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After learning of his father’s death on the morning of the clásico, the manager watched his players respond with devotion that underlined the culture he has built

Early on Sunday morning Hansi Flick got a call from his mum telling him that his father had died overnight. Hansi Sr was 82 and he had been ill for some time. The day that Barcelona were going to win the league again, the first clásico back at the Camp Nou, had just begun and their coach was not sure what to do, yet he also knew. “I [thought]: ‘should I hide it or should I speak with my team, because for me it is like a family?’,” he said. “I said ‘OK, I want to get the information to my players, and what they did is unbelievable. I will never forget this moment.”

None of them would. Barcelona’s players had arrived at the Torre Melina hotel on the Diagonal at midday, where the man many of them consider a father told them about his. Now it was close to midnight and together they celebrated a title that was his too. For the first time in 94 years, the clásico had decided La Liga, if decided is really the word when it was done a while ago. Barcelona’s superiority in the 2-0 victory that finally ended it was incontestable as it had been virtually all season, Real Madrid’s players withdrawing swiftly, relieved that at least it was over now and leaving the stadium to them, the first round of fireworks exploding into the sky and a sardana forming in the centre circle.

The Gunners’ title charge was strengthened by a goal called back, in a perfect encapsulation of what modern soccer has become

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A corner. A melee. Bodies everywhere. Blocks and tugs, pulls and shoves. A VAR decision. Fury. Empty noise. A title perhaps decided; a significant impact on the relegation battle. Shouting. Confused pundits ranting. Social media figures rallying to the side they were always going to take. Welcome to modern soccer.

After what looked like an injury-time equaliser for West Ham was ruled out on Sunday, Arsenal now need only to beat Burnley and Crystal Palace to be sure of their first Premier League title in 22 years. In the relegation scrap, West Ham are a point behind Tottenham, who play at home to Leeds, now safe, on Monday evening. But the big issue is a VAR decision. Of course it is: this is 2025-26.

• Mourinho expected to return to Bernabéu

• Chelsea also keen on Silva, but Alonso is their first choice

Benfica will target Fulham’s Marco Silva as their manager if they lose José Mourinho to Real Madrid. Mourinho is Madrid’s preferred choice and talks have taken place over the former Chelsea and Manchester United manager returning to the Bernabéu.

Benfica do not want to lose the 63-year-old, who was hired last September, but need a contingency plan. They are looking at Silva as a potential replacement for Mourinho, who is expected to agree to a second spell at Madrid 13 years after his first ended.

• England forward has played key role in several title wins

• ‘Beth is such a special person and will always be welcome’

Beth Mead is close to agreeing a move to Manchester City, the Guardian understands, after it was confirmed she will leave Arsenal this summer when her contract expires after nine years at the club.

The England forward has made 265 appearances and scored 86 goals for Arsenal since joining from Sunderland, winning one WSL title, three League Cups, the Champions League and the Champions Cup to become a key name in the club’s modern history.

• Average cost of one ticket claimed to be $3,000 (£2,200)

• Fifa insists terms and conditions of sale were made clear

Numerous Football Associations have been hit by increased prices when buying World Cup tickets for their players’ family and friends, with teams competing at the tournament affected by Fifa’s dynamic pricing model. While Fifa offered all national associations that have qualified for the World Cup a six-week window to buy tickets at a fixed price after the draw in December, any requests for tickets from the end of January have been subject to what Fifa describes as “adaptive pricing”, with the cost rising for most matches.

An executive at one national association said they had requested hundreds of additional tickets in recent weeks and have been surprised at the size of the bill. An executive at another association claimed the average cost of securing attendance at matches for their players’ family and their guests has risen to about $3,000 (£2,200) a ticket after extra purchases, a significant ­additional cost that will eat into their ­tournament funding. Fifa sources insisted the average cost of tickets bought by national associations is far lower than $3,000.

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Well, that escalated slowly. While Arsenal left it late to score their winner against West Ham on Sunday, they got the job done and now find themselves a couple of straightforward wins against the second worst team in the league and Crystal Palace Under-9s from the Premier League title that has eluded them for 22 years. Except this Arsenal team doesn’t really do “straightforward”, as they showed when letting West Ham nab an added-time equaliser, only for it to be snatched away following an intervention from the curtain-twitching buzzkills in their Stockley Park joy-vacuum. If Football Daily was an Arsenal fan, our soul would almost certainly have left our body as we watched Chris Kavanagh repeatedly rock-and-roll the footage on his touchline monitor, trying to pick through the weeds of the 1,057 different fouls being committed simultaneously by players from both teams. Eventually, he arrived at what (everyone except Peter Schmeichel and a few Pearly Kings agreed) was probably the correct decision.

I write with admiration of Stockport’s Dave Challinor for one or indeed two hidden skills (Friday’s Still Want More, full email edition). May I explain: he either has great willpower for not eating the Smarties on his tactics board and/or he knows how long he can keep his finger on the confectionery before it melts while the picture is taken” – Shaun Clark.

I really enjoyed the photo of Dave Challinor. My question: does he prefer using Skittles, M&Ms or Reese’s Pieces on his whiteboard? I’ve experimented with all three candies in my coaching sessions with U8 and U10 teams over the years. I’d appreciate his expert insight about which is most effective. Or tastes best” – Mike Wilner.

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Goalkeeper has begun to rebuild his reputation under Roberto De Zerbi, whose attitude has helped Spurs in fight for Premier League survival

When Antonin Kinsky had his Madrid episode, there was an assumption that he would not play again for Tottenham this season. And maybe not the next one, either. The 23-year-old goalkeeper would have to rebuild himself elsewhere, probably on loan. Perhaps, given the scale of the horror against Atlético in the Champions League last 16 first leg on 10 March – and there really is no need to rake over the details – a permanent transfer may have been an option.

Kinsky’s comeback has been extraordinary; an inspiration to everybody at the club. With the first-choice selection, Guglielmo Vicario, undergoing hernia surgery towards the end of March, Roberto De Zerbi has counted on the Czech in each of his four matches in charge. The manager has not been let down.

Bayer Leverkusen and Eintracht Frankfurt among teams facing a nervy Saturday with their managers precariously placed

Not the end, perhaps, but certainly the denouement. After the penultimate weekend of the Bundesliga season some big issues remain open; the confirmation of the fourth team to qualify for the Champions League, the two teams to drop to the second tier and which side will get a two-leg opportunity to reprieve themselves.

Yet the German game is nothing if not reliably businesslike in having some of next season’s key parameters set before the current exercise is done. There was no need for official announcements, though, with the results doing the explaining for us. Or, in a few cases, the performances. There has been considerable doubt, for example, whether Kasper Hjulmand would continue as Bayer Leverkusen coach next season. Now, there is none.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s rampage hurts Marseille, Strasbourg struggle and Bastia hit a new low

By Get French Football News

It was a dramatic weekend of football in France. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Emanuel Emegha played starring roles; so too did the Bastia fans, as the club exited the stage kicking and screaming.

The word “fire” has been used a lot in Marseille this season, perhaps because it has been blazing or because Habib Beye has sought to extinguish it. Such talk was purely figurative – until this week. Aubameyang was not on the teamsheet when Marseille travelled to Le Havre hoping to end a run of three games without a win. Their recent slump has not only ensured they will fail to qualify for the Champions League, but it has put them in danger of missing out on European football altogether.

San Siro emptied early after supporters once again sang the former director’s name as club faces lack of Champions League football … again

There were more than seven minutes left to play, plus injury time, in a crucial end-of-season game, yet San Siro was already half empty. Milan’s Ultras had deserted the Curva Sud to prepare a post-game protest, but even the less organised, more forgiving parts of the club’s fanbase could not be bothered to stay until the end of another humiliating defeat.

Their team was losing 3-0 to Atalanta and it hardly even felt a surprise. With this loss, inevitable as it now appeared, the Rossoneri had collectedseven points from their past eight games. Only three teams in Serie A had done worse over the same stretch. Two of those – Verona, and Pisa – have been relegated. The third, Lecce, are perilously close to joining them.

Jérémy Doku finds the net again, Joshua Zirkzee struggles at Sunderland and Ismaïla Sarr is fulfilling his potential

When Bruno Fernandes became the Football Writers’ Association player of the year on Friday, Declan Rice and David Raya could have been forgiven for feeling a touch aggrieved. They have been essential to Arsenal’s push for a Premier League and Champions League double, but Raya showed why he might have been more deserving at the London Stadium as his technically pinpoint one-on-one save gave Arsenal the platform they so desperately needed to secure a vital three points late on. Mikel Arteta’s side were on the ropes as Mateus Fernandes exchanged a one-two with Pablo to run in with the goal at his mercy. Surely this was it for Arsenal: the title slipping again. Raya’s nerve held strong, making the most crucial of saves. Arsenal’s dream of winning a first title in 22 years remains in his hands. Graham Searles

Match report: West Ham 0-1 Arsenal

Barney Ronay: VAR offers up title-deciding moment

Match report: Manchester City 3-0 Brentford

Match report: Liverpool 1-1 Chelsea

Match report: Sunderland 0-0 Manchester United

Match report: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle

Match report: Burnley 2-2 Aston Villa

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A traditional power and an upstart contender are leading a tense competition that could go down to the final day

The 12-team division splits into two groups of six for the final five matches of the season, with each team playing every other team in their group once. This creates some nail-biting tension down the stretch, as the relegation rivals face each other, as do the title challengers. It also satisfies TV broadcasters, who now get four Old Firm league derbies to broadcast every year.

After a tough season the 19-year-old has made his mark in Arsenal’s midfield at a crucial stage

The way Myles Lewis-Skelly framed the story, it was akin to an act of God. And what about Ian Wright? The Arsenal club legend can be relied upon for heart-on-the-sleeve hyperbole and did not disappoint on Sunday as he reflected on the West Ham goal that was not; the most significant video assistant referee-inspired overrule of them all.

On the pitch at the London Stadium, the referee, Chris Kavanagh, announced via his microphone that West Ham’s Pablo had fouled the Arsenal goalkeeper, David Raya, and Callum Wilson’s 95th-minute equaliser would be disallowed. “Final decision, direct free-kick.”

• Jota and his brother died in car accident last July

• Memorial will be positioned on 97 Avenue at Anfield

Liverpool have released images of a permanent memorial that is to be unveiled at Anfield in tribute to Diogo Jota and his brother, André Silva. Titled “Forever 20”, the memorial features a flowing heart sculpture inspired by Jota’s goal celebration. The numbers 20 and 30, Jota’s and Silva’s shirt numbers respectively, can also be seen from different angles.

It will include the lyrics of the song Liverpool fans continue to sing in honour of Jota and is regarded as a celebration of the bond between the brothers, who died in a car accident last July.

• Middlesbrough apprehended alleged spy last week

• Saints may claim that the offender was an intern

Middlesbrough have been approached by fellow Championship clubs who harbour suspicions that their pre-match training sessions may also have been spied on by Southampton.

The English Football League has charged the south-coast club with misconduct after a member of Tonda Eckert’s backroom was allegedly caught breaching regulations by filming and making audio recordings of one of Kim Hellberg’s final practice sessions before his Middlesbrough side faced Eckert’s Southampton in Saturday’s playoff semi-final first leg at the Riverside Stadium. As Hellberg prepares his players for Tuesday’s second leg at St Mary’s Stadium with the score goalless, Championship rivals are understood to be examining any available CCTV training-ground footage from recent weeks.

Khadija Shaw showed Manchester City what they are giving up and ­Chelsea what they are potentially getting in emphatic style, scoring an injury-time equaliser and then an extra time winner as City came from two goals behind to earn a place in the FA Cup final against Brighton.

“I’ve said it many times this year, this group never give up. They always have a belief,” said the City manager, Andrée Jeglertz.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Robyn Cowen and Philippe Auclair to discuss all the weekend’s football

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On today’s pod: Arsenal are two wins from the title after a dramatic late VAR call denies West Ham an injury-time equaliser. Was Pablo fouling David Raya? Were Arsenal lucky, or did Chris Kavanagh get the biggest VAR call of the season right? The panel ask whether Arsenal have simply been hoisted by their own set-piece petard, and how many replays are too many replays?

Elsewhere, Manchester City keep the pressure on with a 3-0 win over Brentford, while Liverpool fans boo Arne Slot after another frustrating draw against Chelsea. Bournemouth continue their unlikely push for a Champions League place, Brighton bounce back emphatically, and Spurs’ survival hopes remain alive ahead of Leeds away.

Plus: advantage Celtic after the Old Firm, Championship play-off Spygate 2.0 as Southampton are charged over alleged playoff spying, Rochdale’s dramatic return to the EFL, the Women’s FA Cup semi-finals, and Philippe questions the kick-out Kylian Mbappé petition, which has been gathering pace.

Chapters:

00:00 - Coming up...

01:15 - Biggest VAR decision of all time?

22:07 - City still chasing in vain

24:16 - Boos ring around Anfield for Slot

31:50 - Should Iraola really leave?

33:41 - All eyes on Europe for Villa and Palace

37:41 - Tuchel casts eye over England stars

39:30 - Anderson rescues point

40:31 - Bruno, POTY?

42:22 - Fitba corner

43:34 - Spygate II

55:31 - Mbappe OUT petition

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The former England keeper has the chance to represent his country once again after flourishing as a senior cricketer

‘I once hit a six in very murky conditions to win a game which got us promoted.” Nigel Martyn is lost in a reverie. The former England, Leeds, Everton and Crystal Palace player was English football’s first £1m goalkeeper, chalked up 846 club appearances in a career that spanned three decades, went to two World Cups and played in an FA Cup final. But it is a smear over long-on in the Yorkshire gloaming that has him misty-eyed.

“Wow. I remember that feeling was … yeah. That was as good as any feeling that I had on a football field.”

Multibillion stage of title-relegation stagger boils down to a referee in front of a screen decoding a raised forearm

There’s a great moment towards the end of the otherwise non-great Rocky III, when Clubber Lang is asked by a straw-hatted, bowtie-twirling US sports reporter for a prediction before his imminent title fight. There’s a pause as Clubber looks down, lets the mask of showmanship drop, and just says the word “pain”.

You can say that again. Let’s face it, this was always going to hurt, whichever way the latest note in the conjoined title‑relegation stagger fell. Just as it was always likely the destination of the Premier League title would come down to staring at a referee staring at a screen to decide the minutiae of an arm wrestle at a corner.

Also: James Rodríguez finally makes his mark with Minnesota, and a perfect stat line appears in the Bronx

There are points up for grabs in the East. Inter Miami tooled up to defend their MLS Cup title with uneven results. The Philadelphia Union have dropped them from the top of the heap to the cellar. The Ohio duopoly of Columbus and Cincinnati are below their previous standard, while Orlando City played the long game, conducting minimal business before Antoine Griezmann’s summer arrival.

Nashville SC have been the greatest beneficiary of The Great Points Migration in 2026, storming to the top of the East. But right behind them after a gritty 2-1 win over Philadelphia this week are the surprising New England Revolution, led by Marko Mitrović in his first MLS head coaching role after four years with the US youth national teams.

The much-loved football sticker album is to be discontinued after 2030. Guardian writers recall their thrills and frustrations

With this summer’s World Cup already mired in controversy over politicisation, potential travel bans and rows over ticket prices, fans were dealt another piece of sad news this week: the tournament’s much-loved Panini sticker album will be discontinued after 2030.

Guardian writers recall their Panini memories from years gone by.

Aston Villa and Crystal Palace’s runs to European finals are historic achievements, but symptomatic of a worrying trend

There will be no doubting Unai Emery’s supremacy in the Europa League if he is reacquainted with the trophy in Istanbul this month. A fifth title would add to the Aston Villa manager’s legend and it would show he can do it with an English club. The latter achievement, though, may be diminished in value. A greater concern lies in the way that Premier League clubs, gradually but discernibly, are dominating Europe’s smaller competitions in a way Uefa surely could never have intended.

Villa will be the eighth English finalists from the last 22 teams to reach the Europa League’s showpiece. Should they win, it would be the first time since the first two years of the Uefa Cup, its predecessor with the same trophy, that sides from England have won the secondary tournament in consecutive seasons. They would build on Tottenham’s haphazard triumph of last May and while neither consistency nor relative excellence should be sniffed at their progress contributes to a concerning broader trend.

Footballer has 664 million followers but his boring presence is a reminder of how reel-life destroys what it touches

Buy the backpack airlines hate. Fawn strangely at a child athlete. This TV presenter drank olive oil for a month and absolutely nothing happened. The streets (no actual streets involved) won’t forget (robots can’t forget) Paul Pogba (or equivalent coding).

Nineties dance hits. Ruben Amorim loyalists. Argue with fake fans over a fake photo of fake empty seats. Buy a backpack that hates you because you once thought about buying a backpack, and like a Hungarian grandmother it will never, ever forget and you will be punished.

The tiny Italian club are flying high with the help of the former Arsenal player, ambitious owners and a scouting guru inspired by Football Manager

The serene sound of lapping water is broken only by the whir of a seaplane engine swooping to land. Outside the hangar to which the aircraft will soon return, a crowd has gathered well before kick-off. Later, most will scale the steep steps of the adjacent Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia.

To the right sits Villa Carminati, a new private members’ club that also houses hospitality guests on matchdays. It is a unique setting for a unique football club. When bathed in sunshine, as was the case for last Sunday’s goalless draw with Napoli, Como 1907 is a waterside paradise. Or, as their president, Mirwan Suwarso, puts it when drawing parallels between the club and Disney, it is the “theme park” division of the “main brand … Lake Como”.

Defeat to Arsenal could usher in a period of intense change, but whether coach will stick around is an open question

“I love you,” Diego Simeone said, but they only had 14 games to save the season. It was the night before Atlético Madrid faced Barcelona in the Champions League quarter-final first leg in early April and the manager was sitting alongside Antoine Griezmann, unexpectedly opening up in a press conference of all places, emotion and admiration expressed publicly as the end drew near. “A player first, then a friend,” in the coach’s words. Griezmann had recently announced that he was leaving for Orlando City. That was the bad news; the good news was that he would do so at the close of a campaign that could be for ever, that he was still here at all.

The threat had been that Griezmann would go with immediate effect, departing in March before the season was even finished, his American contract already agreed and not easy to change, faced by a reluctance to release him. But how, Atlético’s coach, CEO and teammates insisted, could he leave when the pinnacle of his 10 years at the club unexpectedly still lay ahead? So meetings were held, pressure applied, a solution found that allowed him to stay a little longer and leave a legacy unlike anything else. “The best is still to come,” Griezmann said. “I love you, but if you don’t run, I’m taking you off,” Simeone reminded him. “There are eight league games, one in the cup [final] and, if God wills it, five more Champions League matches.”

• ‘I crossed the line’ says 34-year-old Brazil forward

• Neymar hugs teenage teammate after Santos goal

Neymar has publicly apologised to his Santos teammate Robinho Júnior for slapping him during a training session, as the pair appeared to put the dispute behind them during a game on Tuesday.

Santos said they had opened an investigation this week after the altercation between Neymar and the 18-year-old son of Robinho, the former Real Madrid and Manchester City striker.

Visit will be the first time a North Korean women’s football team has competed on southern soil since the 2014 Incheon Asian Games

A North Korean women’s football club will travel to South Korea this month, marking the first visit by a northern sports delegation in nearly eight years, at a time of near-total estrangement between the two Koreas.

Naegohyang Women’s FC, based in North Korea’s capital Pyongyang, will face South Korea’s Suwon FC Women at Suwon sports complex, on 20 May for the semi-finals of the AFC Women’s Champions League.

The eggheads can argue the head coach is merely an interchangeable cog in a team’s fortunes – but emotion counts in an ever-changing game

Your manager has fallen out with the sporting director and results have gone awry, so you replace him. Easily done, it happens. But then it turns out that the new manager could not be more ill-suited to the squad, results go awry and so you replace him.

A bad leader would hesitate and hope things worked out, but you are ruthless and decisive and turn to a manager who was once a youth player at the club and has some anecdotes about the old days. But it turns out some people think his methods are old‑fashioned and results go awry, so you replace him.

Many of us struggle to not get sucked into the content machine, even if we simply say: ‘This doesn’t matter’

Last week a video did the rounds of Diego Simeone getting annoyed with Ben White for walking over an enormous Atlético Madrid crest-doormat placed literally in the middle of the tunnel entrance which Ben White had to walk into to get to the room Atlético Madrid had themselves selected for Ben White to get changed in.

Then on Tuesday night, Diego Simeone walked over an enormous Arsenal crest-doormat situated in the middle of the tunnel at the Emirates Stadium to get to the room Arsenal had themselves selected for Diego Simeone and the rest of his Atlético Madrid side to get changed in.

Something of an obsessive with tidiness, the interim coach has beaten all the club’s closest rivals in his short time in charge

We’ll get on to the more pressing business of whether Michael Carrick deserves the full-time Manchester United job in a moment. There’s plenty to discuss: tactics and philosophy, character and comportment, the squad he inherited from Ruben Amorim and how United might strengthen it in the summer window. But first: I want you to imagine eating an entire dover sole with the bones left in, while under the gaze of the former England international Trevor Francis.

You’re in a fancy restaurant in Birmingham. You’re 18 years old, and have ordered the fish with potatoes on the assumption that it will essentially be a posh chippy supper. The sole arrives, the waiter asks whether you want it filleted, and because you don’t know what that means, you say no. Immediately you feel the painful prickles on your tongue, the unsatisfying gnash of skeletal marine matter between your teeth. Naturally, you don’t want to look rude or foolish in front of your new manager. So you put on a brave face, and keep chewing. Meanwhile, Trevor Francis keeps watching.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s trickery and imagination in Munich gave a reminder of the challenge facing Arsenal in the final

Well, it was never going to be quite the same. You only get one all-time high, one first kiss, one Catcher in the Rye, one loved-up alien-ball dreamscape of a game like the first leg between these two teams.

In the event Bayern Munich never really laid a glove on Paris Saint-Germain at the Allianz Arena. They trailed from the third minute to Ousmane Dembélé’s goal, drew level on the night through Harry Kane at the death, but looked in between like a team trying to generate energy from a standing start, always kept at one remove by the extended arm, the palm on their forehead, fists whirling in the empty air between.

Our cartoonist on a weekend of genuine excitement at the top and bottom of the English top-flight table

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Striker reflects on the ultimate high with Leicester and the role of the self-titled ‘Inbetweeners’ in his success

“I was just a little freak in the works.” Jamie Vardy is reflecting on his career with the usual levels of self-deprecation and pondering whether anyone could possibly board the same rollercoaster. “It’s not the common way of doing things, is it? I don’t think it will probably happen again, but it did happen for me and it was hard work. It really was tough, but all worth it.”

Humour has always been a preferred Vardy tool for removing the sting from a serious point. He is speaking to mark a new documentary about his rise, which brought him from warehouse work making walking frames and crutches to scarcely credible levels of Premier League success.

After 10 years without a Women’s Super League title, City are champions once more – here’s how they did it

The sight of Rebecca Knaak fighting back tears on hearing the full-time whistle last Sunday summed up what this means. The Manchester City defender had sustained a painful shoulder injury during a victory over Liverpool snatched by her late header so probably had her own reasons for finding the combination of relief, soreness and joy a little overwhelming. But her emotions could have been felt by any of the longer-serving season-ticket holders in the stands after a decade-long wait for a Women’s Super League title.

When City lifted this trophy in 2016, the landscape of the English women’s game was wholly different. The club, then managed by Nick Cushing, completed the 16-game campaign unbeaten and clinched the title on a day when they deployed a starting XI featuring nine English and two Scottish players from a squad that included only six non-English players. It was a time before the wider, full-time professionalism of the league and the influx of overseas talent.

It was an honour to be asked to help find talent for the men’s team and I am enjoying and benefiting from the responsibility

The buzz after I mentioned doing some scouting in the men’s game for Bayern Munich, during my appearance as an analyst on Swedish broadcaster SVT for the men’s team’s Champions League match against Real Madrid, is a bit of a double-edged sword.

On the one hand, I thought: ‘Why is this such big news? It shouldn’t be.’ On the other hand, I understand it and I’m happy there has been so much positivity and encouragement around it. I hope it widens people’s perspectives and helps break barriers for women working in men’s football, because I think we’re ready for that, men’s football is ready for it and it needs it. I hope it inspires other clubs to see it as a good idea. Why not give these opportunities to someone who wants them and wants to prepare for their career after football?

Having overseen a historic return to the Premier League, businessman is now aiming his sights even higher

Doug King is discussing the night Coventry clinched promotion to the Premier League after 25 years away. He had a tear in his eye when the moment arrived at Blackburn and, after eventually exiting the Ewood Park boardroom, the champagne flowing, the straight-talking owner worth hundreds of millions hunkered down at a Travelodge adjacent to a service station on the M65. “It was ... noisy,” he says, taking a second to land on the best adjective, “because all I could hear pretty much all night was: ‘We are Premier League.’”

It has led King to feel like a party planner of late. The biggest one yet was Monday’s open-top bus parade which started on Jimmy Hill Way, named after the manager who in 1967 led the club into the top flight for the first time. After Coventry were crowned champions last month, King guzzled from the trophy. “I didn’t think the lid would come off, so we had to make the most of that,” he says with a smile.

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This feels like a good day to distract ourselves from [gestures in general direction of outside world] … so let’s check in on the latest events at Real Madrid. Have they finally found dressing-room harmony? Ah. Eek. Oh boy. Two statements from the club on Thursday revealed an “incident in the first-team training session” involving midfielders Federico Valverde and Aurélien Tchouaméni, with the former suffering “head trauma”. It’s now emerged that Valverde needed stitches after a second altercation in as many days with his teammate. After a full and frank exchange of views in Wednesday’s training session at Valdebebas, Valverde then accused Tchouaméni of leaking news of that exchange, resulting in an unseemly tussle where the Uruguayan fell and hit his head on a table. We can only imagine that poor Álvaro Arbeloa, who had just popped out for morale-boosting bocadillos, walked back in to find everything on fire, like Donald Glover in that Community episode.

If Arsenal fans find that they are getting ripped off by hotels in Budapest for the Bigger Cup final, they might try booking hotels in Vienna near the main train station. Vienna-Budapest is less than three hours by train; a pleasant trip along the Danube. Trains run every hour, cost about €53 one way, and the fastest train makes the trip in 2hr 20min. The hotel prices in Vienna should be back down to normal … the Eurovision Song Contest will be over on 16 May. Bratislava might also be a better place to stay and the beer is cheaper” – Eric Ries (“not a travel agent, nor a worker for the Austrian National Railway”).

On a similar vein to Declan Rice’s misquote (yesterday’s Football Daily letters), I remember sometime ago when Manchester United were having problems, Rio Ferdinand was being interviewed about how the players should react. He replied that ‘someone had to assume the mantelpiece’” – Peter Arnold.

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The Wellington Phoenix coach reflects on the aftermath of the Olympic spying scandal and leading her team into a first A-League Women’s finals campaign

Football is not the kind of profession that lends itself to time off for birthdays and the like. Especially when you’re preparing to lead Wellington Phoenix into their first A-League women’s finals campaign, as Bev Priestman was last week. Yet, especially when contrasted with last year, when she was still in the midst of a one-year Fifa ban after the spying scandal that engulfed Canada’s women’s football team during the Paris Olympics, being among “her people” turned out to be a gift in and of itself.

“It was my 40th birthday [last week],” Priestman says. “And it’s those moments I think to a year ago, and how I felt.

Sunday’s edition of the famous rivalry felt like the least important in years, except for the uncertain futures of both managers

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It’s been a long time since a Manchester United v Liverpool game felt of less consequence. These are the two most successful sides in English league history, hailing from neighbouring cities and they have a rivalry that stretches back well over a century. Yet it felt perhaps only the seventh-most significant fixture of the weekend, behind the games involving the two title contenders, Arsenal and Manchester City, and the four sides still scrapping to avoid joining Wolves and Burnley in being relegated this season – Leeds, Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Tottenham.

United’s 3-2 win sealed their place in next season’s Champions League while, barring very odd swings of goal difference, Liverpool need just three points from their remaining three games to be certain of their own qualification. For both, the biggest issue now is deciding who manages them next season – and this was a ragged enough game to cast doubts over the suitability of Michael Carrick and Arne Slot for their respective sides.

Plus: youngest players to score a trophy-clinching goal, an apology to Albert Kidd and keepers seeing red

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“Sheffield Wednesday finished their Championship season on zero points, accumulating 18 points throughout their 46-game season after being handed an 18-point deduction for severe financial mismanagement,” notes Michael Butler. “But has any team finished on zero points simply because they lost every league game?”

There are many instances of teams finishing on zero points (with deductions), but one really has to delve deep to find those teams unfortunate enough to lose every single match in a full season. Even Fort William, famously branded as the “worst football team in Britain” after going 840 days and 73 matches without a win in 2019, managed to dig out a couple of draws in those seasons.

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon and Archie Rhind-Tutt after PSG progressed past Bayern

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On today’s podcast: Bayern and PSG didn’t provide another nine-goal thriller, as per the first leg, but it was an entertaining game in Munich as PSG progressed with a 6-5 aggregate win to the final, as the French side seek consecutive Champions League titles. As scary as PSG look, at least Arsenal fans don’t have to worry about the prospect of Harry Kane winning the Champions League at their expense.

OL Lyonnes ended Arsenal’s Champions League hopes while Rebecca Knaak puts Man City on the brink of WSL title glory

Who is the best female player in the world right now? Melchie Dumornay continues to make a strong claim for that accolade after her starring role in OL Lyonnes’ comeback to beat Arsenal in the Champions League semi-finals. The fearless Haiti international won a first-half penalty and provided a superb assist for Jule Brand’s late winner in the second leg, as well as being a constant thorn in Arsenal’s side with her pace, trickery and energy. The attacking midfielder, having missed the first leg through injury, helped the French side come from 2-1 down to win 4-3 on aggregate. Tom Garry

Arne Slot is fuming, Mikel Arteta’s big risk pays off and Josh Dasilva enjoys an emotional return for Brentford

Arne Slot was seething as he lamented the decision to allow Manchester United’s second goal to stand despite claims of handball by Benjamin Sesko. “The curve on the ball changed so there must have been a contact,” argued the Liverpool head coach. “But it’s no surprise to anyone that if there is a VAR intervention then the decision goes against us. It’s happened to us all season.” As PGMO confirmed at the time, however, there “was no conclusive evidence that Sesko handled the ball before scoring”. Slot was stretching it to pin Liverpool’s latest defeat on poor refereeing. United’s movement pulled the visitors apart in the first half and, without the injured Mohamed Salah, Hugo Ekitiké and Alexander Isak, the threat from Liverpool was nonexistent until capitalising on two errors early in the second half. Defeat stemmed from an anaemic first-half performance, nothing else. Andy Hunter

Match report: Manchester United 3-2 Liverpool

Match report: Arsenal 3-0 Fulham

Match report: Newcastle 3-1 Brighton

Match report: Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham

Match report: Brentford 3-0 West Ham

Match report: Leeds 3-1 Burnley

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

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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