Mark Donaldson and Luis Miguel Echegaray recall a disappointing end to the season for Tottenham (2:23).
What a weekend European football!
A chaotic defeat to Liverpool on Sunday sent Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League crumbling and Spurs are hanging by a thread. Elsewhere in England, Manchester City’s grip on the Women’s Super League name was loosened with Arsenal’s brace beating Manchester City as Chelsea claimed a lopsided victory. Meanwhile, David Moyes’ position at West Ham looks shaky after a massive defeat to Chelsea in the Premier League.
On Saturday, Arsenal and Manchester City won to keep the Premier League title race close, and Ipswich Town secured automatic promotion to the English top flight after 22 years away from home.
In Germany, Bayer Leverkusen picked up a win on Sunday, extending their unbeaten streak to 48 games in all competitions. The day before, Stuttgart had beaten Bayern Munich to have a chance to overtake them.
In Spain, Real Madrid beat Cadiz on Saturday and would celebrate their La Liga victory as Girona rallied to beat Barcelona later in the day. It’s another race for names that’s already over and dusted off!
– ESPN Broadcast: LaLiga, Bundesliga, (USA)
The end of the season is near and every result means so much more. So let’s get back to what happened this week across the continent.
Tottenham’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League hang in the balance after a late second-half reaction at Liverpool failed to save Ange Postecoglou’s side from a 4-2 defeat at Anfield.
While fourth-placed Aston Villa had lost at Brighton in the last Premier League game on Sunday, Spurs knew a win against Liverpool would put them four points behind Villa with a game in hand.
But despite the spice of Villa’s defeat, Spurs could not take credit and will now have to win all three games they have left (unlike Burnley, Manchester City and Sheffield United) and hope Aston Villa win no more than one point in order to win the match. finish in the top four.
After conceding the opener to Mohamed Salah in the 16th minute, Spurs never looked close to victory at Anfield and Andy Robertson gave the home a 2-0 half-time lead by scoring just before the break.
Robertson’s goal sparked an argument between Cristian Romero and Emerson Royal as Spurs defenders left the box at half-time, and goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario had to face his penalty to separate his teammates in contention.
The mood at Spurs was already gloomy before Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott made it 4-0 on the hour, but a series of substitutions from Postecoglou helped his side turn the tide as Richarlison, James Maddison and Giovani Lo Celso encouraged a response. .
Richarlison scored in the 72nd minute and Heung-Min Son added five extra minutes to reduce the deficit, but Spurs may not score two more goals to claim a point. The defeat forces Tottenham to have to make a mistake if Villa has any hope of completing. in the four most sensible.
And while Liverpool’s victory kept alive their vague hopes of winning the name, Jurgen Klopp’s side would want leaders Arsenal to lose their last two games and Man City to pick up just one point from the remaining three games to pull off a remarkable triumph for Liverpool. Mark Ogden
Leverkusen’s tenure continues unabated. After beating Roma in the Europa League earlier this week and moving closer to the final in Dublin, Bayer Leverkusen claimed victory in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
Eintracht Frankfurt rarely had the slightest chance of the first team beating Leverkusen this season. Instead, they suffered a 5-1 defeat to the newly crowned German champions in front of their home fans at Deutsche Bank Park.
Leverkusen didn’t even want Xabi Alonso’s education from the bench, while the Basque coach watched from the stands due to a suspension. Even though Alonso was replaced by assistant coach Sebastian Parrilla, Leverkusen knew exactly what to do to defeat a defeated Frankfurt team.
Eintracht had some damaging moments, but Leverkusen scored goal after goal to curb any imaginable momentum from the other side. In the end, Leverkusen’s Robert Andrich and Nathan Tella celebrated their substitute head coach by giving Parrilla a shower with bottled water.
In other words, Leverkusen would like this season to never end. They are now unbeaten in 48 matches in all competitions and are lately five games away from remaining unbeaten for the entire 2023-24 campaign.
Meanwhile, Eintracht find themselves in a tricky situation where they are not smart enough to compete with the top five in the Bundesliga, but too strong for almost all the other players in the German elite.
Frankfurt have been following Dortmund’s style lately: they are very interested in young prospects that the club hopes to expand profitably, as was the case with Randal Kolo Muani. But some young talents still look capable of being consistent, while Frankfurt veterans such as Mario Götze and Ellyes Skhiri will have to show more leadership in the future.
It was supposed to be undeniable for Manchester City when they hosted Arsenal on Sunday – they were the most sensible in the Women’s Super League standings and hosting a team that hadn’t won at home since 2017. After Chelsea’s midweek defeat to Liverpool. , manager Emma Hayes had almost bestowed the WSL name on Man City, and when Lauren Hemp swept the ball in the early stages of Man City’s match against Arsenal on Sunday, there was a sense that Man City were cementing their grip on the trophy.
However, that feeling probably wouldn’t last at Joie Stadium. In the second half, Arsenal began to flood the numbers around the box and scored two goals in 3 minutes straddling the 90 and beat Man City 2-1.
To make matters worse, Hayes seems to have allowed himself some confusion with his comments last week: Chelsea were barely giving up. On Sunday, Hayes at Chelsea demolished already-relegated Bristol City 8-0, ending their goal difference deficit and reinvigorating their name bid.
Chelsea still have to face Spurs in midweek before the final day of the season, but they are back in their favourite position of chasing the leaders to level what an annual last-day showdown has for all marbles. Hayes may simply not have asked for more from his players after a gruelling run of matches that knocked them out of the race for the Champions League, FA Cup and League Cup.
Meanwhile, for Gareth Taylor’s Man City, he will have plenty of time to lick his wounds after finishing the 3 overdue problems on the day against the Gunners. Although there is still a sense that the name belongs to Man City, the Cityzens will have to dig deep into their intellectual reserves to triumph against Aston Villa at the end of the WSL season. -Sophie Lawson
Sophie Lawson reflects on Manchester City’s failure to win the WSL title after conceding two goals to Arsenal.
If you’re a Premier League manager looking to get fit, the end of the season is the best time to do so. Chelsea’s Mauricio Pochettino and West Ham United’s David Moyes have been under pressure in recent weeks, leading many to wonder who could simply update them ahead of next season.
Pochettino has strengthened his position, however, as his side have suffered just one defeat in the Premier League since early February, leaving Chelsea with a chance to end the crusade in European places. However, Sunday’s 5-0 win over West Ham exacerbated Moyes’ problems.
The lack of anticipation and sense of opportunity before the start is disconcerting. Walking down Stamford Bridge along the rows of Georgian houses that dominate this component of west London, the call to arms of yesteryear was replaced by unnecessary chatter as supporters strolled alongside dog walkers and former Thanks, neighbors chat about the warm spring sun outside. Garden fences. It’s a London derby with only a call-up.
Perhaps it’s not unusual for those end-of-season games, or it’s representative of those two groups at opposite ends of the capital, who have struggled to attract their fans this season.
But despite Pochettino’s frosty relations with Chelsea fans over his deal with rival Tottenham, his work is starting to pay off.
Chelsea tore apart Moyes’ side in the first half on Sunday and went 3-0 up after 36 minutes, sparking a celebratory atmosphere in the stands at Stamford Bridge as some West Ham fans left before half-time. Jarrod Bowen hit the crossbar three times for the Spaniards. Nicolas Jackson added two more goals after the break to put even more pressure on Moyes, who said his team lacked “toughness, leadership” and “mental toughness. “
Most of Chelsea’s great paints came thanks to Cole Palmer’s left-footed shot, who opened the scoring with his 21st goal of the season, which, added to his nine assists, takes his tally to 30 goals in the Premier League. Only two players from this century have managed to do so. He completed a Premier League season at the age of 22 or older and achieved the same feat: Cristiano Ronaldo (31) in 2007-08 and Erling Haaland (36) last season. Cole Palmer Football Club, in fact. –Tom Chambers
Mark Donaldson remembers Chelsea’s win over West Ham in the Premier League.
On a Sunday when Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie and others were singing angels, I bet you didn’t expect this segment to open with Konrad de los Angeles Fountain.
Well, here we are. De los Angeles Fuente, the winger on loan from Marseille to SD Eibar in the Spanish second division, had a great Sunday, scoring a goal and helping in Eibar’s 5-0 win over Amorebieta.
De los Angeles Fuente, 22, from Miami, has already scored three goals and passed in 292 minutes in Spain’s second division this season.
Now, alright, let’s give us the content you expect about Americans abroad: Pulisic got a helping hand on Sunday in AC Milan’s 3-3 draw against Genoa.
With the game tied 2-2, Pulisic hit the post, which Olivier Giroud sent into the goal, giving Milan the lead. But the Rossoneri couldn’t hold on, allowing Genoa to equalize.
Meanwhile, Brenden Aaronson was also in action on Sunday, helping in Union Berlin’s 4-3 loss to VfL Bochum.
Oh, and as for McKennie: he and fellow American Timothy Weah started with Juventus on Sunday, but neither did anything remarkable in the 1-1 draw against AS Roma. Unless Weah earned a yellow card and withdrew after 61 mins as “noteworthy”, of course.
One last piece of news for U. S. men’s national team enthusiasts: PSV Eindhoven, the club of Sergiño Dest, Malik Tillman and Ricardo Pepi, clinched the Eredivisie title on Sunday.
Listen to USMNT’s Mailk Tillman as his PSV team wins the Eredivisie name and sparks a celebration.
Harry Maguire will miss the rest of Manchester United’s season through injury, he announced on Sunday, and now faces a race to go back in time to the FA Cup final on May 25 (broadcast live on ESPN, US only). U. S. Homeland
Jurgen Klopp said on Sunday he was confident his predecessor could build on what he had done with Liverpool. It has been widely reported that Arne Slot is set to upgrade Klopp. “Liverpool 2. 0 doesn’t stop after I leave, it’s just the start of some other task with a very smart team,” Klopp said.
World Cup-winning coach Cesar Luis Menotti, who led Argentina to that name in 1978, has died at the age of 85, the Argentine Football Federation announced on Sunday.
The end of Paul Pogba’s football career is difficult.
There was an argument with his brother and an alleged extortion plot with even stranger accusations that a “sorcerer” was involved. Soon after, Pogba was investigated for alleged doping, eventually leading to a four-year ban from playing football, which he is still serving.
Well, it turns out that the 31-year-old Pogba makes lemons out of lemonade and makes good use of his free time. This week, Pogba filmed scenes in Paris for a new movie he will star in, according to ESPN’s Julien Laurens.
“4 Zeros,” a sequel to a popular 2002 soccer movie, will see Pogba take on the role of a young soccer coach. It’s unclear exactly how important Pogba’s role will be in the film, but we’ll find out soon as the film is slated for release. launching in April 2025. –Murray
In the 84th minute, with Real Madrid beating Cadiz 2-0, the first refrain of the “champions” resounded at the Santiago Bernabéu. Madrid were still true champions, but that victory made their name in La Liga a certainty. And the audience enjoyed the moment.
In the end the score was 3-0, with Joselu scoring in stoppage time after Brahim Diaz and Jude Bellingham had given Madrid the lead. The result left Madrid with 87 draws in 34 games and from there the focus was on watching Barcelona play Girona. They knew that if Barça dropped the issue, the name of La Liga would go to Madrid. If they didn’t, this confirmation would have to wait another week.
A few hours before kick-off, earlier than usual and in greater numbers, Madrid fans had begun to congregate in the streets around the Bernabéu. Later, some of them would go to Cibeles – the fountain where Madrid celebrate their trophies – in advance. The players did not want to sign them, aware that they want to concentrate on Wednesday’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Heading into this match, coach Carlo Ancelotti had made 10 adjustments to his team, and only defender Nacho Fernandez kept his position from the first leg. Still, the Real Madrid team has so much quality that their B team managed to defeat Cadiz, who were desperately in need of relegation stuff.
After a balanced first half, Diaz made the difference by putting the first game in the net from the edge of the box. He then lent Bellingham a hand for the second, spotting the run near the substitute’s post. Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior are the stars, but Diaz has been one of the quiet successes of the season in Madrid.
The third goal came unexpectedly, with Nacho charging towards the pitch to find Joselu unmarked at the post. Moments later, after the final whistle, there were brief celebrations on the pitch before the players headed into the tunnel to watch the game. Barça match together.
“I don’t care if it’s today, Sunday or next Sunday,” Ancelotti said, as reporters updated him on the scoreline in the post-match press conference. “We deserve to win this championship. When we win, it doesn’t replace much. “
As it turned out, the wait wasn’t long thanks to Girona’s victory. Now, Real Madrid are champions of La Liga 2023-24 with an undisputed difference of thirteen points. this season. –Alex Kirkland
Interspersed between two Champions League semi-finals against Real Madrid, Bayern Munich travelled to Stuttgart for a southern derby between the second- and third-placed teams in the Bundesliga.
Interestingly, Stuttgart were superior throughout the 90 minutes, creating most of the chances and recording a higher percentage of possession. After Stuttgart took an early lead thanks to defender Leonidas Stergiou’s first Bundesliga goal, Bayern controlled to equalise before the break when Harry Kane converted a controversial penalty.
After the break, Bayern never managed to get going. Coach Thomas Tuchel made extravagant gestures from the bench, urging his team to prevent Stuttgart from progressing on the pitch. With the remaining 1-1 until the final, the hosts got into trouble temporarily. his own hands when Silas discovered Jeong Woo-Yeong with a good midfield. Neuer was in a good position to wait for the ball to move, but unfortunately for Bayern fans, he couldn’t prevent the ball from crossing the goal line. In stoppage time, Silas put an end to the game by converting a handball from the lively Serhou Guirassy to score the final score 3-1.
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The boy of the moment in Stuttgart was his Guyager, Sebastian Hoeness, who prepared his team with aplomb. The 41-year-old has recently been linked with the Bavarians as the superclub continues to search for a new head coach to lead them. Next season. Hoeness, who was born in Munich and previously coached Bayern, caught the attention of his former employer thanks to Stuttgart’s impressive performances during the season. In addition, he happens to be the nephew of Uli Hoeness, who, despite being only a member of the supervisory board, remains an influential figure behind the scenes.
His nephew, however, is under pressure that, despite Stuttgart’s monetary limitations, he must remain at his current team and that thanks to Saturday’s win he could even overtake Bayern in the Bundesliga standings. VfB currently only have two problems with a few matches. remaining.
Meanwhile, Bayern can’t pay too much attention to the table at the moment, as they face Real Madrid away this week. Not only would that defeat have affected his confidence before the trip, but it would also have had an effect on his team. Raphaël Guerreiro and Eric Dier, key players in the 2-2 first leg, had to go down with injuries.
As if wasting the Spanish name against Madrid in one day wasn’t enough, Barcelona are now in serious danger of finishing the season second-best in Catalonia after a crushing 4-2 defeat to Girona, who proved their position in the next round. Champions League season for the first time in the club’s 94-year history with victory.
A brace from substitute Portu helped Girona come back from a bouncing Montilivi side and move one point ahead of Barca in second place. Whoever finishes in second place will reserve their place in next season’s Spanish Super Cup, along with Madrid champions and Copa del Rey finalists Athletic. Club and Mallorca. . . and the money that comes with it. That is the merit of Girona with 4 games to go.
Barca would have been five points behind Girona at the time with a win and looked set to score three points when Andreas Christensen opened the scoring in the 3rd minute with a great chest-and-volley mix. Artem Dovbyk, the league’s top scorer, responded. Less than a minute later, he scored his 20th goal of the season with a header. Robert Lewandowski’s penalty after Lamine’s fall gave Barca the lead back, but Barca imploded after the break.
Sebastián Salazar and Luis García are the reasons for Real Madrid’s dominance as they win their 36th La Liga title.
First, an offside pass from Sergi Roberto found its way to Dovbyk and the Ukrainian striker allowed Portu, fresh off the bench, to equalise. Then, left-back Miguel Gutierrez gave the home side the lead before Portu capped off the win. When Girona were promoted to La Liga for the first time in 2017, a win against Barca still seemed a long way off, let alone two 4-2 wins in the same campaign. Lightning struck for the second time under the Catalan sun on Saturday when the Catalans repeated the score. of December’s match at the Olympic Stadium.
For Girona, Portu’s second goal sparked turmoil in the city that would continue well into the night. Fans have been screaming for Barca coach Xavi Hernandez, who recently announced a U-turn in his decision to engage in tactics this summer, to stay. Then, as the whistle blew, they sang those soccer classics: the Champions League anthem, “Liberated from Desire” and “Dulce Carolina. “
An exciting few months follow as they prepare for their first appearance in European football (not to mention the Champions League) after a remarkable crusade in just their fourth season on the more sensible flight. As for Barca and Xavi, the rumours that led him to make the decision to retire in January may resurface if they are not even the team from Catalonia after 38 games. Sam Marsden
Let’s take a little tour of the big leagues and the American players who play them, shall we?On his England debut, defender Antonee Robinson played the full 90 games in Fulham’s 0-0 draw at Brentford, completing 65 with one hundred passes and making 11 recoveries in a lively display. (His teammate in the United States and at Fulham, Tim Ream, was an unused substitute. )
Sheffield United opposed Nottingham Forest and worried no less than 3 players in the American skill pool, even if it was only one on the pitch. However, Auston Trusty had a difficult afternoon in defence for the Blades as Forest ran away 3-1 to give themselves a chance. to avoid relegation and continue fighting for a few more seasons in the Premier League. Goalkeeper Matt Turner and playmaker Gio Reyna watched the game from the Forest bench.
Now let’s set aside a division in the English Championship, which played its final round of matches for 2023-24 on Saturday with everything from promotion to relegation at stake. Josh Sargent had a poor game up front for Norwich, failing to manage a single shot on goal in 82 minutes as Birmingham won 1-0. However, the Canaries were still confident of a position in the promotion playoffs even if they were defeated, while Birmingham were relegated to League One despite taking all 3 points.
Goalkeeper Ethan Horvath had a day to forget, conceding five goals in Cardiff City’s tough defeat to Rotherham United, while Reggie Cannon and QPR won 2-1 at Coventry City, who Haji Wright helped in defeat. Duane Holmes started for Preston North End at West Bromwich Albion, but was substituted with 18 minutes remaining and the Baggies cruised to a 3-0 victory.
Elsewhere in Europe, defender Kevin Paredes played at left-back in Wolfsburg’s 3-0 win over Darmstadt, and Joe Scally scored 90 goals in Borussia Mönchengladbach’s 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen. (Another American talent, Jordan Pefok, left the Gladbach bench with just under 20 minutes left.
Finally, defender Cameron Carter-Vickers was very present in defence as Celtic cruised to a 3-0 home win over Hearts to move closer to the Scottish Premiership title, and striker Folarin Balogun came off the bench in the second half for AS Monaco, who won. Clermont Foot thanks to two goals from veteran striker Wissam Ben Yedder.
Overall, it’s a pretty classic day for Americans in action, big things are expected on Sunday when players like Christian Pulisic (AC Milan), Johnny Cardoso (Real Betis), Catarina Macario (Chelsea), Weston McKennie (Juventus) take the field.
Declan Rice scored and helped Arsenal win 3-0 over Bournemouth on Saturday, keeping the pressure on Manchester City in the Premier League title race. The win leaves Arsenal one point behind Manchester City, who beat Wolves later on Saturday and have an extra game in hand.
Birmingham City were relegated from the league despite their 1-0 win over Norwich on the final day of the 2023-24 season. The result caps a rocky first season for the club’s U. S. ownership group, which includes NFL legend Tom Brady.
Stuttgart substitutes Jeong Woo-yeong and Silas scored late to secure a 3-1 victory over visiting Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, derailing the Bavarians’ preparations for the second leg of their Bundesliga semi-final. Champions against Real Madrid.
Girona qualified for the Champions League for the first time in its history after beating Barcelona 4-2 at Montilivi on Saturday. The win over Barça, Girona’s moment against their Catalan rivals this season, puts them thirteen places ahead of fifth-placed Athletic. Club with only 4 games to play and in second position. And finally, on Saturday. . . play2:02Moreno criticises Barcelona’s fragility after handing the La Liga title to Madrid
Alejandro Moreno reacts to Girona’s La Liga win over Barcelona.
Superstar musician Ed Sheeran is a long-time Ipswich Town fan (he’s even been a kit sponsor since 2021) and ended up watching his team clinch promotion to the Premier League on a tour of Miami, Florida. ESPN’s Nate Saunders defended Sheeran ahead of Sunday’s F1 Miami Grand Prix.
“Living on the outskirts of Ipswich, I have noticed that the country is going through very difficult times, and I know that being in the Premier League is something that brings not only genuine excitement to the football club, but also genuine excitement and joy. to the city and lift it up, which is important,” Sheeran told ESPN.
You probably would have been thinking out loud about a conceivable pun involving an Ed Sheeran song, but let’s just say your Saturday was probably perfect.
“The wonderful thing about football is it’s very unpredictable and you never know what’s going to happen,” Sheeran said. “We’ve already noticed that England’s six most sensible groups have fallen out of favour, and we’ve also noticed that other groups such as Leicester win the league. You never know, if we get relegated next season, that will be the biggest luck for me, but you never know. What’s going to happen. “–Tyler