Pete Radovich, the coordinating producer of CBS’ Champions League coverage, which is hosted by Kato Abdo and features Thierry Henry, Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards, was asked by The Athletic on Thursday whether United’s absence will be a blow to the network.

Yildiz went on to receive Panini’s player of the match, though he stated almost immediately after that “this trophy is not important, what is important is winning our matches.” One could commend the humility and team mentality Yildiz displayed, though the folks at Panini may be less thrilled than most.

The Premier League season is edging toward its climax, with a host of clubs battling to secure places in the UEFA Champions League (UCL), UEFA Europa League (UEL) and UEFA Conference League (UCoL).

The Champions League has a new format for 2024-25. Forget group tables, instead we saw a 36-team league stage being contested from September through to January. But now that has been completed ...