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Uefa Champions League
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has torn a muscle in his upper right leg, jeopardizing his availability for a Champions League clash with Bayern Munich. Courtois was substituted at halftime of Madrid's Champions League game at Manchester City on Tuesday. Madrid won 2-1 and the round-of-16 tie by 5-1 on aggregate. The club on Thursday did not say how long its top goalkeeper would be out. Andriy Lunin will take his place. Madrid hosts Atletico Madrid in a La Liga derby on Sunday before an international break, when Courtois' Belgium plays the United States in a friendly in Atlanta on March 28. Belgium also plays Mexico in another World Cup warmup in Chicago on April 1. Madrid then starts its Champions League quarterfinal against Bayern on April 7. The 33-year-old Courtois has been a key part of Madrid's most recent European successes, helping to win its 14th and 15th European Cups in 2022 and 2024.
It has been a season to forget for Mohamed Salah. But the Egyptian icon fired Liverpool into the quarterfinals of the Champions League on Wednesday, scoring his 50th Champions League goal. But this is still far from vintage Salah. He got a first-half penalty so wrong that it was hard to tell if he was trying an audacious Panenka' chip or if it was simply a horrible mis-kick. Either way, it was an embarrassing moment just before halftime and all too typical of a campaign in which Salah's powers appear to have diminished. That all changed after the break when he was at the heart of a Liverpool goal spree that sealed a 4-1 aggregate win over Galatasaray and set up a showdown with defending champion Paris Saint-Germain. "That tells you about the mental strength of him," Liverpool coach Arne Slot said. With Liverpool leading 1-0 at halftime through Dominik Szoboszlai's goal, Salah crossed for Hugo Ekitike to double the advantage. Two minutes later, his fierce shot was saved by Galatasa
Newcastle midfielder Sandro Tonali went off injured against Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday, eight days before Italy starts its World Cup qualifying playoffs bracket. Tonali appeared to hurt his left thigh chasing back to defend Fermin Lopez and put the ball out for a corner. It was 4-2 at the time early in the second half, and Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski scored a header from the corner to all but guarantee the Spanish champion will advance to the quarterfinals. Barcelona was soon leading 6-2 at Camp Nou after the teams drew 1-1 in Newcastle last week. Tonali has been an expected starter for Italy as the four-time champion aims to play at a World Cup for the first time since 2014. Italy hosts Northern Ireland on March 26 at Atalanta's stadium in Bergamo and the winner will travel to face either Wales or Bosnia-Herzegovina five days later. The playoff bracket winner will enter a World Cup group with co-host Canada, Switzerland and Qatar.
Pep Guardiola wore a lumberjack-style shirt and Real Madrid chopped Manchester City down in the Champions League once again. Who knows how many more chances Guardiola will get to win European club soccer's greatest prize with just one season remaining on his contract and increasing speculation he could walk away at the end of this campaign. "Everybody wants to fire me," Guardiola said when questioned about his future following the 2-1 loss at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. "One day I will come out here and say 'bye, bye guys'." Guardiola's position is the subject of much debate after 10 years at City, which is already by far the longest he has stayed at any club as a manager. He has repeatedly referred to the remaining time on his contract when questioned, but doubts remain. "The future will be bright and next season we will be back," he said following the 5-1 aggregate loss in the round-of-16 tie. Was that a clue as to his immediate plans? "When I've retired in 10 years I will
Protecting three-goal leads, Champions League heavyweights Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain will look to clinch their places in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. So, amazingly, will tiny Bod/Glimt. There's a one-sided look to the first batch of second-leg matches to be completed in the round of 16, as Madrid and PSG arrive in England with a 3-0 lead over Manchester City and a 5-2 lead over Chelsea, respectively. This could be a tough week for the much-hyped Premier League, as all six of its round-of-16 representatives failed to win across the first legs. Arsenal looks best placed of the English teams to advance and will take on Bayer Leverkusen in London on Tuesday with the score at 1-1. Then there's Bod/Glimt, in its debut season in the Champions League and easily the least-heralded team to make it through to the knockout stage. The Norwegian club leads Sporting Lisbon 3-0 from the first leg and is looking to complete another upset, having eliminated Inter Milan - last season's .
Chelsea winger Pedro Neto was charged by UEFA on Thursday for pushing a ballboy during the Champions League loss at Paris Saint-Germain. Neto faces a one-game ban for the charge UEFA said was "unsporting behavior," with a disciplinary decision to follow "in due course." Chelsea trails the defending champion 5-2 after the first leg on Wednesday in the round of 16. The return game is on Tuesday in London. Neto shoved the boy in the chest for appearing to hold onto the ball instead of giving it back to the player late in the game when Chelsea trailed 4-2. Neto later apologized to the boy and gave him his game jersey. "With the emotions of the game, we were losing, I wanted to pick up the ball," Neto told British broadcaster TNT Sports. "I gave him a little push. I saw that I hurt him and I am sorry, as I'm not like this.
There was an uncertainty among Real Madrid fans before their Champions League match against Manchester City. It has a new and untested coach, recently lost two league games in a row, and last weekend required a last-minute deflection to beat Celta Vigo. Federico Valverde dispelled their doubts in a scintillating first 45 minutes, scoring a sublime hat trick that put the home team in the driver's seat for this much-awaited last 16 tie. Valverde completed a quick counterattack and rounded goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with a deft touch to score the opener after 20 minutes. He ran on to a pass from Vinicius Junior and then fired home a low shot with his weaker left foot seven minutes later to make it 2-0. The Uruguay midfielder saved the best for last, taking Brahim Diaz's clever chip and then knocking it over the outstretched leg of Marc Guehi before volleying past Donnarumma to make it 3-0 three minutes before halftime.
Chelsea's Pedro Neto apologized for shoving a ball boy late in his team's 5-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 match. The ball had just gone out of play down the right in stoppage time when the Portugal winger tried to get it quickly and shoved the ball boy in the chest as he appeared to be trying to hold onto the ball. The ball boy tumbled backward into an advertising board. "I want to come out and apologize for what happened on the pitch," Neto told TNT Sports after the game. "I've spoken with the ball boy. With the emotions of the game, we were losing, I wanted to pick up the ball. I gave him a little push. I saw that I hurt him and I am sorry, as I'm not like this." The boy got back up and appeared unharmed. He was comforted by some PSG players as others indulged in some pushing and shoving, while other PSG players scolded Neto. Neto said he gave the boy his No. 7 jersey. "I gave him my shirt as well," Neto said. "He was happy tha
The Champions League's Cinderella club Bod/Glimt wrote another chapter in its fairytale run through the competition. The homely Norwegian club won 3-0 against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of a round-of-16 clash at its tiny Aspmyra Stadium packed with 7,971 fans. Sporting, the champion of Portugal that once nurtured future superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, became the latest favored opponent to travel far north and struggle inside the Arctic Circle this year. Manchester City and Inter Milan were each beaten 3-1 on Bod/Glimt's artificial turf field since coach Kjetil Knutsen's team began the year looking sure to fall short of reaching the knockout rounds. It is now a remarkable five straight wins for the lowest-seeded team left in the Champions League - all during the offseason in Norway. The country's domestic league does not start until this weekend. Bod/Glimt led in the 32nd minute when Sondre Brunstad Fet scored with a penalty kick, deceiving Sporting goalkeeper Rui
Joao Neves and Ousmane Dembele returned from injury to help Paris Saint-Germain rout Chelsea 5-2 in the last 16 of the Champions League. They combined to set up the first goal after 10 minutes and Dembele scored with a brilliant solo effort late in the first half. The third goal followed a blunder from Chelsea goalkeeper Filip Jrgensen, who passed the ball straight to PSG forward Bradley Barcola. He fed substitute Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who then passed inside to Vitinha and he neatly lobbed Jrgensen. Kvaratskhelia added two late goals allowing PSG to take a healthy lead into next Tuesday's second leg at Stamford Bridge in London. "We showed we are capable of anything. We have to carry on like this," Kvaratskhelia said. "We conceded goals but we have to analyze the mistakes we made." Ballon d'Or moment Dembele's speed and lucid thinking on his goal showed that the Ballon d'Or winner is getting back to his best in an injury-hit season. He latched onto a pass near the halfway line
Real Madrid is hoping Kylian Mbappe will be back in "a matter of days" after he missed its 2-1 victory over Benfica in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs. The result sent Madrid to the round of 16 with a 3-1 aggregate result. Mbappe was not included in the squad for the game at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium because of a left knee injury he has been nursing for some time. "He had to leave training and had been feeling some discomfort," Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa said. "We spoke with the doctors and with him, and we agreed that the best thing was for him to stop for a while. Now we'll have to wait. Hopefully, it's just a matter of days." The France star, who scored nine goals in his last eight matches for Madrid, was replaced in attack by Gonzalo Garcia. The other forwards in the starting lineup were Arda Guler and Vinicius Junior, who scored the team's second goal in the 80th minute. Madrid's forwards on the bench included included Franco Mastantuono and Brahim ...
Defender Achraf Hakimi was included in Paris Saint-Germain's starting lineup in the Champions League playoff return leg against Monaco on Tuesday, a day after being ordered to stand trial in a rape case. A date for the trial has not been set. Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin said she will appeal the judge's decision. The 27-year-old Morocco international has denied any wrongdoing and said on X that he "calmly awaits" a trial. "Today, an accusation of rape is enough to justify a trial, even though I contest it and everything shows that it is false," he posted on X on Tuesday. "This is as unjust for the innocent as it is for genuine victims." PSG coach Luis Enrique was asked ahead of the Monaco match about Hakimi's case. "This is in the hands of the justice system," Luis Enrique said. PSG leads 3-2 from the first leg.
After being loudly booed, Vinicius Junior danced again. This time in front of Real Madrid supporters while leading his team to the round of 16 of the Champions League, a week after accusing a Benfica opponent of racially insulting him. Vinicius scored an 80th-minute goal to give Madrid a 2-1 victory and a 3-1 aggregate win over Benfica at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in the second leg of the Champions League playoffs on Wednesday. Vinicius celebrated by dancing by the corner flag just like in the first leg - then in front of Benfica fans - which ignited a confrontation with Benfica players and the accusation that Gianluca Prestianni called him "monkey." "That's our Vinicius," said Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni, who scored Madrid's first goal in the 16th, a couple of minutes after Benfica had taken the lead through Rafa Silva. Prestianni, who has denied racially insulting Vinicius and has been defended by Benfica, was provisionally suspended one match by UEFA and did not p
Mamadou Coulibaly's red card cost his side dearly as Monaco drew 2-2 at defending champion Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League play-off on Wednesday and went out 5-4 on aggregate. Monaco was leading 1-0 and the aggregate score was level at 3-3 when the 21-year-old midfielder was shown a second yellow card in the 59th minute following a foul on tricky winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. PSG captain Marquinhos equalized from the ensuing free kick and then six minutes later Kvaratskhelia put PSG 2-1 up and in command. Jordan Teze's stoppage-time equalizer came too late for Monaco. "Yes, I think it was (a turning point) as was the (red) card in the first match," Monaco coach Sebastien Pocognoli said. "For me the (sending off) was not deserved. The two yellow cards happen quickly within five minutes. The second one was harsh." PSG won the tournament for the first time last year, but prior to that had been eliminated from the last 16 five times in eight years. Unti