Paris Saint-Germain took their revenge as they reached the semi-finals of the Champions League at the expense of last year s winners Bayern Munich, losing 1-0 on the night but sneaking through on away goals.

A dazzling first-half performance from Neymar could have seen the Brazilian score a hat-trick for PSG before the break, but for brilliance from goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and two shots against the Bayern woodwork.

It therefore became worrying for the hosts, who were beaten by Bayern in the 2019-20 final, when Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting nudged the visitors ahead at the Parc des Princes and back to 3-3 on aggregate in the 40th minute.

But Bayern were without their injured talisman Robert Lewandowski and head coach Hansi Flick could have used his immense goal thr…

Pep Guardiola expressed gratitude to Didier Deschamps for picking the best left-sided central defender in Europe after Aymeric Laporte finally received a France call-up.

Les Bleus boss Deschamps ended the uncapped Manchester City defender s lengthy exile by naming him in the squad to face Albania and Andorra in Euro 2020 qualifying.

The uncapped 25-year-old has had to be extremely patient for international opportunities despite his consistently excellent displays at the heart of City s defence.

Laporte s performances have forced Guardiola to revise his opinion of the former Athletic Bilbao player, a day after Liverpool counterpart Virgil van Dijk was crowned UEFA Men s Player of the Year.

It was a mistake when I said he is one of the best – for me he…

Market: Both teams to score

Odds: 3/5 @

In what is a real showdown at the top of the Chinese Super League table, Shanghai Port will welcome Chengdu Rongcheng to the Pudong Stadium on Wednesday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, making real history last season as they got their hands on a second Super League crown, Shanghai are in the midst of another astonishing domestic romp. Last seen over the weekend picking up an action-packed 5-3 victory away at Qingdao West Coast, Kevin Muscat’s men are certainly firing on all cylinders. Tipped as a leading contender to defend their Chinese title in 2024, the former Melbourne Victory boss has not seen his squad suffer a single defeat from any of their previous 11 appearances across all competitions. In fact, winning all…

Pedri would not have rejected Real Madrid had they offered him a contract as a youngster but is glad to have chosen Barcelona and have the chance to learn from Lionel Messi.

The 19-year-old landed the Kopa Trophy last month, awarded to the best player under the age of 21, following an incredible rise to prominence over the past year.

Pedri made his senior bow for Barcelona in September 2020 and has gone on to make 56 first-team appearances, 52 of those coming last season – the most of any Barca player.

He has also featured 10 times for Spain this year and played a big part in La Roja s run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, becoming the youngest player to represent his country at a major tournament and finishing the competition with more passes completed in the fin…

Wilfried Bony came off the bench to inspire Swansea City to a 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Birmingham City on Saturday.

Lee Novak gave the hosts the lead with a headed effort 15 minutes in as Swansea struggled to find their feet at St Andrew s, but the introduction of Bony at half-time proved pivotal.

The striker scored twice in in the space of two second-half minutes to stage a comeback that looked unlikely in the opening period and send Swansea into the next round of the competition.

The result sees Swansea in the hat for the fifth-round draw for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Lee Clark handed a debut to loan signing Albert Rusnak as he made five changes to the side that lost 2-0 at home to Yeovil Town last weekend, while Michael Laudrup recal…

Barcelona head coach Xavi remains relaxed over his contract extension, which is expected to be officially announced soon as he stays focused on the team producing the required results.

Xavi is determined the renewal of his deal through until 2025 will not distract from a key run of games which start at home to Real Betis on Saturday and also feature the beginning of the Champions League campaign against Antwerp.

“I spoke about it with Deco, with the president. It’s about achieving success, titles, not long contracts,” Xavi told a press conference.

“I will never be a problem for the club. When we see that my continuity is not the right decision, I will step aside.

“I am very excited and the project remains very relevant. My contract extension wil…

Aaron Ramsey, Santi Cazorla and Gedion Zelalem have all signed new contracts with Premier League title-chasers Arsenal.

The trio s fresh deals were all announced by the club on Tuesday, with manager Arsene Wenger expressing his delight.

We are very pleased that Santi Cazorla, Aaron Ramsey and Gedion Zelalem have committed their futures to the club, Wenger told Arsenal s official website.

Cazorla and Ramsey are absolutely key players for us, and this news is a boost to the whole club.

Gedion is very young of course, but he has shown already that he has fantastic promise, and we all look forward to his development with us.

Ramsey, who joined Arsenal from Cardiff City in 2008, had been displaying the best form of his career prior to picking up a thigh injury …

Brendan Rodgers has stressed that Celtic’s unbreakable spirit can help them defy the odds in the Champions League.

Rodgers admitted his side have not been at their best so far this season and they have ongoing issues in central defence ahead of Tuesday’s Group E opener against Feyenoord in Rotterdam.

Nat Phillips is a doubt with an ankle issue, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh are all ruled out, leaving Liam Scales and recent signing Gustaf Lagerbielke as the only two definite options for Rodgers.

Celtic are the group outsiders behind Atletico Madrid, Lazio and the Dutch champions but Rodgers is targeting progression of some sort and possibly in the Champions League.

Stadion Feijenoord | |

— Celtic Football C…

Germany captain Philipp Lahm leads his country into next month s FIFA World Cup determined to avoid another near-miss.

The three-time winners have finished third at each of the last two World Cups and progressed to the final in 2002, only to lose to Brazil.

Further disappointment has come in the UEFA European Championships, where Germany lost the 2008 showpiece to Spain before succumbing to Italy in the last four in 2012.

Defender Lahm is weary of suffering disappointment in the latter stages of major tournaments, and is keen to ensure that Germany will be lifting the famous World Cup trophy in Brazil on July 13.

I do not want to go out in the semi-finals again or visit Brazil to soak up the sun, he told Bild.

I have a clear goal, to achieve the biggest pos…

Luke Shaw appeared to suggest he finds greater enjoyment in his football when playing for England than Manchester United. 

Shaw scored the Three Lions equaliser in Saturday s 2-1 friendly win over Switzerland, which was secured by a second-half Harry Kane penalty. 

That was Shaw s sixth goal involvement in his past eight matches for England, with the left-back seemingly established as first choice for Gareth Southgate. 

He remains a reliable creative source at club level as well, with his five assists across all competitions in 2021-22 bettered by only Paul Pogba (nine) and Bruno Fernandes (13), while the latter (107) is also the only United player to create more chances than Shaw (47). 

But much like club and international colleague Harry Maguire, …