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Arne Slot’s team faced the perfect opponents as the afternoon became a dual celebration for their Covid season triumph

Football is often compared to theatre. Sometimes it just is theatre. With 63 minutes gone at Anfield, and Liverpool already 3-1 up, Mohamed Salah took the ball on the right in an empty square of deep green, veered inside, and then paused, leaving just enough time for the entire home crowd to freeze the moment, to see a snapshot of what was about to happen.

Salah rolled the ball to his left then spanked it hard into the near corner, drawing a vast, rolling cheer that just didn’t want to stop, a self‑fuelling cheer for this relentless one-man highlights reel, face of an era, the curator of moments, who then made another one here by taking a mid-match celebration selfie with the Kop.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Arsenal stunned Lyon to reach their first Women’s Champions League final since 2007, as Renée Slegers’s side produced a mature display full of desire, resilience and attacking brilliance to secure an impressive comeback in France. They beat the last season’s runners-up 4-1 thanks to an own goal from Christiane Endler and strikes from Mariona Caldentey, Alessia Russo and Caitlin Foord.

The final in May will be the first of Slegers’s fledgling management career. The 36-year-old was delighted with her team’s success as they reached a European final at her first attempt.

Better days must lie ahead for Manchester United. Otherwise, things have gone truly pear-shaped. A Sunday where their fans lived vicariously through hopes of Tottenham delaying Liverpool’s title celebrations and Nottingham Forest stopping City winning another FA Cup counts as a ground-zero level ebb, even considering United’s decline and fall. Rescuing a point from 10-man Bournemouth might have arrested some of the helpless, listless doom but probably not for too long.

Perhaps United’s team spirit, that which carried them past Lyon in the Europa League, is evidencing itself, though far more than that is required. As with Lyon, it took an opposing red card - Evanilson, a tad unluckily - to add momentum to a muddle.

They came in hope of witnessing the greatest comeback in ­Women’s Champions League history, to overturn Barcelona’s 4-1 first-leg lead. Instead, 26,702 people at Stamford Bridge saw another chastening defeat for Chelsea as the holders cruised through to their fifth consecu­tive final with an 8-2 aggregate victory that demonstrated the gulf in quality between the two teams.

The result emphatically ended Chelsea’s hopes of lifting a quadruple of major trophies, before a week when they could be crowned Women’s Super League champions, and kept this peerless Barcelona team on course to lift their third consecutive European title.

Liverpool’s procession towards a 20th league title sparked an eruption 35 years in the making. Anfield exploded with emotion, passion and noise as its long wait to celebrate a Premier League triumph in unison ended in a style befitting Arne Slot’s new champions. Tottenham were dismantled, just as the rest of the Premier League has been in Slot’s superb debut season, as Liverpool took the crown with a flourish.

Even Slot, the calmest man in the house, indulged in a spot of dad‑dancing, sang Jürgen Klopp’s name and led a moving rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone after Liverpool’s record-equalling title. Alisson fell to the ground in prayer. He and his teammates have answered Anfield’s. A five-star performance – with goals from Luis Díaz, the brilliant Alexis Mac Allister, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah, the man of the season, who took a selfie with the Kop – sealed the title with four games to spare.

Welsh club return to third tier for first time in more than two decades after managing just nine league wins all season

With hopes dwindling and a handful of minutes left to play, the Cardiff City mascot, Bartley Bluebird, the No 99 on the reverse of his costume, resorted to a meet-and-greet of sorts with younger supporters at the front of the grandstand, most oblivious to the bigger picture and the impending bad news.

Then, relegation from the Championship was confirmed, the club trading divisions with Wrexham and dropping into the third tier for the first time since 2002-03 when they won promotion via the playoffs across town at the then Millennium Stadium. Soon there was the bizarre sight of Bartley consoling those players in blue shirts, who at the final whistle collapsed to the turf like dominoes.

• Napoli beat Torino 2-0 in Sunday’s late game
• Title rivals Inter lose 1-0 at home to Roma

Two first-half goals from Scott McTominay helped Napoli to a 2-0 home win against Torino in Serie A on Sunday as the hosts reclaimed the sole lead in the standings with four games left to play.

Napoli are three points above the defending champions, Inter, who were handed a 1-0 home defeat by Roma earlier in the day. Napoli raced to a seventh-minute lead through McTominay, who bundled the ball in from close range before doubling the advantage just before half-time from a neat lofted cross by Matteo Politano.

• England duo return from injuries in 1-0 win at Leicester
• Palace relegated after 7-1 defeat at home to West Ham

There was a major boost for England and Manchester City as Lauren Hemp and Alex Greenwood both returned to action for the first time in 2025 following serious knee injuries in City’s 1-0 Women’s Super League win at Leicester.

With both players coming on as second-half substitutes, winger Hemp quickly provided an assist to set up Jess Park’s winning goal with 20 minutes remaining. Hemp had been sidelined since November, while Greenwood had been ruled out since December; both will hope to go to Switzerland in July for the Euros.

From Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to Alexis Mac Allister’s genius, here’s how Arne Slot’s players performed

• Liverpool win 20th league title – reaction

The Brazilian remains one of the finest goalkeepers in the world at the age of 32, adding authority and agility to an impressive defence. Injuries have hindered him for the second season in succession, however, and 20 games missed in all competitions is a concern, even if he was rested for some. 8

• Slot: ‘I was emotional to see what it meant for the fans’
• Dutchman wins Premier League title in his first season

Arne Slot spoke of his pride and disbelief at joining the illustrious band of legends to have won a league championship with Liverpool after sealing the club’s record-equalling 20th title.

The 46-year-old, who took on the seemingly unenviable task of succeeding Jürgen Klopp last summer, became the first Dutch coach to win the Premier League courtesy of a 5-1 rout of Tottenham.

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

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

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

• Final: Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid (aet)
• Pedri 28 Torres 84, Koundé 116; Mbappé 70, Tchouaméni

It was late and they were tired, but with four minutes left and long after midnight in Seville, everyone prepared for penalties, Jules Koundé found the strength to send a shot flying into the net and the Barcelona fans into raptures. The fireworks were lit and the men in blue and red sprinted towards him from all sides: here, at last, it was. An epic Copa del Rey final, a first clásico final in 11 years, had a winner. They had been a goal up and a goal down, they had thought they had a last-minute penalty to win it only to have it taken away, but now it was 3-2 and the Catalan side had done it.

Done? Not quite, but very nearly. On an extraordinary night, there was still one last opportunity for Real Madrid when Kylian Mbappé was fouled in the area and the referee, Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea, pointed to the spot, only for the linesman’s flag to be up. They had fought and rebelled, but they were defeated and, in a chaotic end, when all the emotion exploded at the final whistle, somewhere in the noise and the pandemonium they had three players shown red cards: Lucas Vázquez, Antonio Rüdiger and Jude Bellingham. The German had to be held back from going at the referee.

From non-league to the Championship in three seasons, Wrexham are now the Hollywood-owned Welsh club who have written themselves a chapter in the English Football League record books. Never before had a team in the top five tiers of the English game been promoted in three successive years – until now. Even their owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, would have been laughed out of town for writing a script like this.

In the end it was a dominant 3-0 win over Charlton that sealed their spot in the Championship for 2025-26, another former Premier League team toppled. Ollie Rathbone’s strike and Sam Smith’s double put the Reds on the path to League One promotion with a game to spare, and consigned the Addicks, along with Wycombe and Stockport, to the playoffs.

• Former Arsenal striker ‘disappointed’ by Aluko interview
• ‘I’ve seen your apology, but I can’t accept it’

Ian Wright has admitted he was “very disappointed” about Eni Aluko’s recent comments regarding his involvement in women’s football and says he “can’t accept” her apology.

In an interview this week, Aluko claimed men such as Wright “should be aware” of the opportunities they take in the women’s game, claiming female broadcasters should not be “blocked” from having a pathway. On BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, the former England forward said: “I’ve worked with Ian a long time and, you know, I think he’s a brilliant broadcaster. But I think he’s aware of just how much he’s doing in the women’s game. I think he should be aware of that.”

• Forward says side believe they can win first major trophy
• Rashford out for ‘some weeks’ after injury in training

Eberechi Eze has insisted Crystal Palace have the belief they can win the club’s first major trophy after booking their place in the FA Cup final thanks to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Aston Villa.

The England forward scored a brilliant opener before Ismaïla Sarr added two more goals in the second half to set up a meeting with either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest next month. It will be the third time in their history that Palace have played in the final, having been beaten on the previous two occasions in 1990 and 2016 by Manchester United.

Goalkeeper struggled at Newcastle but heroics in Nottingham has set up a chase for Europe on two fronts

Matz Sels might have thought his FA Cup story had ended with a humiliating defeat at League One Oxford United, in what turned out to be his final game of a forgettable spell at Newcastle. The Belgian, 33, was bought to be the club’s No 1 in 2016 but managed only 14 appearances in a turbulent period at St James’ Park before departing for the serenity of Strasbourg two years later.

In five and a half seasons in France, Sels rebuilt his career. He won the Coupe de la Ligue in 2019 and was named Ligue 1’s best goalkeeper of the 2021-22 season. His consistency alerted teams to him but he was a long way down Nottingham Forest’s shortlist when they were looking for a goalkeeper in January 2024. The £5m punt they took on him has paid off spectacularly though and Sels has an FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City to look forward to on Sunday. His saves in three shootouts have helped Forest to get there.

Kieran McKenna and his Ipswich players arrived in the Premier League pledging to stay true to their purist principles but had an ignominious return to the Championship rubber stamped amid acrimony, indiscipline and refereeing controversy.

In mitigation Ipswich started quite well at Newcastle, their low block frustrating Eddie Howe’s side and the striker Alexander Isak in particular. Then they imploded in a manner that perhaps reflected the frustrations of a long, hard season when, all too often, a team who were League One residents two years ago proved not quite good enough to bridge the growing chasm between the top and second tiers.

Gazza painted his artistry all over the 1991 FA Cup and his stupendous free-kick influenced the game for years

Football is an unstoppable continuum, a whirling dervish of love and hate, life and death, frequent tedium and the greatest excitement known to humanity. Because we care so much for it it feels like it cares for us back, but the painful truth is this is our imagination and self-respect saving us from acknowledging that actually, football was there before us, it’ll be there after us, and while we’re there it exists as though we don’t.

Occasionally, though, we have bestowed upon us an event that grabs us by the lapels and shrieks indelibly into our souls, the entirety of the cosmos consumed by the wonder of the game. “It tells us something we’ll always remember,” wrote director-screenwriter Randall Wallace when considering what makes something epic. “It makes us walk out of a theatre and whisper into our own hearts, ‘I’m changed.’”

Emotions ran high as the club prepared for Premier League final against Tottenham

“This is important. It means a lot to be here,” said Ann-Marie Barton, who remembers the mixed emotions when Liverpool last won the title: yes she was drinking champagne, but it was alone at home because of the Covid pandemic. “It was just me and Scooby [a stuffed mascot], and he doesn’t talk much.”

On Sunday she was out in blazing sunshine at Anfield with good friends lapping up the communal party atmosphere. Everyone seemed to be smiling. It was some party and was never going to be spoiled.

Scotland’s most powerful force needn’t be wildly praised for topping the pile yet again but the manager deserves respect

Twelve months from now, Brendan Rodgers will either be preparing to bid farewell to Celtic for surely the final time or the manager will be embarking on phase two of this second tenure. Mystery around the more likely scenario means that what happens next to Celtic is far more intriguing than the comfortable retention of their Scottish title. Make that 13 in 14 years.

Rodgers will already know his future plan. So, too, will Dermot Desmond. There may be no official board role for Celtic’s principal shareholder and no public utterances on all things Celtic, but Rodgers has been sure to drop in that he deals directly with the Irish billionaire as opposed to, say, the club’s chair, Peter Lawwell. If this feels structurally odd, it is the kind of thing that is ignored while the team keeps winning.

As Inter and Barcelona meet again in a Champions League semi-final, it’s hard to ignore their epochal clash in 2010

Has there been a Champions League tie since that has felt more consequential? As Inter travel to Barcelona for Wednesday’s semi-final first leg, the mind turns inevitably to their 1-0 reverse at the Camp Nou 15 years ago – “the most beautiful defeat of my career” as José Mourinho has described it.

Playing with 10 men for a little over an hour, Inter secured a 3-2 aggregate victory. Suddenly it became apparent that it didn’t matter whether you had the ball or not: you could win even with 19% possession. But the outcome was only part of it. The whole tie was played out amid an apocalyptic atmosphere symbolised by the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull, whose eruption made it impossible to fly over western Europe, forcing Barcelona to travel to Milan for the first leg by bus.

The Premier League’s middle class is burgeoning, and none more so than Palace who ruthlessly disposed of Aston Villa

Which is the competition that exists in a state of permanent crisis again? As the Premier League drifts to a conclusion that has felt inevitable for several months, the FA Cup has started spewing out classic after classic, storyline after storyline, games in which the emotions are raw and the jeopardy real. Maybe the polarities have flipped once in the new economic environment and this has become the main event once again.

You’d probably need a few more aspirational Championship sides to start taking the FA Cup more seriously before you made that argument too seriously but, equally, the Premier League’s middle-class is burgeoning. With the gulf to the second flight growing, they can afford to be a little less troubled by the prospect of relegation, while qualification for the Champions League remains a distant prospect. In the circumstances, the only viable goal for that tier of sides is to take the FA Cup seriously.

The Egyptian is more than simply a role model in his adopted home, he speaks to the city’s broader mythology

There are occasional sightings of him around the city. A face is glimpsed; perhaps climbing out of a car, perhaps stepping into a mosque. A phone is surreptitiously brandished. The rumour spreads like fire. Pretty quickly these sightings take on the status of urban myths; brief brushes with the divine. There was the time he was at a petrol station and decided to pay for everyone’s fuel. There was the kid who chased after his car, went smack into a lamppost and now boasts a photograph of himself with a lavishly bloodied nose, and Mohamed Salah’s arm tenderly clasped around his shoulder.

A few weeks ago, with that new contract still unsigned, a rumour spread around the city that Salah was out at the docks filming content for the club’s media channels. Invariably by the time the crowds arrived he was gone. For the people of Liverpool, their greatest footballer is someone really only seen in snatches: a blur, a whisper, a trick of the light. And if this is partly the nature of celebrity, then it is worth pointing out that this is also how a lot of Premier League defences have been experiencing Salah this season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Both clubs threw away convincing leads in England last week. They need to get their seasons back on track quickly

By Get French Football News

Hubris cost Lyon last week and it almost cost PSG too. “We thought we were too good,” admitted Ousmane Dembélé after PSG conceded three goals at Villa Park and were nearly knocked out of the Champions League. “We eased off a bit. We thought it was over but big matches are like that,” said Malick Fofana after Lyon’s spectacular three-goal collapse against Manchester United did cost them a place in the Europa League semi-finals. “It is a match I won’t forget,” added Fofana, who knows that Lyon – like PSG – will have to re-engage if their season is to end well.

With a derby at Saint-Étienne on Sunday, Lyon had no time for a postmortem. But for Paulo Fonseca, one thing was clear. “We led 4-2 with one less player on the pitch but we celebrated the 4-2 too much when the match was not finished,” said the Lyon manager after his team’s 5-4 defeat at Old Trafford. “We should have thought about continuing to manage the match. We lacked experience at this moment,” he added.

Few expected this Köpenick clash to deliver many thrills, but the two clubs served up eight first-half goals

It was not the game, at the start of the weekend, that leapt from the fixtures page as a history maker. Even afterwards, if you looked at the numbers below the top line it hardly seemed a game to make you leap from your seat.

Yet few first halves have scrambled perception and expectation as much as Union Berlin’s meeting with Stuttgart on Saturday evening. Fifty-one minutes and 48 seconds which bedazzled and befuddled in equal measure at Stadion An der Alten Försterei, the claustrophobic arena known for unrelenting atmosphere, emotion but very few goals. In this first half, Union matched a third of the goals they had already scored at home all season, taking their season tally in their yard from 12 to 16. It was the first time a Bundesliga game has ever contained eight first-half goals; four, in this case, for each side.

• Lewandowski injury mars Barça’s 4-3 victory
• McTominay strikes as Napoli keep pressure on Inter

Barcelona fought back from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in a rollercoaster encounter, with a stoppage-time penalty by Raphinha extending their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to seven points.

Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute through Ferran Torres but conceded an equaliser three minutes later when Wojciech Szczesny misread a cross and allowed Borja Iglesias to score. The Spanish forward then stunned the home fans when he scored two more goals in the second half, twice racing through to beat the keeper on his way to a hat-trick.

­Manchester United fans chanted abuse at Manchester City’s Phil Foden about his mother during Sunday’s goalless derby. City manager Pep Guardiola said the move 'lacked class' and added: 'I don’t understand the mind of the ­people ­involving the mum of Phil, it’s a lack of integrity, class, and they should be ashamed.' It is understood that City were shocked and disgusted by the chants and the number of people involved. United’s stance is that they condemn all abusive chants aimed towards players

• ‘Lack of class’: Guardiola hits out at United fans’ chant about Foden’s mother

There was a cheeky free-kick in the third tier of Swedish football when Jönköpings Södra's Linus Lyck caught the goalkeeper and defensive wall unawares with a nonchalant curler into the bottom corner to give his side a 1-0 lead against Lunds BK. It was reminiscent of a goal scored against Chelsea by Liverpool's Fábio Aurélio in 2009

Great Weston: National League footballer scores from inside his own area – video

Weston-super-Mare’s Luke Coulson scored from his own penalty area against Hornchurch in the National League South. With the hosts 3-2 down in stoppage time, goalkeeper Mason Terry went up for a late corner - but the ball instead dropped to Coulson, who kicked it from the penalty spot all the way upfield, where it bounced and rolled into an empty net.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Some phrases are commonised so quickly that it’s easy to forget how new they are. The concept of the second-screen experience wasn’t regularly discussed on these pages until 2012; a decade later it is much a part of our lives as privately WISHING TO HELL YOU’D PUT THAT BLOODY TABLET DOWN AND LISTEN TO THE DIALOGUE PROPERLY – IT’S CASSAVETES! But never mind the second-screen experience. We’re now moving towards the age of the second first-screen experience, in which a dopamine fiend watches two football matches/episodes of Dawson’s Creek simultaneously. We know this because, for the last few years, Football Daily has been that dopamine fiend. This weekend, two screens might not be enough.

It took me a while to get used to it and unfortunately I couldn’t continue. It was really a matter of the altitude. It’s surreal here” – Palmeiras forward Estêvão – who will join Chelsea for £29m later this year – had an 18th birthday to remember, netting his side’s second in a 3-2 Copa Libertadores win over Bolivar before dropping to the turf, throwing up and leaving the field on a stretcher as the high altitude of La Paz took its toll. Reminds us of Football Daily’s 18th … minus the goal, of course.

Are we to assume that the reason Manchester United Women are taking part in the new World Sevens tournament (yesterday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition) is because that’s the size of their squad now thanks to The (Big Sir) Jim Reaper?” – Derek McGee.

Following the preview of Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final (yesterday’s Football Daily), can I be the first of 1,057 pedants to point out that Wembley Way does not exist. The pedestrianised street leading from Wembley Park station to Wembley Stadium is (and has always been) called Olympic Way. Blackburn fans born before the 1995 Charity Shield (for example) could be forgiven the mistake, but everyone else (especially otherwise well-informed tea-timely football emails) should know better” – Chris Carter (and no others).

Nice shout for the Human League, a terrific league (Wednesday’s Football Daily). According to the band’s Wikipedia page, the name came from a science-fiction board game. So, if a great league can get its name from a related activity, this suggests that an excellent name for a football league would be the Football League. Yes, that has a familiar and comforting ring to it” – Mike Wilner.

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

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

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

• Mail us with your questions and answers

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

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

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

• Buy a copy of this very cartoon in our Print Shop
• David’s new book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Match report: Leicester 0-1 Liverpool

Match report: Ipswich 0-4 Arsenal

Match report: Aston Villa 4-1 Newcastle

Match report: Manchester United 0-1 Wolves

Match report: Fulham 1-2 Chelsea

Match report: Everton 0-2 Manchester City

Match report: Brentford 4-2 Brighton

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Statistics can help assess a potential recruit’s emotional control and leadership, while highlighting red flags

“The players didn’t show enough fight.” Listen to any pundit’s post-match reaction and you will hear variations of that soundbite. But can you analyse an athlete’s state of mind, based on their on-pitch body language?

In an era when football is increasingly leaning on data to demonstrate physical attributes, statistics offering an accurate indication of a player’s psychological qualities, such as emotional control and leadership, are harder to come by. But Premier League clubs including Brighton are using a technique intended to help in that regard with selection and recruitment.

Rodri has beaten Vinícius Júnior and Erling Haaland to top our ranking of the most talented players in the world this calendar year

• How all the judges voted | Rodri heads 2024 list | Our methodology | The top 100 female players in the world
• 2023 edition | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 | 2012

The Manchester City midfielder becomes the sixth player to top our ranking of the world’s best 100 male footballers

• The 100 best male footballers in the world 2024

One of the worst things about seeing Rodri in agony on the pitch against Arsenal in September – and the subsequent news that he had ruptured an anterior cruciate ligament – was that in the buildup to the injury he had criticised the workload being put on players. It was as if he knew something bad was about to happen.

In April, after an epic 3-3 draw at Real Madrid the Manchester City and Spain midfielder said: “I do need a rest.” He added: “Let’s see how we speak, how we live the situation. Sometimes it is what it is. I need to adjust. It [rest] is something we are planning, yes.”

Aitana Bonmatí finishes top of our rankings for a second consecutive year, with Caroline Graham Hansen second and Sophia Smith third

• Bonmatí on top of world again | How every judge voted | Video top ten | 2023 list | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018
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The Spanish midfielder wins for a second consecutive year on a fast-moving list that sees 15 players appearing for the first time

• The top 100: check out the full list for 2024

Aitana Bonmatí emulates her Barcelona and Spain teammate Alexia Putellas and takes back-to-back wins in the Guardian’s 100 best female footballers in the world list.

The double Ballon d’Or winner received votes from all 99 of this year’s judges, finishing 667 points clear of her club teammate Caroline Graham Hansen, the Norwegian climbing to her highest ranking after a superb individual year for both club and country.

From Franco Mastantuono to Estêvão, we select some of the most talented players born in 2007. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

We pick the best youngsters at each club born between 1 September 2007 and 31 August 2008, an age band known as first-year scholars. Check the progress of our classes of 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 … and look at the editions from further back

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

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