Richard Martin

Manchester City are breathing down Arsenal's necks after a dominant second-half display propelled them to a 3-0 win at Chelsea to close the gap on the Gunners and leave the title race in their own hands. Nico O'Reilly broke the deadlock with another crucial header in London just three weeks after his match-winning double in the Carabao Cup final before Marc Guehi and Jeremy Doku struck to clinch the win.

With 24 days between Manchester United's last game against Bournemouth and their next match against Leeds, Michael Carrick has had plenty of time to think about which areas of the squad he needs to improve if he is named permanent coach in the summer. Carrick made the most of the extended break by taking his side on a mid-season training camp to Ireland, giving him the chance to further assess his squad.

Pep Guardiola has revealed the best decision he made this season as Manchester City prepare to resume their chase of Arsenal in the Premier League title race. City lost momentum in the title race by drawing their last two league games against Nottingham Forest and West Ham but have boosted their confidence with their Carabao Cup final win over Arsenal and thumping Liverpool 4-0 in the FA Cup.

As Enzo Maresca gazed out at the ocean from his infinity pool, he must have been grateful he was no longer managing Chelsea. From defeats at the hands of Newcastle, Everton and Paris Saint-Germain to controversies ranging from 'respecting the ball' to Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez heavily hinting that they would be open to leaving, Stamford Bridge resembles a battlefield when compared to Maresca's recent idyllic getaway in the Maldives.

Pep Guardiola insisted last month that Real Madrid were not his biggest rivals during his time at Manchester City, instead giving that particular honour to Liverpool. He did at least clarify that he meant Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, which is just as well after Arne Slot's Reds failed to cause Guardiola any stress while he watched his side run out 4-0 winners in Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final from the comfort of his seat in the stands.

Erling Haaland scored his first hat-trick of the season as Manchester City demolished Liverpool 4-0 in a practically perfect FA Cup quarter-final tie at the Etihad Stadium. Haaland bagged a penalty late in the first half and soon followed it with a header to complete a wonderful team move from Pep Guardiola's side, who stormed into the FA Cup semi-finals for an eighth consecutive season.

Hours after their side's Carabao Cup final victory over Arsenal, bleary-eyed Manchester City fans piled onto the Avanti West Coast train back from London Euston to Manchester - and there was one name on their lips. But it wasn't homegrown match-winner Nico O’Reilly. "How good is [Abdukodir] Khusanov?!" piped up one. "He is an absolute beast!" came the response. It was clear the City faithful had a new cult hero.

England's final two games on home soil before the 2026 World Cup were supposed to give Thomas Tuchel's men the perfect send-off for North America. However, instead of being waved off with flowers, the Three Lions left the Wembley pitch to the sound of boos following their 1-0 defeat to Japan on Tuesday, which followed their uninspiring draw against Uruguay four days earlier.

Manchester United's mid-season trip to Ireland has caused chaos for one of the giants of Irish sport as GAA side Armagh were forced to abandon plans to train at the same facility. Michael Carrick's side are due to spend four days in Ireland from April 6 as part of a team building exercise ahead of their final seven games of the Premier League season.

This is Legacy, GOAL’s feature and podcast series following the road to the 2026 World Cup, and every week, we revisit the stories, moments, and myths that shaped the global game. This week, we revisit the extraordinary, turbulent and often unbelievable road to England's triumph in 1966. This is the rise, the redemption, and the lasting weight of '66 - the story of the only time football truly 'came home'...

As the paper aeroplanes took flight around Wembley Stadium early in the first half of this eventual 1-1 draw between England and Uruguay, the fans were showing that they had already lost their interest. It looked like the players were also phoning it in and some needed reminding that not only was a World Cup just around the corner, but that their place at the tournament was far from guaranteed.

Ben White experienced all manner of emotions as he unexpectedly played the lead role in England's uninspiring 1-1 draw with Uruguay. The full-back was booed by his own fans when he was brought on and again after he gave the Three Lions the lead from a corner. He was then subjected to yet further criticism when his rash tackle led to a penalty from which Federico Valverde equalised in injury time.

When Bukayo Saka scored his 13th goal for England against Wales in October and became the highest scoring Arsenal player to play for the Three Lions, one reporter thought it would be a good opportunity to ask Thomas Tuchel to reflect on the winger’s international career. He most likely expected the German to wax lyrical about one of the best players for club and country over the past five years.

And then there were 35. Thomas Tuchel's decision to name an expanded squad of players that will be split into two for England's final two games on home soil before the World Cup was the latest sign that the German is taking a very different approach to his predecessors as he bids to become the first coach since Alf Ramsey to win a trophy with the Three Lions.

The last time Manchester City beat Arsenal in a League Cup final signalled the start of Pep Guardiola's dynasty. And so Sunday's victory over the Gunners at Wembley to lift the trophy for a fifth time, more than any other coach in the competition's history, would certainly be a fitting way to bookend the Catalan coach's dominant decade in English football.

Manchester City beat Arsenal in the first final of the English football season, with Pep Guardiola schooling former apprentice Mikel Arteta to secure the Carabao Cup at Wembley on Sunday. The contest was decided by two second-half goals from Nico O’Reilly, who twice crept into the Gunners’ box effectively unmarked to score from a pair of almost identical crosses.

Nico O'Reilly etched his name into Manchester City folklore with a stunning double in the space of four minutes to inspire his side to a 2-0 win over Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final. Born in Manchester and raised in City's academy, O'Reilly pounced on a sloppy piece of goalkeeping from Kepa Arrizabalaga to give Pep Guardiola's side the edge in a cagey encounter at Wembley on the hour-mark.

"It sharpens your mind, and there are clear similarities to football," said Erling Haaland when he announced his investment in the Total Chess World Championship this week. "You have to think quickly, trust your instincts, and think several moves ahead. Strategy and planning are everything." The Manchester City striker’s strategy cannot be faulted except at one stadium in particular: Wembley.