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Just ridiculous. Just Real Madrid. The team that appear to own this competition, that have some mystical hold over the trophy they refuse to let go of, are in the final again because, well, of course they are. Late on another wild, magical night here, the Santiago Bernabéu launched into a familiar chant. “That’s how Madrid win,” it goes. Again and again and again, each time more epic, more absurd than the last, this team a force that cannot be contained. The closer you think you are, the further away it is, as Bayern Munich found like so many others before them.

Thomas Tuchel’s team had held on, survived a storm, and scored, Alphonso Davies smashing in a superb shot to give them a 1-0 lead, 3-2 on aggregate, and a foothold in the final. They should have scored again, at last killing off the team that just will not die, but Harry Kane sent a late chance into the side-netting and Kim Min-jae then headed against the bar from three yards. Still, Wembley was so near. Less than three minutes plus stoppages remained but, as tends to happen here, it turned out to be a lifetime, much of which they will surely spend wondering what happened.

• Llamas report focuses on responsibilities to workers
• Amnesty International calls on Fifa to reveal findings

Fifa must publish an independent report into its responsibilities to migrant workers in Qatar and begin the process of providing financial compensation, Amnesty ­International has said.

The human rights organisation has called on Fifa to finally publish the report by Michael Llamas, president of the Gibraltar Football Association, before its congress in Bangkok next week. It claims the Llamas report has found Fifa has a responsibility to provide financial remedy to workers or the families of workers involved in 2022 World Cup projects in Qatar and that its conclusions were approved by the executive Fifa council in March. The Guardian understands the report is under review by Fifa stakeholders but that the governing body remains committed to its publication.

• Talks continue over €30m deal for 2025 move by 17-year-old
• Brazilian winger has been linked with move to Arsenal

Chelsea are confident of winning the race to sign the Palmeiras prodigy Estêvão Willian. Talks are continuing over a deal that would take the 17-year-old winger, who is regarded as one of the best youngsters in Brazil, to Stamford Bridge in 2025.

Palmeiras are holding out for around €30m plus add-ons for Estêvão, whose contract runs until 2026. The attacker, who is nicknamed Messinho, has scored once in five league appearances this season and has also been linked with Arsenal.

• Goalkeeper returned to training this week after thigh problem
• Unai Emery: ‘If he is available 100%, he is going to play’

Unai Emery has said he will make a last-minute call on whether Emiliano Martínez will face Olympiakos as they attempt to overturn a first-leg defeat to reach the Europa Conference League final. Martínez, who returned to training this week after a thigh problem, has travelled to Athens but Emery confirmed he will speak to the club doctor before making a final decision on the morning of the game. Robin Olsen will again deputise if Martínez is not deemed fit enough to start.

Martínez was withdrawn at half‑time against Chelsea last month but the goalkeeper, whose penalty-shootout heroics in Lille helped Villa into the semi-finals, could make a timely comeback in Greece.

Former Spanish soccer federation chief faces one count of sexual assault and one of coercion for alleged actions in the aftermath

Spain’s former football chief, Luis Rubiales, will have to stand trial over the unsolicited kiss he planted on footballer Jenni Hermoso, after the country’s high court agreed to hear the case.

The decision comes nine months after Rubiales, 46, grabbed Hermoso by the head during the televised celebrations of Spain’s World Cup win and kissed her on the lips.

• He tells staff to work at offices or ‘seek alternative employment’
• Ratcliffe feels it will boost productivity but some staff bemused

Sir Jim Ratcliffe cited email traffic statistics to Manchester United staff as the basis for a ban on working from home and told them to seek ­“alternative employment” if they are not ­willing to come to club premises.

United have had a flexible work-from-home policy since Covid but Ratcliffe signalled an end to this ­during an all-staff meeting held in person and via video call last week as part of his tour of Old Trafford and the Carrington training base.

Cameron Brannagan’s penalty earned Oxford United a place in the League One playoff final as they drew 1-1 at Peterborough to progress to Wembley 2-1 on aggregate. Oxford followed up their 1-0 first-leg triumph last Saturday to hold on for a draw in a pulsating second leg and set up a showdown with Bolton on 18 May.

Brannagan, a penalty specialist, made no mistake from the spot in first-half stoppage time after Des Buckingham’s side had briefly fallen behind to a Josh Knight goal. That is the way it stayed despite Peterborough piling on the pressure to no avail in the second half.

• New Sky Sports + service can offer up to 100 events at once
• Broadcaster says it ‘takes seriously’ match-going fans’ concerns

Sky Sports plans to broadcast football during the 3pm Saturday slot as it gets set to increase its live sports coverage by 50% from next season.

As Sky insisted it “takes ­seriously” the responsibility of minimising disruption for match-going fans, it announced that every game in the opening weekend of the ­English ­Football League season would be broadcast live, including those scheduled to start at traditional kick-off times.

All players have been asked to consider hiring bodyguards after the shocking incidents, one of which involved the use of acid

A little more than three months ago, the Malaysia international Faisal Halim gave the Bayern Munich defender Kim Min-jae a torrid time as he rabona’d the goal of the Asian Cup against South Korea. The game ended in a famous 3-3 draw (infamous for the Koreans) but now it is unclear whether the winger, known as “Mickey”, will ever play again.

On Sunday he was the victim of an acid attack and the images of his scarred body and stunned face shocked a nation and resulted in a hospital visit from Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim. The incident was horrific and one of three attacks on high-profile players this month. No one knows for certain whether they are linked, but all are worried. Nothing like this has ever happened before in Malaysia.

The Australian defender’s path to the top flight has not been straightforward but under manager Kieran McKenna at Ipswich Town he has thrived

Never give up. Keep working hard, believe in yourself and never throw in the towel. Those cliches are the mainstay of sports psychology books the world over. For most they are mere words, just catchphrases. But not to 28-year-old defender Cameron Burgess. The Aberdeen-born, Western Australia-raised footballer is living proof that dreams can come true, that perseverance and dedication do pay off.

Burgess is celebrating Ipswich Town’s stunning promotion to the Premier League and the end of the club’s top-flight exile of 22 years. It comes just 12 months after the Tractor Boys vaulted from League One into the Championship, with back-to-back promotions adding another layer to the club’s scarcely believable story.

Logical brilliance of attacker stood out as he played with startling sense of freedom to lead team back to another final

At what point, exactly, does the relentlessly unpredictable start to become oddly routine? As ever, this was an absolute nut‑show of a football match inside Real Madrid’s steamy Centre Court‑style megadrome.

Every ex-Stoke, Newcastle and Eintracht Frankfurt journeyman has his day. And this was the day of Joselu, Madrid’s 34‑year‑old own-brand Benzema, who scored with two of his first three touches in the final moments of a Champions League semi-final to turn 1-0 down into 2-1 up and another final for these irresistible power-meringues.

Spurs’ fightback to book a spot in 2019 Champions League final was one for the ages. Where have the players ended up since?

André Onana
Of all the Ajax players, perhaps Onana has been on the wildest ride since 2019. Just over two years separated a 2021 doping suspension after a positive test for Furosemide – a substance he says was his wife’s and taken mistakenly – and his appearance in the 2023 Champions League final with Internazionale. A £44.1m move to Manchester United followed, where form and fortunes have fluctuated for both club and Cameroon.

Plus: the same losing teams in the playoffs in consecutive seasons and even bigger cumulative cup crowds

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“Newcastle have beaten Sheffield United 13-1 on aggregate this season,” tweets Craig. “Has there been a larger margin before?”

Newcastle romped to an 8-0 victory at Bramall Lane in September, then beat Sheffield United 5-1 at St James’ Park last month. The aggregate score is a Premier League record, pipping Manchester City 12-0 Watford (2019-20) on goals scored. But won’t somebody think of the rest of the world, and women’s football, and the years 1888-1992? Yes, yes they will. And we’ll stick with league matches, too, as that was the basis for the question.

• Matthijs de Ligt had 103rd-minute equaliser flagged offside
• ‘We accept that we lost, but it should not have happened’

Carlo Ancelotti shrugged and called it “something magical, without much explanation”, after Real Madrid scored two goals in two and a half minutes to complete another astonishing Champions League comeback.

But Thomas Tuchel insisted that there was a more tangible reason for a dramatic defeat at the Bernabéu: a “very unusual” individual error from his goalkeeper Manuel Neuer and a refereeing mistake that denied his Bayern Munich team a 103rd-minute equaliser and felt like a “betrayal”.

• ‘If a good offer comes along, they would want to sell’
• Getafe keen to keep forward after loan ends in summer

Getafe’s president, Ángel Torres, has said the club hope to keep Mason Greenwood for another season and that he does not expect the forward to return to Manchester United at the end of the campaign.

Greenwood joined Getafe on loan in September after United said they wanted to avoid him becoming a distraction despite criminal charges against him being dropped after allegations, which Greenwood denied, of attempted rape, controlling and coercive behaviour and assault. The Crown Prosecution Service said there was “no longer a realistic prospect of conviction” after key witnesses withdrew their cooperation and new material came to light.

• Owner Acun Ilicali says ‘visions for the future are not aligned’
• Rosenior’s playing style and results at Hull widely admired

Liam Rosenior has been sacked by Hull City after his team narrowly missed out on a Championship playoff place.

Hull finished seventh, three points behind sixth-placed Norwich, who are preparing to face Leeds in a playoff semi-final. Despite that disappointment Rosenior had impressed many onlookers during an 18-month stint.

Bolton secured their place in the League One playoff final despite being beaten by Barnsley at the Toughsheet Community Stadium as Ian Evatt’s side edged the visitors 5-4 on aggregate.

Holding the upper hand after last Friday’s 3-1 semi-final first-leg win at Oakwell, Bolton had their lead cut in the 36th minute by Sam Cosgrove before hitting back with a fine Aaron Collins strike and an Eoin Toal header in quick succession just prior to the break.

• Miami-based company accused of fraud amounting to £279m
• ‘We demand a decision now,’ Premier League is told

Everton shareholders have urged the club’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, and the Premier League to end the “farce” of a proposed takeover by 777 Partners after the troubled company was accused of fraud worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The investment firm 777, co-founded by Josh Wander and Steven Pasko, agreed a deal to buy Moshiri’s 94.1% stake in Everton eight months ago but has been unable to meet the Premier League’s criteria for allowing the takeover to proceed. These include the repayment last month of a £158m loan to MSP Sports Capital and two local businessmen, Andy Bell and George Downing, with 777 having been granted a short-term extension to repay the loan. The Miami-based company was also reportedly late last week with a £15m loan to Everton for working capital. It has loaned the financially troubled club more than £200m.

• Forest three points above relegation zone with two games left
• Points docked for breach of profitability and sustainability rules

Nottingham Forest’s appeal against a four-point Premier League ­deduction for breaching ­profitability and ­sustainability rules (PSR) has been rejected.

Forest said when the ­punishment was imposed in March that they were “extremely ­disappointed” and claimed ­spending ­restrictions on ­promoted clubs ­undermined the league’s “integrity and competitiveness”.

Captain hails belief and togetherness that has powered an often written-off squad to the Champions League final

Emre Can is not the most obvious example in the Borussia Dortmund team but he is an example nonetheless; a player who has experienced rejection, who has had to battle to re-establish himself.

It is probably easier to see the narrative strand in, say, Jadon Sancho, who was pushed out of Manchester United in January and sent back to Dortmund after his falling-out with the manager, Erik ten Hag. Sancho’s poor form and rock-bottom confidence made it easier for United to sanction the loan.

The English-born left back is the latest MLS academy graduate to draw interest from Europe’s elite clubs

Down the years, it has been common for US Soccer to track young English talent who also hold American passports. From Fulham’s Antonee Robinson to Milan’s Yunus Musah, the US has benefited from players gaining an education across the Atlantic. But New York City’s Christian McFarlane looks set to do the reverse, a sign of the growing influence of MLS academies.

The left-back was born in England but moved to New York at three years old. Over the past 18 months, McFarlane has represented the USMNT and England at youth level, keeping his options open before committing to any one country. The 17-year-old also has the option of playing for Jamaica, but why complicate matters more?

What was the point of such a spectacular player spending seven seasons of his prime playing for Paris Saint-Germain?

Farewell then, project superstar. By the end of this Champions League semi-final second leg it seemed oddly fitting that the final act across 180 minutes should be Kylian Mbappé falling over his own feet.

Mbappé was through on goal at the time, the most beautifully balanced footballer on the planet haring away from a clutch of yellow shirts in emergency battery mode, then slipping over on the Parc des Princes turf just as the final whistle was blown.

Change is probably coming with Manchester United playing so badly, so often, but this is a club trapped in constant transition

Erik ten Hag arrived at Manchester United promising to inspire flowing, thrilling transition football. And, you have to say, mission accomplished. You only had to watch Crystal Palace pouring forward at speed on Monday night, or Sheffield United bombing up the pitch at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago, or indeed Coventry City in the recent FA Cup semi-final. Thanks to Ten Hag, United fans are being treated to sumptuous counterattacking fare on a near-weekly basis, even if – unhappily for Ten Hag’s job prospects – most of it these days seems to be getting played by the opposition.

Yes: it’s an even-numbered year, so we’re discussing whether the Manchester United manager should be sacked. And so to David Moyes (2014), Louis van Gaal (2016), José Mourinho (2018), Ole Gunnar Solskjær (a pandemic-delayed 2021) and Ralf Rangnick (2022) can almost certainly be added Ten Hag (2024), another well-credentialled manager who just didn’t have what it takes to manage a massive club like United. Seriously unlucky! How do they keep ending up with these guys?

The Dutchman will head for Liverpool after a dream tenure and can emulate how Jürgen Klopp makes fans feel special

For most of Sunday, Rotterdam sat under a thick blanket of cloud, but as day ticked into evening, just as fans were streaming into De Kuip for Feyenoord’s penultimate home fixture of the season, the skies cleared. On what became a glorious, balmy evening the team comprehensively outclassed PEC Zwolle. Arne Slot, overseeing his 100th league game in charge, watched from the touchline and his son, Joep, who for the best part of three years had dreamed of being allowed into the noisiest part of the ground, stood among the ultras in the Gerard Meijer Tribune.

In the 82nd minute, the entire ground sung his father’s name and, just as Slot lifted his hands above his head to return their applause, Santiago Giménez scored the final goal in a 5-0 win. When the final whistle blew, and Slot walked towards the fans to bid farewell, the PA eschewed the ear-splitting techno that had soundtracked the rest of the night and played You’ll Never Walk Alone. Football rarely permits moments of such infinite perfection.

The competition latched on to the Matildas’ success but some feel that more could have been done to move the game forward

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Was the 2023-24 A-League Women (ALW) season the best in the competition’s history? Possibly. There were certainly enough standout games, players, narrative, and intrigue to provide enough fuel to carry a long pub debate. What can be said more definitively, though, is that the campaign just concluded with Sydney FC edging Melbourne City to win a record fifth title was one of, if not the most consequential since the league’s inception.

Generally, you only get one post-World Cup season to capitalise and, after the 2023 tournament, this was the year for the ALW. And the ground was fertile. Putting aside their historic achievements on the field, what the Matildas achieved across that tournament was unprecedented, taking hearts and minds of the country in a stranglehold and altering what was thought achievable not just in women’s football, football, or sporting context, but on a cultural level itself.

Kylian Mbappé admitted he was 'sad' and 'disappointed' after Paris Saint-Germain were knocked out of the Champions League, having lost 2-0 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund in the semi-final. The forward however urged his team to keep working towards success. 'There's still the French Cup final and that's an important objective for the club and for us players. We're going to keep on working to try and win this final and another trophy.'

• Dortmund bring down curtain on Kylian Mbappé’s lost years at PSG

Borussia Dortmund's 1-0 victory over Paris St Germain, which secured a 2-0 aggregate win and a place in the Champions League final, was thanks to 'teamwork and maybe a little bit of luck,' said Dortmund coach Edin Terzić. His counterpart Luis Enrique rued hitting the woodwork six times over the two legs and failing to score despite 31 attempts at the Parc des Princes. 'I think if there is a team that had bad luck in this match, it’d be Paris Saint-Germain,' said the PSG coach.

• Hummels seals Champions League final place for Dortmund as PSG crash out

• ‘Indescribable’: Reus relishing Wembley return after Dortmund triumph in Paris

Ipswich Town supporters turned out in force to celebrate with their heroes after the Tractor Boys became the first team since Southampton in 2011 and 2012 to win successive promotions to the top flight from League One. The team celebrated their Premier League return with an open-top bus tour

• ‘Amazing achievement’: McKenna full of pride as Ipswich savour promotion

Erik ten Hag admitted that Manchester United’s season reached a new low after they were thrashed 4-0 by a rampant Crystal Palace. The result left Ten Hag’s side in eighth place in the Premier League with just three games to play, falling behind Newcastle and Chelsea in the race for European qualification. Ten Hag said: 'It was a team performance that was not correct, making big mistakes. Not following the plan or the script. We have individual mistakes but we should cover each other, we let each other down'

• ‘We let each other down’: Ten Hag admits Manchester United at new low

Jürgen Klopp launched an extraordinary rant at footballing authorities and broadcasters in a press conference ahead of Liverpool's Premier League clash with Tottenham Hotspur. The outgoing Liverpool manager specifically called out TNT Sports - referencing his side's quick turnaround between games and frequent 12.30 kick-offs - saying that players in England are overworked and play too many matches. 'I watch a lot of football all over the world, Premier League is the best league in the world. It's not overrated, the players are overworked,' he said. 'Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Saturday 12.30 is a crime. I was actually waiting for Amnesty International to go to them.'

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has denied reports that Manchester United are set for a summer clearout of their players in the transfer window, calling them a 'joke' and 'totally crap'. 'It's a joke,' he said. 'As long as I've worked here, every summer, every window, I think 200 players are getting interest from Manchester United. I think be calm and also take some responsibility when you make such a headline. Think, find a good source if there is some truth in it and this is totally crap.' The Dutchman also commented on Jadon Sancho's impressive Champions League performance for Borussia Dortmund and underlined his 'high value'

Early season disappointments put the Argentinian coach on the hot seat, but a resurgent Lionel Messi has shown the value of experience

Riding a six-game unbeaten streak in MLS, leading the race for the Supporters’ Shield and with their star players featuring at the top of the goals and assists charts, all is well in the world of Inter Miami.

Yet little over a month ago, head coach Gerardo ‘Tata’ Martino was on the hot seat. A humiliating 4-0 defeat to New York Red Bulls in late March was followed by elimination from the Concacaf Champions Cup at the hands of Mexican side Monterrey in early April.

Michel’s team of misfits showed against Barcelona why they deserve their plaudits despite the big blue elephant in the room

Cristian Portugués Manzanera was lying on the physio’s bench, pissed off, his manager pointing at him. It was the morning of the best day of their lives and Miguel Sanchez Muñoz, Michel II of Vallecas, Prince of all Girona, had just named the team that would go down in history. This time, Yan Couto wasn’t in it and he wasn’t happy either, so the coach took him aside and explained. Which is when the Brazilian saw his teammate getting treatment. “Look at Portu,” Michel insisted, “he scores goals and I never start him. He says: ‘You’re sinking me, but OK, I’ll just go out and score again.’”

And so it was.

With facilities destroyed and lives cut short, the conflict has brought destruction to a previously thriving sporting scene

Mohammed Abu-Hujair was booked on a flight to Spain last October. A scout from Real Madrid had visited Gaza in August and invited Mohammed, a 17-year-old who plays on the left wing, to join a football academy with the hope that, if he did well, he would stay in Spain. Mohammed also had the promise of a contract with Gaza Sport Club, making him one of the youngest players to sign with the team.

Then came the 7 October attacks on Israel, and the war in Gaza. Mohammed didn’t make that flight. “My life has turned upside down in a blink of an eye,” he says.

Neroverdi have a reputation for running a tight ship but face a struggle to stay up despite doubling up against Internazionale

This was one of those results that felt like an instant piece of sports trivia, future material for the writers of football-themed pub quizzes. “In 2023-24, Inter won their 20th league title with a dominant league campaign in which they only lost two games. Which opponents beat them?” A trick question, as both defeats were to the same team. And an unlikely answer: Sassuolo, who are on course for relegation.

We might be getting ahead of ourselves. There are still three games left in this Serie A campaign, time enough for Internazionale to lose again, or Sassuolo to steer themselves to safety. Still, it will always be a peculiar truth that Simone Inzaghi’s formidable team had a 28-game unbeaten run sandwiched by slip-ups against one of the worst sides in the division.

Departing legend played his part in helping his hometown club approach the second leg against PSG with spirits high

“He is,” said Edin Terzic, “a living legend.” The stars have not always aligned for Marco Reus as he has wanted or deserved but on this first weekend of May, everything clicked into place.

This was the first part of a two-stage tribute at Signal Iduna Park for one of Borussia Dortmund’s most beloved players of the modern era. It was emotional – and emotion is what this arena always does best. With his good friend Jadon Sancho looking on from the centre circle, clapping and spellbound, Reus approached the Yellow Wall for his applause at full-time, his young daughter in his arms.

Football manager who nurtured a free-flowing style of play and led Argentina to their first World Cup title in 1978

The football manager César Luis Menotti, who has died aged 85, led Argentina to their first ever World Cup trophy in 1978, a 3-1 victory on home territory against the Netherlands in the deafening noise of the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires on a pitch strewn with ticker tape. It was a joyful occasion, but one that for many – including Menotti himself – was soured by the fact that the country was led by a brutal military junta, for whom the win was valuable propaganda.

Long-haired and left-leaning, Menotti was, as Esquire magazine once said, “the embodiment of everything the junta opposed”. But there was a symbiotic relationship between the two parties, for Menotti’s job as manager was reliant on the patronage of the dictator Jorge Rafaél Videla, who had come to power in a coup two years earlier, and Videla was wise enough to recognise that Menotti represented Argentina’s best chance of glory.

• Messi has record-setting game with a goal and five assists
• Inter Miami remain top of East on six-game unbeaten run

Lionel Messi had a record setting night for Inter Miami.

He scored a goal and had five assists as Inter Miami trounced the New York Red Bulls 6-2 on Saturday night – with the Argentine great and eight-time Ballon d’Or winner as the game’s best player setting no fewer than three Major League Soccer records in the effort.

• Alou Kuol scores six minutes from time to settle final in Muscat
• Success adds to Mariners’ A-League Men premiership this year

Manager Mark Jackson was left pinching himself after a late Alou Kuol winner led the Central Coast to their first Asian title and kept an unprecedented treble bid alive. Kuol came off the bench in the AFC Cup final, scoring in the 84th minute to down Lebanese outfit Al Ahed at Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Muscat.

Kuol’s goal ensured the Mariners became the first Australian club to win an Asian title since Western Sydney Wanderers lifted the 2014 Asian Champions League. And the striker’s last-gasp heroics netted $2.3m in prize money while keeping the flame burning for an historic Mariners treble.

• Menotti led Argentina to success in home World Cup in 1978
• He also coached Barcelona and Atlético Madrid

The World Cup winning coach César Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to the title in 1978, has died at the age of 85, the Argentine Football Association (AFA) said on Sunday.

Menotti, who played for Rosario Central, Boca Juniors and Santos, began his coaching career at Newell’s Old Boys and won the Argentinian championship with Huracán in 1973, before taking over as head coach of the Argentinian national team in 1974.

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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Aitana Bonmatí, Sam Kerr and Salma Paralluelo top the list of female footballers in the world in 2023 according to our judges

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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.

The grumblings have begun. But Tottenham’s improvement from a year ago should not be forgotten

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The good news for Tottenham is that they did not concede a goal from a set play against Liverpool on Sunday. But there wasn’t much else. A 4-2 defeat meant they had lost four successive league games for the first time since 2004 and if Tottenham are to clinch fourth place from Aston Villa, they have to win their remaining three games, one of which is against Manchester City, and hope that Villa don’t win either of their two.

A measure of perspective is essential. Spurs finished eighth last year and the season ended in rancour and recrimination. Antonio Conte had left at the end of March, by which point he had made clear he didn’t much want to be at the club, while fans had tired of his grindingly negative football; what can be tolerated when it’s bringing results soon palls when those results dry up.

Last year I logged into iFollow to watch Cambridge maintain their League One status. This year I did exactly the same

As middle age creeps along, I am continually finding new, and less interesting, ways to measure the passing of time. For much of my 20s and all of my 30s I lived on a street with a food market and after a couple of years of burritos and Turkish flatbreads, I realised the greatest advantage was the refuse collection. Every day was bin day.

I took this freedom and wild abandon for waste completely for granted. I didn’t have to plan or think or tear cardboard boxes to shreds. Just toss a plastic bag on the street before 5pm and it was whisked away. I was truly alive. Now it’s a Sunday evening ritual: peer down the street – is it recycling or garden waste? That time again, eh, Frank? Feels like it was only last week we were dragging the yellow bin on to the curb. Do you have space in your green bin, Janet? I’ve been doing some pruning. There we all are, wheel them out and wait for the 6am trash-truck Monday morning chorus. Another week closer to death.

The Argentinian’s afterlife – a horror story of allegations and legal wrangles – has taken another turn

The noise from the middle tier of the stand at the Spartak Stadium was strangely persistent, rising above the pre-match hum of Argentina versus Iceland in Moscow, the pitch a humid pocket of shade, the far end still pounded by heavy mid-afternoon sun.

It was a banging noise. And a rattling noise. And a yelling noise. People had already begun to turn and point. Looking up, the first thing you saw from below was the fold of chins and sub-chins. Then it was the cigar, protruding like a gun snub above the lip of the balcony. And finally it was the face of Diego Maradona craning over the rail, arms spread in a papal gesture, and looking like, if not the most excited man of all time, then surely the most excited man yet.

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As metaphors for PSG’s European endeavours over the past decade go, there was something bordering on poetic about the fact that, in what was almost certainly his very last action as a footballer representing his monied local club in Europe, Kylian Mbappé tripped over his own feet. His legs a blur as he chased in vain after a poorly weighted through ball from deep, the feted striker lost his balance and fell over, hitting the deck just as the final whistle left his state-owned team’s obsession with becoming Big Cup champions unfulfilled and in plumes of yellow smoke for yet another year. Compared to some of PSG’s often-slapstick exits over the past seven seasons, this was far from the most ignominious and it can legitimately be argued the French side played quite well and were more than a tad unlucky in hitting the woodwork six times across two legs against Borussia Dortmund. But still, out of Big Cup they go, again, to which the only appropriate reaction from completely impartial neutrals everywhere ought to be a resoundingly gleeful a-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha … a-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha … honk!

If Borussia Dortmund now go on and win the Big Cup this season, then Jadon Sancho has the opportunity to do the funniest thing ever by going up to the pitch-side interviewer straight after collecting the trophy and thanking Erik ten Hag (or to give him his full name, ‘soon to be former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag’) for showing a lack of faith in him and by not giving him his opportunity to train and play with the lads” – Noble Francis.

Manifold and well-deserved meritorious plaudits to Murray Todd (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), for dragging, kicking, and yes indeed, screaming, you into the modern convention of shorter sentences and fewer ‘unnecessary’ words; admittedly this is now advised due to a widely recognised, pernicious, internet-fuelled shortening of all our attention spans, but hey, let us not fight this with needless things, like, say adverbs, and, y’know, style, but batter on regardless and reduce all our written word to a series of serious but unembellished bald points, then we can all get the depressing chore of reading over with as quickly as possible and focus our time on our other vital pastimes, like, perhaps, pedantically editing Wikipedia and being obvious fun at parties, though I wouldn’t try reading any actual novels, it gets all a bit belletristic and lettered in those things” – Jon Millard.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Fadugba and Lars Sivertsen as Dortmund knock PSG out in the Champions League semi-final

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On the podcast today; despite a disappointing domestic season Dortmund keep showing up in the Champions League – they deserved their win over two legs against PSG. Can they go all the way and what does this mean for Kylian Mbappé’s legacy?

Faye and Suzy are joined by Anita Asante and Jenna Schillaci to round up a dramatic weekend in the WSL, check in on what’s happening lower down the pyramid and preview the Women’s FA Cup final

Chelsea lost, then Manchester City lost then Chelsea won – that’s the week in a nutshell. After Emma Hayes waved the white flag on Wednesday, by Sunday she declared “it’s not over!”

The panel also preview Sunday’s FA Cup final between Manchester United and Tottenham.

Mikel Arteta keeps cool, Jacob Murphy proves his worth and Elijah Adebayo states his case for a top-flight stay

From touchline handbags in London with his manager a week ago to this: an individual performance of verve and efficiency to go with collective success, Mohamed Salah smiling once again. Much has been written and said about the Egyptian forward, of his recent struggles, future and behaviour. But a career as storied as his requires him to put aside the noise and go again, an internal wiring that is present among only the best. Salah was electric against Tottenham, striking the bar with a cross-turned-shot and forcing a strong save from Guglielmo Vicario inside the first 10 minutes. The post was struck not long after, though the offside flag went up too, and then came the goal just 16 minutes in, masterful movement at the far post preceding a clinical header. He was present in the build-up to Liverpool’s other three goals, allowing Jürgen Klopp a gorgeous afternoon of Anfield sunshine and fist pumps as that final goodbye inches closer. Taha Hashim

Match report: Liverpool 4-2 Tottenham

Match report: Manchester City 5-1 Wolves

Match report: Brighton 1-0 Aston Villa

Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Bournemouth

Chelsea made hay to reignite their title hope while Manchester City ran out of steam against the Gunners

Manchester City’s second-half collapse against Arsenal seemed unthinkable at half time. City’s pressing had been relentless, forcing errors from their opponents and denying them room to breathe, let alone move. That pressure dissipated after the interval, however, with City manager Gareth Taylor blaming “a mixture of energy [levels dipping] and a dropping off to protect what you have got”. Maintaining that intensity for 90 minutes against a top rival is never going to be easy, but the issue City had was that they had not put the game to bed when they were on top in the first half and they had no plan B for when their intensity dipped. Suzanne Wrack

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While anyone who actually watched last Saturday’s lunchtime draw in the Premier League could be forgiven for thinking Liverpool’s inability to beat West Ham was down to Liverpool’s inability to defend crosses into their penalty area and repeated insistence on firing shots wide of, over and against the woodwork, Jürgen Klopp used his press conference this morning to set them straight. Clambering aboard his soapbox ahead of his side’s 15-goal thriller against Tottenham on Sunday, the outgoing Liverpool manager laid the blame for the damaging draw in east London squarely at the door of TNT Sports, who had broadcast the game for armchair and bar-stool viewers in the UK.

With regard to the suit clearout at Manchester United, CFO Cliff Baty may have been asked to Do One at the end of the season but surely interim CEO Patrick Stewart has been encouraged to Boldly Go” – Declan Houton.

I’m one of those readers lucky enough to have friends to go to the football with regularly. My buddy will happily regale me with tales of being bought drinks by German fans after that night in Munich, or bunking off school to see his beloved (and sadly no longer with us) Nuneaton Borough play away in the FA Cup at Firewall FC’s Old Show Ground. Therefore when you posted your gallery of images from the new FSC book At The Match, I thought it would be something that he would enjoy, especially since he has a big birthday coming up. After scrolling through them, lo and behold there he was with his family staring back at me from the picture of Yorkshire v Parishes of Jersey. Thanks for saving me the hassle of thinking of something appropriate to buy him, and hopefully you won’t see through this blatant attempt to save the £40 by winning the prized Letter o’ the Day so I can spend more money buying him beer at the NCEL Premier Playoff Final on Saturday! Up the Miners!” – Chris Richardson.

Plus: Championship stalwarts who never played in Premier League, top-scoring for the longest streak and more

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“In the 1975 FA Cup, I was surprised that in the quarter-final that season Ipswich and Leeds had taken four games to resolve their tie, with a total attendance of 143,000. My question is: which is the tie with the highest total attendance?” asks Nicholas Idoine.

“As the FA recently bowed to the Premier League and replays are to become a thing of the past, I was intrigued by this question and consulted 11v 11.com and Marching on Together websites to come up with an answer,” begins Michael Haughey. “The match quoted between Ipswich and Leeds (142,849) was seen by fewer people in four games than the 154,201 who saw the three games it took to settle Leeds v Sunderland in 1967. This included Elland Road’s record crowd at the replay.

As one of two WSL sides without Premier League backing this term, Lauren Smith’s team were up against it from the start

• Moving the Goalposts: sign up for our free newsletter

As the clock hit full time at Ashton Gate on Sunday evening, Bristol City finally succumbed to the inevitable. Relegation was confirmed after a 4-0 defeat to Manchester City, a final nail in the coffin in their Women’s Super League campaign. Only 371 days after achieving promotion, the Robins were condemned to the Championship to start rebuilding once again.

The table does not lie. With only one win all season – a thrilling 3-2 triumph at West Ham in November – Bristol City’s struggles have been evident. Their defensive problems, in particular, have been impossible to ignore. Context is key, however, particularly in a sport where the parameters are quickly shifting.

Girona briefly promised the unlikeliest of triumphs but the sheer variety in Ancelotti’s side made them a cut above the rest

More than two hours had passed since the final whistle went on Real Madrid’s 3-0 victory over Cadiz and some of their players were still inside inside the Santiago Bernabéu watching on TV when they officially found out they were champions, but they had known for a long time. The title, eventually delivered by Girona’s 4-2 victory over Barcelona 681 kilometres to the north-east and confirmed at 8.30pm on the 34th Saturday of the season, did not see them board an open-top bus down the Castellana to Cibeles, although fans did gather by the goddess of fertility. There was more to do – Bayern Munich come on Wednesday night – and, besides, this was already done.

It had been for some time. Two weeks earlier, Jude Bellingham had scored a 94th-minute goal to win the clásico, their last remaining contenders eliminated, if you could truly call Barcelona that. Two months earlier they had put four past the nearest thing they had to genuine challengers, effectively eliminating Girona too: they were the most exciting, the most surprising team but they would not be champions. As for Atlético Madrid, the only team to defeat Real all season, they had eliminated themselves even sooner, gone by Christmas. This hadn’t been a race; ultimately, it had been a parade.

Our photographer Tom Jenkins was at Portman Road to witness the scenes as the Tractor Boys’ victory meant a return to the Premier League for the first time since 2002

There have been some glaring mistakes by VAR but it also appears to have increased officiating standards on the pitch

Seven months ago Englandthe country came the closest yet to entering thermonuclear war over a refereeing decision. When the referee Simon Hooper mistakenly ruled out a Luis Díaz goal at Tottenham for offside and the video assistant referee Darren England failed to correct him, the initial response was heated and only bubbled up from there.

“They said it was significant, that’s very significant,” said Gary Neville on Sky at full time when a Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) statement dropped acknowledging “significant human error” in ruling out the goal. “It makes you wonder how many others they’ve got wrong as well,” chipped in Jamie Redknapp.

Owner Farhad Moshiri once said the club were ‘robust’ enough to fund stadium but now they need working capital injections

At Everton’s annual general meeting in January 2019, the owner, Farhad Moshiri, made a dramatic promise.

Speaking about the club’s ambition to build a 52,888-seat stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, the club’s majority shareholder pledged: “I’ll throw as much money as needed. Private markets will provide £350m, naming rights will give us some more and we will maybe have an equity gap of £100m.”

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.