Sports
Champions League storylines: Arsenal win it all, PSG repeat, or Barca rebound?
The Champions League returns this week and some of the world’s biggest clubs are attempting to dethrone reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain by lifting the European Cup in Budapest, Hungary, next May. Six Premier League teams, Spain‘s heavyweights of Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich will all back themselves to topple PSG, while Italian champions Napoli could be a dangerous outsider.
Matchday one — spread over three days — has thrown up some box office clashes including Bayern Munich against Chelsea, Newcastle at home to Barcelona and City against Napoli. So as club football’s most glamorous and prestigious competition resumes (sorry, FIFA Club World Cup fans), who are the players and clubs to watch out for, and where are the best storylines?
Can PSG go back-to-back and win it again?
The French giants won their first-ever Champions League last season in style, with Luis Enrique’s team recording a record 5-0 victory in the final against Inter Milan in Munich.
The Ligue 1 champions overcame four Premier League teams — Man City, Liverpool, Aston Villa and Arsenal — on their way to the final, and their run to glory saw Ousmane Dembélé put himself in pole position to win the Ballon d’Or, with the winner set to be announced in Paris on Sept. 22. Désiré Doué, Vitinha, João Neves, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi also had outstanding seasons for Enrique’s team and their Champions League success sparked a debate about whether they could now have a period of dominance similar to those of Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent years.
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So, could they do it? PSG are largely unchanged from last season, although Gianluigi Donnarumma‘s move to Man City following the signing of Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier means a significant change of personnel. With a world-class coach and so many players at the top of their game, PSG are the team to beat and they have what it takes to go all the way again.
Is this Arsenal’s time?
With PSG ending their wait to become European champions last season, Arsenal are now arguably the biggest club who are still without a first Champions League title.
Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta said after last season’s semifinal exit against PSG that his team were the best in the competition, despite the defeat, and Arsenal have strengthened significantly during the summer. The addition of Viktor Gyökeres, Martín Zubimendi, Noni Madueke, Eberechi Eze and others means there are no more excuses now for Arsenal and Arteta in both the Premier League and Champions League.
Arteta’s side start their campaign away to Athletic Club on Tuesday, which is a chance to make an instant statement that this can finally be their year. They have the quality and the depth, as well as the motivation of going so close last year; expect them to mount a serious challenge.
Can Napoli end Italy‘s long wait for glory?
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Marcotti: Højlund a ‘better version’ at Napoli than Man United
Gab Marcotti reacts to Rasmus Højlund’s debut goal for Napoli after joining on loan from Manchester United.
Only Spain (20) and England (15) have won more European Cups / Champions Leagues than Italy’s 12, but Serie A has not been able to lay claim to the European champions since Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan beat Bayern Munich in the 2010 final.
Inter and Juventus have both lost twice in the final that 2010 success and although the two clubs are once again in the Champions League this season, Italy’s best chance of providing a winner is likely to come from Napoli. Antonio Conte’s team won the Scudetto last season, inspired by the goals of Romelu Lukaku and Scott McTominay, and they added the experience of Kevin De Bruyne — a Champions League winner with Manchester City in 2023 — during the summer.
Napoli’s matchday one clash with City at the Etihad will give us an early insight into their prospects of challenging to win the competition, but they have the firepower and the experience to go all the way and end Italy’s lengthy wait for success.
Can anyone stop Barcelona?
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Flick fumes at Spain’s use of Yamal after injury setback for Barcelona
Hansi Flick speaks about Lamine Yamal’s injury after returning from international duty with Spain.
If attacking threat was the key to winning the Champions League, Barcelona would be the clear favorites this time around. Hansi Flick’s team has the prodigious talent of Lamine Yamal, the seasoned goalscoring experience of Robert Lewandowski and the tricky pace of Raphinha, who topped the goals (13) and assists (8) charts in last season’s competition.
With Marcus Rashford, Ferran Torres and Swedish teenager Roony Bardghji also in his squad, Flick arguably has more potential goal- scorers than any other team. But as last season’s 7-6 aggregate semifinal defeat against Inter showed, it is Barcelona’s weakness at the back that gives opponents hope.
Only Slovan Bratislava, Salzburg and Feyenoord conceded more than the 24 goals that Barcelona let in last season — champions PSG conceded only 15 goals. But with the pain of last season likely to focus Barcelona minds, combined with the return to Camp Nou after two seasons at Montjuic, Barca have the squad to win the Champions League for the first time since 2015.
Will Alonso, Slot or Kompany strike for the new coaching generation?
If you want to win a Champions League, it usually helps to have a coach who has won it before or already reached a final.
The past four Champions Leagues have been won by coaches who had already lifted the ultimate prize: Carlo Ancelotti (Real Madrid, 2022, 2024), Pep Guardiola (Man City, 2023) and Luis Enrique (PSG, 2025). And when Thomas Tuchel (Chelsea, 2021) and Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool, 2019) lifted their first European Cup, both had already suffered defeats in previous finals.
Hansi Flick, with Bayern in 2020, is the only first-time winner with no previous experience of a final since Zinedine Zidane guiding Real to the first of three successive titles in 2016. Enrique and Guardiola will both expect to go deep in this season’s competition with PSG and City respectively, but could a new coach break the mold and go all the way without previous final experience this year?
Xabi Alonso at Real and Liverpool’s Arne Slot could both tick that box, while Bayern Munich will expect Vincent Kompany to take the Bundesliga champions all the way. Antonio Conte (Napoli), Mikel Arteta (Arsenal) and Enzo Maresca (Chelsea) will all harbor hopes of success too, meaning the old guard may have to make way for a new name this season.
Who has the best chances from England’s “big six” participants?
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Nicol doesn’t care if Mohamed Salah is just a goal scorer
Steve Nicol defends Mohamed Salah from criticisms of his overall play after scoring a last-minute penalty to Liverpool’s win over Burnley.
The Premier League is over-represented in this season’s competition due to the success of its clubs taking its maximum allocation of four slots to six due to Tottenham winning the Europa League and England topping UEFA’s co-efficient table. Liverpool, Arsenal, Man City, Chelsea and Newcastle make up England’s six-pack, but despite the strength of the Premier League, it hasn’t provided a Champions League finalist for the past two seasons.
With such a heavyweight contingent this time around, it seems inevitable that at least one English club will make it to the final, and we could even see an all-English final for the first time since Chelsea beat City in Porto in 2021.
Six-time Champions League winners Liverpool are England’s strongest contender and their pedigree in the competition makes them a formidable prospect, but Arsenal are strong and Chelsea have developed a knack of winning major trophies. City seem to be in a period of transition, but they still have Pep Guardiola and the goals of Erling Haaland, and Spurs now know what it takes win silverware after last season’s Europa League success.
With Newcastle also in the mix, it projects to a Premier League-heavy competition when we reach the knockout stages in 2026.
Who are the dangerous outsiders?
It’s been a while since a team from outside Europe’s major leagues won the Champions League — Jose Mourinho’s Porto in 2004 were the last to do so — and it is tough to envisage that changing this season. The best hope of a shock is one of the less-fancied teams from England, Germany, Spain, Italy or France going far in the competition and maybe even reaching the final.
Monaco could be worth a watch with both Paul Pogba and Ansu Fati attempting to reignite their careers with the Ligue 1 side, while Eintracht Frankfurt have shown an incredible ability to find new players to replace departed stars. Can they do it again after the exits of Omar Marmoush and Hugo Ekitike this year?
Villarreal have twice reached the semifinals, losing to Arsenal in 2006 and Liverpool in 2022, while Athletic Club went close in last season’s Europa League before being knocked out by Manchester United. Club Brugge were a surprise package in last season’s competition, while Olympiacos ended Greece’s wait for a European trophy by winning the Conference League in 2024.
If any of the above can reach the final, it would be a major surprise.
Don’t forget the fairytale stories
The Champions League is rarely about the minnows. It is the competition that is dominated by — and won by — the world’s biggest and richest clubs. But every season throws up a shock and a team that has reached the League Stage the hard way by ploughing through the qualifying rounds.
Moldova’s Sheriff Tiraspol pulled off a massive shock by beating Real Madrid 2-1 in the Santiago Bernabeu in Sept 2021, while Rubin Kazan (Barcelona 2009), Young Boys (Man United, 2021) and Maccabi Haifa (Juventus, 2022) have also delivered major upsets in the early stages of the Champions League. Pafos FC (Cyprus), Qarabag FK (Azerbaijan), Bodo / Glimt (Norway) and Kairat Almaty (Kazakhstan) have all made it to the League Stage and their ambition will be to claim at least one victory despite being rank outsiders.
Keep an eye on Bayern Munich’s trip to Pafos this week and Kairat’s home game against Real Madrid on matchday two as potential upsets.
Kylian Mbappé added his name to another line in the record books Saturday, tying Cristiano Ronaldo for the most goals by a Real Madrid player in a calendar year.
The milestone was about to escape the France striker until he converted a penalty kick with four minutes left to complete a 2-0 win over 10-man Sevilla in Madrid’s final game of the year.
He marked the achievement, which came on his 27th birthday, with a subdued version of Ronaldo’s trademark “Siu” goal celebration before blowing a kiss at the television cameras.
“A special day,” Mbappé said. “We won the game, which was important — that was the objective. With the record, it’s incredible in my first year doing what Cristiano did, the best player in Real Madrid’s history, a role model in world football.
“It’s an honor for me. He’s always been affectionate to me, talking to me about Madrid and how to adapt. I’m very happy now to score goals for Real Madrid.
“[The celebration] was for him. I have my own usually, but I wanted to share it with him today. He was my idol as a kid, I have a good relationship with him, and he’s my friend now.”
The former Paris Saint-Germain star, who joined Madrid in summer 2024, has scored 29 times for Madrid this season, putting him into a tie with Bayern Munich‘s Harry Kane for most goals by a player from a club in Europe’s top five leagues.
“I congratulate him, and I encourage him to start 2026 well,” Madrid boss Xabi Alonso said of Mbappé, who also has a LaLiga-leading 18 goals this season.
Jude Bellingham scored with a header in the 38th minute to give Madrid the lead on Saturday before Sevilla lost defender Marcão to a second booking for rash tackles with 20 minutes left.
The result was still in doubt until Mbappé converted his spot kick after Juanlu fouled Rodrygo in the area.
The win will do little to ease the pressure on Alonso, with the team underperforming despite three consecutive wins this week.
“We know the moment we’re in,” Alonso said. “We’re demanding and self-critical to play better, we know this isn’t our level and we want to improve. … The priority was to win, but obviously some things didn’t go as we wanted.”
Madrid sit a point behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona ahead of the Catalan club’s match with Villarreal on Sunday.
Information from ESPN’s Alex Kirkland, ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.
For someone who scores so many goals, Manchester City striker Erling Haaland is not usually the most enthusiastic when it comes to celebrating them.
There has been the odd exception, such as when he marks hitting the back of the net by adopting the lotus position and appearing to enter a Zen state while sitting cross-legged on the field. But for the most part, the Norway international is an understated character who is happy to let his football do the talking for him.
Erling Haaland. That is all. 🤖 pic.twitter.com/Jp0bMFAP3I
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) December 20, 2025
However, recently he has revived a classic goal celebration to add to his repertoire: The Robot.
He hit the celebration in the 3-1 win over Bournemouth on Nov. 2, and he doubled down on Saturday when he scored the opener in the 3-0 win over West Ham United.
The celebration’s most famous foray from the breakdance mat to the football pitch came in 2006, when England striker Peter Crouch performed it in a pre-FIFA World Cup friendly win over Jamaica. It became his trademark, and Prince William even once asked Crouch to hit the move when the future king visited England’s training ground.
Crouch is keen to remind everyone who the true robo-GOAT is. After that Bournemouth game, the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur forward posted on social media: “I walked so they could run.”
Now, Haaland has picked up the mantle. Given his remorseless quest for goals is like that of The Terminator, it seems rather fitting.
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Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. Arizona Wildcats: Game Highlights
Abilene Christian Wildcats vs. Arizona Wildcats: Game Highlights
We’re changing the formula for this season’s monthly rankings of men’s college basketball power conferences. Instead of measuring only the projected number of NCAA tournament bids and seeding, our ranking is based on a single question: Which conference is most likely to produce the 2026 national champion?
Hint: It’s a close race between the Big Ten and Big 12 for the top spot in the December edition.
Note: “Current bids” represents the number of teams from each conference in the latest Bracketology. “Projected bids” represents the number of bids we forecast a conference could have on Selection Sunday.
5. Big East
November rank: 4
Current bids: 4 (-1 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 3
Average seed: 6.8
Championship caliber: UConn is even better than we projected heading into the season. St. John’s isn’t, at least not yet. And the aggregate Big East picture is less than promising. It’s conceivable that only the Huskies and Red Storm make the NCAA tournament, which would net the conference’s lowest bid total yet.
Joey Brackets says: The modern Big East has officially evolved from a conference carried by Villanova to one carried by UConn. That boosts the conference’s profile when the Huskies reach the first Monday of April but doesn’t change its footprint on Selection Sunday. Seton Hall‘s pleasant emergence isn’t enough to make up for lackluster nonconference slates for Nova, Creighton, Xavier and Providence. And this will be the last time Marquette is mentioned for a long while.
Game of the year: UConn at St. John’s on Feb. 6 (8 p.m. ET)
4. ACC
November rank: 5
Current bids: 8 (+3 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 8
Average seed: 5.9
Championship caliber: Duke remains the most obvious national championship contender, but soon-to-be-healthy archrival North Carolina has joined Louisville among ACC teams with Final Four potential. We also like Virginia as a sleeper.
Joey Brackets says: The ACC bounce-back is real. Any projection in which the conference doubles its NCAA output from a season ago will be received happily by anyone who felt slighted by pundits like yours truly the past several seasons.
Game of the year: Duke at Louisville on Jan. 6 (7 p.m. ET)
3. SEC
November rank: 2
Current bids: 9 (-2 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 9
Average seed: 5.3
Championship caliber: Unlike a season ago, when the SEC would have been hard-pressed to not produce the national champion, there is no certain title contender in an otherwise deep and ferocious conference. It boasts both quality and quantity, just not at the same elite level as 2024-25.
Joey Brackets says: The lower probability of generating a champion doesn’t mean there aren’t a half-dozen SEC teams that could make the Final Four, including we-should-have-seen-it-coming Vanderbilt. There just isn’t a clear favorite or even a “probable” to do the deed, akin to the position the Big Ten has been in on multiple occasions over the past few seasons.
Game of the year: Alabama at Vanderbilt on Jan. 7 (9 p.m. ET)
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Highlight: No. 13 Vanderbilt stuns Memphis in overtime thriller
Duke Miles powers the offense with 22 points and Tyler Tanner puts up 16 as the Commodores outlast the Tigers in overtime to secure the 77-70 victory.
2. Big Ten
November rank: 1
Current bids: 10 (-1 from Nov.)
Projected bids: 10
Average seed: 5.3
Championship caliber: If we sent the top two Big Ten teams (Michigan and Purdue) and the top two Big 12 teams (Arizona and Iowa State) to the Final Four right now, would anyone outside of Durham or Storrs complain? Put another way: If someone wants to give me those four against the field, I’m all ears.
Joey Brackets says: I won’t victory lap my preseason national champion prediction of Michigan for at least another month, but the margin between the Big Ten and Big 12 for the No. 1 spot in this month’s ranking is razor thin. The Big Ten loses out ever so slightly because it has a worse (and larger) bottom. I also can’t get Iowa State’s 81-58 thrashing of Purdue at Mackey Arena out of my mind.
Game of the year: Michigan at Purdue on Feb. 17 (6:30 p.m. ET)
1. Big 12
November rank: 3
Current bids: 9 (8 in Nov.)
Projected bids: 9
Average seed: 5.2
Championship caliber: The Big 12 currently holds two projected No. 1 seeds (Arizona and Iowa State) and a No. 2 seed (BYU). And that’s without mentioning Houston — a preseason 1-seed by acclamation and losers of just a single one-possession game to date — or Kansas, which has collected a staggering 11 top seeds under Bill Self. In other words: The Big 12 is loaded.
Joey Brackets says: Prior to the SEC’s record-setting storm a season ago, the Big 12 was the No. 1 conference on KenPom for three straight seasons and nine of the past 11. It is on track to regain the top spot in 2026.
Game of the year: Iowa State at Arizona on March 2 (9 p.m. ET)
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