The Full Time Report — Episode 112: The draw lands, Delap is done, and Barcola gets real
The Champions League draw finally put names next to every Premier League club.
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The Full Time Report — Episode 112: The draw lands, Delap is done, and Barcola gets real
The Champions League league-phase draw finally put names next to every Premier League club, Viktoria Plzeň pulled off a Europa League play-off comeback for the ages, and the transfer desk turned Liam Delap into finished business while Liverpool's Barcola deal stayed one step short.
The Champions League draw
In Monaco on Thursday, the thirty-six-team league-phase draw handed every Premier League side eight opponents — four at home, four away. Matchday one runs from 8 to 10 September, with the exact schedule due on Saturday and the final set for Madrid on 5 June. 12
Paris Saint-Germain were drawn against both Manchester City and Aston Villa. City host the champions at the Etihad and travel to Barcelona. Villa host PSG and Borussia Dortmund, and travel to Barcelona and Galatasaray. 12
Arsenal host Real Madrid, Dortmund, Lille and Sabah, and travel to Bayern Munich, Real Betis, Napoli and Slavia Prague. Liverpool host Atlético Madrid, Porto, Villarreal and Lens, and travel to Inter, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe and LASK. Manchester United host Bayern, Roma, RB Leipzig and Sabah, and travel to Atlético, Sporting, Villarreal and Como. 12
Wednesday's play-off finishers are already on those boards: Viking, Fenerbahçe, AEK Athens and Slovan Bratislava all reached the league phase, and LASK's Tuesday comeback over Celtic now means Liverpool travel to Linz. 13
Europa League play-offs
There were no Premier League fixtures on 27 August. The live European board was Europa League play-off second legs. 4
Viktoria Plzeň produced the night's headline: trailing 3-0 from the first leg, they beat Red Star Belgrade 5-1 after extra time and went through 5-4 on aggregate. Omonia overturned a first-leg deficit to beat Sint-Truiden 4-2 and win 4-3 overall. Benfica, Salzburg, Anderlecht, Ferencváros, Beşiktaş, Lech Poznań, Jagiellonia, OFI, Lillestrøm and Ararat-Armenia also sealed league-phase places. 45
The Europa League league-phase draw follows on Friday. Eliminated sides drop into the Conference League league phase. 5
Confirmed and progressing transfers
Nottingham Forest completed Liam Delap from Chelsea on a club-record deal. The Guardian reports a finished £45m move and a five-year contract; BBC Sport puts the completed package at £50m. Delap said he cannot wait to get started after being told he was not part of Xabi Alonso's plans. 67
Liverpool and PSG reached an outline £120m agreement for Bradley Barcola — just over £100m guaranteed plus about £20m in add-ons — after PSG lowered a £145m ask. Sources still insist the deal is not done yet; the full structure is unfinished, with a target of completing before Tuesday's deadline. Andoni Iraola would not guarantee Cody Gakpo stays if two wingers arrive. 8
Aston Villa signed Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich on a free transfer. Nicolas Jackson was completing a medical at Villa Park on Thursday in a move valued around £65m. In the other direction, Chelsea agreed a £7.5m fee for Emiliano Martínez, with a medical due in London — fee agreed, not a finished registration. 910
Still moving
Julián Álvarez has missed Atletico Madrid training after being told privately that a Barcelona sale is off. Atletico are open to selling him to Arsenal and have talked about a fee around €150m (£128m). That is talks and a pathway, not a green light from the player. 11
Fiorentina are in talks with Manchester United over an initial loan for Joshua Zirkzee with an option to buy. Optimism exists before 1 September, but an agreement is not close. 12
Jack Grealish would prefer a return to Everton if he leaves Manchester City before the deadline. City hold interest in Everton's Iliman Ndiaye, valued around £70m. No concrete offers for Grealish yet. 13
Cup night and the weekend
In the Carabao Cup second round, Chelsea beat Luton 2-0 and Fulham beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0. Danny Welbeck scored on his Chelsea debut. The third-round draw includes Liverpool against Tottenham and Chelsea against Leeds. 14
Premier League action returns with Crystal Palace against Manchester City among Friday's fixtures, while the transfer window stays open until 1 September. 14
References
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- 5Europa League play-off wrap: Plzeň stun Red Star
thesportsencounter.com
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