League

The Premier League’s power was supposedly emphasised by having six teams in the last 16 following the league stage, but this was something of a cold shower hosed on talk of its supremacy as City and Chelsea were heavily beaten, following on from defeats for Liverpool and Spurs on Tuesday.

Premier League leaders Arsenal needed Kai Havertz’s last-minute penalty to scrape a draw at Bayer Leverkusen, sixth in the Bundesliga, after winning eight from eight in the league phase.

Spurs were humiliated by Atletico, Liverpool lost to Galatasaray – although Newcastle United can take credit as they were only denied victory by Barcelona’s last-gasp penalty at St James’ Park.

Some big performances are required in the second leg if boasts about the supposed superpower of the Premier League are not to be rendered hollow.

Five of those teams had first legs away from home. Chelsea, Manchester City and Spurs must all turn around three-goal deficits, although Arsenal and Liverpool are the best hopes of going through.

It was an unexpected downturn. Could it be that the heavy workload and intensity of the Premier League has taken the edge off performances when the Champions League comes around?

Taken on this evidence, the Premier League picture is not as rosy as some would suggest in the Champions League context.

It all looked so different from the newer league table format, which led to a clean sweep of Premier League teams, giving rise to suggestions they could dominate the latter stages.

Not so, as teams that made their way through the play-offs such as Bodo/Glimt, Atletico, Real, PSG and Galatasaray all impressed.

Former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who was at the Bernabeu, told BBC Radio 5 Live: “We spoke about the England teams and dominance in Europe. Look at how easily they qualified, in the Europa and Conference leagues as well. But in the Champions League, not one English team has won.

“Manchester City were in a better place than Real Madrid. They were injury-ravaged. It looked like an under-23 side with a scattering of experience for Real. But they were clinical and well-coached and hit City on the counter-attack.”

NEW YORK — The WNBA and its players’ union met again Wednesday, hours after a marathon negotiating session over a new collective bargaining agreement.

The two sides ended a 12-hour negotiation at 5 a.m. EDT without reaching a deal. They started talking again Wednesday afternoon and discussions were ongoing at sundown.

Union executive director Terri Carmichael Jackson said Wednesday morning that there were “a lot of conversations going in the right direction.”

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert came out of the hotel where negotiations took place to talk to reporters briefly.

“It’s complex, but we’re working towards a win-win deal like we’ve been saying, transformational deal for these players. That balances all the things we’ve been trying to balance with continued investment by our owners,” she said. “So, we’re working hard towards that and still have work to do.”

Executive committee members Nneka Ogwumike, Breanna Stewart, Alysha Clark and Brianna Turner once again were at the hotel with Jackson and the union staff. The league was represented by Engelbert, head of league operations Bethany Donaphin and New York Liberty owner Clara Wu Tsai. Connecticut Sun president Jen Rizzotti joined the negotiating team on Wednesday.

Neither side left the hotel during the marathon bargaining session. A day later, both sides were outside during breaks enjoying an unseasonably warm mid-March day in Manhattan.

The sides have been exchanging proposals during the bargaining sessions over the last two days, a person familiar with the negotiations told the Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions.

Revenue sharing and housing are key sticking points between the sides, as well as assigning a franchise tag to a player and benefits for retired players.

The league had said that at least a handshake agreement on a labor deal would need to be done by Tuesday to start the season as scheduled.

“We’ve got to get this deal done. We’ve got to get it done soon,” said Engelbert, who didn’t take questions from reporters.

When a deal is reached in principle, the league has said it would need a few weeks to finish off the CBA. After that work is done, the expansion draft for new franchises in Portland and Toronto would be held sometime between April 1-6, according to a timetable obtained by the AP.

Free agent qualifying offers, including franchise player tags, would be sent out April 7-8. Teams would then have three days to negotiate with the more than 80% of players who are free agents. The signing period would take place from April 12-18.

Training camps would open the next day and the season would be able to start on May 8.

But for any of that to happen, the two sides have to figure out a revenue sharing model. The union’s proposal from a week ago had asked for an average of 26% of the gross revenue — revenue before expenses — over the course of the CBA. That would include only 25% in the first year. The league has said that number was unrealistic.

The WNBA’s last few proposals have offered more than 70% of net revenue, with that number going up as the league continues to grow.

Barrow head coach Dino Maamria has left the League Two strugglers after only 28 days in charge.

The 54-year-old took over on 11 February but managed only one win from his six games, leaving the Bluebirds outside the relegation zone on goal difference with 11 matches remaining.

“We recognise that this has been a very disappointing season with far too much managerial change,” Barrow said in a statement., external

“As the board of directors, we understand that the buck stops with us. We believe this change gives us the best chance of remaining in the football league.”

Experienced midfielder Sam Foley, 39, has been handed the interim head coach role until the end of the season with coaches Simon Ireland and David Worrall remaining in their roles.

Former Burton, Oldham and Stevenage boss Maamria replaced Paul Gallagher at Barrow, who himself lost all five of his games during a 40-day spell at the helm, having replaced Andy Whing in January.

Tunisian Maamria’s only victory came in a late 1-0 win over Colchester United last month which was followed by four defeats from five games, culminating in a 2-0 home loss to fellow strugglers Bristol Rovers on Tuesday.

“Sometimes I want to boo the players, I understand the frustration (of the fans) I think we all know the problems and my job is to fix the problems,” he said in his final post-match interview on BBC Radio Cumbria.

Barrow are at home to Accrington Stanley on Saturday (15:00 GMT).

Kvaratskhelia’s family home in Tbilisi, where he grew up, does not announce that a global football star was raised there.

It is one of those anonymous Soviet-era apartment blocks that populate so many parts of the city: concrete, weathered, functional rather than beautiful, surrounded by identical neighbours and the everyday sounds of a working-class district.

Inside that building I met his father, Badri – a former Dinamo Tbilisi player and Azerbaijan international – and his mother, Maka, when their son was starring with Napoli.

It was a warm, welcoming home. Humble, not full of luxuries, but filled with memories. Everywhere you looked there were small mementos of his journey – photographs, trophies, shirts. Among them the first shirt he ever wore for Dinamo Tbilisi.

“Because this is where Khvicha’s professional career started. It has to be the Dinamo one,” Maka said. “His path to the top started here.”

Kvaratskhelia still uses his small bedroom whenever he returns. In one corner there is a computer table, a keyboard, large headphones and the kind of chair used by gamers.

That little world is where he disappears for hours whenever he comes home.

Born on 12 February 2001, from an early age football was inseparable from his life. As his mother recalls, he walked with the ball, slept with the ball. Football was everything, which is not to say that it was an easy path.

As a graduate of the Dinamo Tbilisi academy, he made his professional debut at 16 in 2017 before moving to Rustavi and then on loan to Lokomotiv Moscow where he would receive his first significant salary, money which allowed him to pay for life-saving heart surgery for his father.

“It wasn’t even a question to him,” said Badri.

On 22 May 2019, the 18-year-old would win his first major honour when Lokomotiv Moscow won the Russian Cup.

A move to Rubin Kazan where he would spend three seasons – and twice win the best young player in the Russian League – followed.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine brought an end to his stay, when Fifa announced on 7 March 2022 that all foreign players in Russia could unilaterally suspend their contracts until 30 June and sign with clubs outside Russia until the same date.

He went home, signing for Georgian club Dinamo Batumi.