Three of European soccer's greats are on the brink of Champions League elimination

Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Girona in Madrid, Spain, Friday, April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

MANCHESTER, England — Three of European soccer’s most storied clubs stand on the brink of Champions League elimination.

Real Madrid, Liverpool and Barcelona must all overturn first-leg defeats in this week’s quarterfinals.

Between them they have won European club soccer’s greatest prize 26 times. But they have left themselves with mountains to climb to advance to the semifinals.

Record 15-time champion Madrid trails 2-1 to Bayern Munich after a home defeat in last week’s first leg at the Bernabeu.

Liverpool is 2-0 down to defending champion Paris Saint-Germain ahead of Tuesday’s return match at Anfield and Barcelona suffered a shock 2-0 home loss to Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp.

In the other quarterfinal Arsenal leads Sporting Lisbon 1-0 going into Wednesday’s match at the Emirates.

Madrid’s season is on the brink

Trailing leader Barcelona by nine points in the Spanish league, Madrid’s best chance of success this season may be in the competition that defines it - the Champions League.

But it faces a major challenge to overturn its tie against Bayern in Munich on Wednesday.

The German giant has been one of the standout teams in Europe this season - finishing second in the league phase with seven wins from eight games and routing Atalanta 10-2 on aggregate in the round of 16.

Bayern has won 39 of its 45 games in all competitions this season - losing just twice. Vincent Kompany’s team looks well-placed to win a seventh European Cup, which would see it move level with AC Milan as the second most successful team in the competition’s history.

In Harry Kane, Michael Olise and Luis Diaz, Bayern has one of the most lethal attacks in Europe, but had to rely on the enduring brilliance of 40-year-old goalkeeper Manuel Neuer to keep Madrid at bay in the first leg.

That should serve as encouragement for Madrid that it managed to create so many chances against Bayern’s defense, but it will have to find a way past Neuer to avoid elimination.

A sense of deja vu for Liverpool

PSG put an end to Liverpool’s Champions League campaign last season and looks primed to repeat the act this year.

The first-leg win in Paris last week did not reflect the superiority of Luis Enrique’s team on the night, which had a host of chances to rack up an even more commanding lead.

“Paris Saint-Germain was the better team, but we didn’t give up and that’s why we have a chance now still in this tie, because they kept us alive by not scoring a few open chances,” Liverpool coach Arne Slot said.

Six-time champion Liverpool will be relying on the famous Anfield crowd to try to inspire another famous comeback in the fashion of its 4-0 win against Barcelona in 2019 after losing the first leg 3-0.

Defeat, meanwhile, would see more pressure mount on Slot after Liverpool’s Premier League title defense unraveled early in the campaign.

Can Barcelona bounce back?

On course for back-to-back Spanish titles, Barcelona is also in danger of another surprise exit from the Champions League.

Defeat to Inter Milan in last year’s semifinal came as a shock and a quarterfinal exit to Atletico would be even more unexpected.

But that is what’s on the cards for Hansi Flick’s team if it cannot overturn a 2-0 deficit at the Metropolitano Stadium on Tuesday.

Diego Simeone’s Atletico already dumped Barcelona out of the Copa del Rey last month and is threatening to make it a double.

On that occasion Barcelona fought back from a 4-0 first leg defeat to win 3-0 in the return match. That might offer some encouragement - especially with a forward line packed with the goal-scoring threat of Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski and Marcus Rashford. The absence of the injured Raphinha, however, could be crucial.

Arsenal feeling the pressure

Arsenal faces a critical week in its bid to win a Premier League and Champions League double.

On Sunday it travels to Manchester City in a crucial game in the title race - but before that, Mikel Arteta’s team takes on Sporting Lisbon.

Leading 1-0 thanks to Kai Havertz’s goal in added time in Portugal, Arsenal is favorite to get the job done at home. But there have been signs of the pressure getting to the Premier League leader in recent weeks.

Defeat to City in the English League Cup final and the shock loss to second division Southampton in the FA Cup ended Arsenal’s pursuit of a trophy quadruple.

Another defeat to Bournemouth in the league on Saturday has allowed second-place City to close the gap at the top to six points ahead of this weekend’s clash. City also has a game in hand.

In light of that, Arsenal may find it a relief to turn its attention to Europe.

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James Robson, The Associated Press