UEFA Champions League - Soccer Wiretap

Bayern Loses Lewandowski, Robben To Injuries For UCL

Apr 30, 2015 12:26 PM

The Champions League hopes of Bayern Munich were severely compromised with injuries sustained on Tuesday to Robert Lewandowski and Arjen Robben.

Lewandowski suffered a broken jaw and nose, while Robben has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn calf muscle.

Lewandowski was injured in a collision with Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak with four minutes of extra time remaining.

Lewandowski was sent to hospital for a CT scan after the match, and on Wednesday morning the club announced his injuries but stopped short of ruling him out for the rest of the campaign.

Bayern plays Barcelona next week in the Champions League.

Stephan Uersfeld/ESPN

Tags: Bayern Munich, Injury, UEFA Champions League

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Real Madrid, Barça, Bayern Given Best Odds Of Winning UCL Final

Apr 24, 2015 10:43 AM

Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid have nearly identical odds to win the Champions League, according to the Soccer Power Index.

While Real Madrid has an easier path to the final at 61 percent compared to 51 percent and 49 percent respectively for Barcelona and Bayern, they would be slight underdogs against either club. Barcelona has a 30 percent chance of winning the title, followed by Bayern at 28 percent and Real at 27 percent.

Juventus is considered a longshot with a 39 percent chance of reaching the final and just a 14 percent chance of winning it.

Paul Carr/ESPN

Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League

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Bayern-Barça, Real-Juventus In Champions League Semifinals

Apr 25, 2015 1:45 PM

The soccer world finally gets the Pep Guardiola bowl as Bayern Munich drew Barcelona for the semifinals of the Champions League, while Real Madrid will face Juventus.

Guardiola returned to Camp Nou this year as a spectator for a match between Barcelona and Manchester City in which Lionel Messi put on a stunning display, but this will be his first time back as manager of Bayern.

“Everyone understands how special this game is for me, for Thiago and my staff,” said Guardiola. “Barcelona was our life. When you are in a semi-final then you will always face a big team. What can I say? Barcelona is my home.

“Barcelona are the best team at the moment. I am not surprised. [Barcelona manager Luis Enrique] has a lot of quality. He is a great guy and I am happy I will be facing him. Barcelona have brought in Neymar, [Luis] Suárez. They have a new coach. Other than that they play still the same, with the same mentality.”

The first legs will be play on May 5 and May 6, followed by the return fixtures on May 12 and May 13.

Bayern Munich vs. Barcelona (infographic comparison)

Real Madrid vs. Juventus (infographic comparison)

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League

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Real Madrid, Juventus Join Barça, Bayern In Champions League Semis

Apr 23, 2015 10:57 AM

Real Madrid and Juventus have advanced to the 2015 Champions League Semifinals, joining Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

Carlo Ancelotti's club had many more chances to score, but didn't break through until the 88th minute when Chicharito finished a one-two build-up from Cristiano Ronaldo and James Rodriguez.

The match seemed to shift when Arda Turan was sent off with a red card following a challenge on Sergio Ramos. 

Juventus reached the semifinals after a 0-0 result in Monaco after their 1-0 win in the first leg.

The semifinal draw will take place on Friday.

Here are the Champions League semifinalists since 2005:

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus, Real Madrid, UEFA Champions League

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Sergio Ramos To Play Midfield Against Atleti

Apr 22, 2015 1:25 PM

Sergio Ramos will play in the midfield for Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in the second leg of their Champions League tie.

The decision to put Ramos in the midfield will allow Carlo Ancelotti to use both Pepe and Raphael Varane in defense.

AS.com

Tags: Real Madrid, IQ, UEFA Champions League

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UEFA Confirms Seeding Change For 15-16 Champions League

Apr 22, 2015 1:05 PM

UEFA has confirmed they will use a new seeding system next season, which will see the champions of the seven biggest domestic leagues receive top seeds.

Arsenal and Manchester United would both almost certainly be among a strong group of second seeds due to their high UEFA club ranking, but City have dropped out of the top 16 clubs according to UEFA's latest coefficients.

The change will also impact Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, depending on which club wins La Liga.

UEFA's new Champions League regulations have been published and state: "The first group comprises the title holder [top seed] and the domestic champions of the seven top-ranked associations in accordance with the access list.

"If the title holder is one of the top seven associations' domestic champions, the group is completed with the champion of the association ranked eight."

UEFA general secretary Gianni Infantino said: "Football is about winning, it's about competition, it's about sporting merit. I think it's kind of a natural thing to give to those who have won a competition a special treatment like this."

PA Sport

Tags: UEFA Champions League

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Neymar: Barcelona In Best Form Of Season

Apr 22, 2015 11:53 AM

Barcelona extended their unbeaten streak to 13 matches with their impressive win over Paris Saint-Germain.

Neymar scored two goals in the match.

"I think this is Barca's best form of the season," said Neymar.

"We're in a great form in the Champions League, the league, everything. We have to keep it up.

"I'm very happy for the season we're having and we have to continue like this to reach our objectives, keep progressing until the end."

FourFourTwo

Tags: Barcelona, IQ, UEFA Champions League

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Hugo Lloris Prepared To Leave Spurs For Champions League Club

Apr 21, 2015 6:01 PM

Hugo Lloris will consider his future at the end of the season and may be ready to leave Tottenham to pursue his dream of playing in the Champions League.

Tottenham even took Michel Vorm from Swansea City two weeks after Lloris had re-signed in a move that was seen as a shrewd contingency on Daniel Levy’s part in the event of Lloris pushing to join a Champions League club.

Lloris joined from Lyon in 2012 for an initial £8 million and he hoped to play with Spurs in the Champions League. 

David Hytner/The Guardian

Tags: Tottenham Hotspur, Misc Rumor, Transfer Rumor, UEFA Champions League

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Barcelona, Bayern Advance To Champions League Semifinals

Apr 22, 2015 12:49 PM

Barcelona and Bayern Munich have advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League, though they booked their tickets in vastly different fashion.

Barcelona entered the second leg of their tie against Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 on aggregate and added two goals from Neymar in the first 34 minutes.

Andres Iniesta setup the first goal with a brilliant run before finding Neymar for the goal.

Bayern needed at least two goals against Porto after losing the first leg 3-1 and ended up getting five in the first 40 minutes in which they looked like they were playing on Beginner Mode on FIFA. Bayern ended up scoring a late goal in the match to advance 7-4 on aggregate.

Joining Barça and Bayern in the semifinals will be the winners of Real Madrid-Atletico Madrid and Juventus-Monaco, which will be played Wednesday.

RealGM Staff Report

Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Porto, Paris Saint-Germain, UEFA Champions League

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Gareth Bale, Luka Modric Suffer Leg Injuries

Apr 18, 2015 5:37 PM

Gareth Bale and Luka Modric picked up injuries in Real Madrid's 3-1 win over Malaga.

Bale left with an apparent injury to his left legs in just the fourth minute.

Modric suffered a knee injury.

The injuries come just four days before the second leg of Real Madrid's Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid.

"It's a bad moment for Bale to get hurt. We will have to see what the tests say tomorrow," Emilio Burtagueno said.

"And Modric also worries us. When we only have four days before the quarterfinal return leg, it's not good news."

ESPN

Tags: Real Madrid, Injury, UEFA Champions League

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Real Madrid-Atlético Madrid Champions League Preview
With the exception of last year's Champions League Final, Atleti has consistently had Madrid's number.

RealGM Staff Report

PSG Lose David Luiz, Thiago Motta For Barça Match
David Luiz, Thiago Motta, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Marco Verratti will be out of PSG's lineup against Barcelona.

The Guardian