“Atletico Madrid exorcised their Camp Nou demons and will take a 2-0 advantage into next week’s Champions League quarter-final second leg after humbling Barcelona behind enemy lines for the first time in two decades. Julian Alvarez emphatically punished a Pau Cubarsi red card, bending home an unstoppable free kick from the resulting dead ball to put Diego Simeone’s side ahead in the first half, before Alexander Sorloth poked home the visitors’ second to hand Atletico their first win at the Camp Nou since February 2006. …”
NY Times/The Athletic
Barcelona 0 Atletico Madrid 2: Cubarsi’s red leads to Alvarez’s stunner, anti-Muslim chants heard pre-game
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“Bayern Munich have served real notice of their intent. Vincent Kompany and his players departed the pitch at the Bernabeu celebrating the Germans’ first win over Real Madrid for 14 years, and their first in this arena over 90 minutes for a quarter of a century. That they might actually have ended partly frustrated to be taking only a one-goal advantage back to Bavaria sums up how well they played — up to a point. …”
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“If you were picking a match to play after losing 4-0 to Manchester City, it would not be a trip to France to face defending European champions Paris Saint-Germain. Yet that’s the challenge for Arne Slot and his players as they aim to bounce back from this season’s latest low and keep their hopes of winning the Champions League alive. 
West Ham fans watching a FaceTime of the penalty shootout with Leeds on someone’s iPhone after leaving the game when their team were 2-0 down
“With the Premier League campaign on hold before it enters its final weeks, the FA Cup took centre stage over the past two days: Manchester City thrashing Liverpool on Saturday lunchtime, Chelsea enjoying a bit of shooting practice against Port Vale of League One, Championship side Southampton stunning top-flight leaders Arsenal, and finally Leeds United beating West Ham United on penalties to secure their first FA Cup semi-final appearance for 39 years. 
“THE current season had been something of an anti-climax for Newcastle United. After winning their first trophy since 1969 in 2024-25, expectations were relatively high at the club, but they look likely to fail in their bid for a Champions League place and they might not have enough in them to qualify for any of the European competitions. The club has yet to fully capitalise on having wealthy owners but you sense that this will come in time – Newcastle’s loyal followers would argue securing silverware is a sign that the process is working. However, there is talk of manager Eddie Howe leaving in the summer and some people have some reservations about the club’s finances. …”
Can PSG become the first team other than Real Madrid to retain the European Cup since Milan in 1990?
Michael Owen scored on his Liverpool debut on May 6, 1997
“There were shocking scenes this week as Spain played their last game on home soil before the World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico this summer. Ten minutes into Tuesday’s friendly against Egypt at Espanyol’s RCDE Stadium in Barcelona, a large section of the crowd joined in with chants of ‘
“… Klopp has been mindful to keep his distance since 
“ITALY is in a state of mourning after the Azzurri crashed out of the World Cup against Bosnia & Herzegovina, a nation that sits 53 places lower in the. FIFA rankings. The subject is so sensitive that the government, via Sports Minister Andrea Abodi, called for the removal of Gabriele Gravina, the head of Federcalcio, the Italian Football Federation. It was, after all, the third successive World Cup failure, with the Bosnia play-off added to similar exits at the hands of Sweden and North Macedonia. Gravina announced his resignation two days after Italy’s embarrassing elimination and most observers of Italian football expect coach Gennaro Gattuso will fall on his sword after just eight games in charge. …”
“Liverpool will face Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City for the 27th time when they meet in the FA Cup this weekend. While we know it will be the last time Mohamed Salah plays in this fixture after announcing he will leave Anfield this summer, it could also be Guardiola’s last dance for City against Liverpool. 
“”Olé! Olé! Olé! Congooo Congooo!’ In the bowels of the Guadalajara stadium, Congolese and Mexican fans sang as one to celebrate the Leopards’ historic victory over Jamaica on Tuesday. Fifty-two years after their first appearance as Zaire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s men’s national team is back in the World Cup. Among the roughly 1,000 Congolese fans, most of whom had come dressed in blue, some left the stadium with Mexico’s green jersey draped over their shoulders. Meanwhile, others continued to jump arm in arm to the beat of ‘Vamos al Mundial!’ …”
The World Cup trophy outside the White House before the 2026 tournament’s group-stage draw
Bosnia and Herzegovina fans celebrate their World Cup qualification in Sarajevo on Tuesday night
The Ivica Osim mural in Sarajevo
Scissors Kick 