The modern Champions League format has little space for romance or novelty — as seen by this week’s fixture list as Arsenal and Bayern Munich, and Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, met again for the upteenth time in recent years.

REAL MADRID star Raul has likened the impact of Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival at the club with that of David Beckham.

The world’s most expensive player failed to let the torrential rain dampen his spirits today as he ran out with his Real Madrid teammates on the first leg of their Irish trip.