YOANE WISSA MARKS FIRST CHAMPIONS LEAGUE START WITH GOAL IN 3-0 WIN
Newcastle United secure a Champions League play-off berth after a 3-0 win over PSV, featuring Yoane Wissa's first UCL goal.
Yoane Wissa picked the perfect moment for his first Champions League goal, putting Newcastle ahead in his very first start as they cruised to a 3-0 win over PSV Eindhoven. With that, Newcastle locked in at least a play-off spot and kept their hopes alive for automatic qualification. Not bad for a freezing night on Tyneside.
Wissa, Anthony Gordon, and Harvey Barnes all took advantage of PSV’s mistakes. Newcastle made it look pretty comfortable by the end, even though the match itself was anything but a classic. The crowd of over 52,000 didn’t seem to mind—Eddie Howe’s team did exactly what they needed to do, jumping to seventh in the table and setting up a big trip to Paris to face PSG next week.
PSV came in hot, having lost just once in their last 21 games, and started on the brighter side. But Newcastle struck first. Gordon fired over early, then just minutes in, PSV’s keeper Matej Kovar scuffed a clearance. Bruno Guimaraes pounced, fed Joelinton, and he unselfishly squared it for Wissa, who finished coolly. The celebrations had to wait as VAR checked for offside, but the goal stood.
PSV kept pushing, especially with Newcastle losing the ball far too often—Guimaraes, their captain, was guilty more than once. Still, Newcastle doubled their lead on the half-hour. Gasiorowski, whose earlier back-pass had already caused problems, got caught on the ball again by Wissa. The loose ball rolled to Gordon, who tucked away his sixth goal of the tournament.
Newcastle never really got control. They kept giving the ball away, but PSV just couldn’t turn their pressure into clear chances. It took until stoppage time for Paul Wanner to force a save from Nick Pope.
After the break, not much changed. PSV saw plenty of the ball but didn’t do much with it. Newcastle sat deep, waiting for their chances to break. Gordon and Wissa both had moments where they could’ve set up Barnes, but didn’t quite manage it.
Barnes wasn’t going to miss out, though. When PSV captain Jerdy Schouten misjudged a long clearance from Pope, Barnes raced through and smashed home his 12th of the season. That pretty much finished things off.
Wissa nearly got another from a Barnes cross, and Nick Woltemade forced a save late on, but Newcastle looked more likely to score again than concede as the clock wound down.
ARSENAL POCKET INSANE £125.18M FOLLOWING CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL QUALIFICATION
Mikel Arteta's side has added £15.97m to their cash reserves, eclipsing the total earned by current champions PSG last year.
Arsenal have added another £15.97 million to their UEFA prize money haul after securing a spot in the Champions League final with a win against Atletico Madrid. They are set to face either Bayern Munich or the current champions, Paris Saint-Germain, in Budapest on May 30, aiming for their first-ever triumph in this prestigious competition.
Beyond that, there’s an additional £5.61 million up for grabs in Hungary later this month. But up to now, Arsenal have amassed an eye-watering £125.18 million in Champions League prize money this season alone. A place in next season’s European Super Cup also carries a potential reward of around £3.45 million. It’s been a remarkable European run under Mikel Arteta, with the team dominating the group stage by winning all eight matches.
From the very beginning, the club benefited from the initial distribution of TV revenue and the rankings pool, which together amounted to £49.6 million. Even before the knockout rounds kicked off, Arsenal had already secured £85.3 million in prize money.
That total doesn’t even cover the bonuses linked to their on-field success, as each of their eight victories in the group stage brought in roughly £15.8 million altogether.
By finishing first out of 36 group-phase clubs, Arsenal earned an extra £8.6 million, and progressing straight to the round of 16 as one of the top eight teams secured them another £11.3 million.
They continued their strong run by eliminating Bayer Leverkusen after a 1-1 draw away and a 2-0 win at the Emirates, which added £10.8 million more to their earnings.
Overcoming Sporting CP in the quarter-finals also brought a £10.8 million bonus. While Arsenal’s motivation isn’t just financial, this level of income certainly aids in meeting profit and sustainability rules and other financial fair play criteria.
It’s also likely to support their summer transfer budget, as sporting director Andrea Berta looks to build on Arteta’s squad.
Last season, Arsenal took home £98.63 million after reaching the semi-finals before falling to PSG.
PSG, who went on to win the title, collected about £124.62 million last year, so Arsenal have now already surpassed that figure.
Meanwhile, UEFA has set aside a record £2.13 billion in prize money for the 2025-26 Champions League season, highlighting the competition’s growing financial stakes.
JAN OBLAK CONFESSES ATLETICO WERE "AFRAID TO PLAY" AGAINST ARSENAL
Following their Champions League exit, skipper Jan Oblak analysed where Atletico went wrong and paid tribute to Griezmann.
Jan Oblak didn’t hold back after Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Champions League against Arsenal. He said straight up that the team just didn’t do enough to earn a spot in the final. Sure, he’s proud of how far the squad has come recently, but the way they went out still stings.
Oblak was pretty open about where things went wrong, especially after the first leg, when Atletico failed to take an advantage back to London. “I'm disappointed, just like all the fans. Honestly, I can’t find the words. We didn’t do enough to be in the final, and it’s just a tough moment. We had our chances to win, but we didn’t take them. All that’s left is to congratulate Arsenal.”
He didn’t stop there, either. Speaking to CBS Golazo, Oblak was even more direct about the team’s mentality, especially in the first half of both matches. He felt Atletico were hesitant, too respectful of Arsenal, and afraid to play. Both times, they fell behind before halftime and then tried to play catch-up, but it was always a little too late. “This has happened several times this season,” Oblak said, “and while we’ve managed to win those games before, not today when it mattered most.”
On the flip side, Oblak did give some credit to the young players and the growth the team’s shown, especially after a couple of big summers that saw a huge part of the squad change. “The last two seasons, we’ve switched out something like 15 players. A lot of young guys with not much experience came in. They did great in the cup, and they’ve held up in the Champions League too. In the league, we weren’t good enough for the biggest matches, but I’m proud of how the younger ones are growing. Still, when the goal is to win a title, and you don’t, you can’t call it a success. All we can do is look forward and hope we’ll be fighting for trophies next season.”
Saying goodbye to Antoine Griezmann made this exit even sadder for Oblak and the rest of the squad. Griezmann’s heading to Orlando City this summer, bringing the curtain down on his Champions League career with Atletico. “Everyone’s going to miss Griezi; he’s an incredible player and a great guy. The kind of person who’s always smiling, always positive, and does things on the pitch nobody else can. We’ll miss him a lot; the fans will miss him, but he deserves nothing but the best wherever he goes.”
At 33, Oblak is one of Atletico’s true leaders, right behind Koke for the captain’s armband. Alongside Jose Maria Gimenez and Marcos Llorente, he’s been a
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