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The team Pep Guardiola had already claimed were the best in Europe cannot meet Manchester City, Bayern Munich or Real Madrid until the final…

The quarter-final draw for the Champions League never disappoints!

On Friday morning, two of the favourites were paired with one another, with Manchester City set to battle Bayern Munich for a place in the last four.

Meanwhile, reigning champions Real Madrid will once again face Chelsea and the hope is that their tie will be just as dramatic as last season's quarter-final clash.

🏆 TOP STORY: Champions League draw in full

📣 HAVE YOUR SAY: Who will win the Champions League?

🚨 MUST READ: Why Barcelona are an embarrassment

On the other half of the draw, runaway Italian league leaders Napoli will take on compatriots AC Milan, with another Serie A side, Inter, will place this season's surprise package, Benfica.

Below, GOAL runs through all of the winners and losers of Friday's draw…

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  WINNER: Serie A

  Italians in general are quite a superstitious bunch and Friday the 17th is their version of Friday the 13th, so the date of the draw didn't seem to bode well for Serie A sides.

  It couldn't have gone any better, though.

  Indeed, Alessandro Costacurta, the former Italy defender now working as a pundit for Sky Sport Italia, was so delighted that he praised Hamit Altintop and Patrick Kluivert for their work during the draw.

  Napoli being paired with AC Milan means that Serie A is guaranteed at least one side in the semis, where we could even see an all-Italian affair given Inter have a decent chance of beating Benfica.

  Nobody will be taking anything for granted, of course. Italians hate to tempt fate. But everyone is rightly revelling in the fact that Serie A could easily have a Champions League finalist for the first time since 2017…

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  WINNER: Napoli

  And a betting man would put money on that finalist being Napoli.

  The Partenopei are the best team in Italy right now, and by some distance. Their 18-point lead at the summit of Serie A is no fluke. They are playing with a quality and a consistency that has left the likes of Milan and Inter trailing in their wake.

  Napoli have also already beaten the Rossoneri this season, triumphing 2-1 at San Siro back in September, so they have nothing to fear from Stefano Pioli's side.

  On the contrary, it is Milan and the rest of Europe who should be worried right now.

  Pep Guardiola may have been partaking in some mind games when he labelled Napoli the best team on the continent but there is no denying the strength of their squad.

  They are well-stacked in defence, midfield and attack, with Victor Osimhen and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia arguably the most dynamic attacking duo in world football.

  What's more, Luciano Spalletti will be in a position to rest players either side of their European fixtures given the size of their Serie A lead.

  Napoli may be playing in the quarter-finals for the first time. But there's no longer any reason why they can't go all the way this year.

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  LOSER: Man City's workload

  Speaking of Guardiola, the Manchester City manager has admitted that his entire tenure will be judged on whether or not he wins the Champions League. Doing so this year just got a whole lot more difficult.

  Real Madrid may be the reigning champions but Bayern Munich were arguably the side that everyone wanted to avoid, given the way in which the Bavarians disposed of Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 with the minimum of fuss.

  To make matters worse, City will have to travel to the Allianz Arena for the second leg.

  Then, there's the fact that even if City go through, they will have to go up against either Madrid or Chelsea in the semi-finals.

  The former eliminated Guardiola's side last year, while the latter upset them in the 2021 final.

  City obviously have the talent, and the manager, to make it all the way to Istanbul but Friday's draw ensured that they're going to have to do it the hard way.

  And that's hugely significant, not only for Guardiola and his Champions League dream, but also their hopes of overhauling Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

  Reaching the final would almost certainly take an awful lot out of City…

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  WINNER: Benfica's business model

  Don't sleep on Benfica. Seriously. Club Brugge may not have been the most difficult last-16 opponent but the Eagles dispatched the Belgians in some style, winning 7-1 on aggregate.

  They deserved a favourable draw, too, having sensationally pipped Paris Saint-Germain to top spot in their group with a stunning 6-1 victory over Maccabi Haifa on matchday six.

  As expected, Joao Mario's 92nd-minute strike at the Sammy Ofer Stadium really has proven the biggest sliding-door moments in this season's Champions League.
  Indeed, Benfica are now perfectly placed to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup for the first time since 1990, which would be one hell of achievement after cashing in on Darwin Nunez last summer and then Enzo Fernandez in January.

  Benfica's business model is yielding impressive returns on and off the field.

  Their run certainly doesn't have to end here either. There is more money – and history – to be made, given their quarter-final opponents, Inter, have proven incredibly inconsistent this season.

  It's also worth noting that Porto, as coach Sergio Conceicao pointed out, dominated large chunks of their last-16 tie with the Nerazzurri, only to lose 1-0 on aggregate.

  And Benfica are a better side than their Portuguese rivals, as this season's Primeira Liga table underlines.

  The sky's the limit for high-flying Eagles.

The USMNT cruised to a 7-1 win against Grenada as Christian Pulisic & Ricardo Pepi starred to offer a welcome boost amid their struggles at club level

Sometimes, we all can use a good ole' fashioned confidence boost, and that's exactly what the U.S. men's national team got on Friday night.

The U.S. made it look easy in Grenada, scoring early and often in what ended up being a 7-1 win in the CONCACAF Nations League. Ricardo Pepi and Weston McKennie each scored twice, while Christian Pulisic, Brenden Aaronson and Alejandro Zendejas made their marks with goals as well.

It was the Chelsea man that truly stole the show, though, with a Man of the Match performance, although Pepi won't be too far behind thanks to his brace. That's good news for the USMNT, and for the players themselves, both of whom can use the confidence boost after some tough moments on the club level.

Overall, it was a lopsided win by a team that expected to win in lopsided fashion. There were good moments, and plenty of them, but this was little more than taking care of business.

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  WINNER: Christian Pulisic

  Captain America with a performance worthy of the name.

  What a game this was for Pulisic, who reminded everyone watching of just how special he is. Yes, this was against Grenada, but it still was impressive watching Pulisic absolutely run a game against an overmatched opponent.

  Sometimes, watching Pulisic do his thing against lesser opponents is just fun. More than any other player in the USMNT pool, the Chelsea star can turn games like this into his own personal playground. We all want to see competitive games, of course, but sometimes it is just fun to watch a really, really good player do things that only a really, really good player can do against a team that has absolutely no hope of stopping him.

  He played a part in the first four goals and then scored one of his own in the second half, and that may even understate just how good he was. Pulisic surely had fun against Grenada and it was fun watching him.

  Now, onto the next. El Salvador looms and then, more importantly, a return to Chelsea, where he'll hopefully play with a bit more confidence after a good international break.

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• LOSER: Grenada

  It's not their fault. They were simply overmatched.

  Just look at the USMNT XI. It included players that play for Chelsea, Leeds, Borussia Dortmund, Celta Vigo, Valencia, Arsenal. Grenada's best player plays in Belgium, and most of his teammates play nowhere near that level.

  It was a mismatch from the start and a mismatch throughout. No team ever wants to lose 7-1, especially at home, but this felt inevitable.

  They did well to get their goal, though: a good finish from Myles Hippolyte that gave the home fans something to cheer. The fans did deserve that much, as did Grenada, who played hard until the final whistle, as evidenced by a late horror tackle on Alejandro Zendejas.

  Still, this is just the nature of CONCACAF, where there's the U.S., Mexico, Costa Rica and Canada, then a solid second tier, and then everyone else. Grenada are comfortably in the "everyone else" category, and that's how you get scorelines like this when the USMNT rolls into town.

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  WINNER: Ricardo Pepi

  All aboard! The train is leaving the station.

  Goals against Grenada won't fully restore the Pepi hype, but it's a start, right? He got two of them, his first since 2021, and, boy, will those do him some good.

  For a player that saw his confidence absolutely crater in 2022, the 2023 version of Pepi is looking pretty good. He's scoring goals with Groningen and is back scoring for the national team, making up some of the ground he lost after his disastrous Augsburg move.

  Goals against anyone will help, even Grenada. Will we need to see more from him? Absolutely, but he'll get those opportunities down the line.

  For now, Pepi will take his two goals and look forward to, hopefully, a few more soon.

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  LOSER: Mexico

  Look away, El Tri. It seems you missed out on a good one.

  Alejandro Zendejas was fantastic after coming on for his USMNT debut which, notably, officially cap-tied him to the program. It's all over now: Zendejas is a USMNT player for good.

  And what a player he is, if this was any evidence. He scored a goal and could have had three more on another night. The Club America star absolutely tore Grenada to shreds every time he got on the ball, offering a pretty good glimpse into why so many thing he can actually compete to start on this team.

  Those decisions are for down the line, though. What matters now is that Zendejas has arrived, and he arrived in style.

Many Sunderland fans are absolutely delighted at a video the club shared on their Twitter page on Monday.

At the start of this week, the Black Cats launched their season ticket campaign for the 2021/22 season. This term, fans have been unable to attend stadia across the country due to the global pandemic, but given the United Kingdom’s vaccination drive, it is likely that supporters will be able to return grounds by next term.

It is currently an exciting time for the Wearside club – they have recently been purchased by Kyril Louis-Dreyfus and are third in the League One table, three points behind leaders Hull City with two games in hand (BBC). As such, next season could be played in the Championship, and the club are trying to convince supporters to renew their season tickets.

As part of the marketing campaign for that purpose, they shared a video on their official Twitter account which has delighted many supporters. These fans took to the social media platform to share their thoughts on the “amazing” footage.

Let’s see what the Sunderland fans had to say about the video below

“Reduced me to tears. Excellent.”

Credit: @ColdwellAnn

“Got goosebumps watching this video one club”

Credit: @Emma0929

“Actual tears , amazing work”

Credit: @brettd1981

“Ah man, you’ve brought a tear to my eye. H’away Sunderland.”

Credit: @gotthegistofit

“this is amazing,”

Credit: @brownh1989

“Brilliant brought it a tear to my eye. I have been going for over 50 years never been so excited for the future since the early 70’s.”

Credit: @FtmWhitburn

In other news, some Sunderland fans slammed this man’s performance against Bristol Rovers.

Saudi Arabia and Japan have produced two huge shocks at the 2022 World Cup, with the competition having had a rich history of mega upsets.

Down the years, the World Cup has had a habit of throwing up some of the greatest upsets the sport has ever seen, as form, reputation and confidence all go out of the window in an instant, and so-called smaller nations seize their opportunity on the biggest stage.

These are games and moments that have been immortalised and re-lived time and time again, with teams and individual players written into the tournament's folklore.

Here, GOAL runs through the most shocking turn ups for the books in the competition's gilded history…

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  USA 1-0 England – 1950

  World Cup debutants England were huge favourites when they came up against part-timers the USA. Surely there would only be one winner? Well, yes – but not who you'd think.

  Haitian-born US striker Joe Gaetjens wrote himself into USMNT folklore with the winning goal in Brazil, in what is now known as

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  North Korea 1-0 Italy – 1966

  Italy were much fancied to lift the Jules Rimet Trophy in England in 1966. However, they were in stuttering form in the group stage, edging past Chile before suffering defeat at the hands of the USSR.

  They would need to avoid defeat in their final group game against North Korea, but remarkably Pak Doo-ik's 42nd-minute strike would send the Azzurri packing as the Asian nation reached the quarter-finals.

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  Algeria 2-1 West Germany – 1982

  Algeria, making their World Cup bow, against tournament favourites West Germany.

  Surely, there would only be one outcome? As you've probably ascertained from the nature of this article, the North Africans would stun their illustrious opponents.

  Algeria won 2-1, but they would fall victim to the infamous later in the group phase, when West Germany and Austria purposely played out a favourable result to knock them out.

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  Northern Ireland 1-0 Spain – 1982

  Against quite literally all the odds – facing the hosts in a partisan atmosphere, down to 10 men and contending with some dodgy refereeing decisions – Northern Ireland would prevail, somehow.

  An error from the goalkeeper gifted Gerry Armstrong the winner shortly after half-time, and the Northern Irish held on despite having a man sent off with half an hour still to play.

David Moyes has been dealt a blow in West Ham United’s rumoured pursuit of Moussa Marega, with Fenerbahce SK keen to sign the FC Porto striker.

What’s the word?

According to A Bola, Marega’s services have never left the thoughts of the Fenerbahce leadership as the Super Lig giants line up a wealth of changes to Emre Belozoglu’s side.

The Yellow Canaries intend to complete a vast overhaul of the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium squad in the summer in order to attack the Super Lig and Europe at full strength next term.

West Ham had been linked with a potential move to sign Marega in the next transfer window, as Moyes weighs up his options to add depth behind Michail Antonio following Sebastien Haller’s January exit.

Marega is now said to be a high priority for Fenerbahce as the Mali international is set to leave Porto as a free agent at the end of the season, and discussions with Porto over new terms are yet to return a satisfactory offer.

It had been expected that the Dragoes would soon announce Marega’s renewal as the striker is a key weapon in Sergio Conceicao’s arsenal, with the only hold up being the wait for the arrival of his agent.

But no progress has been made following the offer of a two-year deal that would have seen Marega remain one of the highest earners at the Estadio do Dragao. The 29-year-old currently earns £34,000-per-week.

[snack-amp-story url=”https://www.footballfancast.com/web-stories/the-latest-west-ham-news-gossip-and-views” title=”The latest West Ham news and views!”]

Reports in Turkey last month had suggested that Fenerbahce offered Marega a €1.5m-a-season (£24.5k-p/w) contract to move to Istanbul as a free agent, which Portuguese publication O Jogo later dismissed.

Should West Ham sign Porto’s Marega?

Moyes will be well aware of his need to sign a striker in the summer after opting against reinvesting the £20m made from Haller joining AFC Ajax, and leaving Antonio as West Ham’s only out-and-out senior centre-forward.

Marega would represent a solid option for the Irons to target and acquire proven depth, but will seemingly have to go toe-to-toe with Fenerbahce and Porto in order to sign the 24-cap Mali international.

The Yellow Canaries and Dragoes seem increasingly keen on having the £12.5m-rated machine in their attack next season, although Marega’s long-held desires to one day play in the Premier League may yet work in the Hammers’ advantage.

A salary in the region of the alleged £24.5k-p/w offer from Fenerbahce and his current £34k-p/w Porto deal would also not be expected to hinder West Ham’s position, with Spotrac figures showing that only Vladimir Coufal (£30k-p/w), Said Benrahma (£23k-p/w) and Ben Johnson (£19k-p/w) currently earn less among Moyes’ first-team regulars.

Adding Marega into that mix would see the Irons land a striker who has scored 71 goals and offered 33 assists in 182 games for Porto across all competitions, including eight in 22 Champions League fixtures and helping to eliminate Juventus in the Round of 16 last month – in fact, his career goal total stands at an impressive 114.

That seems like very good depth to bring in behind Antonio without David Sullivan having to get his cheque book out to pay Porto for their striker, who has been protected by a €40m (£34m) release clause since 2018 and is nicknamed the ‘Terminator’.

AND in other news, West Ham are in a three-way Premier League battle for a 6 ft 6 titan with “all the attributes”…

Who are the continent’s top goal-getters in Europe’s premier club competition?

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  8. Vincent Aboubakar

  Golden Boot winner at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Aboubakar is a former African champion and has scored goals wherever he’s gone.

  As well as respectable league hauls in France, Portugal and Turkey, he’s also impressed consistently in the Champions League.

  To date, the 30-year-old has scored 14 UCL goals across campaigns with both FC Porto and Besiktas.

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  =6. Seydou Doumbia

  Perhaps the least celebrated name on this list, Ivory Coast forward Doumbia is also a former Africa Cup of Nations champion—having clinched the title in 2015—and like Aboubakar, has proved he can cut it against Europe’s top defenders.

  After initially tasting UCL action with CSKA Moscow, he subsequently also found the net in the competition with FC Basel and Sporting Lisbon, putting his current total at 15.

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  =6. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

  Tied with Doumbia on 15 goals, Auba hasn’t featured in the Champions League since his time with Borussia Dortmund, with Arsenal having consistently failed to qualify for the competition during his time with the club.

  Now at Barcelona, he’s still being made to wait to return to the UCL, but with the Catalan giants having rediscovered their mojo In La Liga, next season could see Aubameyang adding to his tally.

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  5. Riyad Mahrez

  Still in contention to add to his haul of 16 goals this season, Mahrez has featured in Europe’s premier club competition with Leicester City and Manchester City.

  While he’s won three Premier League titles and the Afcon crown, the Champions League has remained elusive for Mahrez and Pep Guardiola’s City.

Speaking exclusively to Football FanCast, former Aston Villa midfielder Lee Hendrie has suggested that a formation change could be the answer to the Villans’ problems.

Villa are currently on a bad run of form, coinciding with the absence of captain Jack Grealish, and are really struggling in the final third.

Dean Smith’s side failed to score last time out in a 2-0 defeat against Tottenham, meaning that they have now registered just two goals in their last five Premier League fixtures.

This lack of proficiency in front of goal will come as a huge concern to Smith, and Hendrie believes a move away from the team’s current formation may be necessary while Grealish remains unavailable.

When discussing how Villa can get out of the current slump that they are in, Hendrie told FFC:

“Spurs were there for the taking. I think they [Villa] just lacked that little dimension that, you know, Jack has, [the ability to] bring something out of nothing.

“I’m all for that he needs to tweak the formation when Jack’s not available because they’re missing that little bit of cutting edge going forward. For all the good play, getting into the final third, they’re not creating enough chances, hence they’re not scoring enough goals at this moment in time.”

The Villans take on Fulham next when the Premier League returns, where Smith will be hoping for more from the likes of Bertrand Traore and Trezeguet, especially if Grealish is still unavailable.

Goal looks at the best and worst from men's soccer in the region this year including Mexico's Gold Cup stars and Honduras' roller-coaster season

• FREDERIC J. BROWN
  

  Best Player – Raul Jimenez, Mexico

  What a year for Raul Jimenez. He scored eight goals for Mexico, including five during the Gold Cup when he helped lead El Tri to the regional title.

  With his club, he's been unstoppable as well, helping Wolves push into the knockout stages of the Europa League and also playing a big role in upsets over teams like Manchester City.

  With eight goals in Premier League play, Jimenez sits just outside the top 10 in the Premier League. Combine his nine Europa League goals, though, and you'll begin to understand why he was the most important Concacaf player in Europe this season and is Mexico's No. 9 for the foreseeable future.

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• Frederic J. Brown
  

  Coach of the Year – Marc Collat, Haiti

  Marc Collat's Haiti ended the year on a bitter note, getting relegated from its Concacaf Nations League group. Yet, you have to understand the challenges with which Collat is working.

  Haiti wasn't able to play its second set of CNL matches at home because of political turmoil in the country, and already the manager is pulling players from all over the globe.

  Now, the path back to the Gold Cup involves extra qualification. So why is Collat the Coach of the Year? Because in this year's Gold Cup, Haiti was the story of the tournament, getting into the semifinals and pushing eventual champion Mexico to extra time.

  They did it thanks to strong game plans from Collat and a collective mentality the coach instituted despite cultural and language barriers few other teams have to overcome.

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  Breakout Star – Charly Rodriguez, Mexico

  Carlos Rodriguez already is such a fixture with the Mexico national team that it's difficult to remember that his debut came in this calendar year. With Hector Herrera out of a March friendly, Rodriguez stepped into the void and didn't look at all out of place in a 3-1 win against Chile.

  His showings with Monterrey also have been quality, with the 22-year-old midfielder impressing during the Club World Cup and eventually lifting the Liga MX title with Rayados.

  Now, he's being asked questions about heading to Europe, something that would only help him become a bigger star in the region.

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  Future star flying under the radar – Jonathan David, Canada

  Jonathan David was the Golden Boot winner at this summer's Gold Cup with six goals in four matches.

  He scored a dozen goals with Gent last year, a mark he's set to surpass with nine already this season. Oh, and he's 19. Why are we not talking more about this guy?

  Sure, the Gold Cup goal tally was run up thanks to a hat-trick against a hapless Cuba, but as Canada pushes to make the World Cup in 2022 before hosting four years later, we're going to be seeing David have plenty of success against more formidable teams in the very near future.

United's latest signing has been confirmed as the new owner of the iconic shirt, so GOAL looks at some of the others to have worn it over the years

Manchester United, of course, have had some truly iconic players wear the famed No.7 shirt, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, George Best, and Bryan Robson. There have also been some major flops, namely Michael Owen and Alexis Sanchez, and new signing Mason Mount will be hopeful he eventually falls into the first category having been handed the iconic jersey following his £60-million move from Chelsea.

The England international has plenty of experience behind him having become a regular contributor both at Stamford Bridge and for the Three Lions – but how will he deal with the weight of expectation that comes with wearing United's most legendary number?

GOAL takes a look at the history of the No.7 shirt at Old Trafford and how others have coped with it…

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  George Best

  An icon on and off the pitch, Best remains the only Northern Irishman to win the Ballon d'Or having finished as United's top scorer for six consecutive seasons before leaving in 1974.

  He helped the Red Devils win two league titles as well as the European Cup in 1968, with his goal in the final contributing to a 4-1 victory over Benfica.

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  Bryan Robson

  'Captain Marvel' was voted United's greatest ever player in a poll of their former players back in 2011, and for his all-action midfield displays it was easy to see why.

  Playing 461 times for the Red Devils, Robson scored 99 goals and became their first English captain to lift the FA Cup as well as helping to secure Premier League and Cup Winners' Cup triumphs.

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  Keith Gillespie

  Part of the United side that won the FA Youth Cup in 1992, Gillespie followed in his fellow countryman Best's shoes and was handed the No.7 shirt by Sir Alex Ferguson.

  He failed to fully establish himself at Old Trafford, however, with Andrei Kanchelskis keeping him out of the team for long periods before he was eventually sold to Newcastle in 1995.

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  Eric Cantona

  When permanent squad numbers were introduced to English football in the 1993-94 season, there was only really one option for United to hand their No.7 to – 'King Eric'.

  Signed from Leeds United in 1992, Cantona terrorised opposition defences for five years at Old Trafford, scoring outrageous goals for fun as Ferguson's side began to dominate the English game.

  He will likely always be remembered for his infamous kung-fu kick at Selhurst Park, but his playing legacy will never be forgotten on the red side of Manchester.

A pair of teenagers and a trio of New York Red Bulls headline Goal's selections as the best values, based on salary, in Major League Soccer

Salaries in Major League Soccer continue to rise, and have seen a considerable spike since the infusion of targeted allocation money in the past two seasons. That has led to a near doubling of the number of million-dollar salaries in the league, and a sizable jump in the number of players making more than $500,000.

That doesn't mean there still aren't some super-sized bargains to be had. Players signed via homegrown player deals and those who enter the league via the MLS draft continue to give MLS teams a steady stream of bargains, several of which make up the squad chosen by Goal to be part of the MLS Bargain XI, the best values in the league.

Here is the 2018 MLS Bargain XI, with salaries based on guaranteed compensation as released by the MLS players union last week .

• Greg Bartram
  

  GK Alex Bono, Toronto FC, $102,200

  The 24-year-old goalkeeper is in the midst of his second full season as Toronto FC's starter and is continuing to show improvement, building on his MLS Cup-winning 2017 season. His exploits in TFC's CONCACAF Champions League run turned heads, and he has also broken into the U.S. national team picture. Still playing on his rookie contract, Bono should be securing a new contract soon, assuming he doesn't head to Europe via transfer.

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• RB Julian Gressel, Atlanta United, $111,250

  A midfielder who has thrived this season since being moved into a right wing-back role, Gressel has carried over the success from his MLS Rookie of the Year award-winning 2017 into the 2018 season. He has been one of the key reasons Tata Martino has seen his team enjoy such success playing in a 3-5-2 formation. The 24-year-old German-born standout should be drawing attention from scouts and will have a strong case for a new contract this winter.

• Mark J. Rebilas
  

  CB Tim Parker, New York Red Bulls, $115,935

  How is Parker so underpaid? He's still playing on his original rookie contract, which expires at the end of this season. He is in line for a big payday this winter, either in Europe or in a new MLS deal. The Vancouver Whitecaps traded him rather than making him one of the league's highest-paid defenders. Since joining the Red Bulls, Parker has been outstanding and has helped his new team forge the best defense in club history.

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• CB Aaron Long, New York Red Bulls $73,125

  A repeat selection on the MLS Bargain XI, Long has followed up his breakout 2017 season with a strong start to 2018. His skill on the ball, coupled with an improving defensive skill set, make him one of the league's most underrated defenders. It shouldn't be long before the 25-year-old central defender secures a new contract with the Red Bulls.