Champions League

Over here in ‘Murica we’re having a tough time — for multiple reasons obviously. One of our 99 problems is that we can’t figure out when and how to watch the Champions League. Today I bring you one solution: the U.S. Champions League schedule. Here's the CBS Champions League TV Schedule.

The last time we saw the Champions League was March 11, 2020, in the second legs of the Round of 16. We’ll pick up where we left off with the second legs.

Manchester City take a 2-1 lead into their Champions League last 16 match against Real Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Friday but manager Pep Guardiola needs no reminders of how quickly games can turn in Europe's elite competition.

In last year's quarterfinals City went out on away goals to Tottenham Hotspur after looking in command when 4-2 up in the second leg. The previous year, City were blitzed by three Liverpool goals inside 19 first-half minutes as they fell to a 5-1 aggregate defeat.

The long awaited return for the Champions League takes place on Friday, Aug. 7, and we all can’t wait. The Champions League will look a little different from how it did in March with a new format, new rules and new streaming.

Ahead of the Champions League and Europa League knockout matches that begin this week, European soccer governing body UEFA has released a document with a list of protocols for the return to competition amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The protocols will also apply to international matches that are scheduled to be played this year.

"Non-respect of such social norms could have serious consequences for the staging of international matches," UEFA said.

Following are the rules teams and officials must adhere to:

UEFA has decided to remove pending yellow cards once the Round of 16 is completed for the 2019-20 season. This applies to both the Champions League and the Europa League.

The decision amends articles in the Regulations of the Europa League and the Champions League where yellow cards had been suspended after the quarterfinals.

Manchester City struggles to prevent the best teams from scoring against them and their central defenders could be targeted in Friday's Champions League clash against Spanish champions Real Madrid, former England skipper Wayne Rooney said.

Pep Guardiola's City leads Real after they won the away leg of their last-16 tie 2-1 in March, before Europe's elite club competition was suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MANCHESTER, England — UEFA's claim that Manchester City "disguised equity funding" from their owners was "unsubstantiated" but the club showed "blatant disregard" to the Financial Fair Play investigation, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Tuesday.

The CAS panel that heard Premier League City's appeal published their full reasoning for overturning the English club's two-year ban from European football earlier this month.

The decision allows City to compete in next season’s elite Champions League competition.

Real Madrid forward Mariano Diaz has tested positive for COVID-19, the Spanish champions said on Tuesday, casting doubt on his participation in their Champions League tie at Manchester City next week.

Real said in a statement that tests were conducted on the squad on Monday and that though Diaz was in "perfect health," he would be self-isolating at home.

In Neymar ($255 million) and Kylian Mbappé ($150 million) Paris Saint-Germain boasts the two most expensive footballers ever. By the time Neymar arrived in the summer of 2017 the club had already established itself as the best in France by winning four of the last five Ligue 1 titles and back-to-back Coupe de Frances. 

What Neymar and Mbappé were lavishly acquired for was to take the next step in Europe, where PSG had suffered four straight quarterfinal defeats before La Remontada — that infamous Round of 16 loss to a Neymar-inspired Barcelona.