All Manchester United needed was a draw against a team it beat by five just two months ago. That was too much to ask and now the Red Devils have crashed out of the Champions League at the group stage.

RB Leipzig jumped out early and held off a late charge to claim a memorable 3-2 victory at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night to claim its spot in the Round of 16. 

With the entire globe tuning in to watch Lionel Messi play Cristiano Ronaldo for perhaps the final time, who could’ve predicted that the first half between Barcelona and Juventus would be dominated by dueling Americans Sergiño Dest and Weston McKennie?

Juve controlled possession at the Camp Nou in the opening 45 minutes, so it was Dest who featured most heavily for Barcelona on both defense and with the ball — only Miralem Pjanić had more touches for Barça.

Of all the phenomenons we’ve covered over the last six years — Christian Pulisic’s tender years, Martin Ødegaard’s journey of the Prodigal Son, Alphonso Davies meep meep — Borussia Dortmund’s Youssoufa Moukoko stands out as the most prodigious.

In the history of the game, no player has captured both the UEFA Champions League and AFC Champions League in their career. Wouldn’t it be fitting if Andrés Iniesta — a four-time UCL winner and the most decorated Spanish footballer of all time — became the first?

UEFA announced on Thursday that the 2021-22 season will feature a third club competition below the Europa League. This third-tier tournament has been dubbed the Europa Conference League. So, who qualifies for Europa Conference League and what is this all about?

The answer to the question of who qualifies for this less-than prestigious tournament isn’t too straight forward. The most important thing mentioned in UEFA’s announcement of the new tournament is that NO TEAMS will directly qualify for the group stage via domestic competition.

TURIN, Italy — Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday as Stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to take charge of a Champions League match.

Federico Chiesa, with his first-ever Champions League goal, and Alvaro Morata were also on target while Ronaldo reached another milestone although it was far from his most spectacular goal as the ball appeared to go in off his shin.

Chelsea flexed its superiority with a comfortable 4-0 victory against Sevilla on Wednesday in the Champions League to claim Group E’s top spot. Four top-class Olivier Giroud goals vs Sevilla got the job done for the Blues.

The London club came into the fixture on a 14-game unbeaten streak in all competitions and immediately put the pressure on Sevilla after the first whistle. In the eighth minute Kai Havertz found open space to dribble before laying the ball off to Giroud, who finished the chance beautifully.

UEFA Champions League Group H has three teams level on nine points heading into next week’s final matchday after PSG defeated Manchester United 3-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday. Neymar’s early goal was canceled out in the first half by Marcus Rashford, but PSG captain Marquinhos turned home a nice 69th-minute winner to hugely complicate things for United before Neymar’s late tap-in. 

The UEFA Champions League is where the best of the best in men’s soccer compete: Ronaldo, Messi, Mané, Lewandowski — and a whole bunch of Yanks. This week, the fifth match day of the 2020-21 competition, featured more Americans in Champions League action than ever before.

With Konrad de la Fuente coming on as a substitute for Barcelona in the 80th minute on Wednesday, a record seven Americans appeared in the UCL this week. 

Stephanie Frappart became the first female referee to officiate a men’s UEFA Champions League match on Wednesday, taking charge of the Juventus-Dynamo Kyiv game in Turin. 

You just love to see it

Stephanie Frappart becomes the first woman to referee a men's @ChampionsLeague match

Way to blaze a trail, Stephanie pic.twitter.com/j20ywQi4Z1