It took a first home defeat to Leeds since 1981 for the real moans to start.
The calmness previously viewed as an asset became a negative. Inaction was seen as conservative. All week the question has been asked, is Carrick up to the job?
Well, there was nothing aesthetically pleasing about this latest triumph.
But given only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer of all the post-Sir Alex Ferguson bosses had experienced the feeling of winning at Stamford Bridge, style was a secondary element.
Chelsea may have hit the woodwork three times. They may have carried the more consistent threat. But Carrick’s team was the one that delivered.
“It was a game for a result,” he said. “And we managed to find it.”
There was more to it though. There was overcoming the adversity of knowing that on top of the three central defenders he knew would be missing (Matthijs de Ligt through injury and Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire due to suspension), Carrick then lost a fourth, Leny Yoro, to a training ground injury.
That came so late in the week his chosen pairing, Noussair Mazraoui and Ayden Heaven, could only prepare with walk-throughs.
“I love when you see players thrive in those moments,” said Carrick.
Heaven, 19, had not started a game under Carrick, having first been given his chance by Ruben Amorim and then his immediate replacement Darren Fletcher.
“Ayden has not played a lot of football recently, and to come into that environment is not something that you can take for granted,” said Carrick.
“We say the same things to young players all the time. Sometimes they look at you as if to say, ‘yeah, good one’ but in terms of training every day and looking after yourself and being ready ‘because you never know when that chance comes’, he probably wouldn’t have thought it would come at that moment.
“But he was there, he was prepared, and he took it in his stride magnificently well.”
Manchester United strengthen grip on third spot in Premier League with 1-0 win that leaves Chelsea relying on favours.
Published On 18 Apr 202618 Apr 2026
Manchester United took a giant step towards ending a two-year exile from the Champions League as Matheus Cunha scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against Chelsea.
United’s victory on Saturday opens up a 10-point gap between the Red Devils in third place and sixth-placed Chelsea, with only 15 points left to play for this season.
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The top five in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League next season.
But a fourth consecutive league defeat leaves Chelsea’s chances of being back among Europe’s elite next season in tatters. It also piles pressure on manager Liam Rosenior, only three months into his reign.
Chelsea once again bemoaned the lack of a clinical striker as they failed to break down a makeshift United defence ravaged by injury and suspension.
United manager Michael Carrick was forced to name a backline featuring three full-backs and 19-year-old Ayden Heaven. But they held out to boost the former England midfielder’s case to get the job at Old Trafford beyond the end of this season.
Chelsea were missing their top scorer, Joao Pedro, through injury, and one-time United target Liam Delap failed to take his chance to shine up front.
Rosenior recalled Enzo Fernandez after the Argentinian was given a two-game suspension by the Blues for suggesting he would be open to a summer move to Real Madrid.
Fernandez started with a point to prove and came agonisingly close to the opener when he curled inches wide.
United looked rusty in a 2-1 defeat to Leeds on Monday, their first action for three and a half weeks.
But Carrick’s men repaired the damage done to their chances of returning to the Champions League next season.
Cunha provided a precise finish to open the scoring two minutes before the break from Bruno Fernandes’s 18th Premier League assist of the season.
Chelsea improved after the break but failed to prevent another damaging defeat, leaving Rosenior’s role in doubt heading into next season.
Delap crashed a header against the woodwork, and Noussair Mazraoui turned a dangerous cross onto his own bar, under pressure from Wesley Fofana.
Moises Caicedo, fresh from signing a new seven-year contract, also came close to rescuing a point for the hosts.
But the final whistle was met by a chorus of boos at full-time, with the Club World Cup winners looking resigned to Europa League football at best next term.
European football’s governing body has already rejected one appeal by Barca about their quarterfinals against Atletico.
Published On 16 Apr 202616 Apr 2026
Barcelona have lodged another complaint with UEFA, after their protest about a handball incident in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal defeat to Atletico Madrid was rejected this week.
The Spanish club said in a statement on Thursday that several refereeing decisions across both legs of the tie, which Atletico won 3-2 on aggregate, “did not comply with the Laws of the Game, resulting from an incorrect application of the regulations and a lack of appropriate intervention by the VAR system in incidents of clear significance”.
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The Catalan club, which finished both matches with 10 men after the dismissals of Pau Cubarsi and then Eric Garcia, believe they were on the wrong end of several contentious decisions, including two potential penalty situations that did not trigger VAR intervention.
“The accumulation of these errors had a direct impact on the course of the matches and on the final outcome of the tie, causing significant sporting and financial harm to the club,” the reigning Spanish champions added.
Barcelona said the club “reiterates the requests previously made to UEFA” and offer to “collaborate with the organisation with the aim of improving the refereeing system to ensure a more rigorous, fair and transparent application” of the regulations.
On Tuesday, UEFA had rejected as “inadmissible” the five-time Champions League winners’ initial complaint regarding a handball on a goal kick by Atletico defender Marc Pubill in the first leg, which his side won 2-0.
Champions League analysts Stephen Warnock, Nedum Onouha and Julien Laurens look at why the semi-finals between PSG & Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid & Arsenal are both really hard to call who will win.
It was always going to be difficult for the second period to match the high-octane tempo of the first, and instead the decisive moments, both mad and magnificent, were compacted into the final few minutes.
With extra time looming, substitute Camavinga was dismissed for two yellow cards within 24 minutes of coming on. The first was for a foul on Jamal Musiala in the 78th minute and the second for taking the ball and delaying a Bayern free-kick following a foul on Kane.
The red card was to prove costly for him, and his team as the hosts made the most of their advantage.
Luis Diaz struck in the 89th minute to make it 5-4 to Bayern on aggregate, before Michael Olise put the icing on the cake in stoppage time.
With Guler also sent off in the aftermath, Real boss Alvaro Arbeloa admitted: “With the red card everything was over.
“It’s unbelievable to send off a player for this action. It’s not possible in a player like that, match like that. We feel all of this is a bit unfair.”
For Bayern, a semi-final against holders Paris St-Germain will follow and boss Kompany said: “The boys were mentally strong to recover from setbacks.
“The fans helped us as well. We stayed calm and always felt that our moment would come. The boys deserved this win.
“We showed absolute belief and will to fight our way back into the game.”
Gerrard, a 2005 Champions League winner with Liverpool, described it as “an incredible game of football, end-to-end, fascinating tactical approaches”.
“Extra time was looking likely, but one moment of madness, indiscipline and silliness has cost Real the chance of getting to the last four,” he added.
Former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock told Match of the Day: “Both teams were brilliant going forward, but defensively both have been poor.
“If you want to win the Champions League, can you play like that? It is going to be fascinating to see how that pans out when Bayern face Paris St-Germain.”
Arsenal play out an unconvincing goalless draw at home with Sporting to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they will meet Atletico Madrid.
Less than a year on from the day Liverpool won the Premier League title, Arne Slot’s side find themselves in a position where their season rests on qualifying for the Champions League.
For Slot, perhaps his future does too. There will be no silverware and the Dutchman has already said failing to have Champions League football next season would mean this would “definitely not be an acceptable season”.
This was Liverpool’s 17th defeat of the campaign but it came after arguably one of their better performances. Until Ousmane Dembele’s 72nd-minute strike for Paris St-Germain, Liverpool battled admirably against the champions of Europe.
“It was an intense match between two teams who played really good football,” said PSG head coach Luis Enrique.
But the worry for Liverpool is they have gone backwards.
When these two sides met in the Champions League last 16 last season, PSG were the better side across the two legs but they needed a penalty shootout to knock Liverpool out.
This time around, they outclassed Slot’s side in Paris and, while there were spells on Tuesday night when Liverpool threatened, the final scoreline of 4-0 across two legs was fair.
“Of course we are very disappointed because I think there were parts of the second half where you could feel ‘if we could just score now, this could become a very special night’,” said Slot.
“But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club. We have showed we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against PSG and create as many chances as we did,” he added.
At Anfield, Liverpool’s xG was 1.94 compared with the 0.18 at the Parc des Princes last week.
So there were positives to take, but there is still plenty to be done before they can be considered serious contenders on the European stage again.
After the match, Mohamed Salah waved goodbye to the Anfield crowd after playing his last game for Liverpool in the Champions League.
Now the question is whether Slot and Liverpool will be back in the Champions League next season.
What Atletico manager Simeone sold him was a football project that had the striker at the centre of it. Alvarez wanted to feel wanted.
“He told me I could give the club something huge,” he recalls. “That I’d have the space and the opportunity to be my best version.”
The Argentines already at the club helped too – De Paul, Griezmann’s warmth, the Spanish language, a culture that felt closer to home than Paris or Manchester ever could.
In August 2024, Atletico Madrid confirmed the deal – 95m euros (£81.5m), a club record received by City, and a six-year contract. The club announced it with a Spiderman video and Alvarez loved it.
Ask him about the price tag and he almost looks confused by the question.
“It’s more something that gets talked about in the media,” he said. “In the dressing room I’m just one of the group. I like being treated that way.”
His father worked in a cereal factory in Calchin. His mother was a schoolteacher. He grew up knowing that you have to earn respect, or reputation. He is still the same person. It shows on the pitch too – the World Cup winner who sprints back to win the ball, who presses from the front. Simeone rarely singles out individuals, but with Alvarez, he makes exceptions.
Across two seasons in red and white, he has made 102 appearances and scored 47 goals, numbers that tell only part of the story.
His time at Atletico has not been without frustration. In La Liga this season, the numbers have been modest – eight goals in 29 appearances, and just one in 2026.
His strike against Oviedo at the end of February ended a run of 14 league games without a goal, his previous one coming against Sevilla on 1 November. But the Champions League has been a different story, bringing nine goals in 12 appearances this season.
Who: Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona What: Champions League quarterfinal, second leg Where: Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain When: Tuesday at 9pm (19:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT in advance of our live text commentary stream.
Spanish football clubs Atletico Madrid and Barcelona will meet for the third time in 10 days but, crucially, with a UEFA Champions League (UCL) semifinal berth on the line.
Atletico may be far behind their Catalan opponents in the La Liga title race, but they go into Tuesday’s fixture as strong favourites, thanks to a first-leg victory against 10-man Barcelona at Camp Nou, and a strong home form in Europe this season.
Barcelona, the reigning La Liga champions, will have it all to do if they are to keep alive their dream of clinching their sixth UCL trophy, and first since the 2014–2015 season.
Here is all to know before the knockout tie:
What happened in the first leg at Camp Nou?
Julian Alvarez and Alexander Sorloth scored in each half as Atletico earned a precious 2-0 lead in a tense first-leg clash.
The La Liga leaders were on top in the first half before Pau Cubarsi was sent off for bringing down Atletico’s Giuliano Simeone, who was through on goal.
Alvarez whipped home the free kick at the stroke of halftime, and Sorloth doubled their advantage in the 70th minute to give Atletico a strong chance of reaching the semifinals.
Julian Alvarez, centre, opened the scoring against Barcelona in Atletico’s first-leg 2-0 win last week [Nacho Doce/Reuters]
How did Barcelona perform in La Liga on the weekend?
Barcelona thrashed crosstown rivals Espanyol 4-1 on Saturday, taking a major step towards retaining their La Liga title as they moved nine points clear of rivals Real Madrid, who are second.
Ferran Torres struck twice, assisted by Lamine Yamal both times, first with a header from a corner in the 10th minute before doubling the lead in the 25th, racing clear from another Yamal pass.
Espanyol pulled one back in the 56th minute when Pol Lozano fired in a rebound from just inside the box. But Yamal restored control in the 87th on a quick counter, with Marcus Rashford adding a fourth from Frenkie de Jong’s cross.
Barca moved to 79 points with seven games left.
How did Atletico perform in La Liga on the weekend?
Coach Diego Simeone rotated heavily for his team’s visit to face Sevilla to keep players fresh, as Atletico fell to a 2-1 defeat.
Akor Adams sent the hosts ahead from the penalty spot, and after 20-year-old Atletico reserve defender Javier Bonar levelled, Nemanja Gudelj struck again for Sevilla before the interval.
Atletico are fourth in the league standings with 57 points, four points behind third-placed Villarreal.
Have Atletico ever won the UEFA Champions League trophy?
Diego Simeone’s side have never won the competition.
They reached the final in 2014 and 2016, but were beaten by city rivals Real on both occasions.
How did Barcelona reach the UCL quarterfinals?
Barcelona stormed into the quarterfinals with an emphatic 8-3 aggregate win over Newcastle United.
Much of the work was done in their second-leg tie, in which Barca thrashed the Premier League side 7-2 at Camp Nou, as five different players scored.
Lamine Yamal, left, scored in both legs against Newcastle United in the UCL quarters [Scott Heppell/Reuters]
How did Atletico Madrid reach the UCL quarterfinals?
Atletico Madrid withstood a rousing Tottenham Hotspur fightback to advance 7-5 on aggregate despite a 3-2 second-leg loss in North London.
Simeone’s side, who scored four times in the opening 22 minutes in the 5-2 first-leg home romp, wobbled under a home onslaught, but goals by Julian Alvarez and David Hancko ultimately gave them breathing space.
Have Atletico and Barcelona played each other in the knockout stages?
The two teams have met twice in the Champions League knockout stages, both times at the quarterfinal stage, with Atletico going through in 2014 and 2016 on their run to the final each season. Atletico played the second leg at home on those occasions, too.
What have the managers said?
Diego Simeone: “We know the opponent we are going to face, and we are aware of how strong they are, but we are also aware of what our objective is – to advance.”
Hansi Flick: “We have the quality. We have the players who can change this. But, of course, we have to fight. We have to focus on the magic.”
After a first-leg defeat at home, the pressure is on Hansi Flick and Barcelona as they travel to face Atletico Madrid [Pablo Morano/Reuters]
Barcelona vs Atletico Madrid: Head-to-head
The two clubs have faced each other on 251 occasions. Barcelona have won 115 of those games, Atletico have won 79, and 57 ended as draws.
Last 10 encounters:
April 8: Barcelona 0-2 Atletico (Champions League quarterfinal, first leg)
April 4: Atletico 1-2 Barcelona (La Liga)
March 3: Barcelona 3-0 Atletico (Copa del Rey semifinal)
February 12 : Atletico 4-0 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semifinal)
December 2 : Barcelona 3-1 Atletico (La Liga)
April 2, 2025: Atletico 0-1 Barcelona (Copa del Rey semifinal)
March 16, 2025: Atletico 2-4 Barcelona (La Liga)
February 25, 2025: Barcelona 4-4 Atletico (Copa del Rey semifinal)
December 21, 2024: Barcelona 1-2 Atletico (La Liga)
April 17, 2024: Atletico 0-3 Barcelona (La Liga)
Atletico’s team news
Marc Pubill is suspended after picking up three yellow cards, while Jose Gimenez, Pablo Barrios, and David Hancko are doubtful due to injuries.
Defender Cubarsi is suspended after his red card in the first leg and will be replaced by Ronald Araujo, who featured in the backline against Espanyol at the weekend.
Marc Bernal, Raphinha, and Andreas Christensen are all out injured.
Predicted starting XI:
Joan Garcia (goalkeeper); Kounde, Araujo, Martin, Cancelo; Eric Garcia, Pedri; Yamal, Fermin, Rashford; Lewandowski
Match of the Day pundits Nedum Onuoha, Stephen Warnock, and Rory Smith look at the impact Harry Kane and Trent Alexander-Arnold had on the Champions League quarter-final first leg between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich.
Liverpool went into their Champions League last-16 tie against PSG last season with a 74.4% win rate under Slot after 43 games.
Since being knocked out on penalties, the Reds have won just 49.2% of their past 59 games, while their loss percentage has more than trebled.
Slot has retained the support of Liverpool‘s owners and has credit in the bank after last season’s Premier League triumph – but that is likely to change if they do not qualify for the Champions League.
The Reds either have to win this season’s competition – which seems unlikely after Wednesday’s performance – or qualify through finishing in the top five in the Premier League.
They are currently fifth – one point ahead of sixth-placed Chelsea.
“Slot is not going to get sacked for losing 2-0 at PSG,” said Warnock.
“They are one of the best teams in Europe. But the defeats are stacking up, and there’s the danger there could be more damage next week.
“It is going to suit PSG next week because Liverpool have to go at them.
“They can’t play like this and sit in at Anfield, when they need goals.
“But what does Slot do? Liverpool‘s system tonight screams ‘you are better than us’. If he opens up, they leave themselves vulnerable and they could get battered.”
Captain Virgil van Dijk accused the team of “giving up” against City last weekend, when Liverpool conceded four times in the space of 20 minutes either side of half-time.
After losing to PSG, he insisted the team would not give up on their Champions League ambitions.
“We shouldn’t forget we play against the European champions of last season and you see the quality they have in the games that they played already this season,” he said.
“We have to be absolutely spot on with everything we do.
“Hopefully our fans can play a big part in that as well. I’ve been through many special evenings at Anfield, I’m very lucky and privileged, and our fans, that’s the backbone of the club and hopefully they can be there for us again.”
UEFA Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain claim 2-0 first-leg lead over English Premier League champions Liverpool.
Published On 8 Apr 20268 Apr 2026
Paris Saint-Germain’s UEFA Champions League defence remains on course after a dominant 2-0 victory against Liverpool in the first leg of their quarterfinal tie.
The home side took the lead thanks to a deflected effort in the 11th minute on Wednesday, after Desire Doue’s effort from outside the box looped over the helpless Giorgi Mamardashvili.
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The Reds are long out of their own title defence in the English Premier League this season and left only with the Champions League as a faint hope of silverware, but Arne Slot’s side rallied in response to the Parisians’ fortune until the half-time whistle.
The second period was a far different matter, and all too familiar to Liverpool fans this season. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia deservedly doubled the advantage in the 65th minute when the Georgian international dribbled into the box before rounding the keeper.
A total of 18 shots were registered by the home side, with six on target. Liverpool managed just three efforts on goal with none on target in reply.
It was far from the most fluent display by Luis Enrique’s side in the French capital, despite relentless passing and a 74 percent share of the possession, but their second-half showing was a vast improvement from the first.
Achraf Hakimi’s 82nd-minute drive was one of the biggest moments to settle the tie, but drew a fine save from Mamardashvili, low to his left, which keeps his side in with a chance as the teams head to Anfield for the second leg next Tuesday.
There was little the Reds’ keeper could do other than hope, as Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele produced a moment of brilliance with two minutes to play when he exchanged a one-two with substitute Lee Kang-In in the box only to see his fierce strike rebound off the post.
It was Liverpool’s fourth consecutive defeat away from home, a first for the Merseyside club since April 2012
The winner will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the next round, with the latter holding a 2-1 advantage following the first leg of their quarterfinal in the Spanish capital on Tuesday.
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta says his side “had a point to prove” following back-to-back defeats and praises his side’s reaction, as Kai Havertz’s stoppage-time winner secures a first-leg advantage in their Champions League quarter-final against Sporting.
When Arsenal face Sporting in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday, there will be much more riding on the game than just a knockout match in Lisbon.
For many, this is where the Gunners need to show back-to-back defeats, against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final and the damaging loss to Southampton in the FA Cup quarter-final, will not leak into their European and Premier League campaigns.
Arsenal have been tagged as the ‘nearly men’ under Mikel Arteta with three successive second-placed finishes in the Premier League in the last three seasons.
But the Gunners have played a ruthless style of football this season, which has seen them establish a nine-point lead in the Premier League, reach the final of one cup competition and, depending what happens in two legs against Sporting, at least the quarter-final stage of the two other cup campaigns they began.
Their style of play has been questioned at times but now it is the team’s mentality that is coming under the spotlight.
The Gunners have been so impressive this season that their defeats by City and Saints are the first time they have lost successive matches this campaign, while the loss on the south coast was just the fifth of the season.
But, with the Champions League and Premier League the top prizes for the Gunners, this is where Arteta needs to show the pain of coming so close in precious campaigns is not going to overwhelm his side as they look to win their first major trophy since 2020.
“Have some perspective about how difficult it is what we have done until now,” said Arteta, when asked how he and the team prevent a longer run of defeats.
“Feel the pain, feel the emotion and use it to be better and improve.”
Bayern Munich are waiting on the fitness of “very special” Harry Kane to see if he can lead their challenge to overcome Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-final.
The 32-year-old England captain took part in training in Munich on Monday morning, before travelling to Madrid with the rest of Bayern’s squad after the “minor issue” – believed to be an ankle knock – that kept him out of England’s friendly defeat against Japan at Wembley.
Kane was also missing for Bayern’s 3-2 victory against Freiburg, and coach Vincent Kompany was playing his cards close to his chest about his involvement at The Bernabeu.
Kompany said a final decision on whether Kane starts will be made on Tuesday, but speaking on Monday evening, he said: “Harry’s part of the team so that’s positive for us. We have to wait until tomorrow (Tuesday) to get the final information, then we will make our decision.
“It was important that he did a lot of training today (Monday). I don’t think he’s lost his rhythm.”
Kane is a key part of Bayern’s plans for the quarter-final first leg, having scored 10 goals in the Champions League this season. He is also the Bundesliga’s leading scorer with 31 this season.
Bayern team-mate Joshua Kimmich underlined Kane’s importance, as he said: “How many goals has he scored? How many assists does he have? Forty or 50 this season?
“This shows how important he is – apart from all the goals – extremely vital for our game.
“We are glad he is here with us. He is not only a poacher or a selfish goalscorer just trying to score as many goals as he can for us.
“He is an absolute leader who is always trying to have the maximum success for the team. This is a very special mindset for an attacking player. He’s a role model.”
Kimmich added: “It is important to have Harry on the pitch with us with all his qualities of leadership.”
Kompany fielded several questions on Kane’s fitness, saying: “Harry Kane knows how important this game is, but it is important to take a decision with each player.
“You keep asking about Harry Kane and to be honest I like it. I don’t mind but I don’t give you an answer.”
Since 2024, European governing body Uefa has given club coefficients over the latest five-year period an important role via something called “title-holder rebalancing”.
Therefore, should the Champions League winners have also qualified for the league phase via their domestic league position, “the club with the best individual coefficient of all the domestic champions involved in qualifying will enter the league phase directly instead of the original round they had qualified for”.
Ironically, last season’s beneficiaries were Olympiakos, with European champions Paris St-Germain having already qualified as French title winners.
The Piraeus side had finished seven points behind Athens neighbours AEK in the Greek Super League but this season the positions look likely to be reversed.
A 1-0 defeat at home to an AEK side for whom former Hearts left-back James Penrice was back in the starting line-up after a two-game absence leaves Olympiakos five points adrift of the leaders.
Indeed, Jose Luis Mendilibar’s side have slipped to third behind PAOK Salonica, who drew 0-0 at home to Panathinaikos with former Celtic left-back Greg Taylor an unused substitute on the bench.
There are five games left of the title play-offs, during which the top four play one another twice and statisticians suggest Olympiakos only have a 16% chance of securing a 49th domestic title.
Olympiakos are again the club with the most co-efficient points from countries outside the top six in Europe but, if they fail to retain that title, Rangers are next in line for that spot straight into the Champions League’s league phase.
There will be more than a few Rangers supporters monitoring the results when AEK entertain PAOK while Panathinaikos host Olympiakos next on Sunday, 19 April.
Arsenal’s Declan Rice and Gabriel have trained before Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final with Sporting.
Midfielder Rice, 27, left the England squad following a medical assessment during March’s international break and missed Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final loss to Southampton.
Brazil defender Gabriel, meanwhile, was forced off with a knee issue after taking a knock during the defeat on the south coast.
Both players were involved in first-team training at the club’s London Colney base on Monday before Mikel Arteta’s side travel to Lisbon for the first leg.
Belgian winger Leandro Trossard also returned to training but Bukayo Saka was not involved after he also left the England camp early.
