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Chelsea booed off, Eze scores wonder goal, Rudiger and Pep clash, Vinicius Jr taunts Man City fans

Chelsea were booed off, Eze scores a must see wonder goal, Rudiger and Pep clash, and Vinicius Jr taunts Man City fans.

More drama in the Champions League on Tuesday night for our English sides, Arsenal progress to quarter-finals, while Man City and Chelsea crash out after heavy aggregate defeats.

Gunners eased through against Leverkusen, with the Gunners’ quadruple still on, Man City lose to Real Madrid at home, and Chelsea were humbled by PSG.

Chelsea 0-3 (2-8 agg) PSG

There were boos heard from the 30th minute, at half time, on the 58th minute after Rosenior took off Palmer, Pedro and Fernandez, Stamford Bridge began to empty with half an hour left, ole’s throughout the game, and Chelsea booed again at full time.

After being questioned about Sarr’s selection, Rosenior said at his post-match press conference: “Mamadou has played in that position for me and had some great performances against PSG.

“I felt his experience, his feel of the players, would help him. When you’re a player and make a mistake that early, it can become a really difficult night for you.

“Malo Gusto was down to start the game and was very ill. We gave him as much time to recover as possible.

“These are decisions you want to make and get correct, and in that moment, Mamadou’s made a mistake, which has made it a difficult night because it gave PSG the confidence.”

ChelseaĀ bossĀ Liam RoseniorĀ speaking at his post-match press conference about his triple substitution being booed:

“They’ve played over 100 games in 18 months. They’ve had no break in terms of the international games, the travelling that Joao Pedro, Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo do to South America.

“It’s not an excuse. This is a by-product of the success of the Club World Cup, and it’s a great thing that the club achieved at the Club World Cup.

“But you’re seeing with Reece [James], you’re seeing with players that if I don’t manage their minutes, their likelihood of getting injured is increased very highly.

“So I want us to make sure we’re in this competition next season as a minimum. We’re still fighting for an FA Cup.

“But I have to make maybe really difficult decisions that at the time probably don’t look great to be honest.

“You never want to take off your best players when you’re five goals down in a tie, but I want to make the right decisions for the football club in the long term as well.”

Chelsea boss Liam Rosenior, speaking to TNT Sports:Ā “A tough night. We knew it was a tough ask and to start the game in the manner that we did. We had the ball in the final third. you cna’t make mistakes at this level. We had the ball in their box and Barcola hit one from 25 yards into the top corner. Their belief grows.

On difference between the two:Ā “They were clinical. The third goal, ball breaks and he hits in the top corner. I haven’t looked at the stats yet, but we had a lot of shots. They didn’t make mistakes. I want to thank the fans because they saw how hard the lads worked.

On Mamadou Sarr:Ā “Mamadou, he’s a very good player, but we missed our two starting right-backs. There are times when you have to put players in and you have to trust them. it took the wind out of our sails.

On Trevoh Chalobah injury:Ā “Trevoh, I just asked the medical team. He’s got a high ankle sprain, so I’m praying it’s nothing too serious because we can’t lose another defender.

“When you go through a difficult run, you have to make sure your habits are right. We have a really difficult game at Everton and we have to be at our best to get a result there.”

Arsenal 2-0 (3-1 agg) Bayer Leverkusen

Eze produced a goal of the season contender with an absolute stunner to give Arsenal deserved lead, with Rice added a superb second goal later in the game.

Arsenal goalscorer Eberechi Eze speaking to TNT Sports:Ā “We know that at this stage, it doesn’t matter who you face, it’s going to be tough and difficult. But, we have a game on Sunday, so it will be good to get some preparation in.”

On winning trophies:Ā “We want to do well and get those trophies, it’s been our goal since the start of the season. We’ll keep pushing and working but, God willing, it will come through.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, speaking in the post-match news conference, said:Ā “We started the game so well and we were a threat from every angle. Their keeper kept them in the game and we needed a magical moment from Ebs [Eberechi Eze] to give us the lead.

“Then in the second half Declan’s action gave us the opportunity to win the game and we had four or five situations where we should’ve scored a third but overall we fully deserved to win and be into the quarter-finals.

“Ebs is playing every three days, he has rhythm, has an understanding with the players and this [the goal] is why he is here. He is building an understanding with all of them and when you start to make key moments in games that lifts your confidence.

“Declan was immense, him and the whole team – the manner they go into every ball and the passion they show is remarkable.”

Arteta, speaking to TNT Sports, on Declan Rice’s goal:Ā “When you talk about technique, the ball just sounded, boff, and the reaction of all the players around tells you about it. That’s why he’s here”

“It’s the Champions League. When you have four or five chances and if you don’t put the ball in the back of the net, it gets frustrating. It was an incredible moment from Declan to finish the game. We want to try and get more chances like that for people because we have got a lot of players that can do that.”

On if his substitutions were related to Sunday’s Carabao Cup final:Ā “It was good to rotate and get those players in but I had certain players that needed to come off because of the amount of time they are playing. That’s why they came off, nothing to do with Sunday.”

Man City 1-2 (1-5 agg) Real Madrid

Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr, speaking to Amazon Prime:Ā “We weren’t under pressure because we scored three goals in the first leg at home. We knew what we wanted to do but we still had work to do. Now we need to keep working hard.”

On scoring the penalty after missing from the spot last week:Ā “I was really disappointed not to score last week. I really wanted to score but it wasn’t to be. But [Federico Valverde] gave me the confidence. He told me that today will be the day. I was able to do it and I’m really happy about it.”

On his ‘crying’ celebration after goal:Ā “The last time we came here, the Manchester City fans (who put up a banner which read ‘Stop crying’ after Rodri won the Ballon d’Or in 2024 ahead of the Brazilian) were making fun of me. I wasn’t disrespecting City fans but it was a way for me to prove myself to them.”

On playing under Alvaro Arbeloa:Ā “We have been growing as a team and getting better and better. Two great performances against City. We are getting to know each other and playing better.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking to Amazon Prime:Ā “It’s difficult once you are 4-0 down and playing 10 men against 11. But we did everything.”

On what the feeling is about the team’s performance:Ā “We have an extraordinary team and extraordinary group of players. The future is bright.

“It’s a little bit of a learning. But it should have been 11 against 11. But we never know. Maybe we lose 6-0 but it’s a fact.

“[Thibaut] Courtois is a fantastic keeper. First 15-20 minutes was good but after that it was 10 against 11 and it was difficult. In the end, Courtois was the best player on the pitch, so that means how good we were. The feeling is that give me the chance to play 11 against 11.

On Bernardo Silva red card:Ā “Reaction. Instinct. It’s a big punishment – penalty and red card.”

Real Madrid’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, speaking to Amazon Prime:Ā “It’s the most important time of the season. These are the important games, every one is kind of a cup final. There’s an expectation at Real Madrid to go far in the Champions League and win it. It’s embedded in the identity of the club. We thrive off the expectation and it brings the best out of us.

“It’s not only big players, young players are stepping up as well like Thiago Pitarch who put in incredible performances last week and tonight. But at a club like this, big players step up on the big stage. Last week Fede [Valverde] put in one of the best performances anyone will ever see, tonight Vini [Jr] shows he’s world class again.

“Everybody put in a shift, everybody defended well. Over the two legs, we deserved to go through.”

On returning to England:Ā “It was nice to get one over Manchester City, they’ve snatched a few medals from me and Liverpool. You know going up against Manchester City is always going to be tough, so we’re proud of the performance.

On life at Real Madrid:Ā “I knew what I was getting into, it’s a completely different culture, language and style of football. Everyone’s made me feel really at home from minute one, and encouraged me to be myself. The manager has filled me with a lot of confidence so hopefully I can stay fit and push on. He’s enabled me to play the way I can.”

On playing for England:Ā “I’ve not spoke to him [Thomas Tuchel] but I know the squad gets announced this week so hopefully I get the call and I can play for my country which is always the greatest honour.”

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