MANCHESTER – Real Madrid and Liverpool will look to preserve their perfect Champions League records when they return to action Wednesday.
The 15-time European champions, Madrid, travel to face AEK Athens, while six-time winner Liverpool visits Fenerbahce.
Madrid coach Jose Mourinho is pursuing another Champions League triumph after previously winning the competition with Porto and Inter Milan, though he is determined not to get ahead of himself.
“It would be the third with three different clubs, and this one with the biggest club in the world. But we are talking about hypothetical situations and I prefer real ones,” Mourinho said. “The reality is that we still need points to qualify. Until we are qualified, I don’t like talking about the round of 16.”
Last season’s runner-up Arsenal visits Slavia Prague, while Manchester City travels to RB Leipzig.
Mbappé in hot form
Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé enters the match in outstanding form, with 15 goals in 14 appearances this season, including seven in his last five games.
The France international has found the net in each of his past five Champions League appearances.
Jude Bellingham is also closing in on a Champions League milestone. At 23 years and 128 days, he would become the youngest player to make 60 appearances in the competition.
That would see him surpass former Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas, who was 23 years and 167 days old when he reached the mark.
Bellingham already holds the record as the youngest player to reach 50 Champions League appearances.
Iraola encouraged after loss
Liverpool will try to rebound from Sunday’s Premier League defeat to Arsenal.
The Merseyside side fell 1-0 at Anfield, but coach Andoni Iraola said there were encouraging aspects to build on before the meeting with Fenerbahce.
“It’s difficult when you lose. But, honestly, I’m happy with a lot of things from the other day,” Iraola said. “Still, we need to improve, especially attacking the box.”
Errors hurting Man City
Following consecutive Premier League defeats, City coach Enzo Maresca has urged his team to eliminate the costly mistakes that have undermined recent performances.
City has lost to Aston Villa and Brighton in recent weeks, with individual errors proving decisive in both matches.
“Unfortunately it is happening for our players, but I think it is part of the game, part of football. In the last two or three games it has happened many times against us,” Maresca said ahead of the Champions League match against Leipzig. “We need to analyze and understand what we can do better and try to move on.”
“For sure we are not happy. The players, me, the coaching staff, the club.”
PSG, Manchester United, Barcelona and Bayern win
Paris Saint-Germain set a competition record for the fastest team to score four goals, racing to a 4-0 lead after 17 minutes against Villarreal before completing a 6-0 victory Tuesday.
Manchester United produced a remarkable comeback, recovering from its worst start to a European home match to defeat Roma 3-2.
Barcelona defeated Aston Villa 3-0, while Bayern Munich earned a 2-0 victory at Atletico Madrid.
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James Robson is at https://x.com/jamesalanrobson
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