Champions League Performance

After Champions League elimination and a second consecutive season with no major titles, Real Madrid's squad could see big changes

Liverpool have been urged to sack Premier League title-winning manager Arne Slot and hire a 'perfect' former Chelsea boss as his replacement.

Atletico Madrid have underlined their determination to keep hold of Julian Alvarez amid increasing transfer interest from Arsenal.

Jamie Carragher explained why Arsenal could miss out on the Premier League title after the Champions League quarter-final win over Sporting.

Florian Wirtz has been tipped to become Liverpool’s main man once Mohamed Salah leaves the club in the summer. The German playmaker has had a mixed first season at Anfield since his arrival last su…

Most of what has gone wrong this season can be put down to poor recruitment – but the manager must share the blame Even when the fixture list was revealed last summer, it was perhaps predictable that the middle of March would represent the crisis point for Newcastle. If they had reached the Champions League quarter-finals and won the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, a lot of other frustrations could have been forgotten. Even better, that game against Sunderland would have had to be postponed had Newcastle reached a third Carabao Cup final since 2023. Those days of celebration a year ago feel a long time ago now, but the mood could easily have been very different. Newcastle were the better side in the home leg against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. Only the concession of a daft late penalty denied them victory and they were a persistent threat on the break in the first half of the away leg. Only in the second half of the second leg did the game get away from them: a 7-2 defeat made the difference between the sides seem much greater than it actually was.

Newcastle went to the Nou Camp with realistic hopes of reaching the Champions League quarter-finals but in a game that was 2-2 until the stroke of half-time Barcelona went through the gears and ended up embarrassing the Toon Army 7-2 on the night. What did Hansi Flick do at the break to outwit Eddie Howe? Elsewhere, Liverpool and Arsenal progressed with comfortable wins over Galatasaray and Leverkusen but with Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham all being on the end of heavy defeats should we be concerned about the strength of the top English teams or is this just evidence that the European heavyweights save themselves for nights like these? Plus, Micah reveals what it was like to be on the receiving end of a touching tribute from none other than Thierry Henry The Rest Is Football is powered by Fuse Energy. To sign up and for terms and conditions, visit https://www.fuseenergy.com/football. Join The Players Lounge: The official fantasy football club of The Rest Is Football. It’s time to take on Gary, Alan and Micah for the chance to win monthly prizes and shoutouts on the pod. It’s FREE to join and as a member, you’ll get access to exclusive tips from Fantasy Football Hub including AI-powered team ratings, transfer tips, and expert team reveals to help you climb the table - plus access to our private Slack community. Sign up today at therestisfootball.com. https://therestisfootball.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=episode_description&utm_content=link_cta For more Goalhanger Podcasts, head to www.goalhanger.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello Rank Squad! It's the second Champions League Takeaway of the week, looking back at Wednesday's action from the Second Legs of the Round of 16 - where the final four teams booked their spots in the Quarter Finals - Barcelona, Liverpool, Bayern Munich & Atletico Madrid. We start at the refurbished Camp Nou, where Barcelona survived a first half basketball game with Newcastle United, and then absolutely flattened the Magpies in the second, playing some scintillating football that showcased just how breathtaking their attack can be in full flight. It was also an interesting night in North London, where Spurs actually won their first game under Igor Tudor, only for it not to be enough to qualify for the next round, given the collapse in the first half of the first leg. We take a look at whether this actually might be the best-case scenario for Tottenham Hotspur, with morale and momentum maintained, whilst taking Europe out of the equation in order to focus minds on the absolute necessity of survival in the Premier League. It was a strange performance from the visitors too - caught a little bit between killing the tie and defending their lead, but whilst they looked disjointed after 9 changes from the weekend, they did more than enough. In Part Two we discuss two individual record breaking legends. First off, we head to Anfield, where Mo Salah hit a pearler for his 50th Champions League goal; as Liverpool stepped on Galatasaray's neck, smashing the Istanbul side 4-0 in front of a completely partizan crowd to both revive the mood of the season, and give manager Arne Slot a stay of execution after serious pressure in recent weeks. Then, it's over to Munich, where Harry Kane matched Salah's achievement with a brace; as Bayern finished the job against Atalanta in what felt like a formality. Both missed penalties tonight. Both are amongst the best of a generation. Two icons of the modern era, reaching their milestones on a special night. It's Ranks! And remember, if you’d like more from the Rank Squad, including extra podcasts every Monday and Friday (including our weekly Postbox taking a look at the whole weekend of football) and access to our brilliant Discord community, then why not join us here on Patreon? (http://patreon.com/ranksfc) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com (https://pcm.adswizz.com) for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Despite being 10 points clear in Serie A, Inter have been knocked out the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt. Juventus followed suit on Wednesday night meaning Italy’s only round of 16 representative is Atalanta. So, is Italian football in crisis or this season's performance just a blip? Host: Ayo Akinwolere With: James Horncastle and Tomas Hill Lopez-Menchero Executive Producer: Adey Moorhead Producers: Guy Clarke, Jay Beale and Paul Iliffe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jimbo has Duncan Alexander, Natalie Gedra and Mark Carey for company in the studio ahead of a bumper Premier League weekend. The Champions League midweek concludes with comfortable wins for Liverpool and Newcastle, plus a dominant but stressful victory for Chelsea. Five of the top eight teams are English heading into next week’s league phase finale. Why are Premier League clubs seemingly finding life in Europe easier? How easy will life for leaders Arsenal be when Michael Carrick’s resurgent Man United head to the Emirates? And who should Mikel Arteta play up front? Elsewhere, depleted Villa head to St James’s Park, it’s Glasner Rosenior at Selhurst Park and will Dr Tottenham turn up at Turf Moor? Plus the loveliest managers, managers that cause injuries, punch-ups and pasta without sauce. Produced by Charlie Jones We’re asking you to fill out a quick survey about you and your podcast habits by going to theathletic.com/survey26. Three lucky entries will win $/£100 worth of Amazon vouchers too. So whether you’re a long-time listener or a new one, we want your feedback. RUNNING ORDER: • PART 1: English clubs finding it easier in Europe? (03.00) • PART 2a: Marseille 0-3 Liverpool (06.00) • PART 2b: Newcastle 3-0 PSV (13.00) • PART 2c: Chelsea 1-0 Pafos (17.30) • PART 3: The rest of Champions League Wednesday (24.00) • PART 4a: Looking back to the opening day (34.00) • PART 4b: Arsenal v Man United preview (36.00) • PART 4c: Newcastle v Aston Villa preview (42.00) • PART 4d: Man City v Wolves preview (46.00) • PART 5a: Burnley v Spurs preview (50.00) • PART 5b: Crystal Palace v Chelsea preview (53.00) • PART 5c: Mid-season manager changes causing injuries? (56.00) • PART 5d: The rest of the Premier League weekend (59.00) Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.