UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
PSG vs AC Milan: which brothers have played against each other in the Champions League?
France internationals Lucas and Théo Hernández will be on opposing sides at the Parc des Princes on matchday three on Wednesday.
Paris Saint-Germain versus AC Milan will be a family affair on Wednesday night. Lucas and Théo Hernández have lined up alongside one another on plenty of occasions over the years but will come face to face at the Parc des Princes on matchday three of the 2023-24 UEFA Champions League group stage.
The brothers both started out as youngsters at Spanish club Rayo Majadahonda, based just outside Madrid, before coming through the youth academy at Atlético Madrid. They have never played together at first-team level in club soccer, with Lucas spending four seasons as a regular starter in the Spanish capital before moving onto Bayern Munich and now PSG. Théo, meanwhile, never made the breakthrough under Diego Simeone but did have a stint with city rivals Real Madrid ahead of his switch to Italy.
International teammates
The duo have, however, become regular fixtures in Didier Deschamps’ France team, with 27-year-old centre-back Lucas having 35 caps to his name, 16 more than left-back Théo, 26. They started alongside one another in defence in Les Bleus’ 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifying win over the Netherlands in the October international break, just as they had done in the previous fixture at home to the Republic of Ireland.
In Paris on Wednesday, though, they will be on opposing sides and will become only the fourth set of brothers to go head to head in Europe’s elite club competition.
Gabriel and Diego Milito
Barcelona vs Inter: Champions League semi-final, second leg, 2009-2010
Perhaps the most memorable match featuring opposing brothers was the Barcelona vs Inter semi-final in 2009-10, which you’ll do doubt remember for the Italians parking the bus and Jose Mourinho at his provocative best (or worst?) as he rubbed his team’s qualification for the final right in Catalan faces.
Gabriel, who was on the bench in the first leg, kept a clean sheet against his brother in a 1-0 Barça win, which wasn’t enough to overturn a 3-1 defeat in Milan, which Diego scored in.
Rafinha and Thiago Alcántara
Barcelona vs Bayern Munich: Champions League semi-final, first leg, 2014-2015
Barça have had some serious trouble with Bayern over the years, but not this time. Three goals in the last quarter-of-an-hour from Lionel Messi (two) and Neymar put them in the driving seat for the second leg, which they were able to navigate without too much difficulty (unlike in later years).
Rafinha only came on for the final few minutes of the match but will have enjoyed his night significantly more than brother Thiago.
Granit and Taulant Xhaka
Arsenal vs Basel: two Champions League group-stage games, 2016-17
The Xhakas are an intriguing case, with Granit representing Switzerland and older brother Taulant playing for Albania (having turned out for the Swiss age-group teams). The duo had already played against each other at Euro 2016 by the time Arsenal and Basel were draw in the same Champions League group a few months later.
And it was clean sweet for Granit, who was on the winning side on all three occasions, with Arsenal winning 2-0 in London and 4-1 on the road.
Rasmus and Oscar Hojlund miss each other by minutes
Incredibly enough, only a matter of minutes stopped the Hernández brothers from being the fifth, rather than the fourth, set of siblings to take to the same field in the Champions League.
On Tuesday night, Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund was taken off in the 86th minute of his team’s win over FC Copenhagen, who sent younger brother Oscar on as a substitute in injury time. Oscar’s twin, Emil, also plays for the Danish champions but didn’t make the squad at Old Trafford.