March is generally a vital month in the European soccer calendar. The title races — at least, the ones that weren’t decided the moment the season kicked off — are entering the stretch run, the jockeying for top-four finishes gets a little more focused, the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League all whittle their way down to eight teams, the women’s Champions League narrows down to four, and we get the last international break of the club season.
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When you factor in the gravity of this international break — which will give away the final three spots in the summer’s Euros (from a pool of 12) and final two spots in Copa América (from a pool of four) — and the fact that Manchester City plays both of its Premier League title rivals (Liverpool on March 10 and Arsenal on March 31), this is a hell of a March.
Let’s set the table. Competition by competition, here are the five (or so) biggest matches of this delightful month.
UEFA competitions
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