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Regardless of how poor Bayern Munich have been by their own lofty standards this season, Arsenal knew that facing them in the Champions League quarter-final would be extremely complicated.

The Bundesliga giants have immense pedigree in Europe’s premier competition and coach Thomas Tuchel has won this trophy before. In Harry Kane, they also have one of the world’s best centre-forwards, and one that enjoys a magnificent scoring record against Arsenal.

Therefore, despite their domestic woes, it was no surprise that Bayern managed to secure a 2-2 draw with Arsenal during the first leg of the quarter-final at the Emirates. Former Gunner Serge Gnabry and ex-Tottenham forward Kane punished some reckless moments from Mikel Arteta’s defence, with the second leg at the Allianz Arena finely poised.

Not many teams manage to win at the home of the six-time European champions, but that’s what Arsenal need to do to ensure qualification to the semi-final and avoid the nerve-wracking possibility of extra-time and penalties.

But have Arsenal ever won at Bayern before? And what is their record like in Munich?

Arsenal have made a handful of trips to Bayern over the years but have only ever claimed one victory. That triumph came in the second leg of the 2012/13 Champions League last 16, with a 2-0 win courtesy of an early strike from Olivier Giroud and a late effort from Laurent Koscielny.

While perhaps a significant result for Arsenal psychologically, it had no impact on their Champions League campaign having fallen to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg at the Emirates. Despite the score being 3-3 on aggregate after 180 minutes, Bayern went through on away goals.

Given Bayern went on to win the Champions League that campaign after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the final at Wembley – with this season’s final also being held at England’s national team stadium – it wasn’t a bad result from the Gunners on the road.

If they managed to repeat that feat in this year’s quarter-final second leg, they would book their spot in the final four.

Arsenal have played Bayern six times in their own backyard, with that 2-0 victory their only success in Munich. They have lost four and drawn one of their other meetings, including some absolute humiliations against the German giants.

Before Bayern’s move to the Allianz, Arsenal lost in the group stage and last 16 on their turf, including a 3-1 defeat in 2005 courtesy of a Claudio Pizarro brace. There was then the sole victory in 2013, after which Arsenal secured a 1-1 draw during the following season – although that draw still saw them exit the Champions League at the last 16.

But their last two visits to Munich have been utterly disastrous, suffering embarrassing 5-1 defeats on both occasions. The first came in the 2015/16 group stage thanks to a double from Thomas Muller and goals from Robert Lewandowski, David Alaba and Arjen Robben.

The second in the 2016/17 last 16 was even more humiliating given Arsenal also went on to lose the second leg 5-1, finishing up with a laughable 10-2 aggregate defeat. Muller, Lewandowski and Robben got on the scoresheet again that evening, while Liverpool midfielder Thiago also netted twice.

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CF Montreal picked up three much-needed points at home against FC Cincinnati to claim their first home win of the 2024 Major League Soccer season.

The Canadian side returned to their home ground of Stade Saputo after beginning the season with a six-game road that included two wins, three defeats and one draw. Montreal were forced into playing their first six games of 2024 on the road because of the lingering winter conditions at.

Montreal would’ve instead played at the nearby Olympic Stadium but were forced to start on the road due to renovations at the indoor venue.

Montreal’s 2024 campaign started off in bright fashion under first-year head coach Laurent Courtois. The team managed a goalless draw against Orlando City before pulling off two wins against FC Dallas and a Lionel Messi-less Inter Miami.

However, with three straight defeats against Chicago Fire, DC United and Seattle Sounders following the victory at Chase Stadium on March 10, Montreal needed to get back on track. There was no better way to do that than in front of their supporters, but they faced stiff competition coming up against reigning Supporters’ Shield champions and reigning league MVP Lucho Acosta.

Former Atlanta United and Miami striker Josef Martinez added his second goal of the season to put the hosts up just before the halftime whistle. Yuya Kubo pulled on back for the Orange and Blue just before the 60th minute mark, but it was Ariel Lassiter who restored the lead just a few minutes later.

Courtois’s side on for the three points in their first home win of the campaign and first victory overall in over a month, climbing back into the MLS Cup playoffs picture in the Eastern Conference after seven games played.

“I’m very happy with the three points tonight for the fans and the guys too after the last three games. I’m proud of the content tonight because that’s how we want to be recognized,” Courtois said after the victory. “We kept our composure even after Cincinnati equalized. I was nervous we wouldn’t be able to replicate the energy of the fans. But that was exactly what we had in mind.”

Montreal have looked a much better side than the inconsistent 2023 team that just missed out on postseason action under Hernan Losada, who was let go after the regular season. Even though the results started to tail off for a few weeks, Courtois hopes that the triumph over a top side will give the team confidence to go on another unbeaten run.

“Playing a home game is certainly a factor, but we know what we do during the week and what we want to deliver on the pitch. The whole thing is a puzzle that we piece together gradually. When one part doesn’t fit, it’s easy to call everything into question. Tonight, the whole group was up to standard. Everything was in its place. The final product is what we expected,” he said.

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Mauricio Pochettino left his Monday night press conference in a fit of rage after being asked to comment on the bizarre penalty incident that occurred between Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke and Nicolas Jackson.

Chelsea defeated Everton in a comprehensive 6-0 score-line, with talented forward Cole Palmer managing four goals to take his Premier League tally for the season to 20.

However, there was one major topic on everyone’s minds after the game, and unfortunately it wasn’t the result, which leaves a previously woeful Chelsea within touching distance of the top six.

Palmer, the normal penalty taker for the Blues this season, looked ready to step up when the kick was awarded. But, Madueke took the ball, prompting Jackson to argue that he should take it instead.

The conversation soon became heated, before captain Conor Gallagher stepped in to inform them that Palmer would in fact be the player taking the shot.

Pochettino was quick to apologise on behalf of his players, stating that this would be “the last time” he would allow this kind of behaviour.

Although, it seemed the Blues boss himself was tired of talking about the matter, as he promptly left his press conference after being hounded about the penalty. A video showed the boss complaining about intense questioning, before choosing to leave the room.

Pochettino was heard saying: “All day we talk about one thing” before turning around and reaffirming his point to the press. You all [asked] one [question] all press conference. Every question was in this way [about the penalty incident].”

The Argentine boss had nothing left to say after he promptly exited the room at Stamford Bridge, bringing the press conference to an abrupt end.

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Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold has revealed that he and the rest of the squad knew something was different the day that Jurgen Klopp announced he would be leaving the club.

Klopp went public in late January with his decision to step down as manager at the end of the season. He had informed the club hierarchy of that intention in November, but the players found out at basically the same time as the fans and the rest of the football world.

What was out of the ordinary is that the Liverpool players were gathered for a team meeting as soon as they arrived at the club’s Kirkby training ground.

“[It was] weird, because we never have a meeting at that time, never,” Alexander-Arnold explained to Gary Neville on the latest edition of The Overlap. “We normally get in at 10:00 or 10:30 and then have a meeting at 12:00 just before we go out to train. But when we got in, we had a meeting at 10:30 and that’s the first time I’ve ever had a meeting at 10:30.

“Everyone’s in the changing room, [Klopp] is just stood there and you can see the lads all looking round, thinking, ‘What’s going on?’ And then he just says, ‘Look, lads, I wanted to let you know’. It was breaking [publicly] at the same time. He knew that another season would be too much.

“Something he taught us and something I’ve adopted as a player is take it season by season, no matter what situation you’re in. There’s no point stressing about the next season because that’s completely different. There’s so many lessons he’s taught me, but that’s probably one of the biggest.”

As the clock winds down on Klopp’s time at Liverpool after nearly nine years, the Reds have already won the Carabao Cup and are still targeting a treble before the campaign is out, with Premier League and Europa League trophies both within their sights.

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It’s all to play for in Germany on Tuesday night as Borussia Dortmund welcome Atletico Madrid to Signal Iduna Park for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Atleti hold a slender 2-1 advantage heading into the return fixture, but it initially looked as if Diego Simeone’s side would blow away BVB in the Spanish capital. The hosts raced into a 2-0 lead, but a resilient Dortmund fought back in the second half, halving the deficit, and they were perhaps unfortunate not to draw level in the closing stages.

The visitors’ indifferent away record this season will doubtlessly concern Simeone, with Atletico winning just a third of their La Liga fixtures on the road.

BVB have endured similar consistency woes this term, but they’ll fancy their chances of progressing into the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2013 off the back of their second-half showing last weekend.

Here’s 90min’s preview of Tuesday’s quarter-final second leg.

Borussia Dortmund vs Atletico Madrid H2H Record (All Games)

Current Form (all competitions)

Sebastien Haller, whose goal in Madrid handed Dortmund more than a glimmer of hope, is set to miss the return leg with an ankle injury.

Jadon Sancho and Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, both of whom were bright last week, are also doubts. The former, though, is expected to be fit to start.

Ramy Bensebaini remains out of action for the hosts, while Julian Brandt should come into the side after making an impact off the bench in the first leg.

Dortmund predicted lineup vs Atletico (4-2-3-1): Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Can, Sabitzer; Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi; Fullkrug.

First leg goalscorer Samuel Lino is suspended for Tuesday’s clash in Dortmund. The Brazilian’s absence will be hard-felt by the visitors as there’s not an obvious wing-back replacement.

Nahuel Molina could switch flanks, or Simeone could opt for the more defensive Reinildo.

The visitors are also without Vitolo and Marcos Paulo. Memphis Depay remains a doubt with a muscle injury.

Atletico predicted lineup vs Dortmund (3-5-2): Oblak; Witsel, Gimenez, Hermoso; Molina, Llorente, Koke, De Paul, Reinildo; Griezmann, Morata.

Signal Iduna Park has hardly been a fortress for Dortmund this season, but it’ll be rocking on Tuesday night. BVB have a good chance of progressing, with the reward for the victor being a fairly winnable semi-final tie.

Simeone would’ve preferred a healthier buffer heading into the second leg, and it’ll be interesting to see whether he reverts to vintage Atleti ideals on Tuesday. Their retreat last week got Dortmund back into the game.

It’s hard to see either side containing the other for the duration, and we should once again see goals at both ends. Atleti’s away record is a concern, but there’s just something about this Simeone-led outfit which suggests they’re going to enjoy a deep European run.

Prediction: Borussia Dortmund 1-2 Atletico Madrid

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