UEFA Champions League
‘That’s our maximum’, admits Mbappe after latest PSG exit
Kylian Mbappe admitted that Paris Saint-Germain had performed to their “maximum” as they slumped to another early Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
PSG, trailing 1-0 from the first leg in Paris, were beaten 2-0 in the return game at the Allianz Arena to drop out of the competition in the last 16 for the fifth time in seven seasons.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who scored against his former club, and substitute Serge Gnabry sealed the win for Bayern.
“As I said at my first Champions League press conference this season, we were going to do our maximum. That’s our maximum, that’s the truth,” PSG star forward Mbappe told reporters.
“What were PSG missing? Not much when you look at the two squads. They have a great squad, built to win the Champions League.”
The French champions are still waiting for a maiden European Cup title despite the vast amount spent in the transfer market by their Qatari owners.
Christophe Galtier’s men, who could not find a way past Bayern despite having 55 per cent possession of the ball, ended the tie with two 17-year-olds on the pitch in El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Warren Zaire-Emery as they ran out of ideas.
“We’re going to question ourselves and then return to our daily life, the league,” added Mbappe.
“We have to move on… We lost against a great team, trying to win the tournament.”
Mbappe, who wore the captain’s armband after Marquinhos went off injured in the 36th minute, signed a bumper new deal with PSG in 2022.
Despite the team sitting eight points clear at the top of Ligue 1, the Champions League failure will inevitably bring more questions about whether the France star will stay at the Parc des Princes.
“I’m calm,” he said when asked about his future. “The only thing that matters to me is this season, to win the league, and then we’ll see.”
Galtier, meanwhile, bemoaned his team’s defending at Bayern’s opener, which came after Marco Verratti was dispossessed in his own box.
“Unfortunately we couldn’t take the chances we had,” he said.
“Then in the second half we conceded a really stupid goal. At this level you need to be a bit more clear-headed.
“Obviously we were under pressure from Bayern. At that point you need to not be ashamed to play long, to break out of the press. And obviously after an hour when you go behind it becomes very difficult.”
PSG were playing without injured Neymar, who will be undergoing surgery on his injured led by a renowned British specialist, James Calder, at the Aspetar hospital in Qatar.
The Brazilian forward is expected to miss up to four months of action, almost certainly ruling him out for the rest of the season.
Besides scoring the vital goals, Bayern also had Matthijs de Ligt to thank.
Coach Julian Nagelsmann said the Dutch defender “rescued” his side after making a vital goalline clearance in the first half.
With the tie in the balance, de Ligt scrambled Vitinha’s shot to safety after Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer was caught trying to dribble out of his own area.
Nagelsmann was not pleased with Sommer’s risk-taking but chose instead to praise de Ligt’s game-changing intervention.
“Nine out of 10 defenders in the world would have left that because they thought it was already in,” he said.
“It was an unbelievable play. He (de Ligt) loves to defend and hates to concede goals. Mistakes happen, but thankfully we have a defender who rescued us.”
Sommer, who arrived in Munich from Borussia Monchengladbach in January to replace the injured Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, joked that he had a special reward in mind for de Ligt.
“I’ve told him before once or twice that there’ll be a block of Swiss chocolate sitting on his doorstep for his efforts,” he said.
–AFP/Reuters
Arsenal substitute Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time goal to snatch a 1-0 win at Sporting in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday.
The German forward was found unmarked inside the box by Gabriel Martinelli before calmly slotting the ball past goalkeeper Rui Silva to settle a tactical encounter.
After a first half in which Sporting’s Maxi Araujo and Arsenal’s Noni Madueke struck the woodwork, the visitors had a Martin Zubimendi effort disallowed before David Raya produced several late saves to deny the home side.
The deadlock was finally broken in added time by Havertz, who replaced the injured Martin Odegaard in the 70th minute, to secure the advantage before the return leg next week.
“Beautiful, and that’s the impact you need when you get to this stage of the season. Everybody has to make an impact, and they certainly did that tonight,” Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta told Amazon Prime regarding the winner.
“We had a goal disallowed, and there were two or three occasions where we were close but we lacked that final pass. In the end, a magic moment from the finishers wins us the game.”
The winners of the tie face Barcelona or Atletico Madrid, who play at the Nou Camp on Wednesday, in the semis.
ARSENAL REDEMPTION
Arsenal arrived in Lisbon seeking to bounce back from Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final exit at second-tier Southampton, and will be delighted with the win, but the sight of captain Odegaard limping off will concern Arteta.
The Norway midfielder appeared to struggle throughout the match, having recently returned from a long-term injury layoff.
The first half was a cagey affair, with the woodwork denying both sides an opening goal. Araujo came close for the hosts, seeing his powerful left-foot strike rebound off the post following a break into the box in the opening minutes.
However, Arsenal grew into the contest and nearly led through Madueke. The winger rose to meet an outswinging corner, but his header clipped the bar with Silva beaten.
Despite the near misses, both teams struggled to find a consistent rhythm, with the tie remaining finely balanced heading into the second half.
Arsenal thought they had the breakthrough shortly after the hour when Zubimendi curled the ball into the net at the near post, but it was ruled out after a VAR review found former Sporting striker Viktor Gyokeres to be offside in the build-up.
RAYA WINS PLAYER OF THE MATCH
With the hosts dominating the latter stages, Raya was forced into several crucial interventions, including a diving save to divert Geny Catamo’s low header behind for a corner, with the Spaniard’s performance earning the Player of the Match award.
“It’s something that I’m there for. I’m trying to help the team as much as possible in any single action, not just defending but commanding and on the ball,” Raya said.
The match seemed headed for a draw until a late lapse from the Sporting defence gave Havertz the space to control the ball and find a clinical finish to put Arsenal in the driving seat.
The result marks a return to winning ways for Arsenal following consecutive defeats, including their FA Cup exit and defeat by Manchester City in the League Cup final.
“We’ve come from two losses, learn from those moments, that pain when you lose a game” Raya added.
“Use that pain in the belly to go out there and express yourself, be yourself and try to be better every single day. That’s the main message we have to send out there.”
Premier League leaders Arsenal will try to keep up the momentum when they host Bournemouth on Saturday.
-Reuters
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Bayern Munich took control of their Champions League quarter-final on Tuesday with a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, earning a slender first-leg advantage after a high-tempo contest in the Spanish capital.
Vincent Kompany’s side struck just before halftime when Serge Gnabry slipped a precise pass through for Luis Diaz, who beat the offside trap and fired low past keeper Andriy Lunin in the 41st minute.
Bayern doubled their lead seconds after the restart as Michael Olise squared for Harry Kane to finish neatly from the edge of the box following a swift counter-attack.
Real improved after the hour and Kylian Mbappe pulled one back in the 74th minute, turning in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s low cross at the far post.
Manuel Neuer then denied Mbappe and Vinicius Jr with a series of sharp saves as the hosts pressed for an equaliser that never came, as Bayern headed home with a slender yet significant advantage.
The winners of the two-legged tie will face either Paris St Germain or Liverpool, who play their first leg on Wednesday, in the semi-finals.
“We came out for the second half and conceded a goal straight away. Both goals we conceded were gifts. Both sides had plenty of chances but Bayern’s best player today was Neuer. In the end, that’s how it goes,” Real Madrid defender Antonio Ruediger told Movistar Plus.
Bayern imposed themselves from the outset and went close to scoring in the ninth minute, only for Alvaro Carreras to produce a goal-line clearance to deny Dayot Upamecano from point-blank range after Real failed to clear their lines.
The visitors dominated possession in the first half, seeing more than 65% of the ball as Alvaro Arbeloa’s side dropped into a deep defensive block and looked to break on the counter.
Real nonetheless created chances. Vinicius forced a superb one-handed save from Neuer in the 17th minute, the Bayern goalkeeper tipping away a low drive from the edge of the box at full stretch.
Mbappe squandered two openings soon after and was denied again in the 29th minute by an outstanding reflex save from Neuer.
Bayern made the breakthrough four minutes before the interval following a slick passing move. Kane and Gnabry exchanged quick passes before Gnabry slipped a perfectly weighted ball through the centre for Diaz, who slipped behind the defence and drilled a low finish inside the right post in the 41st minute.
The German side doubled their lead seconds after the restart. Carreras lost possession in midfield and Bayern countered swiftly as Kane, unmarked on the edge of the area, finished calmly just inside the right post.
It was Kane’s 49th goal of the season and his 11th in the Champions League.
Real responded with urgency. Vinicius burst clear after an error from Upamecano in the 60th minute but dragged his shot wide as Neuer rushed out to narrow the angle.
The goalkeeper then produced another fine one-handed save to deny Mbappe in the 65th minute and moments later watched the France forward pull an angled effort wide after clever play from Vinicius.
Mbappe pulled one back in the 74th minute, with the referee ruling the ball had crossed the line despite Neuer appearing to get a hand to the shot.
Neuer remained defiant, blocking a fierce strike from Vinicius in the 81st minute and holding an Eder Militao curler shortly afterwards, while Mbappe sent another effort narrowly wide in the 89th minute as Real poured forward.
Bayern wasted chances to extend their lead on the break but returned home with the advantage after a compelling first leg.
-Reuters
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UEFA Champions League
‘Fans More Friends’- Heineken Takes UEFA Champions League Fever Nationwide with Multi-City Fan Experience
Football fans across Nigeria are set for an electrifying experience as Heineken expands its UEFA Champions League activation campaign nationwide, transforming matchdays into vibrant social spectacles from the quarter-finals all the way to the grand finale.
Building on the success of its Round of 16 events in Lagos, the premium beer brand is now rolling out its immersive “Fans Have More Friends” platform to multiple cities, ensuring that the excitement of Europe’s biggest club competition reaches fans far beyond the commercial hub.
Fans soak in a thrilling moment during the second-round matches at Green House, Ikoyi, Lagos, last month.
The nationwide tour kicks off in Port Harcourt, which will host the quarter-final first-leg viewing parties on April 7 and 8. The energy then shifts to Aba and Owerri for the second-leg fixtures on April 14 and 15.
As the tournament intensifies, the semi-final first legs will light up Abuja and Lagos on April 28 and 29. The return legs will then take the excitement to Lagos again and Benin City on May 5 and 6.
The campaign will reach its crescendo with grand viewing events in Lagos and Abuja for the UEFA Champions League final on May 30.
“Fans Have More Friends” cuts across genders as supporters connect and celebrate during a UEFA Champions League match night at the second-round fixtures in Lagos last month.
Across all host cities, Heineken promises a premium matchday atmosphere, featuring giant viewing screens, live music, interactive “predict and win” games, and exclusive branded merchandise. The experience is designed to go beyond football, blending sport with entertainment in a lively, communal setting.
Fans revel in the electrifying moments of Heineken’s latest activation event.
According to Maria Shadeko, Portfolio Manager for Premium Beer at Nigerian Breweries Plc, the expansion reflects the deep-rooted culture of shared football experiences among Nigerian fans.
“The Champions League brings people together across Nigeria, and we have seen how fans connect through the game. With the ‘Fans Have More Friends’ campaign, we are extending that experience to more cities, creating more opportunities for fans to gather, celebrate and enjoy football together,” she said.
With the stakes rising as the competition progresses, Heineken’s activations are designed to mirror the drama on the pitch. Each match viewing becomes a full-scale event, where fans not only watch football but also connect, celebrate, and create lasting memories.
The initiative taps into Nigeria’s strong viewing culture, where fans traditionally gather in centres and lounges to share the highs and lows of the game. By elevating this communal experience, Heineken is reinforcing a simple but powerful idea — football is best enjoyed together.
As the road to the final unfolds, fans in Port Harcourt, Aba, Owerri, Abuja, Lagos, and Benin City can look forward to an unforgettable Champions League journey — one that blends passion, friendship, and the beautiful game into a nationwide celebration.
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