A-League

The Reds face Benfica in their opener while City host Atletico Madrid. On Wednesday, it will be Chelsea hosting Real Madrid in a rematch of last season's ...

Man of the Match pick: Robert Lewandowski. His European record is just unbelievable. While it will be a tight affair, Benzema will pull Real Madrid across the line in victory. While I see Chelsea scoring in the match, he'll keep Real in a match that they likely shouldn't walk away with a victory from. Benzema also has a chance at the golden boot if Real Madrid are to advance in the competition sitting on eight goals in the competition. Most likely to score a goal: Karim Benzema. Although it's an away match, I find it hard to bet against Benzema performing on the big stage, especially after his hat trick with everything on the line against a star-studded PSG side. It's hard to look at this matchup and come away with the expectation that anyone will have a larger say in how things will go than Benzema. With eight goals already in Champions League play, Benzema has been instrumental in Real's performance. Heavy City possession leads to a ton of chances, but a lone goal is enough as they combat Atleti's pressure with crisp passing. If they can keep the ball on the ground and be smart in their distribution, they can limit the chances and get a key clean sheet. The Uruguayan is a tank at the back, but he will have to be super cautious when going up against a tricky and speedy Foden, knowing that one wrong challenge can dig a huge hole. Man of the Match pick: Thiago Alcantara has the technical ability to dominate and dictate this sort of contest and he will be one of the main dangers Benfica seek to neutralize. Given that the Egyptian is under a little scrutiny of late, this could be the sort of game where he makes the difference as a reminder of his quality. Adding to the stakes is the fact that Otamendi is a booking away from second-leg suspension so will be walking a tightrope from the off.

Atlético head to the blue side of Manchester having scored nine goals in eight Champions League matches, and given the un-Simeonean defensive record they've had ...

Ten of Unai Emery’s players have scored non-penalty goals in this season’s Champions League. That’s tied with Manchester City and Chelsea for the most in the competition. Chelsea don’t concede at home in the Champions League, Real Madrid hardly concede away in the Champions League. The rematch of last season’s semi-final might be the most likely 0-0 of the week. Klopp’s players are going to attack in Estádio da Luz, and they’re going to have plenty of the ball. Perhaps that’s what Benfica want: They’re one of two remaining teams to score two goals from fast breaks in the competition. To bring this back around to that 35.7 number at the top, Atléti’s sequences started an average of 34.9 metres from goal away to Liverpool, and their 0.25 xG was their lowest in eight UCL matches. Only 23% of their shots are coming from outside the box, which is the lowest of all 32 UCL teams: To put that in context, the best PPDA for the competition is Ajax’s 7.4 mark spanning eight matches. An even goal difference has gotten them here (nine goals scored and conceded), and an optimist may tell you all it really takes is an even goal difference to keep going at this stage of the competition. Atlético head to the blue side of Manchester having scored nine goals in eight Champions League matches, and given the un-Simeonean defensive record they’ve had in Spain this season, it’s remarkable that’s been enough for this Atlético side to remain in the competition. They were outmatched in the group stage at Anfield, a 2-0 loss to Liverpool in which Jürgen Klopp’s side had a 3.22-0.25 xG advantage. Those are your last eight in the 2021-22 Champions League. No Italian teams, just like the World Cup. Here are the predictions, rankings and a few deeper numbers to consider for the first legs of each tie. City average 5.17 passes per sequence, Atlético are at 2.85. That’s the longwinded way of saying this tie likely has the most contrast in styles among the quarter-finals:

The Phoenix have suffered their second straight heavy defeat in the A-League going down 5-0 to the Central Coast Mariners in Gosford.

Callan Elliot got the nod at right back, with Louis Fenton moving to the left fullback role to replace James McGarry. They added a fourth goal midway through the second-half and completed the scoring with the last kick of the game. The Mariners led 2-0 at halftime and scored their second penalty of the match shortly after the break to take the game out of reach.

As Europe's best clubs compete to advance to the final four of the 2021-22 Champions League, we look at how the semifinal matchups are determined in the ...

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Atletico Madrid had given Manchester City plenty of headaches in the first half while their English Premier League title rivals did it easy in Portugal.

If the game is tight they will have to attack a little bit more.” Hopefully we can get the job done.” They played with almost five at the back and with five in midfield. It is the way they play. I recommend anyone that says anything ... that they try playing against that on the training ground. One nil is one nil.

Central Coast Mariners have moved to within a game of the A-League Men's finals places after brushing aside a free-falling Wellington Phoenix.

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Melbourne City's upcoming A-League clashes with Sydney FC and Melbourne Victory before an Asian Champions League campaign have recruit Carl Jenkinson ...

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Perth's injury crisis has interim coach Ruben Zadkovich relying on unproven youngsters against a fit and organised Melbourne Victory in Wednesday's A-League ...

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Villarreal also host Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals; Chelsea continue their Champions League title defence against Real Madrid; ...

"It is a team which has been playing four or five years together so I think they have the momentum and know each other very well. It's for the players, the difference will be there." "When you play for Benfica you know every game is important. It was very untypical and killed the game for us," Blues boss Thomas Tuchel said after the game. I'm not going to judge what they do, I'll analyse what to do to get a good result to go to Madrid next week. So now we are here, let's try to get the most [out] of it."

That's all from me tonight! I'm Gracie Wilson-Cooper, thanks for tuning in to Tribe's live coverage of this A-League men's fixture between the Central Coast ...

Seattle optioned right-hander Wyatt Mills to Class AAA Tacoma and reassigned right-handed reliever Devin Sweet and outfielders Billy Hamilton and Steven Souza ...

Notes: Toro has been playing a fair amount of first base late in games and will provide pinch-hit help off the bench. He allowed just one run in five appearances. the White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. There is also a high chance of precipitation starting Wednesday and carrying through Thursday evening. The remaining 28 players will take the team charter to Minneapolis on Wednesday morning. If not, he will eventually report to Tacoma

Rachael Pearson quit her job at age 25 and moved 700km east to her brother's spare room in a bid to make it in the NRLW, before starring at St George ...

"I always grew up kicking a footy with him. "I'd obviously saved. "And just go play tackle.

Title challengers Manchester City and Liverpool have warmed up for their top-of-the-table clash at the weekend with first leg victories.

Still, the Reds passed the latest test in their bid for an unprecedented quadruple of trophies, with the semifinals now in sight. Antoine Griezmann wasted one opening with a poor pass and Marcos Llorente chipped tamely at goalkeeper Ederson from another. Benfica, playing in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2016 after eliminating Ajax in the last 16, could easily have been further behind by halftime as Liverpool pressed high and was much sharper with its passing. That built on Liverpool’s opener scored by Ibrahima Konaté — the centre back’s first for the club — off an outswinging corner from Robertson in the 17th minute. Konaté blotted what was otherwise a strong defensive display by failing to clear Rafa Silva's cross from the right. After a tight 70 minutes, City finally found its way through Atletico’s tough rear guard helped by Phil Foden's vision.

With a monumental Premier League clash this weekend that could decide the league title, both sides made it through midweek Champions League victories ...

That would mean no room for Nathan Ake, who started both against Burnley and again against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League. It's likely that Jack Grealish retakes his place on the left wing, while Phil Foden comes back in at striker and Raheem Sterling slides over to the right, which is the same configuration used against Burnley last weekend. Gundogan has played fewer minutes over the past few months, as Pep seems to be slowly phasing the German international out. Zinchenko has struggled to find time in the Man City lineup, but could be a rested option on Sunday. Jurgen Klopp's biggest decision comes up front, as Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both came off on the hour mark against Benfica, but have displayed tired legs over the past few weeks as the minutes mount for both club and country. For Man City, Oleksandar Zinchenko was benched for the entire match, with Nathan Ake brought in to play left back.

Five-time European champions Barcelona will pay their first visit to Australia to play an A-League All Stars team in Sydney next month.

Following the announcement, Juli Guiu, the Vice-President of Marketing for FC Barcelona said: “We are very happy to be able to announce this match in Australia ...

The trip to Australia and the game against the A-League All Stars will be a special occasion for Culers from Down Under who will get to watch the team live in action at the Accor Stadium which can house 80,000 spectators. “We are very happy to be able to announce this match in Australia today against the A-Leagues All Stars. This will be the first time the team visits this country, where Barça are generating great interest,” he said. It will be a historic occasion for the club, considering that no professional or amateur Barça side has ever played a game in any sport in Australia this far.