Champions League Round-up

GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Jan. 30 – Champions League round-up, Madrid calls for English referees, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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FIXTURES

Europa League, 20:00 / 15:00: FCSB vs Manchester United. United have been unbeaten in their last six Europa League away matches, but FCSB have also been unbeaten in their last four games in the tournament. Braga vs Lazio. Lazio are top of the standings with six wins from seven matches, whilst 27th placed Braga need a win and favourable results elsewhere to secure a playoff spot. Tottenham Hotspur vs Elfsborg. While Spurs have four consecutive Premier League losses, they are unbeaten in 16 consecutive European home games. Meanwhile, Elfsborg have lost seven of their last eight European away matches. See the full list of Europa League fixtures here.

Results…

• Champions League: Full list of results (More)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Champions League Round-up

The Champions League league phase has concluded. The teams in the top eight—Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal, Inter Milan, Atletico Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, Lille, and Aston Villa—automatically advance to the round of 16. These games will begin on March 4. See the final league table here.

Teams between nine and 24 on the table advance to a play-off round, and the draw will take place on January 31 (see more). Atalanta, Dortmund, Real Madrid and Bayern Munich comfortably made the play-off rounds after all securing 16 points. Manchester City, despite trailing at half-time to Club Brugge, secured a spot in the play-off round after their 3-1 win—they will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid.

Liverpool topped the overall table and will now face one of PSG, Benfica, Monaco, or Brest. Barcelona, who finished second, shares the same potential opponents. Third- and fourth-placed Arsenal and Inter will face one of AC Milan, PSV, Feyenoord, or Juventus.

See each team’s possible opponents here (or in bracket view here).

Madrid Demand English Refs

Spanish football federation (RFEF) president Rafael Louzan has claimed that Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has asked to bring English referees to Spain. Perez believes this would improve the quality of La Liga refereeing.

Real Madrid have voiced concerns over refereeing in Spain’s top flight, often running critical segments on referees before matches via Real Madrid TV. Last year, La Liga publicly accused the club of conducting a "merciless campaign" against referees. Barcelona President Joan Laporta has also voiced on several occasions that referees favour Real Madrid, recently calling their non-penalty call against Getafe a “disgrace”.

This news comes just a few days after English referee Michael Oliver received criticism after showing a red card to Arsenal’s Myles Lewis-Skelly. Oliver’s family home was guarded by police after the referee received threats. The decision to award Lewis-Skelly a red card has since been overturned.

MLS Rights Sell-Off

Apple TV is considering selling off some of its international rights to Major League Soccer (MLS) just two years into a 10-year deal. The streaming platform pays around $250m yearly for global MLS rights.

Since Lionel Messi arrived in the American top-flight, sign-ups for the MLS Season Pass and average weekly viewing figures of 1m domestically have been encouraging. However, viewership has been underwhelming globally.

Apple may experiment with price tests in different global markets to see what might increase the international audience. Additionally, outside of the streaming platform, the league is considering changing its calendar to a fall-spring schedule to mirror European leagues.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Arsenal’s £60m bid for Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins has been rejected (More) | Manchester United’s Luke Shaw returns to training after injury since his last appearance in early December (More); the club is close to signing left-back Patrick Dorgu from Lecce for around £33m (More)

> A man is suing Liverpool FC after his job application was rejected by the club (More)

> A fire broke out at a concession stand outside Manchester City’s stadium ahead of the team’s Champions League match against Brugge (More) | Stuttgart police detained 59 Paris Saint-Germain fans ahead of their Champions League match (More)

Americas

> Neymar will reportedly wear the number 10 shirt at Santos in tribute to Pele; he’s expected to take a 90% pay cut (More)

> Major League Soccer has doubled the number of teams who will be participating in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup this season (More) | MLS announces club qualification criteria for official North American cup competitions during the 2025 and 2026 seasons (More)

> NWSL team Gotham FC have parted ways with Crystal Dunn as she “pursues a new opportunity” (More) 

> Calgary twins, 17, become the youngest players to sign with Canada’s first professional women’s league, the Northern Super League (More)

Rest of the World

> Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr have agreed to a €77m and add-ons deal to sign Jhon Duran from Aston Villa (More) | Al Hilal are emerging as the most likely destination for Mohamed Salah should he decide to leave Liverpool and join the SPL (More)

> Steven Gerrard has asked to leave Al-Ettifaq for personal reasons (More)

> Ghana have appointed former Africa Cup of Nations winning coach Winfried Schafer as a technical adviser to their team after failing to qualify for the 2025 finals in Morocco (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Who do you think is the frontrunner to win the Champions League this season?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 ⬜️ 🔴 Liverpool (67%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🔵 Barcelona (18%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🔫 Arsenal (5%)

⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⚫️ Inter Milan (3%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (write in!) (5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🔴 N.N (Liverpool): “Their form is incredibly good I just can't see any team matching them!”

• 🔵 J.C (Barcelona): “I think they have the best team at the moment.”

• ✍️ O.B (Real Madrid): “Never rule them out. You know who I'm talking about (16th title is calling).”

• ✍️ G.S (Aston Villa): “Unai Emery has a proven track record in Europe, and knockout football is anyone’s game. If Villa beat Celtic for top 8, I think we have a solid chance. We’ve already toppled one giant in Bayern this tournament.”

• ✍️ S.M (Atalanta): “Atalanta may seem like an unlikely choice, but they have won the last three away games… I’m just saying.”

EXTRA TIME

Invincibles that finished lower than second.

Real Madrid’s home kit for 2025-26 leaked.

The world’s most overworked footballers.

Why Barcelona’s kamikaze offside trap could change football.

Player sent off for removing a corner flag.

Jamie Carragher’s mid-season Premier League review.

Key WSL transfer questions answered.

Which clubs should perform better or worse for the rest of the season?

Goalkeeper dribbles past two players.

Surprising stats from Europe’s top leagues this season.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Which player provided the assist for both of Barcelona’s goals in their 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the 2006 Champions League final?

Clue: Celtic legend.

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Europa League (20:00 / 15:00)

• Ajax vs Galatasaray

• Anderlecht vs Hoffenheim

• Athletic Club vs Plzen

• Dynamo Kyiv vs RFS

• FCSB vs Manchester United

• Ferencvaros vs AZ

• Maccabi TA vs Porto

• Midtjylland vs Fenerbahce

• Nice vs Bodo/Glimt

• Olympiakos vs Qarabag

• Lyon vs Ludogorets

• Rangers vs R. Union SG

• Real Sociedad vs PAOK

• Roma vs Frankfurt

• Slavia Prague vs Malmo

• Braga vs Lazio

• Tottenham vs Elfsborg

• Twente vs Besiktas

Answer

Henrik Larsson. See the highlights of the 2006 Champions League final here.