PARIS (AP) — Out of the Premier League title race. Routed in the FA Cup. Mounting questions over the manager's future. A star striker set to leave. A disgruntled captain saying his team gave up.
Liverpool heads into the first leg of its Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday in disarray.
Click to Gallery
PSG players celebrate after a goal during a League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse in Paris, France, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, left, attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, center, and manager Arne Slot, second left, attend a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
“We need 90 minutes full energy and full commitment otherwise we will have no chance,” Liverpool attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz said Tuesday at a news conference.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot knows what to expect from the outset at Parc des Princes.
“PSG under (coach) Luis Enrique do not give you a second to have the ball comfortable on your feet,” Slot said, calling PSG one of the top two sides in the world from open play. “It’s press, press, press every second of the game.”
But Slot hopes six-time champion Liverpool can draw on its vast European experience to keep the tie alive heading to Anfield for next Tuesday's second leg.
“We've shown a few times we can do special things in difficult circumstances,” he said. “The answer is already in the history of Liverpool, but it’s easier said than done.”
It was a far different dynamic when the sides met in the last 16 last year.
Back then, Liverpool was romping to the Premier League title, new manager Slot was the toast of the city and Mohamed Salah was at his brilliant best. By contrast, PSG struggled to get out of the Champions League group stage and observers were questioning Luis Enrique's methods.
PSG scraped through on penalties against Liverpool after an intense battle over two legs.
Knocking Liverpool out at Anfield gave PSG the belief it could finally win the Champions League. By contrast, Liverpool's agonizing defeat marked the start of Salah's decline and Liverpool's gradual slump as it lost the League Cup final soon after.
Liverpool began the current campaign poorly as Salah's goals dried up and he clashed with Slot.
PSG is closing in on another French title but Liverpool is fifth in the Premier League, 21 points behind leader Arsenal. Following a crushing 4-0 defeat to Manchester City in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday, captain Virgil van Dijk said his team “gave up” and he apologized to fans.
Slot called it a humbling loss and, while he did not agree with Van Dijk's conclusion, felt his captain was justified in speaking out.
"I think it is good for a captain to have a strong and firm reaction," Slot said. "Hopefully as a team we can show a strong and firm reaction tomorrow.”
The Dutchman is reportedly clinging onto his job. Salah will be gone next season and, if PSG knocks out Liverpool, a trophy-less season may threaten Slot's position.
Wirtz said the players back Slot.
“Yes, of course. The team should believe in the manager because they won the league last season," said Wirtz, who joined in the offseason from Bayer Leverkusen.
Liverpool forward Hugo Ekitiké returns to face his old side as a player transformed.
He joined PSG four years ago as a promising 19-year-old but struggled to make an impact in a team containing Kylian Mbappe, Neymar and Lionel Messi. He scored only four goals in 33 games in two disappointing seasons.
“You could already see the qualities he had," PSG midfielder Vitinha said. "It just wasn't the right context for him at the time.”
A move to Eintracht Frankfurt changed Ekitiké's fortunes and, after scoring 22 goals last season, he joined Premier League champion Liverpool for 69 million pounds (then $93.5 million).
He has netted 17 times and has broken into the France team.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
PSG players celebrate after a goal during a League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse in Paris, France, Friday, April 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
Liverpool's Mohamed Salah attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Liverpool manager Arne Slot, left, attends a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
Liverpool's Virgil van Dijk, center, and manager Arne Slot, second left, attend a training session in Liverpool, England, Tuesday April 7, 2026. (Peter Byrne/PA via AP)
AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) — Rory McIlroy might have set the tone for the 90th edition of the Masters shortly after he finally won that coveted green jacket. “What are we all going to talk about next year?” he said.
It was a reference to how long he tried to win the green jacket for the career Grand Slam. And now? McIlroy gave some insight on Tuesday.
“What motivates me? What gets me going? What do I still want to achieve in the game? I think that’s the story,” he said. "And there’s still a lot that I want to do. ... I felt like the career Grand Slam was my destination, and I got there, and then I realized it wasn’t the destination.”
McIlroy is trying to become only the fourth player to win back to back at the Masters.
Scottie Scheffler remains the betting favorite because he already has won the Masters twice and he has been No. 1 in the world for nearly three straight years. He won in his season debut and has gone quiet by his standards the last month.
Bryson DeChambeau has won his last two tournaments on Saudi-funded LIV Golf, with a 57-man field and limited supply of stars in their prime. The two-time U.S. Open champion played in the final group with McIlroy last year.
Amid what seems like constant change in golf, the Masters brings a degree of normalcy as golf's rite of spring and for many, the true opening week of the sport.
Here is a look at what you need to know leading up to the Masters.
The Masters starts Thursday, keeping its traditional spot on the calendar the first full week in April. Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson again are scheduled to hit the ceremonial tee shots at 7:25 a.m. And then Johnny Keefer hits the first shot that counts.
The tee times were announced Tuesday.
The Par 3 Contest is on Wednesday, created in 1960 to replace what previously was a clinic the golfers performed. Now it's become a showcase for Masters players young and old, and caddies who are mostly young — the children of players.
The field is 91 players, keeping with another Masters tradition. Augusta National prefers fewer than 100 players in the field, and it's been that way dating to 1967.
Tiger Woods will miss the Masters for the second straight year. He was arrested March 27 in Florida on a driving while intoxicated charge. No alcohol was found in his system, but drug experts determined he was impaired.
Woods entered a plea of not guilty last week, and then he issued a statement saying he was taking an indefinite leave to seek treatment.
His absence has been noted this week, although Jason Day questioned why he was behind the wheel of a car.
Phil Mickelson is not playing the Masters for only the third time as a pro. Mickelson says his family is navigating through a personal health matter. He already has missed four of five LIV Golf events because of the situation.
It's the first time since 1994 neither Mickelson nor Woods is at Augusta National. Back then, Woods was a senior in high school who had yet to become eligible. Mickelson broke a bone in his left leg skiing a few months before the Masters.
The options are practically limitless. Thursday and Friday rounds start at 1 p.m. ET on Prime Video, the latest broadcast partner for Augusta National. ESPN will take over at 3 p.m. on the weekday rounds through 7:30 p.m. Then on the weekend, Paramount+ will get started at noon, and CBS will carry live tournament coverage from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m.
But that's not all.
The Master is offering live video channels on https://www.masters.com/en_US/index.html with a menu that includes featured pairings; live action from the fourth, fifth and sixth holes; Amen Corner (Nos. 11-13); the 15th and 16th holes. Prime Video will have a stats-enhanced stream on Amen Corner.
Other than the blooms peaking a little early, not really. Players long have suspected tweaks here and there without saying so. All that's known is the front of the 17th tee was reduced by 12 yards and the tee marker was relocated to make the scorecard show 450 yards (up from 440 yards).
The buzz is the new Player Services Building located behind the driving range, a three-level structure with an indoor parking garage beneath the members range. It has a gym and recovery room on one level, an enormous locker room on the second level and dining for players, family and support staff on the third level.
And for those who manage to get a ticket, the Masters has a new candy bar in its concession. The name of it: Candy Bar.
Scheffler is the betting favorite, according to BetMGM Sportsbook, which lists the world's No. 1 player at +550. He is followed by former Masters champion Jon Rahm (+1000), McIlroy and DeChambeau (+1200), and then Ludvig Aberg and Xander Schauffele (+1400).
In what ranks among the greatest Masters ever, McIlroy lost a four-shot lead on the back nine, regained the lead, lost it again and wound up in a playoff with Justin Rose. McIlroy won on the first extra hole with a gap wedge to 3 feet for birdie, making him the six player to capture the career Grand Slam.
The most interesting of the 22 newcomers is Chris Gotterup. He's only the third player since World War II to win four times before he plays in his first Masters. Gotterup first qualified by winning the Scottish Open. He won the Sony Open and Phoenix Open earlier this year.
Three players from the top 20 in the world are making their debut — Ben Griffin, who played in his first Ryder Cup last September, and Riviera winner Jacob Bridgeman, who went to nearby Clemson.
Also playing are Kristoffer Reitan of Norway and Rasmus Neergaard-Peterson of Denmark, part of a record eight players from Nordic countries.
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
A patrons watches during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Monday, April 6, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, watches his tee shot on the ninth hole during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
The golf bag of Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, sits near the 13th hole as he putts during a practice round ahead of the Masters golf tournament at the Augusta National Golf Club, Tuesday, April 7, 2026, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
FILE - Scottie Scheffler puts the green Jacket on winner, Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, at the Masters golf tournament, April 13, 2025, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis, File)
FILE - Dogwood flowers frame the clubhouse during a practice round for the Masters golf tournament on April 5, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip, File)
FILE - The Augusta National clubhouse during a practice round at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., April 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Rob Carr, File)
