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Barcelona, Manchester City, Besiktas and Tottenham Hotspur emerged as winners of their respective groups while defending champions Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Chelsea also booked their places in the next phase of the competition. Here we take a look at the five main talking points from the action during midweek: #5 Atletico Madrid are still alive in Group C Atletico Madrid had everything to play for when they faced Roma at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium after their disappointing start to the campaign weighed down by the fact that they were without a win in their four Champions League outings....

As it stands, Group C looks like this: One would think that PSG are in pole position to go through, given that their last game is against Red Star Belgrade in Serbia. On the final day, Napoli travel to Anfield to face Liverpool. Teams that finish level on points in the Champions League group stage are sorted by the following criteria: Points in head-to-head matches among tied teams;Goal difference in head-to-head matches among tied teams;Goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;Away goals scored in head-to-head matches among tied teams;Goal difference in all group matches;Goals scored in all group matches;Away goals scored in all group matches;Wins in all group matches;Away wins in all group matches;Disciplinary points (red card = 3 points, yellow card = 1 point, expulsion for two yellow cards in one match = 3 points);UEFA club coefficient....

This is set to be the first official meeting between the sides in the competition. What adds more to this already tantalizing fixture is the whole host of stars in every area, calling for some amazing one-on-one battles. Armed with some of the hottest talents, Dortmund are no longer pushovers. They’re here to fight and as proved last season, can give the bigwigs a serious run for their money....

Group B is simply jaw-dropping, with four continental powers — Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Porto and AC Milan — while tournament favorites Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were drawn together in Group A. Now all that’s left is for Cristiano Ronaldo to actually transfer to Manchester City as rumors suggest. If he does, it would set up a tasty showdown against PSG’s Lionel Messi and Neymar. It’s Champions League trophy or bust for both of those clubs....

In case you didn’t know… PSG crashed out of the European competition after they squandered their two-goal lead from the first leg of their Round of 16 fixture against the Red Devils. While the club has dominated the French top flight for years, they have failed to establish themselves as genuine contenders for the elite European title despite having big-name players like Neymar Jr, Edinson Cavani, and Kylian Mbappe. Manchester United, who pulled off one of the most spectacular comebacks in Champions League history under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, have been drawn to face LaLiga champions, Barcelona, in what promises to be a thrilling fixture....

It is the harshest penalty in Croatia’s history, which has a lengthy record of bad behaviour by their fans. Croatia can appeal the verdict but it is highly unlikely that they will take any further steps in the matter. They have three days to appeal against the verdict. Croatia faced charges of racist behaviour by their fans at the European qualifiers Group H home match against Italy in Split on June 12....

“I’m not surprised, motherf——,’ McGregor told Joe Rogan after the fight. “The king is back. He’s a hell of a competitor. He brought out the best in me.” MORE UFC 202: Johnson knocks out Teixeira Here’s a breakdown of everything that unfolded during UFC 202: 12:29: McGregor defeats Nate Diaz by majority decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-47) in a classic. 11:44: It is time for the UFC 202 main event as featherweight champion Conor McGregor rematches Nate Diaz in a welterweight bout....

There has been nothing but bad blood between these two superstars stemming all the way back to the UFC 205 fight week where the two collided in a heated exchange backstage. This incidentally was the last time we saw the Irishman in the octagon before his two year layoff from the sport. The rivalry really picked up however at the UFC 223 fight week where Khabib and his entourage confronted McGregor’s teammate and good friend, Artem Lobov....

The ‘Notorious’ One revealed these details during UFC’s pre-fight show ‘The Exchange’ with popular UFC personality Megan Olivi. In case you didn’t know… McGregor takes on Khabib Nurmagomedov at UFC 229 in the main event on October 6 live on Pay-Per-View. Conor McGregor and Khabib Nurmagomedov recently addressed the media together for the first time before UFC 229 in Radio City Music Hall, New York. Conor has signed a new six-fight deal with the UFC....

The UFC main event will feature the UFC Featherweight Champion, Max Holloway, defending his title against the undefeated Brian Ortega. In the co-main event of the night, Valentina Shevchenko will face Joana Jedrzejczyk in a fight in the Women’s Flyweight Division for the vacant UFC Women’s Flyweight Championship. The card will also include fights between Alex Oliveira and Gunnar Nelson, as well as Jimi Manuwa and Thiago Santos among other bouts....

Through the first five minutes of the championship main event, Jessica Andrade was on the wrong end of things, getting picked apart and busted up by champion Rose Namajunas. When the challenger did manage to close the distance and look for one of her signature scoop slams, Namajunas defended well, attacking a kimura that forced the Brazilian to hesitate. But as the second frame began, the challenger pressed forward even harder and started finding a home for her looping, powerful hooks....

The Fight Night will also see the prodigal son return to the company, where he will face the likes of Blachowicz in his first fight back. Nikita Krylov’s return fight could not have taken place in a better location or time, as a win in Russia for the Ukrainian fighter will see him take a step up and onto the main card of future UFC pay-per-views. The four fights on the main card seem to have an unspoken theme, with most of the fighters having unbelievably long tenures with the company, but still, continue fighting in that position at the same time....

“Super Samoan” hadn’t fought since he fought to a majority draw against Antonio Silva in December. He looked like he didn’t miss a step in Saturday’s fight even though there was some worry heading into the fight as he had to reportedly cut 19 pounds to make the heavyweight limit of 265 pounds. When asked by Brian Stann in the cage after the fight on who he wanted to face next, Hunt said anyone in the top 10....

In a recent appearance on Michael Bisping’s Believe You Me podcast, Smith revealed what he told Spann after the main-event bout. Anthony Smith let his emotions get the better of him as he screamed at his opponent in the immediate aftermath of the fight. Watch Anthony Smith’s appearance on the podcast below: Lack of respect led to outburst, claims Anthony Smith Heading into the fight, Ryan Spann was dismissive of Anthony Smith’s abilities as a fighter....

On Below the Belt with Brendan Schaub, the former UFC Heavyweight spoke about the upcoming UFC on ESPN 5 card. He admitted to not knowing most of the fighters on the main card and plainly stated that the fights seemed quite bad on paper. In case you didn’t know… The UFC on ESPN 5 card will be headlined by a welterweight clash between Colby Covington and Eddie Alvarez. While the main event promises to be a riveting affair, the rest of the card falls flat on so many levels....

Former UFC middleweight champion Chris Weidman is all set to make his Octagon return, when he takes on former Strikeforce champ Gegard Mousasi. Mousasi has been calling for a high level opponent for some time now after his string of impressive performances, and who better to test himself against than the man who handed the great Anderson Silva his first loss in the UFC? In case you didn’t know…....

According to Dan Hooker, he is too occupied with his next fight to think about Tsarukyan’s callout. He claimed to be completely focused on his next opponent, Nasrat Haqparast. Check out Dan Hooker’s appearance on The MMA Hour: Dan Hooker is scheduled to take on Nasrat Haqparast this weekend at UFC 266. The Kiwi hasn’t stepped foot in the octagon since getting knocked out against Michael Chandler at UFC 257 in January....

Reigning champ has a message for the former champ In response to Jedrzejczyk claiming that she will travel to Zhang’s native country China and beat her in a fight, Zhang put up a post on Instagram saying that she is more than ready for the fight. UFC President Dana White recognizes the potential of this match-up and in a screenshot depicting the verbal exchange between the two fighters, White has claimed that the fight will be fun to watch....

In case you didn’t know… UFC 229 lived up to all the hype and more as it ended up smashing a host of records. It recorded the highest ever attendance and live gate figures for an MMA event in Las Vegas as well as the largest PPV buy rate for any UFC event at 2.4 million. It was the most watched MMA event of all time in Russia in addition to pulling in solid viewership figures from around the globe....