Tag: Champions League

5 players who have embarrassed the Premier League in this Champions League season
20Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

5 players who have embarrassed the Premier League in this Champions League season

Rumors of the Premier League's demise are way off base, but it is true that a few big Premier League clubs have been a bit disappointing in the Champions League this year. Here are five individual players who have been flopping in the 2025/26 UCL campaign; four of them have been eliminated already. Newcastle CM Jacob Ramsey Jacob Ramsey definitely had a Champions League season to forget, and he is one of a few players who were miserably poor in Newcastle United's humbling 7-2 defeat to Barcelona in the decisive 7-2 defeat at the Spotify Camp Nou. The 24 year old center midfielder undermined what was actually a great defensive campaign with a disasterclass of a performance, gifting a goal to Raphinha. But the real issue in that game and overall was Ramsey's inability to help the team i...
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5 players who tanked their stock with nightmare Champions League Round of 16 performances
19Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

5 players who tanked their stock with nightmare Champions League Round of 16 performances

The Champions League Round of 16 is officially in the books, but the fallout from the biggest club tournament in world football has not been fully digested yet. Here are five players who were so poor in the second leg of the tournament that fans are having new doubts about them. Chelsea CB Mamadou Sarr To be honest, Chelsea fans were already having doubts about Mamadou Sarr. He's only getting starts because the rest of the Chelsea center backs have been so underwhelming this season, but he was so horrendous in the latest loss to PSG that maybe Blues fans will appreciate Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile a little bit more in comparison. Out of all the underwhelming center backs on this team, Sarr is the worst. He almost never wins possession for this team, and his passive playing sty...
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No, the Premier League isn’t dead after its Champions League losses
19Mar By Cody AcevedaNo Comments
Analysis

No, the Premier League isn’t dead after its Champions League losses

The football world is reeling after Chelsea, Manchester City, Tottenham, and Newcastle were eliminated from the Champions League this week. The four English Premier League teams lost by a combined score of 28-12. LaLiga sides alone scored 20 goals against English opposition in the Round of 16. Newcastle’s 7-2 loss to Barcelona is one of the heaviest defeats in UCL history. Because of these results, there’s never been a better time to say that the Premier League is dead. And plenty of people are saying that, but those people are wrong. As bad as these losses were for EPL sides, they say nothing about the overall quality of English football. The Premier League is still the best league in the world. This week’s defeats only tell us that the gap between the Premier League and the elit...
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2026 Champions League Power Rankings: Initial ranking of every team in the quarterfinals
18Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

2026 Champions League Power Rankings: Initial ranking of every team in the quarterfinals

The 2025/26 Champions League season's Round of 16 is now done and dusted, so with the quarterfinals up next, it's time to rank all eight teams that are moving on to the next round of European football's biggest club competition. 8. Sporting CP Sporting CP pulled off a comeback for the ages, annihilating underdogs Bodo Glimt in a second leg twist that few saw coming, because Bodo Glimt were playing as well as any team in the competition. Maybe we are all sleeping on Sporting too much. The OTHER Luis Suarez is playing the ball of his life and looks even better than Viktor Gyokeres. Sporting have a good team, but they just don't have the firepower of the true European giants. 7. Atletico Madrid In truth, Atletico Madrid are lucky to even be in the quarterfinals, because if it were not ...
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2026 Champions League picks, score predictions for Round of 16 second leg
16Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 Champions League picks, score predictions for Round of 16 second leg

The Champions League Round of 16 definitely delivered on the drama and the goals in the first leg, and the second leg promises to be even better. Here are the full score predictions for each of the eight games. Chelsea 2-2 PSG Chelsea will rue Liam Rosenior's decision to give Filip Jorgensen the nod, and the most laughable part of that whole ordeal is that the manager's reasoning was that Jorgensen would be better on the ball. Whoops. At home, Chelsea will have a point to prove and will go into this game with no fear, but they just do not have the quality to turn the tie around against a PSG side that is finally starting to play to its talent level when it matters most. Liverpool 2-1 Galatasaray Trips to Istanbul are never easy, and while Liverpool have major issues with their squad...
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2026 Champions League Power Rankings after the first leg of the Round of 16
12Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Rankings

2026 Champions League Power Rankings after the first leg of the Round of 16

After blowout losses for Chelsea and Manchester City, the Champions League field is starting to narrow even before the second leg of the 2025/26 Round of 16 begins. Here are the top five contenders now, ranked in order, after an eventful first leg of the real beginning of the knockout stages. 5. Barcelona Barcelona are the leaders of La Liga and a juggernaut with their midfield talent and Lamine Yamal, but they were quite powerless against Newcastle and lucky to have drawn the game, much like Arsenal were. Newcastle outplayed Barca, and with how shaky the Blaugrana look at times defensively, it is hard to give them the nod over other teams that are either more solid defensively or, in Real Madrid's case, simply better at elevating their games in the Champions League spotlight. 4. Ars...
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2025/26 Champions League Team of the Season before Round of 16 begins
9Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2025/26 Champions League Team of the Season before Round of 16 begins

Before the first Champions League Round of 16 matches take place on Thursday night, let's hand out Team of the Season honors for the 2025/26 campaign so far to help preview the big stars that will be in action this week. GK David Raya, Arsenal David Raya is unquestionably the Goalkeeper of the Tournament thus far with an outrageous save percentage of 90 and a clean sheet in nearly three out of every four of his games. Arsenal have a tremendous back line, obviously, but Raya deserves a lot more praise internationally for his goalkeeping. LB Alejandro Grimaldo, Bayer Leverkusen Alex Grimaldo is 30 years old and still going strong, and you wonder if Real Madrid maybe regret not signing him along with Alvaro Carreras. What he offers offensively as a left back is so unique, as he has scored...
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2026 Champions League Round of 16 first leg picks, score predictions for every game
8Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 Champions League Round of 16 first leg picks, score predictions for every game

On Tuesday and Wednesday night this week, most of the biggest clubs in world football will clash in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, and there are some huge matchups on tap like Manchester City vs. Real Madrid and PSG vs. Chelsea - both matches with history to them. Here are predictions for the scores of each first leg battle. Galatasaray vs. Liverpool Galatasaray had their way with Juventus, and they do pose a threat to Liverpool because of the skill and explosiveness of their attacking players, especially in transition. Plus, playing in Istanbul is never easy. Liverpool are in a tough moment, and they are going to be in for a surprise on Tuesday night, drawing 2-2 as more questions are asked about Arne Slot and his tactical setup in midfield. Prediction: Galatasara...
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2026 Champions League Power Rankings: Updated predictions approaching Round of 16
8Mar By Joe SorianoNo Comments
Analysis

2026 Champions League Power Rankings: Updated predictions approaching Round of 16

The Champions League Round of 16 will begin on Tuesday this week, and it feels like there are only a handful of teams of the 16 with a great chance at winning it all this year. That being said, there is also no clear favorite. One of last year's finalists, Inter Milan, were already knocked out, while Real Madrid, Liverpool, and PSG are all in bad periods. Here is a ranking of the top eight teams (the proverbial top half) of the 16 heading into the Champions League Round of 16 action this week. 8. Chelsea I don't think anybody seriously buys Chelsea as top contenders, as they recently lost to rivals Arsenal in the Premier League and even struggled with Wrexham in the FA Cup this weekend. But you know what? When Joao Pedro and Cole Palmer are healthy and playing together, this tea...
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Arda Guler quietly set a Champions League playmaking record
25Feb By Joe SorianoNo Comments
News

Arda Guler quietly set a Champions League playmaking record

Arda Guler is almost silently putting together an incredible season for Real Madrid as a provider, and according to statistics by Squawka, the Turkish international's 25 chances created in the current Champions League campaign are the most ever by a player younger than 21 to start the season in the history of the competition. This season, Guler has registered four assists in the Champions League with a robust 2.8 key passes per game, meanwhile, the attacking midfielder is also having a stellar La Liga season with 7 assists and 2.2 key passes per match in a highly defensive league. Initially a right winger at the Santiago Bernabeu, Guler has found his home as either a deep-lying playmaker or an attacking playmaker, thriving with the intelligence of passing that we haven't seen out of ...
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