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The optimistic reading for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal is that it is not over. Yet if they are to keep alive their shot at history, the pursuit of a first Champions League triumph, they are going to need something extraordinary in the second leg of this semi-final next Wednesday.

The atmosphere at the Parc des Princes will be red-hot and Paris Saint-Germain will not easily be shifted from the advantage that Ousmane Dembélé’s fourth-minute goal has given them. The French champions showed why they have won so many admirers across the continent this season, calling the tune for the opening 35 minutes or so. And again towards the end when they expertly retightened their grip.

Absences were keenly felt by hosts whose aggressive approach was disrupted by visiting side’s physical pressure

Reasons to be cheerful. Hmm. Let’s see. Well, it’s only 1-0. There’s that. And this is a significant achievement given Arsenal were basically suffocated in the opening 20 minutes of this semi-final first leg, unable to breathe in their own stadium, stretched thin, starved of air and light by the deep blue machine of the Paris Saint-Germain press.

In those moments PSG just seemed to have more players in every sector, to be self replicating, João Neves appearing at the shoulder of every teammate like a ghostly butler. In the process Arsenal’s own aggressive approach was entirely disrupted by PSG’s combination of physical pressure and just making you chase, filling your legs with lactic acid, fogging the brain.

• Scottish Football Association updates guidelines on issue
• Change comes a week after UK supreme court ruling

The Scottish Football Association is to ban transgender women from participating in women’s football after updating its guidelines.

From next season only biological women will be able to take part in women’s competitive football, a term that applies to matches from under-13s up.

• ITV: ‘Ian’s standing in the sport is beyond question’
• Broadcaster has rights to England matches this summer

ITV has offered strong public backing to Ian Wright in its first public comment since he was criticised by Eni Aluko. Last Wednesday, Aluko said Wright “should be aware of” how much punditry work he was doing in women’s football and that it was important “women are not being blocked from having a pathway into broadcasting in the women’s game”.

The former England and ­Chelsea forward issued an apology on ­Friday on Instagram, to which Wright responded on the same platform on Saturday by saying he could not accept it.

Our cartoonist on the Dutch manager failing to get the credit he deserves off critics close to home

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• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

Ballon d’Or winner has set his sights on helping the club grow, offering his expertise and pulling power

It was the transfer nobody saw coming: Luka Modric to Swansea City, not joining as a player, but a minority stakeholder. The most decorated player in Real Madrid’s history, a six-time Champions League winner and one of the greatest midfielders of his generation pitching up as a co-owner at a mid-table Championship club was certainly an unforeseen end-of-season development. A Ballon d’Or winner and Bernabéu star walking into the Swansea boardroom or exploring the Mumbles?

The sight of Modric cradling a Swansea-branded football in the accompanying press release prompted a few double-takes and sent a jolt across the game. “Hi Swansea fans, I’m Luka Modric and I’m excited to be part of the journey,” came his message.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Ameé Ruszkai and Marva Kreel to discuss Arsenal’s win, Chelsea’s loss and latest action across the WSL and the Championship

On this week’s Guardian Women’s Football Weekly, Faye is joined by Sophie Downey, Ameé Ruszkai and Marva Kreel. The panel discuss Arsenal’s 4-1 second-leg victory over Lyon, the north London side knocking out the eight-time European champions and securing their place in the final. However, it won’t be a full English affair after Chelsea’s dreams were dashed by a rampant Barcelona.

The panel review the latest action across the Women’s Super League and the Championship as the season nears its conclusion and relegation spots are confirmed.

Former coach’s conduct is said to be the tip of the iceberg and Fifa continues to investigate matters related to abuse

It was at a press conference to announce Gabon’s squad for an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Burundi in August 2018 that Pierre-Alain Mounguengui admitted Gabonese football had a problem. After shocking revelations made by Shiva “Star” Nzigou – a former striker who played for the French club Nantes and won 24 caps – that a network of paedophiles had been operating in the country for more than two decades, the president of the Gabon football association (Fegafoot) since 2014 felt obliged to comment.

“Before Shiva Star Nzigou’s statements, we knew that in Gabon there were similar signs and other indications,” Mounguengui said. “In the past, without naming names, we had people in certain clubs and sports venues who were hired to coach young people, but the education of a child begins at the grassroots. If they are deformed at the root, it is sometimes difficult to straighten them out. If we can have adults [coaches] of good moral character, I think it’s possible to stem this phenomenon.”

The forward, often seen as a remnant from the decadent PSG of old, scored the biggest goal of his career at Arsenal

For Paris Saint‑Germain, the final whistle arrived like an orchestral fanfare. Exhausted, sweat-drenched players sank to their knees; emotional embraces were shared; the knot of visiting fans in the south-east corner of the Emirates flung scarves in the air and noisily serenaded an epic, razor-thin triumph. It was at this point that Ousmane Dembélé re-emerged from the bench and strolled across the pitch, wearing flip-flops.

And as visual motifs go, this one felt pleasantly on the nose. Of course Dembélé’s work here was long since done: an early goal to settle the game before being withdrawn by Luis Enrique on 70 minutes with a hint of a knock. And yet, on a night defined by screeching and suffering, brusque tackles and hard lines, Dembélé somehow managed to elevate himself above the fracas, the only man playing the game on the easy setting.

From the Premier League to MLS and the NFL, huge stadiums with gargantuan costs are a symptom of elite sport’s unrealistic promises

“Nil satis nisi optimum,” boasts the motto of Everton FC: “Nothing but the best is good enough.” Performances on the pitch over the past few seasons have suggested otherwise (what’s Latin for “Anything to stay up will do?”) but in the form of the sparkling new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock, which will replace Goodison Park as Everton’s permanent home from the start of next season, the club now has tangible proof that its historic aspiration to excellence is at last being met.

Based on the renderings and early footage of its interior, Everton Stadium (it will be a while before that bland placeholder is draped in the capitalist rococo of the “TeslaDome” or “Open AI’s ChatGPT Arena” or “Palantir Presents Bramley-Moore Dock”) appears to be a pleasingly raked and compact arena that should retain at least some of the raucousness of Everton’s old home. The stands are at the steepest pitch that regulations will allow, sightlines are unobstructed from every seat, and judging from the promotional videos, fans will never be more than 50 metres from either a toilet or a scouse pie, which seems like a key metric of success for any stadium in Liverpool.

Young players are impressing across the country following the American league’s very un-American move

For the first time in its history, the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) commenced a regular season this spring with no draft. A quintessentially American event, defined by hopes and dreams being on public display while teams trade players into the professional leagues without their explicit input, was scrapped by a collective bargaining agreement negotiated between the NWSL and the NWSL Players Association in August.

In so doing, a league unafraid of reinvention became the first major professional sports league in the United States to forgo the draft. That’s a seismic shift by any measure, and while the move puts the NWSL in line with global football standards the long-term implications will take much longer to assess. After all, the draft was not simply an entertaining way to distribute talent while introducing them to the public on a celebratory stage; it was also a useful means of ensuring parity in a league proud of its competitiveness. In the words of the NWSL’s commissioner, Jessica Berman: “There actually is nothing to point to as a case study of how to make this transition, because there is no league that has gone from a world of a draft and having years of service, to being able to earn free agency and just having that melt away overnight.”

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions. Moving the Goalposts is back in to its twice-weekly format, delivered to your inboxes every Tuesday and Thursday.

Midfielder may finally get her due against defending champions after authoritative display in the Champions League semi-final

As the sun set around the Groupama Stadium in Lyon, the celebrations began for Arsenal on Sunday. There were shouts of joy as the weight of what they had just achieved dawned on the players, having reached a Champions League final for the first time since the club won it in 2007.

The team’s leader, the normally stoic Kim Little had tears in her eyes. She was soon joined by Lia Wälti who came over to her midfield colleague and wrapped her in a long embrace, a quiet moment of triumph in the mayhem.

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While the last of this season’s three Premier League relegation spots was confirmed the moment referee John Brooks blew his whistle to signal the end of the Championship playoff final between Leeds and Southampton 11 months ago, the late scramble to avoid the bottom three in the second tier has been thrilling by comparison. It couldn’t not be, given that five of the six teams battling to stay out of the two remaining places in the drop zone at stumps on Saturday have each notched up more than the 10 victories Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich have managed between them.

I told them, and I’m not exaggerating here, ‘Guys, bring your boots, bring your shorts, bring your T-shirts, and let’s play every ball together. We want to do something special’. That place has to be something that we haven’t seen before” – John Sitton Mikel Arteta apparently wants Arsenal fans to go the full John Terry when they take on PSG in the first leg of their Bigger Cup semi-final.

If by Barry Glendenning’s reckoning ‘Arsenal are not a serious football club’ (yesterday’s Football Daily), I’m left to wonder how he might assess any of the 18 teams destined to finish below them in the Premier League table. I thank him mightily, however, for not only adding ‘heroic begrudgery’ to my phrase book but providing such a convincing demonstration” – Clinton Macsherry.

I have to disagree that Liverpool’s ‘This Means More’ motto has no meaning for their fanbase (yesterday’s Football Daily). If experience serves me right, for a generation of youngsters who just developed a passion for Liverpool after watching this season’s procession on the telly, This Means More than finding a team within geographical reach and paying to get in and cheer them on, thus actually, y’know, supporting. And This Means More than any concept of sporting loyalty and glory other than who just won. Hopefully, This Means More when Liverpool have a slight fallow patch down the road and they have to deal with the outrage when sometimes you don’t win. There is a widely spread demographic of folk in their 30s who once suddenly developed an affiliation with Manchester who could perhaps give them some tips for the future” – Jon Millard.

Congratulations to Truro on winning the National League South with a burst of three goals in the opening 10 minutes which gave the other contenders an absolute mountain to climb. Six clubs in the running as you reported last week but John Askey’s boys prevailed. Top contender for manager of the season, any league. No doubt the fans will be looking forward to the possibility of Carlisle, Gateshead and Hartlepool away next season” – Dave Step.

In the midst of all the kerfuffle of the weekend – Real Madrid players as petulant as ever, inflated and deflated managers brandishing their egos – it might have been good to see a mention from you of James Forrest of Celtic who collected his 26th trophy in 524 appearances, overtaking the Lisbon Lion Bobby Lennox. What stands out about Forrest is his loyalty to the club and dedication to training and the squad, even when regularly on the bench. He has scored in each of the last 15 seasons so here’s hoping he grabs one before the end of this one. A model club player – something of a rarity these days” – Danny Sullivan.

• Team were battling Forest for top spot in third tier
• Players informed after final game of their season

The Wolves women’s players have said they feel let down by a lack of ambition from their club after learning an application for promotion to the Women’s Championship was not submitted, despite the team battling Nottingham Forest for top spot all season.

Wolves finished second in the northern section of the third tier in English women’s football – the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division – on Sunday, three points behind Forest, who clinched promotion on the final day to go up to the second tier. Only one team could be promoted.

• Richmond council could block Twickenham move
• Chelsea considering long-term move to Earl’s Court

The Rugby Football Union chief executive, Bill Sweeney, has said Twickenham could host Chelsea matches if the Premier League club is seeking a temporary home – but he believes the local council would attempt to stand in the way.

Sweeney acknowledged the financial carrot of hosting an elite football team on a short-term basis and revealed discussions had previously taken place. Chelsea have long since been looking to either upgrade Stamford Bridge or relocate elsewhere in London and in 2017 it was said that moving temporarily to Twickenham was an option being considered.

As, partway though the first half, the home supporters launched into a chorus of “Daniel, Daniel Farke,” a little smile played across the face of the Leeds manager as he offered a polite wave in return.

Up in the directors’ box, Paraag Marathe looked on inscrutably. If, and it remains quite a big if, he really is considering sacking Farke, the club’s chairman – who, perhaps significantly pulled out of a planned pre-match television interview at the last minute – must surely be having second thoughts after this.

As PSG prepare for a Champions League semi-final against Arsenal, the winger’s coaches recall his rise to the top

By Get French Football News

“I am Désiré Doué. Kylian is Kylian,” says the Paris Saint-Germain forward, shirking the Mbappé comparisons. However, there is something reminiscent of his compatriot: the explosiveness, the agility, the unbridled self-confidence. Those traits have also earned Doué comparisons with his idol, Neymar, the most expensive jewel of Les Parisiens’ bling-bling era. But Doué isn’t some pastiche of PSG past; he embodies a different ethos entirely.

“Everyone is inspired by a player. For me, it is Neymar,” says Doué. The Brazilian’s panache has certainly been adopted by the Frenchman, as have his celebrations. But for Julien Stéphan, who managed him at Rennes, there is a uniqueness to Doué. “He is already a different player in terms of his personality,” Stéphan says. “Everything is oriented towards performance and reaching the top level. That is the first thing that left a mark on me. What is remarkable about him is his personality and the maturity for his age, and to what extent everything is already aligned in his daily life and his way of working.”

After a drama-free title race, the legacy of Liverpool’s 20th league triumph will be determined in the years to come

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It was probably just as well the decisive match came against Tottenham. Liverpool fans object to the suggestion this season has been anti-climactic, as though that somehow diminishes their achievement, but it is not a criticism to point out no side has come close to staying with them, that the title was in effect won on the January afternoon when Darwin Núñez scored twice in injury time to beat Brentford then Arsenal threw away a two-goal lead to draw against Aston Villa.

That was the season in microcosm: Arsenal carelessly squandering points, Liverpool always having enough, turning games their way in the second half. Nine times this season in the league, Arsenal have led in games that they have failed to win. On 13 occasions, Liverpool have improved their result in the second half (that is, turned a draw into a win, or a defeat into a draw or a win). It has not been a thrilling conclusion – they’ve wrapped the title up before the end of April with four games to spare and have looked probable champions for at least three months – but at least they had their day of celebration of Anfield.

Reds supporters from across the globe react to their team being crowned Premier League champions

Twelve thousand, seven hundred and eighty-three days ago (not that anyone’s counting) my mate and I stood on the old Kop, watching Liverpool edge QPR 2-1, with Rush and Barnes doing what Rush and Barnes did best. It was a simpler time: fewer grey hairs, no smartphones, and considerably fewer dodgy knees.

From sitting in the dugout with his dad to obsessing over Guardiola, Liverpool’s hero appeared destined for success

The man who has supplanted Pep Guardiola as coach of the Premier League champions is, it turns out, something of a fanboy. “He was always talking about Pep,” says Henk de Jong, now in his third spell as coach of Cambuur, the Dutch club where Arne Slot got his first break as assistant 11 years ago.

“We were sometimes laughing at him,” De Jong says, describing how Slot would get out his extensive video collection of Bayern Munich and Barcelona games to amplify a tactical point. “‘Pep again, eh?’ we would say. He had videos of all his games. And we would sit and listen to him talk about what he was seeing.”

Head coach inherited a fine culture and squad but his level-headedness, honesty and analysis propelled club to a 20th league triumph

Liverpool players were looking for signs last summer as to how their new boss would succeed a club legend and turn his rich inheritance into Premier League champions. Arne Slot made sure they were unmissable from the start.

At the plush Fairmont hotel in downtown Pittsburgh, first port of call on Liverpool’s pre-season tour of the US and their first bonding trip abroad last July, names would be written on a board giving advance notice of that day’s meeting schedule. There were one-on-one meetings for players with a member of Slot’s coaching team, squad meetings with all of the new backroom staff, meetings to analyse the double training sessions and meetings to analyse individual performances within them. There had been two meetings a day at Liverpool’s Axa Training Centre before the trip but this was another level.

Team news and the form guide as Barcelona host Inter and Arsenal welcome PSG to the Emirates

By WhoScored

​Arsenal had a rest at the weekend. They will have been disappointed to watch Liverpool secure the Premier League title on Sunday, but that missed opportunity should focus minds on the Champions League​, their only hope of silverware this season. ​They are unbeaten in their last 12 matches but have won only six times in that run, and have drawn their last two home games, against Brentford and Crystal Palace.

Club’s president has a deep sphere of football influence and travels to Arsenal desperate for Champions League vision to be realised

As Nasser al-Khelaifi watches from the Emirates Stadium directors’ box on Tuesday night, he can reflect that Paris Saint-Germain may be a month from the latest monumental victory of his career. Champions League success has been a long time coming, given the plan of Qatar Sports Investments had been to reign Europe within five years of its takeover in 2011, but the fresh sense of clarity in PSG’s approach is on the verge of reaping rich dividends. The serial Ligue 1 winners could soon sit atop club football just as their president rules it from the corridors of power.

Khelaifi is, in the words of one seasoned observer, “the most powerful person in sport that nobody has heard of”. That oversight is probably true of a British public to which his influence is yet to cut through. If nothing else the Qatari should receive a slightly more amenable welcome at Arsenal that the one afforded in November by fans of Bayern Munich, who certainly seemed well versed in his various functions when PSG visited.

Renée Slegers masterminded Arsenal’s memorable triumph in Lyon while Shekiera Martinez scored four for West Ham

There was jubilation at the final whistle and Renée Slegers joined the celebrations with her players on Sunday. The Arsenal manager had just guided her team to a Champions League final at the first attempt, defeating her former mentor Joe Montemurro in the process. The 36-year-old outmanoeuvred and outsmarted the Lyon manager as they stormed back from a first-leg deficit to win 4-1 and secure a spot in their first European final in 18 years. It exemplified Slegers’s ability to learn quickly in-game and from match to match, while keeping her feet and those of her players firmly on the ground. “We talked about the Arsenal way – what it looks like and why it’s important for us,” she said. “We really look forward to the final, but also straight away when there’s euphoria on the pitch. We are so happy and we need to celebrate these special moments, but we are also very humble and we need to get ready for the next one.” Sophie Downey

Palace’s best-paid player shows his class, Ipswich meet their fate and Mateo Kovacic sounds a warning

In April 1964 a side from north London came to Anfield with Liverpool one good result from winning the league, and conceded five. “Arsenal did little to allay the general suspicion that they were there just to be sacrificed,” Eric Todd wrote in his report for the Guardian. This time it was Tottenham but otherwise, for anyone whose memory stretches back 61 years it was a familiar story. Time and again Spurs meekly surrendered possession in dangerous areas, and while they defended in numbers – which suggests willing – they did so with terrifying inefficiency, which suggests poor organisation. Their focus is now fully on the Europa League, but if Liverpool had been a little more ruthless this would have been truly another real embarrassment in a season full of them. In April 1988 it was Spurs themselves who came to Anfield with Liverpool needing one point to guarantee the title. It had been a terrible season for Tottenham, and they were only just outside the bottom three. They lost 1-0. “Tottenham remain in the relegation penumbra,” wrote Stephen Bierley in his Guardian report. “Strange it seems that nobody much under the age of 30 will remember them being champions. Who would have thought it?” Simon Burnton

Match report: Liverpool 5-1 Tottenham

FA Cup report: Nottm Forest 0-2 Man City

Match report: Bournemouth 1-1 Man Utd

Manager finds fresh motivation with young talent after guiding club to win over Forest in FA Cup semi-final

News just in: Pep Guardiola still has a few tactical tricks up his sleeve. The scary thought for the rest of the Premier League must be that Guardiola, who looked and sounded like a man ready to pack it in and head for the golf course earlier this season, is finding fresh motivation in putting Manchester City back together. Enjoy it while it lasts, you can imagine him saying to his rivals, but just be aware that I have revenge planned for anyone who dared to wonder if I was finished when we were losing 4-0 at home against Tottenham.

It is, of course, worth pointing out that it is too soon to assume that a new imperial era is taking shape. City are deservedly through to their third consecutive FA Cup final, a date with Crystal Palace secured thanks to a well-crafted 2-0 win against Nottingham Forest, but Guardiola still has damage to repair. Ever the perfectionist, he will look back at his team’s performance against Forest and conclude that there were moments when this semi-final could have slipped from their grasp. Anthony Elanga had a glorious chance to make it 1-1 early in the second half, only to miss from close range, while City will know that they were fortunate not to concede after going 2-0 up.

Spanish giants show class against elite Women’s Champions League opponents, but Chelsea face more soul-searching

Clàudia Pina scores. You know it’s a good goal because the moment it hits the net, Barcelona’s substitutes scramble forward to the front of the dugout, desperate to watch it again on the replay screen. Meanwhile, a few yards away Sonia Bompastor turns to the Chelsea bench and smiles weakly. A yeah-fair-play smile. A what-can-you-do smile.

Pina’s goal makes it 7-1 to Barcelona on aggregate, there are still more than 45 minutes to play, and we have reached the point in this Champions League semi-final when it almost begins to feel rude that Uefa insisted Barcelona fly over to play this second leg. Imagine the aircraft emissions and single-use plastic glasses that could have been saved simply by abandoning the pretenice that this was a meaningful contest.

Club president has turned on his players and the fans have turned on the club. Can the 2012 champions survive this?

By Get French Football News

Montpellier are one of three clubs to have denied PSG the Ligue 1 title since the takeover more than a decade ago. In the time that has elapsed since their 2012 triumph, the club has drifted into a state of dereliction and destitution. Their relegation from Ligue 1 confirmed, La Paillade exit the stage with a whimper; it may be a while before they grace it once more.

Montpellier are a family club. Louis “LouLou” Nicollin is the founding president of the club and upon his death, in 2017, ownership passed to his son, Laurent. LouLou who died aged 74, continues to be honoured in the 74th minute of every home match by the fans, but there was a mixture of applause and boos at Sunday’s commemoration. Families don’t always get along and relationships have buckled under the strain of the most devastating season in the club’s 50-year history. Disunity reigns at the Mosson.

Dino Toppmöller’s side looked spent after they sold their top scorer but have a fine replacement, as Leipzig found out

If they were on the verge of something special, the man in charge was hiding it well. It was not, insisted Dino Toppmöller, a final. Nor a playoff. Nor was it even the most important match of the season. All it was, according to the Eintracht Frankfurt coach the day before the game, was quite simply: “Matchday 31.”

By the end, as Saturday night drew in, it was definitely Saturday night. It turned out that Toppmöller’s less-is-more approach suited his team perfectly. They had thrashed RB Leipzig, their significantly more wealthy rivals for a Champions League spot, and were six points clear of their fifth-placed opposition with three games left, staring a return to the promised land square in the eyes.

Midfielder keeps collecting nicknames – and goals – as he drives his side towards a title that would be his own

Scott McTominay could have said anything and a whole city would still have loved him: the man who fired Napoli clear at the top of Serie A with four games to go inspired a 2-0 win over Torino on Sunday. He had scored the only goal as Napoli won away to Monza in their previous fixture, and two out of three in a rout of Empoli before that.

Carrying his team towards the finish line, in other words, though McTominay has been decisive from the start. He scored within 28 seconds of coming off the bench for his home debut in September and his goals have broken seven 0-0 deadlocks since then. No player in Serie A has done this more.

• Bayern sink Mainz 3-0 but Leverkusen beat Augsburg 2-0
• Kane booked so suspended for Bayern’s likely clincher

Bayern Munich eased past Mainz 3-0 but had to put title celebrations on ice after Bayer Leverkusen matched their win to stay eight points behind with three matches left.

The Bavarian club, top on 75 points ahead of Leverkusen in second with 67, can now secure a 34th German league title with a win at RB Leipzig next week. But Harry Kane will miss next week’s game after picking up his fifth booking and a suspension.

Paris Saint-Germain’s hopes of becoming the first side to complete a Ligue 1 season unbeaten came crashing down at the Parc des Princes on Friday when Nice handed them their first defeat of the league campaign, winning 3-1 to boost their own Champions League ambitions.

Having already secured the title earlier this month, PSG still top the Ligue 1 standings on 78 points, while Nice move up to fourth on 54.

Sacking big name was a gamble but appointing a boyhood fan has proven a masterstroke for a side eyeing Europe

“Claudio has changed my life,” Borja Iglesias said and all around him, as they jumped and sang and smiled and hugged, they felt the same way; he has changed all of their lives. At the end of Celta de Vigo’s victory over Villarreal on Wednesday, players and staff crouched low before fans and for the first time a hush fell over Balaídos. All together now, the chant started slowly, quietly, whispered, but the pace quickened and the volume grew bit by bit until they burst to their feet, belted out their name and bounced off each other, footballers fell into the net laughing and one thought emerged above any other: how much fun they were having.

This is the way football’s supposed to be – about enjoying, about belonging – and this is the way it has been since Claudio Giráldez came along: good even when it has been bad and getting better all the time. The last time Celta played Villarreal they were beaten 4-3 with a 100th-minute winner, a game of seven goals that could have been 17 after which Iglesias said: “If we’re going to lose, let it be like this.” Eight months on Celta beat them back, a 3-0 victory lifting them into a European place where they have not finished for a decade and embodying all they want to be. Iglesias was a ballboy back then and it was “cool”, he said, but not quite like this, grateful for the days he has been given.

• Serie A leaders Inter will now host Roma on Sunday
• Italy v Wales in Women’s Six Nations also rescheduled

Serie A has postponed its three fixtures on Saturday because of Pope Francis’s funeral being held that day in Rome. Meanwhile, Italy’s Women’s Six Nations match against Wales is also expected to be rescheduled as the country prepares to pay its respects.

Earlier media reports in Italy had suggested that Serie A might make an exception for Inter’s clash with the visitors Roma to allow Simone Inzaghi’s side additional rest time before their midweek Champions League semi-final at Barcelona. However, the league has confirmed that the game at San Siro will now kick off at 2pm (all times BST) on Sunday.

In war-torn occupied territories, fake teams are being deployed as a tool to normalise a violent denial of the past

On 12 April a new club played its first game in Russia’s football pyramid. A healthy enough crowd gathered at Novokolor Arena in Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, 20 miles from the border with Ukraine’s occupied territories, encouraged by a slick buildup on social media. They watched “Zarya Luhansk” begin their slog through the Third League, the fifth tier of a complicated Russian system whose composition shifts annually, with a 5-0 home win over Volgar Astrakhan’s second team. Some had travelled by chartered bus from the city their club purports to represent.

The name may sound familiar. The real Zorya Luhansk are eighth in the Ukrainian Premier League and savour a proud 102-year history. They play European football almost every season and hosted Manchester United in 2016. Nowadays, they play home matches in Kyiv owing to the illegal occupation of their home city. Any idea they would pull out and compete in Russia is beyond laughable.

• Olmo scores winner early in second half against Mallorca
• PSG held 1-1 by Nantes but retain unbeaten run

Barcelona’s Dani Olmo scored inside the first minute of the second half to earn a hard-fought 1-0 home win against Mallorca, extending their lead in La Liga over Real Madrid at the top of the table to seven points with five games to go.

Barça dominated proceedings despite their coach, Hansi Flick, deciding to rest several key starters ahead of Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against rivals Real, but the Mallorca goalkeeper Leo Román put on a show between the posts to keep them at bay.

Five years after Covid-19 restrictions prevented Liverpool fans from celebrating at Anfield their team's first top flight title triumph in 30 years, Reds faithful wasted little time on 27 April getting the party started on another Premier League success. With Anfield filled to the brim, Liverpool equalled Manchester United's record of 20 English top-flight titles with their 5-1 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur. But it was after Alexis Mac Allister struck a blistering shot to put the Reds ahead for good in the 24th minute that the delirious crowd at the sun-drenched stadium erupted and they did not stop singing until well after the final whistle sounded.Thousands of fans not fortunate to be inside Anfield on Sunday celebrated outside, setting off flares before the game ended in a party that carried on through the night

• Arne Slot’s coolness lies at heart of Liverpool’s record-equalling title

• Unruffled Liverpool and Salah serve up theatre and euphoria on title day

• From Portman Road to paradise: 10 key moments in Liverpool’s title win

­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.

The vice-chairman on his ‘rejuvenator’ manager Marco Silva, his use of analytics and European ambitions

Tony Khan does not look or sound like a man who has just watched his team lose a local derby in agonising circumstances. If he is feeling bruised after seeing Fulham fall to a last-minute defeat at home to Chelsea he is hiding it well. Instead Khan, the vice-chairman and director of football operations, brings nothing but positivity when he breezes into a small, private room at Craven Cottage and starts to talk about his hopes for the future.

The most immediate issue is whether Fulham’s push for European qualification is still on. “Oh absolutely,” says Khan, on a flying visit to London from his Florida base. “We have a very good chance and we have so many exciting things we can achieve in the remaining fixtures. It’s been such a great season. There’s a lot of great things happening at the club. It’s been so fantastic. I’m really excited for the future.”

When they’re not shouting at their own children, many of Britain’s soccer dads like nothing more than swearing at the officials, or even trading blows on the touchline. Isn’t this supposed to be fun?

A chilly Saturday morning on the Astroturf pitches at Coram’s Fields in central London and several youth football matches are under way. I’m watching an under-11s game. The sound is the thud of boot on ball, the shrill interruption of the referee’s whistle, and a whole lot of shouting. From the players (“Mine!”, “Here!”, “Pass!”, “Ref!”, etc). From the two coaches (“Press!”, “Stay wide!”, “Push up!”, “Ref!”, etc). And from the touchline dads. There is one mum here today, but she’s less vocal.

To varying degrees, the dads are part fan, part coach, part personal trainer to their progeny. There is one dad (there’s always one) who’s taking it a bit further, who’s a bit shoutier than the others. “Get rid of it!” he screams at the defence, meaning hoof it upfield, which is the opposite of the coach’s instructions to play it out from the back. “Ref! Seriously?” he shouts at the referee (who’s only about 17 himself).

French clubs are enjoying best continental season in decades but catastrophic crisis could engulf entire league

If it is results that count, tout va bien for Ligue 1. Having so far accrued its second-highest total of Uefa ranking points in a single campaign, the “league of talents” remains on course to register its best season in Europe since the 1990s, when Marseille, Paris Saint-Germain, Monaco and others regularly featured in the latter stages of Uefa competitions.

A transformed, exuberant if still-not-quite-perfect PSG hope to go one better than the Thomas Tuchel side who lost the 2020 Champions League final to Bayern Munich, and Lyon gave Manchester United an almighty scare in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Brest and Lille defied the odds by qualifying for the knockout stage of the Champions League, beating teams such as PSV, Atlético Madrid and the holders, Real Madrid, on the way. The conveyor belt of young talent shows no sign of slowing, the 17-year-old Ayyoub Bouaddi of Lille and PSG’s Désiré Doué the latest French academy products to break through on the biggest of stages.

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Rodri knacked his knee. Everyone else is rubbish. Arsenal are not a serious football club. Manchester United are hopeless. Chelsea are a shambolic mess. Lads, it’s Tottenham. They got lucky with knack. They had help from the PGMOL. While we’ll leave it up to you to decide which of the above statements are true, most if not all have been mooted as the main reasons Liverpool won the Premier League this season by fans whose almost heroic begrudgery in the face of their own teams’ failure has to be commended. Of course, a more considered view is that Liverpool are the champions again because they are quite obviously the best football team in the country and have only lost two football matches throughout a campaign from which few of their own fans, no TV or radio pundits and only one particularly enlightened, erudite and prescient podcast regular predicted they would prevail before a ball was kicked. And because Arsenal are not a serious football club.

Somebody said the Welsh have the ‘heart of a poet and the fist of a fighter.’ That’s what I love about this place. I wish the whole world could visit Wrexham. Diolch” – co-owner Ryan Reynolds reflects on back-to-back-to-back promotions for the Hollywood club. Next stop: the Championship. Eek.

Will it be the first season where the PFA player award is going to be decided by a selfie?” – Krishna Moorthy.

Before the Copa del Rey final at the weekend, Jonathan Wilson wrote a piece looking back 15 years and said: “Real Madrid, once a club obsessed by señorío, doing things the right way, became seduced by the consolations of imagined persecution, a trait they have still not shaken off”. He certainly wasn’t wrong …” – Noble Francis.

I went to see The Flaming Lips last night for a truly joyous live show. There were inflatable killer pink robots, confetti cannons, giant weather balloons (confetti filled of course), dancing space aliens, dancing inflatable eyes, singing in a zorb and inflatable rainbows. And it was still nothing like as crazy as the race to avoid Championship relegation. Barely more than a week ago I was convinced the mighty Hatters were doomed. Now watch us bugger up the last game just as I’ve regained some belief …” – Kevin Goddard.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Seb Hutchinson and Dan Bardell as Manchester City get a vital win over Aston Villa in the hunt for Champions League football

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On the podcast today: two midweek Premier League games to review. One more consequential than the other as Manchester City go third with a late win over Aston Villa. In the other fixture, Crystal Palace score two brilliant goals to claim a point at Arsenal.

Plus: footballers who put parenting first, title playoffs in Italy, and relegated Golden Boot winners

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“Arne Slot is going to win the Premier League in his first season after taking over from Jürgen Klopp,” writes Hannah Mitchell. “What examples are there of managers who have had instant success after succeeding a legendary manager?”

It’s not unusual for a new Liverpool manager to win the league in their first season. Matt McQueen (1922-23), Joe Fagan (1983-84) and Kenny Dalglish (1985-86) all did so, – but they were established figures at the club, whether in the boardroom, the boot room or the dressing room. Arne Slot was new to English football, never mind Liverpool, and was succeeding one of the most charismatic figures in the club’s history. In that context, winning the Premier League with (potentially) four games remaining is a remarkable achievement.

Our cartoonist on the big German striker’s blunt opinion of his Hammers teammates and life in general

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• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

Without a pathway to follow in their own country, players have had to look overseas to make a career. But no more

As “O Canada” reverberated around Vancouver’s BC Place last Wednesday, the emotion was clear on the faces of those on the pitch and in the crowd. There were hugs, there were tears, and there was an unbeatable cacophony of noise when Quinn slotted home the winning penalty, the first goal of the Northern Super League era. All 14,000 inside the stadium were aware of how momentous this occasion was, the moment professional domestic women’s football had finally arrived in Canada.

For many of the Canadian players involved for Vancouver Rise and Calgary Wild, it was the first time they will have heard only their anthem at the start of the match. “It was something I said to our team before the game,” the Rise midfielder Quinn reflected after the game. “That was pretty neat.”

Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Tom Garry and Emma Sanders to discuss the Champions League semi-finals, the Women’s Championship and the latest WSL action

On this week’s Guardian Women’s Football Weekly, Faye Carruthers is joined by Sophie Downey, Tom Garry and Emma Sanders to review disappointing first-leg semi-final results for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Champions League. They are trailing in their ties with Lyon and Barcelona respectively. But can they turn it around? The panel preview this weekend’s must-win second legs.

And after teasing you for weeks, the panel take a deep dive into the Women’s Championship as we approach the final two games of what’s been a thrilling season. They also round up the very latest from the WSL.

Who should be on Arne Slot’s shopping list, Chelsea’s unlikely hero and an angry Ollie Watkins

Arne Slot is set to win the Premier League but at the same time knows he needs to make plenty of improvements within his squad this summer. One key acquisition will be a new striker. Darwin Núñez was not brought off the bench at Leicester despite Liverpool misfiring, Diogo Jota’s fitness is a constant concern and Luis Díaz, who started on Sunday, does not give off the impression of being a No 9. In tight matches, Mohamed Salah has often been the man to separate them from opponents. They had 28 shots at the King Power Stadium but needed a full-back to score the winner. Núñez will almost certainly depart Anfield to open up a spot for a superior No 9 but they do not come cheap. Plans will be afoot but they know they cannot get it wrong twice, having spent more than £80m on the Uruguayan who has never looked like delivering. Will Unwin

Match report: Leicester 0-1 Liverpool

Match report: Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal

Match report: Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle

Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Wolves

Match report: Fulham 1-2 Chelsea

Match report: Everton 0-2 Manchester City

Match report: Brentford 4-2 Brighton

Chelsea change under the spotlight, twins have Manchester City seeing double and Holland shines for Liverpool

Were Chelsea wrong to make a substitution while preparing to defend a corner? The former England midfielder Fara Williams criticised Chelsea for doing so in the 81st minute, when Nathalie Björn was replaced by Naomi Girma seconds before Barcelona scored their third goal, a far-post header from an unmarked Irene Paredes, with Williams telling TNT Sports, “You can see that there is a bit of confusion” in Chelsea’s organisation for the set piece. Sonia Bompastor said she had been forced to withdraw Björn because of an injury, and played down the incident. “I don’t think the substitution had an impact on the goal we conceded,” the head coach said. “When I talk about not making mistakes, maybe we didn’t have to concede that corner. If you have a better clearance from the goal and don’t concede that corner, you don’t give Barcelona the opportunity to score. I don’t think the substitution had an effect on the goal. I think Naomi [Girma] knew exactly where she had to go and I think everyone knew their role in that.” The header was the first of two late strikes for Barcelona in Sunday’s first leg which put the tie in a much more challenging position for Chelsea before Sunday’s return at Stamford Bridge. Tom Garry

The Championship’s best team will need to be smart in the transfer market to give themselves a chance next season

When Leeds United sold £140m of playing talent last summer, Daniel Farke deviated from accepted managerial convention and declined to throw his toys out of the pram. Farke is a little too unconventional, a little too resistant to groupthink, to always do the expected and his club’s owner, the San Francisco‑based 49ers Enterprises, is poised to reap the benefits.

The German’s unusual amalgam of high emotional intelligence and advanced numeracy have helped to provide the framework for the freshly secured promotion to the Premier League that Leeds so narrowly missed out on last May.

Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich are returning to the Championship. Which of their players deserve to stay up?

By WhoScored

Leicester were relegated at the weekend and will join Southampton in the Championship next season. Ipswich are 15 points from safety with five games to play, so it’s only a matter of time before they too are consigned to the second tier. The three sides have been extremely disappointing this season, picking up just 10 wins between them, but they have some talented players who will be targets for Premier League sides in the summer transfer window.

The coverage of Manchester United’s win over Lyon last week was just the latest sign that fandom is consuming everything

Impartiality fan here – for my sins! – but you have to say Robbie Savage and Rio Ferdinand during the closing minutes of Manchester United v Lyon on Thursday night were absolute class. It all starts in the 118th minute, with United 6-5 down on aggregate, and the TNT Sports camera lingering on the face of a crying boy in the crowd. “Let’s hope we can put a smile on that young man’s face by the time we finish,” the commentator Darren Fletcher says.

And it’s worth unpacking those 17 words, because contained within them are at least three layers of assumption. Foremost among which is the assumption that it would be a good thing, all round, if United won. The child is crying. Is there any cause more catholic or universal, any image more reliably guaranteed to tug at the tear ducts, than a crying child? The coefficient can wait for now.

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.

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