Over the next couple of days, the Champions League’s final four will be decided, and with only a goal or two dividing each tie, every semifinal spot is still up for grabs:

ii. If you prefer your UCL previews in audio or video form, be sure to check out Rog and Rory Smith’s podcast from this morning to get you properly hyped for today’s two epic matchups. Watch that here. 📺

iii. Speaking of Rog, join him and James Horncastle tomorrow evening for “Big Match Breakdown” immediately after the two Champions League games wrap up. Enjoy that here. 🗣️

iv. Lastly, a few of the sweetest recent goals (or almost goals) from around the football world:

🇳🇱 First, a stellar individual effort from Vitesse’s Omar Achouitar in the Eredivisie, who we have the honor of telling you is a center-back!

🇻🇳 Then we head to Vietnam’s V.League 1 for one of the strangest goals you’ll see this week, or really any week for that matter.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 To wrap things up, how about this goal-line clearance from Leeds’ Dominic Calvert-Lewin? Might’ve just secured his team’s three points yesterday.

Cheers,
Tommy Stewart, Jacob Schneider & Max Bonem

P.S. These PSG Champions League posters are actual works of art. 🎨

Atlético Madrid 🇪🇸 vs. Barcelona: Agg. 2-0 🇪🇸 (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

This 10-day Spanish trilogy is set up to match “Back to the Future” in terms of entertainment value, but like “The Godfather Part III,” it could equally end anticlimactically if Diego Simeone has his way. He will organize his Atlético Madrid soldiers into a Hadrian-inspired defensive wall because the Argentinian lieutenant knows he faces a side who thrive on all-out attack like no other. Since the start of last season, half of Atléti’s six defeats at home have come against Hansi Flick’s Barcelona, whose plethora of forwards could lethally combine any of Robert Lewandowski, Marcus Rashford, Dani Olmo, Fermín López, Ferran Torres and the phenomenal Lamine Yamal. Although Simeone will opt for attritional warfare today, no side has conceded more goals in this competition since the start of last season than Barcelona, so expect a potential shootout.

More: Here’s a stat to make every Barça fan in your life nervous.

Liverpool 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. PSG 🇫🇷: Agg. 0-2 (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Arne Slot admitted he got it wrong by playing five at the back in Paris last week, and the fact his side didn’t register one shot on target against the Champions League-holders was testament to that. PSG played like the Harlem Globetrotters, toying with their opponents who could only chase shadows, and with a daylight lead in Ligue 1, Luis Enrique’s side seem to be mirroring last season’s spring awakening. They’ve won their last four two-legged UCL ties against English clubs and their most potent attacking threat, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, has scored in four successive knockout matches, something no other PSG player has ever achieved. Despite Liverpool having lost nine of their 10 previous two-legged ties in Europe after losing the first game by two goals, over the decades, logic and form are often irrelevant when it comes to famous Anfield comebacks in this competition.

Bayern Munich 🇩🇪 vs. Real Madrid 🇪🇸: Agg. 2-1 (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

The Bavarian giants have a one-goal lead heading into this second leg in Munich, but all eyes are on Álvaro Arbeloa and Real Madrid. With Jude Bellingham coming off his first start since January on Friday, the England ace will look to land his first UCL goal contribution since December, while Kylian Mbappé will have his eyes on history. The Frenchman has 14 Champions League goals this campaign, and if he wants to break Cristiano Ronaldo’s long-standing record of 17, he’ll need to lace up his shooting boots against a Bayern side that have not conceded more than one goal in a UCL match since November. As for the hosts, with a healthy Harry Kane, their menacing trio of their star forward, Luis Díaz and Michael Olise will look to lock this up early and book their spot in the next round.

Arsenal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Sporting 🇵🇹: Agg. 1-0 (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

With Anne Hathaway in their corner already, one would assume Arsenal are the clear favorites heading into this bout, but with three losses in their last four across all comps, Sporting have a chance to storm the Emirates and steal a result. The Gunners currently have the advantage, courtesy of a stoppage-time winner in leg one from Kai Havertz, but Portugal’s brightest prospect, Geovany Quenda, returned from injury at the weekend, giving Sporting a forward who has shown a knack for scoring in the competition when available. Still, the Gunners have only lost one of their last 12 UEFA matches against Portuguese teams and are unbeaten in their last eight at home to them, while Sporting have won nine of their last 10 two-legged UEFA matches against English opposition. Also, this:

Last week, we explored Europe’s glimmering galaxy of starboys, but in the words of Eleanor Roosevelt, "Beautiful young people are accidents of nature, but beautiful old people are works of art." Here are some of the experienced dark-horses who have the potential to impact this week’s quarterfinals.

Koke: The modern day definition of a one-club man, Koke’s logged over 700 appearances for Atlético Madrid and has been with the team since age eight as an academy youngster. The 34-year-old is more committed to the club than Justin Bieber is to trolling Coachella, and as Atlétí get ready for round three of their tango with Barça, their veteran midfielder is prepared to be the captain and leader his club needs to push for a semifinal berth.

Joshua Kimmich: The stalwart of Bavaria, a man who can deploy centrally or at fullback, Kimmich is the Swiss Army Knife that Vincent Kompany keeps in his back pocket. Somehow only 31, it feels as though he’s worn the red and white of Bayern Munich for two decades now; the only fair conclusion is he must be a descendant of the Dúnedain. For the German outfit this week, Kimmich will be one of the most important figures on the pitch, utilizing his craft and experience to put a stop to Madrid’s attack.

Marquinhos: A mainstay in the PSG lineup for over 10 years, Marquinhos has quietly become one of Europe’s most consistent defenders. He’s found success everywhere he’s played — from a Libertadores title with Corinthians as a teenager to a UCL win with PSG last year and a Coppa Italia final berth in his lone campaign at Roma. Now 31, the Brazilian has yet to log a season with fewer than 30 matches since he was 18. If the Parisian outfit wants to become the first club since Real Madrid in 2018 to win Europe’s premier tournament in back-to-back years, they’ll be looking to their captain to lead them there.

Andy Robertson: No one expected this spindly Scottish left-back to win everything the game has to offer when Liverpool signed him from Hull for just $10.4 million in 2017. Not only has Robertson done that, but 373 appearances later, the blood, sweat and tears he’s shed for a club whose fanbase breathes passion pushed him to become one of Europe’s best defenders in his prime. Along the way, he was the on-field emblem of Jürgen Klopp’s all-action, heavy-metal football, blending attacking prowess with the game’s dark arts to maximize his abilities. 

Dani Carvajal: Since making his debut in 2013, Carvajal has lifted six Champions League trophies, which is more than Barcelona, Manchester United and Inter Milan have each won in their whole history. The 34-year-old is the Champions League’s cockroach, relentlessly clinging to this competition and its best forwards over the past 13 years, and although father time now limits his minutes on the pitch, his experience within Los Blancos’ squad is invaluable. As a fullback, Carvajal’s not in the traditional Galáctico stratosphere that Mbappé, Cristiano Ronaldo and David Beckham occupy, but no one is more Real Madrid than him; if you disagree, he’ll probably fight you.

This week, we want to know: Who’s the missing midfielder from Real Madrid’s 2-0 Champions League final victory over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley in 2024?

Email us (or reply to this newsletter) with your answer for a chance to win a much-coveted MiB patch!

Our last winner: Congratulations to Christian Stilp, who was the first to correctly answer that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was Liverpool’s missing center midfielder when they emphatically beat Roma 5-2 in the 2018 UCL semifinal. Your patch is in the post, Christian!

👋 We’ll see again tomorrow to talk all things World Cup. In the meantime, keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

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