LIVERPOOL, England — In the end, Liverpool‘s latest European odyssey ended not with a bang, but with a whimper.

The second leg of the Reds’ UEFA Champions League quarterfinal tie with Paris Saint-Germain had all the ingredients to be a European classic, and in many ways it delivered. The Anfield crowd was at its vicious, vociferous best as momentum swung between two sides capable, to varying degrees, of genuine excellence. Liverpool — who for much of this term have looked a pale imitation of the side that romped to last season’s Premier League title — ran and slid and pumped their fists as they sought to overturn a daunting 2-0 first-leg deficit.

But, just as they were at the Parc des Princes last week, PSG were simply too good. The European champions were made to suffer at times on Tuesday night, but they held their nerve. And when chances arose to underscore their dominance in this tie, Ousmane Dembélé seized them, scoring twice in the second half to send the French side through to the semifinals with a 2-0 win and a 4-0 aggregate victory.

Moments after the Ballon d’Or winner had netted the visitors’ second of the evening, Florian Wirtz lashed a wild effort over the bar for Liverpool to a chorus of jeers from the traveling PSG fans. In many ways, the sequence encapsulated the current disparity between the two sides.

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PSG have struck the perfect blend of arrogance and humility. They are totally assured of their own brilliance but possess the alacrity to back up the hype by leaving everything out on the pitch.

Like Liverpool, they are a side are packed with star power. Yet while PSG boss Luis Enrique has been able to corral his players into one glittering constellation, Arne Slot has yet to imbue his team with the confidence to truly sparkle. Still, it was telling that there were no signs of mutiny at the final whistle, even as the wind and rain swirled around Anfield.

Instead, the majority of Liverpool supporters stayed behind and applauded in recognition of a battling display from their side. The hosts generated an expected goals (xG) value of 1.94 compared to the visitors’ 1.25, had 21 shots compared to PSG’s 12 and recorded more than double the amount of touches in the opposition box.

Had PSG center back Marquinhos not slid in at the last to deny Virgil van Dijk a certain goal in the first half, or had Liverpool’s penalty for a challenge on Alexis Mac Allister not been overturned in the second, the outcome could have been very different. But, ultimately, fortune did not favor Slot’s side.

That, too, has been an enduring theme of Liverpool’s season. So many times, when it has looked as if the Reds have managed to pick themselves up and dust themselves off, the fates have conspired to send them tumbling back onto the canvas.

Here, the withdrawal of Hugo Ekitike after half an hour with what looked like a serious injury presented yet another setback for Liverpool to overcome. Before Tuesday, the French attacker had shared the pitch for only 88 minutes with fellow summer signings Wirtz and Alexander Isak, who was handed his first start in more than four months against PSG after recovering from a broken leg. That the trio have so seldom been afforded the chance to forge a connection reflects the tribulations Slot has had to contend with this term, with the Dutchman now unlikely to have all three players available before the end of the campaign.

On his return to the starting lineup, Isak struggled to showcase the quality that saw Liverpool splash a British-record £125 million on him last summer, enjoying just five touches before his withdrawal at the break. With nothing to lose in the second half, the Reds attacked with a fervor that has evaded them for much of the season, but a cocktail of poor finishing and fine goalkeeping from Matvei Safonov denied them the opportunity to truly set this contest alight.

“Of course, we are very disappointed because I think there were parts of the second half where you could feel, ‘If we could just score now, this could become a very special night’,” Slot said in his postmatch news conference. “But the future looks very bright for this team, for this club. We have showed we can compete with the champions of Europe in our stadium. To be the dominant team, not many teams can be dominant against PSG and create as many chances as we did. Creating chances is one thing, scoring is a second.”

While Slot will be left to rue his team falling foul of the fine margins, the external clamor surrounding his future will no doubt continue to swell as Liverpool brace for their first trophyless season since 2021. The Reds have lost 17 of their 50 games in all competitions and must successfully navigate a tricky run of fixtures — starting with this weekend’s visit to Merseyside rivals Everton — if they are to be playing in the Champions League again next season.

For Liverpool, it is now top five or bust. With no Champions League miracle to cling to, even that might not be enough to convince supporters that Slot should still be in the dugout the next time Anfield plays host to one of Europe’s elite.

Currently riding a 27-game winning streak, UCLA is the No. 1 team in college baseball and is in striking range of the NCAA Division I record for most consecutive victories (34).

And on Tuesday night, the Bruins will go for win No. 28 in uniforms that have a special meaning.

Wednesday will mark Major League Baseball’s annual Jackie Robinson Day, a celebration of the barrier-breaking Dodgers legend who became the first Black player to play in the majors in 1947. The day became a tradition in 2004, and since 2009, the league has honored Robinson and his legacy by having all on-field personnel wear uniforms emblazoned with his retired No. 42.

Given that Robinson suited up for UCLA from 1939 to 1941, and the school’s baseball stadium is named after him, it was only fitting that the Bruins would pay tribute with a uniform of their own. The team’s reveal of the uniforms was made more special, however, by the presenter: Robinson’s granddaughter, Sonya Pankey Robinson.

“His legacy 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 today.”

Jackie Robinson’s granddaughter, Sonya Pankey Robinson, stepped into unveil UCLA’s new Jackie Robinson‑inspired uniforms.#GoBruins pic.twitter.com/2QYWgRahko

— UCLA Baseball (@UCLABaseball) April 14, 2026

“His story doesn’t end here,” Pankey Robinson said as she addressed the team, discussing her grandfather’s story and legacy at UCLA. “You guys are the future, and I hope you use his story as a guide for your future mission.

“I hope you wear the jersey with pride and let it inspire you to build your own legacy that opens doors and creates opportunities for those to follow.”

Best known for his baseball career, Robinson was remarkably a four-sport athlete in Westwood. In fact, his stardom as a Bruin was greater in his other three sports — football, basketball and track.

UCLA baseball’s Robinson tribute uniforms go for a classic, throwback-style look: a simple white-colored base with navy trim and “BRUINS” in bold lettering across the chest. The Bruins’ caps will feature an old-school script “B” logo.

And, of course, jerseys also all come with the same number: 42.

The newest member of the Indiana Fever, Raven Johnson, who the team took with the 10th overall pick in the WNBA Draft on Monday, will join forces with Caitlin Clark after a tensely competitive moment between the two many years ago.

In the 2023 NCAA women’s Final Four, Clark’s Iowa Hawkeyes met Johnson’s South Carolina Gamecocks. During that game, there was a moment when Clark was supposed to be guarding Johnson, but Clark waved Johnson off to double-team another South Carolina player.

The clip of Clark waving off Johnson ended up going viral, and Johnson later said it resulted in online mockery against her.

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“I was all over the internet,” Johnson said on the “I AM NEXT” podcast in March. “That’s one reason I hate the internet now, because of that situation. I got bashed, I got bullied, I got called all these things I wasn’t, aka like a monkey and things like that, and I just think I wanted to quit basketball at that time, and I just wanted to go in this little bubble of isolation and just be by myself.”

Still, Johnson appears excited to now be on the same side as Clark.

After Johnson was drafted by the Fever on Monday, she said Clark is the teammate she’s most excited to play with in the pros.

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Raven Johnson #25 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts in the first half during the 2024 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament National Championship against the Iowa Hawkeyes at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on April 07, 2024 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

“Caitlin Clark,” Johnson said immediately when asked by Overtime WBB which new teammate she’s most excited to play with. “… She’s a phenomenal player, with the things she does, it’s bar standard. She can shoot the ball, she can lead a team, and they win. She has a winning mentality, and I think that’s the biggest thing.”

The Fever have solidified their roster going into the 2026 season as a true championship contender.

The team recently re-signed key players Kelsey Mitchell, Lexie Hull and Sophie Cunningham, while adding veteran Monique Billings in free agency.

The Fever have the fourth-best odds to win the WNBA title in 2026 behind the Minnesota Lynx, the defending champion Las Vegas Aces and the New York Liberty.

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Iowa guard Caitlin Clark (22) drives up court past South Carolina guard Raven Johnson, left, during the first half of the Final Four college basketball championship game in the women’s NCAA Tournament, Sunday, April 7, 2024, in Cleveland. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

The Fever’s season ended in 107-98 overtime loss to the Las Vegas Aces in Game 5 of the WNBA semifinals last year.

With Clark returning from injury, their core intact and at least one new addition, Indiana is looking to finish the job.

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