Arsenal and Manchester City are among seven teams to have already qualified for the 2026-27 Champions League. Regardless of their results between now and the end of the season, both clubs have already gained enough points to finish no lower than fifth in England‘s top flight. Advertisement Traditionally, England are awarded four places in the
In his latest column, Paul Merson gives his views on Chelsea’s slump in form – with the pressure growing on head coach Liam Rosenior. The Blues are on a run of six defeats in eight matches in all competitions after Saturday night’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United at Stamford Bridge – which leaves them in
Premier League clubs are increasingly unhappy at the Independent Football Regulator’s (IFR’s) rising costs and uncertainty about how much each club will be made to pay. Premier League and EFL clubs have repeatedly asked the IFR for an update on its operating budget, which is believed to have risen significantly from the annual £10m projected
Maybe it was fitting that Nuno Espirito Santo relegated Wolves. It was the popular Portuguese coach who led the club to the Premier League eight years ago. Now at West Ham, his point at Crystal Palace has consigned his old club back to the Championship. Down with five games to go, the reality is that
1 Barcelona 31 26 1 4 84 30 54 79 W Result Win W Result Win W Result Win W Result Win W Result Win W Result Win 2 Real Madrid 31 22 4 5 65 29 36 70 L Result Loss W Result Win W Result Win W Result Win L Result Loss D
Welcome to The Athletic’s Premier League predictions challenge, where we have had a dramatic late twist in our title race. It looked like the subscribers had sewn up first place after a remarkable run of predictions over the past few weeks, timing their charge like Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. But who’s this coming up with
With five weeks of Europe’s biggest domestic league seasons left to play, all kinds of strange scorelines are starting to roll in. Nerves come into play, desperation takes hold, and, for the players, reputations are there to be made as title chases and relegation scraps enter their most crucial stretch. Nowhere has the flipping of
Resurgent Bayern Munich attacker Serge Gnabry’s World Cup campaign is in jeopardy due to an adductor injury in his thigh. Gnabry’s Bundesliga outfit themselves confirmed the news on Saturday evening. Per Bayern, the 30-year-old will be out for an “extended period”. The unfortunate news comes near the end of Gnabry’s excellent year for both club
After missing out on the 2024 European Championship, Atletico Madrid defender Marcos Llorente is gearing up to represent Spain at the 2026 World Cup. The 31-year-old should be on the plane to North America with the rest of Luis de la Fuente’s squad as La Roja look to claim their second World Cup title. While
What looked to be a glide path for Arsenal to claim its first Premier League title since 2004 has become a particularly rocky road as top challenger Manchester City is looking to reassert itself as a global power. Man City topped Arsenal 2–1 on Sunday at Etihad Stadium to come within three points in the
Lamine Yamal‘s performances at the earliest stages of his professional career continue to capture the attention of the sporting world and its most prestigious award ceremonies. Now a two-time Laureus Award winner, the 18-year-old Barcelona star used the occasion to place Lionel Messi among the greatest athletes in the history of sport. The Laureus World
Every year when the fixtures are announced you hear the familiar refrain that “it doesn’t matter, you play everyone twice”. But there is no doubt that when you face a certain team can make a big difference across a 10-month campaign. With five games remaining, Spurs will definitely think their run-in, at least on paper,
The under-19’s beat Club Brugge on penalties in the final, after drawing the game 1-1. Real Madrid have been crowned the 2025/26 UEFA Youth Leavue champions, lifting the trophy for just the second time in club history. Juvenil A, who have been heavily supported by Castilla players, gets the likes of Chelsea and PSG on
Lionel Messi has made a habit of rewriting the record books since arriving in Major League Soccer, and his latest performance for Inter Miami added another milestone to an already remarkable list. With his 14th Player of the Matchday honor now in hand, Messi sits second on the all-time list, trailing only league legend Landon
Liam Rosenior has explained why he disagrees with Cole Palmer’s claim that “everything changes” depending on whether Chelsea qualify for the Champions League. Saturday’s defeat to Manchester United on a weekend when top-five rivals Aston Villa and Liverpool both claimed last-minute wins left Chelsea as outsiders to finish in one of the Champions League spots
The top stories and transfer rumours from Tuesday’s newspapers… TRANSFERS Newcastle United are prepared to open talks to sell Anthony Gordon to Bayern Munich if the German champions match their £75m valuation for the England forward. – The Times The chances of Manchester United signing Newcastle United‘s Sandro Tonali have receded due to the Magpies’
A member of the midfield ranks at La Liga giants Real Madrid has emerged as a leading transfer target at Manchester United. That’s according to The Telegraph, who highlight Aurélien Tchouaméni as the player in question. Advertisement France international Tchouaméni is for his part in the midst of what has been a largely impressive individual
MILAN: AC Milan and Juventus both took a big step towards qualification for next season’s Champions League with respective victories over Verona and Bologna on Sunday. Adrien Rabiot swept home the only goal in Milan’s 1-0 win at Verona, giving his team an eight-point cushion on Como and Roma in fifth and sixth, while Juve
LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Real Madrid has at least earned one trophy this season and become a European champion again on Monday. Madrid won the UEFA Youth League final — effectively the Champions League for under-19 teams — by beating Club Brugge in a penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw on a sun-splashed evening in Switzerland.
Real Madrid have not managed to regain the dominance they enjoyed under Carlo Ancelotti or Zinedine Zidane. Not only have they been eliminated from the Champions League, but they also sit nine points behind Barcelona in the league. Following this, Álvaro Arbeloa has pointed out a major “problem” for Los Blancos, revealing that winning the
