SportsRooter.com

Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Final in a nerve wracking contest which was won by Real Madrid 5-3 on penalties after having been tied at 1-1 after Full Time. This is the 11th time that Real have won the European crown and the win is a full circle for Zinedine Zidane who won the championship as a player for Real Madrid in 2002.

Best Reactions and Photographs from the Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid UEFA Champions League Final

We take a look at some of the best tweets and photographs from the match.


1) Barcelona's most painful tweet? Nonetheless, a great show of sporting spirit by FC Barcelona

The most painful tweet @FCBarcelona have sent. #uclfinal pic.twitter.com/bvKaWlH9fX

— Zubair (@zubby_44) May 29, 2016

2)  Life comes a full circle - Zinedine Zidane's moment of glory. Is there anything this man cannot do?

Zinedine Zidane. What a legend! Can't hate this man, even if he represent Real Madrid #uclfinal pic.twitter.com/qyjDhN2bMW

— Juan Direction (@JuanDirection57) May 29, 2016

3) The Deciding Penalty. By the man himself. Terrific photograph

Cristiano Ronaldo scores the deciding penalty goal to give Real Madrid the UCL title. #UCLFinal pic.twitter.com/BRQU1w8INQ

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) May 28, 2016

4) Another epic quote from CR7. Doing what needs to be done to WIN!

Cristiano Ronaldo wanted the ball when it mattered most #uclfinal 👊: https://t.co/SYr8KZtzR7 pic.twitter.com/UDmrb3LKif

— Bleacher Report UK (@br_uk) May 29, 2016

5) Sergio Ramos with Ramos Jr. Some pictures need no words. Celebrate!

Ramos with Junior celebrating Real Madrid's #uclfinal #Undecima pic.twitter.com/b4fFDYSS3q

— SB (@Realmadridplace) May 29, 2016

6) Football can break hearts. Gut wrenching day for Torres.

Cant See the sadness of @Torres 😪😓😪😢
Form is Temporary
Our Love is Forever nino
Tears For u 😢😓😪
#uclfinal pic.twitter.com/di99YZobCj

— Love You Torres (@JanuPaigeVJ) May 29, 2016

7) For the love of Sports. People celebrating in a cafe in Iraq which was attacked by IS not so long ago. So wonderful to see!

Joy at the Al-Furat cafe in #Balad, #Iraq as @realmadrid wins #uclfinal 2 weeks after deadly attack @AFP pic.twitter.com/ojoKiBLhs2

— Jean-Marc Mojon (@mojobaghdad) May 28, 2016

8) The history of 11 triumphs over the last few decades.

THIS CLUB IS THE BEST EVER!!!! | WORDS CANT DESCRIBE HOW I AM FEELING RIGHT NOW!!!!! #WEDIDIT #UCLFINAL pic.twitter.com/HTi7MactdH

— RMadridista (@01RMadridista) May 28, 2016

9) This user sums up Football in 140 chars.

Exciting. Infuriating. Exhausting. Inciting. Entertaining. Oh, how I love futbol.
Congrats, @realmadrid.#uclfinal pic.twitter.com/mB6WeTbLZF

— Imperator Lolita (@MsLolaLucia) May 28, 2016

10) An emotional Simeone is proud of his players' achievements

Simeone: "I feel proud of my players. We had to defeat Barcelona and Bayern. I love my players." #UCLfinal

— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 28, 2016

11) For number 11, we have Real Madrid's name going on the trophy for the 11th time!




Do you think we missed out on some of your favourite tweets? Write to us and we will include them!

It would’ve taken probably the most accurate of footballing scholars to predict the final four that remain in this season’s UEFA Champions League. Manchester City, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid remain the fortunate ones to survive this far in the tournament.

UEFA Champions League

No matter who wins this edition of Europe’s biggest club competition, at the end each one will have its own unparalleled tale to tell. Manchester City take on Real Madrid and Bavarian giants Bayern Munich will take on the other side from the Spanish capital Atletico Madrid.

Two in search of their first ever Champions League trophy while the other two in search of their extending their grand European legacy. Let’s take a look at each of these four’s ride into the tournament thus far:


Atletico Madrid

Group Stages:

Probably the lesser known team of the two, Atletico Madrid better known as the RojiBlancos (Red and whites) have for the second time in three years made the last four of the competition and once again it’s been their reliable backline that has been at the heart of this.

Drawn in a group containing Benfica, Galatasaray and debutants Asthana, the Madrid side were always favourites to progress to the round of sixteen, given their strength in depth. A home defeat against Benfica did pull off a shock of sorts but positive results in all of their remaining five games meant that Atletico topped their group with relative ease.

Round of 16:

The round of 16 bought a tricky tie against Dutch side PSV Eindhoven. Defensively solid, the Dutch side proved to be one hell of a challenge for the Rojiblancos.

A goalless draw away was followed by a goalless draw at home, meaning a penalty shootout would decide the winner of this round. Juanfran’s goal after Narsingh’s miss meant that Atletico for the second year running had qualified for the quarter finals on penalties.

Quarter Final stage:

The last eight draws bought out a repeat of the 2013-14 quarter final tie between Atletico and holders Barcelona. The tie promised to be a scintillating one; both teams looking to outdo each other through completely different ideologies.

The first leg at the Camp Nou saw Atleti go ahead through Fernando Torres, but a couple of mad moments from the former Chelsea man saw him shown a second yellow in six minutes reducing Atletico to 10 men against an attacking Barcelona side. Those moments proved to be decisive as Luis Suarez scored twice to get Barcelona a 2-1 home win. The second leg at Calderon was to be a tough one for the home side coming from behind but a solid defensive display and a brace from their Frenchman Antoinne Greizmann proved to be too much for the Catalans as Atleti repeated their 2013/14 feat. to once overcome Barcelona at this stage and thus continuing the Champions League jinx.

Bayern Munich

Group Stage:

One of the most decorated side in the history of the competition, Bayern Munich have earned the respect of the top sides from around Europe owing to their past performances. Making it to each of the last four semi-finals Bayern had been deemed favourites once again to lift the coveted trophy and with Pep anxious to make his stay a success this was always going to be an important season.

Placed alongside Arsenal, Olympiakos and Dinamo Zagreb, the group was never going to be straight forward even for someone as strong as the Bavarian outfit. A loss at the Emirates just proved as Bayern were halted by a good Arsenal side. But that proved to be just a blip as the decorated German side cruised past their opponents in the remaining of their matches in comfortable manner, topping the group in the process.

Round of 16:

Arguably the fixture of the round, Bayern Munich taking on last season’s runners up Juventus themselves hadn’t had a good group stage finishing second to Manchester City. The first leg at Turin looked set to be going Bayern’s way after the Bavarian’s struck twice but Juventus’ second half display made Bayern look ordinary as they got two back to level the tie 2-2 going into the second leg.

The second started in pretty much the opposite fashion to the first half. Juventus this time taking an early two goal lead at the Allianz arena making it all to do for the home side. But Bayern did what something that not a lot of teams would have imagined.

First Lewandowski and then Muller in injury time bought the game back on level for the Bavarians. After that there was no coming back for Juventus, first Thiago and then through Juventus loanee Coman. Bayern scored twice in extra time to round off an intense yet comfortable looking win in the end.

Quarter finals:

Compared to Juventus, this arguably was an easier fixture for the German giants. Benfica have proven to be a difficult side in recent times but was relatively an easier one given how the other draws had panned out.

Bayern through Arturo Vidal scored early in the first which also proved to be the only goal in what was surprisingly close game from a neutral’s perspective. The second leg however proved to be much more exciting as Benfica took the initiative and scored early through Jimenez which brought the tie back to level pegging.

Bayern however as they had done scored back two goals through Vidal and Muller to pretty much seal the deal. The match finished with another 2-2 taking Bayern comfortably into the yet another anther semis for the fifth consecutive time.


Manchester City

Group stage:

There was perhaps more frustration than excitement surrounding Manchester City at the start of their Champions League given their financial strength and the depth in squad which could very easily match any side in Europe’s top competition.

The draw as again was not kind to the citizens placing them alongside Juventus, Europa league winners Sevilla and Borussia Monchengladbach. The frustration must have surely piled on after City let one goal lead to hand Juventus a win at the Etihad. It was a tough group but City did manage to sneak out results as they went on to win four out of their remaining five games to somewhat surprisingly top the group.

Round of 16:

Unlike previous seasons City had topped their group and topping a Champions League group has its own perks. Something that City experienced as they got a favourable draw against Dynamo Kyiv of Ukraine. A 3-1 away win pretty much set them on their course for a last eight spot. A goalless draw at home wasn’t exactly convincing but made sure that City progressed in the last eight with little risk.

Quarter Finals:

It was perhaps their toughest assignment yet. City were paired against the high flying Paris Saint Germain.

Both teams who were of little prominence a decade ago were now at World football’s peak going head to head to find a place in the final four of Europe’s elite club competition. It was as also a tale of two managers both looking to be successful on the European stage after dominating their respective leagues.

Perhaps the best chance these two have had since they were playing in the competition. The first leg was one of the most exciting contests, while glaring mistakes existed the game was never short of entertainment. Joe Hart saved a Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty to keep the Parisiens in check.

Big money signing De Bruyne scored but an error from Fernando meant PSG were back in the game through Zlatan. Rabiot then scored from a Hart save to push PSG into the lead. However Fernandinho pulled it back to make it 2-2 on the night and handling a vital advantage to City in the tie.

The second leg at Etihad was always going to be a tough one for PSG given their away performances hadn’t been that convincing. PSG did dominate possession but failed to register any decent chance. Manchester City defended well for large parts and then a piece of brilliance from De Bruyne once again put City ahead. Only this time City held on to a famous win for the blues moving them top the last four of the tournament at the expense of an expensive PSG side.

Real Madrid

Group Stage:

Arguably the most decorated club in the history of the game. Real Madrid have been the epitome of success for many years but recent performances have not gone onto make that statement look correct.

The expectations were high as always from the ‘’Los Blancos’’ and this time it was under new manager Rafael Benitez who had previously won the competition with Liverpool back in 2005. Madrid were drawn alongside a strong Paris Saint Germain side, Shakhtar Donetsk and Swede side Malmo FF. The season began on a good note Madrid keeping clean sheets and registering wins against Shakhtar and Malmo.

Games against PSG were also going to be a tough task and would give an ideal feedback as to how the team had been performing. Real did manage to get four point out of the Parisians but the performances remained far from convincing. Madrid remained unbeaten without conceding a single goal in the group stages; a unique feat in itself.

Round of 16:

The round of 16 bought Madrid against a former foe in AS Roma who were now under manager Luciano Spalleti, the same manager who guided Roma to a famous in over Real in 2008.

Things however were different now as Madrid themselves had undergone a massive change in the form of Zinedine Zidane who had now taken over as the club’s manager. A difficult 2-0 win at the StadioOlympico made sure that Madrid had a massive advantage going into the second leg.

The second leg saw Roma create a host of chances only to scuff them all away. Madrid took their chances and ended up winning rather comfortably in the end. Not convincing again but Madrid securing another last eight spot.

Quarter Finals:

Wolfsburg was assigned the task of facing Real and boy did they take that well! Wolfsburg played almost the perfect game at home to comfortably beat a star studded Madrid side 2-0 in Germany.

A Madrid side which clearly lacked intensity coming off a huge clasico win. The second leg at the Bernabeu was being called as the season defining (season saving) moment for the madridistas as a Champions League exit would pretty much end their season trophyless. Only 15% of sides trailing 2-0 from the first leg had overturned the deficit. Surely this was too much even for the Galacticos of Real Madrid.

The game began pretty much as expected with Real playing with a lot of intensity. The tie was soon bought back to life with two Cristiano Ronaldo goals in a gap of a minute. Ronaldo soon struck his and Madrid’s third through a wall splitting free kick to put Madrid in lead and on course for a possible comeback.

Benzema and Jese almost made it more but Wolfsburg hung on, giving Real a famous win on a famous night at the Bernabeu. One of the many that have taken place in the Bernabeu Madrid like all the other sides moving to the last four with an aggregate of 3-2. Keeping hopes of ‘’Undecima’’ alive.

Did Gerard Pique deliberately pick up ban with Arsenal yellow card?

The Champions league is the grandest stage in European football. Many heroes have been born there,  and many have fallen.

Cesc Fabregas

It is always exciting for a club's fans to see a youngster from their team score. It is even more satisfying for the player if the competition is the Champions league as it is a competition with a lot of audience. Here we look at the 5 youngest ever players to have scored in the Champions league:

The Champions League draw has thrown some enthralling fixtures for this season's round of 16. The fixtures of the three premier league teams in the knock out stage would be discussed more in detail.

Chelsea are set to face PSG for the third time in a row

The English champions would consider themselves quite unlucky after being drawn against the French champions. Surely, Mourinho would have loved to have an easier draw after winning their group. This is the third time in a row that both these teams would play in the Champions league. PSG beat Chelsea on away goals last season after Chelsea beat them on away goals the season before that. The match certainly promises to be one of the most exciting battles in the round of 16.

Arsenal vs Barcelona:

Arsenal will face the Messi, Neymar, Suarez trio

Arsenal's dramatic escape to the knock out stages has been rewarded by being drawn against the European champions. The Premier league leaders would certainly be worried about the prospect of facing Barcelona's famous MSN. Missing the opportunity the last time out against Monaco, it looks like the trend of not going past the round of 16 is set to continue for the Gunners.

Manchester City vs Dynamo Kiev:

Manchester City will face Dynamo Kiev

Manchester City arguably have the easiest opponents in the round of 16 as compared to their premier league counterparts. They are certainly expected to overcome Kiev and in doing so, they would be the first ‘City’ team in their history to go past the round of 16. Pellegrini would certainly feel they deserved to get such a draw after beating Juventus to the top spot in a difficult looking group. Dynamo had given Chelsea problems in the group stage but City certainly have the firepower to overcome that threat.

Louis Van Gaal would be happy to know that he has the support of his management. One person who would definitely agree on the same would be Jose Mourinho. However, Mourinho would be the first person to admit the importance of the players being on your side. Unfortunately, LVG seems to not having that kind of luxury.

Louis van Gaal

The tactics of the United manager have been questioned all season long. The pragmatism shown by the United manager is not boding well with most of the United faithful. In fact, some weeks ago, Rooney and Carrick actually made their displeasure known to the manager with respect to his tactics on behalf of the whole team.

LVG has ignored these signs stating the success he enjoyed in the Spanish, German and Dutch league as reference. However, that confidence shown by the manager received a huge blow due to the shameful exit that United suffered from the Champions League group stage. The defeat against a well organized Wolfsburg is not a surprising result.

However, when one of your star players in the team shows displeasure at his substitution when the team is 2-1 down with a victory needed, it is a sign of worry. The substitution of Juan Mata, who assisted Martial for the first goal, coupled with the introduction of Nick Powell who has not played for the team for around 14 months, is certainly confusing. Ashley Young who has been one of the most improved players under LVG also had to be happy on the bench.

LVG may demand patience from his players and fans for his philosophy to work. However, patience is not a virtue very common in football especially with respect to the big clubs. United may not be that far from the top of the table but they are equally close to mid table as well. The one hope of LVG is the fact that the United management is clearly in support of him and he may get time until the end of the season. However, six months is a long time in football and LVG better get the results going his way sooner rather than later.

The match between Chelsea and Porto was surely going to be a decisive one with respect to Mourinho's managerial career at Chelsea. A defeat against Bournemouth followed by a Champions League group stage exit would surely have made Roman to make the move. However, it was not to happen to the relief of the manager, the players, the fans and surely the owner as well.

Willian celebrating his goal against FC Porto

The game against Porto was arguably Chelsea's best this season. That shows how badly Chelsea have regressed this season rather than how good Chelsea played against Porto. The organization was good and they created good chances, although majority of them came late in the second half when Porto had nothing to lose. However, Mourinho would be a happy man seeing the effort put in by his team in the game.

Speaking about effort, one man who showed a good amount of that was their star striker Diego Costa who was restored back to the starting lineup. Although Costa was not able to score, he did show plenty of endeavor and was instrumental in their first goal. However, Costa did show some rustiness and failed to score with some very good chances coming his way. However, the effort was there to be seen and the fact that the striker himself admitting of his mistake with respect to the throwing of the bib could be a good sign for his relationship with his manager.

It was always going to be a tough task for Porto with Dynamo at home against Maccabi. A win was surely needed but even against this out of form Chelsea, beating them at Stamford Bridge would surely require great effort and fortune. However, they surely missed the latter in the first goal which came of a ricochet. As the game went on, the pressure of scoring twice got to them and it surely was a matter of time that Chelsea got the second with the number of chances that they were creating. It was fittingly Willian who scored brilliantly into the bottom corner against a hapless Casillas.

Roman Abramovich celebrates Willian's goal.

Mourinho would be happy not to have enjoyed the same fate as United. This could finally be a catalyst they are looking for with the Christmas fixtures coming up. Chelsea did look like the team of the old against Porto and if they continue to play like that, they surely look capable of going on an unbeaten run in the Premier League. The smile on Abramovich said it all about the relief around Stamford Bridge at the final whistle. Mourinho may feel winning the Champions League is the best way to enter the competition next season. However, a brilliant run in the Premier League in this unpredictable season may just quite do the job.

The match between Wolfsburg and United had a huge importance from the point of view of LVG's career at United. It was not the most decisive one but certainly would play a part in understanding whether Van Gaal was the man to take United forward in the coming years. The talks of LVG extending his contract beyond 2017 would surely die down after the result at Wolfsburg.

Manchester United team during their game against Wolfsburg last night

The match was one of the most entertaining games that one has witnessed in the Champions League this year. It started at a great pace with both Schurrle and Mata, with the former in particular, having a great chance to take the lead. At times, it looked like a basketball game with both the teams having chances at either ends.

However, it was United who took the lead through Martial who finished an excellent incisive pass from Mata. The goal was a not a result of passing the ball around like LVG usually prefers but quick and direct play. It showed that the manager had changed the system and finally United were more exciting. However, may be there is a reason LVG does not prefer his team to play that way.

Wolfsburg quickly equalized through a free kick and later took the lead by an excellent play by Draxler who just opened up the United defence with ease. It was just a simple tap-in for Vierinha, but the fact that Draxler was allowed to enter the box with so much ease surely might have angered LVG.

Manchester United fans react to Champions League exit

Suddenly it felt that United could only qualify if PSV lose their game against CSKA Moscow. They came out strong in the second half but again failed to take their chances. However, the equalizer did come late in the game through an own goal and United might have felt they have just done enough.

But like the earlier goal, they conceded again through a set piece and it did look like Wolfsburg just handed their Europa League ticket. The final nail in the coffin was the victory of PSV which meant United had to win this match to get through. With a dire draw against West Ham followed by a defeat of this stature, LVG has a tough task ahead. One of the striking observations that could be made was of the bench. After investing 250 million pounds in three transfer windows, one cannot expect a bench with names like Jackson and Powell in a crunch Champions League tie.

Manchester City had a forgettable match against Liverpool in the Premier league. However, they have the perfect opportunity to bounce back against a Juventus team who beat them at the Etihad Stadium.

Juventus vs Manchester City - Preview

Pellegrini was once again criticized for his big game tactics in the game against Liverpool. Hence, the upcoming game against the Champions League finalist of last year would be the perfect way to respond. Both the teams come into this game with a lot of injury concerns. City would miss some of their key players in Silva, Kompany, Bony and Nasri. However, the return of Aguero would be a welcome relief for Pellegrini. Juventus will also be without the likes of Evra, Khedira, Asamoah, Pereyra, Hernanes and Caceres.

Manchester City have done well in the Champions League this year. They have come back quite strongly with three straight wins after the home defeat inflicted by Juventus in the first game. A win in Turin would help them secure top spot in Group D and they would play against the runner up of another group in the knock out round.

This is an important game for City in terms of European prominence. In spite of the riches that City possess, they have never been able to bring the domestic league dominance to the European stage. The best they have achieved is the last 16 stage which is not good enough for a star studded team like Manchester City.

Pellegrini's men are currently top of the group and they have a good opportunity to show their credentials against a injury ridden side of Juventus. City may not have their influential captain Kompany but with the likes of Aguero back, Pellegrini may just have the chance to secure a famous win in Turin.

Juventus Probable Starting 11:
Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Chiellini, Barzagli, Marchisio, Pogba, Cuadrado, Sandro, Sturaro, Morata, Dybala

City Probable Starting 11:
Hart, Zabaleta, Otamendi, Demichelis, Kolarov, Fernando, Fernandinho, Toure, De Bruyne, Sterling, Aguero

Predicted Score:

Juventus 1-2 Manchester City

The 2015-16 Premier league season has been one of those seasons that will never stop giving surprises. It can be argued that Manchester City, Arsenal and United (most likely in the same order) have done enough this season to consider them as being a part of the top four come end of May.

Jürgen Klopp

The final Champions league place, however, is not a given by any stretch of imagination. We look at the current top contenders for that spot.

Liverpool:

Liverpool under Brendan Rodgers were always considered as a top four hopeful. That belief went up a notch when a certain Klopp mania came to the fore. To be fair, this season under Klopp, Liverpool have a great chance of finishing in the top four considering the fact that Chelsea are having a catastrophic season and that Liverpool have a good and hungry set of young players.

However, this is not Klopp's squad and the high pressing game can be tough to execute with the players at his disposal. Considering the physical demand of the Premier League it may drain the players eventually. Few signings in January may prove decisive but it is still early to expect a lot from Klopp.

Tottenham:

On current form, Pochettino's squad is the favorite to fill that last spot. Unlike other seasons, this current Tottenham form looks somewhat sustainable. Pochettino has been able to put across his thoughts to his team. The squad is very young and perfectly suited for the high intensity pressing game that Pochettino likes. The midfield duo of young Dele Alli and Eric Dier has been quite impressive. With Chelsea not being Chelsea and Liverpool not quite there yet, this may be Tottenham's season.

West Ham:

West Ham fans can be rightly considered as the black horse in this race. The West Ham fans certainly cannot be blamed if they do believe this can happen. The fans along with the club's co-chairman David Sullivan wanted to dream big and Slaven Bilic has provided them with plenty of reasons to do the same.

West Ham is considered to be one of the most dangerous counter attacking sides in the premier league and the fact that they already defeated Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea only emphasizes that claim.

Chelsea:

On current form Chelsea are nowhere contenders. However, this is Chelsea and they are too big to not be at least considered for a top four place. If one is a realist, the fact that Chelsea are 13 points off the top four will surely be noted. However, a Chelsea fan would surely consider the fact that there are still 26 games to go. Chelsea to be honest still have a great set of players. A certain boost in confidence and the possibility of their stars picking up form in time can prove to be vital with 26 games still to go.

A rejuvenated Arsenal side will welcome Olympiacos to Emirates on Tuesday for their second game of the European campaign. Wenger's side were having a mixed season so far but with the 2-5 thumping of Leicester this weekend, Arsenal will be full of confidence.

Arsenal vs Olympiakos Preview

Arsenal cannot afford to take Olympiacos lightly though as failure to win this game will make it even harder for them to qualify out of this group. Wenger made a lot of changes against Dinamo Zagreb hoping for an easy win but the gunners were outplayed 2-1 by the opponents. Arsenal have won their last two games against Tottenham and Leicester and anything short of a win here would be a disappointing result.

Arsenal will be hoping that Sanchez continues his goal-scoring form. The Chilean hit form at just the right time by scoring a hat-trick against Leicester. Walcott has also been in good form lately and Wenger will want his forwards to avoid complacency when they take on Olympiacos. With Francis Coquelin a doubt and Flamini and Arteta both out injured, Wenger will have a decision to make on his central midfield pairing.

Olympiacos have won their last five league games, scoring 16 goals in the run but the Champions league is a different level and the mauling at the hands of Bayern in the last round will have taught them a lesson. Olympiacos have several ex-Premier league players in their ranks in Esteban Cambiasso, Brown Ideye and Manuel Costa, and they will be hoping to take advantage of any complacency that Arsenal might have.

Luka Milivojevic will be absent for Olympiacos through suspension.

Arsenal cannot afford another slip up in the Champions league, and although the gunners are not playing at their best, they will be brimming with confidence after two successive wins. The technical superiority of Arsenal players should tell in the end and it should be a comfortable win for the London club.

Predicted score: Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Jose Mourinho travel with Chelsea back to the team where he first won the Champions league, in this week's European fixture. Mourinho will be hoping to get a win in a bid to boost his team's morale. Chelsea have not been up to the expectations this season and a win in Europe will no doubt be a boost to their domestic season as well.

FC Porto vs Chelsea FC: Jose Mourinho to return to his old side

FC Porto drew their first game of the group to Dynamo Kiev, having to come from behind and score to make the result 2-2. But domestically they are in hot form, having been unbeaten in the league so far. But Porto would want to go as far as possible in this competition, with the last time them winning being under their opponent's manager, Jose Mourinho, in 2003/04.

Porto will be hoping that Vincent Aboubakar will be able to maintain his strong form in the league, where he has managed four goals in six appearances. Porto has struggled at the back though, despite bringing in legendary goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the summer. Brahimi is a doubt for the fixture and Andre Silva will miss out through injury.

Chelsea top the group currently after dismantling Tel Aviv 4-0 in their opening fixture. But Porto will be a much tougher opposition and Mourinho may not be willing to make much changes to his first team against them. Chelsea have been in decent form in the league after their stuttering start but was held to a draw at Newcastle last week.

Willian could be Chelsea's key man at Porto, having impressed after coming off the bench against Newcastle. Most of Chelsea's players have been terribly out of form this season and they will need to step up in games like this to get something out of it. Chelsea will be without Thibaut Cortouis who misses out through injury, but his deputy Asmir Begovic has been in good form so far.

This fixture would have been an easy Chelsea victory a season ago, but now this Chelsea team is a pale shadow of their former selves.

Predicted score: Porto 1-2 Chelsea

Manchester United welcome Wolfsburg to Old Trafford on Wednesday for what is sure to be an entertaining tie in the Champions league. Louis Van Gaal's men have been in good form in the past couple of games while Wolfsburg have struggled in their league after starting impressively.

Manchester United vs Wolfsburg Preview

Manchester United threw away a one goal lead against PSV in their opening game of the Champions league and would want to take all the three points when they play Wolfsburg. This is the first time that Old Trafford will be hosting aa UCL group stage fixture in over a year and United fans are already buzzing in excitement. Van Gaal's team has looked solid and comfortable, and with new signings Schweinsteiger and Martial hitting top form, they look like a different side.

Manchester United have a tie against Arsenal in the Premier league on Sunday so it will be interesting to see if Van Gaal will shuffle his pack around. United will be without injured defenders Luke Shaw and Marcos Rojo but their backline has been in good form so far this campaign.

Wolfsburg started their season well and were unbeaten in their first five league games but that night at Allianz Arena where Lewandowski put in multiple goals in the Wolfsburg net with utmost ease will have drastically reduced the morale of their team. Wolfsburg followed that with a disappointing draw against Hannover and will want to respond with a good performance against Manchester United.

Wolfsburg will be hoping that Julian Draxler will be able to produce a performance in line with the big occasion. Draxler has been impressive since joining Wolfsburg in the summer and although he hasn't quite replaced De Bruyne, he has showed what he is capable of in the time he has been there. Wolfsburg will be without Luiz Gustavo who is still out with a knee problem.

Wolfsburg is low on confidence while it is the opposite at United. Normally this would be a game which United will be dominating and winning easily. But we have all seen how English clubs have struggled in the Champions league so it won't be that easy a game for United. The chances are still high that they will come out victorious. The performance of De Gea between the sticks will be crucial.

Predicted score: Manchester United 2-1 Wolfsburg

We look at some of the major events that have happened on this day in football history.

Newcastle United fans will have fond memories of this day as it was on 19 September 1999 that Sir Bobby Robson made his home debut as Newcastle's manager. Newcastle were struggling in the league at the time and they had just one point from their opening seven games. They needed a spark from somewhere and what a blast that day turned out to be.

Shearer hits 5 in Sir Bobby Robson's first home game as boss

Alan Shearer led the attack for the Magpies as they put eight goals past Sheffield Wednesday without reply. The 8-0 win is still the biggest win margin in Premier League history. Alan Shearer scored five goals himself on the day, and is among the four players to have scored five in a single Premier league game.

Bojan Krkić

Barcelona gave youngster Bojan Krkic his  Champions league debut on this day in 2007. Bojan was an exciting prospect to have come through the ranks of La Masia and became Barca's youngest ever player to appear in the competition. Bojan would later go on to become Barce

Manchester United left back Luke Shaw is expected to have a second operation on his broken leg on Friday.

Luke Shaw

The 20 year old was taken to St Anna Ziekenheus hospital on Tuesday night after he was injured in United's match against PSV. The youngster broke his tibia and fibula after suffering an aggressive challenge from PSV defender Hector Moreno.

An operation was conducted on his leg on the night of the match and a further surgrey was done on Friday which was completed succesfully. United has not yet released a statement about the extent of the injury but it is rumoured that Shaw will be out for at least six months and could miss the season for Manchester United.

Luke Shaw was the only Manchester United player to have played all minutes for club and country this season and it looked like the youngster was about to have his break through campaign this year. Hector Moreno's trailing leg struck Shaw dangerously when the PSV defender slided in aggressively to stop the left back's marauding run. Moreno wasn't sent off and went on to score at the other end was on the receiving end of the irk of many United fans.

Shaw will remain in the hospital at Eindhoven until he is fit to travel back to England. His family is with him reportedly, and Manchester United vice-Chairman, Ed Woodward, visited him yesterday. He also received get well soon messages from a lot of footballers around the world.

The Champions league is considered to be the most coveted trophy in club football.

Champions League

The fact that no team has been able to successfully retain the title in UCL remains a testimony to how tough the competition is.

Every year there are at least four or five teams who have a realistic chance of winning the trophy. We look at the top five teams who have not yet won the Champions league.

Unsere Taktik in 13 Sekunden: Teamgeist, Technik, Leidenschaft ;-) #MiaSanMia #packmas #OLYFCB #Müllered https://t.co/5fWwUQYGhK

— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) September 16, 2015

Alessandro Florenzi earned Roma a point in yesterday's clash against Barcelona by scoring a screamer from about 60 metres away from the goal. Here we look at a short profile of the right winger and also analyze his strengths and weaknesses.

Alessandro Florenzi

A product of Roma's youth system, he is a favourite among fans after having made the step up to the first team and the fans will be hoping that he can go on to be like club greats Francesco Totti and Daniele De Rossi.

Florenzi made his debut against Sampdoria in the 2010/11 season but that was the only time he played for Roma that season. He was sent out on loan to Serie B side Crotone the following season in a bid to gain some match experience. The youngster took the opportunity by both hands and impressed his new employers, scoring 11 goals in that season.

Florenzi was recalled to Roma and he played as a central midfielder in his early days. But with the departure of Erik Lamela in 2013, he was made to play more frequently on the right wing. He continues to play as a right winger or as a right back today. His stock has constantly been on the rise since his return to Roma and it also earned him a call up for Italy's national side for a friendly match against France.

Florenzi had a breakthrough campaign in 2013/14, playing in 36 of the 38 league games for Roma that season and also guiding them to a second placed finish. He cemented his place in the team and has been a mainstay ever since. He has scored a few stunning goals in his career but nothing like the one he scored yesterday.

Florenzi's main strength is his versatility in the fact that he can play as a central midfielder, right winger or as a right back. He is still not a finished product and probably as a result of being moved around different positions, he doesn't have any particular skill that can be highlighted. He is a very tactically intelligent player. He also has a very good engine and stamina required to play in the full back role. He has often been praised for his hard working nature.

Florenzi has all the makings to be a Roma great but he will need to make that step up to the next level. Being a home grown player, he will have support from his fans and he will need to show loyalty and passion back to the club which defined legends like Totti and De Rossi.