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Sonia Bompastor channelled compatriot Édith Piaf, saying she wanted her players “to have no regrets” come the final whistle of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City, and three first-half goals and a relentless performance overturned the two-goal deficit from the first leg.

We have been waiting for Chelsea to move into fifth gear, for a display across 90 minutes reflective of their dominance in all competitions and the talent in the squad, and here Bompastor’s side delivered the gear change when it mattered most. Goals from Sandy Baltimore, Nathalie Björn and Mayra Ramírez saw off City in style to set up a mouthwatering semi-final against the Champions League holders, Barcelona, who earlier dispatched Wolfsburg 10-2 on aggregate.

• Former manager jokes Tuchel aims to ruin England team
• Redknapp briefly puts on German accent at charity event

Harry Redknapp called Thomas Tuchel a German spy and appeared to perform a Nazi salute during a discussion about the England head coach at a charity event.

Redknapp, the former Portsmouth, Tottenham and West Ham manager, was speaking in front of an audience at a London venue last week. The Guardian has seen footage of the 78-year-old’s remarks about Tuchel, which came when he was asked whether England were right to appoint the German.

• Club look at Earl’s Court as possible site for new ground
• Counter-proposal by developers does not include stadium

Chelsea risk missing out on the chance to move to Earl’s Court if they fail to submit a bid for the site quickly enough.

Increasing Stamford Bridge’s 40,343 capacity has been a key issue since the Todd Boehly-Clearlake Capital takeover in 2022 but the difficulty of redeveloping the ground has led the board to look for a new home. It is understood Chelsea have held talks in recent months with various figures who will have a say over the future of the Earl’s Court site.

• Plans could lead to potential American football franchise
• Buying group understood to be led by David Gandler

A US-based consortium is closing in on an £18m majority takeover of Leyton Orient as part of a plan that could lead to an American football franchise being established in east London.

The League One club announced last month that they had entered exclusive negotiations with a potential buyer which are believed to be at an advanced stage.

• Real Madrid players face inquiry for Atlético celebrations
• Rüdiger and Ceballos also under the spotlight

Uefa has opened an investigation into a possible breach of disciplinary regulations by several Real Madrid players at the end of their recent Champions League match at Atlético Madrid. The inquiry centres on allegations of improper conduct by Kylian Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior, Dani Ceballos and Antonio Rüdiger, Uefa revealed on Thursday.

Real Madrid face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the competition on 8 and 16 April. If Uefa’s investigation results in player suspensions, they are likely to affect their availability for that tie.

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Something that goes viral now and again is the particulars of the house sale of someone rich, famous and very possibly lacking in taste. Sure, that saloon bar created in the style of the East End pub off Goodnight Sweetheart felt like a good idea at the time, as did that mirrored master bedroom ceiling adorned in the style of Jeff Koons’ Cicciolina period. How will it sell on the open market? Quartz and pine are very much out, and as for that kitchen island … how much are they going to have to lower the price to get shot? It’s a doer-upper, surely.

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• Striker sustained hip injury for New Zealand
• Nuno Espírito Santo: ‘He has been to a specialist’

Chris Wood will miss Nottingham Forest’s FA Cup quarter-final against Brighton after sustaining an injury with New Zealand, Nuno Espírito Santo has said.

Wood has been in excellent form with 18 goals in the Premier League, where Forest sit third as they close in on Champions League qualification. He scored a hat-trick when Forest thrashed Brighton 7-0 in the league last month.

• Scottish manager might try ‘more Englified’ voice
• He says his passion is mistaken for aggression by referees

The Exeter manager, Gary Caldwell, has suggested he needs to become more “Englified” after he blamed his Scottish accent for being sent off for the second time this season.

The 42-year-old former Celtic and Hibernian captain was dismissed towards the end of Exeter’s goalless League One draw against Lincoln last Saturday. The Football Association charged Caldwell with misconduct on Thursday.

• Summer window will open early from 1-10 June
• It will then reopen on 16 June and close on 1 September

The Premier League has confirmed it will have two transfer windows this summer due to “exceptional” circumstances surrounding the Club World Cup.

The first transfer window will open early, and run between Sunday 1 June and Tuesday 10 June. It will then close briefly before reopening on Monday 16 June. The second transfer window will run as normal before closing on Monday 1 September.

Barcelona remained on course for a third straight Women’s Champions League title after routing Wolfsburg 6-1 in the second leg of their quarter-final.

Salma Paralluelo and Clàudia Pina each scored twice as Barcelona reached the semi-finals 10-2 on aggregate. Barça have scored a total of 35 goals in eight games in the competition this season.

Lauren James and Mayra Ramírez shine in a convincing Chelsea display but bigger tests lie ahead

Do Chelsea get it done? You might as well ask in what direction the apple falls from the tree. There is an inevitability to them here, an infallible logic to their challenges and their combinations and their fighting and their running, a sense that the natural order of the universe is simply reasserting itself.

As it turned out the last half-hour at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday was a kind of omen, a trailer for the feature presentation. Here the intensity so lacking in the first leg in Manchester was there from the start. By half-time City are red-faced, not out of embarrassment  but exhaustion, as if not just the energy but the simple resolve has been drained from them. It’s three-nil, and to be quite honest Chelsea left a few more out there.

Talismanic strikers hold the key as teams seek a place at Wembley in the most open FA Cup race for years

For seven of the eight clubs left in the competition, this year’s FA Cup represents a historic opportunity. Four of the quarter-finalists – Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Brighton – have never won the Cup, while Nottingham Forest (1959), Aston Villa (1957) and Preston (1938) last lifted the trophy before the advent of colour television. With the international break ending and midweek league fixtures coming for every team, there will be a temptation to rotate starters and rest tired legs. Still, the delirious scenes at Wembley as Newcastle ended their trophy drought in the Carabao Cup final should be on every manager’s mind. With Manchester City, the tentative favourites, in an usually vulnerable state, this is the most open race the FA Cup has delivered in years, with a prize not to be taken for granted. NMc

Fulham v Crystal Palace, Saturday 12.15pm GMT

Brighton v Nottingham Forest, Saturday 5.15pm GMT

Preston v Aston Villa, Sunday 1.30pm BST

Bournemouth v Manchester City, 4.30pm BST

This season’s FA Cup has thrown up plenty of upsets, but there are more fairytales being written on the continent

If you’re looking for cup magic, nowhere can match the Coupe de France in recent years. In the past three decades, Guingamp, in 2009, may be the only second-tier winners but 10 teams from outside Ligue 1 have reached the final since 2006, and five of those were from the third tier or lower. There could be another this year, with Cannes, who play in France’s regionalised fourth tier, making it to the final four. They have played eight matches to get this far without facing a top-flight side, but have dispatched three Ligue 2 teams – Grenoble, Lorient and Guingamp – at home.

I thought: new football boots, new me, but it didn’t work out … and then a special edition of my favourites came on the market

There is something indescribably beautiful about finding a pair of football boots that fit you perfectly. It is like Cinderella’s glass slippers – your foot just slides in, the instep and arches ensconced in the cushioning – or putting Excalibur back in the stone. Until you go out on the pitch, anything is possible.

That boot for me is the Puma King. To be clear, this isn’t an advertorial – Herr Puma hasn’t given me a brown envelope, or a free pair. They are just the boots that fit. If I had slightly narrower feet and there’s no doubt I would be in the pocket of big Copa Mundial.

The Denmark striker – who played for the Chelsea, Fulham and Arsenal youth teams – is thriving at Monaco

By Get French Football News

“We understood that if we didn’t take the decision in the winter, in the summer, it would potentially be too late,” says Monaco CEO Thiago Scuro. There was a sense of “now or never” about the signing of Mika Biereth from Sturm Graz in January and, with the Danish international scoring 11 goals in his first nine Ligue 1 games, it is certainly an opportunity the club are happy they seized.

That “now or never” feeling characterises Biereth’s whole career. “He had the bravery to go to Scotland, then Austria and now France and that is what shows he wants to be the best. He has to be playing to prove that,” says his mentor, Ian Wright. Biereth has grasped every chance he has been given along a path that has led him away from Arsenal and into Monaco’s grateful arms.

Rebuild job was always waiting for Arne Slot and expected exit of homegrown star to Real Madrid marks its start

To make an end is to make a beginning: the end is where we start. Wise words there from TS Eliot, who, to be fair, never had to rebuild a high-end Premier League team while also dealing with closing out a title race, natural era-wastage, and losing your most successful homegrown player since the glory days of Phil Thompson waving the European Cup around in the pub and all that.

For Liverpool supporters it seems likely the next month will bring a wildly varying emotional register. Departures and farewells. Winning the league in front of actual non-quarantined humans. The sense, even through the veil of commemorative red smoke, that the team that got you here are finally starting to become something else. Spring is always a time of reckoning up in football, April the cruellest month, all new shoots and final blooms, memories and desires, cheers but also sometimes jeers. So yeah. Let’s see how that pans out for the lads.

• Manager thanks crowd for giving team ‘energy’
• Arsenal face ex-manager in Champions League semi

Renée Slegers praised her Arsenal players for turning theory into action after they overturned a two-goal first‑leg deficit against Real Madrid to roar into the Champions League semi-finals with a 3-0 home victory.

“The result is a credit to everyone, staff and players,” Slegers, the Arsenal manager, said. “We’ve worked incredibly hard to prepare for this game.

And on-again, off-again trade war and threats from the US toward both of its co-hosts leave fans and teams in a tough position

The cover of the bid book for the 2026 World Cup submitted to Fifa by the United States, Mexico and Canada in April of 2017 has not aged well.

“UNITY,” the front page bellowed in a huge font.

On 19 November 1969, the Brazil legend sparked wild celebrations with the 1,000th goal of his career – but it may have been scored five days earlier

It was 14 November 1969. For the world’s greatest player, it wasn’t the best penalty. More an untidy scuff into the bottom corner. But it was enough for Pelé and his Santos team to open the scoring in a 3-0 friendly win over lowly Botafogo da Paraiba. More importantly, it marked the great man’s 999th senior goal. Or did it?

Five days later, Santos travelled to Rio de Janeiro to face Vasco da Gama in a cup game and it seemed as if the entire nation was jammed into the cavernous Maracanã to witness a piece of football history. Despite a tropical rainstorm, every TV station, radio network and newspaper elbowed their way along the touchline waiting for the magic moment to happen.

Brazilian followed her heart with a move across the Atlantic to the WSL in January and has already had a big impact

Kerolin joined Manchester City from North Carolina Courage in January and last week showed everyone exactly why she made the move. On the biggest stage in European football, the Champions League, the Brazilian produced the performance of her City career so far to help set up a 2-0 quarter-final first leg win against Chelsea.

Kerolin was a constant thorn in Chelsea’s side throughout the game and provided the assist for one of Vivianne Miedema’s two goals to set up a tantalising scoreline before the return leg at Stamford Bridge on Thursday.

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 will be published twice a week from next week.

• Team closer to representing country four years after exile
• Players express frustration at Fifa’s slow progress

Fifa has cleared the way for the exiled Afghanistan women’s national team to represent the country but has been criticised for moving too slowly, four years after players fled the country when the Taliban returned to power.

Football’s global governing body said it was committed to supporting players outside Afghanistan and would organise training camps, provide staff (including qualified coaches and technical and medical staff) and coordinate friendly matches.

Striker is an outspoken talisman who will have to be at his best if national side are to get out of group stage in 2026

Mehdi Taremi was born 10 days after Son Heung-min, in July 1992, but in terms of the global reputations of these Asian attackers, the Iranian striker has consistently lagged much further behind his South Korean counterpart. The Internazionale marksman has, however, been a more effective performer for his national team.

As Son and his teammates huffed and puffed to a 1-1 draw with Jordan on Tuesday – a third successive stalemate in an easier World Cup qualifying group – Taremi scored twice in a 2-2 draw with Uzbekistan to secure a fourth successive World qualification for his country.

Arsenal’s Spanish forward on fighting to win support for women’s football, leaving a successful Barcelona team and the stress of winning the World Cup

When Mariona Caldentey was a student, reading sports science at university, she could see the Camp Nou scoreboard from her bedroom window on the top floor of 63 Travessera de les Corts. On the nights when she and her flatmates didn’t stroll across to the stadium, they would hear goals before they saw them on TV. They played too, becoming league champions, but never imagined themselves over there. “Our reality was Astroturf pitches with no stands,” she recalls.

Yet in April 2022, eight years on, 91,648 people came to watch them, breaking Barcelona’s own world record set a fortnight before. “It all happened so quick; one day we’ll realise what we achieved, all we did for change to come,” she says.

Plus: managers sacked just before cup finals, and teams with goal differences higher than their league position

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“Uzbekistan are playing Kyrgyzstan in a World Cup qualifier this Thursday,” notes Ben Jones. “Is this fixture the highest combined Scrabble score for a pair of Fifa nations? Bosnia and Herzegovina might have something to say, but I’m looking for a combined score from two teams who have actually played each other.”

Uzbekistan (25 Scrabble points) beat Kyrgyzstan (30) 1-0 to close in on a first-ever World Cup qualification – and Ben’s question inspired a flurry of tile-totting emails. Before we dive in, some ground rules. To try and keep things relatively simple, we’ll stick with the country names in English that are used by Fifa. So no long official names eg ‘Kingdom of …’ – and we’re using the English language Scrabble scoring system.

Iran v Laos (last played in 2004) is the lowest Scrabble score for an international fixture, notes Andrew Hastie.

Pete Tomlin suggests Venezuela v Brazil (38pts) as South America’s highest-scoring fixture, and New Zealand v Papua New Guinea (45pts) for Oceania.

Chris Roe adds that in English football, Sheffield Wednesday v Wolverhampton Wanderers is worth 75 points, opening a whole new can of worms.

Our cartoonist on the German’s winning start and the scrutiny that comes with being England’s new head coach

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

Our cartoonist looks at the midfielder’s creative ideas and inspirations that are leading Australia closer to the 2026 World Cup

CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke discusses his two decades at Borussia Dortmund and how his mood is always related to the last result

“If you think back to the creditors’ meeting 20 years ago, then it’s a success that we’re even here today at all,” says the Borussia Dortmund chief executive, Hans-Joachim Watzke.

In March 2005, 444 investors in the Molsiris real-estate fund, which owned 94% of BVB’s Westfalenstadion and had been leasing it back to the club for €17m a year, gathered in a non-descript conference hall at Düsseldorf Airport to vote on a bailout plan to save the financially stricken club from insolvency.

The 25-year-old Canada and Lille striker, one of the game’s most coveted free agents, spoke with the Guardian on the eve of a politically fraught showdown with the US

A Friday night Twitter transfer rumour frenzy is picking up steam. This is the way of things but particularly so on international weeks when the digital cottage industries built around big clubs is extra desperate for something, anything to feed on.

Eight times zones behind, the man whose name and face is all over timelines strolls through a Los Angels hotel lobby, past a phalanx of hyper-online teenage gymnasts with accompanying coaches at check-in and ambles up a staircase. Jonathan David is not in a hurry.

• Substitute Trincão’s double set ups Germany tie
• Spain and France to meet after both win on penalties

Francisco Trincão came off the bench to score twice and Cristiano Ronaldo also found the net as Portugal defeated Denmark 5-2 after extra time for a 5-3 aggregate victory that sent them through to the Nations League semi-finals, where they will face Germany.

With the Danes leading the tie 1-0 thanks to Rasmus Højlund’s goal in Thursday’s first leg in Copenhagen, Ronaldo won and then missed an early penalty before Portugal took the lead on the night in the 38th minute thanks to an own goal from the Denmark and Fulham defender Joachim Andersen.

• Former Bologna coach leaves after just nine months
• Axe follows heavy defeats by Atalanta and Fiorentina

Juventus have sacked Thiago Motta as manager and appointed Igor Tudor as his replacement. The decision comes after Motta guided the club to consecutive heavy defeats in Serie A, losing 4-0 at home to Atalanta and 3-0 at Fiorentina.

Those losses left Juve fifth in the table, 12 points behind the leaders, Inter. The 42-year-old’s side were also surprisingly knocked out of the Champions League in the playoff round by PSV Eindhoven in February. Less than a week later, they exited the Coppa Italia, knocked out by Empoli after a penalty shootout in the quarter-finals.

• Caroline Weir’s late double seals 3-1 win in Liga F clash
• Barcelona’s 10-match winning streak comes to an end

Real Madrid tasted their first ever victory in the women’s clásico on Sunday, beating Barcelona 3-1 in a Liga F clash to end a streak of 18 straight losses to their arch-rivals.

Caroline Weir scored in the 87th minute and again deep into added time to snatch victory for the visitors at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, after Caroline Graham Hansen’s strike in the 67th minute had cancelled out Madrid’s first-half lead from an Alba Redondo goal.

Years after Beckham-mania, fan activism and changes in recruitment strategy secured club’s first MLS Cup since 2014

When the Major League Soccer champions were crowned last December, Lionel Messi was not on the podium. He, Luis Suárez, Sergio Busquets and the rest of the Inter Miami galácticos had been dispatched in the playoffs. Instead, the new kings of US football were the old aristocrats of LA Galaxy, back on top after a 10-year absence, but without a household name in their ranks.

The team that brought you Beckham-mania, staged the Captain America show and gave a number of people Zlatan-itis had retaken the summit of the US club game with a roster of unheralded talent. But the twist was more profound than that: this 180-degree turn on strategy was brought about by fan activism, after supporters went on strike to force the club to change their approach.

That the US was once again bested by Panama showed that this is still a flawed team with ample chance to improve

On the eve of what turned out to be his first loss in a competitive match in charge of the United States men’s national team and the end of his honeymoon with his newish employers, Mauricio Pochettino said something accidentally prescient.

“Football is about timing and it’s about form and the situation of the player,” he said to a room of reporters ahead of the US’s 1-0 loss to Panama.

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

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

Newcastle United beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley Stadium to win the Carabao Cup final. Goals from Dan Burn and Alexander Isak gave Newcastle a two-goal lead before Federico Chiesa scored a late consolation for Liverpool. The Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said: "With such a long wait for a trophy, this will be a day that I'm sure everyone will never forget." More than 32,000 Newcastle fans made the journey to Wembley and they celebrated the victory into the night.

• Eddie Howe ‘will never forget’ day Newcastle broke trophy drought

While Liverpool boss Arne Slot called the team's exit from the Champions League a shock, he took solace in losing to an excellent Paris Saint‑Germain team in a wildly entertaining two-legged tie that needed a penalty shootout to decide the outcome. In what Slot labelled 'the best game of football I've ever been involved in', PSG beat Liverpool 4-1 in a shootout to advance to the quarter-finals, winning Tuesday's second leg at Anfield 1-0 thanks to a goal from Ousmane Dembélé.

• Slot sanguine after Liverpool exit in ‘best game of football I’ve ever been involved in’

Sam Merson, son of the former footballer Paul Merson, scored an 'outrageous' goal for Hanworth Villa against Farnham Town. Merson's goal opened the scoring in the game which ultimately ended 1-1

New head coach must find a way to focus Jude Bellingham and bring Premier League style to international stage

Thomas Tuchel does not have time on his side after opting not to oversee England’s Nations League games in November. He has looked to hit the ground running, just as he did when he won the Champions League four months after joining Chelsea, but building rhythm in international football is not easy. The players are not around for long and some games drift into irrelevance. Tuchel has started with two straightforward wins but neither set the pulse racing. The awkward reality is that qualification lacks jeopardy these days.

Jordan Henderson is a great leader for England. But he has been encouraged and applauded for the very same acts for which minority ethnic players are castigated and stigmatised

How shall I lead thee? Let me count the ways. I lead thee by stepping up and being vocal, around the dressing room, setting standards in training. I lead thee quietly by example, you know, the not-much-of-a-shouter‑and-a-screamer-but-when-he-speaks-people-listen kind. I lead thee by having been there, done that, won everything in the game. I lead thee by never backing down from a challenge. I lead thee by sheer gravitas.

By any of these measures, Jordan Henderson is a leader. He was a leader for Liverpool, raising standards and setting the tone for 12 golden years. He was a leader for the NHS and the LGBTQ+ community off the field. He was still a leader when he left Liverpool and moved to Saudi Arabia in an attempt to create – in his words – “positive change” in the country for his beloved LGBTQ+ constituents.

Defender’s expected transfer will put him alongside Owen and McManaman as Reds unable to resist the Bernabéu

That Liverpool to Real Madrid is a regular trade route will do little to douse the rage Trent Alexander-Arnold’s expected move to the Spanish capital has caused. That Madrid are Liverpool’s nemesis in terms of European Cup/Champions League wins and, in recent years, two finals of that same competition, will hardly sweeten the pill, either.

If Steven Gerrard resisted such temptations, feted forebears and contemporaries were tempted and succumbed. The aristocratic hubris of Madrid has regularly robbed Liverpool of its prime talents. Not just those loved and lost. Jude Bellingham might be two years into his Anfield career by now, such a plan mooted in Liverpool’s front office, only for him to opt for the Bernabéu.

Max Rushden is joined by Philippe Auclair, Robyn Cowen and Will Unwin to wrap up the international break

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On the podcast today; Elis James reports from a hotel bed in North Macedonia as Wales get a late injury-time equaliser. The team wrap up the rest of the international break as Argentina hammer Brazil and what are the implications of countries like Iran qualifying for a tournament in Donald Trump’s America?

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There is no name in football more evocative than that of Braseew, its mere mention conjuring images of brawls, backyard misadventures and jogo bonito (sponsored by Nike). Even José Mourinho, at his most davkanik joyless, was moved to note that “a team without a Brazilian isn’t a team” – though given he said that after signing Fred, still missing crucial penalties for him almost a decade later, perhaps it was part of some dastardly plan of pathological, exhibition self-sabotage.

In the end, there was more repercussion for everything that happened than Spain winning the World Cup. The first title that the national team won, and it was all … well, tarnished” – Arsenal’s Spanish forward Mariona Caldentey tells Sid Lowe about the stress of winning the World Cup, the battle to win support for women’s football and why she left a successful Barcelona team.

Unfortunately the sound card on my big TV has broken but it didn’t stop me enjoying last night’s exciting last minutes of the MK Dons v Walsall clash. A great advertisement for League Two football” – Michael Madders.

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Jamie Spangher and Chris Paouros to discuss a dramatic week for in the women’s game

On this week’s Guardian Women’s Football Weekly: the panel revisit the double header between Manchester City and Chelsea as the two teams went toe-to-toe twice in four days. Vivianne Miedema starred in a Champions League win for City before Chelsea struck back in the WSL. With the two sides preparing to meet again in midweek, the panel assess the balance of power.

It was a mixed week for Arsenal after their Champions League loss to Real Madrid on a poor pitch and a dominant win over Liverpool at the Emirates. Meanwhile, the WSL relegation battle heats up with Leicester edging Brighton and Everton crusing past Palace. Plus, the panel asks Chris Paouros why Tottenham can’t score goals after Spurs faltered away at West Ham.

Max Rushden is joined by Nicky Bandini, Lucy Ward and Paul Watson as Thomas Tuchel maintains his 100% start with England

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On the podcast today; England win another qualifier on the road to the World Cup in 2026. Some critics have been vocal about how dull both games of the Thomas Tuchel era have been but isn’t this just the way they were always destined to go?

Name the players who initially took part in – or tried to stop – the below iconic moments. We’ve provided as much help as possible …

Max Rushden is joined by Jonathan Wilson, Lars Sivertsen and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan as they preview the international break

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On the podcast today; the Thomas Tuchel era begins. What can we expect? What exactly is Jordan Henderson’s role and how quickly can we judge the job the new head coach is doing.

Forward became youngest player to appear in NWSL’s regular season against Seattle – and Gotham say she is ready

Over the weekend the National Women’s Soccer League started its 13th regular season, marking the 19th year of top-flight women’s soccer in the US (together with the WPS and WUSA that came before it). As is typical for an ever-expanding, aspirational league that still sees itself as a “scrappy startup”, the new year set off with myriad changes, milestones, and hopes for another historic year. There are certainly signs they’ll get that.

Amid the early indications of the same dominant teams returning, marquee stars scoring again and a competition staying fierce across the table, the opening weekend featured one notable benchmark that is worth extra consideration: a 14-year-old debutant for Gotham.

This is an extract from our free weekly email, Moving the Goalposts. To get the full edition, visit this page and follow the instructions.

Plus: most career goals without a trophy, free-kicks from downtown and foreign-born scorers in Europe

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“In case you haven’t heard, it’s been quite the week for those associated with Newcastle United but who are the big* teams that haven’t won a major trophy for at least 10 years?” asks Richard Goss (*desperately requires clarification).

“I’ve done the research on teams that have won a European trophy,” responds our very own Rob Smyth. “Here, that means a European Cup/Champions League, Cup Winners’ Cup, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, Uefa Cup, Europa League, or Conference League (Intertoto Cup, alas, does not qualify). Obviously that means missing out some big clubs such as Wolves – one could maybe include them on the grounds that they beat Honved in a game that helped to catalyse the creation of the European Cup. But obviously you can keep going with this – Sunderland, Sheffield Wednesday, Huddersfield, also miss out. To many people, they are all big clubs.

11 years Aberdeen (League Cup, 2013-14)
13 Marseille (Coupe de la Ligue, 2011-12)
14 Schalke (DFB-Pokal, 2010-11)
16 Werder Bremen (DFB-Pokal, 2008-09)
17 Tottenham Hotspur (League Cup, 2007-08)
21 Real Zaragoza (Copa del Rey, 2003-04)
23 Parma (Coppa Italia, 2001-02)
24 Fiorentina (Coppa Italia, 2000-01)
29 Aston Villa (League Cup, 1995-96)
30 Mönchengladbach (DFB-Pokal, 1994-95); Everton (FA Cup, 1994-95)
31 Sampdoria (Coppa Italia, 1993-94)
33 Leeds United (Division One, 1991-92)
35 Nottingham Forest (League Cup, 1989-90)
38 Hamburg (DFB-Pokal, 1986-87)
42 FC Magdeburg (FDBG-Pokal, 1982-83)
44 Ipswich Town (Uefa Cup, 1980-81)

The former Manchester City and Real Madrid defender, who is now at Flamengo, on growing up and his attempt to make sport more humane

Few players have had such a diverse and successful career as Danilo. During 13 years in Europe he won league titles in every country he played in – Portugal, Spain, England and Italy – and is now back in Brazil with Flamengo, chasing more trophies and a place in Brazil’s 2026 World Cup squad.

The 33-year-old stands out off the pitch too, quitting social media twice for a sustained period over its toxicity, looking back at his younger self wondering why he bought a car that he used once a year and wanting to study psychology when he finishes his playing career rather than pursuing a job in coaching.

In a special mailbag edition of our newsletter, Jonathan Wilson answers your questions on playmaker keepers, weird player huddles and Declan Rice

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As we enter a tactical reaction period to structured pressing; do you think we’ll see the development of the “Quarterback Keeper?” Will the Pep Guardiolas of the world have midfielders breaking from the back running post patterns while fullbacks run a curl?
– David

I’ve no idea what those terms mean but I assume they’re from American football? If so, I wouldn’t fixate on them; while it’s certainly possible for sports to draw inspiration from each other, they very rarely map precisely on to each other. Will players start moving in different patterns to now? Possibly, but football is 150 years old; there is very little new under the sun.

This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@theguardian.com, and he’ll answer the best in a future edition

From Brentford to the NBA, experts highlight tackling ‘unhealthy habits’ around sleep for athletes to reach their peak

When it comes to optimal performance, football clubs analyse diet, physiology and a plethora of minute details to ensure players have the best chance of peaking at the right time. One area that may merit greater focus is sleep.

Insomnia and other sleep issues are prevalent across British society. It is estimated that 30% of the population do not enjoy good quality rest but in elite athletes that figure rises to more than 50%.

Former England manager may not be right about everything but he remains a good man, fulfilling a role others have vacated

Say what you like, and the haters – we know this about the haters – will continue to hate, are in effect defined by their hating. But Gareth Southgate has now finally delivered on the biggest stage of all.

This is of course a reference to the stage at Senate House library, venue for Big Gate’s big Dimbleby lecture, recorded in front of an audience of silent, rapt, nodding people, and broadcast this week on the BBC. This is what elite big-lecture managers do. They seize the moment. They shut out the noise. Gareth at the Dimbleby? Absolutely nailed it.

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
• Subscribe now to our free women’s football newsletter

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