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Champions League: Real Madrid, Man United Look to Advance

Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard runs with the ball during the Spanish La Liga match against Alaves at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP)
Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard runs with the ball during the Spanish La Liga match against Alaves at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP)
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Champions League: Real Madrid, Man United Look to Advance

Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard runs with the ball during the Spanish La Liga match against Alaves at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP)
Real Madrid's Martin Odegaard runs with the ball during the Spanish La Liga match against Alaves at Alfredo di Stefano stadium in Madrid, Spain, Nov. 28, 2020. (AP)

Talking points ahead of the penultimate round of group-stage games in the Champions League:

Spain
A victory for Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid at Shakhtar Donetsk will prevent qualification for the knockout stage going down to the final game.

Zidane is under increasing pressure to get his team playing like the one that won the Spanish league last season, when it dominated after competition resumed following a long stoppage because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The record 13-time European champion has only one win in its last four matches across all competitions — a 2-0 victory at Inter Milan in the Champions League last week.

Madrid lost 2-1 to Alavés in the Spanish league on Saturday. Eden Hazard has been left off the squad after he was substituted in the first half against Alavés for an apparent leg injury.

Shakhtar had an upset 3-2 win over Madrid in Spain in their first Group B encounter. Also on Tuesday, Atlético Madrid hosts defending champion Bayern Munich, with the German lineup already in the last-16 as winners of Group A. Bayern routed Atlético 4-0 in Germany.

Diego Simeone’s team will advance if it beats Bayern and Lokomotiv does not beat Salzburg.

England
Chelsea and Manchester City are already through to the knockout phase with two games to spare. Now it's the turn of Manchester United and Liverpool off the back of a challenging weekend in the Premier League.

Liverpool on Tuesday hosts Ajax, with a two-point advantage on the Dutch club in Group D, with a packed program, fixture scheduling and James Milner adding to the injury headaches. The 2019 European champions were stunned at home last week with a home loss to Atalanta.

The visit of Ajax comes a day too soon for the return of up to 2,000 fans being allowed at Anfield.

Old Trafford will still be shut to supporters despite United hosting Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday when the national lockdown ends, with Manchester remaining in the highest classification of coronavirus restrictions.

United came from two goals down to beat Southampton on Sunday. It has a three-point lead in Group H over PSG, last season's finalist which Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side beat in Paris.

France
Marseille’s Champions League form has been so bad it has set a record with 13 straight defeats in the competition, and has not even scored in four group games so far this tournament. Yet the European campaign can still be salvaged if Marseille beats Olympiakos at Stade Velodrome on Tuesday to move level with the Greek club as they chase a Europa League spot.

Coach Andre Villas-Boas can feel cautiously optimistic given that Marseille’s forward line finally clicked, with France internationals Florian Thauvin and Dimitri Payet scoring on Saturday. Thauvin has easily been the club’s most consistent player this season and last. What Villas-Boas really needs is for the gifted Payet to rediscover the magical touch that saw him shine at the European Championship four years ago.

Italy
Juventus will be hoping for a good performance to shake off recent criticism. Coach Andrea Pirlo rested Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday but, even without its star player, Juventus should have beaten newly promoted Benevento in the Italian league. The nine-time defending Serie A champion was held to a 1-1 draw.

Juventus has already qualified for the knockout stage along with Barcelona from Group G and hosts Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday.

Lazio and Atalanta are also looking to the Champions League for joy after disappointing defeats in Serie A. Lazio can book its place in the round of 16 with a win at Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday. Atalanta follows up its Anfield success by hosting Midtjylland, which is last in Group D.

Inter Milan won at the weekend though anything but a win at Borussia Mönchengladbach in Group B on Tuesday will consign it to an early Champions League exit.

Germany
Bayern is a team sorely in need of a rest. The European champion’s key men have been playing almost non-stop for club and country for months, and it’s starting to show. Saturday’s game against Stuttgart brought a 3-1 win but also four new injuries of varying severity for Jerome Boateng, Corentin Tolisso, Lucas Hernández and Javi Martínez.

Coach Hansi Flick could rotate the squad for the Atletico game Tuesday, but that would mean risking Bayern’s 100 percent record in Group A. Bringing in new faces didn’t work too well against Salzburg last week, when midfielder Marc Roca was red-carded in his first European game for Bayern.

Borussia Mönchengladbach can reach the knockout stages for the first time and eliminate Inter Milan when it hosts the Italian team Tuesday. That’s more than many Gladbach fans ever dared to hope for.

Leipzig is in a tight struggle with Paris Saint-Germain to qualify from Group H and could gain the advantage Wednesday with a win over Istanbul Basaksehir.

All that Borussia Dortmund needs is a point to qualify but Dortmund will be keen to beat Lazio to secure first place, gain revenge for an earlier defeat to the Italians, and also bounce back from a surprise 2-1 loss to Cologne in the Bundesliga.

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Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
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Late Guirassy Goal Seals Win as Dortmund Cuts Bayern’s Bundesliga Lead to 3 Points

07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)
07 February 2026, Lower Saxony, Wolfsburg: Borussia Dortmund's Serhou Guirassy celebrates scoring his side's second goal during the German Bundesliga soccer match between VfL Wolfsburg and Borussia Dortmund at Volkswagen Arena. (dpa)

Serhou Guirassy scored late for Borussia Dortmund to cut Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga lead to three points on Saturday with a 2-1 win at Wolfsburg.

Wolfsburg dominated the second half with Mohamed Amoura missing several good chances and Maximilian Arnold striking the crossbar.

Dortmund’s Maximilian Beier hit the underside of the bar with a deflected shot in the first half, when Julian Brandt opened the scoring with a header from Julian Ryerson’s corner in the 38th for the visitors.

Konstantinos Koulierakis replied in similar fashion after the break with a header from Arnold’s free kick, but Wolfsburg was to rue not taking its chances to score more.

Guirassy pounced for the winner in the 87th after good play between Fábio Silva and Felix Nmecha.

“That’s part of football,” Dortmund coach Niko Kovač said of his team’s scrappy win. “But then to decide it with one action is also a quality.”

Eighteen-year-old Italian defender Luca Reggiani went on late for Dortmund for his Bundesliga debut.

American winger Kevin Paredes made his first Wolfsburg start since April 25 after recovering from two operations on his right foot.

Bayern, which failed to win its last two games, can restore its six-point lead with a win over high-flying Hoffenheim on Sunday.

Borussia Mönchengladbach was hosting Bayer Leverkusen later.

Bremen loses on coach's debut

Werder Bremen’s coaching change did little to alter its fortunes as the team lost 1-0 in Freiburg on Daniel Thioune’s debut.

Jan-Niklas Beste let fly and found the top far corner in the 13th for Freiburg, which had Johan Manzambi sent off early in the second half for a foul on Bremen’s Olivier Deman.

Thioune’s team was unable to capitalize on the extra player and is now 11 league games without a win. Bremen faces a visit from Bayern next weekend.

Welcome win for St. Pauli

St. Pauli boosted its survival hopes with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Stuttgart.

The Hamburg-based team remained second-from-bottom, but it opened a four-point gap on bottom side Heidenheim, which lost 2-0 at home to Hamburger SV. Bremen's defeat means St. Pauli is just two points from the relegation playoff place.

Mainz keeps winning

Nadiem Amiri scored two penalties, one in each half, for Mainz to beat Augsburg 2-0 for its third straight win.

Amiri ripped off his distinctive carnival-inspired jersey as he celebrated the second one to seal the win. The thoughtful Lee Jae-sung picked it up so he could resume when the celebrations died down.

Mainz next visits Dortmund.

Sports

Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
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Man United Wins Again to Make It Four in a Row for New Coach Michael Carrick

Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)
Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United scores the 2-0 goal during the English Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, in Manchester, Britain, 07 February 2026. (EPA)

It's four Premier League wins in a row for Manchester United under Michael Carrick and a season that was unraveling just weeks ago now looks full of promise.

A 2-0 victory against Tottenham on Saturday extended Carrick's 100% start as head coach and will further strengthen his case to be given the job on a long-term basis.

“Michael has won everything here and he knows what it means for these fans, what it means for the club to win and how much is needed to win in this football. I think that adds something special to the team,” United captain Bruno Fernandes told TNT Sports.

It was the first time in two years that United has won four straight league games and boosted its hopes of a return to the lucrative Champions League after missing out for the last two years.

Bryan Mbeumo and Fernandes scored in each half at Old Trafford in a game that saw Spurs reduced to 10 men after captain Cristian Romero was sent off in the 29th minute.

Carrick has transformed United's fortunes since he was parachuted in to replace the fired Ruben Amorim last month. Initially given a contract until the end of the season — having previously had a three-game interim spell in 2021 — his impressive impact will likely put him in serious contention to keep the job as the club's hierarchy consider its long-term plans.

“I think Michael came in with the right ideas of giving the players the responsibility, but some freedom to take the responsibility on the pitch, doing the decisions that were needed,” said Fernandes. “He's very good with the words.

“I think he still remembers what I told him the last time he was our manager for our last game. I was sure that Michael could be a great manager, and he’s just showing it.”

United is fourth and after moving up to 44 points, the 20-time English champion has already exceeded last season's total of 42 points for the entire campaign.

Fernandes’ goal, with a controlled finish off his shin in the 81st, was his 200th goal involvement since joining United in 2020.

It sealed victory after Mbeumo had given United the lead in the 38th when firing low from a corner to score his 10th goal of his debut season at the club.

While United's captain was inspirational, Tottenham's Romero did his team no favors with his sending off in the first half.

Having described as “disgraceful” the fact that Spurs were reduced to 11 fit players for the draw with Manchester City last weekend, Romero hardly helped his team’s cause with his red card for a dangerous tackle on Casemiro.

The league's stats partner Opta said it was Romero's sixth sending off since joining the club in 2021 — more than any other Premier League player in that time.

Sports

Protesters in Milan Denounce Impact of Games on Environment

A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
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Protesters in Milan Denounce Impact of Games on Environment

A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)
A protester sets off fireworks during a protest against the environmental, economic and social impact of the Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, near the Olympic Village in Milan, Italy, February 7, 2026. (Reuters)

Thousands of people took to the streets of Milan on Saturday in a protest over housing costs and environmental concerns on the first full day of the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.

The march, organized by grassroots unions, housing-rights groups and social center community activists, is seeking to highlight what activists call an increasingly unsustainable city model marked by soaring rents and deepening inequality.

The Olympics cap a decade in which Milan has seen a property boom following the 2015 World Expo, with locals ‌squeezed by soaring ‌living costs as an Italian tax scheme for ‌wealthy ⁠new residents, ‌alongside Brexit, draws professionals to the financial capital.

Some groups also argue that the Olympics are a waste of public money and resources pointing to infrastructure projects they say have damaged the environment in mountain communities.

A banner stretched across the street read: "Let's take back the cities, let's free the mountains."

CARDBOARD TREES SYMBOLIZE DESTRUCTION

"I’m here because these Olympics are unsustainable — economically, socially, and environmentally," said 71-year-old Stefano Nutini, standing beneath a Communist ⁠Refoundation Party flag.

He argued that Olympic infrastructure had placed a heavy burden on mountain towns hosting events ‌in the first widely dispersed edition of the Winter ‍Games.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) points out ‍that the Games are largely using existing facilities, making them more sustainable.

At ‍the head of the procession, about 50 people carried stylized cardboard trees to represent the larches they said were felled to build a new bobsleigh track in Cortina d'Ampezzo.

"Century-old trees, survivors of two wars...sacrificed for 90 seconds of competition on a bobsleigh track costing 124 million (euros)," read another banner.

MARCH TAKES PLACE UNDER TIGHT SECURITY

According to police estimates, more than 5,000 people were taking part in the ⁠march.

Protesters set off from the Medaglie d'Oro central square to cover nearly four kilometers (2.5 miles) to end in Milan's south-eastern quadrant of Corvetto, a historically working-class district.

A rally last weekend by the hard-left in the city of Turin turned violent, with more than 100 police officers injured and nearly 30 protesters arrested, according to an interior ministry tally.

Saturday's protest follows a series of actions in the run-up to the Games, including rallies on the eve of the opening ceremony that denounced the presence in Italy of US ICE agents and what activists describe as the social and economic burdens of the Olympic project.

The march is taking place under tight security ‌as Milan hosts world leaders, athletes and thousands of visitors for the global sport event, including US Vice President JD Vance.