PARIS: Holders Manchester City will come up against record 14-time winners Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals after being paired together in Friday’s draw, meaning the sides will meet in a third consecutive season in the competition.
Arsenal will face Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, while Paris Saint-Germain meet Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will take on Borussia Dortmund in the other ties.
Pep Guardiola’s City will travel to the Spanish capital for the first leg on April 9, with the return in Manchester on April 17.
City beat Madrid in the semifinals last season on the way to winning the Champions League for the first time, following a 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu with a stunning 4-0 victory at home in the second leg.
Real came out on top when the teams met in the last four a year earlier, before going on to defeat Liverpool in the final.
The Spanish giants also won a semifinal clash between the teams in 2016, just before Guardiola took over at City, while the English club emerged victorious in the last 16 in 2020.
“It looks like a little bit of tradition — three years in a row playing the king of the competition, who have won 14 Champions Leagues, but it is what it is,” Guardiola said at a press conference ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United.
“Hopefully we can arrive in a good moment. It’s still a few weeks before the first game in Madrid and we will see.”
“They are the champions and we know each other perfectly, so I don’t need to explain the virtues of City,” Emilio Butragueno, the former Real player who is now the club’s director of institutional relations, told Spanish broadcaster Movistar+.
“Two tremendous games await us.”
The draw threw up a set of mouthwatering ties with Arsenal being rewarded with a clash against German champions Bayern after beating Porto on penalties to qualify for the quarter-finals for the first time since 2010.
The Gunners will host the first leg at the Emirates Stadium on April 9, which will see former Tottenham Hotspur talisman Kane — who has so far scored 36 goals in his first season at Bayern — return to London.
The sides will meet again in Bavaria eight days later.
There is the prospect of an all-English semifinal, with the winners of the tie between Arsenal and Bayern facing either City or Real in the last four.
PSG’s meeting with Barcelona will be the latest instalment in the rivalry between those sides, as the French club aim to win the Champions League for the first time in their final season before Kylian Mbappe departs when his contract expires in June.
Five-time champions Barcelona knocked PSG out in the quarter-finals in 2013 and 2015, before their spectacular victory in the last 16 in 2017, when they recovered from losing 4-0 away in the first leg with a 6-1 win in the return at the Camp Nou.
The Barcelona coach then was Luis Enrique, now in charge of Paris.
PSG avenged that defeat in the last 16 in 2021, when Mbappe scored a hat-trick in the away leg to help his side triumph 5-2 on aggregate.
“It is going to be a great tie. PSG have a very young side and a coach who we know very well, but we also have a great team and they will help us to go through,” Rafael Yuste, the Barcelona vice president, told Movistar+.
The sides will meet in the French capital on April 10, before the return six days later at Montjuic in Barcelona.
Atletico will host Dortmund in the first leg of their quarter-final, with the winners of that taking on PSG or Barcelona in the last four.
“We’re looking forward to a trip to Madrid,” said Dortmund coach Edin Terzic at a press conference on Friday.
“Our clear goal is to take on a tough opponent who are a bit of a monster in knockout games and to defeat them ahead of the home game where we want to experience a magical evening in Dortmund.”
This season’s Champions League final will take place at Wembley in London on June 1.
Holders Man City to face Real Madrid in Champions League quarters
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Holders Man City to face Real Madrid in Champions League quarters
- Arsenal will face Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich, while Paris Saint-Germain meet Barcelona
- Pep Guardiola’s City will travel to the Spanish capital for the first leg on April 9
Morocco, Algeria dispute over shirts leads to second cancelation
- Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags
- The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence
BERKANE, Morocco: For the second straight week, an African Confederation Cup match between Renaissance Berkane and Algerian side USM Alger was canceled in a dispute over a map on the Moroccan team’s shirts.
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) awarded Berkane a 3-0 victory in the first leg of their semifinal, canceled last Sunday when the Moroccan club refused to take the field after Algerian officials confiscated their shirts.
On Sunday in Berkane, only the home players took the field and they saluted their fans as the stadium announcer told the crowd the match had been canceled.
Moroccan television reported that the USM team left the stadium just before the scheduled 1900 GMT kickoff.
The row began when the Moroccan squad arrived in Algeria last week ahead of the first-leg tie.
Customs officers confiscated Berkane’s shirts on the grounds that they carried a map of Morocco that included the disputed Western Sahara.
Shortly before the first leg kick-off, USM Alger sporting director Toufik Korichi told Algerian radio that the match would not be played because Berkane refused to take to the pitch in any other shirts
The former Spanish colony of Western Sahara is largely controlled by Morocco but claimed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which seeks the territory’s independence.
Algeria broke off diplomatic relations with Morocco in 2021, partly over the issue.
Before kick-off on Sunday, Renaissance supporters held up a banner with a map of Morocco showing the disputed territory. Many fans waved Moroccan flags.
On Saturday, business was brisk in the official shop selling Berkane shirts.
“There’s a huge demand,” said Soufiane Al Korchi, a representative of the official distributor of the Moroccan team shirt, adding that the “map has been part of the official design for three years.”
The Algerian football federation has lodged an appeal against the CAF sanction with the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, arguing that the Cairo-based body had “validated the request of the Moroccan club, RS Berkane, to wear a shirt with a political message.”
Paris Saint-Germain win Ligue 1 title after Monaco defeat
- Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top
PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain were confirmed as Ligue 1 champions on Sunday without playing after closest challengers Monaco lost 3-2 away to Lyon.
Monaco’s defeat gave PSG an unassailable 12-point lead at the top of the table with three games remaining and means they are champions for a French record-extending 12th time.
PSG could have clinched the title on Saturday with a win at home to struggling Le Havre, but in the end they needed a 95th-minute equalizer to snatch a 3-3 draw.
However, after that game coach Luis Enrique insisted his side had won the league “without any doubt,” as they were 12 points clear with only 12 points left to play for, and also boast a far superior goal difference to that of Monaco.
The principality club’s loss in Lyon nevertheless makes PSG’s coronation official, and sets them up for Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg away to Borussia Dortmund in Germany.
Monaco had taken the lead inside the opening minute in Lyon thanks to a Wissam Ben Yedder goal, but Alexandre Lacazette equalized for the hosts and Said Benrahma put them ahead before the half-hour mark.
Ben Yedder struck again to bring it back to 2-2, only for substitute Malick Fofana to net a late winner for Lyon, who are still hoping to qualify for Europe.
PSG have won 10 of their 12 titles in the last 12 seasons, a record which goes to show how the Qatari takeover of the club in 2011 has utterly transformed them and the face of French football as a whole.
They are on course for a clean sweep of trophies this season, with the French Cup final against Lyon to come on May 25 and the French Champions Trophy already in the bag.
Luis Enrique’s side are also hoping to see off Dortmund and win through to the final of the Champions League on June 1.
Last-gasp goal stretches Leverkusen unbeaten streak
- The strike keeps Leverkusen’s remarkable streak of late goals alive
- Alonso’s side have now won or equalized in stoppage time 10 times this season in all competitions
LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Robert Andrich scored with the last kick of the match to extend Bayer Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to 46 games this season with a 2-2 home draw against Stuttgart on Saturday.
With Bundesliga champions Leverkusen facing their first loss of the season in any competition trailing 2-1 late in stoppage time, Andrich hammered in a loose ball to equalize in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The strike keeps Leverkusen’s remarkable streak of late goals alive, with Xabi Alonso’s side doing the same at Borussia Dortmund in the seventh minute of injury time for a 1-1 draw last week.
Two goals in the space of nine minutes to start the second half from Chris Fuehrich and Deniz Undav put Stuttgart on course, with Amine Adli pulling one back after 61 minutes.
Leverkusen built pressure but could not break through, putting their hopes of becoming the first team to go a full Bundesliga season without defeat in doubt.
However, with time running out, they won a free kick and Florian Wirtz curled the ball into the box, Andrich snapping up a rebound to score.
Alonso’s side have now won or equalized in stoppage time 10 times this season in all competitions.
Kane hits double in Bayern win as Leipzig tighten grip on fourth
- Kane scored in each half, finishing off a tearing Konrad Laimer run and converting a penalty, to raise his league tally to 35 goals in 31 games
- Kane is now six goals shy of Robert Lewandowski’s all-time single-season Bundesliga goals record
LEVERKUSEN, Germany: Harry Kane scored twice in Bayern Munich’s 2-1 win over Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday to set a new personal record for goals in a season as RB Leipzig tightened their grip on fourth spot with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund.
Kane scored in each half, finishing off a tearing Konrad Laimer run and converting a penalty, to raise his league tally to 35 goals in 31 games.
Kane is now six goals shy of Robert Lewandowski’s all-time single-season Bundesliga goals record and has hit a personal best of 42 goals in all competitions this campaign.
The England captain’s goals came either side of a Hugo Ekitike stunner, a day after the Frenchman became a permanent Frankfurt player.
Bayern veteran Thomas Mueller said his side was “in a good flow,” saying since getting past Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals “we’ve been getting better, we’ve got a grip on things.”
Before the match, Bayern coach Thomas Tuchel hit back at claims from the club’s honorary president Uli Hoeness that the manager wanted to buy rather than develop players, saying the “absolutely baseless” allegation “could not be further from reality.”
Despite the victory, which solidified Bayern’s chances of a second-placed finish, both Laimer and defender Matthijs de Ligt were subbed off with injury just days before Tuesday’s home Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid.
Dortmund, Germany’s other Champions League semifinalist, had a setback ahead of hosting Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, being thoroughly outclassed in a 4-1 defeat at Leipzig.
The undermanned visitors, missing captain Emre Can, Donyell Malen, Ian Maatsen and Sebastien Haller, dominated early, hitting the lead after 20 minutes through Jadon Sancho.
The England winger curled an excellent shot from the edge of the box into the top right corner to give Dortmund the lead.
Jolted to life, Leipzig equalized almost immediately, Lois Openda turning in a superb Xavi Simons cross for his 24th goal of the season.
Originally called offside, the goal was awarded after a VAR review and the video referee intervened again shortly after, overturning a penalty for Leipzig.
Leipzig then scored two quick-fire goals either side of half-time. Benjamin Sesko pounced on a rebound just before the break and Openda found Mohamed Simakan early in the second.
Christoph Baumgartner added a fourth with 10 minutes remaining to send Leipzig five points clear of Dortmund in fourth, the final guaranteed Champions League spot.
Dortmund goalie Gregor Kobel said “like so often this season, we gifted the opponent too many goals.”
With three teams in the semifinals of the top two European competitions, Germany may however snare a fifth Champions League spot.
Werder Bremen guaranteed first division football next season, winning 3-0 away at Augsburg to go 10 points clear of the drop with three games to play.
Goals from Romano Schmid and Olivier Deman and a Marvin Ducksch penalty took Bremen to a second-straight win for the first time since February.
Wolfsburg also took a major step toward securing top-flight football, scoring two goals in the final minutes to come from behind and beat a 10-man Freiburg 2-1.
In Saturday’s late game, Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen will try and keep their unbeaten record alive this season when they host third-placed Stuttgart.
No team in Bundesliga history has ever gone through a season unbeaten.
Sheffield United become first team relegated from EPL after heavy loss at Newcastle
- The Blades were 10 points from safety with three games remaining, ensuring an immediate return to the Championship
- Alexander Isak scored two of Newcastle’s goals, taking his season tally to 23 in all competitions
NEWCASTLE, England: Sheffield United became the first team to be relegated from the English Premier League after losing at Newcastle 5-1 on Saturday.
The Blades were 10 points from safety with three games remaining, ensuring an immediate return to the Championship.
They took the lead in the fifth minute at St. James’ Park through Anel Ahmedhodzic, only to be overwhelmed by a home team on the charge for European qualification.
Alexander Isak scored two of Newcastle’s goals, taking his season tally to 23 in all competitions — 19 in the league. That’s one behind joint leaders Cole Palmer of Chelsea and Erling Haaland of Manchester City.
Bruno Guimaraes and Callum Wilson also netted for Newcastle, while Ben Osborn scored an own-goal. That meant Sheffield United conceded 13 goals to Newcastle this season, following September’s 8-0 loss at Bramall Lane.
The visitors took the lead when they worked a short corner move for Ahmedhodzic to head Gustavo Hamer’s cross past Martin Dubravka.
Isak’s first goal came in the 26th after Jacob Murphy played the perfect ball into the Sweden striker, Isak, who ran in behind Auston Trusty and finished with aplomb.
Mason Holgate headed against the crossbar and Andre Brooks blazed wide from the resulting corner as Sheffield United threatened.
The second half was all Newcastle, which netted four goals in 18 minutes — starting in the 54th when Anthony Gordon curled a free kick to the far post where the unmarked Guimaraes dived to head home.
Isak coolly converted a 61st-minute penalty after Holgate bundled Gordon to the ground, and it was 4-1 within four minutes when Osborn back-heeled the ball into his own net as he tried to clear.
Foderingham denied Wilson within five minutes of his arrival but could not prevent him from making it 5-1 with a powerful finish after fellow substitute Harvey Barnes played him in.
Newcastle were in seventh place, one point Manchester United in sixth.
