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Manchester City, Real Madrid Lead The Contenders As Champions League Knockouts Begin

officialsquarexsportsFebruary 11, 2024February 11, 202407 mins

Manchester City and Real Madrid will both be in action when the UEFA Champions League knockout stages begin this Tuesday, and it is the last two winners of European football’s greatest prize who appear the strongest contenders to go all the way this season. Pep Guardiola has been busy playing down City’s chances of repeating their remarkable treble triumph of last year, when they retained the English Premier League title and won the FA Cup before claiming their first ever Champions League crown. “We have 99.99 per cent possibility that we are not going to win the treble because it has never, ever, ever been done,” Guardiola said this week when asked about the prospect of retaining all three trophies. Yet City seem to be finding their very best form again just at the right time, and they head to Denmark for Tuesday’s last 16, first leg against FC Copenhagen on a run of 10 straight wins in all competitions. Copenhagen are into the knockout phase of Europe’s elite club competition for just the second time, and first since 2011. They held City at home in last season’s group stage and beat Manchester United 4-3 earlier this season at their Parken Stadium, so Tuesday’s game will perhaps not be straightforward for the reigning champions. But Guardiola’s team will surely be far too strong over two legs, and Madrid should also have too much for RB Leipzig, who they face in Germany first. Led by Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior, Carlo Ancelotti’s side are in superb form in La Liga despite being hampered by a cascade of injuries in defence. The draw for the last 16, made in December, was somewhat underwhelming, even if the meeting between last season’s runners-up Inter Milan and Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid has the makings of a cracker. It will also be fascinating to see how Barcelona fare against Napoli as the Catalans head into their final months under Xavi Hernandez before their legendary former player departs as coach at the end of the campaign. Given Napoli’s own difficulties in following up their stunning run to the Serie A title last season, Barcelona will be hopeful of advancing to a first Champions League quarter-final since 2020. That year they beat Napoli in the last 16 before a stunning 8-2 hammering by Bayern Munich in Lisbon. Bayern themselves travel to face Lazio reeling from a 3-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen which leaves their decade-long grip on the Bundesliga title looking more fragile than ever. Harry Kane and his teammates will hope that the return to continental competition brings out the best in them, especially with the increasing prospect that the England star’s first season in Germany might end without a major trophy. PSG’s last chance with Mbappe? A classic quarter-final line-up could be in store if all the heavyweights avoid shock defeats in the last 16. Arsenal should be too strong for Porto, while PSV Eindhoven and Borussia Dortmund meet in a battle of two outsiders. Then there is Paris Saint-Germain, the club who have made a habit of failing spectacularly in Europe in recent years despite the lavish spending of their Qatari owners. PSG have been eliminated in the first knockout round in five of the last seven seasons, and it seems certain that this will be their last chance to win the Champions League with Kylian Mbappe in their ranks. The France captain’s future appears likely to lie elsewhere — most probably with Real Madrid — as his contract expires after this campaign. Yet PSG’s form this season under Luis Enrique — the man who led Barcelona to Champions League glory in 2015 — has been so unconvincing that the prospect of them going all the way in Europe appears slim. Understandably wary supporters of the French club may even be dreading facing Real Sociedad, who they face in Paris in the first leg on Wednesday. The Basque side come into the tie in poor form and with considerable injury problems, but the pressure will all be on PSG. “If you want to get to the final you have to play against the best teams,” said Real Sociedad coach Imanol Alguacil as he reflected on the draw. “That is their objective, to get to the final. Imagine what a bombshell it would be if we eliminated them.”

Explained: Why it was a dry January transfer window in the Premier League as spending fell by nearly 90%

officialsquarexsportsFebruary 4, 2024February 4, 202409 mins

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was distraught at not being able to sign a striker in the January transfer window this year. “I wanted a striker, and because of the injury to (Anthony) Martial, we don’t really have the back-up. It was not possible because we have to meet the FFP rules,” he said. It’s been a while since the Premier League managers have had to worry about Financial Fair Play rules as witnessed by their spending in the last three record-breaking winter windows. Even last year, the EPL clubs had spent £815m. This year, it has seen a mighty fall with the 20 top-flight clubs spending just £100m, which is £715m less than last year according to a report by Deloitte, with Tottenham’s signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa for £25m the highest spent this time around. So, was the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) the only factor that restricted the clubs from going all out in the market this year? Let’s find out. Written by Sayak DuttaUpdated: February 4, 2024 18:51 IST Follow Us The 20 top-flight Premier League clubs spent just £100m in January 2024, which is £715m less than last year, with Tottenham’s signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa for £25m the highest spent this time around. Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag was distraught at not being able to sign a striker in the January transfer window this year. “I wanted a striker, and because of the injury to (Anthony) Martial, we don’t really have the back-up. It was not possible because we have to meet the FFP rules,” he said. It’s been a while since the Premier League managers have had to worry about Financial Fair Play rules as witnessed by their spending in the last three record-breaking winter windows. Even last year, the EPL clubs had spent £815m. This year, it has seen a mighty fall with the 20 top-flight clubs spending just £100m, which is £715m less than last year according to a report by Deloitte, with Tottenham’s signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa for £25m the highest spent this time around. So, was the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) the only factor that restricted the clubs from going all out in the market this year? Let’s find out. https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?creatorScreenName=indianexpress&dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1753438927019561126&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Findianexpress.com%2Farticle%2Fsports%2Ffootball%2Fexplained-why-it-was-dry-january-transfer-window-in-the-premier-league-9143927%2F&sessionId=470acc4d789929bd578f882eb2212ea1637666ef&siteScreenName=The%20Indian%20Express&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px What are the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules? According to the rules, Premier League clubs are allowed to lose a maximum of £105 million across a three-year assessment period. However, for every season a club was in the second-tier Championship, that amount is reduced by £22 million. There are a number of deductions allowed for spending on costs that are deemed to be in the general interest of the club and the game. Everton and Nottingham Forest have been charged with breaching the financial rules with both clubs being referred to an independent commission for their 2022-23 accounts. The Toffees have already faced a 10-point deduction this season due to t heir alleged breaches in the 2021-22 season where their losses amounted to £124.5m. Meanwhile, the reigning champions Manchester City are also under the scanner after getting accused of more than 100 financial breaches in an investigation which has gone on for 5 years, with charges dating way back to 2009 by a Premier League investigation. An independent commission is now in charge to pass the verdict on the matter at a date yet to be confirmed. What might have been the other factors for a dry January? There might be many other factors that have led to such an uneventful month in transfers in January with the past record-breaking windows having already strengthened teams that do not have to spend more. There can also be the factor that only 2 managers were sacked this season compared to 11 last year so there was no need for an influx of new players for a new manager. Which transfer was the biggest deadline day permanent signing in January 2024? In order to understand how far the mighty have fallen, you just have to look at the biggest deadline day permanent signing in the country with Crystal Palace spending £18m for Blackburn’s Adam Wharton, a fee that can rise to £22m. In January 2023, the highest deadline day deal was Chelsea’s £107m signing of Argentina’s Enzo Fernandez from Benfica.