The Champions League draw for the quarterfinals and eventual semifinal matchups was held on Friday, with the eight remaining teams discovering their paths to glory. Some sets of fans *cough Liverpool* will be ecstatic with the Champions League draw. Others, not so much. Here is the full draw and the Champions League quarterfinal odds.
The quarter-finals are set! ✔️
Juan Dinenno scored twice in regulation and had the winning kick in a penalty shootout as Pumas pulled off a stunning comeback to beat the New England Revolution in the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday in Mexico City.
Pumas won 3-0 on the night and then prevailed 4-3 in the shootout. The Revolution had won the first leg of the two-game, total-goal series 3-0 on March 9 in Foxborough, Mass.
Dinenno got Pumas on the board in the 33rd minute from short range, then slid for a right-footed finish in the 49th minute.
After a promising first half at Allianz Stadium in which Juventus should've taken the lead against Villarreal in their Champions League Round of 16 second leg, Juve suffered an embarrassing second half collapse that saw the Spanish side score three unanswered while strolling into the quarterfinals.
They're not finished. They're still two of the planet's best footballers and will battle for the game's biggest prizes over the next few years, but it's clear now that the 2021-22 season marks a personal decline for both Lionel Messi and Cristiano that's indicative of life as a professional athlete in your mid to late thirties.
For Messi, it'll be the first time in 14 years that he doesn't surpass 30 goals across all competitions. He's at seven with just 10 matches remaining.
LONDON - Ukrainian winger Andriy Yarmolenko and Spanish midfielder Pablo Fornals scored a goal each as West Ham defeated Aston Villa 2-1 at home on Sunday, ending Steven Gerrard's side's run of three consecutive wins in the Premier League.
Yarmolenko had been granted compassionate leave after Russia's invasion of Ukraine last month and then fell ill, missing West Ham's 1-0 Europa League loss in Seville on Thursday.
Sebastian Lletget opened the scoring in the first half and Adam Buksa added two second-half goals as the New England Revolution routed Mexico's Pumas 3-0 on Wednesday in Foxborough, Mass., in the first leg of a CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series.
The second leg of the total-goal series is scheduled for March 16 in Mexico City.
There's the scoreline and then there's reality.
After Liverpool's 2-0 first leg victory at the San Siro back on Feb. 16, the refrain you constantly heard in the buildup and throughout the opening hour at Anfield on Tuesday was that Inter was still precariously alive in this one — just get the first goal and Anfield would be theirs for the taking!
With 10 Serie A matches remaining, AC Milan is top of the table following Sunday's nervy 1-0 victory over Napoli at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
Inter is two points back of Milan and maintains a game in hand, but the Rossoneri are one step closer to a first Scudetto since 2011 while Napoli, which entered the match level on points with Milan, likely now sees its wait for a first league title since 1990 extended.
The moment of the match was provided by Olivier Giroud in the 49th minute.
Eighteen-year-old Moustapha Cissé scored his first two Atalanta goals with the composure of a veteran striker.
The first came from a looping through ball, which Cissé took one touch to control before providing a steady low finish inside the far post. The second came on a well-placed, one-touch shot after some strong interplay with a teammate on the edge of the penalty area.
Milan U19 - Atalanta U19 pic.twitter.com/6VLc3BohBl
Real Betis' magical season had its finest moment yet Thursday as the club saw off Rayo Vallecano 1-1 at the Benito Villamarín to win its Copa del Rey semifinal 3-2 on aggregate, setting up a final against Valencia on April 23.
Rayo, which has never advanced to a Copa final in its history, struggled to create any chances of note at the Benito Villamarín as we approached the final 10 minutes of the match. It looked like the decisive goal would ultimately be the 68th-minute winner William Carvalho scored in the first leg back on Feb. 9 in Madrid.