PARIS — Paris St Germain players climbed up a Parc des Princes stand overlooking the street where thousands of fans waited for them after they qualified for the Champions League quarterfinals in an empty stadium amid coronavirus fears on Wednesday.
The French champions beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 to secure a 3-2 aggregative victory and erase memories of embarrassing last-16 exits against Barcelona and Manchester United in 2017 and 2019.
Against all odds and wave after wave of pressure, Atlético has sent defending European champion Liverpool out of the Champions League, 4-2 on aggregate, but the Spanish side must largely thank Adrián for its magical night at Anfield.
The opening 90 minutes couldn’t have gone any better for Liverpool on Wednesday — apart from the lone Reds goal on the scoreboard. After promising to improve on zero shots on target back at the Wanda, Liverpool finished regular time with 28 attempts — nine on target — 71 percent possession and more than twice as many completed passes as Atlético.
Neymar spent most of the first nine minutes of a crucial Champions League second leg against Borussia Dortmund on the floor. In a way, it was the best evidence of how much the match meant to him.
Neymar may or may not stay with PSG next season. In the meantime, it’s clear he is doing everything in his power to win the Champions League for his wealthy Qatari benefactors.
Tyler Adams hasn’t had the best of starts to the 2019-20 campaign in Germany. The American, who turned 21 last month, has been in and out (mostly out) of the RB Leipzig lineup all season with various injuries.
But on Tuesday, Adams did something just nine Americans have ever done before: He appeared in a Champions League knockout-round match.
Even better, he did so in a convincing victory, as his RB Leipzig dusted Tottenham 3-0 on Tuesday and 4-0 on aggregate. And because we’re biased Americans, we’re going to give Adams credit for an assist on Leipzig’s third goal.
Over the past six months, Atalanta fans have been living the American soccer dream. The Bergamo-based club, despite tracing its existence back 112 years, has experienced a litany of firsts, bounced around different grounds and put its supporters through a sustained period of isolated loneliness. In the United States, we call this the New York City FC experience.
After having its match on Saturday postponed due to the coronavirus, PSG will now play its Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Borussia Dortmund behind closed doors at the Parc des Princes.
With the virus rapidly spreading through France, the French Police announced Monday that Wednesday’s Champions League match will take place with no fans present. The police and PSG’s Twitter accounts broke the news to fans and will now work out terms and conditions for refunds.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker will miss Saturday's home Premier League game against Bournemouth as well as their Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid after suffering a hip injury this week, manager Juergen Klopp said on Friday.
The Brazilian was left out of the squad when Liverpool lost 2-0 at Chelsea in the FA Cup with Spaniard Adrian playing in goal instead and Klopp revealed he had injured his hip in training prior to Tuesday's game.
Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has questioned whether their smaller rivals Atalanta should have a right to play in the Champions League, saying they lack international history. His comments drew a blunt response from the mayor of Atalanta's home town Bergamo who said the team had earned their place with "sweat and imagination."
UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin told European football's administrators on Tuesday that they can be proud to be in charge of the most popular, wealthiest and best football in the world.
In a surprisingly blunt message, the Slovenian told his organisation's annual congress that they should not be ashamed of the success of tournaments such as the Champions League and the Euros — nor the huge amount money they generate.
Juventus coach Maurizio Sarri is struggling to impose his style of play on the Turin side and his frustration came out into the open again after a poor performance in their Champions League defeat to Olympique Lyonnais on Wednesday.
In comments that could be viewed as refreshingly honest or a risky public criticism of his players, the chain-smoking 61-year-old said that his team were struggling to grasp the concept of passing the ball around quickly — a style dubbed "Sarri-ball" by his admirers.