Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen, Chelsea v PSG: Champions League last 16 – live | Champions League
Key events
Half-time/full-time† Postbag. “So that’s it for Bodø/Glimt then, schooled by a better team, when their own attackers fell into the same trap as the Sporting strikers did in Bodø and the pressing up front fell apart. Question is, do I bother enduring Liverpool 1 Galatasaray 3 tomorrow, or do I just cancel my relevant TV subscription right away tonight?” – Jan Egil Romestrand
“The partisanship of some of the English commentators on the Chelsea v PSG game is utterly ludicrous. Barcola got absolutely no credit for a beautiful finish with all the focus being on how bad Chelsea’s defending was. I mean, it was bad but surely a bit of appreciation is due to a wonderful football team” – Stephen McCrossan
“What a stunner from Eze! An excellent purchase by Arsenal who are potentially on their way to an unprecedented double. The only drawback is that progress in the Champions League might hamper their Premier League aspirations. But the vibe is positive, augmented by the explosion of the teenage sensation Dowman” – Colum Fordham
“The Arsenal–Leverkusen game seems to be developing in ways pleasing to the home fans. The mixture much the same as before, with the bonus of Saka looking a bit more lively and even taking on his man down the side once or twice. You can imagine Miles Lewis Skelly looking on rather glumly as Piero Hincapie continues to channel dear old Ashley Cole at the back. Generally solid in all other departments. More, please, in the second half” – Charles Antaki
“I’m happy for Sporting’s Luis Suarez. Think about how many times the man has had to say: ‘Not the one that bites people’ ” – Zach Neeley
†: Forward slash in today’s Postbag heading courtesy of / a homage to ill-fated heroes Bodø/Glimt
HALF TIME: Chelsea 0-2 PSG (agg 2-7)
Chelsea depart to boos. This huddle doesn’t seem to be working out, does it?
HALF TIME: Arsenal 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 2-1)
Eberechi Eze the difference-maker with an absolute pearler. Leverkusen have shown very little in attack, and unless they get a wriggle on in the second half, Arsenal are sauntering stylishly into the quarter-finals, where they’re slated to meet Sporting Club of Lisbon.
Chelsea 0-2 PSG (agg 2-7). Chelsea are pressing for something before the break. Jorrel Hato’s header is clawed out by Matvei Safonov for a corner … from which PSG nearly score. Bradley Barcola races up the right wing on the counter, enters the box, and tries to poke into the bottom right. Robert Sanchez spreads himself to block, and nothing comes of the resulting corner. That would have put the tin lid on Chelsea’s nightmare first half.
Arsenal 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 2-1). Gyokeres is skittled to the right of the Bayer D. The free kick’s worked right to left, but Rice can’t find Gyokeres with his cross. Arsenal well on top.
Arsenal 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 2-1). Trossard gave Eze the pass down the channel there. He’s been superb tonight, too. But what about Eze? Shades of Thierry Henry about the turn and whipped finish, the perfect mix of precision, poise and power. You’ll be seeing that goal again, once or twice.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Bayer Leverkusen (Eze 36); agg 2-1
Janis Blaswich has made some amazing saves, but he’s not stopping this one! A ball down the inside-left channel. Eze, facing the wrong way, spins to his right, swivels, and launches a screamer into the top left from 25 yards! That’s an outrageously good way to open your Champions League goal account!
Chelsea 0-2 PSG (agg 2-7). Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has the ball in the bottom-right corner of the Chelsea goal again … but the one-two that set up the shot was with an offside Bradley Barcola. The pair enjoy a joke despite it all. Or because of it, depending on which way you look at it.
Arsenal 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 1-1). Leverkusen are beginning to make mistakes, and here’s another from Aleix García, who clanks a simple pass out of play for an Arsenal corner. Saka goes short, back up the flank. Eze rolls infield for Trossard, who pearls another shot through a crowded box. Janis Blaswich parries, and the rebound disappears into a tangle of legs. Heroic work by Jarell Quansah, who somehow retains possession despite having fallen over, keeping his leg pressed over the ball. Blaswich eventually snaffles.
Arsenal 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 1-1). Alejandro Grimaldo and Aleix García confuse each other near the centre circle, allowing Bukayo Saka to advance on the penalty box and shoot for the top right. Janis Blaswich saves. Then Blaswich makes an even more outrageous stop, Leandro Trossard creaming a shot through a crowded box towards the bottom right, the keeper sticking out a leg to somehow deflect the ball across the face of goal and out to the left. Arsenal well on top now, and looking good for the opener soon.
Chelsea 0-2 PSG (agg 2-7). Thing is, Chelsea have enjoyed 58 percent of possession so far. So much for the benefits of respecting the ball.
FULL TIME: Sporting 5-0 Bodø/Glimt (aet; 3-0 after 90 mins, agg 5-3)
Sporting celebrate one of the great European comebacks! Bodø/Glimt will always have San Siro.
GOAL! Sporting 5-0 Bodø/Glimt (Nel 120+1); agg: 5-3
Daniel Bragança steals the ball off a dozing/knackered Patrick Berg, 30 yards out. He feeds Rafael Nel down the right channel. Nel enters the box and absolutely roofs a shot into the top right, before disappearing under a pile of team-mates. Sporting have been magic tonight; poor Bodø/Glimt, whose romantic tale has ended in heartbreak.
Arsenal 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 1-1). Leandro Trossard tries a curler towards the top right. He doesn’t quite catch it, and Janis Blaswich is able to claw it out and away. But that’s a first shot across the Bayer bow.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-2 PSG (Barcola 14); agg 2-7
Chelsea ship possession in the centre circle. PSG advance down the right, Warren Zaïre-Emery shuttling wide for Achraf Hakimi, who rolls infield for Bradley Barcola. One touch and a snapshot that rises towards the top-left corner and in. This could get ugly quickly. Chelsea already in damage limitation, reputation saving mode.
Arsenal 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 1-1). A relatively quiet start at the Emirates, but Arsenal are beginning to get on top. Slowly but surely.
Sporting 4-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg 4-3). Sporting have something to lose now, and with time running out, are sitting back. Inviting pressure. A Bodø/Glimt corner comes in from the left. Andreas Helmersen loops a header towards the top right but there’s not enough pace on the effort to beat Rui Silva, who plucks from the air. Sporting are five minutes plus stoppages away from the quarters.
Chelsea 0-1 PSG (agg 2-6). Enzo Fernández advances down the left and wins a corner with a deflected shot. The set piece leads to some head tennis, and then Enzo Fernández nuts goalwards … only for the ball to clank off the back of keeper Matvei Safonov, who was all over the shop, facing the wrong way, spinning like a teenager on Special Brew. Then the whistle goes for a non-existent foul to release the pressure on the champions.
GOAL! Chelsea 0-1 PSG (Kvaratskhelia 6); agg 2-6
A speculative long pass down the PSG left. Mamadou Sarr misjudges the flight, letting the ball hit his heel. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia zips off with it, enters the box, and flashes a shot across Robert Sánchez and into the bottom right. A very difficult task has become almost impossible for Chelsea, and that didn’t take long.
Sporting 4-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 4-3). Nothing much happening in Lisbon.
Chelsea 0-0 PSG (agg 2-5). The visitors have settled quickly at Stamford Bridge, too.
Arsenal 0-0 Bayer Leverkusen (agg 1-1). The visitors start confidently. Exequiel Palacios crosses from the right, forcing William Saliba into the concession of the night’s first, but not, I’ll be bound, the last corner. The hosts clear without fuss, but the Germans seem to have settled quickly.
EXTRA TIME, HALF TIME: Sporting 4-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 4-3)
One step closer to knowing who Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen will face in the quarters.
Chelsea v PSG. The Slovene referee Slavko Vinčić has not got himself trapped in the middle of the Chelsea huddle. So that’s a good start at the Bridge.
The teams are out at both the Emirates and Stamford Bridge. Arsenal in red, Bayer in blue, Chelsea in blue, PSG in red. That won’t be at all confusing as I attempt to follow both matches at once. Anyway, Zadok the Priest does his thing, and we’ll be off any moment now.
Sporting 4-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 4-3). Bodø/Glimt are unsurprisingly down on themselves right now. On the one hand, Sporting thoroughly deserve their reward tonight: they’ve been magnificent, piling on the pressure until the visitors capitulated. But on the other, the penalty decision that led to the equaliser was a generous one: Fredrik André Bjørkan was standing very close to Iván Fresneda as he crossed, and the ball brushed his stomach nanoseconds beforehand as well. “When was that ever a penalty, even during these new, ridiculous handball rules?” sighs Øivind Idsø, before signing off with an unambiguous emoticon.
🙁
GOAL! Sporting 4-0 Bodø/Glimt (Araújo 92); agg: 4-3
It doesn’t look like it. Geny Catamo rolls a pass down the left for Daniel Bragança, who pulls back to Francisco Trincão. The ball’s laid off to Maximiliano Araújo, who flippers a first-time shot into the bottom left from 12 yards. Lovely move, crisp finish, comeback complete, a sickener for the Norwegians.
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). The game restarts at the Estádio José Alvalade in Lisbon. Will Sporting complete their comeback, or can the minnows turn the momentum back in their favour, just as Galatasaray did against Juventus last month?
A reminder of how the first legs panned out.
Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta has a chat with TNT Sports. “We pick the team which we think is right to start … it is a long game … you have to put everything into every action from the first moment … make something special out of it … individual performances.”
Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior talks to TNT Sports. “It needs to be near-perfect, but we are capable … I have seen the lads do it in the summer … score three goals against this team … we don’t want to make the mistakes that we made in the first leg.”
FULL TIME: Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3)
Extra time it is!
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). A rare chance for Bodø/Glimt to cause some bother, as a free kick’s won out on the left. But Patrick Berg’s delivery isn’t all that, a floater that’s easy for Rui Silva to claim. Sporting go up the other end, Nuno Santos crossing from the left. Another easy one for the keeper, and upon catching the ball, Nikita Haikin takes the opportunity to roll about a bit, eating up some of that clock. They might just make it to extra time after all.
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). The clock moves into additional time. There will be five extra minutes. Anyone for a winner, and with it the right to face either Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen in the quarter-finals?
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). Another Sporting corner is only half cleared. It drops to Nuno Santos again, but there’s no chance of a shot this time. Instead he drifts wide left and crosses, finding the head of Morten Hjulmand, who flaps a weak header straight at the keeper. Three minutes plus stoppages before extra time and maybe penalties.
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). This match has been played in Bodø/Glimt’s final third for the majority of this half. And the pressure is being turned up even further. A corner’s half-cleared. Nuno Santos meets it by the left-hand side of the D, and pings a peach of a daisycutter off the base of the right-hand post! Nikita Haikin beaten all ends up. Then the rebound falls to Geny Catamo, who hoicks over from 12 yards. This is intense!
Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 3-3). Sporting’s tails are up all right. Luis Suárez threads a shot towards the bottom left from a tight angle. Then Francisco Trincão pearls a rising drive goalwards from 25 yards. He’s really caught it. Nikita Haikin tips over acrobatically. Nine minutes to go, and the Norwegian minnows, the choice of every romantic, are desperate to hear the final whistle, so they can regroup before extra time. But will they get the chance?
GOAL! Sporting 3-0 Bodø/Glimt (Suarez 78); agg: 3-3
Luis Suárez thrashes the penalty low and left, having sent Nikita Haikin the wrong way! Sporting are level, Bodø/Glimt are livid. They’ll have to clear their heads and quick, because they’ve been on the ropes, and Sporting’s tails are up!
Sporting 2-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 2-3). VAR calls the ref over to the screen. He decides Fredrik André Bjørkan’s arm was in an unnatural position, away from the body, so draws the TV screen and points to the spot!
Sporting 2-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 2-3). A big penalty shout as Iván Fresneda wedges a cross in from the right. The ball hits Fredrik André Bjørkan’s hand. VAR is going to take a look. Bjørkan’s arm was sticking out, so that’s not good for the Norwegians … but proximity might save them.
Sporting 2-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 2-3). The rain is pelting down in Lisbon. That’s making for some fast play, and the direction of travel is all towards the Bodø/Glimt goal. Sporting have been hogging the ball: 75 percent possession in the last five minutes. The Norwegians are hanging on a bit here.
Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen. Arsenal make two changes to their starting line-up in Leverkusen. Ben White comes in at right-back for the injured Jurriën Timber, while Leandro Trossard replaces the benched Gabriel Martinelli. Kasper Hjulmand names the same starting XI.
GOAL! Sporting 2-0 Bodø/Glimt (Gonçalves 61); agg: 2-3
The comeback’s definitely on now! Geny Catamo sprays a lovely ball down the right wing for Luis Suárez, who delivers an inch-perfect low cross into the middle. Pedro Gonçalves, steaming down the inside-left channel, doesn’t need to break stride before blasting home from 12 yards. Lovely sweeping move!
Chelsea v Paris-Saint Germain. Chelsea make three changes following the 5-2 loss in Paris last week. Andrey Santos, Mamadou Sarr and Jorrel Hato are in; Wesley Fofana drops to the bench, Malo Gusto is ill and Reece James is hamstrung. PSG make just one change from last week. Kvicha Kvaratskhelia replaces Desire Doue, who drops to the bench.
Arsenal v Bayer Leverkusen teams
Arsenal: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Zubimendi, Rice, Saka, Eze, Trossard, Gyokeres.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Ranson, Mosquera, Gabriel Jesus, Martinelli, Norgaard, Madueke, Havertz, Calafiori, Lewis-Skelly, Dowman.
Bayer Leverkusen: Blaswich, Quansah, Andrich, Tapsoba, Terrier, Palacios, Garcia, Grimaldo, Maza, Poku, Kofane.
Subs: Omlin, Lomb, Fernandez, Hofmann, Tillman, Schick, Oermann, Tape, Culbreath.
Sporting 1-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 1-3). The Norwegian underdogs look a bit sharper in this second half. They’re enjoying more possession – they only had 37 percent of it in the first period – and throwing more men forward. A goal would send Sporting back to square one and surely knock out their stuffing. Sondre Brunstad Fet tries to thread a shot into the bottom left, but Rui Silva is behind it all the way.
Chelsea v Paris Saint-Germain teams
Chelsea: Sanchez, Hato, Sarr, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Santos, Palmer, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro.
Subs: Sharman-Lowe, Merrick, Adarabioyo, Delap, Fofana, Acheampong, Guiu, Estevao, Lavia, Garnacho, Mheuka, Kavuma-McQueen.
Paris Saint-Germain: Safonov, Hakimi, Marquinhos, Pacho, Nuno Mendes, Zaire Emery, Vitinha, Neves, Dembele, Barcola, Kvaratskhelia.
Subs: Chevalier, Marin, Lucas Beraldo, Zabarnyi, Goncalo Ramos, Doue, Lee, Hernandez, Mayulu, Fernandez, Mbaye.
Sporting 1-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 1-3). An early blow in the second half for Sporting. Morten Hjulmand cynically drags back Ole Didrik Blomberg, and goes into the book. That means the Sporting captain would miss the first leg of the quarter final if he and his side complete the comeback.
HALF TIME: Sporting 1-0 Bodø/Glimt (agg: 1-3)
This edition of Clocko begins as the first half in Lisbon finishes … and the comeback is on! Sporting Clube de Portugal have made it a third of the way back towards equality, Gonçalo Inácio flashing in a header from a right-wing corner on 34 minutes. The home side should have already been leading, truth be told, but Francisco Trincão had earlier sent a header over the bar from point-blank range and missed a one-on-one with Bodø/Glimt keeper Nikita Haikin. The Norwegians have come close to scoring on two occasions themselves: Patrick Berg dragged wide, a miserable end to a swashbuckling counter attack, then Odin Bjørtuft saw a header ping off the crossbar, up and down and onto the crossbar again, then away. It’s been open and fun, and the second half should see some nerves jangle, one way or another.
Sporting v Bodø/Glimt teams
Sporting: Rui Silva, Fresneda, Quaresma, Inacio, Araujo, Hjulmand, Morita, Catamo, Trincao, Pedro Goncalves, Suarez.
Subs: Virginia, Callai, Debast, Nuno Santos, Vagiannidis, Faye, Braganca, Simoes, Couto, Nel, Diomande, Flavio Goncalves.
Bodø/Glimt: Haikin, Sjovold, Bjortuft, Gundersen, Bjorkan, Evjen, Berg, Fet, Blomberg, Hogh, Hauge.
Subs: Lund, Nielsen, Aleesami, Auklend, Saltnes, Helmersen, Klynge, Riisnaes, Bassi, Maatta, Mikkelsen, Sjong.
Preamble
Arsenal and Chelsea both go into Champions League battle at 8pm GMT this evening. It’s fair to say the former has more chance of making the quarter-finals than the latter, but teams have come back from three goals down in the past – Deportivo La Coruña v Milan in 2004, Roma v Barcelona in 2018, Andy Robertson clipping Lionel Messi around the lug in 2019 – so let’s rule nothing out.
There’s also an early kick-off in the shape of …
… to which the aforementioned three-goal-comeback observation also applies. We’ll get up to speed with that immediately, so let’s not hang about.
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