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Gunners’ victory was built on a multi-layered courage that respected but was not overawed by Barcelona or by fatalism

There is always a little more time than you think. A red number 7 blinks across the pitch from the fourth official’s board. Seven minutes of injury time: it’s a lot. Against Barcelona, it’s an age. Against this Barcelona, in this heat, in this game, it may as well be all of eternity.

But you push through. You pace yourself. Beth Mead goes down under a challenge; there’s 30 seconds right there. Kim Little rolls the ball up the left touchline to no one: eight seconds. Daphne van Domselaar hesitates over a free-kick, squeezing out those seconds like drops from a towel. You push through because whatever happens in these seven minutes, however those minutes make you suffer, seven minutes is still less than 18 years.

A big club in most of the ways that matter chose to dream of glory but now face a challenge to keep their young talent

Sunderland are Premier League again and they deserve it. They earned the right thanks to a season of hard toil and nerveless endeavour. They sealed the deal by staring down more experienced opponents in this playoff final, expressing an appetite for victory that would not be quenched. Two goals of top-flight quality got them over the line, and delirious communion with their supporters at the final whistle sealed a small moment in history.

They don’t talk much about the romance of the playoffs, they’re just too brutal for that. A year’s work can be overturned in an instant. A collective loss of form, an individual lack of concentration, and years of planning and ambition can be set on fire. The playoffs break hearts more than they make dreams come true and, often, celebrations at Wembley are followed by tears just a year later.

Six of Sunday’s 10 games potentially have something riding on them – testament to the English elite’s enduring rude health

In a perfect world, what would the final day of the Premier League season look like? You’d have two sides going for the title – perhaps three or even four, all playing teams of similar standard and motivation. You’d have maybe six teams contesting the three relegation slots, possibly playing each other, and also a skirmish for European qualification.

Ideally all 10 games would mean something and there should be times over the course of the afternoon when each side have the set of results they need to achieve their aims. And there should definitely be a moment when it becomes apparent that a harassed television presenter has forgotten or overlooked a goal so viewers can mutter furiously at the screen: “For heavens’ sake, that puts Brentford in ninth.”

In the Premier League’s shifting landscape, this struggling team can no longer carry a winger lacking straight-line pace and a goal threat

Jack Grealish is prowling. The wind tousling his hair, the ball at his feet, the way it was always meant to be. In front of him a wall of Bournemouth defenders jumpily stands guard, eyes wide like stags ready to bolt. Grealish shuffles inside, body feinting, hips dancing. You want to know what happens next. What happens next is that the referee blows for full time.

It’s the 97th minute; Grealish came on in the 91st. In that time Bournemouth somehow managed to score a goal. It wasn’t Grealish’s fault, but it did eat up most of the time in which he was hoping to make an impression. No matter. As the game ends, the cameras hunt down a treble-winning City legend making what might well be his final appearance at the Etihad Stadium. Kevin De Bruyne takes his handshakes and his tributes. Grealish slips quietly down the tunnel.

Tales of the unexpected still exist in Scottish football after all. History repeated itself in such wonderful fashion for Aberdeen, denying Celtic the domestic treble widely thought inevitable. As The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen blared out at Hampden Park, the backdrop to moving and euphoric scenes, a 35-year wait for the Scottish Cup had ended.

In 1990, as in 2025, Aberdeen saw off Celtic on penalty kicks. In 1970, as in 2025, they halted Celtic’s clean sweep quest. Celtic’s campaign has been one of highs, especially in Europe, but this will sting for a summer.

• ‘I will say what is in my mind and what is in my heart’

• United’s problems bigger than he first thought

Ruben Amorim will make a public apology to Manchester United fans on the pitch after their final home game of the season, but the head coach admitted he does not know how long it will take the club to challenge at the top of the table again. United face Aston Villa on Sunday to conclude a desperate season without a trophy and potentially in 17th place, but the players will undertake a lap of honour at Old Trafford.

Their last chance of salvaging something from the campaign ended with a dismal performance in the Europa League final on Wednesday, losing 1-0 to Tottenham, ensuring United will not compete in Europe next season.

• Liverpool coach went to see the Boss at Manchester

• ‘At 75, he does three hours on stage with no rest’

Arne Slot believes his Liverpool players can take inspiration from Bruce Springsteen as they aim to repeat the success of winning the Premier League next season. The Dutchman went to see the Boss behind enemy lines in Manchester on Tuesday night to witness a masterclass of a different kind.

Liverpool will be awarded the Premier League trophy by Alan Hansen after their final game of the season against Crystal Palace on Sunday. The next challenge for Slot will come when his players return for pre-season training on 8 July and the Dutchman waits to see if his squad can build on the glory days achieved during his first season in charge.

Charlton’s manager divides opinion but nearly 40,000 fans at the League One playoff final won’t be complaining if he takes them up

Seconds before Charlton secured a place in the League One playoff final Nathan Jones, a born-again Christian, dropped to his knees, clasped his palms and prayed. The fourth official had just told him the game was up, the final whistle imminent. Jones got to his feet, looked to the skies and covered his face. Then, at full time, he crumpled into a shell, face down in the turf of his technical area. The footage went viral.

“People close to me said it was a bit over the top,” he says. “I was just in the moment. It wasn’t fabricated, it wasn’t because the TV cameras were there, because I didn’t realise they were. I wouldn’t say it was an out-of-body experience, but it was an outpouring of emotion, a deflation of all the pressures.”

• Mbappé scores twice in 2-0 win against Real Socidead

• Stuttgart win German Cup; PSG seal domestic treble