before an incredible strike from Vitinha just before half-time drew the hosts level. Randal Kolo Muani, playing against his parent club, put Spurs back in front before Vitinha again drew the teams level with another lovely finish. Two poor goals to concede followed, though, as the early promise from Spurs evaporated. Kolo Muani made it 4-3 before Vitinha completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot after a handball. PSG then had Lucas Hernandez sent off in stoppage time. …”
Gennaro Gattuso gestures during the defeat by Norway
“When the second suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest outside the Stade de France, Paul-Henri Baure was standing less than 10 metres away. It was Friday, 13 November 2015 and Baure, then aged 64 and a security officer from Marseille, was working as a steward at a friendly match between France and Germany that would become notorious for reasons nobody could have anticipated. The bomber, he was later told, had backed away from the entrance at Gate H after refusing to be patted down by another steward. Baure had not noticed him. …”
“Nuno Mendes placing 10th in this year’s Ballon d’Or vote was the award’s highest recognition for a left-back since Roberto Carlos came second in 2002. Given that Paris Saint-Germain head coach Luis Enrique said ‘it means nothing’ that their talisman Ousmane Dembele won football’s most-coveted individual honour that night, he will care even less about team-mate Mendes making the top 10. Luis Enrique, though, has said Mendes is the best left-back around — and likewise with PSG’s right-back Achraf Hakimi, in his position — and utilises the Portugal international in a very modern way: making underlapping runs. …”
