UEFA Champions League - Soccer Wiretap

Bayern Wins 6th Champions League Title, Defeating PSG 1-0

Aug 24, 2020 7:59 AM

Bayern Munich have won their sixth Champions League, defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0.

Kingsley Coman scored in the 59th minute off a header. Coman is a former PSG youth academy graduate. 

The victory also completed a treble of trophies for Hansi Flick's side after they also won the Bundesliga and the German Cup.

"I am proud of this team," a beaming Flick told reporters. "When I started in November I read the headlines: 'No need to fear or respect Bayern Munich anymore', 'The team is awful."

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

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Thomas Tuchel Says Neymar 'Cannot Do Everything' After Loss

Aug 24, 2020 1:26 AM

Thomas Tuchel defended Neymar and Kylian Mbappe's performances following PSG's 1-0 loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League Final.

"Neymar has had a great tournament, he cannot do everything.

"Mbappe, it's a miracle that he was with us after sustaining a serious [ankle] injury [in July]," said Tuchel following the loss.

Marquinhos agreed with Tuchel's assessment, saying that PSG lost as a team.

"Nobody thought we'd do that well in this campaign. We're disappointed because we wanted more but we need to continue like this, to make sacrifices, to work for each other. We have to think about the next campaign and see what we can do better."

When asked whether he would return for next season, Tuchel said "I have a contract, that's all I can say."

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

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Single-Game Knockout Format For Champions League To Be Considered

Aug 23, 2020 12:38 PM

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin said that he would consider implementing a single-game knockout format for future Champions League tournaments.

Ceferin added that the changes could take place beginning in the quarterfinals.

"We were forced to do it but in the end we see that we found out something new. So we will think about it in the future for sure," said Ceferin.

Ceferin noted that while games have been more exciting without a second leg, the single-leg format will mean less televised matches.  

"[There has been] not so much tactics. If it is one match, if one team scores then the other has to score as soon as possible. If it is two-legged system then there is still time to win the next match.

"More exciting matches for sure but of course we also have to think about the fact that we have less matches and broadcasters [can] say: 'you don't have as many matches as before, this is different' so we will have to discuss when this crazy situation ends."


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20-21 Champions League Pots For Group Stage Determined

Aug 21, 2020 8:24 PM

The pots of the 2020 Champions League group stage draw were finalized on Friday with Sevilla's win in the Europa League Final over Inter Milan.

Sevilla are joined in Pot 1 by the champions of the top six leagues, namely Real Madrid, Liverpool, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus and Zenit St Petersburg. FC Porto join them as champions of the seventh-ranked league as either Bayern and PSG will be the Champions League holders.

Pot 1: Bayern Munich, PSG, Sevilla, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Juventus, Zenit St Petersburg, FC Porto

Pot 2: Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Manchester United, Borussia Dortmund, Shakhtar Donetsk, Chelsea, Benfica or Ajax

The remaining two pots will be determined based on the qualifying rounds. 

RB Leipzig, Inter Milan and Lazio will be in Pot 3. Dynamo Kiev, FC Salzburg, Olympiakos and Celtic will join them should they qualify.

Stade Rennes and Istanbul Basaksehir are assured of being in Pot 4, while Atalanta, Lokomotiv Moscow, Marseille, Club Brugge and Borussia Monchengladbach could also be in the lowest-ranked pot.

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Bayern Advances To Champions League Final, Will Play PSG

Aug 19, 2020 4:52 PM

Bayern Munich has advanced to the Champions League Final with their 3-0 win over Lyon.

Bayern will meet Paris-Saint Germain on Sunday, August 23rd.

Bayern last appeared in the Champions League Final in 2013 when they defeated Borussia Dortmund at Wembley. Bayern lost the final in the previous season on their homeground to Chelsea. 

RealGM Staff Report

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

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PSG Advances To UCL Final With 3-0 Win Over Leipzig

Aug 19, 2020 3:25 PM

Paris Saint-Germain advanced to their first Champions League Final with their 3-0 win over RB Leipzig.

Marquinhos scored in the 13th minute, while he was backed by goals from Angel Di Maria and Juan Bernat Velasco.

PSG will play the winner of Wednesday's match between Bayern Munich and Lyon.

“We are here to play the final and win it,” Thomas Tuchel said. “We have showed a lot of determination. We deserved to win.

“I felt pressure today before the match, but the players are used to playing under this pressure, they like this pressure. That is football, it is 3-0 but anything can happen. I never relaxed, but how we defended, that is the most important: that mixture between determination, spirit and quality.

“We do this together, football is for the fans, we can feel it when they are with us. They saw a real team.”

The Guardian

Tags: RB Leipzig, Paris Saint-Germain, UEFA Champions League

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Lyon Defeats City 3-1 To Advance To UCL Semifinals

Aug 15, 2020 9:29 PM

Lyon defeated Manchester City 3-1 in their Champions League quarterfinal.

"It is what it is and hopefully one day we'll bridge this gap," Guardiola told BT Sport after a fourth successive failure in the Champions League with City.

"We struggled in the first 25 minutes but in the second half we felt free, we were there and I had the feeling we were better than them but you have to be perfect in this competition and we were not."

Lyon will next play Bayern Munich.

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Tags: Lyon, Manchester City, UEFA Champions League

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Bayern Defeat Barcelona 8-2 To Advance To UCL Semifinals

Aug 15, 2020 8:23 AM

Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 8-2 in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Bayern went up 4-1 after just 30 minutes.

"We've hit rock bottom," Gerard Pique said. "We need to change -- not just players, not just managers. I'm not talking about individuals, I'm talking about structural change. If it will help the club, I'll leave, too. Today was unacceptable. It was a disgrace."

The previous time Barcelona conceded eight goals in an official match came against Sevilla in the Copa del Rey, except it wasn't called that because the king was in exile -- it was the Copa del Generalissimo Francisco Franco. The year was 1946.

Gabriele Marcotti/ESPN

Tags: Barcelona, Bayern Munich, UEFA Champions League

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Leipzig Defeats Atleti 2-1, Advances To UCL Semifinals

Aug 13, 2020 5:43 PM

RB Leipzig has advanced to the Champions League semifinals with a 2-1 win over Atletico Madrid.

Dani Olmo scored the first goal of the match five minutes after halftime while Joao Felix equalized after winning and then converting a penalty in the 71st minute. 

Tyler Adams scored the match winner in the 88th minute for Leipzig. Adams becomes the first U.S. international to score in the Champions League Quarterfinals or later.

Leipzig will play Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday for a spot in the final.

ESPN

Tags: Atletico Madrid, RB Leipzig, UEFA Champions League

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PSG Advances To UCL Semis With Comeback Win Over Atalanta

Aug 12, 2020 8:56 PM

Paris Saint-Germain have advanced to the semifinals of the Champions League with their 2-1 comeback win over Atalanta.

PSG went down 1-0 in the 26th minute, but Marquinhos scored an equalizer in the 90th minute and then Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting scored the match winner.

ESPN

Tags: Atalanta, Paris Saint-Germain, UEFA Champions League

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Juventus Sack Maurizio Sarri As Manager After One Season

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