Champions League Playoff Concludes

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Feb. 20 - the conclusion of the Champions League play-offs, Manchester United’s finances and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Europa League, Knock-out Play-offs, Leg 2: Roma vs Porto, Agg 1-1, 17:45 / 12:45. Roma have won 13 of their last 16 European League home matches–and while Porto have a good record against Roma, the Portuguese side have won only five of their last 26 European knockout matches. Galatasaray vs AZ Alkmaar, Agg 1-4, 17:45 / 12:45. As well as going into this fixture with a three-goal advantage, AZ are on a four-match winning streak. Real Sociedad vs Midtjylland, Agg 2-1, 20:00 / 15:00. Real Sociedad have advanced from seven of their last nine European knockout ties when winning the first leg. Meanwhile, Midtjylland have failed to win any of their last eight away knockout matches. See the full list of Europa League fixtures here.

Results…

• Champions League: Real Madrid 3-1 Man City (Agg 6-3) (Match Report) | Dortmund 0-0 Sporting (Agg 3-0) | PSG 7-0 Brest (Agg 10-0) (Match Report) | PSV 3-1 Juventus (Agg 4-3)

• Premier League: Aston Villa 2-2 Liverpool (Match Report)

• Liga MX: Atlas 0-4 Necaxa (League Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Champions League Play-Offs Conclude

The inaugural Champions League knock-out play-offs have concluded. The clubs that finished in the top eight–Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa–went directly through to the round of 16. They have now been joined by the winners of Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s play-off fixtures: Bayern Munich, Benfica, Club Brugge, Feyenoord, Real Madrid, Dortmund, PSG, and PSV.

The Champions League last-16 draw takes place on Friday (Feb. 21) at 11 am GMT / 6 am ET.  The top eight teams have been paired based on their league positions: 1st with 2nd, 3rd with 4th, 5th with 6th, and 7th with 8th. Each play-off qualifier has already been matched with one of these pairs. The draw will decide which top-eight team will host a play-off winner in the round of 16. See the bracket here.

Liverpool (1st) and Barcelona (2nd) will draw either Benfica or PSG. Arsenal (3rd) and Inter Milan (4th) will draw either Feyenoord or PSV. Atletico Madrid (5th) and Bayer Leverkusen (6th) will draw either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid. Lille (7th) and Aston Villa (8th) will draw either Club Brugge or Dortmund.

The Europa League (see bracket) and Conference League (see bracket) last-16 draws will follow the Champions League draw.

Man United Mismanagement

Manchester United announced that revenues dropped 12% for the final three months of 2024 compared to the previous year—from £225.8m to £198.7m. During the same period, the club spent £14.5m in compensation to former manager Erik ten Hag, his coaching team and former sporting director Dan Ashworth.

The announcement reveals that extending Ten Hag’s contract until June 2026, rather than terminating his deal with 12 months remaining on his existing one, came at a high cost. It also follows the club making over 200 redundancies and raising matchday ticket prices to £66 per game, with no concessions for children or the elderly. A Manchester United supporters’ group says that fans must not “pay the price” for the club’s financial “mismanagement”. 

Overall, the club’s revenue is down (12%), broadcast revenue is down (42%), operating profit is down (88.7%), and debt is up (£506.6m to £515.7m). Despite the club’s declining financial position, United chief executive Omar Berrada said that the club's focus remains on improving the men's team's league position—they currently sit 15th in the Premier League.

SheBelieves Cup Begins

The annual SheBelieves Cup begins on Thursday (Feb. 20). The four-team invitational tournament consists of three double-header matchdays between the USWNT (No. 1 in Fifa rankings), Japan (No. 8), Australia (No. 15) and Colombia (No. 21), across three locations. See the full squad lists for each team here.

The USWNT inspired the SheBelieves movement in the 2015 run-up to the World Cup. Away from football, SheBelieves is dedicated to women's empowerment, and the tournament is intended to “encourage young women and girls to reach their dreams, athletic or otherwise.”

The USWNT, led by Emma Hayes, are looking to add to their seven existing titles, winning all but two previous editions. The tournament offers Hayes a chance to explore the player pool–she has called 10 players to their first SheBelieves Cup, including four uncapped players. See the USWNT players to watch in the tournament here.

The tournament kicks off with USWNT versus Colombia, hosted in Houston, Texas. See the full list of fixtures here.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Raphael Varane has said he was surprised that Erik ten Hag remained at Manchester United beyond the end of the 2023-24 season, saying that the manager’s “connection with the group no longer existed” (More) | Arsenal announce £17.7m loss after rising player wages (More) 

> Atalanta coach Gian Piero Gasperini said his striker Ademola Lookman is "one of the worst penalty takers he has ever seen" after his miss from the spot hindered a comeback in their home 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the Champions League on Tuesday (More); Lookman issues a statement following his manager’s criticism (More)

> Jude Bellingham has received a two-match La Liga suspension following his red card against Osasuna; Real Madrid will appeal (More)

Americas

> Olivier Giroud, LAFC striker, lost around $500,000 worth of jewellery when his Los Angeles home was burglarised earlier this month (More)

> All three of Lionel Messi’s sons won the championship with their respective Inter Miami teams (More); see a video of Messi’s last son, Ciro, playing like his father (Video via X)

Rest of the World

> Chinese Super League side Shandong Taishan have pulled out of the Asian Champions League Elite just hours before their final league phase game against Ulsan HD in South Korea (More)

> Bangladesh girls have been forced to cancel a women’s football tournament after a group announced a protest rally against the event (More)

> Hwang Ui-jo, a South Korean international and former Nottingham Forest player, has received a suspended jail sentence for filming explicit encounters without consent (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Which manager would you prefer to play for: Pep Guardiola or Carlo Ancelotti?

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇪🇸 Pep Guardiola (40%)

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🇮🇹 Carlo Ancelotti (54%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (6%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🇮🇹 K: “I do love Pep and his emphasis on ball possession, positional play, and attacking football. Unfortunately, Pep has an issue with individuality and keeps players on a short leash (hello, Grealish). Ancelotti's style of football is based on possession, fluidity, and adaptability. I'm all about adaptability. Sorry, Pep.”

• 🇮🇹 S.E: “Carlo lets his players be more creative while adhering to his system of play. Guardiola demands his players strictly conform to his play system and tends to stifle the more creative players.”

• 🇪🇸 K.J: “It’s really tough to pick between the two, but there is no one better in world football to learn from than Pep. World-class players have consistently said how much they didn’t know about football before playing under him. He’s also influenced every level of the football pyramid with his style of play—that’s something special.”

• ✍️ A.B: “Jose Mourinho. He’s won trophies in every competition his teams have participated in.”

EXTRA TIME

When Charlton played China’s national team.

How MLS can become a top-five league… (video)

… and every 2025 MLS kit ranked.

Understanding the process of fixing a torn ACL. (via X)

The women’s league that doesn’t keep score.

Gary Neville’s best moments.

The best one-to-watch defenders in the world.

How Ousmane Dembele turned his career around.

Barcelona goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck on life after a stroke.

GAME FACE ON

Question: When Arsenal beat Leicester City 2-0, Ethan Nwaneri (17 years, 331 days) became the youngest Arsenal player to assist a Premier League goal since who against Blackburn Rovers in September 2008?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Europa League Knock-out Play-offs

• Bodo/Glimt vs Twente (Agg 1-2) (17:45)

• FCSB vs PAOK (Agg 2-1) (17:45)

• Galatasaray vs AZ (Agg 1-4) (17:45)

• Roma vs Porto (Agg 1-1) (17:45)

• Ajax vs R. Union SG (Agg 2-0) (20:00)

• Anderlecht vs Fenerbahce (Agg 0-3) (20:00)

• Real Sociedad vs Midtjylland (Agg 2-1) (20:00)

• Plzen vs Ferencvaros (Agg 0-1) (20:00)

Conference League Knock-out Play-offs

• Heidenheim vs Kobenhaven (Agg 2-1) (17:45)

• Oluimpija vs Borac BB (Agg 0-1) (17:45)

• Pafos vs Omonia (Agg 1-1) (17:45)

• Betis vs Gent (Agg 3-0) (17:45)

• APOEL vs Celje (Agg 2-2) (20:00)

• Jagiellonia vs TSC (Agg 3-1) (20:00)

• Panathinaikos vs Vikingur R (Agg 1-2) (20:00)

• Shamrock vs Molde (Agg 1-0) (20:00)

SheBelieves Cup Group Stage

• Japan vs Australia (22:00)

Liga MX

• America vs Leon (01:00)

• Santos Laguna vs Cruz Azul (03:05)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CST -6. PST -8. MST -7. CET +1.

Answer

Aaron Ramsey (17y 262d).