Champions League

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

Dortmund targets big-spending Chelsea in first leg of Champions League

Chelsea has one of the most talented and expensive group of players ever assembled in world soccer. Now might be the ideal time to beat them. Borussia Dortmund is targeting an upset of big-spending Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 meeting Wednesday. Chelsea's recent run of three straight draws in the Premier League including 1-1 against West Ham on Saturday should be an encouraging sign for the German team. Against West Ham, Chelsea looked like a group of extremely talented individuals who have just been introduced. That, of course, is exactly what they are. In a starting line-up containing five January signings, Joo Flix, Enzo Fernndez and Mykhailo Mudryk all shone in brief glimpses but didn't form a cohesive unit before West Ham leveled the score and Chelsea gradually faded away in the second half. Given time, though, Chelsea's communication will improve. If the timing of Chelsea's runs had been slightly better, two goals ruled out for offside early on

Real Madrid beats Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 to maintain lead in Champions League

It didn't take long for Real Madrid to get back to winning games. Three days after seeing its perfect start to the season end with a draw in the Spanish league, Madrid beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 in the Champions League to take full control of Group F. Rodrygo and Vincius Jnior scored a goal each in the first half as the defending champions cruised to a third straight victory in the European competition. The result at the Santiago Bernabu Stadium gave Madrid a five-point lead over Shakhtar, which started the match with 11 Ukrainian players. In the other group match, Leipzig defeated winless Celtic 3-1 at home to stay in third place, one point behind Shakhtar. It was Madrid's seventh straight group-stage win in the Champions League. It outscored its opponents 19-2 during that run. Madrid's 1-1 home draw against Osasuna on Sunday was its first setback of the season after nine straight victories in all competitions. The hosts dominated from the start Wednesday and finished with a tota

Leverkusen scores late to beat Atltico Madrid 2-0 in Champions League

Struggling Bayer Leverkusen left it late to earn a welcome 2-0 win over Atltico Madrid in their Champions League group-stage game on Tuesday. Two goals in three minutes from Robert Andrich and Moussa Diaby both set up by Jeremie Frimpong were enough for Leverkusen to claim just its second win of the season after six defeats in eight games across all competitions. We did brilliantly. I'm so proud of the team, Leverkusen defender Jonathan Tah said. This gives us a lot of energy. Leverkusen coach Gerardo Seoane had been coming under increasing pressure, especially after the 1-0 loss at Club Brugge in their Group B opening game last week, but Andrich finally made the breakthrough in the 84th minute and Diaby sealed the win on a counterattack in the 87th. Both teams had largely canceled each other out in a first half of few chances. Leverkusen looked better early on, when Andrich fired a good chance over. Patrik Schick hit the crossbar for Leverkusen after the break, when Czech ...

Champions League: Hat-trick for Lewandowski as Barca beats Viktoria Plzen

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick as FC Barcelona enjoyed a comfortable start to their UEFA Champions League campaign with a 5-1 win at home to Viktoria Plzen

Kylian Mbappe scores twice in Paris Saint-Germain win but Vitinha injured

Undefeated in six league matches including five wins and 24 goals scored, Paris Saint-Germain and Kylian Mbapp are in scintillating form ahead of next week's Champions League clash with Juventus. Mbapp scored twice from Lionel Messi assists as they won 3-0 at 10-man Nantes to remain leader of the French league on Saturday. But the French champions were dealt a blow from Vitinha's apparent knee injury. The Portuguese midfielder was forced off the pitch in the first half after falling on the turf following a late tackle from defender Fabio, who was sent off. PSG coach Christophe Galtier said Vitinha took a "big knock on his knee cap" but did not say whether he could recover in time for Tuesday's match against the Serie A side at the Parc des Princes. Nantes trailed from the 17th minute after Mbapp's superb goal with a curled right-footed shot from the left side of the box into the opposite corner. He was set up by Messi on the break. Messi was again the provider for Mbapp's seventh

FIFA bans AIFF: Everything you need to know about Indian football crisis

Initially, FIFA was not troubled by CoA's appointment, which was the first time a third party was involved in the running of football in India. Then why did it ban AIFF on third-party involvement?

Wimbledon 2022: Schedule, venue, seeding and everything you need to know

The craze around the tournament, which is famous for players dressed in dazzling whites, has increased even more. Here's all you need to know about the 2022 edition of the grass-court Grand Slam

UEFA announces 'independent report' into Champions League final chaos

The UEFA has announced it has commissioned an independent report into the events surrounding the UEFA Champions League final in Paris

Tear gas fired at Liverpool fans amid Champions League final stadium chaos

As Liverpool lost the showpiece game of the European season to Real Madrid 1-0 on Saturday, UEFA put the blame for blocked turnstiles on thousands of fans who purchased fake tickets

Liverpool, Real Madrid face other in Champions League final in Paris

Thousands of soccer fans were descending on Paris to see Liverpool and Real Madrid meet in the Champions League final later today

Mohamed Salah on revenge mission against Madrid in Champions League final

Mohamed Salah could easily have given the kind of diplomatic answer trotted out by most soccer players.

Roman holiday over

With the advent of Mr Romanovich and his largesse, Chelsea quickly climbed to the top, replacing Arsenal as the main rival for Alex Ferguson's rampant Manchester United

Champions League: Chelsea meet Real Madrid; Man City face Atletico in QFs

The first-leg matches of the quarter-finals will be played on April 5-6, while the second legs are a week later on April 12-13

Liverpool reaches CL quarterfinals despite loss to Inter

Liverpool could cope with its first Anfield loss in a year to still overcome Inter Milan and reach the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Leading 2-0 from the last-16 first leg in Italy, Lautaro Martinez's swerving shot that reduced the deficit in the 61st minute gave the Italian champions a hope of a comeback. But within two minutes, Inter's task was made more difficult when Alexis Sanchez was sent off after his follow-through on Fabinho earned him a second booking. Liverpool held on to lose 1-0 and advance 2-1 on aggregate. The 2019 Champions League winners are in the quarterfinals for the fourth time in five years despite its first loss in the competition this season. Liverpool had chances to level. Mohamed Salah volleyed against the post and Luis Diaz's close-range shot was deflected over by Arturo Vidal. "We struggled in the beginning," Salah said. "We managed to hold the ball up more in the second half. The most important thing is we qualified. Hopefully we'll be better

Lewandowski's 11-minute hat trick helps Bayern advance in CL

Whatever hope Salzburg had of overcoming Bayern Munich was extinguished by Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat trick in 11 minutes. It was game over by the time Lewandowski's third hit the net in the 23rd minute on Tuesday to make it the quickest treble ever seen at the start of a Champions League match. A second leg that started at 1-1 was tilted 4-1 in Bayern's favor by the striker's scoring masterclass. An 8-2 aggregate win to reach the quarterfinals was completed by further goals from Serge Gnabry, a double from Thomas Mller, and Leroy San. At least Salzburg avoided complete humiliation of not scoring with Maurits Kjaergaard netting for the Austrian team in Bavaria. "That was a statement win," Bayern captain Manuel Neuer said. "I think we showed a different side of ourselves today and didn't concede as many chances on the break. We were also more stable in defense, which obviously gives us hope that things can continue in that vein." Tuesday's other round of 16 game was far tighte

Ukraine crisis: UK govt wants Champions League final moved from Russia

Russia sparked an outcry by announcing on Monday that its recognition of independence for areas in eastern Ukraine extended to territory currently held by Ukrainian forces

UEFA human rights, environmental strategy ready to meet challenges

UEFA set itself a goal of ending racism in European soccer by 2030 as part of a human rights and environmental strategy that had an uneasy launch. Other long-term targets include zero episodes of child abuse, embedding rights principles into all strategic decisions, reach "net zero carbon by 2040 collaboratively across European football, and eliminating plastic waste. It's an ambitious target but we are looking to do it, Michele Uva, director of the UEFA sustainability project, said of the headline goal on racism. The challenges were clear even as UEFA formally launched its Strength Through Unity document. The Sports & Rights Alliance group distanced itself from involvement with a project it said places human rights solely as a public relations matter. No matter what UEFA claims, the development of its human rights strategy did not entail a legitimate consultation process and it does not meet any international or European standards, said Minky Worden of Human Rights Watch. UEFA'

Have time to bounce back from this defeat, says Man Utd's Maguire

Manchester United defender Harry Maguire believes that his side has a lot of time to bounce back from the defeat against Young Boys in the UEFA Champions League.

Bad sport

The European Super League will harm football