USWNT Advance in Gold Cup, Bayern Look to Revive Champions League Campaign
Bayern Munich will look to revive their UEFA Champions League campaign when they face Lazio on Tuesday in the second leg of the round of 16. Bayern currently find themselves in a turbulent state having lost their previous matches to Bayer Leverkusen and Bochum in the Bundesliga. Now relegated from the DFB Pokal and with a ten-point gap at the top of the Bundesliga table, the Champions League might be their best shot at lifting silverware this season.
The UEFA Champions League begins to wrap up the round of 16 on Tuesday, when second leg ties begin. Bayern Munich's match against Lazio serves as the headlining act of Tuesday's action after the German champions lost the first leg 1-0, and amidst a somewhat turbulent time for the team.
The first leg defeat was sandwiched by losses to Bayer Leverkusen and Bochum in the Bundesliga, all of which led Thomas Tuchel to announce his end-of-season departure. The objective for Bayern is to avoid turning the next few months into a lame duck session, but they might have incentive to do so considering the crisis they find themselves in. Bayern face the prospect of not winning a trophy this season for the first time since the 2011-12 campaign, and considering the 10-point gap atop the Bundesliga table and their early elimination from the DFB Pokal, the Champions League might be their best shot at lifting silverware.
Bayern are the favorites tomorrow despite the deficit and will be helped by the fact that Harry Kane has returned to scoring after a stretch in which he failed to register a shot on goal in three out of five games. They will be without Dayot Upamecano, though, who picked up a red card in the first leg, highlighting the team's continuing defensive struggles. Bayern have failed to keep a clean sheet in each of their last seven games, conceding 13 times along the way.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappe's farewell tour continues as Paris Saint-Germain face Real Sociedad. The French champions carry a 2-0 lead into the second leg, but may be eager to put together a showy performance since they are currently on a two-game winless run.
All eyes were on Manchester this week and for the right and wrong reasons. Manchester City picked up another commanding win over Manchester United yesterday in another match that raises questions about Erik ten Hag's vision for the Red Devils.
Kylian Mbappe was pulled at halftime of PSG's 0-0 draw with Monaco in a decision that came from manager Luis Enrique, showing his last few months at the French club are not exactly going according to plan. The upcoming U.S. Open Cup will look a little different this year as only eight MLS teams will compete in the competition amid tensions between the league and the U.S. Soccer Federation, which organizes the century-old cup competition.
Catarina Macario played her first game in nearly two years yesterday and marked her return in style by scoring in Chelsea's 4-0 win over Leicester. Real Madrid criticized the officiating during their 2-2 draw against Valencia, when the referee blew the final whistle during a play that resulted in a Jude Bellingham goal that was subsequently disallowed.
Inter remain atop Serie A's power rankings, while Napoli are finding form under interim manager Francesco Calzona and Lazio picked up three red cards against AC Milan over the weekend. Marcus Rashford wrote to his critics in an open letter published by the Players' Tribune with a simple ask: "to have a bit more humanity" when discussing his mistakes during an up-and-down season at manchester United. All that and more in this week's Top Stories!