Like Michael Scott, Mikel Arteta will be telling his players to “STAY F*****G CALM!” after Manchester City’s potentially title-deciding 3-3 draw with Everton yesterday, because his side are about to go to war in Europe again:

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

iii. Now, a few of the sweetest recent goals from around the football world:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 My goodness, Jeremy Doku. He had two simply filthy finishes yesterday, but this equalizer that broke Everton hearts is particularly nasty.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Lawrence Shankland scored this eventual winner for his first-placed Hearts against Rangers in what was maybe the biggest result of their season. What a title race!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 No Chelsea goals for 566 minutes and then this!? A team performance so bad that João Pedro couldn’t even celebrate his overhead worldie.

vi. For anyone who hasn’t enjoyed Bayern’s “interesting” home kits this year, you’re in luck: the German champs will debut these very clean 2026-27 jerseys tomorrow against PSG. Shoutout to the cockatoo badge too. 🦜

v. Lastly, we appreciate you GFOPs and we value your opinion so much. It’s massively helpful for us and our partners to hear from you, so we’d love if you could spare three or four minutes to take this new, quick survey for us. To sweeten the deal: those who participate will be entered to win a $150 gift card to our Men in Blazers shop. 🙌

Cheers,
Tommy Stewart & Max Bonem

P.S. Flashing a business card after scoring is simply elite. 🤑

Everything’s bigger in Texas: State Fairs, BBQ and now, Men in Blazers Live.

Arsenal Could Be on the Verge of History: Arsenal 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 vs. Atlético Madrid 🇪🇸 - Agg. 1-1 (TODAY, 3 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+)

Few teams in European football face more scrutiny than Arteta’s Arsenal, whose cruel but fair “nearly men” label neglects to acknowledge how consistent they’ve been in the past few seasons. The Gunners have never won this trophy in their history, and while they’re on course to unshackle their Premier League bridesmaid status, if the Emirates can keep its cool, an all-square home leg against Atlético Madrid offers a golden opportunity to reach a rare Champions League final.

While this isn’t a vintage Atléti team, they still reflect the unyielding and dogged identity of their beloved leader, Diego Simeone, who was likely referring to himself when he said in his pre-match press conference, “We need to manage [our] emotions.” Norwegian giant Alexander Sørloth is a doubt for his side, while Arsenal are bolstered by Bukayo Saka’s timely return. Their Starboy looked like the world-class player he’s always threatened to be after returning from injury on Saturday, and with no fresh fitness concerns as they enter crunch time, this might whisper it finally be their year.

A Battle of the Gods in Bavaria: Bayern Munich 🇩🇪 vs. PSG 🇫🇷 - Agg. 4-5 (Wednesday, 3 p.m. ET, CBS/Paramount+)

In the corner of a shady pub in Stockport, a flat-capped Pep Guardiola will be drinking a cheap pint, drowning his sorrows as “Don’t Look Back in Anger” plays on the jukebox, while two of his disciples, Vincent Kompany and Luis Enrique (and their “s**t players”), continue their magnum opus. He’ll ask the landlord to turn it off, or performatively get back to his book, but the rest of the pub and the world will be watching one of the most eagerly anticipated sequels in football history. With 42 and 43 goals respectively, six-time winners Bayern and defending champions PSG are the tournament’s two top-scoring teams, so based on the ruthlessly attacking philosophies of both coaches, and the plethora of Ballon d’Or-worthy forwards on the pitch, another thriller is inevitable.

The numbers bode well for Kompany: his side have won all six Champions League matches at the Allianz Arena this season, while PSG have lost more away games against Bayern than any other club in UEFA competition. His side’s mythical front three of Kane, Olise and Díaz will go for the jugular, but in Enrique’s corner is Georgian genius, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who has equalled Zlatan Ibrahimović's club record of 10 goals in one UCL season. The only shame about this tie is that it’s not a best-of-seven series.

More: Kompany’s message to the Bayern faithful really says it all.

When Diego Simeone finally decides to hang up his all black suit and tie, he’ll probably oversee the construction of his own statue that will rightfully stand in front of Atlético Madrid’s Metropolitano. As a player, the Argentine shed blood and sweat at the heart of Los Colchoneros’ midfield across two different stints, but no one could foresee the all-encompassing monolith he’d become when he took charge of the club in December 2011.

The Argentinian has won eight major trophies, including two La Liga titles and two Europa Leagues, and with a 59% win percentage over a 15-year period, is by far the most successful manager in Atléti’s history. However, despite coming tantalizingly close twice, losing in duel gut-wrenching finals to crosstown nemesis Real Madrid, the Champions League still eludes him and has now become an obsession. Simeone has shared most of his trauma and glory with his footballing soulmate, Antoine Griezmann, who in his farewell tour before moving to the States, wants to sign off by ‘making history’ for his manager, as much as himself.

More: The best of Simeone’s trademark touchline antics.

This week, we want to know the name of the missing right center midfielder from PSG’s 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the 2020 Champions League final?

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 Antonio Sonto, who was the first to correctly answer that Fernando Torres was Atlético Madrid’s missing striker when Diego Simeone’s side lost on penalties to Real Madrid in the 2016 UCL final. Your patch in the post, Antonio!

👋 We’ll see you again tomorrow. In the meantime, keep sending your stories and questions to [email protected].

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