Preview

BERN — Europe's national teams will emerge from a 10-month hiatus as the second edition of the UEFA Nations League kicks off this week, still under the shadow the COVID-19 pandemic which brought football to a standstill earlier this year.

There has been no international action in the region since last November and the matches which were played then, such as Italy's 9-1 demolition of Armenia and Germany's 6-1 win over Northern Ireland, now seem to belong to a different era.

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 — 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.

The retooling of Barcelona is continuing at a frantic pace with the firing of Quique Setién and hiring of Ronald Koeman as manager and the firing of Eric Abidal and hiring of Ramon Planes as technical director, but you can’t say that the club’s specter isn’t still haunting this season’s Champions League with former player Neymar and current loanee Philippe Coutinho set to do battle in the final. 

On Friday, Aug. 21, the UEFA Women’s Champions League returns with the quarterfinals of the competition following a layoff that hasn’t seen a match played since last Halloween. 

However, the tournament now returns in grand style with a knockout-style format in the Basque Country of northern Spain. Athletic Bilbao’s San Mamés and Real Sociedad’s Anoeta host the remainder of the competition, and Friday’s match in San Sebastián sees Wolfsburg — two-time winner of the competition — take on the only remaining part-time team left, Scotland’s Glasgow City.

The La Liga season restarts Saturday, September 12, and Real Madrid will again be heavy favorites for the title. Los Blancos used a late surge to overtake rivals Barcelona and win the league by five points.

The final 2019-20 La Liga table pic.twitter.com/RBzufwDvDQ

— Goal (@goal) July 19, 2020

So the NWSL Challenge Cup ended almost a month ago. Fans are coming down from the thrill of the games and champions Houston Dash are now barely recovering from their Budweiser hangovers.

2020 as illustrated by @brivisalli: pic.twitter.com/jDtvt0KwAz

— Houston Dash (@HoustonDash) August 10, 2020