Prediction

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.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappé could start Tuesday's Champions League semifinal against RB Leipzig, as the French club target their first appearance in a Champions League final.

Mbappé came off the bench for the last half hour against Atalanta last week to set up the winning goal, and Thomas Tuchel told a news conference the France World Cup winner had suffered no reaction to his injured ankle.

There was barely time for the full inquest into Juventus' exit from the Champions League to even begin before the club delivered their own blunt verdict — sacking their coach Maurizio Sarri.

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.

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.

Swansea started the Championship playoffs on Sunday with a statement in Wales, defeating promotion favorites Brentford 1-0, with Andre Ayew scoring after left back Rico Henry was sent off for Brentford. There are still four more matches to play before a third promoted side is determined, as two home-and-away ties will be contested before soccer's most valuable game, the Playoff Final, which is to be played Tuesday, August 4.