Atleti and Arsenal all-square after electric first leg

Wednesday night’s semi-final first leg between Atlético de Madrid and Arsenal ended in a stalemate after spot kicks for both sides saw the match end 1-1.    Arsenal took the lead late in the first half thanks to Viktor Gyökeres’ penalty but Julián Alvarez was later handed the opportunity to draw the hosts level. The Argentinian fired his shot home to send the Atleti fans into jubilation, and set up next Tuesday’s second leg showdown in north London.   In the podcast we hear from Arsenal’s Gyökeres and Atleti’s goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

The semi-finals kicked off on Tuesday with an electric first leg between two European giants.   It was UEFA Champions League football at a relentless pace as Paris and Bayern poured in nine goals from seven different players. The breathless tie featured non-stop action with the hosts capturing victory at the Parc des Princes and taking a 5-4 lead into the second leg.  Natalie Sawyer, Kevin Hatchard and John Bradley break down the historic match and look ahead to Wednesday’s semi-final clash at the Estadio Metropolitano where Arsenal and Atleti will battle to gain the advantage before a return trip to London.  

Some of the world’s best footballers put on a spectacular show on Wednesday night as the semi-final line-up for this season’s UEFA Champions League was confirmed.   In Germany, Bayern and Real Madrid played out an all-time Champions League classic, both displaying the strength of their attacking talent in a second leg where the momentum shifted with breathtaking regularity. After five goals in the first 45 minutes left the tie level on aggregate at half-time, it was Luis Díaz and Michael Olise who had the final say - both scoring late in the second half to send Bayern through to the last four with a 4-3 win on the night and a 6-4 aggregate victory. We hear from UEFA Player of the Match Michael Olise on the podcast.Meanwhile in London, defences were on top as Arsenal and Sporting played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw, with the Gunners progressing courtesy of their 1-0 first leg win. Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice shares his thoughts after the match.We review all the action and preview the semi-final contests as the battle for European club football’s biggest prize continues nears an exciting conclusion. 

It was a tense Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League as this season’s first two semi-finalists were confirmed.   At Anfield, Liverpool set out to overturn a two-goal first leg deficit and did all but score in an impressive display against the defending champions. Ultimately though, Paris progressed, scoring two late counterattack goals through Ousmane Dembele, to win 2-0 on the night and 4-0 on aggregate. We hear from Paris goalkeeper Matvéi Safónov and the Liverpool manager Arne Slot. Meanwhile in Madrid, Atleti and Barça played out a pulsating end-to-end encounter with Atleti eventually squeezing past their Spanish rivals 3-2 on aggregate. Barça started in style, scoring twice within the first 25 minutes, with clinical strikes from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres, to level the tie at 2-2. However, Atleti responded with an Ademola Lookman goal to make it 1-2 on the night and 3-2 on aggregate - and Diego Simeone’s side hung on for a famous quarter-final victory.  We analyse all of the action and look ahead to Wednesday night’s two quarter-final second legs, both of which are fascinatingly poised.

The quarter-final first legs concluded on Wednesday with two statement 2-0 wins.At the Parc des Princes, Paris Saint-Germain powered past Liverpool, thanks to Désiré Doué and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia strikes in either half. It was an ominous display from the defending champions who could have scored more, but as it stands Liverpool are still alive in the tie ahead of next week’s second leg at Anfield. We hear from the Liverpool manager, Arne Slot, and captain, Virgil van Dijk.   Meanwhile in the all-Spanish last-eight affair, ten-man Barcelona were beaten 2-0 at home by Atleti, courtesy of strikes from Julián Alvarez and Alexander Sørloth – we hear from the Norwegian striker. Barça had their chances but ultimately Pau Cubarsí’s sending-off at the end of the first half proved costly and the Catalans now have it all to do in next Tuesday’s second leg in Madrid. 

The quarter-finals kicked off on Tuesday with two fascinating first leg ties. It was a UEFA Champions League classic in Madrid, with Bayern overcoming the 15-time champions, 2-1, in what was a pulsating end-to-end knockout stage encounter. Goals from Luis Díaz and Harry Kane put Bayern in control but a 74th-minute Kylian Mbappé strike has given Real Madrid hope going into next week’s second leg in Munich.  In the night’s other last eight match-up, Arsenal left it late to edge Sporting CP 1-0 in Lisbon, Kai Havertz netting an added-time winner to put the Gunners in control ahead of next Wednesday’s second leg in north London. We hear from their satisfied manager, Mikel Arteta.   We discuss all the action as well as look ahead to Wednesday’s mouth-watering quarter-final first legs, with Atleti travelling to neighbours Barcelona and defending champions Paris welcoming six-time winners Liverpool to the Parc des Princes - Barca coach Hansi Flick and Paris boss Luis Enrique share their thoughts. 

The round of 16 ties ended in style with 23 goals across Wednesday’s four matches as Barcelona, Bayern, Liverpool and Atleti emphatically secured their spots in the last eight. Barca started the goal spree in the early kick-off, scoring seven against Newcastle at Camp Nou to run out 7-2 winners on the night and 8-3 victors on aggregate. It was a scintillating performance from Hansi Flick’s side with the front three of Raphinha, Yamal and Lewandowski all on the scoresheet – we hear from the Polish striker after he became the oldest player to score in a UEFA Champions League knockout match. At Anfield, Liverpool recovered from a 1-0 first leg deficit to storm to a 4-0 home win over Galatasaray to progress 4-1 on aggregate and set up another knockout match-up with Paris Saint-Germain. We get the thoughts of their manager Arne Slot and striker Hugo Ekitike. In Munich, Bayern ran out comfortable 4-1 winners over Atalanta to go through 10-2 on aggregate. Harry Kane bagged another two goals and the UEFA Player of the Match shared his thoughts afterwards. Bayern’s reward is a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with Real Madrid. In the night’s other round of 16 second leg tie, Spurs overcame Atleti 3-2 in North London but the Spaniards progressed 7-5 on aggregate after their clinical first leg performance. Diego Simeone’s side now face La Liga rivals Barcelona in a fascinating last eight encounter.

We now have our first four Champions League quarter-finalists. The evening started with an incredible comeback in Lisbon as Sporting CP overturned a three-goal first leg deficit to beat Bodø/Glimt 5-0 on the night and 5-3 on aggregate. The Portuguese champions levelled the tie in normal time with goals from Gonçalo Inácio, Pedro Gonçalves and Luis Suárez, before Maximiliano Araújo and Rafael Nel settled matters in extra time. Elsewhere, Real Madrid and Paris progressed to the last eight after pressing home their healthy three-goal first leg leads. The 15-time champions won 2-1 at the City of Manchester Stadium to secure a comfortable 5-1 aggregate victory – a double from Vinícius Júnior proving the difference on the night. In West London, Paris powered their way to a superb 3-0 win at Chelsea - Kvaratskhelia, Barcola and Mayulu all putting their names on the scoresheet - to seal a comprehensive 8-2 aggregate triumph. In Tuesday’s other last 16 tie, Arsenal ran out 2-0 winners in North London to progress 3-1 on aggregate. An Eberechi Eze thunderbolt put the Gunners on their way before UEFA Player of the Match Declan Rice finished things off in the second half, to set up a quarter-final match up with Sporting CP.We analyse all of the action and hear from some of the key protagonists on the night, including Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Eberechi Eze and Mikel Arteta. Plus we look ahead to Wednesday’s tantalising Round of 16 second legs.

There were statement wins across Europe as the Round of 16 continued on Wednesday.At the Bernabéu, Federico Valverde scored a superb first half hat-trick to put Real Madrid in control of their tie with Manchester City. On the show, his team-mate Trent Alexander-Arnold and City’s Bernardo Silva share their thoughts after the first leg.Paris and Bodø/Glimt will also take three-goal leads into their return legs after convincing home wins over Chelsea and Sporting respectively. Paris winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia reflects on his two goals and his side’s strong performance.Meanwhile, Leverkusen and Arsenal remain level after a 1-1 draw in Germany. Arsenal’s Noni Madueke gives his reaction to the contest.

The Round of 16 kicked off with an enthralling early match up in Istanbul as Galatasaray edged past Liverpool 1-0 in an end-to-end encounter that saw both sides have a goal disallowed. We get reaction from Liverpool’s manager Arne Slot and captain Virgil van Dijk plus Gala’s match-winner, Mario Lemina.The evening’s late kick-offs treated us to 16 goals across the three matches. Our commentary game took place at St James’ Park where Newcastle and Barcelona played out a pulsating 1-1 draw with an injury time Lamine Yamal penalty rescuing the Catalans. We hear from Newcastle manager Eddie Howe and their goalscorer Harvey Barnes.Elsewhere Bayern and Atletico took control of their last 16 ties against Atalanta and Spurs respectively thanks to a flurry of early goals. Bayern scored three goals in the opening 25 minutes to run out eventual 6-1 winners in Bergamo, while in Madrid, there were five goals in the opening 26 minutes as Atletico ended up 5-2 victors over Spurs. We’ll review all the action and look ahead to Wednesday’s four Round of 16 first leg ties, including Real Madrid v Man City and Paris v Chelsea.