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.
On paper, Bayern Munich scored a secure 3-0 victory against Lyon in the Champions League semifinals Wednesday, but the scoreline does not reflect the true nature of the match.
While Bayern was the better side for periods of the game, Lyon found itself one-on-one with Manuel Neuer on multiple ocassions but was unable to finish.
There where multiple times when you were left thinking, "How has Lyon not scored there?"
xG map for Lyon - Bayern
As Alphonso Davies walked off the pitch after helping his team eviscerate Barcelona 8-2, the 19-year-old walked up to his childhood idol and asked for his jersey. He was rebuffed, probably the only time he’s failed to get what he wants in the 20 months since he left Canada for Bavaria.
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.
Bayern Munich has no time for trifling sympathies. Bayern Munich is going to destroy everyone in its path.
Serge Gnabry scored twice in the first half and Robert Lewandowski provided his obligatory goal in the second as the German giants stifled Lyon 3-0 on Wednesday in Lisbon to advance to the Champions League final. Bayern will play Paris Saint-Germain on Sunday for the completion of an unorthodox but epic 2020 Champions League season.