Gabriele MarcottiApr 28, 2025, 10:14 AM ET
Another European soccer weekend is in the books and as always, it delivered plenty to talk about. For a start, how about Spain's Copa del Rey final? We got a Clasico treat from Barcelona and Real Madrid, a game that lived up to both the hype and the vitriol pre-game (the latter from Madrid in particular). We also got closure to the Premier League title race as Liverpool clinched it at Anfield, in front of their fans, with a 5-1 rout of Tottenham. Job done.
In Serie A, Inter Milan's troubling slide has seen Napoli take a three-point lead in the title race and serves as the worst kind of warm-up for the Nerazzurri before this week's UEFA Champions League semifinal date with Barcelona. Oh, and we got talking points galore from the FA Cup semis -- Crystal Palace and Man City punched their tickets to meet at Wembley on May 17 -- the German Bundesliga as Bayern Munich's title celebrations were put on hold another week, and Manchester United among others. Here are some musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.
Wild Copa del Rey final is a treat for the neutral, even as it leaves plenty of fallout in the rubble
Given the poisonous preamble to the Copa del Rey final -- from Real Madrid TV's pre-emptive hit job on y referee Andres De Burgos Bengoetxea, to De Burgos Bengoetxea's tears during the pre-game press conference, to suggestions Real Madrid would boycott the game as if it were the Ballon d'Or ceremony, to LaLiga president Javier Tebas saying this "is not football, it is a power grab" -- we should likely feel privileged to have witnessed a dramatic rollercoaster of the game chockfull of sublime skill, which saw Barcelona win 3-2 after extra time in Seville.
Refereeing controversy? There was a bit of that too, though the biggest call -- Raúl Asencio's sliding tackle on Raphinha in the sixth minute of injury time in which the defender got none of the ball, instead kicking the winger's ankle -- ended up going against Barcelona, not Real Madrid. (It was the correct call, in my opinion, though I can see how some might disagree given the lengthy review before it was overturned.)
That didn't stop unruly protests from the Madrid at the end of the game resulting in three red cards including one for Antonio Rüdiger, who thought it would be a good idea to signal his displeasure by flinging an object towards the people on to the pitch. (He has since apologised, but it won't help him escape a hefty ban.)
The first half was pretty much a Barcelona monologue, despite the absences of Alejandro Balde and, especially, Robert Lewandowski. Pedri reminded us that even as he plays a deeper position these days, he's more than back to what he was: one of the best midfielders in the world. Real Madrid, with a banged-up Kylian Mbappé on the bench, struggled to get out of their half and managed just one shot (off target) plus a couple counters ruled out by offside. Their manager Carlo Ancelotti, looking more nervous and irritable than I've seen him in a long time, got himself booked inside half an hour.
But with nothing more to lose, Ancelotti sent on Mbappe at half-time and it was like flicking a switch. Suddenly, Wojciech Szczesny was making a string of saves, Vinicius Jr. was coming alive, and you saw that white-hot fury that is part of Madrid lore. It took a while for Barca to capitulate, but Mbappe's free kick -- and Cristiano Ronaldo-esque celebration -- and Aurélien Tchouaméni's header did the trick. Madrid's lead lasted a mere seven minutes until 17-year-old Lamine Yamal's wizardry (yeah, the youngest player on the pitch was also the best player on the pitch) teed up Ferran Torres to evade a banged-up Rudiger and a desperate Thibaut Courtois (who rushed out to the edge of his penalty area) to slot into an empty net for the equalizer.
Extra time was muted until Jules Koundé popped up for the winner, intercepting a bad Luka Modric pass to fire beyond Courtois in the 116th minute. It could have gone either way, but it went Barca's and they're worthy winners. Whatever happens in LaLiga, they've been better than Real Madrid this season.
Football-wise, there were a bunch of takeaways too. Vinícius at centerforward is not an option -- it can't be a coincidence that he got (a lot) better when Mbappe came on. The limits of Real Madrid's badly constructed squad were evident (again), and seeing Rudiger have to finish the game with more bandages than the Mummy was not a pretty sight.
Meanwhile, Barcelona's high line gives and takes. It could have cost them the game in the second half, but it also cued up their dominant first half. Coach Hansi Flick is going to stick to his guns, and who are we to argue with a past (and possibly future) Treble winner?
1:59
What kind of ban can Rudiger expect for his Copa del Rey red card?
Julien Laurens expects a long ban for Antonio Rudiger, after the Real Madrid defender appeared to throw an object at the referee in the closing moments of the Copa del Rey final.
As for Ancelotti, he looks like a guy who needs a break. There are suggestions he'll move on before the Club World Cup in June. (And then, maybe, taking the much-talked about Brazil gig.) If Real Madrid get their act together and can name his successor before the tournament kicks off on June 14, it might not be the worst thing in the world: let the new guy (whether Xabi Alonso or somebody else) have a go. and let him figure out what they need to work on in the transfer market. Because make no mistake about it: there is a ton to work on.
Liverpool were right: it does "mean more" (at least this season)
A few years ago, Liverpool hired a bunch of marketing folk who came up with a campaign called "This Means More." They were soundly ridiculed, and you can see why: the bond between every legit fan and his or her club is so personal that, by definition, it will mean more to them.
But the slogan does stick in your head, and it came to mind as they clinched their 20th league title with a 5-1 hammering of Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday. Because once you strip away the noise, this title -- note: the title, not necessarily being a Liverpool fan -- does mean more, and because it was pretty much a foregone conclusion since February, many have sort of forgotten how impressive a feat this was.
2:23
Onuoha: Don't downplay Liverpool's title win with 'weak league' talk
Nedum Onuoha praises Liverpool as "very deserving" Premier League champions after securing the title vs. Spurs.
You have a coach, Arne Slot, who was replacing a resident legend, Jurgen Klopp. (Think that's easy? Unai Emery finished fifth after taking over from Arsene Wenger. The less said about Sir Alex Ferguson's successor, David Moyes, the better.) Oh, and Slot had never worked outside the Dutch Eredivisie, and had only ever won two trophies (at Feyenoord, who are big, but not Liverpool-big).
Then there's the fact that over the summer, Liverpool made just one signing, Federico Chiesa, who would go on to play a whopping 37 minutes of league football. So much for the notion that new managers need "their own players" and that big clubs should "show ambition."
And, of course, there's the fact that Liverpool went through most of the campaign with arguably their three most important players -- Virgil Van Dijk, Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold -- out of contract in the summer. At most clubs, that's a ticking time-bomb. At Liverpool, it wasn't an issue and that's a testament to the players' professionalism, to Slot's man-management and to the way the club handled things throughout. Salah and Van Dijk have extended their deals (just this month), and while Alexander-Arnold looks more out than in, the way it was handled by all ought to be taught in Sporting Director School.
1:42
Where can Slot strengthen Liverpool for next season?
Beth Lindop looks at the potential transfers Liverpool and Arne Slot will be hoping to complete in preparation to defend their Premier League crown.
I imagine most will choose Salah (who could end up setting a new Premier League record for goals plus assists), or the skipper Van Dijk, or maybe the heartbeat of the side, Alexis Mac Allister, as the face of this Liverpool team. Fine choices, all. For me, though, the symbol is Ryan Gravenberch.
Before this year, Gravenberch was seen as a gifted, if raw, "number 8" who had made 15 league starts in his previous two seasons, with doubts over his character and application. Now, he's a stalwart who started every single league game and basically learned the deep-lying playmaker "number 6" position from scratch. His emergence is what allowed Slot to shift to a 4-2-3-1 scheme with Dominik Szoboszlai in the hole; it's what freed Mac Allister to be the roaming menace he is, it's what gave Liverpool the defensive base to carry that front three.
Slot was humble after winning the title, thanking Klopp for the team he inherited and acknowledging that Manchester City had an off-year. He's obviously not a boastful guy, but what he and his team achieved this year, given the circumstances, really does "mean more." Probably more than any other Premier League winner since Claudio Ranieri's 5000-to-1 Leicester side.
With three defeats in a week, are Inter Milan falling apart at the wrong time?
It's not how you want to head into a Champions League semifinal against Barcelona, but that's where Inter are right now, following Sunday's 1-0 home defeat to Roma. Prior to that, they lost the Coppa Italia semifinal second leg against Milan (0-3) and away to Bologna in the league (0-1 to a late, late Riccardo Orsolini goal).
In situations like these, you worry if there's a pattern or a common thread to the defeats. Unfortunately for Inter fans, there is. Over those three games, they didn't just fail to score, but managed just six shots on target, failing to score. And in each game, they looked fatigued, as if the season was catching up with them despite Simone Inzaghi's efforts at rotation and pre-planned substitutions. Fatigue matters here, because a tired Inter means a more conservative Inter, slipping deeper and leaving the initiative to the opposition.
Inzaghi says he doesn't want to hear talk about being tired or stressed or penalties not given (they had a strong case when Evan Ndicka bear-hugged Yann Bisseck) and says excuses will get them nowhere. Is this just "Coach-speak?" Possibly, but the only way you're going to improve is if you understand where you are, and one of the things that is holding Inter back this season is that a number of squad players simply haven't been as effective as the starters. From Mehdi Taremi to Joaquín Correa up front to Piotr Zielinski and Davide Frattesi in midfield (not to mention Kristjan Asllani), too often the understudies failed to make their mark. Wednesday night against Barcelona is going to be huge.
A word on Roma and the job Claudio Ranieri is doing. When he was brought in to replace Ivan Juric (becoming the club's third coach of the season), he lost three of his first four league games. Since then, he's undefeated in Serie A with 13 victories and five draws. It's the sort of pace that, over a full season, would see you end up on 93 points -- enough to win the title most years.
Claudio, are you sure you want to call it quits in the summer?
Quick hits
10. Kudos to Lecce's white-shirt protest against the foolish rigidity of Serie A: On Thursday night, Lecce's physiotherapist Graziano Fiorita suddenly passed away. Lecce were due to play the following day away to Atalanta, so Serie A decided to postpone their game ... by a whole 48 hours, to Sunday night. That's right: even before anyone had the opportunity to process what had happened -- and before his funeral -- Lecce were made to play their game. It's also why they took the pitch in plain white jerseys -- no sponsor, just the message "no values, no colors" -- in protest. The game, which neither team wanted to play, finished 1-1 amid a frankly surreal atmosphere. Serie A's reasoning was that postponing the game further might have given either club an edge over their rivals: Lecce are fighting to avoid relegation, Atalanta for a place in the Champions League. What utter nonsense. It's not as if all games (except for the final week of the season) are played at the same time anyway.
9. Bayern Munich have to wait on the title celebration, but the hard line on Lero Sane looks like it's paying off: Saturday's 3-0 win over Mainz Saturday was largely convincing, though with Leverkusen winning, they'll have to wait until next week to celebrate the Bundesliga title. In the meantime, Leroy Sané showed what he can do (on a good day), opening the scoring, hitting the woodwork twice and serving as a constant threat. Sane becomes a free agent next month, and unlike Alphonso Davies and Joshua Kimmich, his extension wasn't exactly a priority for the club largely because of his age (29), salary (€15 million, including bonuses) and wildly uneven performances. Amid reports of wild offers from Saudi Arabia (namely €25m "packages," whatever that means) the club stuck to their guns and according to local reports, he's on the verge of signing a new deal that includes a cut in base pay and a heavy incentive structure. You could say Bayern called his bluff and were rewarded, as he's had the best goal-scoring season of his career and is likely sticking around for a reasonable fee. From Sane's perspective, he still gets a hefty three-year deal at one of the biggest clubs in the world. Win-win.
0:55
Laurens: Crystal Palace outstanding in FA Cup semifinal win
Julien Laurens reacts to Crystal Palace's 3-0 win over Aston Villa in the FA Cup semifinals.
8. Don't sleep on Crystal Palace, as that front three can be terrifying: Eberechi Eze was named man of the match after the 3-0 FA Cup semifinal win against Aston Villa, presumably for scoring one of the better goals Wembley has ever seen (and with the neatest of celebrations, too). But it could have been Ismaïla Sarr, for turning himself into a pressing machine and also bagging two goals. Or, had he not missed that penalty, Jean-Philippe Mateta, for the way he gave Ezri Konsa and Pau Torres nightmares with his drive and physicality. Aston Villa looked tired and dazed for much of the game -- chickens coming home to roost -- and even the cup competition master, Unai Emery, had no answers. In fact, he was outfoxed by Oliver Glasner, who turned into exactly the sort of game that suited his team. Manchester City will be overwhelming favourites in the final on May 17 (streaming LIVE on ESPN+ in the U.S.), of course. But man, this Palace team attack with the sort of quality and dynamism that allow you to dream big.
7. Late heroics mean this time, Dortmund didn't Dortmund: It was sort of set-up for them to self-destruct again. They take the lead away to a Hoffenheim side that aren't quite safe yet (but nearly), miss a penalty (with Serhou Guirassy, who had opened the scoring), take the lead again (this time with Julian Brandt) and then get pegged back in the final minute. The draw would have left them eighth, with little chance of qualifying for the Champions League. Same old, same old? Nope. Because in a furious finale, they forced Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann way off his line and somehow the ball got to, of all people, centerback Waldemar Anton, who poked it home for the 3-2 away win in the fifth and final minute of injury time. Coach Niko Kovac and Borussia Dortmund live to fight another day. The gap with fourth spot is three points, with three games to go. Tough, but doable. And not having thrown it away is a massive confidence boost.
6. Scott McTominay powers minimalist Napoli to three-point lead at top of Serie A: McTominay bagged both Napoli goals in Sunday's 2-0 win over Torino with a mixture of timing and physicality, the same attributes he's ridden to a standout campaign under Antonio Conte (who found not just his best position -- off Romelu Lukaku -- but also the way to play to his strengths). Credit to him and credit to Conte who has, as he often does, turned Napoli into a minimalist masterpiece. They managed two shots on target and two goals, plus they hit the woodwork. More than enough to beat a Torino side who, at this stage, have nothing to play for. That's been the Conte way this season: just enough to win. And given the paucity of their fixtures between now and at the end of the season (three of their four opponents have nothing left to play for), you imagine that three-point gap at the top isn't going away and a second Scudetto in three seasons is on the doorstep.
1:22
Ogden: Onana always causes panic for Man United
Mark Ogden questions André Onana's performance as he continues to cause issues for Man United's defence.
5. Rasmus Hojlund to the rescue for Manchester United, but what does it mean? Not much. He's still Hojlund, he's still had a very rough season at the club and if he's back next year, it will be because they found no takers. I get the whole notion of strikers needing confidence and all that, but no: poking home to equalizer against 10-man Bournemouth deep in injury time likely doesn't mark a turning point. More of a thing for United, I think, is that despite going a goal down and despite suffering against the high press, they actually played relatively well against Bournemouth. Say it softly, but they look in decent shape heading into the Europa League semifinal.
4. Kenan Yildiz forgets VAR exists and nearly costs Juventus: It looked like smooth sailing for Juventus at home to Monza as we entered first-half injury time. Nico Gonzalez and Randal Kolo Muani (the latter getting the nod in Dusan Vlahovic's absence) had given them a 2-0 lead, and their run at the Champions League looked on track. But then Yildiz felt Alessandro Bianco pulling his shirt (in an innocuous midfield position) and reacted with an old-school, off-the-ball elbow. It was a brain fart: those can happen when you're 19 years old. Yildiz knows better, though: you might have gotten away with it pre-VAR, but not these days. Juventus went down to 10 men and entered lockdown mode. They had 16% possession (at home!) in the second half and managed a single shot. They still got the three points because Monza aren't particularly good, but nobody wants to see a side like Juve play like that. More importantly, what should have been a comfortable, confidence-building win turned into an uncomfortable siege.
1:20
Onuoha: The best team on the day went through
Nedum Onuoha believes his former side, Manchester City, deserved to progress into the FA Cup final after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Wembley.
3. Pep Guardiola's new-look Manchester City advances to FA Cup final, but is this the answer? His critics call it tinkering and over-thinking, but I like to think of it as Guardiola always looking for solutions if things aren't quite right. And let's face it: City haven't been quite right for a while. It's not the first time we saw the version of 4-2-2-2 (with the forwards, Savinho and Omar Marmoush, starting wide and the "box" midfield) that took on Nottingham Forest Sunday, but we hadn't seen it yet with this cast of characters: Rico Lewis and Jack Grealish were the "tens" while Kevin De Bruyne remained parked on the bench. Goals change games, of course, and Lewis' strike inside of two minutes sent City on their way. Forest didn't even attempt a single shot in the first half, but they made up for it after the break, recording a higher xG than City and hitting the woodwork three times along the way. Probably makes sense for Pep to keep looking...
2:28
What has happened to 'invisible' Cole Palmer?
Steve Nicol reacts to Cole Palmer's performance in Chelsea's 1-0 win vs. Everton.
2. Nico Jackson breaks goal drought, but Cole Palmer doesn't, which is why Chelsea have slid: The last time Chelsea played Everton was just before Christmas and it finished 0-0. It left Chelsea second in the table, four points behind Liverpool (who had a game in hand). After their return fixture at Stamford Bridge on Saturday -- which they won 1-0 thanks to a Nico Jackson strike -- Chelsea are fifth, 22 points behind leaders Liverpool (who no longer have that game in hand). Nosedive? Yep. And is it just a coincidence that, since Saturday's goalscorer, Jackson, hadn't scored at all during that stretch? (Yes, he also missed games through injury, but this weekend's goal was his first in 14 outings.) Or that Cole Palmer, Chelsea's top scorer, has scored just three league goals (none since mid-January) in that period? Players have highs and lows during a campaign, which is why well-constructed squads give coaches options. Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has very few: when his big guns don't fire, Chelsea slide.
1. Christian Pulisic leads Milan past Venezia, and we get more evidence why it's time to move on from Sérgio Conceição: A win is a win and yes, maybe they were tired after their big derby win in the Coppa Italia. (Or maybe, as coach Sergio Conceicao did -- referring to the trip to Venezia's stadium, which is on an island in the Venetian lagoon -- it was the "boat" and the "water.") Either way, Milan were less than impressive in their 2-0 away victory against a Venezia side fighting to avoid relegation. Pulisic (now up to 10 league goals, 16 overall) scored early and Milan did very little afterwards until Santi Gimenez scored in injury time. In between, a whole lot of nothing from the Rossoneri, who simply defended the lead. All in all, more reasons to part ways with Conceicao next month. (And, while we're at it, João Félix too.)
