UEFA Champions League
Five talking points from the Uefa Champions League

Cristiano Ronaldo rescued Manchester United again, while Lionel Messi scored twice for Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool beat Atletico Madrid in the Champions League this week.
Here, AFP Sport takes a look at five talking points from a dramatic round of matches:
- Messi still reigns supreme in Europe
Paris Saint-Germain brought in Lionel Messi hoping that the Argentinian great would be the final piece of the jigsaw as they bid to finally land the Champions League title.
He is yet to score in Ligue 1, but has so far done what he was signed to do by netting three times in as many games in Europe.
The six-time Ballon d’Or winner stepped up when PSG were trailing RB Leipzig in Paris, netting twice, including a Panenka penalty, to rescue a vital 3-2 win.
- Ronaldo pulls off another Man United escape act
For the second time in as many games in Europe, Manchester United had Ronaldo to thank for another come-from-behind victory at Old Trafford.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer retains the backing of the United hierarchy, but his team produced another topsy-turvy display as they fell two goals down to Atalanta inside the first 30 minutes.
Crucially, United struck early in the second half via Marcus Rashford, taking advantage of a porous Atalanta defence to level through captain Harry Maguire before Ronaldo soared to power in the winning header.
Plenty of concerns remain about the defence and general cohesion, but United’s attack is a considerable point of strength — with Ronaldo again coming to the rescue.
- Favourites Bayern, Man City in ominous form
Bayern Munich producing a scintillating four-goal burst in 15 minutes that blew away Benfica in Lisbon, while Pep Guardiola described Manchester City’s 5-1 rout of Club Brugge as one of their “best performances in Europe”.
Six-time champions Bayern overcame key absences — including that of unwell coach Julian Nagelsmann — to make it three wins from three, with 12 goals scored and none conceded.
An untimely injury to Robert Lewandowski derailed Bayern’s title defence last season, when they exited on away goals to PSG in the quarter-finals. While the Poland star is back doing what he does best, the return to form of Leroy Sane has boosted Bayern even more.
As for City, who lack an out-and-out striker after being rebuffed in their pursuit of Harry Kane, Phil Foden showed he is more than capable of leading the attack as a false nine. His outstanding display in Bruges helped City overpower a side that had drawn with PSG and then beaten RB Leipzig in Germany.
- Atletico continue run of Spanish woe
Diego Simeone led Atletico to a memorable La Liga title last season but Spanish clubs appear to not be the forces they were in recent years.
His side are in danger of missing out on a last-16 place for only the second time in nine seasons after a dramatic 3-2 home loss to Liverpool, while Barcelona are struggling in their group and Real Madrid lost at home to minnows Sheriff Tiraspol last month.
Atletico, losing finalists in all-Madrid finals in 2014 and 2016, are second in Group B but level on points with third-placed Porto and have to visit Anfield next time out.
- Ten Hag’s Ajax dark horses again
Dutch champions Ajax raised hopes they could at least replicate their surprise run to the 2018-19 semi-finals with an impressive 4-0 dismantling of Borussia Dortmund in Amsterdam.
Erik ten Hag has successfully rebuilt his side after a series of high-profile departures to Europe’s richest clubs in the last two years, including Frenkie de Jong, Matthijs de Ligt, Hakim Ziyech and Donny van de Beek.
But his new crop have won three of three group stage matches.
Brazilian winger Antony, 21, will have alerted scouts to his ability after capping a brilliant individual display with a wonderful goal. Sebastien Haller has proven a clever buy from West Ham and is the Champions League top-scorer this term with six goals.
-AFP
UEFA Champions League
LaLiga to have five teams in 2025-26 Champions League

Spain’s LaLiga will be represented by at least five teams in the Champions League next season after Italy’s Lazio were eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday while Athletic Bilbao progressed to the semi-finals.
LaLiga earned the second of two European Performance Spots handed out by UEFA, which go to associations “with the best collective performance by their clubs” in UEFA competitions.
England’s Premier League was the first to secure an extra berth in Europe’s top competition, on top of the four granted to the top four teams in the domestic table.
Villarreal are fifth in the LaLiga standings, with 51 points from 30 matches.
They are three points ahead of sixth-placed Real Betis and eight in front of Celta Vigo and Mallorca, with all three clubs having played one more game than Villarreal.
-Reuters
UEFA Champions League
No complaints from Ancelotti, as Real humbled by Arsenal

Real Madrid’s record-breaking manager Carlo Ancelotti had no complaints after his side’s Champions League reign was ended in emphatic fashion by Arsenal in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.
Italian Ancelotti won a record-extending fifth Champions League trophy last season as Real beat Borussia Dortmund at Wembley, but his side went down 2-1 at home to Arsenal for a crushing 5-1 aggregate defeat.
“There are two sides to football, the happy part that has happened to us many times and the sad part we have to handle in the same way. It has happened to us fewer times than to other teams, but we have to manage it because it allows us to be better in the next games.”
When Real keeper Thibaut Courtois saved Bukayo Saka’s early penalty and minutes later Real were awarded a spot kick for a push by Declan Rice on Kylian Mbappe, it seemed that the great escape might still be a possibility.
But Real’s penalty was overturned after a lengthy VAR check, and in truth, they never looked remotely threatening as their bid for a 16th European Cup crown ended in feeble fashion.
“To change the dynamic, we needed something positive, like the penalty he whistled and then took off. We needed something to have more confidence, but we were not able to change the dynamic of the first leg,” Ancelotti said.
Despite the defeat, Ancelotti said Real’s season still has plenty of possibilities, not least trying to bridge a four-point gap to La Liga leaders Barcelona.
“Now we are in the fight for La Liga. We have a disadvantage, but we have the Barcelona game, we have the Copa del Rey final, the Club World Cup, and we have to manage this part, which is another part of football that we are not used to,” he said.
“It’s time to hold our heads high and learn from our mistakes. It’s sad today, but I have absolutely no worries about how my players will respond. We’ll fight on, we’ll learn from the experience, and we’ll try to be better for the next match.”
-Reuters
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UEFA Champions League
Arsenal cruise past lacklustre Real Madrid to reach semis

Arsenal snuffed out any chance of a famous Real Madrid comeback to reach the Champions League semi-finals after a 2-1 victory in the Bernabeu Stadium completed a 5-1 aggregate win on Wednesday.
Holders and 15-time winners Real never looked like clawing back a 3-0 deficit from last week’s quarter-final first leg, and when Bukayo Saka scored for the visitors in the 65th minute, their fate was effectively sealed.
Vinicius Junior seized on a rare defensive slip a couple of minutes later to rouse the home crowd, but it proved too little too late as Carlo Ancelotti’s side exited feebly.
Arsenal’s superiority over the two legs was underlined in stoppage time as Gabriel Martinelli burst through to score.
They will face Paris St Germain in their first Champions League semi-final since 2009.
“I think it’s such a special night for this club, it’s a historic night for this club,” said Arsenal’s Declan Rice, whose two sublime free kicks put his side in control last week.
“There was a lot of talk coming in about them coming back from the dead, they’ve done it so many times before. But we had so much belief and confidence from that first leg that we had enough to come here and win the game.”
A cacophony of noise greeted kickoff with the home fans fuelled by the hope of witnessing what would have been one of the greatest Champions League comebacks.
But Real’s knack of extricating themselves from difficult positions in a competition they won six times in the previous 11 seasons deserted them as they were comprehensively outplayed.
“Did we fall short of what we wanted in pure football terms? Perhaps,” Real captain Lucas Vazquez said. “They really are terrifically organised defensively.”
PENALTY MISS
Real needed a storming start, and Mbappe had the ball in the Arsenal net in the opening minutes but was offside when chesting in a Vinicius cross.
Arsenal were in no mood to simply sit and protect their lead, though, and Saka forced a great save from Courtois. They were handed the chance to kill off the tie when Raul Asencio needlessly hauled down Mikel Merino from a corner, and referee Francois Letexier eventually awarded a penalty after checking a pitch-side VAR monitor.
Saka opted for a Panenka-style chipped penalty, and Courtois clawed away the ball.
It looked like a potentially pivotal moment, and when Letexier pointed to the penalty spot at the other end after Kylian Mbappe tumbled under minimal contact from Rice, Arsenal’s night looked like taking a turn for the worse.
After five painstaking minutes, however, Letexier was again invited by VAR to view the monitor and to a chorus of whistles from the home fans, overturned his original decision.
That scare aside, Arsenal coped easily with Real Madrid’s famed frontline who were given little to work with.
Arsenal keeper David Raya was not required to make a save before halftime as Real’s predilection for hopeful crosses into the area proved easy pickings for the visiting defence.
Real’s Mbappe barely had a sniff of a chance as Arsenal showed great control and Saka made up for his first-half miss with a clinical finish after being sent clear by Merino.
William Saliba gifted Real a lifeline when he was caught in possession on the edge of his area, allowing Vinicius to score, but there was never any sense of panic in the visiting ranks.
Martinelli put the icing on the cake in added time, again from a Merino assist, to send Arsenal’s fans into raptures.
-Reuters
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