The defender does not seem happy with his Barcelona teammate
Ronald Araujo has offered a terse response to his Barcelona teammate İlkay Gündoğan’s assessment of his red card in a Champions League defeat to PSG on Tuesday.
With Barça up 4-2 on aggregate, Araujo was sent off 30 minutes into Tuesday’s second leg — a moment that ended up completely turning the quarterfinal tie on its head.
The Uruguayan fouled PSG’s Bradley Barcola, who was closing in on goal. Referee Istvan Kovacs deemed that Araujo had denied an obvious goalscoring opportunity, showing a red card.
Barcelona would completely fall apart after Araujo’s sending off, conceding four goals in a row to lose 4-1 on the night and 6-4 on aggregate.
Gündoğan didn’t mince words speaking to CBS Sports after the game, saying that Araujo would have been better off simply letting Barcola go rather than committing a costly foul.
Araujo appeared Thursday at an event promoting a book for charity, and was asked about the red card as well as his teammate’s response.
“I’m sad, like all culés (Barcelona fans), for the elimination,” he said. “We wanted to qualify. We had it in our hand and there is sadness. It was a play that was 50-50. If the referee doesn’t call a foul, nothing happens. But if he called it, he had to send me off. As a culé, it hurts.”
On Gündoğan, he added: “I prefer to keep what I think to myself. I have codes and values that must be respected.”
What did Gundogan say?
“Disappointed, very disappointed actually because we were in such a good position. Not just after the first leg, after the first goal we scored. Everything was in our hands and we just gave it away in the most simple manner. We just gave it to PSG and that’s the most disappointing thing,” the Germany international told CBS Sports.
“If he fouled him, I guess it’s a red card. I haven’t seen the replay. Difficult to say, in these kind of crucial moments you need to be sure to get the ball, and if you don’t get it — and I don’t know if he touched the ball or not — you have to stay away. I’d prefer to concede the goal there or give the striker a one-v-one even though he played the ball quite far, so I don’t even know if he’d be able to reach the ball.
“But given the opportunity, maybe let the goalkeeper save us or even concede a goal because to go down one man and get a red card so early in the game just kills the game.”
"Everything was in our hands and we just gave it away."
A media channel linked to the terrorist group called for attacks on four stadiums this week
All four UEFA Champions League matches this week are set to go ahead, despite alleged threats from terrorist group ISIS.
A media outlet linked to ISIS has called for attacks on the venues for all four quarterfinal first legs.
In a statement to several media outlets, UEFA said it was aware of the threats but the matches would proceed as planned.
“UEFA is aware of alleged terrorist threats made towards this week’s UEFA Champions League matches and is closely liaising with the authorities at the respective venues,” the governing body said. “All matches are planned to go ahead as scheduled with appropriate security arrangements in place.”
The four games will take place across three cities this week, with two games in Madrid and one each in Paris and London.
Real Madrid hosts Manchester City and Arsenal hosts Bayern Munich on Tuesday, while Atlético Madrid faces Borussia Dortmund and PSG will take on Barcelona on Wednesday.
French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin said security would be “considerably reinforced” for PSG’s match against Barcelona at Parc des Princes.
“I will remind you that only 10 days ago, [ISIS] shared a picture of the Munich stadium and said action should be taken against sports venues that host football games — although all sports can be targeted. Given how important the Champions League is for football, we are of course talking to our partners,” Darmanin told the media.
London police’s deputy assistant commissioner Ade Adelekan said in a statement: “We’re aware of online and media reports in relation to calls to target matches across Europe and here in London.”
“However, I want to reassure the public that we have a robust policing plan in place for tonight’s match and we continue to work closely alongside the club’s security team to ensure that the match passes peacefully.”
In Spain, government spokesperson Pilar Alegria said more than 2,000 police officers would be deployed to boost security in Madrid for the two matches.
It doesn’t look good for Camavinga, or for Real Madrid
Eduardo Camavinga exited a France friendly against Chile on Tuesday with an apparent injury.
The Real Madrid midfielder/defender trudged off just before halftime at the Stade Vélodrome with what appeared to be an ankle injury.
Camavinga, having removed his left shoe, slowly walked off under his own power, but was in clear discomfort as he discussed the issue with trainers in the 43rd minute. He would be replaced by Matteo Guendouzi a minute later.
Camavinga’s injury could be a major concern for Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid, who will come out of the international break with some daunting matches on the schedule.
🚨🇫🇷 Eduardo Camavinga suffers a sprained left ankle after undergoing initial tests.
An always-difficult match against Athletic Club is coming up on Saturday, while the club’s Champions League quarterfinal clashes with Manchester City loom on April 9 and 17.
Camavinga has been critical for Real Madrid, appearing in 32 of the club’s 41 matches this season. Ancelotti has relied on the 21-year-old both as a box-to-box presence in the midfield for los Blancos, as well as regularly deploying him at left back.
UEFA pushed back against the proposed league seeing it as a threat to the current Champions League. It created regulations barring teams from joining. Today, the European Union’s highest-ranking court ruled those regulations were unlawful, per Reuters. Super League backer A22 Sports Group pounced immediately unveiling this new proposal.
This new, bizarre format is expansive. The pool jumped from 20 teams to 64 on the men’s side and 32 on the women’s. Teams would compete with each other midweek and games would be broadcast on a free streaming service supported by the Super League’s unnamed “investors.”
It all sounds good in theory. But it’s almost literally the same thing that was proposed before — just way bigger. But the problem with the Super League before wasn’t its size. Instead, rather, it’s that it tossed merit aside and removed incentives for teams to spend by imposing a salary cap on clubs.
UEFA’s Champions League is far from perfect. But it’s a tournament where the best teams earn their spots. A club can become the champion of a smaller European league or nearly win a championship in one of the bigger leagues to earn a place in the Champions League. With the Super League, you’re just invited.
Merit has always been a key part of the European football system. Without it, we’re looking at a bunch of rich dudes just hoarding money and putting out a product that’s not quite as compelling. Nobody wants to watch that.
Good try, Super League. But please. Go away. Again.
The College Football Playoff destroyed the ACC
It sure does seem like Florida State is about to bail on the ACC and it certainly feels like the College Football Playoff is to blame.
FSU has a scheduled emergency meeting with its board of trustees, The Athletic’s Nicole Auerbach reports, which is the first concrete step it needs to take to take legal action challenging the ACC for its grant of rights.
The grant of rights is a legally binding document for a school that essentially controls its image. It gives the ACC control of FSU’s publicity rights through 2036. Challenging that and breaking it would free up FSU to leave the conference.
The school hasn’t made a move yet, Auerbach writes, but has been examining the document for “more than a year” just in case a move needed to be made. 247 Sports’ Bud Elliot says he expects a legal filing to come soon.
I expect the FSU Board of Trustees to approve a legal filing Friday — the first step in an exit from the ACC.
Maybe this is just convenient timing, but the connection between this and FSU’s College Football Playoff snub is too easy to make.
Obviously, the Jordan Travis injury meant a lot there. But conference play mattered, too. FSU’s undefeated ACC schedule meant less to the committee than a one-loss SEC or Big 12 schedule. That mattered.
Leaving the conference is the only way for FSU to change that. It seems like FSU is doing it. And, with that, yet another conference shakeup will shift college football as we know it.
Thanks a lot, CFP.
Put your bets on Chet
Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Coming into this NBA season it was obvious the Rookie of the Year race had two horses in it: Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren.
Most people expected Wembanyama to be at the top with Holmgren trailing close behind him. But, as our Prince Grimes writes in Layup Lines, it’s actually in reverse right now. Chet is the favorite by a slim margin.
“Just two months into the season, and Chet Holmgren’s odds to win Rookie of the Year have already closed the gap on Wembanyama’s, even passing his odds at some sportsbooks. BetMGM still has Wembanyama as a slight favorite at -120 to -110, but FanDuel (-130) and DraftKings (-125) each give Holmgren the edge. FTW’s Bryan Kalbrosky elevated Holmgren over Wembanyama in his rookie rankings three weeks ago.”
These things are subject to change — it’s only December. But Holmgren’s case is getting stronger and stronger by the day.
Quick hits: New James Harden memes dropped…Angel Reese, the Baltimore Barbie…and more
Here’s the full list of results from the Champions League Round of 16 draw.
The UEFA Champions League in 2023-24 is down to just 16 teams, and now we know who will face whom in February.
The draw was held on Monday — early in the morning in Eastern time — with eight group winners from the previous round who are seeded, and their opponent pool comes from unseeded teams who were runners-up from the eight groups.
Got it? We’ll see these matches play out starting in mid-February, followed by more in March of 2024.
Here’s the full set of matchups, and we’ll see the quarterfinal drawings come in March, with the finals set for June at Wembley Stadium:
For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals shared the same UEFA Champions League pitch
For the first time ever, three U.S. internationals played in the same UEFA Champions League game. That is an accomplishment worth celebrating. As for the game itself? Much less so.
PSV trio Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi all shared the field on Wednesday, but the Dutch side was blown away in a 4-0 defeat to Arsenal to kick off both teams’ group-stage campaigns.
Dest played the full match, while Tillman came on midway through the second half and Pepi was introduced in second-half stoppage time.
In particular, it was a rough night for Dest, who tried and mostly failed to contain Bukayo Saka on the right side of Arsenal’s attack. The first and third goal for the Gunners could at least partially be blamed on Dest.
First, he completely switched off and allowed Saka to run past him and score on a rebound.
Sergiño Dest goes forward with the best of em but has a penchant for shutting down defensively.
That’s the one thing separating him from taking his game to the next level.
Dest would later get sucked inside and was unable to close down Gabriel Jesus quickly enough, as the Brazilian had plenty of time to take a touch and fire home Arsenal’s third goal.
After the game, PSV head coach Peter Bosz admitted that Arsenal’s superior quality was the difference, adding that his team did not defend well in its own box.
“[Our players] worked, they played with the ball, but the difference in quality was too great,” Bosz said.
“I’m willing to take a critical look at myself. They defended well in their box, we did not in ours. Then you run into a major defeat. If we play more at this level more, we’ll learn from these mistakes. I hope we can see that in the second leg in December, against the best team in the group and one of the best teams in the world.”
PSV will also face Lens and Sevilla in a difficult Group B.
Milan outshot the Premier League side 25-6 but still had to settle for a point at home
Yunus Musah has admitted that AC Milan is “angry” after a frustrating 0-0 draw against Newcastle to open the Champions League group stage.
Milan squandered a host of chances at San Siro on Tuesday, as poor finishing and some good saves from Nick Pope combined to keep the Rossoneri off the scoresheet.
Musah turned in an impressive cameo for Milan, coming off the bench after 72 minutes when Ruben Loftus-Cheek went off injured.
Speaking to Sky Italia after the game, Musah said that failing to win at home will not go down well with his team, especially in a group that also contains Borussia Dortmund and PSG.
“There is a lot of anger over not finding the goal, in a match like this at home we had to win,” the U.S. men’s national team midfielder said.
Milan would outshoot the Premier League side 25-6 and won the expected goals battle 2.1 to 0.2, but still had to settle for a point at home.
Though the team’s result fell short of expectations, Musah’s individual performance was strong. With Loftus-Cheek now injured, the 20-year-old could be in line for his first Milan start on Saturday in a Serie A match against Verona.
“I have to learn and work hard to have a place [in the team],” Musah said. “I always try to be ready to play, then if [head coach Stefano] Pioli gives me the opportunity I will take it.
“I’ve been feeling very good since the first day I arrived, it’s very nice to play in this club. Choosing Italy was easy for me.”
Provedel looks like the best goalscoring goalkeeper in the Champions League
Are we sure Ivan Provedel is a goalkeeper?
The Lazio man looked for all the world like a natural striker as he came up to score an amazing stoppage-time equalizer for the Roman side in a 1-1 Champions League draw with Atlético Madrid on Tuesday.
The stunning late show earned Lazio a potentially crucial point in Group E, while also denying group favorites Atléti the chance to start running away with things from matchday one.
It was also, you know, a goalkeeper goal, in stoppage time, in the Champions League, so it obviously got people talking. Provedel is the first goalkeeper to score in the Champions League since Vincent Enyeama in 2010, and only the second to score from something other than other than a penalty kick. He joins Sinan Bolat, who did it for Standard Liège in 2009.
The Rossoneri were dominant on the stat sheet, but couldn’t make their control of the match pay off
Just one game into the Champions League, and AC Milan is already on the back foot.
Despite controlling the match at San Siro, the Rossoneri were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at home against Newcastle on Tuesday.
Making its first Champions League appearance since 2002-03, Newcastle turned in a strong defensive effort that was boosted by some poor finishing from the home side.
With Borussia Dortmund and PSG also in Group F, missing a chance at maximum points at home will be a difficult way for Milan to start off its Champions League campaign.
Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah both entered the game as second-half substitutes, with Musah proving the more effective of the U.S. national team pair, but neither was able to provide a match-deciding contribution.
In a first half where it outshot Newcastle 15-2, Milan should have taken the lead through Rafael Leão, who did everything right before making an ill-advised decision to try a backheel after crafting a shooting chance.
It would get no better in the second half for Milan, which still wasn’t able to find a way past Nick Pope in the Newcastle goal. The final stats showed total domination from the Rossoneri, but no separation when it came to the one stat that truly matters.
Milan 0-0 Newcastle
Newcastle will be the happier side with the point, as Milan have 19 more shots, 8 more shots on target and an xG that ended 1.89 higher than the Premier League side. #UCL | #ACMNEWpic.twitter.com/Vbu4Sl2VaS
To make things worse for Milan, both goalkeeper Mike Maignan and midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek went off injured. Musah looked lively when he replaced Loftus-Cheek in the 72nd minute, with the USMNT midfielder now potentially looking at a more prominent role in the England man’s absence.
When Sam Vines was left off Royal Antwerp’s Champions League roster for the upcoming group stage, it appeared that his recent injury must have been serious.
Vines started the 2023-24 season well, scoring an excellent goal from distance against Union Saint-Gilloise in league play last weekend before leaving the match with an injury.
But the truth of why Vines won’t play in the Champions League is actually much stranger.
As Antwerp head coach Mark van Bommel revealed at a press conference on Thursday, Vines was omitted from the roster by mistake.
“We have made an administrative error and it cannot be corrected,” Van Bommel said.
The coach added that although Vines is injured, he is expected to be fit at some point during the group stage.
“Everyone wants to be on that list, so he is disappointed,” Van Bommel said. “Sam is now recovering and we cannot estimate how long he will be out, but he should be fit before the end of the group stage.”
Van Bommel added: “He is now focusing on his rehabilitation, that is the most important thing.”
Missing the chance to face Barcelona, Shakhtar Donetsk and Porto in the Champions League will be a major blow for Vines, who was also forced out of contention for a World Cup roster spot last year due to a broken leg.
Vines would return in March and made a handful of appearances for the club’s reserves, before he was reintegrated into the senior team ahead of the current season.
