Bayern Munich's journey to the Champions League title required “brutal” mental strength and focus during a rollercoaster season that saw a major team overhaul.
Sunday's 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain not only clinched a sixth European crown for Bayern, it also saw them become the first team to win all of their Champions League matches in a season.
THEY’VE DONE IT!
Monaco rallied from two goals down to salvage a point in a 2-2 draw at home to Reims in their first game under new coach Nico Kovac in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
Hoping to find some stability after hiring five coaches in two years, Monaco found themselves trailing 2-0 after 21 minutes following goals by Boulaye Dia and El Bilal Toure.
But Axel Disasi and Benoit Badiashile, who both had a catastrophic start in central defense, scored either side of the interval as Monaco stepped up a gear.
Leeds United was 90 minutes away from the 2001 Champions League Final.
A lively first leg in the semifinal ended goalless. Leeds had plenty of opportunities in the second half, but the club was happy to earn a home shutout against Valencia in an evenly contested match.
The task ahead was formidable, though. Valencia was unbeaten in its last 17 European Cup matches at the Estadio Mestalla, and the Spanish side was Champions League runner-up the previous season.
With the millions they have invested in top players and with the most respected coach of his generation in charge, Manchester City should be doing much better than going out of the Champions League in the last eight.
But after their shock 3-1 defeat by Lyon on Saturday that is exactly what City have done in the last three years.
After being eliminated at the quarterfinal stage of the Champions League for a third straight year, Manchester City and manager Pep Guardiola, perhaps unexpectedly, find themselves at a crossroads.
Despite the criticism that Guardiola has faced for his cautious tactics in the 3-1 loss to Lyon on Saturday and the questions about whether he is over-complicating the task in Europe, there is no suggestion that the City hierarchy has lost confidence in the Spaniard.
We all know the story of former USWNT coach Jill Ellis stepping down from her position in 2019 after winning back-to-back World Cups. Her endeavors after such a successful stint with the USWNT were uncertain for a while. Then, word had it that she was trying to coach the England women's national team.
Julian Nagelsmann is the youngest head coach to take a team to the Champions League quarterfinals but any suggestion he or his RB Leipzig players will be out of their depth against Atletico Madrid should be quickly dismissed.
The 33-year-old will take the German upstarts into new territory on Thursday and admits a meeting with Atletico counterpart Diego Simeone will be a tough proposition.
There was barely time for the full inquest into Juventus' exit from the Champions League to even begin before the club delivered their own blunt verdict — sacking their coach Maurizio Sarri.
Serie A champions Juventus stunned Italian football on Saturday by naming World Cup-winning midfielder Andrea Pirlo as manager on a two-year contract even though their former player has no previous experience in the role.
Pirlo, 41, was promoted to the senior job one week after being named coach of Juve's under-23 side, who play in the Italian third tier, and without having taken charge of a match. The decision came hours after the Turin club sacked coach Maurizio Sarri following their Champions League last-16 exit to Lyon on away goals on Friday.
Chelsea winger Christian Pulisic, widely considered the United States' top soccer export, is expected to miss six weeks with a right hamstring injury that could extend until the start of the next Premier League season.
The Hershey, Penn., native, who will turn 22 next month, came away with his injury during Chelsea's 2-1 FA Cup final loss to Arsenal. Pulisic scored his team's lone goal in the first half.