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Ollie Watkins was the star turn of a comprehensive Villa victory, as Unai Emery’s team closed the gap on the top five

McGinn tries to release Watkins down the left. Tonali comes across to put a stop to his gallop. But Tonali’s clearance only goes to Tielemans, who immediately returns it down the inside-left channel to Watkins. He shoots. A deflection off Schar sends the ball into the bottom left, past the wrong-footed, and rooted, Pope. What a start!

Newcastle get the ball rolling. They’re kicking towards the Holte End in this first half.

It was an afternoon of missed ­opportunities for Arsenal as they fell to defeat in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League semi-final. Melchie Dumornay’s late winner silenced the 40,000-strong crowd after Mariona Caldentey’s penalty had ­cancelled out Kadidiatou Diani’s opener for the visitors.

Arsenal’s manager, Renee Slegers, maintained belief in her side’s ­ability to turn the tie around after they recovered from an ­impressive first-half performance from the visitors.

• Lewandowski injury mars Barça’s comeback victory
• McTominay strikes as Napoli keep pressure on Inter

Barcelona fought back from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in a rollercoaster encounter, with a stoppage-time penalty by Raphinha extending their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to seven points.

Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute through Ferran Torres but conceded an equaliser three minutes later when Wojciech Szczesny misread a cross and allowed Borja Iglesias to score. The Spanish forward then stunned the home fans when he scored two more goals in the second half, twice racing through to beat the keeper on his way to a hat-trick.

The Premier League trophy Manchester City have proudly held for the past four years will be soon heading to one side of Stanley Park, but having exploded to life late against Everton they seized control of their Champions League destiny on the other. Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic sealed a win that even Pep Guardiola may not have seen coming to keep City on course for a 15th successive season among the European elite.

A goalless draw appeared the most likely outcome for much of a pedestrian contest, but a late surge, shaped by the contrasting impact of substitutes, allowed City to dominate and secure a ninth consecutive win here. Aston Villa’s visit to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday represents a hugely significant moment in a troubled season for Guardiola and his team.

If Brentford and Brighton appear part of the Premier League furniture, being established in the top tier is a contract written in disappearing ink. Their respective owners, Matthew Benham and Tony Bloom, estranged former associates, have cracked the alchemy of the game, winning much admiration though taking further steps forward is yet more difficult and proving much harder.

In the battle between 10th and 11th, winners Brentford were the more progressive, dangerous and calm side, though weathered a late storm from an opponent reduced to 10 men. Christian Nørgaard’s injury-time header from Mathias Jensen’s free-kick completed victory.

It is unlikely anyone will remember this game fondly in years to come. Bournemouth missed the chance to make up ground in the race for European football next season as 10-man Crystal Palace stood firm after a week of two heavy defeats in which they conceded five goals twice.

A red card for Chris Richards at the end of the first half left his side with an uphill task to make it five successive home wins after the referee, Sam Barrott, had bizarrely decided against meting out the same punishment to Bournemouth’s Alex Scott.

Lesley Ugochukwu’s added-time equaliser ensured Southampton equalled Derby’s record-low Premier League points total with a draw at West Ham.

The already-relegated Saints were still on course to be crowned the worst team in Premier League history after Jarrod Bowen fired the hosts into the lead. But they were not even the worst team at the London Stadium for long periods of a dreadful game, and they snatched a deserved point deep into added time when the Chelsea loanee Ugochukwu drove home through a crowded penalty area.

This most bizarre of Aberdeen seasons will culminate in a Scottish Cup final appearance. Given the nature of what has come before, perhaps it would be folly to bet against them lifting the trophy for the first time since 1990. It is just that they made such heavy weather of defeating a Hearts team who played 75 minutes with 10 men and the dying stages of extra time with nine that it felt impossible to ignore the feeling of Celtic’s latest domestic treble drawing closer. In St Johnstone and Aberdeen, Celtic surely have favourable opposition as they aim to retain this cup.

Aberdeen are, however, fully entitled to enjoy their moment. Nobody really remembers or cares how semi-finals are won. It even seemed to intensify the Aberdeen celebrations that the key goal came just two minutes from the end of extra time, with Hearts trying to cling on for penalties. The Palestine international Oday Dabbagh was Aberdeen’s hero. There ended an ugly war of attrition.

• Aaron Ramsey takes over for last three games of season
• Bluebirds currently languishing 23rd in Championship

Aaron Ramsey has been given the task of trying to save Cardiff City from relegation after Omer Riza was sacked on Saturday. The Bluebirds parted company with their manager after a 2-0 defeat at Sheffield United on Good Friday left them 23rd in the Championship, one point from the last safe spot with three games left.

A statement from the Welsh club read: “Cardiff City can confirm that a decision has been taken to relieve Omer Riza of his duties as first team manager. Aaron Ramsey will lead the club for the remaining three games of the Championship season, beginning with Monday’s match at home to Oxford United.

Fans are subscribers to YouTube channel focused on English football whose founder wants to strengthen links with club

Football tourism is usually seen at Premier League stadiums such as Old Trafford, Anfield and the Emirates, so fans of Harborough Town, who compete in the seventh tier of the football pyramid, were stunned when 100 Spaniards arrived at Bowden Park to watch them take on St Ives Town.

The Spanish fans, who turned up last Saturday, were subscribers to a Spanish YouTube channel, La Media Inglesa (LMI), focused on English football, which has now started arranging overseas trips for its followers.

• Barcelona face Chelsea in semi-final first leg on Sunday
• ‘This is the moment of the season we enjoy – big games’

Aitana Bonmatí says Barcelona have a “good rivalry, no bad things” with Chelsea as the Spanish holders prepare to meet the English club in their Women’s Champions League semi-final for the third consecutive season.

The 2023 and 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, whose team are chasing a fourth European title in five seasons, had high praise for Chelsea, despite the Women’s Super League club having never knocked Barcelona out of the competition.

There is little sullenness about the prospect of immediate relegation because of club’s improved long-term prospects

When Ipswich host Arsenal on Sunday it will be one day short of 23 years since, on a sun-dappled afternoon at Highbury, a hefty nail was hammered into the Suffolk side’s relegation coffin. Arsenal were en route to a dazzling league title and their 2-0 victory was routine; with four games left George Burley’s team, dejected and in freefall, were gazing into the abyss. After tumbling down it, they did not return until this season.

This time around Portman Road will be the stage and Arsenal, if not too distracted by a golden opportunity to rule Europe, may apply the final blow. Ipswich will go down this weekend if they fail to win and West Ham and Wolves both take three points. They are 14 points shy of safety with six matches remaining and, on the face of things, their first top-flight campaign for more than two decades, has brought unbridled misery.

Statistics can help assess a potential recruit’s emotional control and leadership, while highlighting red flags

“The players didn’t show enough fight.” Listen to any pundit’s post-match reaction and you will hear variations of that soundbite. But can you analyse an athlete’s state of mind, based on their on-pitch body language?

In an era when football is increasingly leaning on data to demonstrate physical attributes, statistics offering an accurate indication of a player’s psychological qualities, such as emotional control and leadership, are harder to come by. But Premier League clubs including Brighton are using a technique intended to help in that regard with selection and recruitment.

• Striker left out of squad for win against West Ham
• Coach confirms Núñez will be back for visit to Leicester

Arne Slot has denied Darwin Núñez was dropped from Liverpool’s win against West Ham because of a training-ground row with a member of his coaching staff.

The Liverpool head coach said on Sunday that Núñez was absent from the 2-1 victory at Anfield having felt unwell during training the day before, although the striker sat behind the substitutes throughout the game. Speculation has been rife that the Uruguay international, whom Slot criticised for his work rate against Wolves and Aston Villa in February, was left out for disciplinary reasons.

Joe Thompson, who retired at the age of 29 in 2019, was diagnosed with cancer for a third time last year

The former Rochdale football player Joe Thompson has died at the age of 36. Thompson, who retired at the age of 29 in 2019, was diagnosed with ­cancer for a third time last year.

His former club said in a statement: “Rochdale Football Club is devastated to learn of the passing of Joe Thompson. Joe, who had been bravely battling cancer for a third time, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, with his family by his side.”

• Bristol City and Coventry tighten grip on playoff spots
• Plymouth stay bottom after injury-time Boro winner

Leeds are on the verge of promotion after Manor Solomon’s goal secured a 1-0 victory at Oxford. The win keeps Leeds top of the Championship and five points clear of third-placed Sheffield United with three games remaining.

Daniel Farke’s side scored the decisive goal in the first half with Jayden Bogle’s cross finished at the far post by the Tottenham loanee Solomon.

For vast swathes of this match – the first half, in particular – any spectator would have been hard-pressed to identify the Premier League-destined team on the verge of an all-time Football League clean-sheet record. Not only did Watford score – to make it just the 14th of Burnley’s 43 Championship matches in which they have conceded – but James Trafford endured a torrid afternoon preventing the hosts from becoming the first team to put two goals against him in the Championship this season.

Alas, a collective loss of Watford heads precipitated a flurry of cards and in effect brought the game to a premature end, allowing the thoughts of Scott Parker’s side to return once again to potential top-flight football.

• Semi-final against Athletic Bilbao now the priority
• Amass, Obi and Heaven in line to get more game time

Ruben Amorim will use younger players in Manchester United’s next three Premier League fixtures as he prioritises the Europa League semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.

United play at Athletic on 1 May and host the return a week later. Matches against Wolves and Bournemouth precede the first leg and United go to Brentford in between the European fixtures.

• Fifa is yet to secure exemption for 32 clubs taking part
• Tax rate may vary according to where games are played

Fifa is facing complex negotiations with the US authorities before the Club World Cup after failing to secure tax exemptions for the 32 competing clubs.

The world governing body announced a huge prize fund for the tournament of $1bn (£754m) in March, including up to $125.8m for the winners, but without tax agreements clubs could be left with bills of tens of millions of dollars to the US tax authorities on top of tax payable in their home countries. At least 29 clubs from outside the US, including Chelsea and Manchester City, will be competing.

Enzo Maresca loves controlled buildup play while Blues fans tend to like forceful football. Conflict seemed inevitable

There was a news story this week about a team of a hundred scientists who have spent nine years analysing a single cubic millimetre of mouse brain. The one hundred scientists have finally published their results. And those results are basically: “Whoah, have you seen this stuff?”

What they found inside the cubic millimetre of mouse brain was an eternity of wiring, just miles and miles of tiny wire to be untangled, pictured in the accompanying article clumped into a single mass, like a pan of mouse brain vermicelli left overnight in the sink.

Emergency strike duo reeling in Lyon was electrifying while also showing deep flaws in Ruben Amorim’s squad

Bedlam, pandemonium, ecstasy and simply wow: Manchester United’s three-goal, six-minute (and 34 seconds) blockbuster extra-time comeback from 4-2 down is one for the ages, and a thrilling advertisement for the heart-stopping drama football can generate.

Yet if the Harry Maguire header that KO’d Lyon was a last, heroic act of a pell-mell, childhood-like jumpers-for-goalposts victory, it should also clang alarm bells for the fragile unit Ruben Amorim oversees, and cause a serious reality check.

Sonia Bompastor has her shot at ending the European champions’ reign and moving Blues step closer to history

As Chelsea’s quest for a quadruple enters its final month, there is no more imposing obstacle to navigate than this. Barcelona, the European champions in three of the past four campaigns, are once again standing in the way of the English champions as Chelsea strive to lift the only major trophy that has eluded them, and there could be no more worthy adversary.

There is more than a hint of deja vu about this semi-final. Not only because the first and second legs are taking place on the same dates, 20 April and 27 April, as they did last season, but also because it is the third straight year in which they have gone head-to-head at this stage, which both clubs can feel a touch unfortunate about. Once was tantalising. The rematch was welcome. The trilogy sounds enthralling but comes with a lingering sense that it might have been the final.

Club have been transformed off the field and now face battle on the pitch with London City for promotion from the Championship

The understudies in the ensemble of Les Misérables are not ordinarily interviewed by football coaches. For detail-driven Amy Merricks, the Birmingham City head coach and a lover of the West End musical, they were her prime focus during her Uefa Pro Licence dissertation on maximising squad harmony and ensuring the fringe members of a squad feel valued.

With three games to go in the Women’s Championship title battle, the time has come for Merricks’ second-placed team to formez vos bataillons as they fight with London City Lionesses for promotion to the Women’s Super League, in a race so close it is offering theatre-worthy drama. But four years ago it was very hard for anybody at Birmingham City Women to feel happy, understudies or not.

Head coach Amy Merricks at the training ground in Wast Hills.

Midfielder on overcoming Premier League nerves, adapting while grieving for his mum and what shaped his work ethic

Not much fazes Carlos Baleba. The Brighton midfielder likes to spend his spare time watching horror films – “they don’t scare me; nothing has ever scared me” – or even dancing on his own to Mbolé music from his native Cameroon. “Sometimes I need to move my body,” Baleba says with a smirk.

Thanks to a strict training regime that he began at the age of 10 under the watchful eye of his father, Eugene, Baleba has developed into one of the Premier League’s most imposing figures. The 21-year-old is tipped to become the latest big-money transfer to leave Brighton after Moisés Caicedo was sold to Chelsea for a British record £115m in the summer of 2023.

With one trophy and hundreds of millions up for grabs, league position means more than pride as TV payouts shape the financial future of every club

Points mean prizes. And money. Lots and lots of money. Only one trophy is handed out at the conclusion of the Premier League season, meaning the most tangible reward most teams are playing for over the final few weeks of the campaign is a bigger check.

Last season, each Premier League team received anywhere between £175.9m and £109.7m for their participation in the self-styled Greatest League in the World. These payouts take into account everything from league position, the number of matches broadcast on TV and commercial revenue among other factors.

• Melbourne City beat Perth Glory 5-1 to secure fourth premier’s plate
• Fourth Australian women’s side to complete unbeaten regular season

A four-goal first-half blitz has secured Melbourne City’s A-League Women premiership title defence and completed an unbeaten regular season.

City thrashed Perth Glory 5-1 on the road, taking an immediate grip on the match with goals from Taylor Otto and Bryleeh Henry in the opening six minutes.

• Joe Lolley goal not enough to reverse first-leg deficit
• Semi-final loss means Sky Blues miss out on $4m windfall

Sydney FC have missed the chance to net a $4m windfall and the club’s first piece of Asian silverware after crashing out of Asian Champions League Two at the hands of Lion City Sailors.

The Singaporean outfit had taken a 2-0 lead from the semi-final first leg and advanced to the final despite falling to a 1-0 defeat (2-1 win on aggregate) in the second leg at Allianz Stadium on Wednesday.

• Dutchman has assisted Wiegman with England since 2021
• ‘Great challenge and a wonderful new adventure’

Arjan Veurink, assistant coach to Sarina Wiegman, will leave the England women’s team after July’s European Championship to become the head coach of Netherlands women’s national side. The 38-year-old will succeed Andries Jonker, who has been in charge since 2022. Veurink has a deal until the end of the 2029 Euros.

Veurink, a former FC Twente head coach, has been Wiegman’s No 2 for eight years since they teamed up for their native Netherlands’ Euros triumph in 2017 and their run to 2019’s World Cup final, and he moved with her to coach England in 2021. They guided England to their first major women’s silverware in 2022 and to 2023’s World Cup final.

• Clubs would be permitted one marquee player outside cap from 2026
• PFA reject proposal and warn it will limit potential to attract top players

The A-League Men will introduce a stricter salary cap to prevent clubs from engaging in a “player-spend arms race” under major reforms designed to ensure the competition’s long-term viability.

But Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) has rejected the proposal, setting the scene for difficult negotiations around the next collective bargaining agreement set to commence within weeks.

The club’s new owners brought in an attacking manager and young players without considering the short-term risks

By Get French Football News

Euphoria, optimism and ambition were the dominant emotions at Saint-Étienne in the summer. With promotion to Ligue 1 secured and new owners onboard, the club could dream of replicating past glories. But waking up the sleeping giant of French football has not been as easy as flicking a switch.

St-Étienne returned to the top flight after a two-year stint in Ligue 2 thanks to a dour relegation playoff win against Metz. Olivier Dall’Oglio, who replaced Laurent Batlles as manager mid-season, took the club up by reverting to a defensive, back-to-basics approach. However, that approach did not translate well in Ligue 1, despite a summer splurge from the new owners.

Fourth spell begins for club’s eighth head coach inside three seasons, in wake of fourth defeat in a row

Just before two o’clock on Palm Sunday, as Holy Week began and religious brotherhoods started their slow, swaying progress through the streets of Seville, first La Paz, then La Hiniesta, then the rest, a man entered the city at Santa Justa. Aged 69, diagnosed with leukaemia five years ago, wearing a grey cardigan, blue jacket and a slightly manic smile, he’s thinner than before but couldn’t be more familiar. Joaquín Caparrós has coached Sevilla more times than anyone, across three spells, the first a quarter of a century ago; now he was returning for a fourth. “My face is a reflection; it says it all,” he said, leaving the station and stopping on the corner, searching for the car coming for him.

Caparrós arrived on a train, alone and as their saviour. As somebody’s saviour, anyway: someone to get behind, someone to hide behind too, for a little while. Two days earlier Sevilla had lost 1-0 at Valencia. That night, manager Xavier García Pimienta said he would be with his players until the end of the world but he didn’t make it to the end of the weekend. On Thursday, the president José Maria del Nido Carrasco had declared it “time to be close to the coaching staff” and on Saturday they took training as normal; 24 hours later, they had been sacked. Caparrós had already been called. He will be their eighth coach in less than three seasons.

• Napoli three points off top after beating Empoli 3-0
• Atlético overcome lowly Valladolid 4-2 in La Liga

Napoli cruised to a 3-0 home win over Empoli on Monday, with Scott McTominay striking twice and Romelu Lukaku also on target as the hosts kept pace with Inter. Antonio Conte’s side were feeling the pressure after Inter’s 3-1 home win against Cagliari on Saturday, but they cut the gap back to three points with six matches to go. Napoli are seven points clear of Atalanta in third as the Serie A title battle narrows to a two-horse race.

It took 18 minutes for Napoli to open the scoring as Lukaku battled free in midfield and passed to McTominay, whose low long-range shot bounced over Devis Vásquez’s outstretched hand and into the corner of the net.

Seattle’s season may not be as badly damaged as we had feared, and there was a huge crowd on hand to see Chicago Fire v Inter Miami

This was supposed to be the Seattle Sounders’ year. The team had a nice path in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and a number of seemingly savvy acquisitions in the winter had fans hoping they’d be enjoying a 2025 season that went down as the best in the club’s storied history.

• Forward dismissed for reckless first-half tackle
• Atalanta back in winning ways against Bologna

Kylian Mbappé’s reckless foul left Real Madrid with a nervy second half before they saw out a 1-0 win at relegation-threatened Alavés, who also finished the match with 10 men.

Eduardo Camavinga gave Real the lead in the 34th minute, scoring from outside the box with a brilliant curled shot, after an earlier goal by Raúl Asencio was ruled out following a video assistant referee check.

­Manchester United fans chanted abuse at Manchester City’s Phil Foden about his mother during Sunday’s goalless derby. City manager Pep Guardiola said the move 'lacked class' and added: 'I don’t understand the mind of the ­people ­involving the mum of Phil, it’s a lack of integrity, class, and they should be ashamed.' It is understood that City were shocked and disgusted by the chants and the number of people involved. United’s stance is that they condemn all abusive chants aimed towards players

• ‘Lack of class’: Guardiola hits out at United fans’ chant about Foden’s mother

There was a cheeky free-kick in the third tier of Swedish football when Jönköpings Södra's Linus Lyck caught the goalkeeper and defensive wall unawares with a nonchalant curler into the bottom corner to give his side a 1-0 lead against Lunds BK. It was reminiscent of a goal scored against Chelsea by Liverpool's Fábio Aurélio in 2009

Great Weston: National League footballer scores from inside his own area – video

Weston-super-Mare’s Luke Coulson scored from his own penalty area against Hornchurch in the National League South. With the hosts 3-2 down in stoppage time, goalkeeper Mason Terry went up for a late corner - but the ball instead dropped to Coulson, who kicked it from the penalty spot all the way upfield, where it bounced and rolled into an empty net.

Sir Gareth Southgate has expressed his concern that 'callous, manipulative and toxic influencers' are taking the place of traditional father figures in society and contributing to mental health issues among young men. He believes the decline in communities and a lack of mentors – or 'father figures' – are causing more young men to become reluctant to talk or express their emotions. Southgate voiced concern that 'this void is filled by a new kind of role model who do not have their best interest at heart'.

• Gareth Southgate rails against ‘callous toxic influencers’ in Dimbleby Lecture

Arsenal conclusively outplayed Real Madrid, led by brilliant performances from Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice

Where is your magic now? As the night wore on at an increasingly sullen Bernabéu, as the latest keepers of the Real Madrid shirt tried and failed to crank their way up through the emotional gears, this felt a bit like watching a conjuring act gone wrong. Pick a card. Any card. No. Not that one. Wait. Keep your eyes on the ball. The glass. Hang on.

Such is the voodoo around Real Madrid, the white magic stuff, it had been necessary to process quite a lot of this chat in the buildup. Had Arsenal won too well at the Emirates Stadium? Was a three-goal advantage further proof of their naivety?

Luis Enrique’s fearlessness sets apart arguably the most watchable team in Europe after years of disappointment

Luis Enrique had one word to describe Gianluigi Donnarumma. “Sensationnel,” the Paris Saint-Germain manager said, switching briefly into French from his native Spanish; no translation required.

Donnarumma was the difference for PSG against Aston Villa on Tuesday night, the goalkeeper making five saves in the Champions League quarter-final second leg at Villa Park, three of them, well, sensational, as his team just about got the job done, losing 3-2 on the night having been 2-0 up but advancing 5-4 on aggregate.

The disappointment on show after a valiant quarter-final defeat shows just how far Unai Emery’s team have come

It was the 57th minute when Unai Emery made a series of small circles with his hands as the pulses of everyone else in this stadium began to race that little bit quicker. Emery tapped his temples, reminding his Aston Villa players to stay focused, but, really, who was he kidding? Ezri Konsa had just side-footed a shot in off a post to earn Villa the lead on the night and, with the help of a tail wind from the Holte End, this stadium felt liftoff. And not for the first time. The noise was so loud and the atmosphere so fervent that it seemed worth checking on the foundations of this grand old ground.

Villa won the match and, though they lost the tie, this was a night they will always remember. It is also an evening when, once they have fully digested the drama of rousing from 5-1 down on aggregate, they will surely reflect on the strides they have made, particularly under Emery. Villa inadvertently did so with an amusing faux pas in the moments before kick-off: someone presumably pressed the wrong button as the Europa and Conference League walk-on music boomed instead of the operatic Champions League anthem as the players lined up on the pitch.

While most English tourists are cultured enough to know the Spanish for a couple of pints of Stella, a full English breakfast or directions to the nearest A&E ward, in recent days the word remontada has also become seared in the collective consciousness of football fans. A colloquialism bullishly bandied about by Real Madrid’s players and fans in the week after Arsenal did a number on them in north London, it was a snappy one-word rejoinder detailing how fate and the Bigger Cup champions’ implacable refusal to be beaten would see them defy apparently insurmountable odds and overturn a 3-0 deficit to reach the semi-finals of a tournament they’ve won more often than anybody else. Sadly, it seems somebody at the Bernabéu didn’t get the memo.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Philippe Auclair as Arsenal win 2-1 in Madrid to knock the holders out of the Champions League

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On the podcast today: a brilliant performance from Arsenal at the Bernabéu, winning 2-1 in Madrid and 5-1 across the tie, they were close to perfection with Declan Rice probably the standout performer in a team of standout performers.

Arteta’s side delivered a performance for the ages to knock out Real Madrid, while PSG held firm at Villa Park and Inter outlasted Bayern to set up a semi-final of contrasts

Arsenal

Plus: second yellow cards in one game; Welsh teams in the same division; and the highest scorers against a former club

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Who was the first player to have a red card rescinded after a game?” asks Masai Graham.

In September 1969, Northampton Town played away to Swansea in the old Division Four, which is an intro nobody expected to be reading in the year 2025. After 66 minutes their forward Frank Large, frustrated after the referee had given a free-kick against him, booted the ball into the crowd and hit a 12-year-old flush in the face. As Large walked over to apologise, Billy Carroll, a former Swansea player, ran on to the field and chinned him. Large threw hands in response and was sent off.

While the ruthless dominance of the top two shows little sign of abating, other clubs see reasons for optimism

A big change occurred in France last summer when the top two divisions of the women’s game were professionalised under the banner of the new Ligue Féminine de Football Professionnel (LFFP), led by the former Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas.

With the aim of making a league dominated for almost two decades by Aulas’s former club and Paris Saint-Germain more interesting, the changes included a rebranding of the top two divisions, an overall budget increase for the league stretching into eight figures, plus mandatory criteria such as every top division side having a minimum 11 full-time players, with second division sides having at least 11 contracted part-time players. Clubs can now have a fourth non-EU player, while those involved in the new structure have taken lessons from other leagues such as rest days for teams in the Champions League and canvassing supporters for the best kick-off times.

Our cartoonist looks ahead to crunch ties in the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League

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• And get David’s new book, Chaos in the Box, now

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Jamie Spangher and Har Johal to discuss the FA Cup and Canada’s new professional league

On this week’s Guardian Women’s Football Weekly, Jamie Spangher joins Faye and Suzy to talk about the FA Cup semi-finals and the FA Women’s National League.

Chelsea will meet Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley next month after Aggie Beever-Jones’ late goal helped them beat Liverpool 2-1. And United are into their third successive final after a 3-0 win at Manchester City.

Wolves’ revival continues, Jadon Sancho needs to show more consistency and Fabian Hürzeler backs his captain

• Premier League top scorers: the latest standings

Among several excellent individual performances, it was Newcastle’s collective endeavour that was most impressive against Manchester United, the home side’s press rarely giving their opponents a chance to settle on the ball. As a result the visitors kept coughing it up in dangerous positions, and this was where the game was won. None of the home side’s goals involved them crossing the halfway line, and the amount of time they spent in possession in the buildup to each of them was, in order of them being scored, eight seconds (with four players touching the ball), nine seconds (also four players), five seconds (one player) and three seconds (two players). More than a fifth of their total ball recoveries, 12 of them in all, took place in their attacking third, four of which led to goals; the equivalent figures for the visitors were two, and 4.3%. Simon Burnton

Match report: Newcastle 4-1 Manchester United

Match report: Liverpool 2-1 West Ham

Match report: Wolves 4-2 Tottenham

The head coach on staying calm against Real Madrid, learning to cope with losing and the challenge of Lyon

‘The tactical side is the easier part of the job because it’s like mathematics,” says Renée Slegers. “The challenging part is the people, in a positive way; that’s where the most energy goes, and I think that’s right.”

The Arsenal manager is on a sofa in her office, relaxed and open as we talk about how much of coaching is psychological and how much is tactical. Is the psychological side the most enjoyable part of the job, then? “I like the combination,” says Slegers, after a short pause. “I like puzzles and board games and, for me, tactics are kind of a game, but then working with people I get so much energy. That’s inspiring.”

On the face of it the Egyptian’s new contract has no downside – but this is not entirely a free ride for Arne Slot and the club

Well, that’s good then. Things fall apart. But sometime they also don’t. And the centre does actually hold.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Mohamed Salah’s contract extension at Liverpool is the fact this is a rare crossover story, a signing that steps outside its own tribal margins. There will of course be localised delight. Liverpool fans can look forward to their own lost weekend in the sun, a sense that the good times will now continue to roll, that the time bar has shifted. Return to your seats. This is a lock-in.

The Tinners are back on home soil and four games away from a remarkable promotion to the fifth tier

This time last year Truro City were simply trying to limp through the season, in the middle of a ludicrous grind of 10 National League South games in 20 days. This exact week 12 months ago brought four matches, a period that could have been a Craig David 7 Days remix: Torquay United on Monday, Eastbourne Borough on Wednesday, Yeovil Town on Thursday and Maidstone United on Saturday. Sunday offered a little respite before the final stretch, three matches across four days. Just completing the campaign was an achievement.

But, arguably, that was not even the biggest challenge. Truro spent the final two months playing home games at Gloucester City, a 390-mile round trip and the final bizarre but memorable chapter in a nomadic existence that spanned four years. Until that point they had been groundsharing with Taunton Town, 120 miles away, and before that across the Devon border at Plymouth Parkway, 55 miles away, but a cocktail of inclement weather and pitch problems left them searching for another home. The league pushed them towards Gloucester’s synthetic surface to fulfil their fixtures. “I think we would have played on a local patch of grass on a roundabout if they would have allowed us,” says Gareth Davies, the club’s head of media and communications and a local BBC commentator.

After a frenetic international window, here’s what we have learned about England and the 15 other contenders

The latest international window, with several high-profile games in the Nations League, provided goals, encouraging debuts, injuries and some shocks. Here, we run the rule over the 16 teams set to play in the European Championship in Switzerland in July.

Rodri has beaten Vinícius Júnior and Erling Haaland to top our ranking of the most talented players in the world this calendar year

• How all the judges voted | Rodri heads 2024 list | Our methodology | The top 100 female players in the world
• 2023 edition | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

The Manchester City midfielder becomes the sixth player to top our ranking of the world’s best 100 male footballers

• The 100 best male footballers in the world 2024

One of the worst things about seeing Rodri in agony on the pitch against Arsenal in September – and the subsequent news that he had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament – was that in the buildup to the injury he had criticised the workload being put on players. It was as if he knew something bad was about to happen.

In April, after an epic 3-3 draw at Real Madrid the Manchester City and Spain midfielder said: “I do need a rest.” He added: “Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yes.”

Aitana Bonmatí finishes top of our rankings for a second consecutive year, with Caroline Graham Hansen second and Sophia Smith third

• Bonmatí on top of world again | How every judge voted | Video top ten | 2023 list | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018
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The Spanish midfielder wins for a second consecutive year on a fast-moving list that sees 15 players appearing for the first time

• The top 100: check out the full list for 2024

Aitana Bonmatí emulates her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas and takes back-to-back wins in the Guardian’s 100 best female footballers in the world list.

The double Ballon d’Or winner received votes from all 99 of this year’s judges, finishing 667 points clear of her club teammate Caroline Graham Hansen, the Norwegian climbing to her highest ranking after a superb individual year for both club and country.

From Franco Mastantuono to Estêvão, we select some of the most talented players born in 2007. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

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