2025/26 UEFA European Football Roundup: Semi-Finals, Leg 1

UEFA Champions League:

PSG 5-4 Bayern Munich

One of the greatest-ever football matches took place this week, with Paris Saint-Germain edging out Bayern Munich with a 9-goal thriller! After Willian Pacho fouled Luis Diaz in the box, Harry Kane stepped up and scored from 12 yards out to give Bayern Munich the lead after 17 minutes! PSG were then quickly level, however, thanks to a brilliant goal by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, before Joao Neves headed PSG in front in the 33rd minute! In the 41st minute, it was 2-2 as Michael Olise fired one into the back of the net, before PSG were awarded a stoppage-time penalty for a rather controversial handball decision! I don’t like these types of decisions being given! Anyway, Ousmane Dembele followed it up with a brilliant penalty kick, meaning we entered halftime at 3-2! In the 56th minute, Kvaratskhelia scored again to make it 4-2 to the hosts, before Dembele added a 5th just 2 minutes later! However, Bayern were able to get one back in the 65th minute through Dayot Upamecano, before Luis Diaz got another one back with a fantastic bit of play! Overall, it’s just about advantage Paris Saint-Germain heading into the Second Leg! PSG host Lorient tomorrow ahead of a big away day in Germany next Wednesday! As for Bayern Munich, at least they got themselves back into the tie! Bayern will host FC Heidenheim next time out, but their main focus is 100% on the Champions League!

Atletico Madrid 1-1 Arsenal

There was nothing to separate Atletico Madrid and Arsenal in a game that featured multiple penalty shouts! Piero Hincapie had a decent opportunity to score early on, but he was unable to guide his effort on target, before Noni Madueke came within a whisker of putting Arsenal in front! David Hancko then committed a stupid foul in the penalty area, leading to Viktor Gyokeres firing home from 12 yards out to send Arsenal into the break ahead! In the second half, both Ademola Lookman and Antoine Griezmann missed good opportunities to equalise, before Atletico Madrid were awarded a penalty for a handball against Ben White! Julian Alvarez then stepped up and scored to make it 1-1 after 56! Griezmann then came super close to putting Atletico in front; his effort coming back out off the crossbar, before Lookman had a golden chance to make it 2-1, a chance he completely wasted (hitting the ball straight at David Raya)! Arsenal were then awarded a penalty after Eberechi Eze was brought down, but a VAR review later overturned that decision! In the end, Atletico Madrid probably won’t be too happy with this result, but they’re very much still in the tie! Atletico head to Valencia next time out before they travel to London next Tuesday! As for Arsenal, they’ll probably feel quite hard done to! The Gunners have a big game against Fulham tomorrow, before they will need to prepare for a difficult Second Leg!

UEFA Europa League:

Braga 2-1 Freiburg

A late goal gives SC Braga an advantage over SC Freiburg heading into next week’s Second Leg! After just 8 minutes, Braga already had the lead thanks to an important touch by Demir Tiknaz! However, it only took Freiburg 8 minutes to equalise through Vincenzo Grifo! After originally not giving a penalty, a VAR check later awarded Braga a penalty just before halftime, although it didn’t matter as Rodrigo Zalazar saw his effort saved by Noah Atubolu! Braga were then asking for another penalty, but this time it wasn’t given, before in the 92nd minute, Mario Dorgeles took advantage of a goalkeeping error to give Braga a lead heading into the Second Leg! Overall, it was very important for SC Braga to take an advantage into Germany next week! Braga will host Estoril next time out before the Second Leg! As for Freiburg SC, they’ll be majorly disappointed to have lost so late on! Freiburg take on Wolfsburg this Sunday before they will look to turn things around at home!

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Aston Villa

One penalty was all that was needed to give Nottingham Forest a slender First Leg advantage over Aston Villa! Stefan Ortega made a strong save in the first half to keep Morgan Rogers’ effort out, before Emi Martinez pulled off a brilliant save to deny Igor Jesus! In the second half, Ollie Watkins had a great chance to put Aston Villa in front, but he could only direct his effort straight at Ortega, before Nottingham Forest were awarded a penalty for a handball against Lucas Digne! Chris Wood then stepped up and scored to give Forest the lead in the 71st minute! What a great penalty! Youri Tielemans then had a decent opportunity to equalise for Villa late on, but he couldn’t keep his effort down! Overall, this was a much-needed win for Nottingham Forest! Forest take on Chelsea on Monday before they head to Villa next Thursday! As for Aston Villa, this is only their second loss of their entire Europa League campaign! Villa will host Tottenham next time out before they attempt to turn things around in the Second Leg!

UEFA Conference League:

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-3 Crystal Palace

A brilliant First Leg performance over Shakhtar Donetsk puts Crystal Palace one step closer to the UEFA Conference League Final! After just 21 seconds, Crystal Palace already had the lead as Ismaila Sarr finished well! Less than 2 minutes into the second half, though, Shakhtar Donetsk were back on level terms as Oleg Ocheretko was there to tap the ball home! Dmytro Riznyk then made a brilliant double save to keep the game at 1-all, before Jean-Philippe Mateta struck the post! In the 58th minute, Palace were back in front through Daichi Kamada, before Jorgen Strand Larsen added a crucial third in the 84th minute! In the end, it’s going to be very tough for Shakhtar Donetsk to advance from here! Shakhtar head to Dynamo Kyiv this Sunday before they look to pull off an all-time comeback! As for Crystal Palace, they firmly have one foot in the Final! The Eagles take on Bournemouth next time out before they look to see out the job next Thursday!

Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Strasbourg

An important headed goal gives Rayo Vallecano a much-needed advantage heading into next week’s Second Leg at RC Strasbourg! After nothing happened in the first half, Rayo Vallecano would find themselves in front in the 54th minute thanks to a great headed finish by Alemao! Mike Penders was then needed to stop Vallecano from scoring from another corner, before Andrew Omobamidele wasted a good opportunity to get Strasbourg back on level terms! Florian Lejeune then had a golden chance to double Rayo Vallecano’s advantage heading into the Second Leg, but he could only head the ball straight at Penders! Overall, it’s a lead for Rayo Vallecano, but it probably should’ve been more! Vallecano head to Getafe this Sunday before they look to reach their first major European Final! As for RC Strasbourg, a 1-0 loss isn’t the end of the world for them! Strasbourg take on Toulouse next time out before they will look to overturn things in the Second Leg!