Saturday 25 May 2013
Barcelona 1 Paris Saint-Germain 1 (Aggregate 3-3; Barcelona win on away goals): It was a tale of two benches in Barcelona as David Beckham's dream of reaching the Champions League final at Wembley next month came to an end.
Juventus 0 Bayern Munich 2 (Bayern Munich win 4-0 on aggregate): Bayern Munich eased through to the last four of the Champions League by winning in Turin to complete a convincing aggregate victory over Juventus.
Galatasaray 3 Real Madrid 2 (Real Madrid win 5-3 on aggregate): Real Madrid progressed to the last four despite a 3-2 defeat on the night to a Galatasaray whose second-half comeback had Jose Mourinho's side in a panic.
Borussia Dortmund 3 Malaga 2 (agg 3-2): Borussia Dortmund came back from the dead to book their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a quite unbelievable victory over Malaga at Westfalenstadion.
Perhaps it is Lisbon. Perhaps it is the thinning of air as competitive football begins to matter. Eight years ago Newcastle were the architects of their own downfall as they exited what was then the Uefa Cup at the quarter-final stage.
As a man so superstitious he did not cut his hair on one goalscoring run, perhaps Fernando Torres will feel the need to persevere with that protective mask of his even when his broken nose has healed.
Sky Sports had billed it as "David Beckham's moment of reckoning." And afterwards they labelled it "Becks' finest hour."
There were worse worries than Europa League elimination on Tottenham’s mind last night as they faced the prospect of a spell without Gareth Bale. Even with Bale they were outplayed by FC Basel last night, and now they must win in Switzerland without him.
Borussia Dortmund wasted a host of chances to take a healthy advantage into the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Malaga.
It was more Easy Street than the Road to Wembley last night for Jose Mourinho as his Real Madrid side put their passage into the Champions League semi-finals almost beyond doubt with a resounding first-leg victory.
Bayern Munich's bid to reach a third Champions League final in four years remains on track after they earned a deserved victory over Juventus in the first leg of their quarter-final clash last night.
Twice, in a chaotic, raucous, flare-lit final 12 minutes, Paris Saint German equalised against Barcelona to keep themselves alive in the Champions League.
Paris Saint-Germain will face the litmus test of the club's progress when they host Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tonight.
Robin van Persie is still smarting over the controversial red card that contributed to Manchester United's Champions League exit.
A fortnight ago, Rafael Benitez launched an extraordinary attack on Chelsea fans following the scrappy 2-0 win over Middlesbrough in the FA Cup.
Arsene Wenger last night warned that the failure of all four of the English clubs competing in the Champions League to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, the first time it has happened in 17 years, was “a massive wake-up call” for the Premier League.
Dignity in elimination, victory in defeat, a rare humbling of the mighty Bayern Munich - and just one goal away from the most memorable comeback since, well, Tuesday at the Nou Camp. This is Arsenal in 2013, a mix of hope and disappointment whose speciality has become a strange kind of heroic failure.
Wojciech Szczesny was meant to be in goal last night. The Polish goalkeeper, who revels in having the football world at his feet, would have loved to be in the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich. Had he been performing at his best, he surely would have been.
Such is their complete domination of almost all La Liga matches the less-committed Barcelona supporters can be in the car park before the final whistle. Last night as the board was held up for added time, no-one had moved from their seat.
Arsène Wenger's Arsenal squad was last night in a state of disarray ahead of tonight's Champions League last-16 tie against Bayern Munich, which his team trail 3-1 from the first leg, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny rested and midfielder Jack Wilshere one of a number of key players missing through injury.
Hangover star takes 87-year-old to premiere
It hasn't always been a bed of roses
Watching Philipp Lahm and Thomas Müller face questions yesterday at Wembley was an emphatic reminder of how they regard themselves.
Speaking ahead of hosting the Champions League final tonight, the ITV presenter Adrian Chiles said that the biggest English clubs cannot match the vocal support produced by fans in other parts of Europe and appealed to clubs to consider lowering ticket prices.
Calum Clark is a doubt for England's tour of Uruguay and Argentina after an ankle injury ruled him out of Saturday's Aviva Premiership final.
Stuart Lancaster has been formally set the challenge of leading England into the 2015 Rugby World Cup as one of the two top-ranked nations on the planet.
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