Real Madrid v Liverpool, Bayern v PSG in Champions League draw – live!

7.54am EDT 07:54

jsc100 comments: “As a Liverpool fan I’m super excited for the Madrid match – I think the only thing I could wish for is that the 2nd leg be held at a packed out, furious Anfield, but we play better at the Puskas than Anfield at the moment anyway. Benzema and Modric will be dangerous, but the team as a whole has had a tough season with injuries and inconsistency, a bit like us. The semi is another matter though, and it will be incredibly tense if we make it there.

“As for the other draws, as people have said, it’s fantastic for the neutrals. The four best attacking sides in the competition all have to face each other and only City’s defence has been remotely reliable this season. Considering most people already put Bayern in the final before today, and the quadruple for City has been increasingly mentioned over the past few weeks, a City-Bayern semi-final would be mouthwatering.”

7.52am EDT 07:52

The spectre of José Mourinho will hang over that Chelsea v Porto encounter, almost needless to say. Based on current form, and Thomas Tuchel’s clear displeasure at silly things like conceding goals, they have a chance. “No one will want to play us,” insists Tuchel –

‘No one wants to play us’: Tuchel talks up Chelsea’s European chances

7.48am EDT 07:48

Liverpool lifting the Champions League, in Istanbul of all places, after the season they’ve had? Can you imagine? I mean, can you really imagine that? The history books would need to be thrown out, rewritten, then thrown out again.

Updated at 7.48am EDT

7.47am EDT 07:47

BeyondParody comments BTL: “From a City perspective I am quite pleased with that outcome even with the prospect of facing the strongest three teams left in the competition. I didn’t want an English team because those tend to be very unEuropean in how they pan out. Real Madrid should never be discounted and Porto are very difficult to play against.

“Dortmund v City is going to be a great tie and a good chance to see how good Haaland is. BM v PSG should also be a great game. Of course we should all realise that Liverpool are going to win it again, it’s just in their DNA.”

Updated at 7.47am EDT

7.44am EDT 07:44

Rangers have issued a statement following the accusations of racism directed at their player, Glen Kamara, during the Europa League defeat by Slavia Prague last night.

Rangers managing director Stewart Robertson said: “Racism is unacceptable in any form and in any setting. The racist abuse suffered by Glen Kamara will not be tolerated by Rangers. As a club, we stand resolutely behind Glen as we support him and his team-mates. We stand behind each and every one of our players. Regardless of race, religion, colour or creed – if you wear the famous blue of Rangers FC, you are one of our own. Everyone, Anyone. Several of our players have subsequently received racist, threatening and sickening abuse online. This is abhorrent and once again highlights the responsibility social media outlets have in eradicating abuse from faceless cowards. We refuse to acknowledge any attempt to defend, deflect or deny the abuse Glen Kamara experienced last night.”

Updated at 7.45am EDT

7.42am EDT 07:42

Over in the WSL, the race for the Champions League places is heating up. Here is Suzanne Wrack before Arsenal’s meeting with Manchester United this evening:

‘The last push’: Arsenal and United in Women’s Champions League battle

7.40am EDT 07:40

Champions League key dates

April

6/7 April: Quarter-finals, first leg13/14 April: Quarter-finals, second leg27/28 April: Semi-finals, first leg

May

4/5 May: Semi-finals, second leg29 May: Final – Atatürk Olympic Stadium

7.38am EDT 07:38

No, it’s the other way around. The team listed first plays the home leg first, and the away leg second:

Pól O’Caithniadh (@czarak)

@LukeMcLaughlin The team listed first in each tie plays away first leg, home second leg?

March 19, 2021

Updated at 7.38am EDT

7.32am EDT 07:32

Breaking news on the domestic scene: Gary Neville says that elements of English football are stirring xenophobia in their “resistance” to the appointment of Maheta Molango as chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association. Read the story:

Gary Neville criticises ‘xenophobic’ reaction to Molango getting top PFA job

Updated at 7.33am EDT

7.22am EDT 07:22

So: Pep Guardiola’s Premier League-leading team take on Dortmund and the scary figure of Erling Haaland in the last eight (not to mention England’s Jadon Sancho). If City can get past Dortmund, then Pep’s former club, Bayern Munich (the current holders) or PSG will be awaiting them in the last four. Tough to say the least, but that’s life at the top.

Meanwhile, the semi-finals may yet see a renewal of the Liverpool v Chelsea European rivalry … but Jürgen Klopp’s men need to get past Real Madrid first, and Chelsea – in such impressive form under Thomas Tuchel – must defeat Porto. Chelsea fans the happiest with that that draw? Real Madrid, as is being observed widely, are not the force that they once were and Liverpool will fancy that one, too. Tuchel’s Chelsea are looking harder and harder to beat, so the carrot of a semi-final against Chelsea should be on offer for Liverpool, unless Porto can repeat their Juventus heroics against the 2011-12 champions.

Updated at 7.32am EDT

7.18am EDT 07:18

Semi-final draw

QF 3 v QF 1: Bayern Munich or PSG v Man City or Dortmund

QF 4 v QF 2: Real or Liverpool v Porto or Chelsea

Winner of SF 1 v Winner of SF 2 is the final ‘draw’.

Updated at 7.23am EDT

7.16am EDT 07:16

Champions League quarter-final draw

Manchester City v Borussia DortmundPorto v ChelseaBayern Munich v Paris Saint-GermainReal Madrid v Liverpool

Now for the semi-final draw …

Updated at 7.23am EDT

7.15am EDT 07:15

Real Madrid v Liverpool is the fourth match …

Updated at 7.15am EDT

7.14am EDT 07:14

Bayern Munich v Paris Saint-Germain is the third match to be drawn, last season’s final!

7.13am EDT 07:13

Porto v Chelsea is the second quarter-final!

Updated at 7.14am EDT

7.13am EDT 07:13

Manchester City v Borussia Dortmund is the first tie out to come out of the pot.

Updated at 7.22am EDT

7.11am EDT 07:11

Here we go … the actual draw is about to begin. A completely open draw, no country protection, no seedings for the two-legged quarter-finals.

Updated at 7.12am EDT

7.10am EDT 07:10

Hamit Altintop is in the house, formerly of Schalke, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid.

“Good games, good performances, good moments,” he sensibly observes of the recent Round of 16 ties.

7.06am EDT 07:06

After a quick video montage, Georgio Marchetti joins Pedro Pinto on stage. The actual draw is edging ever closer.

“Like most human activities, staging football competitions continues to be a challenge, but it’s one that we’re not afraid of,” roars Marchetti.

7.03am EDT 07:03

“I hope Spurs get an easy draw,” says Cartozzz of the Europa League, the draw for which is coming up at 12pm. “I haven’t checked yet, but I assume we must have gone through last night.”

“Hoping for a “Revenge of the Ex” draw today,” says SolidSnake –

“City v BayernChelsea v PSGLiverpool v DortmundPorto v Madrid – this one less manager-based, but is Pepe-adjacent.”

Updated at 7.07am EDT

7.01am EDT 07:01

Champions League theme klaxon! The draw is beginning! It’s only Pedro Pinto reading off an autocue.

Updated at 7.08am EDT

6.56am EDT 06:56

Here’s a bit of YouTube gold from Paul Kellington on Twitter: the draw for the 1990 World Cup.

“And the Netherlands play the West Germans …”

What’s Sepp Blatter up to these days, anyway?

1990 World Cup draw

6.53am EDT 06:53

The eight teams in the Europa League are as follows – including the titans of Arsenal and the giants of Manchester United. David Tindall will be along at 12pm to steer you through that one:

AjaxArsenalDinamo ZagrebGranadaManchester UnitedRomaSlavia PragueVillarreal

Thomas Helmer, who last summer called the Europa League ‘the loser’s Cup’ while fulfilling his draw duties, will presumably not be involved.

Updated at 7.00am EDT

6.48am EDT 06:48

It’s Gold Cup day over at Cheltenham, of course, and you can keep up with all the live action here with our team of writers –

Cheltenham Festival 2021: Gold Cup day – live!

6.44am EDT 06:44

Thanks for your comments.

Horace says: “Chelsea fan here. Oddly, I think the “easiest” draw would be against Real Madrid. They need a rebuild and Spanish football, in general, seems to be in a bit of a state.”

Jim adds: “As a Liverpool fan, this is the least confident I’ve felt going into a Champions League draw under Klopp. I would feel we were favourites against Porto, and PSG or Dortmund could be interesting. After that … I would be worried.”

Christian chips in: “Have a sneaky feeling Liverpool are going to pull a 2005 and win the whole thing.”

Updated at 6.45am EDT

6.41am EDT 06:41

Here are some quotes from the England manager, Gareth Southgate, on his decision to leave the Liverpool wing-back Trent Alexander-Arnold out of his latest squad:

Trent Alexander-Arnold is yet to find club form with England, says Southgate

6.38am EDT 06:38

Gunners goalie Bernd Leno has been having a chat with Arsenal.com after they progressed to the last eight of the Europa League 3-2 on aggregate despite a 1-0 defeat by Olympiacos.

“We need to be 100 per cent every game,” the Germany goalkeeper said. “If we play like today then we won’t reach anything this season. I think there are only very good teams in the quarter-finals and we need two perfect games to go to the semi-finals and two more games to go to the final. The Europa League is very important for us – this is probably the closest way to go to the Champions League and also to win a big European trophy so we need to step up. We need to have the motivation to win every game, cut out the easy mistakes and go through to the final and hopefully have a big final at the end of the season.”

Leno wants the squad to take the Olympiacos performance as a “warning” for the remainder of the campaign as Arsenal prepare to return to Premier League action away to London rivals West Ham on Sunday. “I think we suffered and it was not necessary,” he added. “I think in the first 15 or 20 minutes we controlled the game, but then we’ve made too many easy mistakes and in the second half we conceded the goal and then everybody was nervous. We made it hard for ourselves and, like I said, it was not necessary. In the dressing room it was quiet because everybody knows that it was not a good performance from us. We cannot change it any more, but the positive thing is that it was a warning.”

Updated at 6.39am EDT

6.33am EDT 06:33

Anyone fancy a renewal of Liverpool and Chelsea’s famous (infamous?) Champions League rivalry? The head-to-head is here on the uefa.com website, starting in 04/05, with two gloriously goalless group matches following in the 05/06 campaign, and plenty more to come after that.

6.29am EDT 06:29

The runners and riders for the Champions League draw, which is coming up in half an hour. There are no seedings, it’s an open draw, so we could see some spicy Premier League on Premier League action, with three English teams in the hat:

Bayern MunichBorussia DortmundChelseaLiverpoolManchester CityParis Saint-GermainPortoReal Madrid

6.24am EDT 06:24

Here we have 10 things to look out for this weekend. There is plenty going on:

FA Cup, Premier League, Old Firm and WSL: 10 things to look out for this weekend

6.22am EDT 06:22

José Mourinho was NOT HAPPY last night:

José Mourinho lambasts Spurs players after Dinamo Zagreb defeat – video

6.14am EDT 06:14

We’re 45 minutes away from the Champions League draw. This season’s final takes place in Istanbul on 29 May, which may give Liverpool a bit of extra motivation to make it there, given what happened back in in 2005. What are your hopes for the draw – Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City fans? You can email me, send a tweet or post BTL.

6.07am EDT 06:07

Can Illan Meslier of Leeds become the youngest goalie to keep 10 clean sheets in one Premier League season? Marcelo Bielsa’s side travel to London to meet Fulham tonight.

Premier League (@premierleague)

⛔️ @MeslierIllan has kept nine clean sheets in the #PL this season

If he keeps another one during #FULLEE, he’d be the youngest keeper to reach 10 shutouts in a single season in the competition (21 years and 17 days) pic.twitter.com/QGYzQzTyAy

March 19, 2021

6.02am EDT 06:02

From the PA wire: Gemma Grainger has been appointed manager of the Wales women’s team on a four-year contract. Grainger, who spent 11 years working with the England women’s age group set-up as head coach of teams from under-15 to under-23 level, succeeds Jayne Ludlow, who left the position in January.

“I’m proud to become Cymru’s national team manager and I can’t wait for the challenge ahead,” Grainger said. “Every part of my career has been deliberate and thought out to build towards taking a senior team to a major tournament. It’s an exciting time for everyone and I’m looking forward to working with staff and players to fulfil everyone’s potential to go to the next level. It’s an opportunity for me and the players to write a new chapter and build on the story of women’s football in Wales.”

5.59am EDT 05:59

“I feel angry. It’s difficult to describe how I feel now because I know Glen and I trust him 100%. It’s extremely disappointing.”

Steven Gerrard reacts after Ondrej Kudela of Slavia Prague was accused of racism by Rangers’ Glen Kamara last night:

Rangers accuse Slavia Prague’s Kudela of racial abuse in Europa League loss

5.54am EDT 05:54

Here’s a story about a team that crashed out of Europe last night. Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris gave his teammates – and the wider club – both barrels after they crashed out of the Europa League against Dinamo Zagreb.

“I think we are all more than disappointed, it is just a disgrace,” Tottenham’s captain told BT Sport. “I just hope everyone in the changing room feels responsible for this situation because it is a disgrace … The taste of the defeat is more than painful and we are all responsible for that.”

‘It is a disgrace’: Lloris damning of Spurs defeat and claims togetherness lacking

Updated at 5.55am EDT

4.59am EDT 04:59

Preamble

We’re deep into the month of March, the clocks are about to change and the weather is steadily warming up: that can only mean one thing – the Business End™ of the football season is fast approaching. Today’s Friday Football Countdown™ is an action-packed affair with draws for the Champions League and Europa League, plus the build-up to the FA Cup quarter-finals, four Premier League games, the Football League programme, and a look at what’s in store in European leagues.

The Champions League draw, live from Nyon in Switzerland, begins at 11am (all times GMT). Once the pleasantries are out of the way, there will be three Premier League teams in the hat: Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester City. Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain, Porto and Real Madrid are the other contenders.

Arsenal and Manchester United are vying for Europa League honours along with Dinamo Zagreb (who dumped Spurs out last night), Ajax, Slavia Prague, Granada, Roma and Villarreal, and that draw begins at 12pm.

Bournemouth v Southampton (12.15pm tomorrow), Everton v Manchester City (5.30pm tomorrow), Chelsea v Sheffield United (Sunday 1.30pm) and Leicester v Manchester United (5pm Sunday) are the FA Cup clashes on the menu.

As if that wasn’t enough excitement for one weekend there are four PL fixtures: Fulham v Leeds tonight, Brighton v Newcastle tomorrow, and Aston Villa v Tottenham and West Ham v Arsenal on Sunday. Birmingham City begin life post-Aitor Karanka with Lee Bowyer at the helm against Watford at 3pm tomorrow.

Updated at 6.50am EDT