Trent Alexander-Arnold’s move to Real Madrid from Liverpool at season’s end is a done deal, according to multiple reports from the United Kingdom and Spain.
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The defender has been tipped to trade Anfield for the Bernabeu on a free transfer at the end of his contract for some time, and it has been reported that the Spanish giants have secured the 26-year-old with a five-year offer worth more than £220,000 a week.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side view the England international as the long-term successor to 33-year-old Dani Carvajal, who is out with an ACL injury sustained in October, and he would join the likes of top English players David Beckham, Steve McManaman, who backed Alexander-Arnold to “be a superstar” in Madrid, Michael Owen and Jonathan Woodgate to represent Los Blancos.
Alexander-Arnold has been free to discuss terms with overseas clubs since January, and his impending move to Real would also reunite him with his friend and England teammate Jude Bellingham.
Real made an approach to Liverpool on New Year’s Eve to try sign Alexander-Arnold during the January transfer window, but the Premier League champions in waiting declined to cash the right-back in for reportedly around £20 million to boost their chances of a league crown.
That move was vindicated as Arne Slot’s side sits 12 points clear atop of the table with nine matches remaining, but will leave them without any profit on Alexander-Arnold as he can join Real for free like French superstar Kylian Mbappe did last year from PSG.
Alexander-Arnold is sidelined at present after injuring his ankle during the Reds’ Champions League exit at the hands of PSG and missing the League Cup final loss to Newcastle as a result.
He is tipped to return next month, in time for the crowning few weeks of the Premier League campaign and what is set to be a fitting farewell to his boyhood club.
Alexander-Arnold made his first team debut as an 18-year-old in 2016 after joining Liverpool’s academy as a six-year-old.
Many Reds fans on social media have been outraged however, calling for him to not be selected for the remainder of the season
Under esteemed manager Jurgen Kloop, Alexander-Arnold won the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and Club World Cup.
He is also one of three key Liverpool players out of contract at season’s end, with the futures of golden boot leader Mohamed Salah and star defender Virgil van Dijk still unclear.
Liverpool have declined to comment on the reports.
Iran became the second Asian side to secure their place at the 2026 World Cup after twice coming from behind to draw 2-2 with Uzbekistan in Tehran, handing organisers a likely diplomatic headache.
Iran, the second-highest ranked AFC side in the FIFA standings, needed only a point to join Japan in qualifying for the finals in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Iran will, however, head to North America with relations strained as US President Donald Trump takes a hard line over opening new nuclear talks with Tehran.
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The Group A leaders were made to work hard at the Azadi Stadium by upward-trending Uzbekistan, with Mehdi Taremi scoring seven minutes from time – his second of the match – to seal the point.
“We have to thank the fans who filled the stadium today, and thank God they did not leave empty-handed,” said Iran captain Alireza Jahanbakhsh.
Seeking to qualify for a first World Cup, Uzbekistan opened the scoring on 16 minutes through Khojimat Erkinov, before Inter Milan striker Taremi scored his first of the night shortly after half time.
Parity lasted only one minute, with Abbosbek Fayzullaev restoring Uzbekistan’s lead.
Again, Taremi was the man to pull his team back into the game and ultimately book a spot in North America, when he finished past goalkeeper Utkir Yusupov late on.
Iran will be appearing at a fourth successive World Cup and seventh in all. Taremi expressed his “happiness” with the result but admitted his team had “tactical problems” after conceding twice.
Uzbekistan remain on course for an inaugural appearance at the finals. Sitting second on 17 points, they require a win from the concluding double-header in June either away to third-placed UAE or at home to Qatar, in fourth.
The UAE climbed to four points behind Uzbekistan following their 2-1 victory in injury time against North Korea in Riyadh, with Qatar three points further back after their 3-1 defeat to Kyrgyzstan in Bishkek.
The top two go straight to the World Cup, with teams finishing third and fourth in the three Asian groups entering a further round of qualifying.
Iran’s players celebrate after the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group A football match between Iran and Uzbekistan, on March 25, 2025 in Tehran. (Photo by AFP)Source: AFPIran’s players celebrate after scoring during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Asia zone qualifiers group A football match between Iran and Uzbekistan, on March 25, 2025 in Tehran. (Photo by AFP)Source: AFP
Earlier on Tuesday, the Socceroos beat China 2-0 to boost their chances of automatic qualification, but Saudi Arabia stayed in touch in Group C with a goalless draw in Japan.
Australia’s victory, courtesy of first-half goals from Jackson Irvine and Nishan Velupillay, left the Socceroos second in Group C on 13 points with two to play, three points ahead of Saudi Arabia with a much better goal difference. Japan are already sure to finish top.
Australia host Japan and travel to Saudi Arabia for their final qualifiers in June, leaving the race for the second direct qualification place on a knife edge. China stay bottom on six points, but they can progress to a further qualifying stage by finishing third or fourth.
Indonesia moved into fourth on nine points thanks to a 1-0 win over Bahrain. Oxford United forward Ole Romeny scored his second goal in as many games to give Netherlands and Barcelona great Patrick Kluivert his first victory since becoming manager.
In Group B, Son Heung-min’s South Korea remain top and favourites to progress, but they put in another toothless performance as they were held at home for the second match in a row – this time 1-1 by Jordan.
Iraq could have gained ground but conceded late twice to lose 2-1 to Palestine in Amman.
One-nil down from the 34th minute, Palestine equalised two minutes from time before grabbing a winner in the 97th minute, for their first victory of the third round.
Iraq stay third and one point behind second-placed Jordan, who are three off the summit.
Leaders South Korea face a tricky trip to Basra in June before a final home clash against Kuwait.
Oman are fourth on 10 points following their 1-0 win against Kuwait in Ardhiyah, with Palestine fifth and Kuwait rooted to the bottom.
TEAMS QUALIFIED FOR THE 2026 FIFA WORLD CUP SO FAR
Real Madrid survived a controversial penalty shootout against bitter rivals Atletico Madrid, while Premier League outfits Arsenal and Aston Villa comfortably progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals.
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– SHOOTOUT CONTROVERSY –
Real Madrid produced a gritty display to reach the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-2 win on penalties against rivals Atletico Madrid, following a 1-0 defeat after extra time on Wednesday.
Diego Simeone’s side outplayed the record 15-time champions at the Metropolitano stadium for much of the game, but Madrid have never been eliminated by Atletico in the competition and they battled hard after Conor Gallagher’s first-minute opener to secure a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Thibaut Courtois made several saves to thwart Julian Alvarez and Vinicius Junior blazed a penalty high and wide for Madrid.
Atletico seemed likely to end a history of being dominated by Madrid in Europe but Los Blancos have the knack of survival down to a fine art and took the game to penalties.
In the shoot-out Julian Alvarez scored for Atletico but his effort was ruled out as he touched the ball twice because of a slip as he shot.
Marcos Llorente also missed for Atletico and Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger struck the winner for the reigning champions.
Atletico played with caution in the first leg despite trailing, willing to take a single goal deficit back to the fiery Metropolitano stadium, where they believed they could really turn the heat up on their arch-rivals.
Real Madrid knocked Atletico out in the 2017 semi-finals in the final European game at the Vicente Calderon, with this the first time the derby has been played at Atletico’s new home in the Champions League.
After defeats by Madrid in the 2014 and 2016 finals, the latter on penalties, and elimination on every other occasion the teams have met in the competition, Atletico were desperate to change the narrative.
MADRID, SPAIN – MARCH 12: Julian Alvarez of Atletico de Madrid scores the team’s second penalty in the penalty shoot out, which is later ruled out following a VAR Review due to an improper kick, during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 Round of 16 second leg match between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid C.F. at Estadio Metropolitano on March 12, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
They came flying out of the blocks and took the lead after just 27 seconds through Gallagher, levelling the tie on aggregate.
Rodrigo De Paul’s low ball in from the right was not cut out by Raul Asencio and former Chelsea midfielder Gallagher lunged in to beat Courtois from close range.
Atletico were content to sit deep and soak up pressure as Real Madrid pushed the ball around in their territory but were also ready to spring forward on the counter.
With a strong hand Courtois batted away a powerful Alvarez effort as Atletico sought a second, then denied the Argentine again at his near post before half-time.
The Belgian goalkeeper made another save to deny Alvarez soon after the break too, as Atletico continued to threaten and Jan Oblak was still untested.
– High tension –
With Atletico controlling the game, Ancelotti brought on Eduardo Camavinga and Lucas Vazquez in search of fresh energy.
Madrid soon produced their best attack of the game, with superstar trio Vinicius, Jude Bellingham and Kylian Mbappe combining on a rapid counter.
Mbappe skipped away from Jose Gimenez and then was dragged down by the desperate Clement Lenglet for a penalty before he could shoot.
After the French forward missed spot-kicks against Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao earlier in the season, Ancelotti said Vinicius was his team’s primary taker.
So it was the Brazilian forward who stepped up, facing down a red wall of whistling Atletico fans behind the goal, and buckled under the pressure, firing high and wide of the target.
Correa almost snatched Atletico victory in the last minute but hammered a vicious half-volley over the crossbar, and the match went to extra time.
Madrid shaded the additional period as both teams looked tired but pushed themselves to their limits with the match on a knife-edge.
Mbappe stepped up first from the spot and sent Oblak the wrong way, with Bellingham following suit after Alexander Sorloth netted for Atletico.
Alvarez slipped as he smashed home the hosts’ second penalty and after a VAR review it was ruled out as he had touched the ball twice as he struck it.
Oblak saved from Vazquez’s weak penalty to put Atletico back on track but it was short-lived as Llorente crashed his penalty off the bar.
Oblak dived the right way for Rudiger’s decisive penalty but could not keep it out as Madrid marched into the last eight, where they will take on Arsenal.
– GUNNERS PILE ON NINE –
Arsenal drew 2-2 with PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday to complete an emphatic 9-3 aggregate win and set up a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid.
The Gunners demolished the Dutch champions 7-1 in the Netherlands last week, making the second leg at the Emirates a formality.
Arsenal, with seven changes from Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Manchester United, were quickly out of the blocks, scoring in the sixth minute through Oleksandr Zinchenko.
Croatian veteran Ivan Perisic pulled PSV level on the night with a thunderous finish past the sprawling David Raya but midfielder Declan Rice headed Arsenal back in front.
PSV, seeking to salvage pride after last week’s humiliation, equalised with 20 minutes to go with a fine goal from Couhaib Driouech.
Arsenal were waiting to find out their opponents after the final whistle because Real Madrid and Atletico were locked at 2-2 on aggregate at the end of normal time.
The Gunners have never won the Champions League and have not won a European trophy since the now-defunct 1994 Cup Winners’ Cup.
Mike Arteta’s men, whose Premier League challenge has fizzled out in recent weeks, were quickly in the driving seat in the second leg against PSV.
Raheem Sterling received the ball on the right of the Arsenal attack and found his former Manchester City teammate Zinchenko, who glided along the 18-yard box before unleashing a superb left-footed shot past Walter Benitez.
Former Tottenham player Perisic levelled in the 18th minute and Raya had to be alert to produce a fingertip save from the lively Driouech moments later.
But the home side were back in front in the 37th minute Sterling, who has been out of favour under Arteta despite his lack of forward options, charged down the right and produced a teasing cross that Rice headed home.
Raya produced another fine save 10 minutes into the second half, diving full length to his left to keep out an effort from Isaac Babadi.
But PSV were level with 20 minutes to go after Moroccan youth international Driouech, making his first Champions League start, dinked the ball over the onrushing Arsenal goalkeeper.
The Dutch champions were now on top but neither side could find a winner.
Barcelona storm into Champions League QF | 00:38
– VILLA BOOK PSG SHOWDOWN –
Marco Asensio starred as Aston Villa beat 10-man Club Brugge 3-0 on Wednesday to book a Champions League quarter-final clash with Paris Saint-Germain.
Asensio came off the bench to strike twice in the second half of the last-16 second leg at Villa Park.
The in-form Spanish forward has netted seven times since joining on loan from PSG in the January transfer window and is set for a reunion with his parent club in the last eight.
Brugge had Kyriani Sabbe sent off for a professional foul on Marcus Rashford early in the first half and Asensio ensured Villa eventually took advantage.
Ian Maatsen scored in between Asensio’s brace as Unai Emery’s side romped to a 6-1 aggregate victory.
With Prince William, a noted Villa fan, celebrating in the stands, the Premier League outfit are through to the quarter-finals of Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in 42 years.
Their exit against Juventus at that stage in 1982-83 was Villa’s last appearance in the European Cup — the forerunner to the Champions League — until this season.
Emery’s men are the first team to reach the Champions League quarter-finals in their debut season in the competition since Atalanta in 2019-20.
Wins against Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Celtic are among the Champions League highlights for Emery’s men this term.
PSG are next in their sights after the Ligue 1 leaders’ penalty shootout win at Liverpool on Tuesday.
Facing PSG in April will have extra meaning for Emery, who spent two turbulent seasons in charge at PSG, winning the French title in 2018 but struggling in the Champions League.
It is only the second time Emery has made it past the Champions League last 16 after he took Villarreal to the semi-finals in 2022.
A repeat of their famous European Cup-winning campaign in 1982 might prove beyond Villa, but they have created memories of lifetime in their fairytale run this season.
– Songs of praise –
As fireworks crackled over Villa Park before kick-off, fans in the Holte End unfurled a huge flag emblazoned with the motto “Prepared”.
It was a message their team initially seemed to ignore.
Brugge captain Hans Vanaken glanced a header just wide of the far post in a confident start from the visitors.
Raphael Onyedika’s goal-bound was blocked by Villa defender Ezri Konsa, a chance that provoked anxious groans from fretting fans.
Villa lost 1-0 at Brugge in the league phase and needed two goals in the final eight minutes to take control in the last-16 first leg.
But Brugge had never won in England in 14 trips and those nervous Villa supporters need not have worried as the tension was lifted in an instant by Rashford’s blistering pace.
Accelerating onto Emiliano Martinez’s long punt in the 17th minute, Rashford was hauled down by Sabbe on the edge of the area, with the Brugge defender dismissed for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
From the free-kick, Youri Tielemans’ drive forced Simon Mignolet to make a sprawling save low to his right.
Emery made an inspired double substitution at the interval, sending on Asensio and Leon Bailey in a move that paid immediate dividends.
The pair combined to break the deadlock in the 50th minute as Bailey’s pass reached Asensio inside the Brugge area and he swivelled to finish with aplomb.
Asensio should have scored again moments later, but the 29-year-old’s shot cannoned back off the post.
With Villa fans singing songs of praise to Emery, Maatsen doubled the lead in the 57th minute.
Morgan Rogers’ nimble footwork worked space for a cross to Maatsen, whose close-range effort deflected past Mignolet.
Asensio wrapped up another memorable European night for Villa four minutes later, meeting Rashford’s low cross with a clinical finish from six yards.
Utd eyes historic move from Old Trafford | 01:24
– DORTMUND FIGHT BACK –
Borussia Dortmund recovered from losing an early goal to fight back and beat Lille 2-1 in France in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday, sealing a 3-2 aggregate victory and a place in the quarter-finals.
Jonathan David gave Lille an early lead on the night, putting the French club ahead in the tie after last week’s 1-1 first-leg draw.
However, Emre Can squared things by converting a penalty for Dortmund on 54 minutes, and Maximilian Beier then fired in a fine winner for last season’s runners-up.
Dortmund will now face Barcelona in the quarter-finals next month, having already lost 3-2 at home to the Catalans during the league phase in December.
The result is a huge boost for Dortmund and their recently-appointed coach Niko Kovac, coming as the club languishes in 10th place in the Bundesliga.
“For the whole 90 minutes we controlled the game. It was a fantastic performance,” Kovac told UEFA.com.
He will now come up against a Barcelona side coached by Hansi Flick, his former assistant at Bayern Munich.
The result is a massive disappointment for Lille, who were hoping to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history after an outstanding performance during the league phase.
They finished seventh out of 36 teams, beating both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid on the way, while also holding Juventus and putting six past Feyenoord.
– ‘Frustration’ for Lille –
Their coach Bruno Genesio insisted it had been a “satisfying” campaign despite the exit, but club president Olivier Letang was unhappy about the decision to award the penalty from which Dortmund equalised.
“I want to emphasise how good a run we had, even if we are frustrated,” before questioning the decision to appoint as referee Sandro Schaerer, a German-speaking Swiss.
“I don’t think it was a penalty and it changed the game,” he said. “When I saw who was appointed referee, and that he was a German-speaking Swiss, I thought it was a bit strange. And at half-time he was speaking to the Dortmund players exclusively in German.” Lille appeared to be in a strong position after coming from behind to draw in Dortmund last week, and they went in front in the tie when Canada forward David scored in the fifth minute.
Ismaily’s low ball in from the left was swept towards goal by David, somehow going in through the legs of Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
It was David’s seventh goal in this season’s Champions League, but it seemed to galvanise the visitors.
They were denied an equaliser by a remarkable double save from Lille ‘keeper Lucas Chevalier in the midst of a goalmouth scramble on 20 minutes.
Dortmund applied pressure and were rewarded when they won the penalty shortly after half-time as Serhou Guirassy went down under contact from Thomas Meunier.
It appeared a soft decision, but Can fired in the spot-kick, and Karim Adeyemi then hit the bar for Dortmund before they found what proved to be the winner on 65 minutes.
Guirassy, who has 10 goals in the Champions League this season, was the provider but Beier still had work to do as he controlled the ball in the box before firing a lethal shot high into the net.
Lille could not recover from that blow as they went out in the last 16, just like in their two previous appearances at this stage of the competition, in 2007 and 2022.
Ange Postecoglou’s path to deliver a trophy to Tottenham has become clearer, after the Spurs were confirmed to play AZ Alkmaar in the next stage of the Europa League.
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Manchester United were drawn to play Real Sociedad of Spain in the last 16 of this season’s Europa League, while Rangers will take on Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce.
Ruben Amorim’s United are struggling in the Premier League this season but finished third in the league phase of the Europa League.
They will travel to San Sebastian for the first leg on March 6 before the return a week later against a Real Sociedad side who reached this stage after beating Midtjylland of Denmark in the play-off round.
The clubs have met several times in European competition in recent years, with United winning a Europa League knockout phase play-off tie in 2021 before both sides each won away from home in the group stage in 2022/23. They also faced off in the Champions League group stage in 2013.
Whoever wins will advance to a last-eight tie against either Lyon or FCSB. The Romanians lost 2-0 at home to United in their last game in the group phase last month.
“It was everything” – Spurs sweep Man U | 01:49
Fenerbahce will welcome beaten 2022 finalists Rangers to Istanbul for the first leg of their tie in a competition coach Mourinho won with United in 2017. He also won its predecessor, the UEFA Cup, as Porto boss in 2003.
If Fenerbahce win, Mourinho could come up in the quarter-finals against one of his old clubs in Roma, with whom he won the Europa Conference League in 2022.
However, Claudio Ranieri’s Roma face a tough task in the last 16 against Athletic Bilbao, who are determined to go all the way to this season’s final, which will be played at their San Mames home on May 21.
‘Bigger club with bigger pressure” | 00:46
Spurs will go to the Netherlands for the first leg of their last-16 tie against AZ, who they defeated 1-0 in the league phase in October.
If they win, Ange Postecoglou’s team could be back in the Netherlands in the quarter-finals, with the victors in that tie playing either Ajax or 2022 tournament winners Eintracht Frankfurt.
Spurs and Manchester United cannot meet until the final, but the Old Trafford club could face either Mourinho’s Fenerbahce or Rangers in the last four.
Last season’s Conference League winners Olympiakos of Greece will play Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the last 16, for the right to take on either Lazio — who finished first in the league phase — or Viktoria Plzen of the Czech Republic in the quarters.
A Spanish court has found former football chief Luis Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the forced kiss he gave star forward Jenni Hermoso and fined him, but acquitted him of the charge of coercion.
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Prosecutors had sought a prison term of two-and-a-half years for Rubiales — one year for sexual assault and 18 months for coercion for having allegedly pressured the player to downplay the incident afterwards.
Judge Jose Manuel Fernandez-Prieto at Spain’s High Court found Rubiales guilty of sexual assault over the kiss and fined him 10,800 euros ($11,300), but spared him a prison sentence.
Rubiales was also banned from going within a 200-metre radius of Hermoso and from communicating with her for a period of one year.
Kissing a woman on the mouth “is not the normal way of greeting people with whom one has no sentimental relationship,” the judge wrote in his ruling, saying Rubiales had violated Hermoso’s “sexual freedom” without her consent.
Rubiales’ lawyer Olga Tubau Martinez told AFP her client “has decided to appeal the ruling”.
Video footage of the scandal that rocked Spanish football shows then-Spanish federation chief Rubiales clasping Hermoso’s head at the 2023 Women’s World Cup medal ceremony in Sydney and kissing her on the lips before letting her go with two slaps on the back.
The global outcry over the kiss forced Rubiales to resign in disgrace and thrust the spotlight on the prevalence of macho culture and sexism in sport.
Luis Rubiales (R) next to Jennifer Hermoso (L) after winning the Women’s World Cup.Source: AFP
Hermoso, 34, said on the opening day of the trial on February 3 she felt “disrespected” after a non-consensual kiss that “should not happen in any social or work setting”.
Her teammates described under oath how she cried and felt “overwhelmed” following the incident, while her brother Rafael Hermoso said she came under pressure to downplay the affair to protect the federation chief.
But Rubiales, 47, told the court he was “totally sure” Hermoso consented to the kiss as she went up to receive her winner’s medal, which was broadcast live around the world, and denied putting pressure on her after the incident.
“She squeezed me very tightly under my armpits, she lifted me, and when I came down I asked her if I can give you a kiss, and she said ‘OK’. That’s what happened,” he said, describing it as “an act of affection”.
Rubiales conceded he “made a mistake” in the incident on the podium, saying he should have “been in a more institutional role”, but denied he had committed any offence.
Former president of the Spanish football federation Luis Rubiales outside court.Source: AFP
Rubiales’ defence team had argued that video images of Hermoso celebrating and drinking champagne with her teammates in the changing room shortly after the incident prove the player was not upset by the kiss, she added.
But prosecutor Marta Durantez Gil rejected this line of thought during her closing arguments in which she also said there was “no doubt” the kiss was “non-consensual”.
“How long are we going to keep demanding heroic behaviour from the victim of a sexual assault? Wasn’t she entitled to celebrate such a sporting triumph?” she asked.
The court acquitted the three other accused in the case, ex-women’s national team coach Jorge Vilda and two former federation officials, of the charge of coercion.
Jennifer Hermoso arrives at the court of San Fernando de Henares.Source: AFP
Equality Minister Ana Redondo welcomed the verdict, saying it demonstrated that “when there is no consent, there is aggression”.
Rubiales’ stance on the stand contrasted with the defiance he displayed when the scandal broke.
During an emergency federation meeting in August 2023, he played down the importance of the kiss and rebuffed calls for his resignation, railing against “false feminism”.
Rubiales resigned in September that year after football’s global governing body FIFA suspended him and Spanish prosecutors opened an investigation into alleged sexual assault. He had been federation chief since 2018.
Hermoso, the all-time top scorer for the Spain national women’s team who now plays for Mexican club Tigres, was not called up to the squad immediately after the World Cup.
New coach Montse Tome explained she wanted to protect the player and denied omitting her from the squad was a “punishment”.
Manchester City have sensationally crashed out of the Champions League with Kylian Mbappe and Real Madrid blowing away the four-time reigning English Premier League champions at the Bernabeu.
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He backtracked on that statement later in the week, but his decision to leave star goal scorer Erling Haaland on the bench, after he hobbled off the pitch during their 4-0 league win against Newcastle, showed that Guardiola probably did believe it.
Then as Mbappe ran riot with a hat-trick and Real took the tie 6-3, Guardiola’s initial assessment looked like it may have been too generous.
Real were clinical in booking a date with either fierce rivals Atletico Madrid or German outfit Bayer Leverkusen in the next phase, while for City with their Premier League campaign long gone, only the FA Cup remains in their quest for silverware this season.
It took just four minutes for Real to essentially kill off any potential contest.
It was the home side’s first attacking play of the match as Raul Asencio lobbed a long ball forward, City defender John Stones, who went off injured three minutes later, missed his header and Kylian Mbappe pounced out the back.
The French superstar scored an ugly, scrappy goal off his shin to open Real’s account at the Etihad a week ago, but this was a much classier finish with City goalkeeper Ederson half coming out towards him, and Mbappe coolly lobbed the ball into the net.
MADRID, SPAIN – FEBRUARY 19: Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring a goal during the UEFA Champions League playoff second-leg match between Real Madrid and Manchester City at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain on February 19, 2025. (Photo by Burak Akbulut/Anadolu via Getty Images)Source: Getty Images
He added a second, and truly buried any hope of a City comeback, in the 33rd minute as Real’s electric front three proved too hot to handle.
Vinicius Junior played a key hand in all three Real goals last week, and the Brazilian was instrumental again in this one, breaking through City’s defensive line and charging down the right wing before crossing into Mbappe.
City defender Gvardiol was left humbled as he ended up on his backside after Mbappe stunningly cut inside of him, and finished at the near-post.
Mbappe’s third came on the hour as he collected the ball on the edge of the box, cut past Phil Foden and buried into the far corner with his weaker left foot.
It was the 26-year-old’s second hat-trick since joining Real from PSG last year.
City at least got onto the scoresheet when Nico Gonzalez tapped into an empty net in the second minute of added time after Omar Marmoush’s superb free kick ricocheted off the crossbar.
– Extra time thriller –
PSV and Juventus are off to extra time with the Dutch side leading their home leg 2-1 to level things up at 3-3.
Ismael Saibari’s second half goal levelled the aggregate scores for PSV.
– PSG hammerBrest –
Paris Saint-Germain can look forward to a showdown with either Liverpool or Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League after mercilessly crushing French rivals Brest 7-0 on Wednesday to win their play-off round tie 10-0 on aggregate.
PSG were always overwhelming favourites to beat Brest and effectively killed off the tie with a 3-0 win in Brittany in the first leg last week.
There were seven different goal-scorers in the return at the Parc des Princes, with Bradley Barcola, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Vitinha, Desire Doue, Nuno Mendes, Goncalo Ramos and Senny Mayulu netting for the home side.
It is PSG’s record winning margin in a European game and the first time they have scored seven in the Champions League since they trounced Celtic 7-1 in November 2017.
PSG scored just three goals in their first five Champions League matches this season, but have found the net 21 times in five outings since then.
Their dominant display here came despite Ousmane Dembele failing to add to the 18 goals he had netted in his previous 12 appearances for Luis Enrique’s side.
It was an agonising way for Brest to end their first-ever European campaign, after they made it to the knockout stages following a historic third-place finish in Ligue 1 last season.
Being drawn against PSG was an anti-climax for Brest. They have not beaten the Parisians in 40 years and have now lost 19 of the last 20 meetings of the clubs.
Brest did almost take the lead early on as a Mathias Pereira Lage shot was blocked in front of the line by Marquinhos, before PSG struck in the 20th minute.
Barcola, on the left, controlled a Fabian Ruiz ball over the top before beating goalkeeper Gregoire Coudert at the near post for his 16th goal of the season.
Kvaratskhelia made it 2-0 six minutes before the break, turning in his second goal for his new club after Barcola had flicked on a low Joao Neves cross.
Neves smashed a shot against the crossbar in first-half stoppage time and Pierre Lees-Melou then hit the post for Brest early in the second half.
However, a lovely strike from the edge of the area by Vitinha made it 3-0 just before the hour mark, and Ramos then produced a delightful piece of skill to tee up fellow substitute Doue for the fourth.
Achraf Hakimi set up Mendes to tap in the fifth midway through the second half and Ramos made it six from close range on 76 minutes with his ninth goal of the campaign.
Abdallah Sima had a goal for Brest disallowed for offside before Kvaratskhelia teed up 18-year-old Mayulu to round out the scoring on 86 minutes.
PSG will find out the identity of their next opponents when the draw for the remainder of the competition is made on Friday.
– Dortmund ease into last 16 after Sporting stalemate –
Borussia Dortmund cruised into the last 16 of the Champions League after a goalless draw with Sporting Lisbon on Wednesday sealed a 3-0 aggregate victory.
Serhou Guirassy missed a second-half penalty but it mattered for nothing in the end as last season’s finalists were rarely troubled by Sporting and coasted through.
Dortmund’s reward is a last 16 game against Aston Villa or Lille. It was always a tough ask for this young Sporting side ravaged by injury to overturn the damage done in last week’s first leg, when Guirassy, Pascal Gross and Karim Adeyemi all scored.
Dortmund dominated much of the return leg on a freezing night in Germany, with Marcel Sabitzer coming closest to breaking the deadlock with a rasping drive from distance that Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva did well to palm around his post.
After the break, Dortmund got the chance to put the tie to bed from the spot when Silva was adjudged to have brought down Adeyemi in the box after Nico Schlotterbeck’s long pass split the visitors’ defence.
But Guirassy’s well-hit penalty was saved superbly by the Portuguese goalkeeper low to his right, denying the Guinean striker an 11th Champions League goal in 10 games this season.
Gio Reyna came off the bench and almost made an immediate impact against the Portuguese league leaders, hitting the post, but this was a night when Dortmund created little and Sporting even less, with the visitors failing to register a single shot on target.
Ultimately, Sporting lacked the ambition to turn around the tie, allowing Niko Kovac’s side to progress on the back of a relatively easy night’s work.
Ange Postecoglou has been the Premier League manager in the firing line in recent months, but some of the heat is now starting to be directed Ruben Amorim’s way.
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Postecoglou’s Tottenham claimed an important 1-0 win against Amorim’s Manchester United on Sunday to add to the torrid time the Portuguese manager is having at Old Trafford.
Amorim is overseeing, statistically, the worst United team of the Premier League era.
They have lost twelve of 25 matches, with a points tally of just 29.
They have scored only 28 goals and sit 15th on the table, 12 points clear of the relegation places.
They are on track for their lowest points tally, and the least amount of goals they have scored, in a Premier League season.
The numbers are grim.
Normally, such dire circumstances would have led to a manager already being shown the door.
But this mess is not of Amorim’s creation.
United sacked Erik ten Hag in October and replaced the Dutchman with Amorim in November.
The 40-year-old was seen as a breath of fresh air.
A young manager, who would impart modern thinking on the club.
Amorim was even hailed as the club’s saviour after winning two league titles and impressing in European competition for Sporting CP in his home city of Lisbon.
Such was his popularity at this former club that Amorim was chaired off the pitch after demolishing Manchester City 4-1 in a home Champions League match, which doubled as his farewell game.
Before that mid-week affair, Amorim stated that United fans would think he is the new Sir Alex Ferguson if he orchestrated a defeat of their fierce rivals.
It is doubtful that any Red Devils supporter would think that now.
“It was everything” – Spurs sweep Man U | 01:49
WORST UTD BOSS OF MODERN ERA
United have lost eight, won four and drawn two of Amorim’s 14 Premier League outings in charge.
His overall record of nine losses, nine wins and three draws is better courtesy of an unbeaten run in the Europa League’s league phase.
But Amorim’s win percentage of 43 is the worst of any permanent United manager since Ferguson’s reign.
Louis van Gaal (48%) was next lowest, but Jose Mourinho (52%), David Moyes (57%), ten Hag (67%) and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (71%) all had significantly superior records in all competitions from their first 21 matches at the helm.
Clearly, things are not going according to plan.
Yet, Amorim’s head is not being called for repeatedly like Postecoglou’s.
There is a widespread acceptance that none of this is Amorim’s fault.
Discontent among fans towards the club’s ownership has seemingly grown annually with a lot of anger directed towards the American Glazer family who have been majority owners for more than two decades.
In 2023, six of the Glazer children sold a quarter of their 68% stake in the club to British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe, and now some of their frustrations have been sent his way.
Selling off tickets among season ticket holders at Old Trafford to away fans, and the roof leaking because of a reluctance to spend on stadium refurbishments have generated outrage.
The most anger is directed towards squad building however, as the majority of the current team have been brought on massive dollars but flopped as their rivals have snapped up stars, and they missed opportunities to sign the likes of England captain Harry Kane when he departed Tottenham.
The resentment towards the club hierarchy has allowed Amorim to strategically push several excuses to keep the heat off him.
In January, he said he is in charge of “the worst team maybe in the history of Manchester United”.
If they get relegated, like the team who dropped out of the English top flight in 1974, the “maybe” could be dropped from that quote.
Following the weekend’s loss to Tottenham, United’s third of the season to Postecolgou’s side, Amorim said “my job is so, so hard here”.
One of the things he was referring to was the growing casualty ward, which is causing the manager serious headaches.
‘Bigger club with bigger pressure” | 00:46
‘WELCOME TO MY WORLD’
The demanding schedule of midweek games throughout December and January caused Amorim to lament that he could not spend enough time on the training ground, implementing his play style on the squad.
Last week he finally got some clear air.
There were eight days between their fourth round FA Cup victory at home against Leicester City and their trip to north London to face Tottenham.
Ample time to refresh and dive deeper into the demands of his preferred 3-4-3 formation, but they lost six players in that time.
United’s top goal scorer this season Amad Diallo, England midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, Manuel Ugarte and Toby Collyer all suffered injuries, and Leny Yoro and Christian Eriksen fell ill.
Diallo has been ruled out for the season, joining Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Lisandro Martinez and Jonny Evans as being sidelined for the long-term.
It forced Amorim to field a bench with eight teenagers, none of whom had made a first team appearance, and 17-year-old striker Chido Obi coming on for a debut with three minutes remaining was the only change made for the match.
The predicament prompted Postecoglou to say “welcome to my world” after he has struggled with an injury-riddled squad for several months, which led to an eight games winless run in the league.
To make matters worse, United fans watched on as academy product Marcus Rashford made an inspired start to life at Aston Villa.
Fellow attacker Antony, who was signed for £82 million in 2022, also started promisingly in Spain follow his departure from Old Trafford in the recent transfer window.
No replacement was brought in for either forward, instead entrusting Rasmus Hojlund, Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho as a front three that have produced eight goals between in the league this season.
Meanwhile, Rashford came off the bench twice for Villa and breathed life into the game, including playing a part in Ollie Watkins’ equaliser in their draw with Ipswich.
But rubbing the most salt into the wounds is that Antony has scored three times in four matches for Real Betis.
That is more goals than United have scored this February so far, and matches the Brazilian’s tally from 38 appearances for the Red Devils last season.
Perhaps, there is something in players being rejuvenated once the are freed from United’s shackles.
GREATS BECOMING RESTLESS
In the aftermath of the Tottenham loss, several greats of the Ferguson era piped up to spell doom and gloom for their former club.
Six-time Premier League winner with United Rio Ferdinand spoke on his YouTube channel about how he believes relegation is a real possibility.
“Manchester United are absolutely struggling at the moment. Only Wolves and West Ham separate my club from the relegation places. Do you realise we’re that close?” Ferdinand said.
“Someone said we need 11 points just to stay up and I’m starting to think like that. I’ve got the fixture list here and I’m looking at the game and I’m being serious here. Go through it.
“Everton away, Ipswich at home, Arsenal, Forest away, Man City, Newcastle away, Wolves, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Leicester.
“The only place I potentially see us getting anything – and I’m not even saying a win – is Leicester. We’ve slapped up Leicester a couple of times already this season so we’ve got their number.
“Normally you look at the fixture list and you can see where the points are coming from.
“We just looked at the fixture list and I’m not seeing outright wins, I’m not looking at it thinking there’s three points here and there’s three points there. That’s the problem.”
Ballon d’Or winner and Ferdinand’s former United teammate Michael Owen said that he cannot see the current situation “getting any better”.
Meanwhile, another star of United’s golden years, Gary Neville, turned his attention on the manager.
Neville thought Amorim’s tactics were “absolute madness” during the defeat to Tottenham, particularly in midfield.
“The distance between the two centre midfielders for United is all wrong,” Neville said on Sky Sports. “Look where Fernandes is, look where Casemiro is. It breaks all rules of football.
“It’s absolute madness. The structure of the team is awful. The two in midfield are split. It’s embarrassing. You wouldn’t see this in under-nines football. Look at that space in midfield. Shocking.”
It was not the first time Amorim’s midfield set up has been ridiculed.
In a 2-0 home defeat to Newcastle in December, Amorim embarrassingly subbed off attacker Joshua Zirkzee after just 33 minutes to make up for his misstep of partnering Eriksen and Casemiro in midfield, who are not blessed with pace, against the Magpies’ electric trio of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton.
Now, critiques of Amorim’s tactics are mounting up.
AMORIM SHOULD BE ABLE TO DELIVER MORE
Three at the back, four in midfield and three up front.
That is what Amorim likes his teams to look like.
But being one player lighter in defence is something foreign to the current United squad.
They have failed to get up to speed with the reconfiguration, and it has now been long enough that it is reflecting poorly on Amorim.
Arsenal great Martin Keown described his tactics as “flawed”, and was confused as to why other Premier League managers have been able to make a more immediate impact with seemingly lesser squads.
“Whereas look at Everton, in the same amount of time for David Moyes, a former United manager, are getting results. You could argue his players maybe aren’t quite as good, but this once-great club is now falling from a great height,” Keown said on TalkSport after the Tottenham loss.
“The panic button is close to being pressed. You can’t keep performing as they did yesterday.
“The tactics are flawed; we’ve been saying it for weeks now. The midfield, Casemiro sitting on his own, Spurs exploiting that with two players in those pockets. James Maddison ran the show. Fernandes was a boy lost on the pitch.”
Concerningly for Amorim, there seems to be no relief coming in anytime soon.
Gary Neville believes “it’s going to be a minimum of two to three transfer windows” before the manager and the recruiting staff can “adapt this squad into a 3-4-3 squad”.
United are also going to be limited in their spending because of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules – which are designed to stop clubs blowing out their balance sheets by limiting what they can spend, dependent upon the money they generate.
The bad news for United is that they have lost £300m in the last three years, and in the background of their poor performances on the pitch, was 250 employees being made redundant last summer as part of cost-cutting measures.
It is also reported that more redundancies are likely.
“There will be no great infusion of cash to rebuild the squad in the summer; United are already under pressure to avoid breaching PSR regulations,” The Guardian’s Jonathan Wilson wrote.
So with their hands somewhat tied financially, there is demand for Amorim to extract more out of what they have.
And at present, that does not look like happening.
“You can blame injuries all you like, highlighting the fact that United’s bench was so stacked with 17 and 18-year-olds that it resembled a sixth-form holiday camp. But Amorim, if he is truly as talented as his extravagant send-off in Lisbon suggests he is, should be summoning a tune out of those he has available,” The Telegraph’s chief sports writer Oliver Brown wrote after the Tottenham defeat.
“The problem is that the players are all hopelessly confused by the tactics he is asking them to follow. Maguire was the most obvious rabbit in headlights this time, bizarrely stopping dead in his tracks as a dangerous cross swung in towards Son Heung-min. Casemiro was all at sea, not even watching Bruno Fernandes at times and crumpling to the turf pleading for a free-kick even when nobody was near him.
“The doubts are starting to be publicly expressed. Gary Neville witheringly argued that Amorim’s midfield, with Casemiro and Fernandes creating yawning chasms through their lack of connection, would not even have been seen at under-nines level. While that might be hyperbolic, it does illustrate how the fundamentals at United have collapsed.
“The defence is shot to pieces, the midfield is makeshift, and supposed target man Hojlund has not scored in his last 15 appearances.”
WILL HE SURVIVE?
As is the case for Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham, and as was the case for Amorim’s predecessor ten Hag, the allure of silverware offers salvation.
Ten Hag bought himself more time with a shock FA Cup triumph against rivals City in 2023, while United, along with Spurs, are into the Europa League’s Round of 16.
The hierarchy at Old Trafford would be desperate for a trophy, but it is not a condition to Amorim keeping his job.
There is little doubt that he will be given a summer to shape a squad in his image, and not judged too harshly for the failures that emerge from trying to do so on the fly, mid-season.
But football is a ruthless game, and bookmakers across the UK have slashed their odds on Amorim being the next Premier League manager to be shown the door.
Reports emerged out of Spain that United are already exploring alternative options, including current US men’s team manager, as well as former Tottenham, Chelsea and PSG boss Mauricio Pochettino.
The dilemma Amorim is facing, which is the case of many bosses of rebuilding teams across any sport, is that losses stockpiling may do too much damage.
“The danger is that, even if Amorim is the right man, his reputation will be so tarnished by the end of the season that he will never be able to inspire the belief successful management requires,” The Guardian’s Jonathan Wilson wrote.
One of the best rivalries in modern football produced another classic, or you might even say “clásico”, as a 92nd minute Jude Bellingham winner handed Real Madrid a 3-2 win in the first leg of their Champions League knockout playoff against Manchester City.
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The Etihad Stadium was left stunned as English star Bellingham tapped into an empty net to steal victory for the Spanish giants.
Vinicius Junior set up the decisive goal with the Brazilian stealing a pass from Mateo Kovacic that was intended for Rico Lewis, drawing City goalkeeper Ederson out and lobbing him, but the ball was sailing wide before Bellingham got their in time to finish off his teammate’s brilliant work.
It was the first time Real have claimed victory in regular time away at Manchester City – they won on penalties after the second leg of last year’s quarter-final – and they are well-placed to eliminate Pep Guardiola’s side, and book their own place in the Round of 16, in the second leg at the Bernabeu next week.
City led twice, through superstar Erling Haaland on both occasions, and the home crowd were jubilant when his 80th minute goal from a penalty, won by Phil Foden who was brought down just inside the box by a clumsy Dani Ceballos challenge, made it appear as if they may head to Madrid with a lead.
But one of their own academy products that came back to haunt them.
Brahim Diaz, who left City for Real Madrid back in 2019, and had a four-year loan spell at AC Milan, came off the bench to score an 86th minute equaliser.
Diaz pounced on a ball that spilled off Ederson’s chest after a Vinicius Jr. strike, and the 25-year-old slotted it into the far corner, and in a classy touch opted not to celebrate.
Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti said pre-match that his side’s clashes with the Premier League giants “seems like it’s a clásico” due to the quality and frequency of their meetings, like the La Liga leader’s rivalry with Barcelona.
It is only the fourth time that two teams have met in the Champions League in four successive seasons – after Deportivo v Juventus (2000-04), Liverpool v Chelsea (five in a row from 2004-09) and Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid (2013-17) – but this battle was arguably Real and City’s spiciest.
It was their first meeting since Real’s infamous Ballon d’Or boycott last October, and the home fans were eager to remind them of it.
A massive banner with a picture of City’s Spanish maestro Rodri kissing the trophy accompanied by the words ‘stop crying your heart out’, in reference to the song by big City fans Oasis, was unveiled in the terraces before kick off.
Rodri, who is sidelined with an ACL injury, was even spotted capturing a photo of the banner on his phone, while Real’s sensational forward Vinicius Jr., who they believe was the deserved winner, was met with boos and jeers every time he was involved in play.
The noise did not seem to bother the Brazilian however as he was superb all night, but went without the reward of getting on the score sheet despite his impressive creativity.
He released Kylian Mbappe in the 11th minute but Edersen pulled off an excellent save.
One minute later he again almost had an assist but Nathan Ake cleared Ferland Mendy’s shot off the line, and shortly after he may have been awarded a penalty if not for the offside flag being raised, and later in the half a deflected shot of his hit the crossbar.
Real’s electricity in the front half made them look the more threatening of the two sides early, but it was City who scored first through who else but Haaland in the 19th minute.
Jack Grealish, who was subbed off after a half an hour with what appeared to be a hamstring injury, lobbed an excellent ball into the box to Josko Gvardiol who chested it down to Haaland and the Norwegian goal scoring machine calmly put the ball over Thibaut Courtois with his left foot.
There was a lengthy VAR check for offside, but the video referee eventually awarded Haaland his first goal against Real Madrid, in his fifth attempt.
Completing a brace later also added further to his remarkable Champions League record with 49 goals from 48 matches.
City took a 1-0 lead into the break but there easily could have been more goals as a Manuel Akanji header from a Kevin De Bruyne corner hit the bar, and Mbappe squandered a late chance by launching a shot over the bar.
The French superstar made up for it in the 60th minute, however, as a complete miskick sailed into the back of the net to equalise.
Federico Valverde blasted a free kick into the City defensive wall, but the ball rebounded to Dani Ceballos who put a superb dink pass over the top to Mbappe inside the box and his acrobatic volley came off his shin, but a wrongfooted Ederson could only watch as it slowly looped into the far corner.
The second half momentum was mainly with the visitors as Bellingham also had a couple of near misses, and having had almost double the amount of shots, 20 to 11, they could not help but feel like they should be returning home with a lead.
But they were eventually rewarded for their persistence with Diaz and Bellingham’s late goals.
– Clinical PSG, Juve and Dortmund lead –
PSG put one foot in the Round of 16 with a dominant 3-0 victory away at fellow Ligue 1 side Brest.
The hosts were always up against it with the Parisian giants boasting a 31 game unbeaten run against them, Brest’s last victory came in a league match in 1985, and the visitors put the foot down from the start.
Vitinha converted a penalty in the 21st minute to open the scoring before Ousmane Dembele continued his stunning recent form with a brace either side of half time.
The Frenchman has now scored 18 goals in his last 11 games in all competitions for PSG, making him the most prolific goal scorer in Europe’s big five competitions since the start of December.
The second leg will be held at Paris’ Parc de Princes next week.
Elsewhere, a 82nd minute Samuel Mbangula winner handed Juventus a 2-1 win in Turin against Dutch outfit PSV.
Weston McKennie opened the scoring for the Italian giants, but Ivan Perisic levelled shortly after half time.
Borussia Dortmund had a comfortable win away in Portugal against Sporting CP with a 3-0 victory courtesy of goals to Serhou Guirassy, Pascal Grob and Karim Adeyemi.
The tight rope Ange Postecoglou is walking is getting narrower.
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That is to be expected when a big six club like Tottenham sits 14th on the Premier League table almost two-thirds of the way through the season.
This time last week Spurs were still in the Carabao Cup, FA Cup and the Europa League.
Now, only the latter remains.
The results are not stacking up in the Australian’s favour, but there is an unshakeable feeling among his backers that if he was not an outsider in English football, he might be afforded more rope.
It has been highly publicised that Tottenham have been hit with an injury crisis in recent months.
“There’s got to be a better appreciation for what a very small group of players have been doing for the last two and a half months,” he said.
“It can’t be that people think that’s an excuse. That’s just not anywhere near close to objective analysis. That’s just agenda-driven stuff.
“If it’s to get rid of me that’s fine. Good on ya. Go for it a million times.
“But in terms of this group of players, what they’ve given over the past two and half months has been outstanding, it’s a credit to them, I can’t speak highly enough of them.”
Yet, the questions keep coming despite the most glaring issue being clear for all to see.
Postecoglou has been repeatedly forced to put out a makeshift defence with first choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, centre back pairing Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, and left-back Destiny Udogie all spending extended periods on the sidelines.
Further afield, midfielders Rodrigo Bentancur and Yves Bissouma have been regularly unavailable, while their goal scoring stocks have suffered the blows of injuries to Dominic Solanke, Brennan Johnson and James Maddison at various times.
Logically, it is no surprise that the losses have mounted.
Liverpool sink Spurs in run to final | 02:05
Just as they did for Newcastle United last season.
The Magpies lost ten of their first 21 Premier League encounters last campaign.
Undeniably, not good enough for a club with a lot of financial power considering its 80% per cent ownership by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, well-known for funding LIV Golf and spreading their wealth throughout the sporting world in recent years.
But manager Eddie Howe faced nowhere near the level of scrutiny Postecoglou has received.
It was widely accepted that the Englishman, who made his name by taking Bournemouth to the Premier League for the first time, had his hands tied by an injury-riddled squad.
The added pressure of mid-week European competition, Newcastle played in the Champions League for the first time in 20 years, as well as cup fixtures and always demanding league schedule took its toll.
It sounds familiar to Postecoglou’s current predicament.
But unlike in Howe’s case, the English press, pundits, former players and fans have been baying for blood.
And despite sometimes justified criticism of Postecoglou’s polarising tactics, some of the reasons for doing so have not always been fair.
“Spurs’ Australian head coach is the latest target of the village idiots; the half-pint pundits and critics who prefer to laugh at the fact he finishes his sentences with ‘mate’ than listen to him contextualising his team’s problems,” football news correspondent for the UK Telegraph Matt Law wrote.
The mockery unfortunately goes hand-in-hand with the club Postecoglou is at.
Tottenham are repeatedly a laughing stock among rival fans courtesy of the well-documented absence of silverware in their trophy cabinet since 2008.
The regularity with which they sack managers, Postecoglou is their 12th permanent manager this century, is the bud of many jokes.
So too is the behaviour of their fans, who even wanted their own team to lose the penultimate game of last Premier League season at home to Manchester City, which they did 2-0, to deny arch enemies Arsenal the title.
Therefore, of course, when an Australian arrived in north London with tales of how he has won a trophy in his second season with Celtic, Yokohama F. Marinos, the Socceroos, Brisbane Roar and South Melbourne, the punch lines were being written.
Add to that the fact he had shown an unwavering commitment to attacking football, even when times are tough. That was until their last Premier League outing, a 2-0 victory away at Brentford, as a more defensive approach broke a seven-game winless streak in the league.
Spurs sat deeper and gritted their teeth for 90 minutes, showing that they can be more resolute in defence, but Postecoglou is still spoken of as a madman.
There are choruses of laughter in pubs and football clubs across England at Postecoglou’s and Tottenham’s expense, and they have only grown louder in recent days.
Ange denies Tel initially rejected Spurs | 01:11
In the past week, another dismantling by Liverpool, in the form of a 4-0 drubbing at Anfield in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final after leading 1-0 following the first leg, was followed by a 2-1 defeat at Villa Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup.
There is little shame in losing to the Premier League leaders, or Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League Round of 16, but that did not prevent the pile on.
Former Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp was scathing on Sky Sports after the Liverpool loss, saying “I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight with what Spurs did today”.
“Not having one shot on target in the semi-final of a second leg when you’re trying to change the course of your history?” he added.
Fellow former Spurs midfielder Jamie O’Hara, who has been a very vocal critic of Postecoglou, took to X to call for his sacking.
“It’s time to go now, Ange is out of his depth. [Unai] Emery is on a different planet compared to him and his players bopped us off the park. Should have been five, we’re like reserve team playing in academy games that don’t matter, it’s crazy,” O’Hara wrote.
It did not help things for Postecoglou either that Liverpool great Jamie Carragher opted to rub further salt into Spurs’ wounds.
“It’s Tottenham!” Carragher said on Sky Sports. “When do Tottenham ever win a big game? When do Tottenham ever go and surprise, win against the odds?”
The last few months it must have felt like Postecoglou was being forced to play game after game at a casino where the house always wins.
With the injury crisis, the odds have been massively skewed against them, but the cup competitions kept the hope alive.
Now, only the European dream remains to fulfil the Postecoglou prophecy of winning yet another trophy in his second season in charge of a team.
Spurs finished fourth in the new look league phase of the Europa League with five wins, two draws and a loss to automatically advance to the Round of 16.
Awaiting them will be one of Midtjylland, AZ Alkmaar, Real Sociedad or Galatasaray but arguably more important than the opponent they face, will be the respite Postecoglou’s injury hit squad receive.
Their next European clash is not until March 6 as they will enjoy some much-needed breathing space between matches this month after a manic December and January.
Tension eases as Spurs advance in Europa | 01:57
Spurs played 17 matches across all competitions in that stretch as the casualty ward overflowed.
It was reported by the UK Telegraph on Monday that Postecoglou has implemented a much-needed reset by affording the squad two days off this week to recharge the batteries before facing Manchester United at home in the league on Sunday.
“The boys who are coming back, we’ll get the opportunity to give them a whole week of training, which is great,” Postecoglou said.
“By the time we get to the back end of the week we should have something resembling a squad of players to prepare for a big game. That then folds into the following week when, again, we’ve got seven days and no midweek game to prepare for the next game.
“So that gives us a real good opportunity to get some work into the guys who have been out for quite a while and give some rest to the guys who have been going at it. So by the time we get back to being in Europe and having midweek games we’ll be in a much better shape.”
Postecoglou will be hoping the refresh, along with the possible returns of Vicario, Udogie, Maddison, Johnson and Wilson Odobert will be the morale booster the playing group desperately needs.
Their frustrations came to the fore during the Villa loss on Sunday.
“Spence ripped off his sock tape, threw it on the ground and headed straight down the tunnel with Yves Bissouma at full time,” The Athletic’s Jay Harris wrote.
“Pedro Porro jumped up after being nutmegged and left in a heap on the floor by Marcus Rashford. He then brought Villa’s new striker down with a wild kick on the edge of the box and somehow escaped punishment. The Spain international received a yellow card in the final 10 minutes for a tackle on Ramsey.
“Bentancur was booked for dragging down Rogers. Bergvall jumped into a tackle on Rogers and then clattered into him later on. He eventually picked up a booking for a foul on Ramsey, too.
“These are the moments when Postecoglou needs his senior players, including the captain Son and Dejan Kulusevski, to calm everyone down.”
Jovial Ange jokes before crucial goal | 00:57
If the players can reset, they may be able to claw their way back to the days of Postecoglou’s honeymoon period at Spurs.
The 59-year-old was a breath of fresh air when Tottenham amassed 26 points in his first ten games in charge, a Premier League record, when he took over last season.
Most promising for Postecoglou is that the formula is still there.
“The statistics still tell us this Tottenham team, for all their struggles this season, play a little differently to everyone else. The principles of play that had Postecoglou’s Spurs five points clear at the top of the table early last season remain in place,” Sky Sports’ Adam Bate wrote.
“No team in the Premier League has won the ball high up the pitch more times than Tottenham. No team allows so few passes per defensive action. No team plays with more width than Tottenham. By design, it is supposed to be intense and expansive.”
The numbers are a promising sign that if the medical staff can get most of their stars back on the pitch, the performances may turn quickly.
Who knows what will happen in the Europa League knockouts, but for what it is worth, Howe’s Newcastle won nine and drew four of their final 17 Premier League games last season once the midweek grind subsided.
They finished seventh, and currently sit sixth, two points shy of fourth-placed Chelsea and one of the lucrative Champions League places.
Perhaps if Postecoglou is afforded the leniency of an Englishman, he may have the time to turn things around in a similar fashion.
Who knows, they still have one chance to fulfil his trophy prophecy.
Former Real Madrid left-back Marcelo announced his retirement from professional football on Thursday after a trophy-laden career.
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The 36-year-old spent 16 years at Spanish giants Madrid, winning six La Liga titles and five Champions League trophies.
“At 18, Real Madrid came knocking on my door and I arrived here,” Marcelo said in a video posted on social media. “Now, I can proudly say that I am a true ‘Madrileno’.
“What a journey. Real Madrid is a unique club.” Marcelo enjoyed a strong relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo, lifting four Champions Leagues with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
The pair both scored in the 2014 final victory over Atletico Madrid when Real ended a 12-year wait for their 10th European Cup.
“My brother, what an incredible career! We have lived a lot together, it has been years of achievements, victories and unforgettable moments,” Ronaldo said in a post on Instagram.
“More than a teammate, a partner for life.” Marcelo also won the Copa del Rey twice and the Club World Cup four times during his time with Los Blancos, for whom he made 546 appearances, scoring 38 goals.
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“One of the greatest left-backs in Real Madrid and world football history, and we had the privilege of watching him for a long time,” said Real Madrid president Florentino Perez in a statement.
“He is one of our greatest legends and Real Madrid is and always will be his home.” Marcelo was an unused substitute in the 2022 Champions League final when his compatriot Vinicius Junior scored the only goal against Liverpool.
“Thank you for your advice, for your reprimands, for the time spent by your side,” said Vinicius on social media.
“We were victorious on the field and we are friends off it.” Marcelo made 58 appearances for the Brazil national team, playing at the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and winning the 2013 Confederations Cup.
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He was part of the teams that won a silver medal at the 2012 Olympics and bronze in Beijing in 2008.
“Playing for my country since the youth categories has also been a great honour,” he said.
“In my memory I will always cherish two Olympic medals and a Confederations Cup.” Marcelo started his career with Brazilian club Fluminense before leaving for Real.
When he finally left the Santiago Bernabeu he joined Greek club Olympiakos but terminated his contract after just five months to rejoin Fluminense.
Marcelo helped his home team win the Copa Libertadores for the first time with victory over Boca Juniors in the 2023 final.
He left the club by mutual consent last November and has not played since.
