Kick Off: Valverde's hat trick earns a precious home win; PSG slays Chelsea

Welcome to All Football's Kick Off, we bring you all important news in the past 24 hours. Make sure you do not miss out.

Top Headlines

Real Madrid 3-0 Man City: Valverde scores a hat-trick, Vinicius misses a penalty

Manchester City have a mountain to climb if they are to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after they fell to a 3-0 defeat to a Federico Valverde-inspired Real Madrid.

PSG 5-2 Chelsea: Kvaratskhelia scored twice, Enzo and Vitinha also found the net

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice and assisted another late on as Paris Saint-Germain's 5-2 win over Chelsea left them in control of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Match reports

Leverkusen 1-1 Arsenal: Andrich scores header; Havertz equalizes with penalty

Kai Havertz came back to haunt his former club Bayer Leverkusen after his late penalty helped Arsenal salvage a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Bodo Glimt 3-0 Sporting CP: UCL surprise package take step towards quarterfinals

Bodo/Glimt's fairytale run in the Champions League continued as they edged closer to the quarter-finals with a 3-0 win over Sporting CP.

Nashville SC 0-0 Inter Miami: Messi missed chance to score his 900th career goal

Inter Miami clinches an edge on ball possession but only one attempt on target. Next game in Miami will decide which side will advance to the next round. 

These Things Happen

Tribute? Chelsea starts substituted goalkeeper who also made serious mistakes

On March 12th, PSG defeated Chelsea 5-2 at home. Coincidentally, similar to Tottenham, Chelsea also starts their substituted goalkeeper Jorgensen who also commits two serious mistakes.

All six EPL teams winless in UCL Round of 16 first legs: 2 draws, 4 losses

The first leg of the 2025/26 UEFA Champions League Round of 16 has concluded, but the performances of the English teams in this round have been less than ideal.

Any reversals? 5 UCL 1st leg matches have 3+ goal differences

On March 12, all 8 games of the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16 of this season have ended. Only 2 draws appeared in the 8 games, and as many as 5 of the remaining 6 games that were decided had a difference of at least 3 goals.

Haaland had zero in all seven attacking statistics after playing for 82 minutes

On March 11, in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Manchester City trailed Real Madrid 0-3 after Valverde scored a hat-trick in the first half. Haaland started the match but had a poor performance and was substituted by teammate Marmoush in the 82nd minute.

Courtois becomes 2nd keeper in UCL history with 2 assists in a season

On March 11, in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Courtois made a precise long pass from the backfield in the 20th minute to assist Valverde in breaking the deadlock.

Saka concern raised as Mikel Arteta hooks Arsenal star vs Bayer Leverkusen

Arsenal had to come from behind to draw 1-1 with Bayer Leverkusen in the first leg of their Champions League clash with Bukayo Saka replaced by Mikel Arteta not long into the second half

Pedro Neto issues apology after Chelsea star KNOCKS PSG ball boy down

Chelsea were beaten by PSG and emotions boiled over with Pedro Neto shoving a ballboy before the home players came running in as VAR checked for a possible red card

Arteta fumes at Arsenal's set-piece defending against Leverkusen

Mikel Arteta was unhappy with Arsenal's set-piece defending after Bayer Leverkusen used their own weapon against them in their 1-1 draw in the Champions League last 16 at the BayArena.

Salah surpasses Carragher to make the most Liverpool UCL appearances

On the evening of March 10th, in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Liverpool lost 0-1 to Galatasaray away from home.

L'Equipe: Florentino wants Haaland to Real Madrid to pair with Mbappé

Erling Haaland isn't in the best form of his life, but that shouldn't prevent him from starting this Wednesday evening at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16. The atmosphere of the Spanish capital often gives him wings, after all.

MD: Barca's benchmark budget for signing Alvarez's is €100m

On March 12, a report from "Mundo Deportivo" claimed that Barcelona's maximum budget for pursuing Julian Alvarez is 100 million euros.

Marca: Barça seek Rashford alternative; Abde & Virgili on list

According to Marca, if Barcelona cannot buy out Rashford, they will look for another attacker, and Abde and Jan Virgili have attracted their interest.

Arne Slot points the blame at one person after Liverpool's loss to Galatasaray

Arne Slot says Liverpool must learn to take their chances if they want to progress to the Champions League quarter-finals after losing 1-0 to Galatasaray in the first leg of their last-16 tie

Carragher predicts who'll knock Liverpool out of Champions League

Jamie Carragher believes Liverpool will overturn their deficit against Galatasaray at Anfield but predicts Paris Saint-Germain will end their Champions League hopes in the next round

'A new Rodrygo is born' –Real Madrid forward optimistic after successful surgery

Real Madrid have confirmed that Rodrygo has undergone successful surgery on his right knee.

Peter Schmichel goes off on Tudor and accuses him of destroying Kinsky's career

Tottenham goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky was brutally substituted by Igor Tudor on Tuesday night and now Peter Schmeichel has shared his thoughts on the decision

AF Matchday: Leverkusen 'banned' corner kick at their home venue

On March 12, the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16, Leverkusen will face Arsenal at home. Before the match, Leverkusen's official social media continued to create buzz.

What They Say

Arnold: Wasn't Real Madrid supposed to get battered? We have a winning mentality

Trent Alexander-Arnold admitted Real Madrid used being the underdogs against Manchester City as motivation, declaring after their 3-0 win: "weren't we supposed to get battered?"

Henry: Barca lacks balance, I prefer Bayern or Arsenal to win the title

Henry has questioned Barcelona's Champions League competitiveness this season, suggesting that Arsenal and Bayern Munich have a better chance of winning the title.

Hazard on Vinicius racism: I sympathize; wouldn’t surprise if he retires at 30

Recently, Hazard gave an interview to RTBFsports, in which he discussed the issue of racial discrimination against Real Madrid player Vinicius Junior. 

Carragher: Chelsea cannot compete at top level until they fix goalkeeper issues

Jamie Carragher has claimed Chelsea won't compete with the elite teams if they are unable to fix their goalkeeping issues.

Fixtures of the Day

Europa League

Panathinaikos VS Real Betis 2026/03/12 17:45 UTC

Lille VS Aston Villa 2026/03/12 17:45 UTC

Nottingham Forest VS Midtjylland 2026/03/12 20:00 UTC

UEFA Conference League

Crystal Palace VS AEK Larnaca 2026/03/12 20:00 UTC