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Premier League champions are often thought of as a machine but they do feel the pressure before big games

Kyle Walker revealed he did not sleep the night before and was left “scrambling” for a half-hour power nap on game-day, while Pep Guardiola said he had “suffered” throughout. This was only a snapshot of the emotions felt by Manchester City players and management leading up to and during their pivotal match at Tottenham on Tuesday night.

It is easy to see City as a machine; the eviscerating runs to Premier League title after title; No 6 under Guardiola and an unprecedented fourth-in-a-row now close after the 2-0 victory over Spurs. City have made a cold-hearted business out of the accumulation of silverware and records.

• Manager expected to discover fate in next fortnight
• Gareth Southgate among those linked with position

Erik ten Hag’s future at Manchester United is expected to be decided in the next fortnight, with the chances of the Dutchman keeping his job thought to be 50-50. United’s plan is to decide the manager’s fate after the FA Cup final on 25 May, when they face Manchester City at Wembley. It is understood his chances of remaining in the post are finely balanced.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the minority owner who now controls United’s football policy, his key lieutenant, Sir Dave Brailsford, Jean Claude-Blanc, the acting chief executive, and the technical director, Jason Wilcox, are leading the assessment of Ten Hag.

• SPL hope to improve strength of league with more investment
• Manchester United’s Casemiro and Varane also linked

Clubs in the Saudi Pro League will pursue another wave of big-name transfers this summer in an attempt to increase its profile, with Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah and Alisson among the Premier League players being targeted. It is understood there are also plans to increase competitiveness in the league by attracting private businesses to sponsor clubs who are not backed by the country’s Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Only the Premier League spent more on transfers in the 2023 summer window than the Saudi Pro League, with almost 100 overseas players moving there at a cost of roughly £750m. But while not all of those have been successful, with Jordan Henderson having cut short his stay at Al-Ettifaq after six months, sources in Saudi Arabia have said there is increasing confidence the league can continue to attract the best players from Europe.

• Governing body announces new schedule from 2026
• Schedule has five windows but same amount games in Europe

Fifa has announced a new four-year women’s international match calendar that will come in from 2026 but faces criticism for not including mandatory rest periods and for undermining domestic leagues.

The new international match calendar, which the global governing body said has a “player-centric focus” and “is backed by extensive research, analysis and consultation” includes a welcome reduction in the number of international windows from six to five. These windows will be placed in February-March, April, May-June, October, and November-December, removing the heavily criticised July and September windows – the former falling well after domestic seasons have ended and the latter disrupting pre-season preparations, for those leagues operating across the winter.

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Whether it was the eerie silence occasionally punctuated by half-hearted chants of disparagement at the expense of Arsenal, Rodrigo Bentancur’s violent and protracted shoeing of a vacant dugout seat next to that occupied by a visibly frightened Bryan Gil, or Ange Postecoglou’s none-too-matey touchline exchange with a loud fan urging the Spurs boss to instruct his team to tank a contest they were probably going to lose anyway, Tuesday night’s match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium was a decidedly weird affair. But then it was always going to be strange when a very sizeable percentage of Spurs fans were desperately hoping their team would lose against Manchester City, all the better to deal Arsenal’s chances of winning the title a potentially fatal hammer blow.

Parenting can be tough, with kids exposed to social media and drugs and terrible music … but that said, the toughest conversation I’ve ever had with my son happened today, when I had to explain that sometimes good people have to do bad things and support Tottenham. He hasn’t been so disappointed since the day I told him the player he kept calling Santa Cannoli was actually named Santi Cazorla” – Christopher Jersan.

• Group set up to make recommendations
• Must consider fairness to fans missing home games

Fifa has taken a step towards allowing domestic leagues to play competitive matches abroad after announcing a new working group would be formed to “issue recommendations” on the topic. The group was confirmed after a meeting of the Fifa council in Bangkok on Wednesday and could lead imminently to a seismic change in the traditional structures of the men’s club game. La Liga has already said it hopes to play league matches abroad by 2025.

Fifa said the working group will be made up of 10 to 15 individuals with experience from across the game, including clubs, leagues and supporter associations. The governing body said the group will be independent but that its work must take into account a series of principles, several of which assume a positive decision to stage matches internationally.

They won’t win any trophies or player of the season awards, but these players have been integral to their teams this season

By Ben McAleer for WhoScored

Having scored just six league goals last season, Dominic Solanke has really stepped up this season with 19 – the best return for any Bournemouth player in a Premier League season. The appointment of Andoni Iraola has proven a blessing for the 26-year-old, who is finally realising the potential he showed when breaking on to the scene with Chelsea. Alexander Isak and Ollie Watkins have earned high praise for their performances; Solanke warrants just as much adulation.

• Dutchman will join Jürgen Klopp in leaving Anfield this summer
• Lijnders: ‘I am moving to another exceptional club’

Pepijn Lijnders is to become head coach at Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg following his departure from Liverpool.

Lijnders, who had initially worked as assistant coach under Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, will leave Anfield along with Jürgen Klopp at the end of the season.

Plus: serial runners-up, long gaps between winning the same competition, terrible penalty shootouts and more

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

“Granit Xhaka is unbeaten in his first 47 games for Bayer Leverkusen,” notes Scott Campbell. “Have any players attained a longer unbeaten streak upon joining a new club?”

At first Bayer Leverkusen’s success was one of the stories of the season. It’s fast becoming one of the stories of the century: they are 50 not out, three games away from completing an unbeaten season in all competitions. Granit Xhaka, their summer signing from Arsenal, has played in 47 of those 50 matches. The last time he lost at club level was last May, when Nottingham Forest officially ended Arsenal’s title challenge.

• Tottenham defeat by Manchester City guarantees fourth
• Club last played in the tournament in 1982-83

Aston Villa have qualified for the Champions League after Tottenham’s defeat at home against Manchester City on Tuesday night. The result confirms that Villa will finish fourth and take the final place on offer to an English club.

Villa last played in the tournament, known then as the European Cup, in the 1982-83 season, when they were knocked out by Juventus in the quarter-finals. They had qualified as the holders after beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in the 1982 final in Rotterdam thanks to a Peter Withe goal.

• Wayne Rooney had said players were pretending to be unfit
• Erik ten Hag: ‘They are training to make themselves available’

Erik ten Hag has rejected Wayne ­Rooney’s claim that some of ­Manchester United’s injured footballers are fit enough to play, by stating they all are “desperate” to be involved.

Rooney, a former United captain and the club’s record goalscorer, made his assertion after the 1-0 defeat by Arsenal on Sunday while ­working as a Sky Sports pundit, ­saying he was “100% sure” that ­players were ­declaring themselves unfit without being so and that this had left Ten Hag to “take all the stick”. His comments were put to the manager.

There is no shame in losing to the champions and Tottenham manager has made the same failure taste much better

The open-top bus parade begins at Monday lunchtime. Thousands of fans are expected to line the streets to pay tribute to Ange Postecoglou and his team as they wind their way down the High Road, before a civic reception at Tottenham town hall. There, captain Son Heung-min will end 16 long years of silverware famine by hoisting aloft the Denying Arsenal The League Trophy, and frankly few men have done more to earn it.

Of course Spurs have never made things easy for themselves and there were plenty of heart-stopping moments during that crucial defeat by Manchester City on Tuesday when it looked like they might salvage a draw, or even a disastrous win. To come through in the end was a genuine team effort, key players standing down when it mattered most: that reliably unreliable defence, Pierre-Emile Højbjerg failing to plug the gaps in midfield, Son gloriously fluffing that one-on-one chance in the closing stages.

League of Ireland club welcome women’s national team over for their first match in Europe which carries great significance

“We have a reason to tell the people that we are human beings,” says Mira Natour, a defender for the Palestine women’s national team, as she reflects on their friendly against Bohemians in Dublin on Wednesday night. “We have rights the same as you, to play, we have the right to express our feelings, we have the right to be recognised by the world. With this event, we’re telling them we exist.”

It will be the first time the Palestine team have played in Europe and their League of Ireland hosts have sold out, with a 4,500 crowd expected at Dalymount Park. Bohemians are fan-owned and their membership’s strong allegiance with the Palestinian cause mirrors a sentiment shared by many in Irish football and the country as a whole.

More strength in depth is now apparent after influx of overseas talent but league’s competitiveness is hard to assess

England kick off Euro 2024 against Serbia on 16 June and if Jordan Henderson is called up then the former Al-Ettifaq midfielder should be able to give Gareth Southgate an idea of the form Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic are in. They are two of a growing number of European internationals who will be acting as unofficial ambassadors for the Saudi Pro League (SPL) this summer – especially if they underperform.

The two Serbs have played a major part in Al-Hilal becoming champions of the SPL for a 19th time. The deal was sealed on Saturday but it was all a bit of a stroll. Portugal’s Rúben Neves, another standout, will also head to Germany with a league winner’s medal in his suitcase ready to show Cristiano Ronaldo.

Vinícius Júnior scored twice as the newly-crowned La Liga champions Real Madrid thrashed visitors Alavés 5-0 on Tuesday after the hosts had paraded the trophy in front of the home fans before the game.

Jude Bellingham and Vinícius scored a goal each inside 30 minutes before Federico Valverde put Real 3-0 up at the break, unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net in first-half stoppage time.

• Image of Arsenal player with rival club scarf causes controversy
• ‘There’s more to life than football,’ says fellow Matildas star Grant

Matildas and Tottenham fullback Charli Grant has hit out at football tribalism after fellow Australian Kyra Cooney-Cross, who plays for north London rivals Arsenal, was targeted for abuse by Gunners fans unhappy about an image of her with a Spurs scarf.

Cooney-Cross was pictured in the stands with a Tottenham scarf draped over her shoulder before the FA Cup final at Wembley, won 4-0 by Manchester United, prompting criticism from some English football traditionalists on social media.

Rangers prolonged their Scottish ­Premiership title race with Celtic after surging back from two goals down to beat Dundee 5-2 at Ibrox.

Tony Docherty’s side needed a victory to stay in the hunt for European football and they scored twice inside 40 ­minutes through the defenders Jordan McGhee and Antonio Portales. Ross McCausland pulled a goal back just before the interval but Rangers were jeered off by their supporters at half-time.

• Saudi Arabian-controlled Newcastle United lobbied for funding
• Emails highlight relationship between council officials and club

Human rights campaigners have suggested Newcastle city council could be complicit in sportswashing after its executives lobbied officials at the Saudi Arabian-controlled Newcastle United, attempting to secure investments and funding.

More than 200 pages of emails obtained under a freedom of information request highlight a close relationship between senior council officials and the St James’ Park hierarchy.

Our pick of the best rants, musings and carefully worded statements from the Premier League and beyond this term

• Richard Masters tells MPs to ‘draw own conclusions’ over delay
• Moshiri extends sale and purchase agreement with 777

Richard Masters says the Premier League has been “very clear” with 777 Partners over the conditions it must meet to complete a takeover of Everton, and that observers can draw their “own conclusions” as to why the deal has yet to be approved.

Speaking to MPs as part of the process of the government’s football governance bill, the Premier League’s chief executive acknowledged that lengthy takeover deals create tension among supporters but said the Everton owner, Farhad Moshiri, still wanted to pursue a deal with the challenged investment company.

Spanish left-back seemed to sum up club’s travails but he has found form to aid late, unlikely surge towards a European place

It is safe to say few people at Chelsea predicted this season would end with Marc Cucurella performing a turn as an inverted full-back. As one figure inside Stamford Bridge put it recently, who could have imagined that a Cucurella revival would be one of the key reasons behind Mauricio Pochettino’s team making a late surge for European football?

Let’s roll this back. In August 2022, with the new order at Chelsea still asserting itself, Cucurella was invited to Mykonos to meet the interim sporting director. Todd Boehly, it turned out, was a man who knew how to conduct a charm offensive.

I have been forced to adjust to a reality where I can no longer be an elite athlete but I have tried to find something positive in it

• Moving the Goalposts: sign up for our free newsletter

Everyone goes through change in life. It is just about how you respond. They can be big changes; they can be small, but it is about how you handle it yourself.

Over the last few months, I have been through the biggest change of all. Since being diagnosed with a heart condition – arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy or ARVC, a disease that causes irregular heartbeats – last year at just 27, I have had to learn to navigate a world where I can no longer be a professional footballer. I have been forced to adjust to a reality where I can no longer be an elite athlete and where I can’t play a sport I have been a part of since I was three. I have had to accept the reality of my condition and everything that comes with it.

In 1970, Rinus Michels was pioneering a new style of play while Leeds and Chelsea were kicking lumps out of each other

I recently watched a recording of the 1970 FA Cup final replay with my 12-year-old son. You can find the match by searching for “football’s most brutal game”. I was attempting to show him how football has “evolved” and it made me smile that the first thing you see in the BBC coverage is an upfront trigger warning that “some viewers might find the video disturbing”.

That in itself tells us how much society has changed over the past 50 years, before you see the Leeds manager, Don Revie, smoking a cigar in the dugout while Leeds and Chelsea play out a game that today looks like a combination of football and mixed martial arts. Some of the best players of that generation, including Jack Charlton, Billy Bremner and Ron “Chopper” Harris, spend more time kicking each other than they do the ball. The game was viewed on TV by nearly 29 million people and featured only one yellow card and no sendings-off.

Atmosphere against Arsenal showed that whether supporters want manager to stay or go, backing for team remains strong

At the picnic benches behind the Stretford End where fans enjoy a pre-game bite the atmosphere is as serene as Erik ten Hag’s perma-calm media persona before Manchester United’s kick-off against Arsenal.

The manager has remained unruffled despite the 24-7 speculation about his job, but in the next few weeks his future will be decided by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the Ineos chairman’s key lieutenant, Sir Dave Brailsford, and the acting chief executive, Jean-Claude Blanc.

City erupts in ecstasy as Atalanta’s victory over Roma returned Bologna to Europe’s top table for the first time in 60 years

Alessio De Giuseppe hopped into the passenger seat of Riccardo Orsolini’s car without stopping to check where it was headed. The Dazn reporter had been waiting outside Bologna’s training ground, hoping to speak with players after their qualification to next season’s Champions League was confirmed by Atalanta’s 2-1 win over Roma on Sunday night. Orsolini pulled out of the gates and gestured for him to get in. Like a hitchhiker with no fixed destination, De Giuseppe climbed in first and asked questions later.

This scene unfolded live on TV, rendered more surreal by the camera cutting back not only to Dazn’s panel of analysts in the studio but also to images of a laughing Cesc Fàbregas in a white jacket. The former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea midfielder was joining the show via a separate video call to speak about his work helping Como to get promoted to Serie A.

Real Madrid refused to dance on the grave but with relegation confirmed elsewhere, Los Cármenes resembled a crematorium

Carlo Ancelotti had the cool cat shades and the big fat cigar but this wasn’t the time, not just yet. Real Madrid’s party, the manager taking to the mic, and the dancefloor, a conga line forming round the most famous fountain in the city, would have to wait a little while; first they had a funeral to go to. On Sunday morning, the champions boarded an open top bus down the Castellana and a stairway up Cibeles, goddess of fertility. But not before they headed to Los Cármenes on Saturday evening to face Granada – a week after Madrid won the league, three days after they reached the European Cup final, and two hours, 38 minutes after Granada were relegated.

The calendar and the contrast were cruel, and it could have been even worse. When Madrid wrapped up the title last Saturday – finally confirmed two hours after beating Cádiz, the players watching together as Barcelona were defeated by Girona – the federation announced that they would hand over the trophy before their next match. Which might have made sense except the next match was away against someone almost certainly going down, and Madrid said no, give it to us the next morning, the cup eventually presented behind closed doors in silence then carried into the city where thousands waited. They were going to dance, sure, but not on Granada’s grave.

Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou raged over the 'fragile foundations' he said had been revealed at the club over the last 48 hours. Large sections of the fans cheered their 2-0 defeat to Manchester City which dented the title hopes of arch-rivals Arsenal. Postecoglous admitted that 'the last 48 hours revealed a fair bit, and that's all right. That's just means I’ve got to go back to the drawing board with some things'.

• ‘He saves us – otherwise Arsenal are champions’: Guardiola hails Ortega

• Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs project is a magnificent act of misdirection

Manchester City striker Erling Haaland scored twice in the second half against Tottenham to send the three-time defending champions two points clear of second-place Arsenal with one game left to play. Reserve goalkeeper Stefan Ortega was the unexpected hero, coming on to replace Ederson before making two big saves. In Sunday's final round of matches, Guardiola's side host West Ham, while Arsenal entertain Everton. City's win also meant Aston Villa secured fourth place and qualification for the Champions League ahead of Tottenham in fifth

• Manchester City edge towards Premier League title after Haaland sinks Spurs

Old Trafford flooded with water at the end of Manchester United's game with Arsenal on Sunday, leaking through the roof and cascading through the stands. Footage also shows the roof in Arsenal's dressing room leaking water on to the players. The Glazers, Manchester United's long-time owners, have often been criticised by fans for their apparent reluctance to invest in updating and adequately maintaining the increasingly ageing stadium.

After losing to Chelsea in last year's FA Cup final, Manchester United Women stormed to a 4-0 win against Tottenham this time around to claim their first major trophy. The team celebrated on and off the pitch with the usual singing and champagne spraying.

Arsenal made sure the Premier League title race will go to the last day of the season with a 1-0 victory at Manchester United. Leandro Trossard struck in the 20th minute to put Arsenal back on top of the table and ensure the Gunners will take their title fight with defending champions, Manchester City, to the final round of matches.

‘Live the final day’: Arteta dreams of title after win at United sets up climax

Arsenal keep up title pressure as Trossard sinks Manchester United

Real Madrid celebrated their 36th La Liga title as they paraded through the streets of the Spanish capital. Madrid had clinched the league title a week earlier, with four games to spare, but could not celebrate the triumph before last midweek's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.

• Victory and Phoenix locked on 0-0 after first leg at AAMI Park
• Hosts had 20 shots to the Nix’s six but could not break deadlock

Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix have it all to play for after a cagey 0-0 draw in the first leg of their A-League Men semi-final at AAMI Park. In a clash of two styles, the Victory were allowed to control the tempo and territory for much of the contest but were unable to create enough clear-cut chances to unlock a determined Phoenix defence on Sunday.

The hosts were the more positive throughout with 20 to six attempts, and five shots on target, while the Nix were content to sit back and play on the counter without managing a single shot on goal. The Victory pushed hard in the dying stages to find a goal to take to Sky Stadium as the Phoenix all but settled for a stalemate from halfway through the second half, with the return leg to be played in New Zealand on Saturday 18 May.

Ademola Lookman, Matteo Ruggeri and El Bilal Touré scored in Atalanta’s 3-0 win over Marseille for a 4-1 aggregate victory in their Europa League semi-final. The Italian side will meet Bayer Leverkusen, who overcame Roma, in their first European final, in Dublin on 22 May.

Lookman put Atalanta ahead in the second leg on the half-hour with a long-range strike past Pao López before setting up Ruggeri to double the lead seven minutes after the break.

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

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

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

• Goalkeeper to hang up gloves after nearly 19 years and 103 caps
• She appeared at five World Cups and won the Asian Cup in 2010

After five World Cups, six Asian Cups, 103 caps and nearly two decades in a Matildas shirt, Lydia Williams says it is the right time to call time on her international career. One of the most experienced Australian footballers of all time on Thursday announced her intention from retire after the upcoming Paris Olympics – what would be her third Olympic football tournament.

“It’s been a wonderful ride over the last 19 years and I’m so thankful for the opportunity to not only wear the crest and perform for my country, but also to the wonderful memories and fantastic people that I’ve met along the way,” said Williams, who turns 36 next week.

• Fifpro wants expanded tournament in 2025 to be rescheduled
• Letter calls for agreement on international match calendar first

Fifa must postpone its expanded Club World Cup or face the prospect of legal action, the international ­players’ union has warned, in a fierce broadside against the game’s global governing body.

Fifpro and the World Leagues organisation have written jointly to Fifa’s president, Gianni Infantino, asking him to reschedule the 32-team tournament, which is set to take place in the US next June and July. The new Club World Cup, ­alongside its old iteration now rebranded as the ­Intercontinental Cup, should be paused until a full agreement on the shape of the ­international match calendar can be agreed, the letter says.

After a disastrous start to the A-League Men season, Mark Jackson’s side are now just three games away from an unlikely treble

Central Coast Mariners are done with flying under the radar. The reigning A-League Men champions have floated through a whirlwind week that started with sealing the premier’s plate with victory in the final match of the regular season, and ended with clinching the AFC Cup in Oman.

The Mariners will next take the first of three remaining steps towards a historic treble when they face Sydney FC in the first leg of their A-League semi-final on Friday night. The unprecedented haul of titles that is now within reach would rubber stamp the Mariners’ remarkable resurgence that could just as easily have hit its peak when stunning Melbourne City 6-1 in last year’s grand final.

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

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

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

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

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

And so it was.

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

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

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

Erling Haaland has been voted the best player in the world for 2023 by our 218-strong panel, with Jude Bellingham finishing second

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

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The Norwegian is only 23 but his devastating goal record has seen him voted as the No 1 player in the world by the Guardian’s expert panel

When Pep Guardiola tearfully claimed Manchester City could not replace the departing Sergio Agüero in May 2021, he didn’t just create a meme. Guardiola was soft-launching a global audition for his team’s new attacking talisman. An unsuccessful pursuit of Harry Kane in the summer of 2021 came between two title-winning seasons where Ilkay Gündogan (13) and Kevin De Bruyne (15) were the club’s top league goalscorers. Guardiola’s slick creative machine needed a new front man, and they found him in Erling Haaland.

Like Agüero before him – and in contrast to many of City’s most successful Pep-era signings – Haaland arrived as a bona fide superstar, a plug-and-play addition to an already stellar lineup. Whether he was a bargain is another question. The release clause paid was €60m (£51.2m), but some reports suggest Haaland’s five-year deal could cost the club in the region of £300m. And while there was an ominous logic to the move for City’s rivals, questions remained.

Aitana Bonmatí the clear winner of the Guardian’s best 100 female footballers in the world with 15 Spaniards on the list

• The 100 best female footballers in the world 2023

After Alexia Putellas reigned in 2021 and 2022, her Barcelona and Spain teammate Aitana Bonmatí has been crowned the top female footballer of 2023 by the Guardian’s panel of 112 experts. The World Cup winner triumphed by a clear margin, finishing more than 500 points ahead of second-placed Sam Kerr.

Injuries and a World Cup meant there was a definite changing of the guard feel to this year’s list, sadly emphasised by the fact last year’s top two – Putellas and Beth Mead – missed a large chunk of our 12-month voting period with ACL injuries.

The club has been awarded a 999-year lease on the Den and its surrounds, bringing down the curtain on a fraught few years

Bermondsey has always been a fluid, ever-changing kind of place, shoved up into a bend of the Thames, surrounded on all sides but also oddly isolated.

For hundreds of years that whole strip of land south of the city was an interlude of leisure and licentiousness. In his biography of London Peter Ackroyd mentions “bear pits, stew-houses and pleasure gardens”, plus a flourishing grassroots industry of cutpurses and dandy highwaymen, a place where “flashy women come out to take leave of thieves at dusk and wish them luck”.

The Frenchman raged over the game’s super-rich when in charge of Arsenal. His hopes of a more level playing field may come to fruition

For much of the final 14 of his 22 years at Arsenal, Arsène Wenger was a study in frustration. The free thinker who brought trophies and glory to Arsenal in his blazing first eight years at the club, ushering in a revolution across the Premier League with his use of data, approach to talent scouting, commitment to technically intricate football and careful attention to the diet and lifestyle of the players under his watch, was suddenly transformed into a snippy crank. The sideline fiddling with his parka zipper, the tetchy press conference responses, the comic insistence that he “almost” signed every successful player in Europe, the disgusted tossing of the tiny water bottle as his once-invincible team gave away another lead, endured another slapstick mishap at the back, squandered another title challenge: the visual lore of Late Wenger has, in its own way, become a series of cliches, a kind of stock carousel for any once-great manager on the brink of professional disintegration.

The cause of Wenger’s great anguish through this long decline, of course, was what he memorably described as “financial doping”: the emergence – first with Roman Abramovich at Chelsea, then with the Abu Dhabi United Group’s takeover of Manchester City – of a new class of billionaire club owners who turned the Premier League into a simple spending contest tilted, seemingly perpetually, in favor of the teams controlled by plutocrats.

US stars have flooded English soccer on the backs of the Wrexham phenomenon. But the shimmer of fame cannot overcome ineffective ownership

Tom Brady was nowhere to be seen as Birmingham City dropped to the third tier of English football. He was, however, in Los Angeles the following day for Netflix’s The Roast of Tom Brady, a live TV special in which Bill Belichick, Kevin Hart and many others ripped into the seven-time Super Bowl winner.

“I see your soccer team got knocked down another tier in the English Football League,” Belichick, Brady’s former coach, said from the dais. “For those not familiar with English football, thanks to the intricacies of their obscure regulations system, I’ll put it in English for you: they suck! Not so easy to run a team, is it Tom?”

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This was a moment headline writers and social media hacks had been waiting for since January last year, when Jhon Durán crossed the Atlantic to join Aston Villa. It wouldn’t make a great deal of sense with just one goal; he’d have to make it a brace for the whole thing to click together. Moussa Diaby may well have recognised this, too, blasting a pass in the 88th minute at Villa Park on Monday night. All Durán had to do was get in the way and watch the ball bobble off his thigh and past a wrong-footed Alisson to make it 3-3 against Liverpool. Yes, “Durán Durán” inevitably made its way round the World Wide Web, the Colombian forward’s late double surely helping Birmingham’s famed new-wave outfit flog some tour tickets.

Re: yesterday’s Football Daily. Yes, that’s clear evidence of a waterfall at Old Trafford. I’d posit an absolute shower most weeks, too” – Stuart Macnab.

Re: your timeline of Kalvin Phillips’ West Ham loan (yesterday’s Hammer Horror, full email edition). You forgot to add the payoff … 8 June: is recalled to Gareth Southgate’s England squad for the upcoming Euros” – Guy Stephenson.

There has been a lot of talk recently about whether the Premier League actually is the promised land for smaller clubs or whether it is a somewhat poisoned chalice. To answer this, what is the significance of the following numbers: 1, 1, 5, 0, 9, 3, 2, 2? These are the number of wins each of the last 8 Huddersfield Town managers have earned, since putting everything into trying (and failing) to beat Forest in the playoff final. Not very fun to be a team on the way down from the top division” – Sean Brennan.

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Our cartoonist on the Premier League doing strange things to mascots (and people) as it nears its finale

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Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Dan Bardell and Will Unwin to review the penultimate weekend in the Premier League, discuss Manchester United’s FA Cup triumph, Celtic’s win over Rangers, and more

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: Arsenal get a conservative but vital 1-0 win at Old Trafford, while the Manchester City machine bulldozes through yet another Premier League opponent in Fulham. However they got it done, both sides won … which means the winner will be decided on the final day.

Spurs manager Robert Vilahamn talks about his hopes of ending the season in north London with silverware

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“It doesn’t end if we don’t win,” says Robert Vilahamn before his Tottenham side play Manchester United in the FA Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

It is that mindset and the aura around the club that has fans so excited, because, at the end of the Swede’s first season in charge, it feels as if there is so much more to come. If anything, as Vilahamn points out, reaching a Cup final so soon into his tenure and after a relegation battle last season puts them ahead of schedule.

Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund booked their spots in the final at Wembley thanks to a pair of unlikely match winners

Two second legs that both reached a dramatic climax, one with late goals, the other with late misses, set up a Wembley final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.

Goalkeeper: Andriy Lunin, Real Madrid

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nicky Bandini, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Sid Lowe as Real Madrid again find a way to win when it matters in the Champions League, denying Harry Kane … again

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: Real Madrid can’t keep getting away with this, can they? Two late, late goals from former Stoke City man Joselu see them through to yet another Champions League final. They probably deserved this one, but what a gut punch it is for Harry Kane.

Our cartoonist on the Tractor Boys embarking on another great adventure in the top flight after consecutive promotions

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

• Mail us your questions or tweet @TheKnowledge_GU

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

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

The outgoing manager deserves another WSL title but her replacement will inherit a lot of quality young players

Many will look at Emma Hayes’s 12 years as Chelsea manager and think her lasting legacy is six – potentially seven – Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups but for me her impact has been felt far beyond west London. By turning Chelsea into the benchmark for others to follow, she has forced up standards throughout the women’s game.

People forget that the early years were difficult for Hayes, with Chelsea narrowly avoiding relegation in her first full season, but there was always a clear plan of how to improve. Her spell managing in America at Chicago Red Stars, where I was in the squad, I think was pivotal in her career and shaped what she wanted to do at Chelsea. At the Red Stars we arguably had the most talented group of individuals but we were not the best team and I think she realised it was imperative she recruited the right characters, not just the best players. I think this resulted in a big shift in Hayes’s outlook.

Fresh doubts of deal being completed paint bleak picture and could leave troubled club unable to meet their financial obligations

Everton’s owner, Farhad Moshiri, has always sounded extremely confident that he will be selling the Premier League club to the US investment firm 777 Partners. In October last year he told Sky Sports News: “The more time that I have spent with the 777 team, the more my confidence increases that we have found the right people to take the club forward in the modern era.”

That comment is ageing less and less well.

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

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

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

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

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

From Warren Zaïre-Emery to Endrick, we select some of the best players born in 2006. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018

• Next Generation 2023: 20 of the best Premier League talents

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2006 and 31 August 2007, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 … and look at the editions from further back

• Next Generation 2023: 60 of the best talents around the world

Five years ago we picked 80 of the most talented players in the world to follow their progress in a cut-throat business

It is the time of year when we check in on the Next Generation players we picked in 2018 to follow for five years, to assess their progress amid success, setbacks, injuries, trophies won and transfers made.

Next Generation started in 2014 with the aim of showing the difficulties that even the best prospects in the Premier League (we pick one from each club at first-year scholar age) and the rest of the world (we choose 60 born in a specific calendar year) face on their way towards the top.

A defensively minded midfielder who is incredibly strong (he used to be a wrestler) but with an excellent touch to go with his physicality. Made his debut in the Swedish top flight as a 16-year-old last year and captained Sweden as they reached the quarter-finals of the Euro Under-17 tournament in England this summer. Has taken an unusual path to the top. He left the top-flight side IFK Göteborg for sixth division Angered MBIK as a 14-year-old as he felt that he was not getting the right support for his football education. Another Gothenburg club, Häcken, snapped him up in 2017 and he made his senior debut that season. Has signed a new contract with the club from Hisingen until 2021 despite interest from Real Madrid and Benfica and trials at both Manchester clubs.