After Saracens won a thrilling battle yesterday, Sir Ian McGeechan looks over the highlights of the Champions Cup. Team of the tournament - Saracens What an outstanding final that was yesterday, both tactically and technically. The reason Saracens won, though, was because of their work off the ball. It was back to what made them a brilliant team in the first place. In particular, I would mention George Kruis (my man of the match), Alex Lozowski, Vincent Koch and Alex Goode. All four were immense. Ultimately Saracens made the better hits and wrestled the momentum away from Leinster. Kruis made 27 tackles on his own, including two momentum-changing turnovers. The final “dominant tackles” stat of 40 vs 18 told its own story. It had strong echoes of Ireland vs England in the Six Nations. Best game - Toulouse 28 Leinster 27 Toulouse’s nailbiting win at Stade Ernest Wallon last October brought this year’s Champions Cup to life. It was the moment Toulouse announced they were back, and the moment Leinster appeared fallible. Biggest fairy tale - Toulon 24 Newcastle 27 It seems incredible to think now, with Newcastle about to be relegated from the Premiership, but the season started on such a high for Dean Richards’s team. After finishing fourth last year and qualifying for the Champions Cup, Newcastle were drawn away at Toulon in their first ever game in the competition. Their victory was fairy-tale stuff. Best try Michael Rhodes (Saracens) After their schooling by Leinster in last year’s quarter-final, Saracens had to refine their breakdown work this season. They did so very effectively, eschewing the jackal in favour of clearing away defenders entirely. The fruits of their labour were there for all to see in their 32-16 win last month over Munster. Rhodes’s try in the second half, after 20-plus phases, was a classic of its kind, the final quick ball the result of their superb breakdown work. The quickly presented ball also allowed Ben Spencer to thrive at nine. When your scrum-half gets consistent quick ball you are going to do damage. It is one of the great fallacies that you play slow ball off nine.<doc-sep>The 2018-19 Champions League concluded on Saturday as Liverpool beat Tottenham in the final 2-0 behind goals from Mohamed Salah and Divock Origi. The title is the sixth for the Reds in their history, as the English club bounced back from the defeat to Real Madrid in the final one year prior. Champions League format Each team plays the other group members twice in the group stage, with the top two on points advancing to the Round of 16 and the teams finishing third place ending up in the Europa League knockout stage. From there, two-leg ties until the final. Champions League bracket Wikipedia screengrab Final June 1 Liverpool 2, Tottenham 0 Semifinals April 30 Ajax 1, Tottenham 0 May 1 Barcelona 3, Liverpool 0 May 7 Liverpool 4, Barcelona 0 (Liverpool advances 4-3 on aggregate) May 8 Tottenham 3, Ajax 2 (3-3 on aggregate; Tottenham advances on away goals) Quarterfinals Apr. 9 Tottenham 1, Manchester City 0 Liverpool 2, Porto 0 Apr. 10 Barcelona 1, Manchester United 0 Juventus 1, Ajax 1 Apr. 16 Ajax 2, Juventus 1 (Ajax advances 3-2 on aggregate) Barcelona 3, Manchester United 0 (Barcelona advances 4-0 on aggregate) Apr. 17 Manchester City 4, Tottenham 3 (4-4 on aggregate; Tottenham advances on away goals) Liverpool 4, Porto 1 (Liverpool advances 6-1 on aggregate) Round of 16 Feb. 12 Roma 2, Porto 1 PSG 2, Manchester United 0 Feb. 13 Tottenham 3, Dortmund 0 Real Madrid 2, Ajax 1 Feb. 19 Lyon 0, Barcelona 0 Liverpool 0, Bayern 0 Feb. 20 Atletico Madrid 2, Juventus 0 Manchester City 3, Schalke 2 March 5 Ajax 4, Real Madrid 1 (Ajax advances 5-3 on aggregate) Tottenham 1, Dortmund 0 (Tottenham advances 4-0 on aggregate) March 6 Porto 3, Roma 1 (Roma advances 4-3 in aggregate) Manchester United 3, PSG 1 (United advances on away goals, 3-3 on aggregate) March 12 Man. City 7, Schalke 0 (City advances 10-2 on aggregate) Juventus 3, Atletico Madrid 0 (Juventus advances 3-2 on aggregate) March 13 Liverpool 3, Bayern Munich 1 (Liverpool advances 3-1 on aggregate) Barcelona 5, Lyon 1 (Barcelona advances 5-1 on aggregate) Group stage results Group A GP W D L GD PTS Borussia Dortmund 6 4 1 1 +8 13 Atletico Madrid 6 4 1 1 3 13 Brugge 6 1 3 2 1 6 Monaco 6 0 1 5 -12 1 Group A schedule: Sept. 18 Borussia Dortmund 1, Club Brugge 1 Atletico Madrid 2, Monaco 1 Oct. 3 Atletico Madrid 3, Club Brugge 1 Borussia Dortmund 3, Monaco 0 Oct. 24 Monaco 1, Brugge 1 Borussia Dortmund 4, Atletico Madrid 0 Nov. 6 Brugge 4, Monaco 0 Atletico Madrid 2, Borussia Dortmund 0 Nov. 28 Atletico Madrid 2 Monaco 0Borussia Dortmund 0, Brugge 0 Dec. 11 Brugge 0, Atletico Madrid 0Dortmund 2, Monaco 0 Group B GP W D L GD PTS Barcelona 6 4 2 0 +9 14 Tottenham 6 2 2 2 -1 8 Inter Milan 6 2 2 2 -1 8 PSV 6 0 2 4 -7 2 Group B schedule: Sept. 18 Barcelona 4, PSV 0 Inter 2, Tottenham 1 Oct. 3 Barcelona 4, Tottenham 2 Inter 2, PSV 1 Oct. 24 PSV 2, Tottenham 2 Barcelona 2, Inter Milan 0 Nov. 6 Tottenham 2, PSV 1 Inter Milan 1, Barcelona 1 Nov. 28 Barcelona 2, PSV 1Tottenham 1, Inter Milan 0 Dec. 11 Barcelona 1, Tottenham 1Inter Milan 1, PSV 1 Group C GP W D L GD PTS Paris Saint-Germain 6 3 2 1 +8 11 Liverpool 6 3 0 3 +2 9 Napoli 6 2 3 1 +2 9 Red Star 6 1 1 4 -12 4 Group C schedule: Sept. 18 Liverpool 3, PSG 2 Red Star 0, Napoli 0 Oct. 3 PSG 6, Red Star 1 Napoli 1, Liverpool 0 Oct. 24 PSG 2, Napoli 2 Liverpool 4, Red Star 0 Nov. 6 Red Star 2, Liverpool 0 Napoli 1, PSG 1 Nov. 28 PSG 2, Liverpool 1Napoli 3, Red Star 1 Dec. 11 Liverpool 1, Napoli 1PSG 4, Red Star 1 Group D GP W D L GD PTS Porto 6 5 1 0 +9 16 Schalke 6 3 2 1 +2 11 Galatasaray 6 1 1 4 -3 4 Lokomotiv Moscow 6 1 0 5 -8 3 Group D schedule: Sept. 18 Galatasaray 3, Lokomotiv 0 Schalke 1, Porto 0 Oct. 3 Schalke 1, Lokomotiv 0 Porto 1, Galatasaray 0 Oct. 24 Porto 3, Lokomotiv Moscow 1 Galatasaray 0, Schalke 0 Nov. 6 Porto 4, Lokomotiv 1 Schalke 2, Galatasaray 0 Nov. 28 Porto 3, Schalke 1Lokomotiv 2, Galatsaray 0 Dec. 11 Porto 3, Galatasay 2Schalke 1, Lokomotiv 0 Group E GP W D L GD PTS Bayern Munich 6 4 2 0 +10 14 Ajax 6 3 3 0 +6 12 Benfica 6 2 1 3 -5 7 AEK 6 0 0 6 -11 0 Group E schedule: Sept. 19 Ajax 3, AEK 0 Bayern Munich 2, Benfica 0 Oct. 2 Bayern Munich 1, Ajax 1 Benfica 3, AEK 2 Oct. 23 Bayern 2, AEK 0 Ajax 1, Benfica 0 Nov. 7 Bayern Munich 2, AEK 0 Benfica 1, Ajax 1 Nov. 27 Ajax 2, AEK 0 Bayern Munich 5, Benfica 1 Dec. 12 Ajax 3, Bayern Munich 3Benfica 1, AEK 0 Group F GP W D L GD PTS Manchester City 6 4 1 1 +10 13 Lyon 6 1 5 0 1 8 Shakhtar 6 1 3 2 -8 6 Hoffenheim 6 0 3 3 -3 3 Group F schedule: Sept. 19 Shakhtar 2, Hoffenheim 2 Lyon 2, Manchester City 1 Oct. 2 Manchester City 2, Hoffenheim 1 Lyon 2, Shakhtar 2 Oct. 23 Hoffenheim 3, Lyon 3 Manchester City 3, Shakhtar 0 Nov. 7 Lyon 2, Hoffenheim 2 Manchester City 6, Shakhtar 0 Nov. 27 Shakhtar 3, Hoffenheim 2 Lyon 2, Manchester City 2 Dec. 12 Shakhtar Donetsk 1, Lyon 1 Manchester City 2, Hoffenheim 1 Group G GP W D L GD PTS Real Madrid 6 4 0 2 +7 12 Roma 6 3 0 3 +3 9 Viktoria Plzen 6 2 1 3 -9 7 CSKA 6 2 1 3 -1 7<doc-sep>This is not about "supply and demand". This is about corporate profiteering at the expense of working people. Whether it is for major sporting events or during the summer holidays — hiking prices to this extent cannot be justified. https://t.co/26EU0brbke<doc-sep>(CNN) Last-minute winners, VAR making its debut in the knockout stages and the most unlikely of English finalists ... CNN Sport looks at eight epic matches which have captivated the world over the course of this most magical of seasons. Blind luck? Eventual finalist Liverpool defeats PSG 3-2 courtesy of substitute Roberto Firmino's last-minute winner. Firmino, who is nursing an eye injury after a gruesome incident in Liverpool's league win at Tottenham, comes off the bench to secure a crucial win that had looked in doubt after Kylian Mbappe's late equalizer threatened to rescue a point for the Parisians. On the brink The other finalist, Tottenham Hotspur, capitulates to a Lionel Messi masterclass at the home of English football, Wembley Stadium, as Barcelona wins 4-2 and sounds an ominous warning to the rest of Europe. Spurs would later travel to the Camp Nou in the return fixture in the final group stage game, needing a result to reach the knockout stage -- and hope PSV Eindhoven could do it a favor against Inter Milan. Just as things were looking bleak, Spurs found a late equalizer courtesy of a certain Lucas Moura ... and the rest is history. Young pretenders Joel Veltman, Lasse Schone and Matthijs de Ligt celebrate victory over Juventus. This is Ajax's coming out party, as it produces a swaggering brand of swashbuckling football to shock three-time defending champion Real Madrid 4-1 at the Bernabeu to overcome the first-leg deficit and progress. If Ajax's young, home-grown talent weren't on the radar of Europe's top teams before, they most certainly are now. Ole's at the wheel Marcus Rashford scores the decisive penalty against PSG. With interim boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in charge, Manchester United recovers from a 0-2 home first-leg loss to stun PSG in its own backyard with a controversial and dramatic injury-time winning from Marcus Rashford to send the Red Devils through. It is another early exit from the under-achieving Parisians and, watching on from the sidelines, an injured Neymar is not impressed. Dutch courage Not content with knocking out the holder, Ajax is at it again, this time against Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus in Turin. The Italian giant becomes the Dutch team's latest victim, as Donny Van de Beek and teenage captain Matthijs de Ligt score the goals to keep the fairytale run going. Hip or hand? Tottenham Hotspur striker Fernando Llorente celebrates his controversial goal. The all-Premier League clash between Tottenham and Manchester City had arguably gone under the radar in the first leg, with the Londoners holding a slender lead. But the script is ripped up in Manchester for the return leg, as the sides serve up an instant classic. City's Raheem Sterling and Tottenham's Son Heung-min exchange a brace of goals each and Bernardo Silva and Sergio Aguero also net for the Blues. A disputed strike scored off Fernando Llorente's hip gives Spurs a crucial lead on away goals but with time running out, Sterling thinks his hat-trick goal has put City through, only for VAR to rule out the goal for offside. Merseyside miracle Liverpool fans celebrating their win over Barcelona. A spirited Liverpool had given their all in the first leg in Barcelona but Messi was the difference with his two late goals adding to Luis Suarez's opener. But on another famous European night at Anfield, a pair of goals from the unlikeliest sources -- striker Divock Origi, who was only playing because of injuries to star starters Mohamed Salah and Firmino -- and substitute Georginio Wijnaldum turn the match on its head and send the Reds through 4-3 on aggregate. The winning goal is something extraordinary. Wise beyond his years, local lad Trent Alexander-Arnold catches Barca off guard with his clever corner and Origi sweeps the ball into the net, and makes himself a Liverpool legend in the process. Mour, mour, mour Tottenham celebrate its semifinal victory over Ajax. The best is arguably saved for last as Tottenham, already down 1-0 from the first leg and now losing 2-0 on the night in Amsterdam, somehow produce possibly the greatest result in the club's proud history to score three second-half goals to advance to the final. Brazilian forward Moura -- who much like Liverpool's Origi might only have been playing because of injury to talisman Harry Kane -- scores an historic hat trick, with the winner coming in the sixth minute of injury time, to break Ajax's young hearts and set up just the second all-English final in history. The world awaits the Madrid final on June 1 between Tottenham and Liverpool, the outcome impossible to predict.<doc-sep>
Arsenal and Chelsea have qualified for the Europa League final, completing an historic week with European football’s two major finals now featuring Premier League teams. The London clubs will face one another in Baku on 29 May while Liverpool will take on Tottenham in the Champions League final in Madrid on 1 June. Arsenal beat Valencia 4-2 to win their semi-final tie 7-3 while Chelsea sealed their place in the final by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 4-3 on penalties after the match finished 1-1 after extra time, with the aggregate score 2-2. It will be the first time in the history of European football that one country has monopolised the two finals and means that both trophies will head to England. “Here the level is very high,” said Chelsea’s Italian manager Maurizio Sarri. “If you think that, to get to the final of the League Cup, we had to play against Liverpool, against Tottenham – the finalists of the Champions League – and then we played against, in my opinion, the best team in Europe in the final, Manchester City, you can understand the level here is very high. “At this moment, the Premier League is the best championship in Europe and, as a consequence, in the world. But it’s not easy for an English team to arrive in the last month in a very good condition, physically, because here we play more than in the other countries.” Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored a hat-trick for Arsenal, was asked what reaching the final meant to Arsenal. He said: “It means a lot. I think we have learned from last season [when they were eliminated in the semi-finals]. This year we didn’t make the same mistakes, so now we are through to the final and we are all happy.” The Fiver: sign up and get our daily football email. Both Arsenal and Chelsea will receive only 6,000 tickets for the final in Baku’s Olympic Stadium despite it having a capacity of 68,700. Arsenal released a statement soon after the final whistle insisting they are working with Uefa to gain a larger percentage of seats to add to the “disappointing ticket allocation”. “This disappointing ticket allocation presents us with extreme difficulties in how we allocate tickets to you, our loyal supporters. As many of you will be aware, we are proud to have approximately 45,000 season-ticket holders and over 180,000 official members. “It is inevitable that with an allocation of just 6,000 tickets for the final, there will be thousands of fans who have supported the club for years and been part of our Europa League journey this season, who will be unable to attend this match. This is a disappointing situation.” There have been Champions League finals contested by clubs from the same nation before. Real Madrid beat Atlético Madrid in 2014 and 2016. Jürgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich at Wembley in 2013 while Manchester United and Chelsea played in the last all-English final in 2008, with United winning on penalties. Milan beat Juventus on penalties in 2003 while Real beat Valencia in 2000. There have been a dozen one-country match-ups in the junior competitions. There had been three all-Spanish finals in the Fairs Cup before it gave way to the Uefa Cup, whose very first final, in 1972, was an all-English affair. Spurs played Wolves over two legs, winning 3-2 on aggregate. There have been a further eight other finals since between sides from the same country, most recently when Atlético beat Athletic Bilbao in 2012. However, there has never been four clubs from the same country featuring in both of European football’s finals and many will argue that the billions flowing into the Premier League are now having a direct effect on those competitions. Arsenal and Chelsea’s victories came after Liverpool and Spurs marched into the Champions League final following dramatic semi-final wins. Klopp’s side overcame a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield and win the tie 4-3, while Tottenham were 3-0 down on aggregate against Ajax before Lucas Moura’s hat-trick completed an unlikely last-minute comeback in Amsterdam, as they drew the tie 3-3 and went through on away goals.