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The rout anticipated at Parc des Princes did not materialise, at least not in terms of the scoreline, but the gulf in quality between Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool was laid bare all the same. Arne Slot’s side leave Paris with a scintilla of hope, having arrived with none, and will need to conjure a stunning Anfield recovery next Tuesday just to lay a glove on European champions worthy of the name.

A deflected strike from Désiré Doué plus a superb second from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave the holders a deserved advantage in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final. It should have been much more. Ousmane Dembélé missed a hat-trick of openings, striking the outside of a post with his final effort, Nuno Mendes and Doué squandered gilt-edged chances and Liverpool survived two penalty claims. A fine display from visiting goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili also helped keep the margin of defeat respectful.

When the final whistle went, the man in black quietly disappeared out of sight and set off running up the tunnel. For the first time since he took over at Atlético Madrid 15 long years ago, Diego Simeone had led his team to a victory at the Camp Nou, keeping alive his dream of taking them back to a European Cup final. In 2014 and 2016 Atlético knocked out Barcelona en route to Lisbon and Milan and while there is much to be done in at the Metropolitano in six days’ time, they have put themselves in a superb position to do so again.

Sometimes, everything feels like it turns on a single moment and this was one of those times. A run from Simeone’s son, Giuliano, just before half-time was that moment. Barcelona had been on top at that point but now he was away, heading towards the area, only to be tripped by Pau Cubarsí, earning the defender a red card and Atletico a free-kick from which Julián Alvarez curled in a wonderful strike. A goal down and a man down, there was no way back for Barcelona, although they gave everything, Lamine Yamal especially; instead, there was a second for Alexander Sørloth, the advantage theirs.

• Italian side defeated Roma in Europa League last 16

• Emery has won competition four times as a manager

Unai Emery has warned his Aston Villa side to respect Bologna, and the Europa League itself, if they are to continue their progress in the competition with victory over their Italian opponents.

Describing the Serie A side as “a winner team”, Emery said Villa could not be considered favourites for this quarter-final as he sought to ensure his players’ heads are in the game following the extended international break that means Villa haven’t played a competitive match since 22 March.

• Win over Sporting comes after back-to-back cup defeats

• ‘It’s been tough but that’s the beauty of football’

After everything Riccardo Calafiori has been through over the past couple of weeks, Tuesday night was exactly what he needed. The Italy defender was still buzzing from Kai Havertz’s late winning goal against Sporting in the first leg of Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final when he reflected on a fortnight during which his club suffered successive defeats either side of the Azzurri again failing to qualify for the World Cup.

“It’s been tough, but that is the beauty of football: it is 100% better now,” Calafiori said, before reflecting first on Saturday’s shock FA Cup loss at Southampton, then on the wider pain of the period. “This chance to play three days later rather than just stay home and think about it [was welcome]. Of course I’m really disappointed, but I’ve got a lot to play for with Arsenal.”

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While Arsenal were busy Arsenaling their way to a worthy but dull Bigger Cup quarter-final first leg win at Sporting on Tuesday, the players of Real Madrid and Bayern Munich released the collective handbrake and performed many high-speed donuts, wheel spins and Rockfords as a pleasing counterpoint to the careful mirror-signal-manoeuvring on display at Lisbon’s Estádio José Alvalade. Like a couple of stolen supercars racing each other around a shopping mall in The Fast and the Furious: Bicester Village, these two European heavyweights massively committed to the bit, not unlike a daily football email bogged down in a laboured motoring metaphor. “When I see the chances we had, that has to give us confidence that we can score more goals,” whooped Vincent Kompany following a hi-octane Bernabéu white-knuckle ride from which his team emerged deserving winners, even if it was their 40-year-old goalkeeper who took home the gong for player of the match.

A doff of the Romanian cap to the great Mircea Lucescu. As a player, he captained his national team against World Cup holders England and eventual World Cup winners Brazil at the tournament in 1970, after which Pelé wanted to exchange shirts with him. And, as a manager, apart from all his domestic success, he was the first manager to get Romania to qualify for the Euros in 1984 and nearly led a poor Romania team to the World Cup in 2026, a couple of weeks ago, while very sick. What a football man, what a tremendous football man …” – Noble Francis.

Interesting to see the report about Nike’s new Geopolitics World Cup kits bunching up ridiculously at the shoulder seams. You never got problems like that back in my day, principally because, on the massively oversized kits of the 90s, the shoulder seam was positioned halfway down the arm. The tendency of these kits to make even professional athletes look like Sunday pub league players is exemplified by the photo of Blackburn’s relegated 1999 team in today’s edition of The Knowledge – an effect amplified by the fact one of them seems to have been playing in tracksuit bottoms, and another in sliders” – Phil Taverner.

After being emotionally blackmailed into running the LLHM by my friend and broadcasting colleague Max Rushden, I began training in late October. Having done little or no exercise beyond nimbly climbing on and off bar stools for almost 30 years, I was heroically unfit and literally couldn’t jog 100 metres without stopping to catch my breath. Reader – I had bitten off more than I could chew. At the start line I will be 53 years old and I remain overweight despite all my training. I still drink too much and have resigned myself to the fact that I won’t win the race, but I plan to enjoy a unique day. If you’d like to add to the already huge sum raised, every little helps. It would be absolutely magic to hit the £60,000 mark before race day. With that in mind, please give anything you can, safe in the knowledge that I’ll be enduring a world of pain to try to alleviate that of that experienced by so many wonderful and brave kids.” Donate here.

• Sanction for financial breach has led to a relegation fight

• Leicester now ‘fully focused’ on final five games of season

Leicester have announced defeat in their appeal against a six-point deduction for breaching English Football League financial rules. An independent commission imposed the sanction on Leicester in February, which dropped the club from 17th to 20th in the Championship.

They appealed against the decision and have subsequently fallen to 22nd, a point adrift of safety with five fixtures remaining. It is very possible the club, currently managed by Gary Rowett, could be relegated to League One a decade after winning the Premier League.

The sportswear giant says it’s aware of the strange seam on some of the new shirts, and is looking into how to address it

When Nike rolled out its collection of World Cup kits in late March, fans and pundits alike largely approved. The US men’s national team got arguably their most distinctive pair of shirts in decades, while other federations – France, England, Canada and Uruguay among them – earned strong reviews.

Over the last international break, when players took the field in the kits for the first time, many fans couldn’t help but become fixated on one singular detail of the new shirts: a somewhat unsightly bulge along the shoulder seam.

Plus: teams who went out of Europe without losing a game, and rare competitive meetings

• Mail us with your questions and answers

“What’s the furthest a team has gone in Europe while being relegated in the same season?” wonders Matt Reilly.

This question was probably asked in reference to Tottenham, who were still in the Champions League at the time, but it’s still relevant to some of this year’s quarter-finalists. Nottingham Forest are three points above the relegation places in the Premier League; Fiorentina only have a five-point cushion in Serie A.

Real Zaragoza 2001-02, first round; 2007-08, first round

Alavés 2002-03, second round

Celta Vigo 2006-07, last 16

Real Zaragoza 2007-08, first round

Real Betis 2013-14, last 16

Espanyol 2019-20, last 32

Blackburn Rovers 1998-99, Uefa Cup first round

Bradford City 2000-01, Intertoto semi-final

Ipswich Town 2001-02, Uefa Cup third round

Ruda Hvezda Brno 1960-61, Cup Winners’ Cup

Dynamo Zilina 1961-62, Cup Winners’ Cup

Espanyol 1961-62. Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Napoli 1962-63, Cup Winners’ Cup

Bayern Munich 1962-63, Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

1. FC Magdeburg 1965-66, Cup Winners’ Cup

Lyn 1968-69, Cup Winners’ Cup

Beroe Stara Zagora 1973-74, Cup Winners’ Cup

Real Betis 1977-78, Cup Winners’ Cup

Bologna 1990-91, Uefa Cup

First round Artmedia Bratislavia (2-2 away, 3-1 home)

Group stage Sparta Prague (2-0 away), Zulte Waregem (6-2 home), Ajax (2-0 away), Austria Wien (1-0 home)

Last 32 Livorno (2-1 away, 2-0 home)

Last 16 Maccabi Haifa (0-0 away, 4-0 home)

Quarter-final Benfica (3-2 home, 0-0 away)

Semi-final Werder Bremen (3-0 home, 2-1 away)

Final Sevilla 2-2 (1-3 pens)

• WSL academy teams would play in third tier

• Previous FA expansion plan was withdrawn last year

Plans to include four Women’s Super League academy sides in the third tier of the English women’s football pyramid from 2027 have been criticised as an idea based around “repackaged B teams” and received a mixed reaction from club staff and supporters.

The changes to the Women’s National League, put forward by the Football Association, would also introduce a mid-season split similar to that used in Scotland, as well as a potential investment package of about £1m and enhancements to legal and medical support in the loan system. They have not yet been formally ratified, but consultations are continuing.

The world of soccer throws up no shortage of questions. Today, Graham Ruthven endeavors to answer three of them

There was a time when settling on the best male soccer player in the world was easy. Between 2008 and 2023, the answer was almost exclusively Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. Luka Modrić and Karim Benzema disrupted the pair’s Ballon d’Or duopoly in 2018 and 2022, respectively, but the ballot during that period generally only had two names on it.

Mikel Arteta discovered that playing your best goalkeeper can be a good idea as his side recovered from cup exits with late win in Lisbon

There was a temptation to fixate on the moment when Arsenal won this game with a goal that could change their season. Mikel Arteta had urged his players not to panic, not to sink away with hopes of a quadruple long gone, and Kai Havertz got the memo. Gabriel Martinelli crossed from the left and, as the ball dropped, Havertz caught the Sporting defence napping at last, controlled with a feathery touch, took a breath and rolled a finish past Rui Silva to give Arsenal victory in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

It had been a slog at Estádio José Alvalade. Arsenal attempted 488 passes and it was not until the first of two added minutes that they made one really count. Before then it was a grind. Arsenal were often constipated in open play. Although they controlled the game, at least until allowing it to become ragged during a fraught finale, there were long spells when the best the Premier League leaders offered was set-piece wrestling. Noni Madueke, mostly ineffective as he deputised for Bukayo Saka on the right wing, curled an early corner against the bar. Viktor Gyökeres was recorded as being on the pitch. Leandro Trossard tried to score from 40 yards. Leandro Trossard did not score from 40 yards.

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Southampton continued their Championship charge as they thrashed Wrexham 5-1 to replace the Welsh side in the playoff places.

Fuelled by their stunning weekend FA Cup quarter-final triumph over Arsenal, Tonda Eckert’s in-form side flew out of the traps at Stōk Cae Ras with early goals from Kuryu Matsuki and Flynn Downes, having already hit the woodwork twice.

“This is why you guys come to these games,” Vincent Kompany had said, and especially here. For the quality, the chaos and the goals, the edge, the drama and the history that invades every moment. Another wild Champions League night had this place believing in another crazy comeback, the noise level rising towards what appeared destined to be one, last thunderous crescendo as Real Madrid rose again and went for their biggest European rivals. In the end, though, Bayern Munich held on for a win that sets up another, definitive battle at the Allianz Arena next week.

Strikes from Luis Díaz and Harry Kane either side of half-time had given Bayern a 2-0 lead, underlining an incontestable authority in the opening hour. But a Kylian Mbappé goal 16 minutes from the end began a rebellion that could have left the tie on even more of a knife edge than it is, Madrid finding chances for a draw or even another victory. They also found Manuel Neuer rolling back the years, aged 40, with nine saves.

• Former footballer denies assault in north-west England

• Barton to remain in custody with trial set for 1 September

Joey Barton has denied assaulting a man outside a golf club in north-west England. The 43-year-old former Manchester City and Newcastle midfielder appeared via video link from Liverpool prison for the plea hearing at Liverpool crown court.

He pleaded not guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to Kevin Lynch on 8 March. Barton’s co-defendant, Gary O’Grady, was not asked to enter a plea to the charge on Tuesday.

• Midfielder suspended by club for remarks on future

• Argentinian remains part of leadership group at club

Chelsea are open to Enzo Fernández captaining the side again this season and hope to reintegrate the midfielder after his comments over his future. Fernández, who is on Real Madrid’s shortlist as they look to revamp their midfield, was dropped after whipping up a storm during last month’s international break.

The Argentina international was not particularly subtle when he mentioned Madrid as the European city in which he would most like to live and praised the former Real Madrid midfielders Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. He also angered Chelsea by questioning the departure of Enzo Maresca, who was replaced by Liam Rosenior as head coach in January.

• Conte says he should be considered to succeed Gattuso

• Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri also linked with role

Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, has said he would not stand in Antonio Conte’s way if the coach asked to take the vacant Italy job, after Conte said he ought to be under consideration to succeed Gennaro Gattuso.

Gattuso resigned as the Azzurri’s coach on Friday after Italy failed to reach the World Cup for a third straight time. Conte’s deal at Napoli runs until 2027 and the Italian champions are seven points off the Serie A leaders, Inter, with seven matches remaining.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini and Archie Rhind-Tutt as Arsenal get a late winner against Sporting and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich play out a belter at the Bernabéu

On the podcast today: a vital win for Arsenal in the Champions League. Having lost their previous two Arsenal had to find a way and in injury time Gabriel Martinelli drew the defence and Kai Havertz slotted home.

Elsewhere, a much better game at the Bernabéu. Should Bayern have put it to bed? Trent Alexander-Arnold’s perfect ball for Kylian Mbappé means the tie remains alive.

Plus, there’s a big Easter of Football League action to look back on, a salute to Aaron Ramsey and your questions answered.

Winger explains her rapid ascent from shy 16-year-old Barça signing to a record-breaking hero

At 19 years, eight months and 12 days Vicky López is a history maker, record breaker and Barcelona hero. The Spaniard has played more than 120 matches for the club of her dreams, scoring 32 goals along the way.

López signed in July 2022 at 16, making her first-team debut that season under Jonatan Giráldez and leaving no doubt she belongs among the best. No Barcelona player, male or female, has made their Camp Nou, Champions League or el clásico debut as young as López. The following season she became the club’s youngest goalscorer in el clásico.

Our cartoonist on humiliating exits for Arsenal and Liverpool, low-hanging fruit and Hugo Ekitike’s shirt swap

• Buy this cartoon here | His favourites from 2025

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Petr Vlachovsky’s non-contact sexual abuse has had long-term effects and could finally be the catalyst for safeguarding policy change for women and girls in the sport

Kristyna Janku answered the phone to a police officer, not sure what she was going to hear. She had heard the rumours, the gossip, and was not sure what was true and what was not.

The defender’s former coach Petr Vlachovsky, who coached women and girls at FC Slovacko for almost 15 years and was once voted the best women’s football coach in the Czech Republic, had been arrested and she was about to find out why.

Habib Beye was given the Marseille job as he knows the club but his style is smothering the team’s attacking flair

By Get French Football News

Habib Beye quoted Pape Diouf, the late former Marseille president, when he was appointed as the club’s new manager in February, saying: “Pape Diouf, who I considered my spiritual father, always told me: ‘When the fire burns in Marseille, sometimes you have to let it burn because it will go out on its own.’ This club brings you immense emotions but from time to time you have to be able to stay cool, calm, and collected.”

The club was ablaze when Roberto De Zerbi’s tumultuous reign came to an end. His exit heralded a wave of fan discontent and incited change in the boardroom. Beye spoke about letting the fire burn out, but he would have been better advised to keep the flame alive. Under the Italian, Marseille were imperfect and inconsistent, but capable of brilliance. He played to the strengths in the squad. The attack was scintillating at times; the problem was the goals they shipped at the other end. Beye has not played to his squad’s strengths. Instead, his radical departure from his predecessor’s style has only accentuated Marseille’s weaknesses.

Two ‘factory’ teams of German football proved that there is plenty at stake in the Bundesliga after a 6-3 win for Leverkusen

They said nobody cared enough for the stakes to be this high. If discussion over the destination of the title (and second place for that matter) has been and gone, there is plenty more in the Bundesliga tank and for Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg, two clubs who will never hold universal approval despite producing teams to thrill us and break the Bayern monopoly in the last two decades, that is truer than for most.

Before RB Leipzig were around to corral all the disapproval of German supporters at large, there was El Plastico. As the two ‘factory’ teams of German football, grown from Bayer and Volkswagen respectively rather than from a fanbase, Leverkusen and Wolfsburg have endured a lifetime of rival fans looking down their noses at them, judging them as not organic or real enough.

Conversely this fixture, if derided by some, has produced a string of memorable games; the 5-4 win for Wolfsburg at the Bay Arena in 2015 during current coach Dieter Hecking’s successful first spell, sealed by Bas Dost’s four goals, or the typically later-than-late Leverkusen 4-3 in September 2024 dusted by Victor Boniface’s stoppage-time winner. So when Bild’s headline called this “the wildest plastico of all time,” they really did mean it was something special.

Tension and huge potential consequences can often make for a stilted, cautious spectacle. Not here. For Wolfsburg, there was an element of predictability in that it was a 20th successive game without a clean sheet – and they didn’t look like keeping one for an instant. Still, the record – the worst defensive run in the club’s history since a previous Hecking side did the same in 2014 – wouldn’t have mattered at all had Die Wölfe held the 3-1 lead with which they approached half-time, having seemingly found some nerve to help their desperate situation at the bottom of the table.

In that first half, Hecking would have been delighted. If there had been a thick volume of hard luck stories over recent weeks, Wolfsburg had no time to listen to them here. After Jonas Wind’s opener, they were unhappy with the penalty awarded to Leverkusen when Joakim Mæhle feathered a slight touch on Ibrahim Maza in the penalty area – converted for the hosts by Alejandro Grimaldo – but literally seconds later Mæhle himself stepped up to blast Wolfsburg back in front with a rocket from long range. When Christian Eriksen converted a Wolfsburg penalty shortly after it was 3-1 and finally the strugglers were showing real fortitude. There was light, at last, at the end of the tunnel.

Instead, the inevitable Grimaldo brought Leverkusen back into the match by finishing a smart move just before half-time, enabling his coach, Kasper Hjulmand, to make the changes at the break to turn the match, and perhaps to change his own fate at the helm. For if we look at Wolfsburg’s moment of crisis, the home side were facing one at 3-1 down. “A change of coach is not a scenario we are considering,” Leverkusen’s sporting director, Simon Rolfes, had said before the game but losing at home to a team in the bottom two – to severely compromise Die Werkself’s chances of a return to the Champions League – would have sorely tested that stance. It wouldn’t have been the first time Rolfes has been forced into an abrupt pivot this season.

That, incidentally, is what Hjulmand used to really change the momentum; taking off Equi Fernández, bringing on Patrik Schick to join Christian Kofane up front and really attacking in a season where Leverkusen have often looked too tentative. Schick equalised from another spot-kick before Edmund Tapsoba put the hosts in front. The excellent Maza added another and substitute Malik Tillman made it six after a brilliant slalom along the byline by Ernest Poku.

From exposed anxieties to unexpected heroes, this weekend’s cup contests papered over a weird three-week Premier League break

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The soccer calendar has been particularly quirky this year. There’s always an international break in March, but because this year’s edition involved World Cup qualifying playoffs, most games were scheduled for the Thursday and the Tuesday, which meant there was very little soccer played over the weekend; barely even a smattering of friendlies.

For a Saturday in early spring, it all felt very weird; it was a day for pacing the floors, wondering how on earth people who don’t like soccer fill the time. And with the Carabao Cup final falling the previous Sunday, and the FA Cup sixth round this weekend, that has meant a three-week hiatus in the title race. Which has been disorienting and, perhaps, not entirely to Arsenal’s benefit.

• Bucharest hospital confirms his death after heart attack

• Coach led team to Euro 84 and won multiple club titles

Mircea Lucescu, the Romanian football great who was a serial trophy winner as a player and a coach, has died aged 80.

Lucescu’s death was confirmed by Bucharest university emergency hospital on Tuesday. He had been taken to hospital after reportedly having a heart attack on Friday morning.

• Derby striker was stretchered off after awkward landing

• 25-year-old had scored for US in friendly v Belgium

US national team striker Patrick Agyemang will miss this summer’s World Cup after suffering a “serious” achilles tendon injury during Derby County’s 2-0 win over Stoke City on Monday, the club said.

The 25-year-old, who is in his first season at Derby, rose to settle a ball in the 37th minute and landed awkwardly. Play stopped for five minutes before he was stretchered off by medical staff.

• PSV hold 17-point lead to clinch title with five games left

• Inter edge towards winning Serie A with Roma thrashing

PSV Eindhoven were crowned on Sunday as Dutch champions for the 27th time, with five matches left of the season, after second-placed Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Volendam.

PSV hold an unassailable 17-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from successive defeats with a 4-3 victory against Utrecht on Saturday.

Targeted after Italy’s failure and for his dive in the Derby d’Italia, Alessandro Bastoni returned to form against Roma

Italy were too afraid to play a World Cup qualifying playoff at San Siro, hosting their semi-final against Northern Ireland in Bergamo instead. Gennaro Gattuso explained it as a choice to protect his players, noting that the nation’s biggest football stadium was home to two rival clubs – Milan and Internazionale – and suggesting this dynamic might lead fans there to turn more quickly on players who struggled.

Instead, on Sunday, it was San Siro that offered comfort to one who has become the scapegoat for yet another collective failure. Italy made it past Northern Ireland only to lose to Bosnia on penalties in Zenica. Alessandro Bastoni’s first-half red card, at a time when his country were winning 1-0, was a pivotal moment in the game and perhaps his entire career.

The quadruple dream may be dead but Arsenal are now just four games from achieving an unprecedented nonruple

And then there were two. As the clock ticked down at St Mary’s Stadium on Saturday night even the stray yellow balloons on the pitch had begun to take on a weirdly mocking quality.

The balloons were almost too much, like metaphors-for-hire in an arthouse film, popping up in shot every time Arsenal tried to transform another spell of mechanical pressure into creative, incisive football. Your dreams? Your dreams are just air inside a polymer shell. Your dreams are a squeaky veneer. Even when you try to take agency over your dreams, or at least stamp on them before a set piece, they will scoot away and bobble about annoyingly near the corner flag.

Most of what has gone wrong this season can be put down to poor recruitment – but the manager must share the blame

Even when the fixture list was revealed last summer, it was perhaps predictable that the middle of March would represent the crisis point for Newcastle. If they had reached the Champions League quarter-finals and won the Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park, a lot of other frustrations could have been forgotten. Even better, that game against Sunderland would have had to be postponed had Newcastle reached a third Carabao Cup final since 2023.

Those days of celebration a year ago feel a long time ago now, but the mood could easily have been very different. Newcastle were the better side in the home leg against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League. Only the concession of a daft late penalty denied them victory and they were a persistent threat on the break in the first half of the away leg. Only in the second half of the second leg did the game get away from them: a 7-2 defeat made the difference between the sides seem much greater than it actually was.

Brighton fans have fond memories of the Italian, hailed as a genius by rivals, but his time on the south coast went sour

Things may have ended on a sour note but there is a reason why a giant picture of a beaming Roberto De Zerbi adorns the wall outside the home dressing room at the Amex Stadium. It was taken in 2023 at the end of the Italian’s first season at Brighton after he had led the club to sixth in the Premier League – their highest finish – and taken them into Europe for the first time.

Three years later, memories of De Zerbi remain strong among Brighton supporters. It is a legacy that Fabian Hürzeler has found hard to emulate since succeeding De Zerbi, who fell out with the club’s owner, Tony Bloom, over squad recruitment.

Roberto Baggio proposed an overhaul of talent pathway in 2011 but it was never acted on and the national team’s approach now is just not working

The decline of Italy’s footballing expectations can be read in the headlines that greeted their third consecutive failure to qualify for a men’s World Cup. When the Azzurri lost their playoff against Sweden in November 2017, La Gazzetta dello Sport defined it as “The End” and an “Apocalypse”. After defeat by North Macedonia in 2022, Il Corriere dello Sport saw a country sinking “Into Hell”.

On Wednesday both newspapers led coverage of elimination by Bosnia and Herzegovina with a simpler, perhaps sadder, “Tutti A Casa” – Everybody Go Home. What else is there left to say? Italians understood long ago that 2018 was not some aberration but the continuation of a trend, their team having failed to reach the tournament’s knockout stage in 2010 or 2014.

Sublime stint at Bayern Munich has made home audiences appreciate a man who isn’t flash or twinkly but is his country’s best footballer

Everyone has their favourite mental comfort food, the stuff that makes you feel good in troubled times. Maybe you like baking bread and listening to history podcasts about Nazi atrocities. Maybe it’s watching Notting Hill in a Hugh Grant mask.

Perhaps you love to unwind by sitting in your walnut-panelled library and reading Catullus, naked, covered in Doritos crumbs, with a plastic bag over your head. Or enjoy nothing better than doomscrolling in a state of late-night brain-death, before accidentally subscribing to a mystery supplement that will rid you of all the horrific writhing parasites inside your body, because the advert had a really convincing animated graphic that made you hate yourself.

A distant relative found a family link to the football prodigy, as they are both related to George Male, the first player to win six English top-flight titles

Dave Male could have had no idea that his decision to attend a match while he was on holiday in Spain two years ago would uncover a remarkable family link to one of English football’s brightest young prospects. The retired teacher was staying just down the road from the Pinatar Arena in Murcia and went along to watch England Under-16s in a friendly against Italy. “I was looking at the team sheet and that’s when the name Dowman hit me straight away,” Male recalls.

On the pitch that day was a 14-year-old Max Dowman, already standing out as England claimed a 2-1 victory. But for Male, it wasn’t just the performance that caught his attention. It was his name. Male, a keen genealogist, recognised it instantly from his own family history.

From Algeria to Uzbekistan, our writers and contributors from around the world assess the state of the 48 nations to qualify for the tournament

“There’s more talent and potential than in 2022,” Kylian Mbappé said ominously this week after France had beaten Brazil 2-1 despite having Dayot Upamecano sent off after 55 minutes. He may well be right. For the second game of this window, against Colombia, Didier Deschamps changed the entire starting XI but was still able to field an attack of Marcus Thuram, Désiré Doué, Rayan Cherki and Maghnes Akliouche. Doué scored two in a comfortable 3-1 victory. “I’m well aware that there are some very good players that I won’t be bringing because, in my opinion, there are even better ones,” Deschamps said. Marcus Christenson

The former England and Tottenham forward has had to be patient to get his chance but he ‘was never going to give up’

“It’s been a long time coming,” Jermain Defoe says on his first day as Woking’s manager. Dressed in a sharp grey suit that he admits he is wearing on the instructions of his mother, Sandra – “I know she’ll be watching this, and she’ll be like: ‘You’ve got to look smart!’” – the former England striker certainly looks the part as he fields questions in the unassuming surroundings of the Cardinal Bar at the Laithwaite Community Stadium.

From missing the buzz of playing top‑level football since retiring in 2022 to acknowledging why it is crucial to “earn your stripes” as a manager, Defoe is brutally honest about the task that awaits him at the club that has never made it to the Football League in 139 years of existence. He even jokes that he turned down his former team Tottenham to take over at Woking.

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Arne Slot tries his best not to choke up when he talks of last year’s meeting between Liverpool and PSG. “I hope every fan around the world was hoping this game wouldn’t stop because it was incredible,” he blubbed in March 2025. His team had just lost on penalties to the soon-to-be Bigger Cup winners. “It was the best game of football that I was ever involved in.” If the Slot regime comes to its end this summer, with a significant groundswell of opinion among Kopites nodding in that direction, then it is curious he keeps returning to an infamous European night at Anfield which may well prove the beginning of the end. A few days later, Liverpool deservedly lost a Fizzy Cup final to a much more inspired Newcastle. Things have never quite been the same since, despite a 20th league title being claimed in April.

With Aaron Ramsey having been without a club since the end of last year and now retiring, it looks like we’ve moved from players announcing their retirement who we weren’t even aware were still playing to players announcing their retirement who were already retired but weren’t aware of it themselves”​ – Noble Francis.

Dear Arsenal, how do you sustain this insane consistency in blowing your chances? Every. Single. Time. Players come and go. Managers stay and leave. The only constant is the fans’ anguish. What wizardry will you wield now to hand over the title to Manchester City?”​ – Krishna Moorthy.

Re Thursday’s letters. John Groom is correct that not many Aussies use flamin’, but you don’t have to be Stefan Kuntz, Danny Sh1ttu or Christian Fuchs to know our modern alternatives aren’t always printable” – Rowan Sweeney.

No-one says flamin’ anymore John, but most of us still have a flamin’ sense of humour” – Greg Wyatt.

Quiz time! Can you identify the British football stadiums pictured in the matchday images below?

• This article was amended on 3 April 2026 to correct the spelling of the Wrexham stadium, Cae Ras.

Kirby’s class helps stun Arsenal, Palmer shows leadership potential for Chelsea and teenager Shaw makes her mark for Liverpool

Securing their Premier League status for another year remains a priority for West Ham and Leeds this season, so the eight changes Nuno Espírito Santo and Daniel Farke made between them for this tie, which developed into a drama-drenched classic, was understandable to a degree. Still, in Ao Tanaka, Leeds have a gem of a fringe player, who looked eager to make something of his opportunity. The Japan midfielder has not started in the league since 14 December, but Leeds fans have consistently called for him to have more involvement and he showed why with a tremendous opener at the London Stadium, which was all of his own making. In stark contrast to Tanaka’s performance was that of Max Kilman, who has not been trusted to start for West Ham since 3 January when they were beaten 3-0 by the bottom club, Wolves. The centre-back looked rusty and gave away what should have been a clear penalty with a poor challenge on Anton Stach – he was even booed by his own fans at points in the game. Dominic Booth

Marc Skinner laments City’s advantage after Vivianne Miedema shines and Brighton welcome back Kiko Seike

With her hat-trick in Arsenal’s 5-2 win over Tottenham, Alessia Russo took her tally to 25 goal contributions in 31 games this campaign. It is a notable return from a player in her prime, not just in her buildup play, but also her finishing. Arsenal’s attacking dominance – they have scored 18 goals in their past five games – is down to the fact that many of their attacking players are in form. Stina Blackstenius has three goals in her past four games while Caitlin Foord also scored on Saturday, her first appearance since returning from the Asian Cup. Renée Slegers has spoken about the versatility in the type of goals her side produces and the need to be ruthless in both penalty areas. Spurs’ two goals meant an end to Arsenal’s 106-day streak of not conceding in the WSL. While all runs must come to an end, Arsenal still boast the meanest defence in the league. Sophie Downey

Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Freddie Cardy and Emma Sanders to discuss the Champions League and Sarina Wiegman’s latest England squad

On today’s pod: Arsenal are into the Champions League semi-finals after knocking out Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United couldn’t overcome Bayern Munich as the German champions also progress into the last four.

Plus: Sarina Wiegman’s latest England squad, a review of the weekend’s WSL action, and congratulations to Bournemouth for winning the FAWNL Cup for the first time.

Ousmane Dembélé becomes our seventh winner as he beats Lamine Yamal into second and Vitinha into third on our list of the best players on the planet

• Premier League dominates list | How every judge voted | Our methodology | The top 100 female players for 2025

• 2024 edition | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

The Frenchman, who has been named the best male footballer in the world by the Guardian, has benefitted from PSG’s focus on the team rather than individuals

What makes a good player great, and a great player the best? This question has been occupying me since 2014, when the Guardian first asked me to contribute to its inaugural Next Generation feature. My job was to look for a France-based talent born in 1997 who could go on to have a stellar career.

After a great deal of research, I narrowed it down from my shortlist of five by asking questions not about the players’ football ability, but about other attributes: resilience, adaptability, decision-making, creativity, work ethic, response to feedback and willingness to learn. Qualities we cannot see, and are harder to measure.

Aitana Bonmatí has been voted the best female player on the planet by our panel of 127 experts ahead of Mariona Caldentey and Alessia Russo

• 2024 list | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Meet the judges | See how every judge voted

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The margin may have got smaller but the brilliant Spanish midfielder makes it a hat-trick of No 1 finishes

They say the best things come in threes, and Aitana Bonmatí has written herself into the Guardian’s top 100 history as the first player to finish at the top of the tree for a third consecutive year.

Last year the majestic midfielder emulated her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas by winning for a second year running, but the 27-year-old has now gone one better, establishing herself once again at the top of the women’s game.

From PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye to Brazil’s next hope, we select some of the most talented players born in 2008. Check the progress of our classes of 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and go even further back. Here’s our Premier League class of 2025