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When the Champions League quarter-final first leg kicks off between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona at Camp Nou on Wednesday, all eyes will fall on Antoine Griezmann, the French striker whose chapter at Barcelona ended in bitter disappointment, but now returns to the Catalan ground chasing a fairytale final trophy for his Atletico Madrid career.

The 35-year-old, who announced last week he will leave La Liga at the end of this season to join Major League Soccer side Orlando City, has one unfulfilled goal before he departs: deliver Atletico’s first-ever Champions League title, and end his trophy drought at the club stretching back to 2018. Atletico have twice fallen at the final hurdle of Europe’s top club competition, losing the 2014 and 2016 finals, and Griezmann has not lifted silverware with the Rojiblancos since their 2018 Europa League triumph and subsequent UEFA Super Cup victory.

Griezmann’s history with both clubs is tangled. He first left Atletico for Barcelona in a high-profile 2019 transfer, but his two-year stint at Camp Nou was marked by struggle: he never clicked alongside Lionel Messi, and was part of the side that suffered a humiliating 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in the 2020 Champions League quarter-finals. He also missed out on Atletico’s 2021 La Liga title – a trophy that has eluded Griezmann across his entire career. He returned to Atletico on loan in 2021, before making the move permanent a year later, and has since become the club’s all-time leading goalscorer with 211 goals to his name.

Orlando City had originally pushed for Griezmann to join the club by the end of March, but the forward insisted on staying to chase two major trophies: the Champions League and this season’s Copa del Rey. A key part of Diego Simeone’s dynasty across the Argentine coach’s 14-year reign at Atletico, Griezmann has blended tireless work ethic with world-class technical quality, earning praise even from his opponent’s dugout this week. “Griezmann is a maverick, it’s unbelievable how he plays football,” Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick said last week. “It seems so light, it’s like he’s dancing.”

This is not Griezmann’s first iconic Champions League performance at Camp Nou. A decade ago in the 2016 quarter-finals, he scored twice to knock out Barcelona’s superstar attacking trio of Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar and send Atletico through – though that run ultimately ended in a crushing final loss to Real Madrid in Milan. This week, after starting in Atletico’s 2-1 La Liga defeat to Barcelona at the weekend, Griezmann is likely to start the quarter-final from the bench, with reduced minutes across this season a key factor in his decision to move on at the end of the campaign.

Joining Griezmann in the spotlight for Atletico is Argentine striker Julian Alvarez, who has been repeatedly linked with a transfer to Barcelona amid speculation over his future at the Metropolitano. The 2024 signing from Manchester City – who cost Atletico £81.5 million ($108 million) – fuelled rumours earlier this season when he refused to rule out a summer move, answering “maybe yes, maybe no” when asked if he would stay beyond this campaign. While Barcelona’s ongoing financial struggles mean they are unlikely to afford the steep transfer fee Atletico would demand, Alvarez will have a prime opportunity to impress his potential suitors on Wednesday, where he is expected to start.

After a rocky start to the season that saw him go through a winter goal drought, Alvarez has found his form in recent months, earning consistent public backing from Simeone. He scored in Atletico’s 4-0 Copa del Rey semi-final first leg win over Barcelona in February, where Griezmann also found the net as the Catalans capitulated.

While five-time Champions League winners Barcelona enter the tie as favorites, Atletico carry unique motivation: Griezmann chasing a career-defining piece of silverware to cap his Atletico legacy, and Alvarez out to prove his quality to suitors. With both players hungry to make their mark, the quarter-final showdown is set for a dramatic clash at Camp Nou.

Twelve months ago, when Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool shared a Champions League pitch at Anfield, the English side was steamrolling its way to a Premier League trophy, earning high praise from PSG manager Luis Enrique, who called Jurgen Klopp’s outfit “an almost perfect team”. A lot can change in a year in top-flight European football, and as the two historic clubs prepare to lock horns once again in the 2025-26 Champions League quarter-finals, the tables have turned dramatically. The opening leg of the tie, set to kick off in Paris on Wednesday, sees a red-hot PSG enter the matchup as overwhelming favorites, their trajectories having diverged sharply from the pair’s last encounter.

That 2024 Champions League last-16 clash proved to be a pivotal moment for PSG, as they held their nerve in a penalty shootout at Anfield to knock Liverpool out, a win that propelled them to their first-ever Champions League title. That result came after the French giants dominated the first leg in Paris but fell to a 1-0 defeat, forcing them to claw back the deficit on enemy soil to force penalties. In the year since that night, both clubs have followed wildly different paths.

For Liverpool, Arne Slot’s side managed to grind out the 2024-25 Premier League title despite a late-season slump that followed their exit from Europe. This campaign, however, has been nothing short of a massive disappointment for the Merseyside club. Heading into Wednesday’s clash at Parc des Princes, Liverpool is reeling from a demoralizing 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals, leaving the squad in a deeply downbeat mood.

After the humbling defeat to City, Slot publicly called out his side for a lack of fighting spirit, while captain Virgil van Dijk admitted the team had given up and acknowledged the challenge of lifting their form against PSG would be enormous. “But we have a responsibility, not only to ourselves but especially to the fans and, if we want to make something out of this season, we have to try and do something special in the next three games,” van Dijk told reporters, noting the Champions League tie falls between a tricky league fixture against Fulham. “The matter of fact is now, PSG are waiting for us. It will be so tough again. So we have to be ready mentally as soon as possible.”

Liverpool’s recent form backs up the collective pessimism: the side has only claimed one win in its last five outings, and has suffered a staggering 15 defeats across all competitions this season. Currently sitting fifth in the Premier League table, the club’s most realistic top target for the remainder of the campaign is now securing a spot in next season’s Champions League, rather than challenging for domestic or European silverware.

In stark contrast, PSG, despite a season interrupted by frequent injury setbacks, appears to be hitting their peak form at exactly the right time. A 3-1 victory over Toulouse last Friday, headlined by a sensational solo goal from reigning Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembele, stretched PSG’s lead at the top of Ligue 1 to four points over second-place Lens, with a game in hand still to play. For the French giants, however, the Champions League remains the ultimate priority – so much so that the Ligue de Football Professionnel granted PSG’s request to postpone this weekend’s crucial away trip to Lens to allow the squad to focus entirely on preparing for Liverpool.

“I think we have shown for a long time that we are ready, regardless of the competition, but there are obviously things we can improve,” Luis Enrique told reporters ahead of the tie. Dembele, who scored against Liverpool at Anfield last season, is fully fit and in scintillating form, while Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia proved the difference-maker in the previous round, where PSG dismantled Chelsea 8-2 on aggregate. It’s worth noting that Wednesday’s clash will be PSG’s 14th match against a Premier League opponent since January 2025, giving the side extensive experience against English opposition’s physical and tactical style.

PSG does carry one clear weakness into the tie, however: the club has yet to adequately replace star goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the hero of last season’s penalty shootout who made a high-profile move to Manchester City over the summer. Lucas Chevalier was signed as Donnarumma’s replacement, but he has since lost his starting spot to Russian keeper Matvey Safonov, who made two costly, glaring errors that led to goals against Toulouse at the weekend. Luis Enrique was quick to defend his keeper, telling reporters: “A goalkeeper is like any other player. They can make mistakes, because that is normal in football.”

For Liverpool, the X-factor could well be forward Hugo Ekitike, the club’s leading goalscorer this season with 17 goals across all competitions, who is set to face his old club for the first time since leaving PSG. The 23-year-old Frenchman joined PSG from Reims in 2022, but managed just four goals in 18 months in Paris, struggling to break into a star-studded attacking line that featured Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar. After moving to Eintracht Frankfurt, then to Liverpool, Ekitike has revitalized his career, and now returns to France as a serious contender for a starting spot in France’s 2026 World Cup squad. Dembele, Ekitike’s France international teammate, was full of praise for the forward ahead of the clash: “Hugo is a great player. He is really in form so we are just hoping he won’t be against us.”

Since debuting in Australia’s National Rugby League (NRL), the Melbourne Storm have built a legacy of iconic, record-breaking achievements. But as the 2024 season hits its early stretch, the club faces an unprecedented challenge: overcoming a historic statistical curse that has blocked every team from claiming the premiership title after conceding 50 points in a single regular season game.

Last Friday, the red-hot, unbeaten Penrith Panthers delivered a humiliating 50-10 defeat to the Storm, marking the first time in 23 years under head coach Craig Bellamy that an opponent has put half a century of points on the board. The lopsided result extended Melbourne’s losing streak to three consecutive matches, and immediately sparked widespread skepticism across social media and rugby league circles, with pundits pointing to the long-standing stat that no NRL side has ever gone on to win the grand final after allowing 50 points in a single season game.

But Melbourne superstar five-eighth Cameron Munster is refusing to write off the Storm’s 2024 title hopes, saying the club has the power to rewrite the history books on their own terms.

Addressing the media after the defeat, Munster acknowledged the team’s underperformance over the past three weeks, saying individual players need to take accountability for their poor form. “We’ve probably been below par the past three weeks. Individually, we probably have to look in the mirror,” Munster said. “To the Panthers’ credit, they probably played the perfect game and put a lot of pressure on us. There were some points that we could have stopped and scrambled, but they showed us where we need to be and what bar we need to set.”

Far from seeing the blowout as a terminal blow to the season, Munster framed the loss as a critical wake-up call for the side, noting that the defeat came as early as round five, leaving plenty of time to course-correct. “It was a good learning for us and (showed) we still have a lot of improvement in us, but it’s only round five. There’s all doom and gloom and I know there’s a lot of history and stats around that if you have 50 points put on you then you can’t (win the comp). It’s up to us as a group to change that.”

Bellamy, who is famous for fiery post-loss dressing room outbursts, surprised the squad with a surprisingly measured reaction after the Panthers defeat, in contrast to his anger following Melbourne’s previous two losses, where the side blew double-digit leads to fall against the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys.

Statistically, the Storm’s attack held up well against the premiership favorites: the side completed 94% of their attacking sets, a strong result against one of the league’s toughest defensive units. The critical failing was on the other side of the ball, with the Storm missing a staggering 48 tackles in the match.

Munster said the defensive lapse was not a problem of talent, but one of attitude – a flaw the side can fix with a mental reset. “I don’t think it’s too much of a personnel thing, I think it’s more about attitude. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist or anyone to be able to tackle. Everyone is in this team for a reason because they’re talented, they can run the ball and they can defend. It’s just a matter of an attitude thing, and we need to switch that,” he said. “There are always two sides to a game of rugby league. You can attack as much as you want, but the defensive side is what wins grand finals.”

The Storm get an immediate chance to bounce back this Saturday night, when they host the New Zealand Warriors at their home ground. The Warriors come into the match off back-to-back losses and will be missing several key starting players due to injury, giving Melbourne a clear opportunity to reverse their losing form.

Munster warned against underestimating the Warriors, noting that the match is the first of two tough consecutive fixtures against top 2023 sides, with the Canberra Raiders up next. “They probably haven’t gone as great as they would have liked the past couple of weeks,” Munster said. “But they’re a good quality team and then we’ve got a tough couple of weeks with them and the Raiders so what a great opportunity to go up against some of the teams that were at the top last year to see where we’re at.”

In Australian Football League (AFL) lore, few rivalries burn as consistently close and competitive as the one between Hawthorn and Geelong, even when both sides are navigating shifting fortunes on the league ladder. For the 2026 Easter Monday clash, that rivalry carried an extra edge of personal payback for the Hawks, who entered the MCG contest desperate to erase the bitter memory of a 2025 preliminary final exit at the hands of the Cats. What unfolded was a back-and-forth thriller that ended with a one-point Hawthorn victory sealed in the final seconds before the final siren, capping a stunning late comeback that delivered the club its first win over Geelong in two years. A year ago, Patrick Dangerfield’s Geelong side blew Hawthorn apart in the second half of the preliminary final, ending the Hawks’ 2025 premiership dream before they could even earn a spot in the league’s decider. That pain lingered in the Hawthorn locker room through the off-season, and head coach Sam Mitchell leaned into that unfinished business heading into the Easter Monday blockbuster, according to Hawks defender Jack Scrimshaw. “Mitchell touched on the occasion a fair bit, but the core of his message was all about what Geelong took from us last September,” Scrimshaw told reporters after the match. “They stole our chance to play in a grand final in that prelim, so we carried that extra hunger to go after them from the first bounce. We talked about it all through pre-game, it added another layer of motivation, and we were dead keen to get payback.” Scrimshaw added that the result marked a critical milestone for a Hawks squad that had dropped back-to-back matches to both Geelong and the Brisbane Lions in 2025. “Beating top-tier opposition like this is the next step for our group, and today we pulled off a really big scalp,” he said. The game looked headed for another Geelong win deep into the final quarter, when Cats forward Shannon Neale kicked a goal that put his side up by six points, with less than two minutes left on the clock. With the clock ticking down and their season still young, Hawthorn dug in, focusing first on winning individual matchups to turn the tide. Even Scrimshaw admitted he was bracing for another heartbreaking loss in the closing seconds. “Oh mate, I was worried to be honest, it really could have gone either way,” he said. “We just stuck to our process, every guy focused on getting their own job done, and in the end the boys pulled off something special.” It was veteran Hawks forward Jack Gunston who delivered the match-winning moment, pouncing on a loose ball and slotting a precision kick that nudged Hawthorn ahead by a single point just moments before the final siren sounded. Gunston’s red-hot early season form has been earning praise from both fans and teammates alike this year, and Scrimshaw said his experience and poise under pressure was the difference in the tense finale. “I’ve got no words for him, he’s unbelievable,” Scrimshaw said of the veteran. The result ends Hawthorn’s two-game losing streak against Geelong, and lives up to the long history of tight, hard-fought contests between the two powerhouse clubs. “There’s such a rich history between these two clubs, no matter where either of us sit on the ladder, these games always tend to be close,” Scrimshaw added. “It’s just so good to get one back over Geelong, we haven’t beaten them in so long, it feels great to finally get it done.”

As the 90th edition of the Masters — golf’s first major championship of the 2025 season — prepares to kick off this week at Augusta National Golf Club, the world’s best players have already taken to the iconic course for opening practice rounds, with firm, fast playing conditions shaping up as a defining challenge for the entire tournament.

World number one Scottie Scheffler and defending Masters champion Rory McIlroy were among the first big names to test their shots on Monday, joining dozens of top competitors in fine-tuning their games ahead of Thursday’s opening round. Forecasters are calling for zero rain across the tournament week, leaving the venue’s famous undulating greens primed to stay rock-hard and lightning-quick for all four rounds.

Cam Smith, the 2022 British Open champion from Australia, got an early look at the course during practice and shared his take on the playing conditions. “The course is in great shape, and it’s already pretty firm,” Smith explained. “It seems like there’s just a little bit more grass. It’s a little bit fuller… It will be firm and fast, I would assume.”

Practice unfolded under soft cloudy skies with only a light breeze drifting through the historic Georgia pines, as hundreds of spectators turned out to catch a glimpse of golf’s biggest names ahead of the competition. Two-time Masters winner Jose Maria Olazabal of Spain offered a key early prediction for how the week will play out: “You will see long hitters doing well here,” the Spaniard said.

McIlroy, who captured his first career Masters title last year to complete a career Grand Slam and become one of only six players in golf history to achieve the feat, started his practice rounds over the weekend to acclimate to the course. The 36-year-old Northern Irish world number two acknowledged that the early days of tournament week are about settling in, with the intensity ramping up as the first round approaches. “The first few days it’s all about enjoying the perks,” McIlroy said. “But once Tuesday night is over, the serious business begins. There’s a mental change where I’m focused on the play and hopefully winning another Masters.”

If McIlroy defends his title this week, he will join an elite group that only includes Jack Nicklaus, Nick Faldo, and Tiger Woods as the only golfers to claim back-to-back Masters championships.

For Scheffler, this week marks his return to competitive golf for the first time since he tied for 22nd at the Players Championship three weeks ago. The top-ranked American and his wife Meredith welcomed their second child, son Remy, on March 27, and the entire family has traveled to Augusta to join him for the tournament. “It has been fun,” Scheffler said of the new addition to his family ahead of his run at the green jacket.

Scheffler, a 29-year-old two-time Masters champion, has already posted an impressive season in 2025: he claimed his first win of the year at the American Express in January, and has stretched a remarkable run of 18 consecutive top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour. Fresh off wins at last year’s British Open and PGA Championship, Scheffler is already on track to complete his own career Grand Slam if he claims the US Open title in June.

This year’s 91-player Masters field features 46 competitors from outside the United States, but two of the sport’s most iconic names will be absent from the tournament line-up: five-time winner Tiger Woods and three-time champion Phil Mickelson. It is the first time both players have missed the event since 1994: Mickelson is sidelined by unspecified family health issues, while Woods is taking a break from competition to receive treatment following his arrest on a DUI charge last month.

Two-time Masters winner Bubba Watson opened up about Woods’ absence, saying he is rooting for the 15-time major champion off the course. “I’m pulling for him as a human being, forget his golf,” Watson said. “Anybody that’s struggling with anything, I feel for him because I’ve went through a lot of mental stuff. Nothing but love for him and hopefully he can come back stronger.”

Among the other top contenders vying for the green jacket this year is Bryson DeChambeau, the two-time US Open champion who claimed back-to-back LIV Golf titles in Singapore and South Africa last month. DeChambeau, who notched a sixth-place finish at the Masters in 2024 and a fifth-place finish in 2023, is making his 10th career start at Augusta this year, and said he has been working toward his first Masters win for more than a decade. “There’s always passion out here. I’ve been trying to win this event for a lot of years,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve learned a lot of lessons and hopefully my game is in the place where I can finally win it this year. My swing is in a great place. Putting is in a great place. Chipping is in a great place. I just want that iron play to be stellar this week.”

Another top LIV Golf contender in the field is Jon Rahm, the 2023 Masters champion and 2021 US Open winner who claimed the 2024 and 2025 LIV Golf season titles. The 31-year-old Spaniard picked up his third LIV victory last month in Hong Kong, and has already notched three runner-up finishes this season in South Africa, Adelaide, and Riyadh. Rahm said he is eager to reconnect with the unique energy of Augusta National this week. “I have to get that ‘back to Augusta’ feeling. It’s important,” Rahm said. “I’m really happy with all areas of my game… I can be happy without being satisfied.”