Champions League

Former England captain Wayne Rooney believes Paris Saint-Germain has the speed and skill to exploit Bayern Munich's high defensive line in Sunday's Champions League final and punish them in a way Lyon could not.

Lyon forwards Memphis Depay and Karl Toko Ekambi missed gilt-edged opportunities in the opening 16 minutes of a 3-0 defeat to Bayern in the semifinal on Wednesday and Rooney has warned that PSG's front three of Neymar, Kylian Mbappé and Ángel Di María will not be so wasteful.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says the single-game knockout format, used in the Champions League this year from the quarterfinal onwards, has produced more exciting football than the usual two-legged games and could be revisited in the future.

The format was changed in order to allow the competition to be completed in a shorter time-span after the COVID-19 pandemic halted play for several months across Europe in March.

Eight clubs headed to Lisbon and the final will be contested later on Sunday, pitting Bayern Munich against Paris St Germain.

LISBON — The biggest game in club football takes place in the Portuguese capital on Sunday, but walking around the cobbled streets of the city you could be forgiven for being oblivious to the impending Champions League final.

A giant replica of the European Cup at the Rossio square is the only clear sign of the big game that will take place across the city at the Estadio da Luz, between Bayern Munich and Paris-Saint Germain.

French clubs won both Women’s Champions League quarterfinals on Saturday, but it was an Englishwoman who provided the key moment for the defending champions.

Lyon, which scored 25 goals in the last two rounds, struggled to break down Bayern Munich, but a bit of bravery from Nikita Parris provided the breakthrough the UWCL holders needed to pull out a narrow 2-1 victory on Saturday at the San Mamés in Bilbao. 

 They've done it!

PARIS — Paris' Champs Elysee avenue will be pedestrianised on Sunday evening and wearing face masks will be compulsory, officials said on the eve of Paris Saint-Germain taking on Bayern Munich in soccer's Champions League final.

Several thousand people flocked to the famed avenue on Tuesday night to celebrate the Ligue 1 champions reaching the final of Europe's premier club tournament for the first time after they beat RB Leipzig.

Scotland’s Glasgow City, the only part-time club left in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, was always going to have a tough time contending with European powerhouse Wolfsburg in the quarterfinals on Friday. The final score was neither surprising nor flattering. 

But of the 10 goals scored at the Reale Arena on Friday afternoon, Glasgow City’s lone strike was the finest of the lot. 

The 2019-20 UEFA Women’s Champions League continued on Friday with the quarterfinals following a suspension of play that had put the competition on hold since Halloween. Like the men’s side, the tournament was changed to a single-leg format with all the matches being played behind closed doors in Bilbao and San Sebastián, Spain.

LISBON — Bayern Munich's success in reaching the final of the Champions League has been built on a very distinct tactical approach but it is one that carries big risks against Paris Saint-Germain, leaving coach Hansi Flick with a major dilemma.

Bayern play an aggressive pressing game, pinning back their opponents, maintaining pressure on their defence and making it difficult for them to move the ball through the midfield.

LISBON — If any player has felt perfectly at home during the unique circumstances surrounding the climax to this year's Champions League, it is Paris Saint-Germain's Argentine winger Ángel Di María.

As soon as UEFA decided that Portuguese capital Lisbon would host the quarterfinals onwards in a mini-tournament, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, Di Maria felt good vibes.