The history of football is littered with fateful moments that convince you a certain outcome is a foregone conclusion, and we can now add Arsenal's seismic victory over West Ham to that long list. The Gunners required a late goal and probably the most contentious Premier League VAR review of all time to battle past the relegation-threatened Hammers in a ridiculously dramatic conclusion to the London derby. Surely, SURELY it is going to be their year?!
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.
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Vinicius Jr went missing and Real Madrid turned in a spirited yet ineffective performance against Barcelona, losing 2-0 and watching their rivals lift the league trophy in the process. Los Blancos were outplayed throughout, and could never recover from an early deficit in a game that more or less summed up the massive gulf in quality between the two teams.
Barcelona retained their league title in dream circumstances on Sunday night, comprehensively defeating fierce rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico on home soil. La Liga's runaway leaders only needed a point from the showdown at Spotify Camp Nou and would have expected a stern contest against their old foes, but in truth this was a routine victory over a Madrid side in disarray after a week of chaos behind the scenes.
Sam Coffey lifted the WSL trophy with Manchester City, Lindsey Heaps scored as OL Lyonnes won the Coupe de France, and Emily Fox helped Arsenal cruise past Aston Villa.
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.
Arsenal took a giant step towards the Premier League title as they secured an incredibly dramatic 1-0 win at West Ham on Sunday, with Leandro Trossard scoring a late winner before the hosts had what they thought was a stoppage-time equaliser ruled out following a VAR check for the ages. It looked like Callum Wilson had struck a dagger to the Gunners’ title hopes when he fired home with seconds remaining but, after an agonisingly lengthy review, the goal was ruled out for a foul on David Raya - much to the disgust of the relegation-threatened Hammers.
Manchester City kept up the pressure on Arsenal in the title race as they secured a hard-fought 3-0 win over Brentford on Saturday. Second-half goals from Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland and Omar Marmoush helped Pep Guardiola's side close the gap on the league-leading Gunners to two points ahead of Mikel Arteta's men travelling to take on West Ham on Sunday.
Manchester United limped to a 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday as Michael Carrick's side put in a performance that lacked energy on a wet and windy day on Wearside. With Casemiro and Benjamin Sesko absent due to injury, the Red Devils struggled to get a grip on the game, and were indebted to goalkeeper Senne Lammens for making two excellent saves to preserve their clean sheet.
Liverpool's charge for Champions League football hit a slight bump in the road on Saturday as struggling Chelsea fought back to secure a 1-1 draw and a valuable point at Anfield. Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring with a wonderful strike early on, but the Reds' dominance waned after that, with a porous defence allowing the Blues back into a game their hosts let get away.
Chelsea brought an end to their run of Premier League losses as they battled back to earn a 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Saturday. Enzo Fernandez's free-kick earned Calum McFarlane's side a point on Merseyside, though their hopes of sneaking into the Champions League via a sixth-placed finish continue to fade away after failing to record a much-needed victory.
In a few weeks' time, Sam Kerr's Chelsea contract will come to its end. After six-and-a-half years, 156 appearances and 114 goals, which have helped deliver 12 trophies, it looks like this month will be her last in Chelsea blue. If it is, Kerr will leave as the club's all-time top goal-scorer in the Women's Super League and a genuine legend - but there is still time to add to that legacy yet.
Tensions have finally boiled over at Real Madrid, resulting in team-mates literally coming to blows. There has been a sense all season that things have been a little bit fraught behind the scenes. This is more or less how it goes for Los Blancos, especially in those rare seasons where they fail to bank silverware. Rumours emerge of discontent, the local press goes mad - but rarely do the rumours turn into anything tangible.
A year ago, Karim Coulibaly hadn't even made his first-team debut for Werder Bremen. Fast-forward 12 months, though, and the centre-back could be on course for a record-breaking transfer away from the Bundesliga side at the age of 18. The Germany youth international has enjoyed a breakthrough season at Weserstadion, putting some of Europe's top clubs on notice, and Werder are seemingly prepared to cash-in already.
Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez have a lot in common. They're two tenacious but technically gifted midfielders who played pivotal roles in Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup. They also presently play for big Premier League teams, but both have been repeatedly linked with Real Madrid. Up until last summer, such speculation made an awful lot of sense.
Over the last few weeks, as Manchester City have been chasing down their first Women's Super League title in 10 years, things have become nervy on and off the pitch. Dropped points had threatened to let Arsenal back in the title race, until the Gunners' own midweek slip-up at Brighton ended that suspense. Still, though any concerns around the destiny of the WSL trophy have now been put to bed, City fans can still worry themselves over the future of their star striker, Khadija Shaw.
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Curacao became the smallest nation to ever qualify for the World Cup, and their historic achievement has offered a moment of unity for an island long shaped by racial tension.
Fran Kirby's achievements throughout her career to date make for remarkable reading. Part of the Lionesses side which beat Germany in the European Championship final at Wembley back in 2022, the 32-year-old also lifted 16 major honours during her incredible nine-year stay at Chelsea, with individual accolades galore coming in and amongst all of that. She was there for England's first major title and Chelsea's first major title; now, in Brighton colours, Kirby will hope she can help another ambitious side hit new heights.
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.
Paris Saint-Germain are one step away from retaining their Champions League crown after holding Bayern Munich to a 1-1 draw in the second leg of their semi-final to triumph 6-5 on aggregate. After last week's nine-goal thriller at Parc des Princes, neutrals all across the globe were hoping to witness another all-time classic between two teams blessed with fantastic forward lines.