“… After looking at big-chance creation and conversion last week, we will now, following events in east London last Sunday, dive into fouls won and conceded from corners. As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or jump to a specific few clubs that you are interested in. Anyway, if you haven’t heard already: Premier League corners are broken. Inswingers, blocking the goalkeeper, wrestling in multiple parts of the box and several missed fouls seem to accompany most of them these days. The need for better legislation and stricter officiating to prevent moments that have become all too familiar is not lost on anyone. …”
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The Alternative Premier League Table: No 37 – Fouls won and conceded from corners
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“… This was the weekend when 
“No matter what happens in Arsenal’s final three Premier League matches, David Raya has earned at least a share of the division’s Golden Glove award for a third successive season. Arsenal’s goalkeeper has kept 17 clean sheets in the 35 games so far. The only player who could match him is Manchester City’s Gianluigi Donnarumma, who is on 13 and has four league fixtures left, making it increasingly likely that Raya will be the outright winner for 2025-26. He would be just the fourth goalkeeper to receive the award three seasons in a row after Liverpool’s Pepe Reina (2006, 2007, 2008), and City’s pair of Joe Hart (2011, 2012, 2013) and Ederson (2020, 2021, 2022). The numbers are startling. …”
“THE TWO second legs may not have been as captivating as the first, but nobody could complain at the overall quality of the penultimate stage of the 2005-06 UEFA Champions League. For Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain, their success underlined that they are probably the two best teams in Europe this season. Bayern Munich, arguably, are also in the continent’s top three, but they looked decidedly pedestrian against Luis Enrique’s livewires. PSG’s speed and energy, a feature of their approach these days, was too much for a tired-looking Bayern. They had Harry Kane sorted out, although the England captain finally got a sight of goal in added time, but it was too little, too late. As for Arsenal, they beat Atlético Madrid at their own game, playing them tight and matching them muscle-for-muscle. Arsenal have shown this season they have more savvy than in previous campaigns that have promised much and delivered little. …”
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. Matchday 35 saw teams across the Premier League score 23 of their 46 big chances. That 50 per cent conversion rate is the third best of the season after Matchday 5 (59 per cent) and 20 (55 per cent). Opta defines a big chance as ‘a situation where a player should reasonably be expected to score, usually a one-on-one scenario or a shot from close range with a clear path to goal and low-to-moderate pressure’. So, in this week’s table, we compare how teams fared when it comes to creating and converting big chances across the first 18 games to the last 17, roughly a first half versus second half of the season. …”
“Arsenal will play a first Champions League final in 20 years in what promises to be a grandstand finish to their season after Bukayo Saka’s goal helped the Premier League leaders eliminate Atletico Madrid. Denied a penalty when Leandro Trossard was knocked over by Antoine Griezmann on 34 minutes, Arsenal were ahead 10 minutes later when Saka pounced on a rebound after Trossard’s shot was saved by Jan Oblak. The two sides had drawn the first leg 1-1 in Madrid last week and the Spanish visitors were looking for a spot kick of their own when Giuliano Simeone, Atletico manager Diego’s son, rounded goalkeeper David Raya and tangled with Gabriel. They sought another soon after when Griezmann was caught by Riccardo Calafiori but referee Daniel Siebert had given an earlier foul by Atletico. …”
“We were served up an all-timer of a game at the Parc des Princes last week, and the second leg promises more of the same. For Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich, the 2025-26 season will be measured by the Champions League. The contest resumes at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday, with PSG holding a one-goal lead. Twenty-four hours after the fireworks in Paris came a different sort of game. Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, two coaches who have built reputations on defensive identity, played out a tense, attritional first leg that finished 1-1. Two ties, two shades of intensity. A reminder that the same sport can grip you in entirely different ways. The second legs will decide who walks out at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30. But who will be in the final? Here are the numbers and trends that may give us a clue. …”
“Nobody in football works the touchline quite like Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone. The Argentinian’s actions are often as absorbing and compelling as what happens on the pitch. The latest installment came during the Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal last Wednesday, particularly after the away side were awarded a second penalty of the game in the 80th minute, when Eberechi Eze went down under a challenge by David Hancko. As Danny Makkelie waited for instructions from the video assistant referee (VAR) Dennis Higler, Simeone could be seen trying to grab the Dutch referee’s attention by waving his arms in the air and imitating the ‘TV screen’ VAR signal. …”
“Manchester City are the only team to win the Premier League on goal difference, and this season they might need to repeat the trick. For those uninitiated in the competition’s most storied moment, Sergio Aguero’s last-minute goal for City in a 3-2 final-day victory at home against Queens Park Rangers in May 2012 meant they pipped Manchester United to the title by virtue of their superior goal difference, which was eight better than their crosstown rivals. The margins at the top could be even finer in the current campaign. …”
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. The Premier League title race will likely see plenty more changes at the top before and potentially during the final matchday of the season on May 24. Arsenal are top — as they regularly have been since 2022-23 — but Manchester City hold a game in hand, with goal difference another factor. A couple of spots below them, Aston Villa are fifth, eight points ahead of sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion. It is unlikely another side will break into the top five with just four games left but multiple teams have jumped in and out of those Champions League spots since August. …”
“Atletico Madrid and Arsenal are meeting in this season’s Champions League semi-finals. A place in the final in Budapest at the end of May is at stake, of course, but so too is making history for both sides. Atletico and Arsenal, who play their first leg in Madrid tonight (Wednesday), are arguably the two biggest clubs never to have won the Champions League or its forerunner, the European Cup. Atletico have been finalists three times, Arsenal once, and both will envy the likes of Crvena Zvezda, PSV and Steaua Bucharest, who have all claimed the continental title. Each of those three would be considered ‘smaller’ clubs than Atletico or Arsenal, as would two-time winners Porto. But Porto and, for example, Hamburg and Feyenoord, could retort that their size can be measured by their trophy cabinet. …”
Franz Beckenbauer (left) shakes hands with Abelardo of Atletico Madrid ahead of the European Cup final replay in Brussels
“It wasn’t the nine goals we were treated to on Tuesday, but this week’s second Champions League semi-final was not short of drama, with two penalties given and one controversially overturned. Atletico Madrid’s spot kick was similar to the one Paris Saint-Germain received against Bayern Munich on Tuesday, with the ball striking Ben White’s hand. Arsenal’s came when David Hancko bundled over Viktor Gyokeres. But the most controversial was the third, originally awarded after Eberechi Eze was caught by Hancko, but then overturned when the referee went to the VAR screen. Just down the touchline, Atletico manager Diego Simeone was making his feelings known. …”
“The Champions League is approaching its conclusion. Only four teams are left, with holders Paris Saint-Germain hosting a seemingly all-conquering Bayern Munich and Arsenal travelling to Atletico Madrid in this week’s first legs of the semi-finals. The winners of those ties will meet in the final in Budapest, Hungary, on Saturday, May 30. 
“Paris Saint-Germain have won 11 of the past 13 French league titles and, going into this weekend, stood four points clear of Lens at the top of Ligue 1. Bayern Munich have already wrapped up this season’s Bundesliga title, their 13th in 14 years. According to Deloitte, Bayern are the third-richest club in the world by revenue, PSG fourth. They meet in the 
“At half-time in 
“This weekend’s crucial game in the title race may be billed as Manchester City versus Arsenal, but for some, the off-field battle between managers Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta could almost be as fascinating to watch. While referee Anthony Taylor tries to keep order on the pitch, fourth official Paul Tierney will have a similarly intense task of attempting to manage the technical areas. In the sky-blue corner, Guardiola will doubtless be as moody and intense as ever on his home patch. In the red, Arteta will likely be less ebullient than at the Emirates — and may even spend most of the match inside his technical area for a change — but will still be on edge throughout, depending on the scoreline. …”
“Welcome to the latest edition of The Alternative Premier League Table, where each week, The Athletic analyses the entire division through a specific lens. After looking at errors leading to shots and goals last week, we dive into long- and short-passing sequences that result in goals. As usual, the article that follows is long but detailed, so please settle down and enjoy it all — or use the index at the bottom of the page to jump to a specific club. …”
“You may have seen a Premier League stadium up close. You might have seen one on television. But seeing one from a satellite uncovers things that are not obvious from the ground or television cameras. The Athletic tasked its expert writers with analysing their club’s grounds from above to see what they could find out. From the roads, railways and supermarkets that could cause problems for redevelopment to the regeneration of areas, this is what they discovered. …”
“For all the talk of nerves and late-season hiccups, Arsenal’s hopes of achieving a Premier League-Champions League double are still alive after Mikel Arteta’s men progressed in the Champions League, setting up a semi-final against Atletico Madrid. The 1-0 first-leg advantage earned in Lisbon was enough to see off Sporting CP after a goalless second leg at the Emirates. Sporting had chances. Geny Catamo came closest to breaking the deadlock towards the end of the first half, striking the post as the visitors edged the opening 45 minutes. At times, they cut through Arsenal with ease, but the way in which Arsenal held firm and controlled the match in the latter stages will please many fans, especially after their recent run of poor results. …”
Enzo Fernández will miss Chelsea’s clash with Manchester City on Sunday after ‘crossing a line’.
“On Grand National day, Arsenal showed signs they could yet fall at the final fence. A win over Bournemouth would have seen Arsenal go 12 points clear, at least temporarily. At this late stage, that would have been a very healthy lead, even with Manchester City holding two games in hand. The remainder of the season might have become a procession. Instead, Arsenal were beaten 2-1, delivering a performance so disappointing it may leave them not staggering, but crawling towards the finish line. …”
“It’s the halfway stage of the Champions League quarter-finals, which is the perfect time to pause for breath to reflect. In football parlance, the job is only ‘half done’ for Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Atletico Madrid, all of whom go into the second leg next week with a lead. As for Real Madrid, Liverpool, Sporting CP and Barcelona, they ‘have it all to do’ to reach the last four. …”
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“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. 
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
“Considering the attritional nature of Premier League football at the moment and the focus on dead-ball situations, you could be forgiven for looking at a 2-0 Manchester City win against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup final, with two headers from a defender, and concluding it was another contest about physicality and getting the ball into the mixer. But City’s victory at Wembley on Sunday owed to a clever tactical plan, rotations of positions down the flank, and well-worked goals. …”
“‘My players made the decision that they wanted to be around the ball, to respect the ball and show unity and leadership.’ Liam Rosenior’s explanation of the Chelsea huddle just before kick-off against Newcastle last weekend is destined to be one of the most memorable quotes of the season. Not only did referee Paul Tierney loom in the midst of the players’ centre-circle gathering like a sort of PGMOL meerkat, but their head coach also introduced the idea of reverence towards an important, but ultimately inanimate object: the PUMA Orbita Ultimate (Thrill Edition). …”
“We’re at the business end of the Champions League, with the eight quarter-finalists now decided. It’s a heavyweight line-up, with four of the competition’s five most successful clubs still in the tournament, plus last year’s winners Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League leaders Arsenal. Real Madrid (15), Liverpool (six), Bayern Munich (six) and Barcelona (five) have won 32 of the 70 European Cup/Champions League trophies between them since Madrid lifted the first trophy back in 1956, but who has their name on this year’s trophy? …”
Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s technical brilliance was in evidence against Chelsea
Fulham fans have been ridiculed for their posh matchday food
“Following Liverpool’s late defeat by Wolves at Molineux earlier this week, head coach Arne Slot lamented that it was the ‘same old story and sums up our season’. And it does. Liverpool have now lost five times to 90th-minute-plus goals this season, the most ever by a team in a single Premier League campaign. What should be a rare event has become worryingly commonplace for the reigning champions. 
“SOME big clubs are in a perpetual state of flux. Some believe they have the right to perpetual success, others have been striving for it for decades. Managers have been sacked, often by that default explanation, ‘mutual consent’, and the club response has invariably been around finding a new coach who ‘understands the DNA of the club’. They invariably believe that “winning is in our DNA” but it is more appropriately described as the desire to win, which should actually be in every club’s ‘DNA’. Not everyone can win, however, and nobody is entitled to be on the victory podium on a regular basis. If you examine the honours list at most clubs, not many are regular champions or winners. Liverpool have 47 major honours, Manchester United 44, Arsenal 31. …”
“Arsenal have cleared another major hurdle in their bid for the Premier League title. Mikel Arteta’s side restored their five-point advantage at the top of the table with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Chelsea, which once again relied on their prowess at dead balls, with both of their goals coming from corners. Chelsea looked impressive for long spells and had a goal disallowed for offside in stoppage time, but were ultimately undone by Pedro Neto’s second-half red card — yet another moment of indiscipline that has cost them dearly this term as they pursue Champions League qualification. We analyse the main talking points. …”
“The first half of Everton versus Manchester United was a low-on-entertainment slogfest. The Monday night kick-off was in keeping with many Premier League games this season, with teams finding it harder to create goalscoring chances in open play and focusing more on set-piece opportunities. Football can often be described as “a game of mistakes”, and this season has seen an increase in games where teams are so focused on avoiding them that they lose sight of how to proactively force one from the opposition. Thankfully, the second half brought something more entertaining. …”
“Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday during this season, The Athletic will discuss three of the biggest questions to arise from the weekend’s football. This was the round where Arsenal answered a few critics with another 4-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool boosted their Champions League prospects with a smash-and-grab win at Nottingham Forest, moving them level on points with Chelsea, who stuttered at home to Burnley. We will ask whether talk over Arsenal’s supposed fragile mentality is valid, question just how much trouble Spurs are in and ponder what on earth has happened to Crystal Palace. …”
Tottenham Hotspur’s sporting director Johan Lange (left) and CEO Vinai Venkatesham, the men who will appoint a long-term successor to Thomas Frank
“When UEFA changed the format of the Champions League, it was for nights like this. The Swiss model, now more famous than Swiss Cottage station on the London Tube network but not yet as famous as Swiss cheese, replaced the old eight groups of four model (less catchy) in 2024. The final day was pretty good last year, with 64 goals in the 18 games, but no big teams dropped out and the big will-they-won’t-they? of the night saw Paris Saint-Germain stroll past Stuttgart 4-1 to avoid an early elimination (wonder what happened to them). …”
“Two sensational finishes from Patrick Dorgu and Matheus Cunha gave Manchester United a shock 3-2 win against Arsenal in an incredible game at the Emirates. Mikel Arteta’s side went into the weekend seven points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League, but they now lead by just four after defeat to United and City beating Wolves on Saturday. Cunha scored from distance after Mikel Merino had equalised for Arsenal late on. This followed Dorgu’s strike that had put United ahead after Bryan Mbeumo had equalised following an error from Martin Zubimendi. Arsenal felt they could have had a penalty when the ball struck a diving Harry Maguire on the hand, but nothing was given. Arsenal had initially gone in front through a Lisandro Martinez own goal. …”
Galatasaray should now make the play-offs, despite a tricky-looking final-day trip to Manchester City “We are down to next Wednesday’s final-day bonanza in the Champions League, with 18 simultaneous games to close out the initial league phase. Seven matchdays in, only Arsenal and Bayern Munich have guaranteed spots in the round of 16 in March. Third-placed Real Madrid and Juventus in 15th are separated by just three points, and with some of the teams in-between them playing each other in the final round of matches, expect the table to undergo a bewildering amount of change during Matchday 8. …”
“In the words of Jon Bon Jovi, we’re halfway there. Woah! As we enter a new year, the Premier League reaches the halfway mark, a perfect time to assess how each team has performed in their first 19 games of the season. We asked The Athletic’s writers to send in their report cards. Here, they grade each team and tell us what the biggest surprises and disappointments of the campaign have been so far. …”
“It has long been accepted fact that football’s richest league resides in England. The Premier League was not immediately a financial behemoth when it was formed in 1992 but today, 33 years and billions of pounds later, there is no doubting where the money lies. That is borne out every few months when a new transfer window rolls around, and the English clubs splurge like no others. Wage bills, too, are dominated by Premier League sides. In 2023-24, the most recent season for which we have a full dataset, teams from England occupied nine of the top 20 spots in the list of European football’s highest payers. …”
“A packed domestic schedule means we are never far from the next Premier League game during the festive period. Narratives can shift quickly, the league table can shuffle, and it may be challenging to keep track of the relative importance of every game within the broader season. Fear not. Allow The Athletic to catch you up on some trends that have emerged from last weekend’s fixtures, and how that might shape future weeks. Is Aston Villa’s winning run sustainable? Can any stop Leeds United’s set-piece threat? Is Manchester City’s attacking evolution now rubber-stamped? …”
“Welcome to The Briefing, where every Monday The Athletic discusses three of the biggest questions posed by the weekend’s 
“Emiliano Buendia crashed home a stoppage-time winner to stun leaders Arsenal and end their 18-match unbeaten run. Trailing at half-time to Matty Cash’s opener at Villa Park, Arsenal were far from their best but looked set to take a point thanks to substitute Leandro Trossard’s 52nd-minute equaliser. But Villa were not to be denied, with Buendia coming off the bench to hammer a shot beyond David Raya following an almighty scramble. …”
“The cold nights are drawing in, hopes and dreams from those optimistic, innocent, bright summer days are long gone. Reality has bitten. With the Premier League table still tighter than the proverbial camel’s backside in a sandstorm, with just six points separating fifth from 15th (this time last year the gap was 12 points), it’s hard to judge which clubs and which fanbases are happy with what they’ve seen so far. A week of wins can lift you from relegation concerns to a European push, while successive defeats can take you from the Champions League places to looking downwards to the Championship. It’s temperamental. Far more reliable than the actual league table, then, is The Athletic’sHappiness Table, in which we accurately summise each club’s xH (expected happiness) level, but without the xH bit because that’s a bit silly. …”
“This was the weekend when 
“Declan Rice took the captain’s armband after Bukayo Saka was substituted, charged down a loose ball and seconds later Arsenal were ahead through Noni Madueke in the 69th minute. Gabriel Martinelli then made it 3-1 seven minutes later, with Bayern Munich cut apart by a through ball and the substitute doing the rest. 
Scissors Kick 