football talk, video, fixtures and results

Record German champions Bayern München will take on Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, while Borussia Dortmund will battle AS Monaco for a place in the final four. The pairings were confirmed during the UCL draw at UEFA headquarters in Nyon at Friday lunchtime. FC Bayern will first host Toni Kroos & Co. in Munich on 11th or 12th April, before travelling to the Spanish capital on 18th or 19th April. BVB will also play at home first, with the second leg set to be held in Monaco. Bayern reached the quarter-finals courtesy of two big wins over Arsenal, while a much-improved second-leg performance saw Thomas Tuchel’s Dortmund side past Benfica. Meanwhile, Germany internationals Marc-André ter Stegen and Sami Khedira will meet in the last eight, with FC Barcelona drawn against Juventus. This year’s Champions League final will take place on 3rd June at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Quarter-final draw Bayern München vs. Real Madrid...

Introducing the 2016/17 quarter-finalists:To be Drawn on 17/03/2017 by 12noon CAT Atlético de Madrid FC Barcelona FC Bayern München Borussia Dortmund Juventus Leicester City Football Club AS MONACO Real Madrid C.F.

Last term's runners-up therefore became the third Spanish side into the last eight, along with Barcelona and holders  Real Madrid , giving LaLiga the most teams in Friday's draw. Had Bayer progressed, the Bundesliga would have held that honour. In an entertaining contest, Leverkusen created good chances, several for ex- Manchester United  forward  Javier Hernandez , but when they hit the target they found keeper Jan Oblak in unbeatable form, including with a scarcely-believable triple save. Similarly Bernd Leno pulled off some stunning stops. The Vicente Calderon, where Diego Simeone's side have a formidable European record, will therefore host at least one more  Champions League  tie before Atletico move to a new ground. The visitors had changed manager since the first leg, Tayfun Korkut replacing Roger Schmidt who was sacked after a 6-2 loss at Borussia Dortmund . Simeone had Fernando Torres available for the first time since the former Liverpool and Chel...

Manager Pep Guardiola named an attacking line-up for the second leg of the last-16 tie but that backfired as Monaco overturned a 5-3 deficit to win on away goals after a 6-6 aggregate draw. First-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Fabinho put the Ligue 1 leaders ahead and although Leroy Sane hit back for City, Tiemoue Bakayoko sealed victory with a header 13 minutes from time. City were lacklustre on the night and Monaco made light of the absence of Radamel Falcao, scorer of two goals in the pulsating first leg, with a hip injury. Guardiola perhaps got his selection wrong by naming the in-form Yaya Toure on the bench. With Fernandinho the only specialist central midfielder on the field, City were unable to make any impression in that area and Monaco came at them in waves. That early pressure was quickly rewarded as Mbappe, who had already forced Willy Caballero to make one save, opened the scoring in the eighth minute. City's defence were cut open as Benja...

Barcelona did it. They fucking did it. They beat PSG with a 6-1 result, and advanced to the quarterfinals with one of the greatest comebacks in history despite conceding an away goal.                FIRST HALF The first period featured intense pressure from the  Blaugrana , who launched a barrage of attacks and scored the first goal after just three minutes thanks to Luis Suárez's effort to win a header and get the ball over the line. The hosts needed three more goals, at least, and continued to pressure PSG and create dangerous chances. They almost went into halftime without scoring another goal, but captain Andrés Iniesta never gave up during a scramble inside the box, and his backheel cross ended with Layvin Kurzawa scoring an own goal. At halftime Barça cut the deficit in half, but the job to do was still really tough in the final period.        ...

Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski eliminated all Arsenal hope when he won and converted a penalty kick in a 5-1 win in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match-up at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday. Arsenal had gone ahead 1-0 through Theo Walcott , but still trailed 5-2 on aggregate, when  Laurent Koscielny tripped up Lewandowski in the box. Koscielny was shown red. The final score was 10-2 on aggregate, and the 5-1 home loss was the worst home blowout in Arsenal’s European history. A couple of chances went by the wayside before Arsenal went in front through Walcott. Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer was prepared for a low shot, and Walcott ripped a high attempt that Neuer could only parry into the goal. Arturo Vidal fouled  Hector Bellerin  in nodding a cross at  David Ospina , as Bayern looked for a quick answer. Walcott had a very similar chance from a tighter angle, and blasted the contested shot off the outside of the...

Real Madrid came from behind to secure a 3-1 away win against Napoli as the European Champions are through to the quarter finals with a 6-2 aggregate score. Knowing that they need to put pressure if they are going to have any chance of going through, Napoli took the initiative in the early stages of the match and were close after seven minutes. Marek Hamsik hit a low shot from outside the penalty area that ended up slightly wide.  The Italian team had another chance on the 13th minute. This time it was Lorenzo Insigne who fired a shot from distance that was parried by Keylor Navas for a corner.  Real Madrid responded five minutes later. Gareth Bale received the ball on the edge of the penalty area and sent a shot that was neutralised by Pepe Reina.  Napoli’s efforts paid off on the 24th Minute as they went ahead. Hamsik sent a through ball towards Dries Mertens who went inside the penalty area and finished past the opposing goalkeeper.  Conscious that they...

Real Madrid have named their squad to face Eibar on Saturday and must do without the suspended Gareth Bale and now Cristiano Ronaldo, who is injured. Los Blancos therefore travel to the form side being unable to count on their star duo, as they seek to regain the initiative in the La Liga title race with a win. Ronaldo has not been training with his team-mates after experiencing muscle problems, revealed coach Zinedine Zidane in his pre-match conference on Friday. The news arrives as a huge blow to the trainer given the Portuguese rescued Madrid against Las Palmas in midweek, scoring a brace to earn a 3-3 comeback.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique exploited the post-match euphoria of his side's 6-1 annihilation of Sporting Gijon on Wednesday night to announce that he will quit at the end of the season. Enrique, 46, cited the grind of the pressure as the main reason for his departure. "We were all left a bit open-mouthed," admitted midfielder Ivan Rakitic, who said the squad was told of Enrique's decision just before his post-match press conference. Enrique, a former Barcelona star, took over in May 2014. At the end of the 2015 season, his side had collected the Uefa Champions League, the La Liga title and the Copa del Rey. A domestic double followed in 2016. There have also been victories in the Fifa Club World Cup, the Uefa Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup. "Luis Enrique leaves as he has always been, faithful to who he is: unpredictable and indomitable," said Barcelona-based newspaper  Sport . "His announcement took almost everyone by surprise in a decision that...

Ten-man Real Madrid rescued a 3-3 draw at home to Las Palmas on Wednesday thanks to a late double from Cristiano Ronaldo. Goals from Tana, Jonathan Viera and Kevin-Prince Boateng overturned an early opener from Isco and looked set to give the visitors a shock three points, especially after Gareth Bale's red card early in the second half. But Ronaldo struck twice in three minutes in the closing stages to salvage a point for Zinedine Zidane's side that could yet prove important in the LaLiga title race, though it was not enough to take them back above Barcelona, who earlier thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1.