Page 2 - Champions League

Champions League final: Why a win for Real or Dortmund would defy the odds

Real Madrid is going for a record-extending 15th European Cup. Borussia Dortmund is aiming to pull off one of soccer's biggest upsets in recent memory. Whoever wins the Champions League final on Saturday will be defying the odds in their own way. Madrid's domination of European club soccer's biggest prize confounds belief. Its record of 14 titles is twice as many as its closest rival AC Milan. The club has created its history in this competition," coach Carlo Ancelotti says. Madrid's record in the Champions League era is even more impressive: Eight wins since the tournament was rebranded in 1992; three in a row from 2016-18 and five in the last 10 years. In the same period, Madrid has won La Liga only four times. Madrid has also been a semifinalist in 12 of the last 14 seasons. It's something special for the club, for all the madridistas (fans) and for us, who are also madridistas. It's a competition where we're more focused, says Ancelotti, who can win a record-extending fifth

Man City knocked out of Champions League 2024; Real Madrid seals SF spot

Real Madrid weathered the storm, silenced the crowd and ultimately ended Manchester City's brief hold on the Champions League. The all-time kings of Europe moved a step closer to a record-extending 15th title in the competition they have dominated after a 4-3 win Wednesday on penalties at Etihad Stadium. But not before being pushed to the limit by defending champion City. I was pretty much dead on my feet at the end, Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham said. It's so difficult. They are continuously probing with the ball and move you around. Most teams would fall apart when City get on top of you, but we stood up really well. The game had gone to the uncertainty of a shootout after ending 1-1 on the night and 4-4 on aggregate. City dominated the chances after going behind to Rodrygo's goal in the 12th minute, but only had Kevin de Bruyne's leveler in the 76th to show for its superiority, which included 64% of possession and 18 corners to Madrid's one through extra time. That counted

Uefa CL: Mbapp scores twice as PSG beats Barcelona to reverse 1st-leg loss

Playing with an extra man for more than an hour, Paris Saint-Germain rallied against Barcelona to reach the Champions League semifinals. Kylian Mbapp scored twice as PSG reversed its first-leg loss at home with a 4-1 win at Barcelona on Tuesday to advance 6-4 on aggregate and keep alive its hopes of a first European title in what is the France star's final season with the club. Former Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembl and Vitinha also scored for PSG, which took advantage of a 29th-minute red card to Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo after he fouled Bradley Barcola while trying to stop a breakaway. When it was 11 against 11 we were well organized. The sending off changes everything. The match changed completely, said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernndez, who was later sent off himself for complaining. We would have liked to play PSG 11 against 11. That should not have been a red card. Barcelona had gotten off to a good start and opened the scoring with a goal by Raphinha in the 12th, but the

India, Australia and England in talks to revive Champions League T20

About 10 years after its last edition was played, "active conversations" are taking place between cricket boards of India, Australia and England to revive the Champions League, a club-based international T20 competition. The last edition of the CLT20 was held in India in 2014 with Chennai Super Kings winning the title after defeating Kolkata Knight Riders in the final at Bengaluru, with the edition involving three teams from India, two each from Australia and South Africa and one team side from Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand. As many as six editions of the CLT20 were played between 2009-10 to 2014-15, with four of these being organised in India and two in South Africa. The tournament was won twice each by Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians, while Australia's New South Wales and Sydney Sixes won it one time each. While the cricket calendar remains jam-packed, the biggest challenge would be to find a window for reviving such an event, said Cricket Victoria CEO Nick ...

Champions League QFs full schedule, live match time (IST), live streaming

Uefa Champions League 2023-24 quarterfinal draw: The first leg of the ties will be played on April 10 and 11 while the reverse leg will be played on April 17 and 18 respectively, according to IST

Champions League today's match: Atletico vs Inter time, streaming details

Atletico Madrid will take on Inter Milan at Civitas Metropolitan Stadium at 1:30 AM IST on Thursday, March 14, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can be live-streamed on Sony LIV

UCL today's match: Barcelona vs Napoli live match begins at 1:30 PM IST

Barcelona will take on Napoli at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on March 13, 2024 at 1:30 AM IST. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can also be live-streamed on Sony LIV in India

Champions League today's match: Arsenal vs Porto live match time, streaming

Arsenal will take on Porto at the Emirates Stadium at 1:30 PM IST on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. The match will be telecast live on Sony Sports and can also be live-streamed on Sony LIV in India

Champions League QFs: Mbappe scores twice as PSG beat Real Sociedad

Kylian Mbapp led Paris Saint-Germain back to the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad that kept alive the French club's hopes of winning the European title in its last season with the France forward. PSG advanced 4-1 on aggregate, with Mbapp also scoring one of the goals in the 2-0 win in the first leg in Paris three weeks ago. Mbapp has already told PSG he will not stay with the club after this season. Despite huge spending to try to win the Champions League for the first time, PSG had been eliminated from the last 16 five times in the last seven seasons, including the last two. It had made it to the semifinals in 2021 and was runner-up in 2020. We knew right away that we couldn't go to sleep, Mbapp said. If they had opened the scoring, they would have pushed on with their fans' backing. We had to dampen their hopes early on. That's what we did, and we're very happy to be back in the quarterfinals. Mbapp was the ...

Champions League knockout stage starts with Man City and Real Madrid games

The Champions League narrative is so often about Manchester City and Real Madrid. The past two champions of Europe were the only teams to sweep through the group stage with six wins. They also are first in action Tuesday when the most prized competition in club soccer resumes in the round of 16. Man City is away to a Copenhagen team playing in the knockout stage for the first time in 13 years and Madrid is at Leipzig for the first leg. The two teams favored to lift the trophy warmed up with comfortable wins Saturday and goals from signature players. Erling Haaland confirmed his return to form after a foot injury with both goals in Man City's 2-0 win over Everton, his first since Nov. 28 when Leipzig was beaten 3-2 in their Champions League group. Haaland has a Premier League-leading 16 goals and Madrid's Jude Bellingham has a La Liga-best 15 after also scoring twice in a 4-0 rout of second-place Girona, which is owned by the same Abu Dhabi group as Man City. But Bellingham has an

Champions League round of 16 draw: City play Copenhagen, Arsenal face Porto

Following a thrilling couple of months of group-stage action, the focus now shifts to the knockout rounds where 16 teams will fight it out to win the ultimate crown

Champions League 2023-24: England flop, Spain surge; Copenhagen surprises

So much for the English taking over European soccer. The final Champions League group stage in its current format ended with representation from the supposedly all-powerful Premier League cut in half as Manchester United and Newcastle United failed to advance to the knockout stage and were even knocked out of European competition altogether. Instead, there was a Spanish resurgence, a decent showing from the German contingent, and a couple of nice surprises making their way into the round of 16 in the form of Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven. This was the last year of the 32-team, eight-pool group stage, with the Union of European Football Associations pivoting next season to a single 36-team league that will see clubs play eight games up from the current six. The top eight teams will advance automatically to the round of 16 knockout bracket and Nos. 9 to 24 in the standings go into a playoff round to decide the other eight qualifiers. So, what have we learned ahead of the round of 1

Champions League: Guardiola walks off smiling as City stays perfect

On a night of unconvincing performances from Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan, Pep Guardiola walked off smiling following a comeback victory for Manchester City in the Champions League. Phil Foden inspired a second-half comeback as City beat Leipzig 3-2 on Tuesday to take first place in Group G and extend its perfect record to five wins in five matches. It's the seventh straight season that City has won its group. The defending champions trailed 2-0 at halftime but Foden scored one goal and helped to create two more to turn the match around and Guardiola had a smirk on his face when he shook hands with Leipzig counterpart Marco Rose after the final whistle. We had to be relaxed as possible and we reacted really well," Guardiola said. "We are first in the group and I am very satisfied for the reaction at the end. The team runs and fights and has spirit." Kylian Mbapp's penalty deep into stoppage time salvaged a point for PSG in a 1-1 draw with an injury-depleted but tenacious Newca

Sevilla held by Lens 1-1 at home in group stage of Champions League

Sevilla couldn't manage more than a 1-1 draw with Lens in their opening match of Group B in the Champions League. Lucas Ocampos put the hosts ahead with a header in the ninth minute on Wednesday. Angelo Fulgini equalized for the French club with a powerful free-kick strike in the 24th at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium. "We played better than they did," Ocampos said. "But these games are difficult. There's a reason they are in the Champions League, they are a great team." Sevilla was coming off its first win of the season in a match against Las Palmas in the Spanish league on Sunday. Lens was winless in its last five matches, with four losses and a draw. "My goal did us a lot of good because I think if we didn't equalize so soon we would have struggled," Fulgini said. "The goal came at a good time. The free kick came off for me and we can be pleased today." Former Spain and Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos made his 138th Champions League appearance, the first with Sevilla. S

UCL: Stoppage-time drama again as Bayern Munich beats Manchester United 4-3

Mathys Tel's stoppage-time goal proved enough for Bayern Munich to beat Manchester United 4-3 in their Champions League opening game. Tel scored with a spectacular finish in the second minute of injury time on Wednesday, restoring Bayern's two-goal lead just when United threatened to pull off another remarkable comeback after Casemiro scored in the 88th. Casemiro did score again in the fifth minute of stoppages with a header to Bruno Fernandes' free kick, but this time there was no fairy-tale ending for United, which beat Bayern with two late goals to win the 1999 Champions League final. United had forced the initiative early as the old rivals met again in the group stage, but Harry Kane's penalty in the 53rd for 3-1 seemed to be the final blow for an injury-hit team low on confidence after starting the Premier League with three defeats in five games. United was without the injured Luke Shaw, Harry Maguire, Tyrell Malacia, Mason Mount and Aaron Wan-Bissaka, and coach Erik ten Hag w

Arsenal makes winning return to Champions League, beats PSV Eindhoven 4-0

Arsenal made a stylish return to the Champions League by sweeping aside PSV Eindhoven 4-0 at Emirates Stadium after a six-year absence from the competition. Arsenal seemed determined to make up for lost time and jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the 38th minute on Wednesday with PSV goalkeeper Walter Benitez having made a couple of good saves by then to prevent an even bigger scoreline. In a game played in driving rain throughout, Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus all scored in the first half, before Martin Odegaard added the fourth with a long-range strike in the 70th. Arsenal qualified for the Champions League for 19 straight years under Arsene Wenger but had not played in the competition since 2016-17. PSV last played in it five years ago, and the two teams met in the group stage of the second-tier Europa League last season. Arsenal beat PSV 1-0 at home that time, but this was a far more one-sided affair. Saka opened the scoring in the eighth minute by slipping away fr

UCL: Bellingham's last-gasp goal give Real Madrid win over Union Berlin

Jude Bellingham keeps delivering for Real Madrid. This time the heroics came in his Champions League debut with the Spanish powerhouse. Bellingham helped extend Madrid's perfect start to the season by scoring a stoppage-time goal in the team's 1-0 win over newcomer Union Berlin in Group C on Wednesday. It was Madrid's sixth consecutive victory, with the other five coming in the Spanish league. The newly signed Bellingham scored his sixth goal in as many matches with Madrid by picking up a loose ball inside the area and firing it into the open net four minutes into stoppage time at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. "I'm not going to lie, I hope I keep on scoring goals in minute 94 or 95. Although it might do my heart, and the club, good to scorer earlier," said the 20-year-old Bellingham, who joined from Borussia Dortmund in the offseason and has been Madrid's hottest player early on. His winner against Getafe in the Spanish league had come five minutes into stoppage time, and against

Champions League: Manchester United vs Bayern Munich live match time today

Man Utd vs Bayern match in the Champions League will take place on September 21, or after midnight today.

Champions League: Lazio goalkeeper scores late to earn draw versus Atletico

Barcelona's Joo Flix, Manchester City's Julin lvarez and Paris Saint Germain's Kylian Mbapp all scored as their teams made winning starts in the Champions League. But the wildest celebrations of the night came in Rome, where Lazio goalkeeper Ivan Provedel headed in the team's equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time to earn a 1-1 draw with Atltico Madrid. It was the last action of the game. As the group stage began without either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo for the first time since 2002-03, a 16-year-old almost scored on his competition debut for Barcelona. Lamine Yamal struck the side netting, then saw an effort saved by Antwerp goalkeeper Jean Butez after coming on as a substitute in Barcelona's 5-0 win over the Belgian team. Celtic finished with nine players in a 2-0 loss at Feyenoord that stretched the Scottish champion's winless streak in the group stages to 11 games. Here's a closer look at Tuesday's games: CITY HAS TO COME FROM BEHIND Manchester City started its

Champions League 2023-24 full schedule, teams, live streaming in India

Arsenal and Manchester United make their Champions League comebacks as the group stage draws were announced on Thursday, August 31, 2023