You’ve sat down for a Champions League match and seen/heard the unmistakable introduction before: the anthem plays (“These are the chaaampions!”) and the video pans over a fictitious stadium with a roof made of stars and a capacity of something like two million.
Well, the thing that everyone expected to happen happened. PSG have officially signed Monaco phenom Kylian Mbappe on loan for this season with a mandatory purchase clause for $214.26 million next summer, which they will almost certainly do.
Watching a Champions League match can be exhilarating, but you know what is also exhilarating? Having fresh breath!
One Hoffenheim fan at the club's Champions League qualifier in Liverpool last week decided he couldn't have just one or the other. He needed Champions League football and fresh breath.
Roberto Firmino is one of the best celebrators in Europe. Not only does he have the most bookings for excessive celebration (seven) since 2012/2013, Firmino puts his creativity to good use when thinking up celebrations.
Check out this gem from Liverpool's win against Hoffenheim Tuesday:
Nothing to say. Just Roberto Firmino living in his own little world pic.twitter.com/eyqKkNPOwU
Peter Crouch has got jokes. This has already been established, but Crouch re-established it after the Champions League draw Thursday when he saw Tottenham, his former club, had once again been drawn with Real Madrid.
Real Madrid for spurs . If they don't have an idiot sent off early they have a great chance
— Peter Crouch (@petercrouch) August 24, 2017
Can you hear it? Playing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again? It’s the Champions League anthem. The best thing to happen to Tuesdays and Wednesdays since Frasier went off air is nearly back.
Thursday marked the Champions League group stage draw in Monaco but we know you only care about two things, so let’s get them out of the way.
Qarabag was drawn into Group C and Christian Pulisic is in Group H, with two more matches against Real Madrid in store, not to mention a date at Wembley.
With Liverpool’s 6-3 aggregate pasting of Hoffenheim on Wednesday, the English Premier League put five clubs in the Champions League for the first time. That’s five chances for English fans to cry over their clubs failing to come through in the continental competition.
Chelsea won the Champions League in 2012 but since then English clubs have barely sniffed the final. In 2015, no EPL team even made it past the Round of 16. The days of 2008 — when the EPL had three of the four semifinalists, including both teams in the final — are barely visible in the rearview mirror.
Everyone loves a good hero. Jasmin Handanović was that hero on Tuesday night for NK Maribor in a Champions League playoff against Hapoel Be’er.
Holding on to a slender aggregate lead on away goals in the 90th minute, the Maribor goalkeeper came up with an incredible sprawling save to keep his team ahead.