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The eight teams still standing in the Champions League learned their respective routes to this season’s final at Wembley Stadium during Friday’s draw for the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds.
A tantalizing meeting between reigning champions Manchester City and 14-time winners Real Madrid headlines the quarterfinals. The clash will be a rematch of last season’s semifinal, where Pep Guardiola’s team secured one of its most famous victories with a stunning 4-0 triumph in the second leg before going on to hoist the big-eared trophy for the first time.
This will be the third consecutive campaign in which the two heavyweights have locked horns in the Champions League.
Elsewhere, Arsenal welcome a familiar foe back to north London when they battle Harry Kane and Bayern Munich. Not to be outdone, a tilt between Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona offers several intriguing subplots of its own, not the least of which being Kylian Mbappe taking on a Barca side that he’ll see plenty of if, as expected, he moves to Real Madrid this summer.
Quarterfinal matchups
Quarterfinal 1: Arsenal vs. Bayern Munich
Quarterfinal 2: Atletico Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund
Quarterfinal 3: Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
Quarterfinal 4: Paris Saint-Germain vs. Barcelona
The clubs listed first in each matchup will play their respective first legs at home. Those fixtures are scheduled for April 9 and 10, with the decisive return legs slated for April 16 and 17.
In sticking with its protocol from recent years, UEFA also filled out the complete knockout bracket for the remaining teams, teeing up the final four.
Semifinal matchups
Winner of quarterfinal 2 vs. winner of quarterfinal 4
Winner of quarterfinal 1 vs. winner of quarterfinal 3
The semifinal first legs will take place on April 30 and May 1, while the second legs are locked in for May 7 and 8.
This season’s Champions League final, to be staged at Wembley Stadium in London, is scheduled for June 1.
NFL free agency is off and running. Teams have been allowed to negotiate with free agents since Monday, and players can now officially be signed by new teams as of 4 p.m. ET Wednesday, which was the start of the new league year.
We’ve seen dozens of extensions, short-term contracts and multiyear signings doled out, including a blockbuster $180 million deal for quarterback Kirk Cousins in Atlanta, a $100 million extension for quarterback Baker Mayfield to stay in Tampa Bay and a $110 million contract for defensive tackle Christian Wilkins to head to Las Vegas.
There have also been a few trades, including the Giants bringing in edge rusher Brian Burns for draft picks, the Cardinals dealing for quarterback Desmond Ridder, the Seahawks acquiring quarterback Sam Howell, the Bears trading for receiver Keenan Allen and the Panthers making a move for wideout Diontae Johnson.
We’re tracking all of the live action, including signings, notable trades, cap-saving releases and more. Here are all the latest moves, rumors and news.
coverage: Grading biggest deals | Best available free agents Barnwell: Winners, losers | Making sense of QBs Yates: New mini mock draft of top 15 picks Clay: Ranking most improved teams so far Fantasy reaction: What to make of top moves
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We’re down to the nitty-gritty in the Champions League.
Atletico Madrid capped off the round of 16 with a shootout victory over last season’s finalists Inter Milan, upsetting a red-hot team widely fancied to make another deep run in Europe’s premier club competition. Other clubs will look to capitalize on Inter’s surprising ouster and challenge for the coveted big-eared trophy.
With that in mind, here’s how we think the field stacks up heading into Friday’s quarterfinal draw.
8. Borussia Dortmund
Edin Terzic’s men will be undisputed underdogs regardless of who they meet in the quarterfinals. An underwhelming last-16 victory over PSV Eindhoven did little to dispel the notion that Borussia Dortmund are the least intimidating team remaining. They needed a healthy slice of good fortune, and some wayward PSV finishing, to scrape past the Dutch outfit. Jadon Sancho’s first Champions League goal in three years does provide some reason for optimism, though. If the on-loan winger can stay fit, he still has the ability to be a game-changer who can potentially inspire an upset.
7. Atletico Madrid
Atletico Madrid are the most difficult team to judge of the eight remaining in the tournament. Almost every side goes through ebbs and flows during a match, and a season at large, but Diego Simeone’s feisty squad has been taking that to another level. Spurred on by a boisterous home crowd, they were at their aggressive best for parts of Wednesday’s entertaining clash against Inter but also looked totally overwhelmed by the Nerazzurri’s pressure for large stretches. Their never-say-die attitude got them over the line, though. It may be a cliche, but even amid a patchy season, Atleti are a seasoned side that the other seven contenders would ideally like to avoid in the quarterfinals. Just ask Inter.
6. Barcelona
Just how far can the youngsters carry this team? Barcelona remain flawed – hence their position on this list. But the emergence of exuberant prodigies like Lamine Yamal, Fermin Lopez, and Pau Cubarsi, all of whom were outstanding in the last-16 second-leg triumph over Napoli, is providing a second wind for a club that looked deflated earlier in the season. Despite Barca’s notorious off-field mismanagement and uncertain managerial future post-Xavi, their famed academy has delivered once again. That’s unlikely to be enough for the Catalan side to reach Wembley for the final, but the mood around the team is on the upswing. What once looked like a lost season is far less bleak right now.
5. Bayern Munich
It’s been difficult to find the right center-back duo, and Thomas Tuchel has repeatedly moaned about his lack of a true No. 6, but Bayern Munich’s results haven’t been that bad. The Bavarians have 57 points in Germany’s top flight – the average points haul at this stage in the post-Pep Guardiola era is 58. Harry Kane has matched a 60-year-old record for goals in a debut Bundesliga campaign (30) with nine matches remaining and proved he’s a big-game player with two finishes to help overturn a one-goal deficit against Lazio in the Champions League last 16. This isn’t vintage Bayern by any means, but they shouldn’t be underestimated.
4. Arsenal
Nearly every other team on this list – save for Premier League rivals Manchester City, of course – is either cruising toward a league title or far enough away from top spot that domestic commitments shouldn’t interfere too much with their Champions League focus. Arsenal don’t have that luxury, but Mikel Arteta’s men have displayed a newfound mettle and maturity this season that suggests they can handle the rigors, both mental and physical, of high-leverage games across the two competitions. Porto delivered a big scare in the last 16, but that should serve the Gunners well; few teams ever totally cruise through the Champions League. The shootout win over the Portuguese giants could turn out to be a seminal moment.
3. Paris Saint-Germain
There’s something different about Paris Saint-Germain. Luis Enrique’s determination to instill discipline and form a solid, long-term foundation have risked upsetting Kylian Mbappe and the whole nation while the forward’s been handed reduced minutes ahead of his summer exit. Nevertheless, there is greater professionalism in PSG’s ranks. They work as a team rather than a discordant club of self-serving galacticos. Their dismissal of Real Sociedad in the round of 16 was impressive – especially when they weathered the aggressive, adventurous opening to the second leg from the Basque hosts. And with Mbappe hanging around for a few more months, PSG have to be billed as genuine contenders.
2. Real Madrid
Real Madrid looked genuinely terrible in the second leg of their narrow last-16 triumph over RB Leipzig. They were panicky and imprecise in possession, and weirdly lackadaisical in defense. It nearly cost them. It didn’t, of course, thanks largely to the individual excellence of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior. Madrid, famous for using magical singular moments to undo all the sustained hard work of their opposition, can never be counted out for that very reason. Especially in this competition. Ominously for the rest of the field, they’re starting to get healthy, too, with Eder Militao and Thibaut Courtois both expected back after the upcoming international break, which will put them in line to play in the quarterfinals.
1. Manchester City
Manchester City are more vulnerable than last season. Quick balls played behind the backline have caused plenty of problems, and some defenders have struggled against direct runners. But this is Manchester City. Erling Haaland has 41 goals in 37 Champions League appearances; Kevin De Bruyne has registered 12 assists despite starting just seven matches since returning from injury in January; and Phil Foden is in the best form of his career. In addition to the wealth of talent, Pep Guardiola could hastily find solutions for his team’s deficiencies; he surprised everyone when he deployed four center-backs en route to securing last season’s treble.
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LONDON (AP) — Porto coach Sergio Conceicao accused Arsenal counterpart Mikel Arteta of insulting his family during Tuesday’s Champions League game between the teams, continuing a trend of lashing out at the opposing manager after a loss.
Arsenal beat Porto on penalties at the Emirates Stadium to advance to the quarterfinals, and the two managers had a lengthy exchange after the game in which Conceicao seemed to admonish Arteta, pointing his finger at the Spaniard as he made his point. Arteta responded by shaking his head as he walked away.
“During the game, (Arteta) turned to the bench and in Spanish — it must be a Spanish coach thing because it was the same thing with (Pep) Guardiola — he insulted my family,” Conceicao said in Portuguese after the game. “In the end I told him to pay attention because who he insulted is no longer with us, and to worry about coaching his team, because due to individual quality he has an obligation to do more and better.”
When asked about the exchange with Conceicao in his post-game news conference, Arteta only said “no comment” before leaving the podium.
Conceicao has made similar claims about other managers.
After a group-stage loss to Manchester City in 2020, he said Guardiola “spoke about our country using ugly words” and that “Guardiola’s attitude was extremely unpleasant.”
After Porto lost to Chelsea in the 2021 Champions League quarterfinals, he also said then-Blues coach Thomas Tuchel “insulted” him during the game.