Manchester City and Real Madrid fought out a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu Stadium on Tuesday.
They now head to the Etihad next week with all to play for.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what lies in store in the return clash.
Does home advantage now give City the edge?
City will certainly feel confident heading back to the Etihad with the tie level. They have won all their Champions League games there this season, including beating RB Leipzig and Bayern Munich 7-0 and 3-0 respectively in the knockout stages, and have lost just once in the Premier League. Manager Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday that City “feel comfortable with our people” and midfielder Jack Grealish went as far as to say the team feel “unst…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has been confirmed as the interim replacement for Jose Mourinho at Manchester United until the end of the season.
Mourinho was sacked by United on Tuesday after a torrid first half of 2018-19, with Sunday s 3-1 defeat at bitter rivals Liverpool leaving them 19 points off the top of the Premier League.
Former United striker Solskjaer has been named as manager until the end of the season, when the club aim to appoint a full-time successor to Mourinho.
Solskjaer won two league titles with Molde before a brief, unsuccessful spell at Cardiff City in 2014.
A former Norway international, Solskjaer returned to Molde in 2015 and had been in charge ever since.
The 45-year-old remains a fan favourite at United, predominantly for his part…
Mauricio Pochettino refused to accept a lack of discipline is responsible for Chelsea’s unwelcome position as the Premier League team with the most yellow cards this season.
The team collected five bookings during the 2-1 defeat to Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve, amongst them Cole Palmer who will now miss Wednesday’s game against Crystal Palace after accruing five for the campaign.
Raheem Sterling also saw yellow for simulation when he sought a penalty in stoppage time, as Chelsea chased what would have been an undeserved equaliser against Gary O’Neil’s side.
The team has already seen suspensions for Reece James, Malo Gusto and Conor Gallagher after being sent off earlier in the season, whilst summer signing Nicolas Jackson is only two bookings short…
After years of near misses, 2023 was when everything came together on the pitch for Manchester City and they finally got their hands on the Champions League trophy.
Their triumph on a glorious June evening in Istanbul, sealed with a fine Rodri strike against Inter Milan, capped a memorable campaign in which they also retained the Premier League and won the FA Cup.
It was a treble achieved only once previously, by Manchester United, and City left their rivals in no doubt as to where the power now lies along the way as they swatted them aside at Wembley.
Ilkay Gundogan scored the fastest goal recorded in an FA Cup final, after just 13 seconds, as City prevailed in an all-Manchester showpiece that was more convincing than the 2-1 scoreline suggested.
The man…
Alexander Nubel of Schalke 04 has rejected offers from a number of clubs across Europe, according to Sport Bild.
Nubel has been with Schalke his entire career so far, but he only truly broke into the team last season when he made 22 first-team appearances. This term he has stood between the posts six times already, five in the Bundesliga and one in the DFB-Pokal.
The German outlet report that Manchester United, Manchester United, Atletico Madrid, AS Roma and Paris Saint-Germain have all expressed an interest in the 23-year-old goalkeeper, but he apparently isn t keen on a move abroad and has rejected their respective offers. His current contract expires at the end of the season, and though Schalke have put a new one on the table for him to consider, he appears more like…
Cristiano Ronaldo s incredible career with always evoke memories of coaching greats who have a similarly lofty status in football.
He was moulded and nurtured by the great Alex Ferguson at Manchester United before earning Galactico status with a 2009 move to Real Madrid.
Jose Mourinho joined him at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2010, meaning the two towering names of Portuguese football were working in tandem, if not perfect harmony.
Finally, Ronaldo inspired Madrid to three consecutive Champions League triumphs under Zinedine Zidane, another man who once had strong claims when it came to being known as the best player on the planet.
In terms of the coaches most associated with Ronaldo, Carlo Ancelotti is perhaps not the first to come to mind.
However,…
Justin Kluivert believes the winning mentality of Bayern Munich and Manchester City is what makes those clubs so hard to overcome in title races.
Last season saw City claim a historic treble, winning both the Champions League and FA Cup while lifting their fifth Premier League title in six campaigns, though they were run very close by Mikel Arteta s Arsenal who led for much of the way.
Bayern, meanwhile, secured their 11th straight Bundesliga crown thanks to Borussia Dortmund s collapse on the final weekend of the season in which they failed to beat mid-table Mainz at home, meaning Jamal Musiala s 89th-minute winner in a 2-1 win over Koln handed the title to Thomas Tuchel s men.
Kluivert, who was part of the RB Leipzig team that finished second to Bayern while on…
Interim boss Santiago Solari guided Real Madrid to a fourth consecutive win in all competitions on Sunday as they eased past Celta Vigo 4-2 in LaLiga.
The Argentine has steadied the ship following Julen Lopetegui s dismissal last month and will fancy his chances of landing the top job on a permanent basis with his 14-day temporary spell now at an end.
Karim Benzema was in inspired form for Los Blancos, scoring his side s first after 23 minutes with a composed finish and then forcing Gustavo Cabral into an unfortunate own goal 11 minutes into the second half.
Celta captain Hugo Mallo set up a tense final half-hour with a clinical volley, but Real – who lost Casemiro, Sergio Reguilon and Nacho to injury during the game – added late goals through Sergio Ramos �…
Frank Lampard s first experience of Premier League management proved harrowing as Chelsea limped to a 4-0 loss in their season opener at Manchester United.
The fresh-faced Blues boss insisted the scoreline flattered the hosts and found support for his assessment following several promising passages of play.
Yet as a high-profile legend of the competition, curiosity about his coaching qualities will climb until hard evidence is delivered.
Sunday s clash against Leicester City will be Lampard s next opportunity to make a point in the Premier League.
With an eye on the past and Opta data on hand, we look at the likelihood of Chelsea performing a quick turnaround.
Sarri s six-goal loss still the nadir
Chelsea were torn asunder in th…
Best Odds: 4/11
Bookmaker:
Looking to widen their buffer at the top of the Premier Division table and making another statement on Friday night, Shamrock Rovers will travel to Oriel Park when they meet Dundalk.
Dundalk
Starting with the hosts, while Dundalk might have felt that they missed out on a golden chance earlier in the week, Stephen O’Donnell’s men have certainly claimed a welcomed boost on either side of the international break. Despite having to settle for a 1-1 draw against St. Patrick’s last time out, the former Irish champions have collected 10 points from just their last four top-flight appearances. With their recent turn in fortunes highlighted by a stellar 4-1 romp against UC Dublin on June 5th, fans around Oriel Park will be excited by the…