Winners & Losers

It's actually happening! After repeatedly threatening to bring Jose Mourinho back to the Bernabeu, Florentino Perez has only gone and done it. On Thursday, it was confirmed that Real Madrid had agreed a three-year contract with Mourinho for him to return for a second spell as coach, 13 years after his first ended in acrimony.

It's always hard for representatives of a team that did not succeed to make a point about issues with a qualifying format, but few could begrudge the frustration evident among the England squad on Tuesday after the Lionesses fell short of the one automatic qualification spot available to them for the 2027 Women's World Cup.

The USMNT fell short against Germany in their final pre-World Cup tune-up, but Mauricio Pochettino still saw signs of progress as Antonee Robinson delivered a stunning goal, Malik Tillman impressed in a deeper role, and Miles Robinson endured another difficult outing.

Canada’s final World Cup friendlies offered promise and concern, as Luc de Fougerolles rose, Ismaël Koné impressed and Cyle Larin’s goal drought deepened.

Javier Aguirre’s Mexico roster mixes history, trust, and risk, with Guillermo Ochoa chasing a sixth World Cup and German Berterame left out despite a late push.

GOAL breaks down who stood out and who has work to do after the U.S. win

The European club season drew to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday, with Paris Saint-Germain defeating Arsenal on penalties to retain their Champions League crown. Not since Real Madrid nearly a decade ago had anyone successfully defended the title, making his a truly momentous night for Luis Enrique's men. However, defeat shouldn't take any of the shine off Arsenal's historic campaign, with the Gunners having won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years.

Paris Saint-Germain have done it again! A club once derided as the biggest bottlers in the Champions League showed their mettle by edging out Arsenal 4-3 on penalties, after a 1-1 draw in Budapest, to deservedly retain their European crown on Saturday. Unlike last year's rout of Inter, PSG had to dig deep to defeat the Gunners, who proved an unsurprisingly tough nut to crack after taking an early lead through Kai Havertz following a fortuitous break of the ball.

Canada's World Cup squad is set. GOAL breaks down the biggest winners and losers as Alphonso Davies nears a return and roster battles continue.

GOAL breaks down the biggest winners and losers of Mauricio Pochettino's World Cup squad, including the bold decisions to include Alejandro Zendejas and Gio Reyna.

Vancouver Whitecaps continued their Western dominance, while a teenager stood out in defeat in one of the more remarkable games in league history

The 2025-26 Premier League campaign drew to a tense conclusion on Sunday, as Tottenham scraped past Everton to consign West Ham to relegation in spite of a 3-0 victory over Leeds United. Meanwhile, in the north-east of England, Sunderland sensationally defeated Chelsea to secure a place in the Europa League, while simultaneously preventing the Club World Cup winners from qualifying for any form of continental competition next term.

Redemption. That's what Barcelona were looking for in Oslo on Saturday. After losing the Champions League final last year, the Catalans were back in the showpiece event 12 months on and they got what they were after and then some, beating eight-time winners Lyon 4-0 to emphatically reclaim the status of champions of Europe.

So there we have it: England's 2026 World Cup squad is confirmed and it will go down as one of the most contentious of all time. Manager Thomas Tuchel has made it abundantly clear from the outset that he isn't afraid to ruffle some feathers with his decisions, and he has stayed true to his word with his divisive selections for the Three Lions' latest bid to end an agonising wait for a first major trophy since 1966.

Could this be the moment that Chelsea's fortunes finally change under the beleaguered BlueCo ownership? The club has pulled off what looks like a seismic coup by luring Xabi Alonso to Stamford Bridge despite their continued struggles, somehow convincing the revered 44-year-old former Real Madrid boss to take the reins ahead of what now promises to be an era-defining summer.

An FC Dallas forward provided one of the more entertaining moments of the season thus far, while Miami picked up a classy home victory.

As the Women's Super League season came to a close on Saturday, a team other than Chelsea lifted the trophy for the first time in seven years, with the Manchester City's scenes of celebration bringing the curtain down on a year of action that has had its fair share of shocks and surprises.

Antoine Semenyo ensured Manchester City wrapped up a domestic cup double at Wembley on Saturday, as his sublime flick 18 minutes from time decided the FA Cup final at Chelsea's expense. Conversely, the 1-0 defeat was the confirmation of another miserable season for the Blues, whose hopes of qualifying for any form of European football are now in serious jeopardy.

The LA Galaxy got a timely victory, and Inter Miami continued their strong road form in another compelling week of MLS.

It's official: Barcelona are La Liga champions once again - and in the end it was all very predictable. The runaway leaders only needed a point as the fixture schedule gave them the unique opportunity to retain their crown against Real Madrid in El Clasico, but they never looked like settling for a draw against their rudderless rivals, who are in the midsts of a dressing room crisis. The victory was swift and brutal, as Hansi Flick's side required just 20 minutes to put the game and the title beyond their old foes at Spotify Camp Nou.

As Chelsea and Man City prepared to face off in the Women's FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday, all the talk was about Khadija Shaw. The striker is out of contract in Manchester in a few weeks' time and all the talk is that she will be leaving, with Chelsea in hot pursuit of his signature. So, of course, Shaw took centre stage at Stamford Bridge, scoring twice to knock the Blues out of the competition and send City to Wembley in a dramatic 3-2 win that will go down as a cup classic.

Paris Saint-Germain endured an agonising wait before finally lifting the European Cup, but 12 months after winning their first, they've got a glorious chance to collect their second after edging out Bayern Munich 6-5 on aggregate in an absorbing semi-final tie. Wednesday's second leg at the Allianz Arena may not have been anywhere near as chaotic as last week's nine-goal thriller at Parc des Princes, but Luis Enrique was just as enthused by his side's performance.

Arsenal are through to the Champions League final after a 1-0 victory over Atletico Madrid at the Emirates on Tuesday. It wasn't pretty - it rarely is when Arsenal are involved. Mikel Arteta's men specialise in ugly wins. but there was unquestionably something beautiful about Bukayo Saka scoring the goal that decided a tedious tie 2-1 in the Gunners' favour.

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.

Arsenal fans love to chant, 'Tottenham Hotspur it's happening again' every time their north London rivals suffer a big defeat. But despite enjoying endless fun laughing at their relegation-threatened neighbours this season, the Gunners are heading for their own deja-vu-laced nightmare after Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester City. Mikel Arteta's side gave it their all in the unmissable title showdown, but there was a familiar feeling once the final whistle went.

Advantage, England. This international break was always going to feel decisive in the race between the Lionesses and Spain to secure the only automatic qualification spot for next year’s Women’s World Cup available in this cut-throat qualifying group, and it was the reigning European champions, rather than the world champions, who came out on top.

Chelsea simply had to win Saturday night's Premier League clash with Manchester United. But they didn't. They lost. Again. And without scoring a goal. Again. It's now four blanks in a row in four defeats in a row for the Blues - their worst goal-less run of results since November 1912. As a result, Liam Rosenior's struggling side remain sixth in the Premier League standings, four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand.

Claire Hutton and Lindsey Heaps provided control in midfield, but defensive miscues proved costly as the USWNT fell to Japan in a key evaluation match under Emma Hayes.