#champions-league

#champions-league

Monaco have dropped Paul Pogba from their Champions League squad for the knockout stages in order to make room for their January new signings, sources have told ESPN. Pogba, who will turn 33 next month, has not played since the start of December and has only featured three times this season for the club -- a pair of five minute cameos against Rennes and PSG in November and again off the bench against Brest.

Without a question, the best players want to play in the Champions League. Money is important too but it's not the deciding factor. He will be getting paid well up in the North East. But the Champions League is the trophy along with the World Cup that all players want to win. If you're not in the Champions League, you can't win it.

Jude Bellingham is likely to miss a month due to injury for Real Madrid, sources told ESPN. Bellingham went off in the ninth minute of Madrid's LaLiga game against Rayo Vallecano with a muscle injury in his left thigh. Receiving a pass from Franco Mastantuono, Bellingham fell and held the affected area in pain. "He has been diagnosed with a semitendinosus muscle injury in his left leg," a club statement read.

Suggestions welcome on WhatsApp voicenotes to 08000 289 369 & emails to TCV@bbc.co.uk 02:00 John's fall from grace 06:50 5 Live commentaries coming up 12:50 Champions League reflections 17:45 Does the format need changing? 21:00 Unintended pub and film names 31:50 Harry Maguire for England? 35:45 Clash of the Commentators 47:15 Great Glossary of Football Commentary: 5 Live / BBC Sounds commentaries: Sat 1500 Leeds v Arsenal, Sat 1500 Brighton v Everton on Sports Extram Sat 1730 Chelsea v West Ham,

Obviously I could do better, I could do worse. I'm pretty happy. The most important thing was to set up outside of the pitch with my teammates, that's a big thing. Everything I do outside with my teammates, training, I think I've settled in well and that helps me to perform so I would say I'm happy but I'm hungry for more and I expect more from myself so I have to keep working.

"We gave it our all against a great team. I can't fault my players. "We created chances in the first half, both clear-cut opportunities and dangerous moves into the box. Jordan Larsson could have made it 0-2 before the break,"

Randal Kolo Muani was lucky to be on the field. The Tottenham striker had endured a moment of indescribable panic when the front right tyre on his Ferrari blew out on the motorway on Tuesday as he drove to Stansted airport for the team flight to Frankfurt. The car was a write-off but Kolo Muani walked away from it. He had to take a later flight to make this Champions League game and he was plainly determined to make his mark on it.

Liverpool thrashed Qarabag 6-0 at Anfield on Wednesday, helped by Alexis Mac Allister's double, along with goals from Florian Wirtz, Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitike and Federico Chiesa. But after Liverpool's largest margin of victory under Slot sent them into the Champions League's last 16, the Dutchman used his post-match press conference to clarify what he felt was unfair treatment from sections of the media.

We feel great pride and satisfaction, because despite missing more than half the squad, we played, if not on the same level, then even better than Chelsea, and deserved a lot more.

Bayer Leverkusen confirmed their place in the Champions League's knockout-stage play-offs after dismantling Villarreal in a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Kasper Hjulmand's side delivered an emphatic performance at BayArena, setting up a meeting with either Borussia Dortmund or Olympiacos, where the victors will reach the last 16. A needless Arnau Tenas error handed Leverkusen their 12th-minute lead when the goalkeeper stalled too long over a clearance, with Malik Tillman charging him down to deflect the ball into an empty net.

Alex Baena was denied the opener after VAR spotted he was offside when sweeping home, and Julian Alvarez saw a goal straight from a corner forced to be re-taken, with Sorloth meeting David Hancko's cross with an emphatic header between those incidents to have Atleti ahead. But Bodo were level when Fredrik Bjorkan found Sjovold down the right, and the full-back drilled his shot past Jan Oblak.

Sporting CP joined Europe's heavyweights in the Champions League's last 16 after a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at Athletic Club. The Portuguese side were reliant on results elsewhere going their way to have a realistic hope of a top-eight finish even with a victory on Wednesday. But as Real Madrid were beaten and Paris Saint-Germain and Newcastle United drew with one another, Sporting were struggling to hold up their end of the bargain heading into stoppage time.