Barcelona

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Marco Verratti has issued an apology for his sending off against Real Madrid in the Champions League, but the Italian international isn’t entirely repentant for his actions — he’s convinced German referee Felix Brych wouldn’t have shown a second yellow card to someone like Lionel Messi in the same situation. 

With PSG trailing Real 4-1 on aggregate in the 66th minute, Verratti won possession back for his side outside the opponent’s box. However, with three Real players quickly surrounding him, Verratti lost the ball while screaming for a foul. 

Lionel Messi interviews are an exceptionally rare thing, but the Barcelona star recently spoke on “La Cornisa,” an Argentine show on América TV. The 30-year-old, who’ll turn 31 during the summer’s World Cup, answered questions regarding the continuing evolution of his game. 

The Champions League quarterfinal matchups are set. At this stage in the competition, there are no bad teams and no teams that are truly out of it (except maybe Sevilla, sorry guys).

The quarterfinal matches will be played April 3-4 and April 10-11.

Real Madrid vs. Juventus

The attacking trifecta of Lionel Messi (two goals, one assist), Luis Suarez (two assists) and Ousmane Dembele (scorer of his first goal for Barca) combined to devastating effect to send Barcelona into the Champions League quarterfinals, 4-1 on aggregate over Chelsea.

Samuel Umtiti was the standout performer in Barca’s defense, and although Chelsea twice struck the woodwork, the 3-0 victory on the night was well deserved for the La Liga leaders.

What do Lionel Messi Champions League goals number 99 and 100 have in common? Both humiliated Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois by rolling through his legs before nestling into the back of the net.

It’s an absolute disaster for Chelsea as three minutes of Barcelona possession straight from kick off has been ultimately rewarded with the opener from Lionel Messi. 

Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic dictated play in Chelsea’s half straight away, but there was no penetration before the ball was suddenly in the back of the net. 

19 - After failing to score in his first 10 Champions League appearances against English teams, Lionel Messi has since netted 19 goals in his last 18 games. Haunt.