Three Premier League clubs are in Europa League and Conference League action on Thursday night as they look to move one step closer to ending the season with a European trophy
A big week of European football will wrap up this evening, with three Premier League sides in Europa League and Conference League action. Manchester United are up against Lyon, with Tottenham taking on Eintracht Frankfurt and Chelsea locking horns with Legia Warszawa.
There has been plenty to pore through during the lead-up to the matches. Players and manager spoke to the media on Wednesday, with former Manchester United star Nemanja Matic in the thick of things as he prepares to face his old employers.
We've also seen plenty of fall-out from the Champions League matches earlier in the week. Arsenal's 3-0 victory over Real Madrid on Tuesday night certainly caught the eye, and Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has been vocal in the aftermath of the match.
All four quarter-finals in each of the European club competitions will conclude next week. While it's hard to win a two-legged tie in just 90 minutes of football, the Premier League representatives can look to the Gunners as an example of how to give yourself the best chance.
We now know the Premier League will have at least five representatives in next season's Champions League, but United and Spurs can move one step closer to making it six. Here are Mirror Football's latest lines from around the footballing world.
Mbappe's Arsenal message
Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappe has refused to give up on Champions League glory despite his team's Tuesday night setback. “Hay que creer hasta el final," or “you have to believe until the end” was his simple message on Instagram.
Mbappe and his team-mates were kept quiet at the Emirates Stadium before Arsenal ran riot in the second half. Declan Rice scored twice, both goals coming from direct free-kicks, and Mikel Merino added a third.
The defeat rounded off a nightmare few days for Los Blancos, who lost at home to Valencia in their previous league outing. Mbappe has already bagged a Champions League hat-trick this season, though, and has a chance to follow his treble against Manchester City with another big return against English opposition.
Onana hits back at Matic
Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana didn't take too kindly to Nemanja Matic dubbing him one of the worst stoppers in the club's history. The Cameroon international let his own record do the talking in a social media post after hearing about the Serbian international's comments.
“I would never be disrespectful to another club," wrote Onana. "We know that tomorrow will be a difficult game against a strong opponent.
“We focus on preparing a performance to make our fans proud. At least I’ve lifted trophies with the greatest club in the world. Some can’t say the same.”
Matic failed to win a trophy in his five seasons as a United player, though he reached the Europa League final with the club in 2021. Onana already has two domestic cup trophies to his name, the Carabao Cup in 2023 and the FA Cup the following year.
Postecoglou's 'c**p' jibe
Tottenham Hotspur prepared for their quarter-final by beating Southampton on Sunday. Some of the reaction focused on Mathys Tel scoring the clinching penalty when team-mate Brennan Johnson was on a hat-trick, and manager Ange Postecoglou hasn't taken too kindly to some of the fall-out.
"It's incredible. It's the one bit. Literally turning gold into cr*p when it's Tottenham," the former Celtic manager said. "If we're 2-1 up and we get a penalty late on, I want our best penalty taker to take it.
"I mean the one slight against this club is apparently it hasn't been a winner. Well the winner's mentality in the last minute of the game is to score a goal. We scored a goal. And yet somehow in this ultimate universe where everything Tottenham does is wrong, that's come out as a negative. Be that as it may."