12 March, 2026
George Mills
Our Premier League trio had the tables turned on them yesterday, given a rare taste of their own medicine by Champions League opposition. Arsenal conceded from a corner straight out of their own playbook, Chelsea were thumped by a side whose pockets are somehow even deeper than theirs and Manchester City were outplayed in a 3-0 defeat that included an assist for goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois of the sort that Ederson was once revered at the club for. Not very nice, is it? There’s more detail on a jarring week for English clubs abroad in the Big Take.
TODAY’S HAT TRICK
1. Pushing it: Chelsea star Pedro Neto faces a disciplinary case for shoving a young ballboy during yesterday’s heavy loss against Paris St-Germain.
2. The run-in: BBC Sport’s statistician highlights the stats and figures to keep an eye on as this Premier League season heads down the home straight.
3. Miracle men: The night Norwegian minnows Bodo/Glimt wrote another chapter in their Champions League fairytale.
Europa and Europa League action
It’s been a bad week for English clubs in Europe – will tonight change that?
THE BIG TAKE
Europe’s Premier force wilts
Manchester City’s Champions League campaign looks all but over after losing 3-0 to Real Madrid
Bloody noses across the board for the Premier League sextet this week delivered a stinging rebuke of the narrative that English sides are becoming an unstoppable force in the Champions League.
For the first time since the 2022-23 season, they each ended their first leg last-16 ties winless, some wounded more heavily than others, granted. However, with six teams in the draw – representing 37.5% of the entire remaining field – it’s an eye-catching failure by a league which regards itself as the best in the world. Our chief football writer Phil McNulty analyses that reputational damage in more detail on site today.
Within the piece, stats provider Opta highlights the pickle Manchester City now find themselves in after a sobering evening at the Bernabeu. A 3-0 defeat to Real Madrid in a surprisingly one-sided contest means their chances of reaching the quarter-finals have dropped from 64.3% to just 9.4%.
It could’ve been much worse, too. Were it not for Vinicius Jr’s second-half penalty miss, City would’ve faced the prospect of needing to overturn a four-goal deficit in the second leg, a feat managed only once in the competition’s history. Instead, they must simply emulate one of their great rivals in coming back from three down. Easy.
Madrid’s win was delivered by an unlikely source in a side lacking its usual “Galático” heft: no Kylian Mbappe, no Jude Bellingham, no Rodrygo. No problem. Instead, as he so often does, it was the unsung midfielder Federico Valverde who stepped up when needed, capping a typically zealous performance with a high-quality, first-half hat-trick that was special even by the club’s high standards.
Arsenal’s night could’ve ended on a downer too were it not for an 89th-minute penalty that rescued a 1-1 draw away to Bayer Leverkusen.
Kai Havertz slotted it home against his former side, capitalising on the awarding of a spot kick that might kindly be described as “a soft one”, when Noni Madueke hit the ground after fleeting contact.
Drama in the last moments may have salvaged Arsenal’s fate but Chelsea likely surrendered theirs, shipping three goals in 16 costly minutes before full-time against Paris St-Germain.
The irresistible Khvicha Kvaratskhelia delivered the damage, scoring a quick-fire brace after Vitinha had punished an error by Blues goalie Filip Jorgensen with an exquisite lob to make it 3-2 to the French hosts.
The defending champions, perhaps the new “Galácticos” of Europe, now take a comfortable 5-2 lead to Stamford Bridge for the return leg on Tuesday.
The big take: Suddenly, it looks like hard work for the English clubs…
Are Everton the Premier League’s kingmakers?
David Moyes’ side have been defying expectations all season – and could play a defining role in what’s still to come.
You ask answer the question
Yesterday, Jon asked whether Tottenham manager Igor Tudor was right to withdraw his goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky, after he’d made two errors just 17 minutes into their Champions League tie against Atletico Madrid. Thanks to all who got in touch, here are a few of your responses:
The answer is quick and doubtless: No. (Luis Elias)
As a former youth and college soccer coach, and a retired secondary teacher, all I can say is, “brutal!” Spurs coach needs to go. (Chris Scott)
Tudor was right to remove him, Kinsky was having a nightmare of a game, his confidence was shot. It was for the best to substitute him before any further harm was done to either his confidence or his team. (Nick Cross)
Removing Kinsky was probably not a punishment. At this point, his self-confidence was destroyed, his mental preparation was probably forgotten, and the likelihood of further errors was probably greater. For the purpose of the team looking to recover, it was best to have a different goalkeeper. The team comes first. (Chris Twist)
Why on earth would you put in basically a rookie goalkeeper for a Champions League game after Spurs last horror show? He should have known he would be taking a big risk. Then didn’t even console the youngster as he went off. I feel sorry for Kinsky and the manager showed zero class after his selection error. (Chris Tollafield)
I personally think it’s part of the game to have the keeper switched out when things are not going his way. It happens in hockey, it happens with the quarterback in American football – albeit infrequently – and it certainly happens in baseball. (Frank Fletcher)
Not the desired impact
Igor Tudor arrived at Spurs with tactical ideas very different to predecessor Thomas Frank. Find out why they aren’t working.
And finally…
Harry Redknapp might have been linked with an unlikely return to football management by some, but it seems he has a different sport to focus on. His horse Jukebox Man is in the running to win one of racing’s greatest prizes.
News Briefing newsletter
News and expert analysis for every schedule. Get morning and evening editions of our flagship newsletter.
MORE BBC NEWSLETTERS
- Tech Decoded: Timely, trusted updates on the biggest developments in global technology, sent to your inbox every Monday and Friday. Sign up.
- World of Business: Gain the leading edge with global insights for the boardroom and beyond, every Wednesday from New York. Sign up.
- The Essential List: The best of the BBC, handpicked by our editors, delivered straight to your inbox every Tuesday and Friday. Sign up.
Thank you for reading Football Extra. Got feedback, good or bad? We’d love to hear your suggestions. You can reach us by emailing me here. We’ll be in touch again tomorrow!
If you enjoyed it, please consider sharing Football Extra with your friends and family. If this newsletter was forwarded to you, sign up now to receive it daily. To ensure it reaches your inbox, just add footballextra@email.bbc.com as a contact and, if you use Gmail, move the email into your Primary tab.
Follow us here
You’ve received this email because you’ve signed up to the BBC’s Football Extra newsletter.
To find out how we use your data, see the BBC Privacy Policy
BBC Studios Distribution Limited.
Registered Number: 01420028 England
Registered office: 1 Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London, W12 7FA, United Kingdom
