FEATURES

Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the game as Arsenal reached their first Champions League final in 20 years by defeating Atletico Madrid 1-0 in a tight and tense encounter on Tuesday to progress 2-1 on aggregate. The semi-final tie had been left perfectly poised after Viktor Gyokeres and Julian Alvarez had exchanged penalties at the Metropolitano last week, and there was once again little to choose between two attritional teams in the return clash at the Emirates.

Tim Weah has always been more than a footballer. He sat down with GOAL to discuss art, identity, storytelling and the role he hopes to play at a home World Cup.

The mood at Eintracht Frankfurt is gloomy, despite the club still being in contention for European football. Manager Albert Riera has divided the squad in record time, and the underlying issues run even deeper.

Most of FC Bayern's top players have carried a far heavier workload this season than their Paris Saint-Germain counterparts—yet you'd never guess it. Quite the opposite, in fact!

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series that counts down to the 2026 World Cup. Each week, we explore the stories and the spirit behind the nations that define the world’s game. This week, we follow Senegal's Lions of Teranga across two decades of triumph, turbulence and transformation - from the thunderbolt of 2002, to the cruel fair-play exit of 2018, to the continental rise that brought them back stronger in Qatar.

Last week was unquestionably the best of Viktor Gyokeres' Arsenal career so far. On Wednesday, the £64 million ($86m) summer signing confidently converted a penalty in the Gunners' 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Metropolitano. Three days later, Gyokeres scored two goals and created another in a 3-0 win over Fulham that extended Arsenal's advantage at the top of the Premier League to six points.

Jeremy Doku's sublime last-gasp equaliser salvaged a point for Manchester City in a dramatic 3-3 draw with Everton on Monday night, but a second-half capitulation means Pep Guardiola's side have still handed Arsenal a huge advantage in the Premier League title race. City had led 1-0 at half-time, before imploding after the break and finding themselves two goals down with nine minutes to play.

Chris Richards has emerged as Mauricio Pochettino's top option on defense, but who will line up with him? GOAL takes a look.

Miami and Orlando served up a Florida classic, but it was a mixed weekend for some of the biggest managers in MLS.

Chelsea's hopes of securing a top-five finish in the Premier League were ended on Monday as they put in a shameful performance in losing 3-1 to Nottingham Forest. Cole Palmer missed from the penalty spot as the Blues' run of league defeats stretched to six games, meaning their hopes of securing Champions League qualification for next season hang by the finest of threads.

FC Sevilla has gradually gone from being a regular in the Champions League and a serial winner of the Europa League to a team fighting relegation. Now, more than ever, they are on the brink of hitting rock bottom.

With FC Bayern, Dante won the treble and became a cult hero; in Nice, he eventually earned the nickname "The Father". Now the 42-year-old Brazilian is returning to Munich as a coach.

Despite seeing their treble hopes dashed once again, FC Bayern feel they are closing in on Europe's women's elite. What will it take to bridge the gap?

With 20 goals across the four games, and late drama at the end of both ties, it's fair to say the 2025-26 Women's Champions League semi-finals delivered. Out of them emerged Lyon, the eight-time winners, and Barcelona, the three-time champions, to set up a truly mouth-watering final in Oslo on May 23, in which there will be so many fascinating storylines.

For Manchester United, the first half of their game against Liverpool felt like a Sunday afternoon stroll in the park. They were cruising after scoring twice inside 14 minutes and their biggest rivals had barely laid a glove on them. The second half, though, was more akin to a mass brawl in a pub after one pint too many. But it all ended with local boy Kobbie Mainoo having the final say.

Looking at the bigger picture at Borussia Dortmund, the question arises: does the defensively pragmatic Niko Kovac fit in with a club that has recently put forward the concept of the 'new BVB'?

Lindsey Heaps and Lily Yohannes starred in Lyon's win over Arsenal, and Emily Fox, while Sam Coffey, Alyssa Thompson, Phallon Tullis-Joyce, and more USWNT regulars made their mark across a busy weekend in Europe.

It was a rough weekend for one USMNT star, but others enjoyed a memorable couple of days with the World Cup fast approaching.

Vinicius Jr bagged a brace, Jude Bellingham provided a lovely assist, and Real Madrid strolled to a convincing 2-0 win over Espanyol on Sunday evening. Madrid got things done without Kylian Mbappe, and Alvaro Arbeloa will be pleased with the performance - but with the knowledge that their win only delays Barcelona's inevitable march to the league title.

It's official: Tottenham are out of the Premier League relegation zone. Spurs capitalised on a sluggish Aston Villa performance and West Ham's defeat to Brentford a day prior to escape the bottom three on Sunday night, unexpectedly running out comfortable 2-1 winners over Unai Emery's out-of-sorts side at Villa Park.

BVB offered little in Gladbach, and just before the final whistle the Foals netted the winner they merited.

Kobbie Mainoo scored his first goal of the season to secure Manchester United a satisfying but hard-fought 3-2 win over Liverpool on Sunday which booked their ticket back to the Champions League and left them in a strong position to finish third in the Premier League.

Liverpool lost out in a topsy-turvy game against Manchester United on Sunday, suffering a 3-2 defeat despite launching a second-half comeback. The Reds were two down at half-time, but goals from Dominik Szoboszlai and Cody Gakpo got them right back into the game, only for Kobbie Mainoo to fire home and secure all three points for Michael Carrick's side.

Sam Kerr wrote her name into Chelsea's history books yet again on Sunday, as she kickstarted a comfortable 3-1 win over Leicester City that confirmed the Blues will be playing Champions League football again next season. Sonia Bompastor's side only needed a point to secure a top-three finish after Manchester United's slip-up against Brighton on Saturday, but they delivered all three in a dominant display against the Women's Super League's bottom side, with Lauren James bagging a sparkling brace after Kerr became the club's all-time top-scorer in the competition.

Manchester City's Women's Super League destiny remains in their hands after Rebecca Knaak delivered a priceless late winner to defeat Liverpool 1-0 on Sunday. It looked like the Cityzens were going to slip up again, thus taking the title out of their hands and opening the door for Arsenal to take advantage. But after chances were wasted by star names like Khadija Shaw and Kerolin, up came Knaak, from centre-back, in stoppage time to head home a goal that puts her side on the brink of a first league title in 10 years.

Alexander Nübel has staked his claim in the race to start in Germany's World Cup goal. Meanwhile, rival Oliver Baumann had a rare off-day.

Struggling to find his flow and still battling fitness issues at the end of an injury-plagued season, Cole Palmer will on Monday go head to head with the player who poses an existential threat to his World Cup dream in Morgan Gibbs-White. The Chelsea talisman and the resurgent Nottingham Forest star form part of an intense fight for the No.10 shirt in Thomas Tuchel's England squad.

Eleven goals shipped in a single week: at the most inopportune moment, as the season enters its decisive phase, Bayern Munich have turned into a shooting gallery. Yet, a tactical overhaul before the second leg against PSG remains – understandably – off the cards.

Inter Miami threw away a 3-0 lead against Orlando City in a quite remarkable collapse against their Florida rivals, losing 4-3 and continuing their winless streak at Nu Stadium. Lionel Messi had a goal and two assists, but it was Miami's defense that was called into question, with countless lapses seeing them drop points at home for the fourth straight game.