Arsenal vs. PSG headlines Champions League league phase’s second week; Fan chaos reigns during Madrid Derby

Hey there! A busy weekend offered plenty of talking points ahead of an equally entertaining week as Matchday 2 of the UEFA Champions League nears. I’m Pardeep Cattry with the latest.

📺 Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Monday, Sept. 30
🇮🇹 Serie A: Parma vs. Cagliari, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EPL: Bournemouth vs. Southampton, 3 p.m. ➡️ USA Network
🇪🇸 La Liga: Villareal vs. Las Palmas, 3 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+

Tuesday, Oct. 1
🇪🇺 UCL: Salzburg vs. Brest, 12:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 EFL Cup: Newcastle vs. Wimbledon, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Championship: Norwich vs. Leeds, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇪🇺 UCL: Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain, 3 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🌎 Concacaf W Champions Cup: Portland Thorns vs. Santa Fe, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network

⚽ The Forward Line

🇪🇸 Madrid derby descends into chaos

Atletico Madrid’s late equalizer against Real Madrid was overshadowed by crowd troubles at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday, which forced the referee to suspend the game for around 15 minutes shortly after Real Madrid scored the game’s first goal.

Eder Militao notched Real Madrid’s only goal of a 1-1 game in the 64th minute, which then led goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois – a former Atletico player – to celebrate by turning to the fans behind him. A section of Atletico fans reacted by throwing objects at Courtois, including lighters and plastic bags with items inside them, which then prompted referee Mateo Busquets Ferrer to halt play in the 69th minute. As the players and staff made their way into the locker rooms, Atletico players Koke and Jose Maria Gimenez and manager Diego Simeone walked over to the disruptive fans, pleading with them to stop. Simeone denounced the behavior in his post-match remarks, per The Guardian.

• Simeone: “The message to them was: think about the club, the team, your team. You’re not helping your team. What they were saying was that it was not their fault, that he was provoking them. That does not justify it but I am saying that we have to punish those of us who provoke too. We don’t need these people in our stands. We need people who support us, who think about the club and the team. The person who throws a lighter should not come any more. It happened to Courtois at the Bernabeu once when he played for us. It happens and it will happen again. Should it happen? No! But be careful with playing the victim. We have to ensure this doesn’t happen again.”

Atletico and La Liga also condemned the disruptive action and the club said on Monday that it permanently banned one fan, per ESPN.

The behavior was attributed to a radical, far-right group of Atletico ultras who have also been deemed responsible for acts of racism against Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams in recent years. Four members of the group were charged by local prosecutors in December 2023 for hanging an effigy of Vinicius from a bridge earlier that year.

Many anticipated disorderly conduct would take place at the Metropolitano Stadium on Sunday – a group of Atletico fans started a campaign before the game to wear masks to avoid being caught breaking rules, something La Liga denounced ahead of kickoff. Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe was also reportedly discouraged from attending the game while recovering from a minor injury in an effort to avoid possible chaos.

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🔗  Midfield Link Play

🇪🇺 Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain headline UCL action

The UEFA Champions League returns his week with another round of much-anticipated fixtures for Matchday 2, chief among them Paris Saint-Germain’s trip to Arsenal on Tuesday.

Arsenal are the oddsmakers’ favorites to win this one, which feels like a battle between two sides at very different stages of a project. Mikel Arteta is approaching his five year anniversary as the Gunners’ manager and has built a well-oiled defensive machine, so much so that they remain the third favorites for the title, even if they rank well behind top contenders Manchester City and Real Madrid. Paris Saint-Germain, meanwhile, are just a few weeks into their youth-focused rebuild after Kylian Mbappe’s summertime departure. The stakes for both sides, though, are not so linear.

Though it’s far too early for anyone to panic, Arsenal are on the hunt for their first win of the European season on Tuesday after a 0-0 draw at Atalanta two weeks earlier. Goalkeeper David Raya was the standout after saving a penalty and the subsequent rebound, but the last few weeks for the Gunners have been more about a stop-start offense. The Gunners are about to play their sixth game without captain Martin Odegaard and have been inconsistent without him. Though they took 35 shots and scored four goals against Leicester City on Saturday, they have not posted more than five shots in any Premier League or Champions League game since Odegaard picked up his injury, well below the 17 shots they averaged en route to a second place finish in England’s top flight last season.

It makes for a peculiar faceoff against Luis Enrique’s PSG, who are fairly untested so far this season. Things are so far, so good in Ligue 1, where they are unbeaten and have outscored the opposition 20 to five in six games. Their 1-0 win over Girona on Matchday 1, though, forces some questions about their end product since they did little with their 26 shots and benefitted from a 90th minute own goal. It is unclear how they will match up against Arsenal, who have built perhaps Europe’s best defense, and especially so since they will be without Ousmane Dembele in North London. He has four goals and three assists this season but will be unable to add to his account on Tuesday, a move that is believed to be Enrique’s decision.

🔗  Top Stories

🇨🇦 Sinclair retirement: Christine Sinclair, international soccer’s all-time leading goalscorer and an Olympic gold medalist with Canada, will retire at the end of the NWSL season.

🇫🇷 Griezmann’s France farewell: World Cup winner Antoine Griezmann retired from the international game after 137 appearances and 44 goals for France.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Dispatch from England: Arsenal and Liverpool received a boost in the title race after Manchester City dropped points, Cole Palmer impressed with four goals for Chelsea and Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is officially on the hot seat (again).

🇩🇪 All square in Germany: Bayern Munich tied 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, offering a preview of sorts for Matchday 2 in the Champions League.

🇺🇸 NWSL power rankings: The Washington Spirit continue to climb in the latest edition of the NWSL power rankings, while Angel City are sliding.

🔴🔵 Barcelona drop points: Barcelona lost 4-2 to Osasuna on Saturday, bringing an end to their winning streak in La Liga as they prioritize a Champions League clash against Young Boys this week.

🏆 MLS MVP check-in: The Portland Timbers’ and FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta are serious contenders for MLS’ MVP prize, while Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi ranks lower on the list after an injury-plagued season.

🏟️ Club World Cup venues: FIFA selected 12 stadiums, mostly on the U.S.’ East coast, as venues for the 2025 Club World Cup, while MetLife Stadium will host the final a year before serving as the site of the 2026 World Cup final.

🌴 Messi scores again: Lionel Messi scored his latest goal for Inter Miami in style, taking a shot from distance in Inter Miami’s draw with Charlotte FC.

💰  The Back Line

💵 Best bets

• UEFA Champions League: Arsenal vs. Paris Saint-Germain, Tuesday, 3 p.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Arsenal to win 1-0 (+700) – Paris Saint-Germain will arrive at Emirates Stadium with plenty of promise on Tuesday, but they are a young team at the start of a new project while Arsenal are much closer to the finished product. The visitors may have enough in them to keep the scoreline close, especially as Arsenal cope without Martin Odegaard, but expect the hosts to pick up their first win of the competition by overpowering the opposition.
• UEFA Champions League: Bayer Leverkusen vs. AC Milan, Tuesday, 3 p.m.

💰 THE PICK: Christian Pulisic to score (+370) – Bayer Leverkusen may be the favorites in this clash, but that’s no reason to count out AC Milan entirely. They have scored in each of their games this season, even as they kicked off their campaign with just one win in their opening five matches. Christian Pulisic has been the team’s bright spot so far with five goals in seven games, so betting on the U.S. men’s national team star during his hot streak feels like an easy bet to make regardless of the final result.

For more picks, predictions, expert tips and the latest betting news, don’t miss out on CBSSports.com’s betting home page.   

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