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Jürgen Klopp has taken Liverpool to four European finals, one Champions League trophy and places that players and fans alike may never have imagined possible but a journey that pulsated and punished is over. There will be no fairytale ending in Dublin after one more feat of escapology proved beyond Klopp’s team against Atalanta.

The 91st European game of Klopp’s nine-year Liverpool reign was also his last despite a vastly improved display and win against Gian Piero Gasperini’s side. “If we fail, then let’s fail in the most beautiful way,” Klopp had said on the eve of the Europa League quarter-final second leg. Liverpool delivered to a degree. Mohamed Salah struck an early penalty that decided the contest but could not transform the tie, although it looked possible during a first half in which Atalanta creaked and the Egypt international missed an excellent chance to double Liverpool’s advantage. Atalanta regained their composure in the second half to secure only the second European semi-final place in their history and revel in one of their greatest nights.

Bayer Leverkusen will be waking up with sore heads again. Their treble hopes remains alive, as does their sheen of invincibility, but only just. After the beer-stained celebrations that followed their regal charge to the Bundesliga title, Xabi Alonso’s side looked groggy on a pulsating night at the London Stadium and can count themselves lucky to be in a Europa League semi-final against Roma after beating West Ham 3-1 on aggregate.

The home fans responding to Jeremie Frimpong’s late equaliser extending Leverkusen’s unbeaten run to 44 matches with rueful applause spoke volumes. West Ham gave everything in their pursuit of a comeback and had the chances to turn the tie around after taking an early lead through Michail Antonio.

Madrid being cast as underdogs is a grotesque measure of where we are but absorbing tie was a telling clash of contrasts

It turns out Pep Guardiola was right after all. Manchester City’s pursuit of the double-treble will now remain “a hypothetical dream”.

This was Pep’s own excellent phrase before Wednesday’s second leg against Real Madrid, a formulation that suggests even Guardiola’s dreams are full of theory, algebra, hypotheticals, like a footballing version of Evelyn Waugh’s professor Silenus, the modernist architect who doesn’t sleep but instead lies in the dark for eight hours with his eyes shut doing high-speed calculations, before rising at dawn to design another machine-age masterpiece.

• A deal concocted in corridors of power, says Tranmere’s Palios
• Winter break also removed for longer period between seasons

New changes to the format of the FA Cup, including an end to replays and the final being played during the league season, have been met with strong criticism with the decision-making process described as an “absolute disgrace”.

Replays are to be dropped from the first round onwards from next season and the final moved to the penultimate weekend of the Premier League campaign, as part of a deal agreed between the FA and Premier League. Mark Bullingham, the FA’s chief executive, said the agreement would secure “a strong format for the future” for a trophy that continues to generate the majority of the FA’s income. The Premier League is understood to have argued that change was necessary due to the expansion of European fixtures from next season. For smaller clubs that traditionally stood to benefit from replays, however, this perspective has not been shared.

Long before Emiliano Martínez was booked for time-wasting 39 minutes into this tempestuous knockout tie, there was an air of inevitability that the Aston Villa goalkeeper would prove the hero. So he was, with Martínez saving superbly from Nabil Bentaleb and Benjamin André in a 4-3 penalty shootout victory after Matty Cash’s speculative late strike took the game to extra time. Martinez was mobbed by his teammates, Morgan Rogers jumping for a piggy-back as Villa’s players charged towards their delirious supporters stationed high in the stand at the opposite end. That, however, is only half of the story.

The whole game boiled down to a ludicrous crescendo, Martínez the centre of attention. Martínez, of course, relished being the pantomime villain as he took on a French team since his World Cup heroics for Argentina in Qatar, when he thwarted Kingsley Coman from 12 yards, and he was up to his old tricks here. His every touch was jeered from the off by the locals and, already on a booking, he was cautioned again by the referee, Ivan Kruzliak, during the spot-kicks after being warned for gamesmanship – another dollop of shithousery, you could say – but avoided being sent off and leaving Villa in the unprecedented scenario of being without a goalkeeper for the rest of the shootout because cautions are not carried forward into penalties. At the time, nobody seemed too sure. However, he is now suspended for the first leg of the semi-finals.

• Club’s owners ready to back Mikel Arteta in transfer market
• Sporting’s Viktor Gyökeres has also been heavily linked

Arsenal are targeting a striker and winger in the summer to strengthen Mikel Arteta’s squad after their hopes of reaching a first Champions League semi-final since 2009 were ended by Bayern Munich.

Successive defeats against Aston Villa and Bayern have left Arsenal’s chances of silverware this season relying on Manchester City slipping up in the Premier League title race with six games to play after Arteta’s side finished as runners-up last year. There have been signs of ­progress since more than £200m was spent last summer on Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurriën Timber but the owner, Kroenke Sports & Entertainment (KSE), recognises that Arteta’s squad needs significant strengthening to help them take the next step.

• Domestic double the target after Champions League exit
• FA Cup tie against Chelsea a chance to ‘do something special’

Kyle Walker says Manchester City must channel the anguish of their Champions League exit at the hands of Real Madrid into the pursuit of a domestic double. The 33-year-old spoke of the cruelty of Wednesday night’s penalty shootout defeat by Madrid, which followed a second leg at the Etihad Stadium that City dominated from the start of the second half of normal time.

The Premier League champions face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday and are two points clear of Arsenal and Liverpool at the top of the league with six matches to play.

• German club could demand huge fee for 21-year-old
• Other City targets include Lucas Paquetá and Eberechi Eze

Manchester City are planning a big push to sign Bayern Munich’s Jamal Musiala this summer. Pep Guardiola wants more options in attacking midfield and Musiala is emerging as his top target.

Bayern will not want to lose the Germany international, who has two years on his deal, and could ward off suitors by demanding a huge fee. The 21-year-old, who can play in a variety of positions in attack, has made impressive strides since leaving Chelsea five years ago and is a key player for the Bundesliga side.

• Bayern Munich striker looking forward to Champions League tie
• Kane admits Wednesday’s win over Arsenal ‘feels amazing’

Harry Kane says the Champions League semi-final meeting between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid justifies the decisions he and Jude Bellingham made to continue their careers on the continent.

Two of England’s biggest stars will face each other in 12 days’ time after their clubs overcame Arsenal and Manchester City respectively. A final on familiar territory at Wembley will be at stake and Kane welcomed the match-up with his international teammate, who has enjoyed a stellar season since moving to Spain from Borussia Dortmund last June.

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Maybe Fede Valverde, Real Madrid’s man of the match at the Etihad, said it best: “Against all odds. Acting like dead people. THIS IS FOOTBALL HERITAGE REAL MADRID.” Yes, Manchester City are out, Madrid are through, water is wet. Stick your xG, bookies’ odds, possession stats, and moral victories. Liam Gallagher, Ricky Hatton, Jason Manford, your boys took one hell of a beating. So Madrid continued their inevitable march towards another Big Cup semi-final, their 12th in the last 14 years. Sometimes over the years they have bullied and swaggered their way to victory, through Sergio Ramos headers or Gareth Bale bicycle kicks. Sometimes, as on Wednesday, they have grafted, ridden their luck, found a goal or a pass or a tackle from nowhere, watched as their opponents have inexplicably squandered their chances – like a Bond villain missing a point-blank shot with an automatic weapon, only to see 007 cling on for dear life and triumph at the last. Madrid always find a way. Carlo Ancelotti always finds a way. How do they do it?

Seeing Pompey’s John Mousinho referred to as the ‘Pro Evo version of the Special One’ (yesterday’s Football Daily) got me wondering: what would the Football Daily Pro Evo equivalents be? Mack Russian and Barney Greatending have a nice ring to them” – Tom Murray-Rust.

Re: yesterday’s Memory Lane (full email edition). Footballers do actually still run pubs, even in the modern era. I’d like to nominate Newcastle United’s former French left-back Olivier Bernard and give a big shout out to The Masons Arms in Blyth. It’s always worth name-checking Ollie for an excuse to watch this again and again” – Jason Rohan.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

• Thursday’s European ties could spell end of hopes for fifth place
• Italy and Germany currently the likeliest to take two extra spots

The Premier League’s hopes of securing an extra spot in next season’s expanded Champions League are hanging by a thread after the exits of Manchester City and Arsenal from this season’s competition on Wednesday night – with Germany now the strong favourites to pip it to the prize.

The picture could become more gloomy or even terminal for the English top flight by the close of play on Thursday night when the Europa League and Europa Conference League quarter-final second legs are concluded, with West Ham’s tie against Bayer Leverkusen in the former potentially pivotal.

In a game where Eric Dier is among those who moved abroad and kicked on, plenty believe the English arrogance is real

It’s that Mitchell and Webb sketch reprised. Premier League fans looking around nervously. Are we … the farmers? (credit to Charlie on X who asked me this question). How can we carry on if the Premier League isn’t “The Greatest League In The World”™? The Champions League quarter-finals have been a salutary reminder that there are good footballers in good football teams managed by good coaches who happen to play in other countries. You may be reading this after the Europa and Conference League games – who knows what state the coefficient will be in after Thursday’s Europa and Conference League games.

Best League in the World is an easy throwaway line. It feels very Barclays, very early days of the Premier League. Pump this up. Hype it up. Every game is great. We can’t have dead air. Football fans deserve more credit. For every great advert, for every Chelsea 4-4 Manchester City, there’s a Manchester City 0-0 Arsenal. And that’s OK. We love football because games are different: some are wild, some are tense, some are brilliant, some are terrible, and just give you a good chance to catch up with whoever you sit next to. We put the hours in – we know this stuff. It’s actually part of football’s joy.

Chelsea must be wary of Caroline Graham Hansen while PSG will look to capitalise on Tabitha Chawinga’s speed against Lyon

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This weekend brings the first legs of the Women’s Champions League semi-finals and I am particularly intrigued to see how my old club Chelsea approach their tie against Barcelona. This is the third encounter between the clubs in the space of four seasons and it will be interesting to see what Chelsea’s coaching staff have learned from those previous games – the 2021 final and 2023 semi-final, which both ended in defeat.

To draw on my recollections of playing in those matches, in 2021 we went into the final with a high press and the attitude that ‘we’re going to do our thing’. But we all know how that worked out – within 20 minutes we’d conceded three times and by half-time it was 4-0, which is how that final finished.

Fifa is considering a policy change that would allow leagues to play domestic matches overseas, reopening one of football’s most squalid ideas

The dream – or nightmare – of a 39th Premier League match in America has drawn a little closer. After reaching a settlement with US promoter Relevent Sports, Fifa last week signaled it will consider changes to its policy of blocking league matches from being played outside the league’s home country. The indication that Fifa’s thinking on the issue may be evolving in a more flexible direction will be welcomed by Europe’s top clubs and deplored by football traditionalists.

For clubs, the commercial case is clear. This is an argument anchored not in culture but money. The work of evangelizing soccer is already done; the sport is not like American football, say, or rugby league, or basketball, or even cricket, which are still trawling the globe for converts and regularly hold matches overseas. In the world of professional sport, football is No 1 and probably always will be. Taking chunks of the European domestic season on the road represents a juicy financial opportunity, potentially unlocking valuable revenue to help weather the storm of a newly restrictive regulatory environment and bringing teams closer to the millions of football fans who live outside Europe.

• Guardiola admits Real Madrid ‘a little bit better’ in shootout
• ‘Football is about scoring goals … they are in the semi-finals’

Pep Guardiola claimed he had “no regrets” after Manchester City’s dream of a ­double-treble ended in the heartbreak of a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat by Real Madrid on a night when Arsenal also crashed out of the Champions League, their 1-0 loss at Bayern Munich consigning them to a 3-2 aggregate defeat.

City came from behind in their quarter-final second leg at the ­Etihad Stadium, Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute strike cancelling out Rodrygo’s opener early in the first half. Yet despite the holders dominating ­possession, Real held on until the end of extra time and eventually prevailed from the spot.

Antonio Rüdiger had been booed throughout because the Manchester City support had not forgotten what he did as a Chelsea player to Kevin De Bruyne in the 2021 Champions League final; the forearm smash that put their midfielder out of the game, which they would lose.

Rüdiger was a central figure here and, with his Real Madrid team leading through Rodrygo’s early goal, it was his fluffed clearance that played a part in De Bruyne’s 76th-minute equaliser, the goal that looked set to even the score on more than one level. Rüdiger would err again at the end of the first period of extra time, tiptoeing into an excellent position to the left of goal only to slice wide.

Chelsea shrugged off the disappointment of their FA Cup semi-final exit to climb back above Manchester City at the top of the Women’s Super League with a 3-0 defeat of Aston Villa.

An opening goal from Aggie Beever-Jones and first Chelsea goals for Maika Hamano and Kadeisha Buchanan ensured victory over 10-player Villa, after goalkeeper Anna Leat was sent off five minutes in for handling the ball outside her area.

It was a night when Bayern Munich lived up to their assertions that, when the Champions League comes around, they are an altogether different beast. Perhaps the obituaries were written too quickly for a troubled superpower that, on this evidence, retains the muscle memory of serial winners. They are two games from visiting Wembley in search of a seventh continental title and the manner in which a depleted side put the dampeners on Arsenal suggests Thomas Tuchel may yet sign off from his fleeting tenure by making an irresistible point.

This was, nonetheless, a missed opportunity for Mikel Arteta and his players. Arsenal had a clear foothold in the game after producing an accomplished first half but were outplayed after the interval and left feeling distinctly flat. The fact is they departed with a whimper and it was impossible to shake the sense that, ultimately, they did not quite back themselves enough. Bukayo Saka’s unwise decision not to shoot when presented with a deliciously located free-kick deep into added time was emblematic of the gulf in clarity between these sides.

Rangers’ regression continued with a goalless draw at Dundee, which further dented their increasingly fragile title hopes.

Philippe Clement’ side lost for the first time ever against Ross County on Sunday in their poorest performance since the Belgian took charge last October, and he was looking for a reaction at Dens Park. But in a game played at the third time of asking after the pitch was twice ruled unplayable, there was no improvement.

• Defender sustained injury in game against Burnley last month
• Club agree to fund operation after player laments ‘worst news’

Stoke City have agreed to pay for a player in their women’s team to undergo surgery on an anterior cruciate ligament injury after she started a GoFundMe page in order to cover the necessary costs.

Kayleigh McDonald sustained the injury during Stoke’s 2-1 defeat to Burnley in the Women’s National League North last month and, having undergone a scan, claims she was told by the club that she would have to join an NHS waiting list in order to receive treatment. Desperate to be operated on “in a more timely manner”, McDonald, a defender who joined Stoke from Blackburn last summer, decided to go down the private healthcare route, costing £20,000 – hence the setting up of the fundraiser.

Holders still played like champions of Europe for long periods but a lack of decisive end product proved their undoing

Pep Guardiola had talked about the need to suffer before this game. OK then. It’s a deal. This was a gripping, gruelling, sky blue migraine of a football match, one that Manchester City really didn’t deserve to lose, but which somehow always felt like it was slipping from their grasp even during a second half when City seemed to be very slowly, carefully, methodically pulling the legs off this Real Madrid team.

There will be no double-treble now after Madrid’s victory on penalties. But City still played like champions of Europe for long periods. They took Madrid into a horrible place. These are not footballers accustomed chasing and covering, waiting for the blow to fall. At times it felt as though Real spent the last hour of this game desperately trying to take it to a replay back at their tiny ground with a corrugated roof.

After Champions League elimination, Arsenal manager must pick up his jaded squad to keep fight alive for Premier League

Roughly translated, Bayern Munich’s motto “mia san mia” means “we are who we are”. On a night when Arsenal were hoping to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2009, it was Thomas Tuchel’s side who showed that there is no substitute for experience when it comes to this competition.

Having now joined a select band including José Mourinho and Pep Guardiola to lead a side to the last four with three different clubs, Tuchel knows what it takes to go all the way. Yet while the Bayern manager did his chances of finding new employers this summer no harm, after a vastly improved second-half display ended Arsenal’s dream of winning this competition for the first time, Mikel Arteta now faces one of the biggest challenges of his managerial career as he attempts to pick up his jaded squad after a week that has played out exactly how he must have feared it would.

He has scored 19 goals and laid on 10 assists in the league – the best return for an Aston Villa striker in more than 40 years

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Some younger Aston Villa fans would be forgiven for not being aware of Peter Withe’s career. Withe was the last player to score 20 league goals in a season for the club, doing so in 1980-81, the last time Villa won the top flight. Withe’s goalscoring record has stood for more than 40 years but is likely to be broken before the season is out.

Ollie Watkins scored his 19th league goal of the season on Sunday at the Emirates, potentially putting a nail in the coffin of Arsenal’s title challenge. Arsenal are just two points behind the leaders with six games to play, but the Manchester City juggernaut is relentless. This time last season they put together a run of 12 wins to secure the title, the first stage of a treble they are keen to repeat this year. Given how City are playing – they have not lost since their defeat at Villa Park in December – Watkins’ late strike on Sunday was a huge blow for Arsenal’s hunt for silverware.

Times writer probably closest thing football journalism had to a celebrity but the game, and how we consume it, has changed

For more than three decades, English football media was a Winter wonderland. An eternal Winter. Winter extending an icy grip over the landscape. But even Winter, it seems, can end up being frozen out. Given the cold shoulder. It’s time to wrap up for Winter, now this particular Winter’s tale has reached its final chapter.

That, with apologies, was the opening paragraph to a column about Henry Winter’s dismissal by the Times, written in the style of Henry Winter for the Times. On the other hand, it’s entirely possible you haven’t the faintest idea what, or who, I’m talking about. Which to an oblique and probably self-defeating extent is actually the point.

Time taken for Farhad Moshiri to attract new investors may have made a viable solution harder to find

Everton fans are used to owner Farhad Moshiri telling them that better times will be arriving soon. He began his reign at the club in 2016 promising to give fans “whatever I have” – the type of soundbite he would continue to deliver during the following eight years. He promised fresh financing for the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, a new star striker, and to bring in a wealthy and expert investor.

In January 2023, Moshiri told Everton’s Fan Advisory Board: “The club is not for sale, but I have been talking to top investors of real quality to bridge a gap on the stadium. I can do it [fund it] myself … We are close to having a deal done.”

Our cartoonist looks back on a dramatic weekend in which Pep Guardiola’s machine powered back up to the summit

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Manchester City came from behind in their quarter-final second leg at the ­Etihad Stadium, after Kevin De Bruyne’s 76th-minute strike cancelled out Rodrygo’s opener early in the first half. Despite the holders dominating ­possession, Real held on until the end of extra-time and eventually prevailed following a penalty shootout. 'We did everything, I don't have any regrets with what we have done,' said Guardiola.

Mikel Arteta said Arsenal 'lacked that magic moment' after losing to Bayern Munich and missing out on a first Champions League semi-final since 2009. Joshua Kimmich’s second-half goal was enough to secure a 3-2 aggregate win. 'I thought we had the capacity and the quality to win the semi-finals because the margins have been very small,' Arteta said. 'But those margins are coming from something else that maybe we don't have yet and we have to learn it.'

• ‘Small margins’: Arteta says Arsenal have plenty to learn after Bayern defeat

• Arsenal knocked out by Bayern after Kimmich header secures last-four spot

• Hardened Bayern show true colours and hand Arteta biggest challenge

Stunning drone footage captured the moment Portsmouth fans stormed the pitch as they were crowned League One champions. Portsmouth return to the Championship after a 12-year absence. John Mousinho’s side twice hit back from behind to beat playoff hopefuls Barnsley 3-2. Fans can be seen celebrating in the centre of the pitch with the players and setting off smoke bombs.

• Portsmouth win promotion to Championship and League One title

A furious Mauricio Pochettino said it was 'a shame' that Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke took the gloss off Chelsea’s 6-0 win over Everton by trying to snatch a second-half penalty off Cole Palmer. Pochettino, who confirmed Palmer is the side’s designated spot-kick taker, admitted the incident sent out the wrong image about his team’s mentality. Chelsea’s head coach wants his players to focus more on the collective. Pochettino then clashed with a journalist once the press conference had ended, showing his emotions at having been asked repeated questions about the penalty taker confusion and very little about the rest of the game.

• ‘It’s a shame’: Pochettino angry with Jackson and Madueke over penalty spat

Al-Ittihad’s forward Abderrazak Hamdallah was struck by a spectator at the end of the match in which Al-Ittihad lost 4-1 to Al-Hilal in Abu Dhabi.

Hamdallah appeared to throw his water on the audience member before they quickly retaliated.

• Saudi FA and players union condemn whipping of player by spectator

Bayer Leverkusen sealed their first ever Bundesliga title with five games to spare after thrashing visitors Werder Bremen 5-0. After the final whistle hundreds of fans rushed onto the pitch to celebrate with the players. Fans outside the stadium were also celebrating, ecstatic to be victorious 'after all the runner-up finishes'.

• Bayer Leverkusen clinch historic Bundesliga title with rout of Werder

Captain of national men’s team among those posting apparently coordinated social media messages

Leading players in Georgia’s national men’s football team have backed mass protests sparked by a “foreign influence” bill criticised for mirroring a repressive Russian law.

Riot police have clashed in recent nights with large rallies of people protesting outside the parliament building in Tbilisi against the bill, which is viewed in Brussels as a threat to future EU membership.

Leverkusen won first Bundesliga because of their brilliance – under their coach now only victory feels inevitable

In other contexts, it might have been seen as tempting fate, daring to anger the football gods. Leverkusen was set for a day of celebration like never before. Approximately 10,000 people lined the streets to greet the team bus leading up to the Bay-Arena with Bismarckstrasse renamed Xabi-Alonso-Allee for the day with its new moniker plastered on street signs.

Yet Bayer Leverkusen weren’t just expectant. They were ready. Unlike Borussia Dortmund, who had stumbled agonisingly on the final day last season when their chance to dethrone Bayern Munich arose, they never felt like dropping the ball. On Sunday, they only needed to beat Werder Bremen to make mathematically sure of the title.

Europe’s balance of power has shifted and Malmö are among the clubs with a vision to return Nordic football to the top

The rain has let up in time for training and Malmö FF Women are going through their paces. Their session takes place at the club’s old ground but, on Saturday, their Elitettan campaign will begin yards away on the main Eleda Stadion pitch. It will be a special occasion: their first match in Sweden’s second tier after promotion, with about 2,000 fans looking on. They will face opponents who were once no strangers to a spot of glamour. Earlier this century few in Europe could rival Umeå IK, who won the Uefa Women’s Cup twice and were runners-up three times. Football has changed since their last final in 2008 and it would be a tremendous feat for any Swedish side, let alone Umeå, to hit those heights again.

While the players train, Håkan Wifvesson is wrapping up an intense day of discussion. “We, the Nordic countries, have been the strongest in the world,” says Wifvesson, chairman of Malmö’s city rivals and multiple top-flight title winners Rosengård, to a packed room inside the modern stadium. “I think we have to make a new plan for how we’re going to get back to that position.”

• Cameroon FA president’s lawyers lodge complaint with Fifa
• They claim Caf general secretary has breached Fifa ethics code

Samuel Eto’o has accused the Confederation of African Football’s general secretary of several breaches of Fifa’s code of ethics during the investigation into allegations that he was involved in match-fixing.

The Guardian understands that Eto’o’s lawyers have lodged a complaint with world football’s governing body alleging that Véron Mosengo-Omba opened the investigation to create “negative publicity” about the former Barcelona striker, who has been president of the Cameroon Football Federation (Fecafoot) since December 2021.

Clubs in the west hope partnerships with the Indian Super League can let them trade knowhow for fan engagement

A south Indian Idli Sambar mixed with Norfolk mustard was on the menu when Norwich City and Chennaiyin FC announced a strategic partnership last week. The Canaries are the latest European club to head to the subcontinent in search of fans, revenue and, eventually perhaps, talent. If India has overtaken China as the world’s most populous country, it is also increasingly seen as the place to be in football.

The big clubs are still active in China but operating there was far from simple even before the pandemic helped to produce a more inward-looking and insular business environment. It can be hard for European officials to get to grips with a lack of transparency, the language and a completely different social media model as well as concerns over corruption. Chinese companies and business people got heavily involved in European football for a while but there have been few attempts to go the other way – Sheffield United’s ownership of Chengdu Blades, starting in 2006, had its moments but did not last long.

Even a VAR-inflicted 1-1 draw against Villarreal did not spoil the Basque club’s celebrations after a first major trophy in 40 years

They had been down to Seville 907km away, 100,000 of them, and come back with their first major honour in 40 years, finally won well after midnight. They had made a victory parade of the traffic jam home, the Roman road known as the Silver Route turned red and white. And they had taken the trophy to the tree of Gernika, symbol of their people. There was the impromptu street party, a police fine imposed for the mobile disco heading through the old town, the whole band playing, and the gabarra, which is only a barge but is everything: a river cruise they had longed for. Then there were the six-hour queues to see the Copa del Rey, if only to check this was real.

For seven days they had celebrated. And on the eighth day there was just one thing left for Athletic Club to do, the perfect close to the week of their lives: bring everyone back to San Mamés, bring the Copa del Rey too, and beat Villarreal. After 40 years waiting, six final defeats – 1985, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2020, 2021 – it was just right. Even the man supposed to mess it up for them said so. Marcelino García Toral, the visiting coach on Sunday night and Athletic’s manager when they lost the last two of those finals, thanked “destiny” for the chance to be there. “I know what this means,” he said.

Ligue 1 gave the clubs a rest before their European fixtures. Should their needs be prioritised over those of smaller clubs?

By Luke Entwistle for Get French Football News

This was no normal weekend in Ligue 1. Elsewhere in Europe, there were scenes of joy in Leverkusen as Xabi Alonso’s side ended Bayern Munich’s run on 11 straight titles, while at Anfield and the Emirates, there were scenes of despair as Liverpool and Arsenal ceded crucial ground to Manchester City in the race for the Premier League title. It was a little quieter in France.

In late March, the LFP, Ligue 1’s governing body, decided to postpone three of this weekend’s fixtures. As part of an initiative to bolster French sides’ chances of progressing in Europe, PSG, Marseille and Lille had their games postponed until after the current round of European knockout fixtures.

Hired on a caretaker basis to the end of this season, De Rossi’s unique relationship with Roma gives him an obvious appeal

Daniele De Rossi insisted he had not yearned for these moments. Interviewed by Dazn before Saturday’s Rome derby, he gave us a glimpse of vulnerability he might not have allowed in his playing days. “No, this little bit of anxiety you have beforehand, I really didn’t miss that,” he said candidly. “But that’s the beauty of our sport and our city.”

More than 20 years have passed since De Rossi took part in this derby for the first time, coming off the bench in a 2-0 win for Roma. He played 30 more, and it is easy to see why some nervousness may persist. De Rossi endured some of the lowest moments of his career against Lazio, including a red card for punching Stefano Mauri in 2012 and defeat in this fixture’s only-ever major cup final at the end of the same season.

Nice, Lens, Rennes and Marseille all had eyes on Champions League football but Paulo Fonseca’s side are clear favourites

By Eric Devin for Get French Football News

The Ligue 1 table has been nip and tuck in its first season with 18 teams, Paris Saint-Germain, of course, the notable exception. Even though they have drawn four of their last six league matches, they still have a 10-point lead at the top of the table but below them, everything has been much tighter.

The two teams at the bottom of the table, Clermont and Metz, have remained competitive throughout the campaign and are rarely outclassed. The four sides above them – Nantes, Le Havre, Lorient and Montpellier – continue scrapping to avoid the relegation playoff, even if Montpellier’s win over Lorient this weekend has given them room to breathe. And as closely fought as the relegation battle has been, the jousting for Champions League spots has been even more intense.

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.

Aitana Bonmatí the clear winner of the Guardian’s best 100 female footballers in the world with 15 Spaniards on the list

• The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

After Alexia Putellas reigned in 2021 and 2022, her Barcelona and Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí has been crowned the top female footballer of 2023 by the Guardian’s panel of 112 experts. The World Cup winner triumphed by a clear margin, finishing more than 500 points ahead of second-placed Sam Kerr.

Injuries and a World Cup meant there was a definite changing of the guard feel to this year’s list, sadly emphasised by the fact last year’s top two – Putellas and Beth Mead – missed a large chunk of our 12-month voting period with ACL injuries.

Slovakia has just elected a president who, like the country’s prime minister, opposes military aid to Ukraine and is seen as pro-Moscow

It is easy to forget that in June 2021 the Ukrainian Football Association was ordered to remove the words “Glory to the Heroes” from its European Championship shirt after Russia – yes, that Russia – had complained it found the slogan to be upsettingly aggressive and militaristic in tone.

Eight months later the same Russia, no doubt still averting its nose from all things militaristic, would invade Ukraine’s eastern border and start a war that has killed at least 11,000 Ukrainian civilians and tens of thousands of its own soldiers. They did at least get the slogan changed, so there’s that.

Although fans thought the shared success would never end, the DFB can use the new Nike deal money to benefit the grassroots

The partnership between Adidas and German football has been a commercial and sporting success for both sides for decades. It is a shared history of advancement. In 1954, the country recognised itself in the national team, and in Adidas too. Back then, Adolf “Adi” Dassler was the equipment manager; his screw-in studs were innovative and gave Fritz Walter, Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn a foothold in the rain of Berne.

Later, Dassler built up a world-class company. Today, clubs such as Arsenal and Ajax regularly take up residence in a small town that doesn’t even have a railway station. The national team will also be preparing for the European Championship in Herzogenaurach. Dassler is the German version of rags to riches.

Like VAR, profitability and sustainability rules have created cynicism and not tackled the real problem of clubs’ huge financial losses

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Everton FC, the grand old team, edged closer to a first relegation since 1951 on Monday. Pretty much. The whole business may not actually be resolved until after the season finishes or could bleed into next season. But put all that to one side and the picture is crystal clear. If you squint. From a certain angle.

The Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules (PSR), rightly or otherwise, are turning into something of a laughing stock. Rules which had previously never led any club to receive a sporting sanction have seen two docked points this season. Everton have been punished on two occasions, in fact, although their first punishment was reduced on appeal and their second, a two-point deduction for a £16m overspend, could yet be shrunk too. Nottingham Forest are also appealing their own four-point sanction.

Plus: winning a title from way behind, even further-apart country clashes in the Euro and long-throw fatigue

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Chris Wood is having a pretty good season,” begins Iain Cargill. “Being from New Zealand, whose Fifa ranking is 104, which Premier League players come from countries with lower Fifa rankings?”

“If we discount players at clubs who have yet to make their first league appearance then Wood is the player from the second lowest-ranked country currently represented in the Premier League,” writes Tom Reed. “Marvelous Nakamba at Luton comes from 122nd-ranked Zimbabwe (all rankings measured from the current list).

Gunnar Nielsen Manchester City 2009-10, ranked 125th with Faroe Islands

Gaël Bigirimana Newcastle 2012-13, ranked 135th with Burundi

Stéphane Sessègnon Sunderland 2011-12, ranked 136th with Benin

Florent Hadergjonaj Huddersfield 2018-19, ranked 141st with Kosovo

Helder Costa Wolves 2018-19, ranked 142nd with Angola in January 2019

Nathaniel Mendez-Laing Cardiff 2018-19, ranked 149th with Guatemala

El Hadji Ba - Sunderland 2013-14, ranked 159th with Mauritania

Alex Nimely Manchester City 2009-10, ranked 161st with Liberia

Dexter Blackstock Southampton 2004-05, ranked 163rd with Antigua and Barbuda

Al Bangura and Albert Jarrett Watford 2006-07, ranked 165th with Sierra Leone

Bobby Bowry Crystal Palace 1994-95, ranked 176th with St Kitts and Nevis

Jason Roberts Blackburn 2007-08, ranked 176th with Grenada

Zesh Rehman Fulham 2004-05, ranked 178th with Pakistan

Emerson Boyce Wigan 2012-13, ranked 178th with Barbados

Modou Barrow Swansea 2016-16, ranked 179th with Gambia

Onel Hernández Norwich 2019-20, ranked 179th with Cuba

Vurnon Anita Newcastle 2013-14, ranked 183rd with Curaçao

Kyle Lightbourne Coventry 1997-98, ranked 184th with Bermuda

Mesca Fulham 2013-14, ranked 184th with Guinea-Bissau

Neil Danns Blackburn 2003-04, ranked 185th with Guyana

Jordi Amat Swansea 2016-17, ranked 191st with Indonesia

Frédéric Nimani Burnley 2009-10, ranked 202nd with Central African Republic

Ruel Fox Spurs 1998-99, ranked 202nd with Montserrat

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Lars Sivertsen and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid and Bayern account for Manchester City and Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: you can never write off Real Madrid. Manchester City dominated them for almost the entire 120 minutes, but they stayed in it and ultimately went through on penalties to exorcise the demons from their collapse at the Etihad last year.

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Where was the most happening place on Tuesday night? With Mbappé’s boys in Barcelona? Among a stream of yellow flags in Westphalia? No, as much as we love Big Cup, the game does exist outside of it. The most exuberant celebrations were on the south coast at Fratton Park, where Portsmouth, after 12 years of lower-league shenanigans, sealed their return to the big-time (Championship). Theatricality marked the occasion, too. A point was required for promotion; three to win League One. After 82 minutes they were heading towards none, trailing 2-1 to visitors Barnsley. A Colby Bishop penalty and Conor Shaughnessy header later, they were champions. Cue the final whistle, your bog-standard pitch invasion, and a party like no tomorrow for a fanbase that has been put through the wringer; for a while there, tomorrow didn’t seem to be on the cards.

The bit about penalty arguments in yesterday’s Football Daily reminded me of Steve Nicol’s miss in the 1984 European Cup final shootout. With senior squad members arguing over the order the penalties were going to be taken (after the 1-1 draw against Roma in their own stadium) they turn round to see Nicol, then 22 and on as a sub, has taken matters into his own hands and is striding towards the penalty spot with the ball under his arm. As Nicol tells it: ‘For the only time in my career, I don’t feel in full control. I start my run-up. Then, midway through, I lift my head and look where I want to put the ball. A classic mistake. The ball soars over the bar.’ While some of the members of the team sympathised with the youngster, the ever-forgiving Mark Lawrenson walked up and said: ‘Unlucky Nico, you d1ckhead!’ Fortunately, the Italians’ own penalty blunders and Bruce Grobbelaar’s spaghetti legs got the lad out of trouble” – Martin McGrath.

Tony Adams revealed he was due to take the penalty that made Gareth Southgate infamous, against Germany in the Euro 96 semi-final, but the current England manager stepped up instead as he felt confident that ‘he had this’. Oh Gareth!” – Alex Metcalfe.

This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzanne Wrack, Robyn Cowen and Chris Paouros to discuss the FA Cup semi-finals and preview the upcoming last-four ties in the Champions League

On today’s pod: the panel discuss the FA Cup semi-finals, as Manchester United make the final for the second successive season and Tottenham create history by reaching their first.

The panel also discuss what this means for Chelsea, as their hopes of a quadruple have now been slashed in half. They now have two competitions to fight for as Emma Hayes’ tenure heads for its conclusion.

Adam Wharton shines on Merseyside, Mateo Kovacic displays City’s depth and Erik ten Hag gets tetchy

Joachim Andersen was named Sky’s man of the match at Anfield and with good reason. But while the Danish centre-back won header after header and made clearance after clearance, and while the front three of Jean-Philippe Mateta, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise caused repeated problems on the break, there was one figure who stood out in midfield for his calmness: Adam Wharton, perhaps the brightest of the hugely promising generation brought through by Tony Mowbray at Blackburn. The 20-year-old moved to Palace in January for an initial fee of £18m and has played at least some part in every Crystal Palace game since. No other Palace player came close to his pass completion rate of 88% and, while they rode their luck to an extent in the second half, they’d have had to ride a lot more had it not been for his distribution, which helped prevent Liverpool building up a head of steam. Jonathan Wilson

Match report: Liverpool 0-1 Crystal Palace

Match report: Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa

Match report: Manchester City 5-1 Luton Town

Match report: Bournemouth 2-2 Manchester United

Match report: West Ham 0-2 Fulham

Our cartoonist takes a delve deep into history, to the present day

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Hundreds of Munitionette teams played in Britain during the first world war – and their story is being told on stage

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Much as followers of men’s football of a certain age and type sometimes struggle to comprehend the fact that the sport existed before Italia 90, recent aficionados of the women’s game can be rather blank about its history pre-Canada 2015.

Even those aware that women’s football was banned by England’s Football Association for 50 years until 1971 are often startled to learn that it thrived during and immediately after the first world war. And they will certainly have their eyes opened by Wor Bella, a play to be staged at Clapham’s The Bread & Roses Theatre and Newcastle’s Theatre Royal this month.

The teenage signing from Everton captured the imagination at Old Trafford with a storybook debut hat-trick

For all the adulation modern footballers receive, most will never comprehend the impact they have on young people. Sure, you get 21st-century icons such as Jack Grealish or James Maddison, who cut through all that silly public scrutiny on their hair or fashion choices and manage to connect with young supporters, but the vast majority can never truly know what they mean to fans.

I’ve worked in football journalism for almost a decade and met a fair few figures who could be deemed idols. Going to a José Mourinho press conference as a student on work experience was surreal. Making my first visit to the Old Trafford press box felt like a landmark as a boyhood Manchester United fan, as was shaking hands with Ole Gunnar Solskjær after covering a United pre-season friendly in Norway.

Despite vindication over police and media lies that followed the disaster, families and survivors lament lack of accountability

• Hillsborough: the 97 people whose lives were cut short

On this spring day, 15 April, the clocks move round to 35 years since that terrible afternoon in 1989, when 97 people were unlawfully killed attending a prestige football match at Sheffield Wednesday’s home ground, Hillsborough.

English football will remember its deepest shame as a different age, the appalling crush on unsafe terraces with fenced-in “pens” for supporters, at a stadium nevertheless deemed suitable to host an FA Cup semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest. A last disaster, after which clubs were finally forced by law – and given public money – to make their grounds safe, then sold their TV rights to Sky and grew rich on supporters’ subscriptions.

Manager discusses bravery, his future at Kenilworth Road, and the moment that convinced him his team can survive

When Arsenal went top of the Premier League against Luton last week, it wasn’t their fans who were celebrating. Comfortable in their two-goal lead, the home crowd were slipping out before the end and the stadium was empty soon after the whistle. But not entirely. Clustered in the south-east corner, nearly 3,000 Luton fans stayed to serenade their beloved manager. Oh for someone who looks at you the way a Lutonian looks at Rob Edwards.

It was Luton’s eighth Premier League defeat in 10 games and their 19th of the season. The Bedfordshire side sat 18th in the table, three points adrift of Nottingham Forest. And yet nothing can sour the love. “In this situation, if they turned, it would be really, really tough,” Edwards said after the game. “It gives me a lot of belief, that they’re with us.”

The former Arsenal prodigy rebuilding his career in Belgium with RWD Molenbeek hopes his old club can win the Premier League

When Jeff Reine-Adélaïde was looking for a new club last year, he had plenty of interest. But the former Arsenal teenage prodigy, who had joined Lyon for €25m in 2019 after resurrecting his career at Angers, kept being asked the same thing.

“A lot of teams wanted me last summer but the question was if I was really ready to play a full season,” he says. “I could understand that they were scared after my injuries because I had only played a few games and I wasn’t starting much.”

We look at a club playing 195 miles from home, the rebirth of two former Premier League players and a title race for the ages

There are less than two weeks to go in National League South’s regular season, with many players having one eye on their summer holidays. Truro City, however, are in the midst of nine games in 17 days, thanks to the weather. This week they have matches on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. Their home games are taking place 195 miles from Truro at Gloucester City’s ground because Truro’s shared pitch at Plymouth Parkway (a mere 54 miles from Truro) cannot accommodate them after heavy recent rainfall. This prompted an earlier move to Taunton’s Wordsworth Drive but constant deluges caused problems there, too, and their rivals still have six games to play themselves. It also rains up north, leaving the North West Counties Premier Division side Colne with 10 games in 19 days. Three of their home games will be hosted by other clubs, but the good news is they face Padiham in the Lancashire Cup semi-final on Wednesday and if they win that they earn another match.

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 … and look at the editions from further back

• Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best talents around the world

Five years ago we picked 80 of the most talented players in the world to follow their progress in a cut-throat business

It is the time of year when we check in on the Next Generation players we picked in 2018 to follow for five years, to assess their progress amid success, setbacks, injuries, trophies won and transfers made.

Next Generation started in 2014 with the aim of showing the difficulties that even the best prospects in the Premier League (we pick one from each club at first-year scholar age) and the rest of the world (we choose 60 born in a specific calendar year) face on their way towards the top.

A defensively minded midfielder who is incredibly strong (he used to be a wrestler) but with an excellent touch to go with his physicality. Made his debut in the Swedish top flight as a 16-year-old last year and captained Sweden as they reached the quarter-finals of the Euro Under-17 tournament in England this summer. Has taken an unusual path to the top. He left the top-flight side IFK Göteborg for sixth division Angered MBIK as a 14-year-old as he felt that he was not getting the right support for his football education. Another Gothenburg club, Häcken, snapped him up in 2017 and he made his senior debut that season. Has signed a new contract with the club from Hisingen until 2021 despite interest from Real Madrid and Benfica and trials at both Manchester clubs.