Champions League

PARIS: Paris St Germain will face Real Madrid in a titanic clash in the last 16 of the Champions League while Manchester United take on Atletico Madrid after UEFA declared the original draw void due to a technical error in the process on Monday. Earlier, United were mistakenly drawn with Villarreal, even though both teams … Read more

LONDON: Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta (pix) has urged his teammates to show an immediate response after falling off the top of the Premier League and finishing a disappointing second in their Champions League group. The European champions twice surrendered the lead in Russia on Wednesday to draw 3-3 with Zenit Saint Petersburg and end their … Read more

MADRID: Antoine Griezmann (pix) will miss Atletico Madrid’s Champions League group game against AC Milan next week as part of a two-match suspension from UEFA, a source close to the club has told AFP. Griezmann was sent off in Atletico’s 3-2 defeat at home to Liverpool last month and has been handed a two-game ban, … Read more

LEIPZIG: Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi (pix) will miss Wednesday’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig due to injury, Paris Saint Germain announced on Tuesday. The 34-year-old six-time Ballon d’Or winner has a left hamstring problem and a painful knee. Messi had gone off at half-time of PSG’s 2-1 Ligue 1 victory over Lille last Friday … Read more

MANCHESTER: Manchester United are a team under construction but Atalanta must be wary of their potential in the Champions League return match, coach Gian Piero Gasperini (pix) said on Monday. United have been wildly inconsistent, following up a 3-2 win over the Italians two weeks ago with a 5-0 loss to Liverpool and a 3-0 … Read more

MANCHESTER: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is confident he can turn Manchester United’s fortunes around as pressure increases on the Norwegian ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League clash with Atalanta at Old Trafford. United are five points behind Premier League leaders Chelsea after a 4-2 defeat at Leicester on Saturday They are not certain of progressing to the … Read more

LONDON: A heavy workload for Chelsea’s international players may have contributed to their lack of freshness on the pitch in recent games, manager Thomas Tuchel (pix) said on Tuesday, but the German backed them to rise to the challenge of competing on all fronts. Tuchel said striker Romelu Lukaku, who has failed to score in … Read more

MILAN: Alvaro Morata (pix) could start for Juventus in this week’s Champions League trip to Zenit Saint Petersburg after recovering from a thigh injury, coach Massimiliano Allegri said on Tuesday. Spain forward Morata had been out of action since picking up the knock against Sampdoria towards the end of last month but after playing around … Read more

PARIS: Brazilian forward Neymar (pix) will miss Paris St Germain’s Champions League group game against RB Leipzig after picking up an injury on international duty, manager Mauricio Pochettino said on Monday. The 29-year-old was among a number of players not involved in PSG’s 2-1 Ligue 1 win over Angers on Friday due to their involvement … Read more

BRUGES: Club Brugge’s players must raise their performances to have any chance against Manchester City in their Champions League game on Tuesday, said coach Philippe Clement (pix). The Belgians, who have had a surprisingly positive start in Group A, will be the underdogs when they host the English champions on Tuesday. “We always want to … Read more

KYIV: Shakhtar Donetsk and Inter Milan battled to a drab 0-0 draw on in their Champions League Group D match on Tuesday and the outcome did neither side any favours as it left both on one point from the opening two games. Shakhtar, who were cheered on by Ukraine’s newly-crowned world heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr … Read more