NOTTINGHAM — Arsenal's last-flickering hopes of winning the Premier League were extinguished on Saturday by Nottingham Forest, whose 1-0 win courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi secured their top-flight status.
Eight points clear at the top just two months ago, Mikel Arteta's team have had a dismal end to the season, with their latest defeat ensuring what had become an inevitable-looking consecutive title for Manchester City.
In the battle between Thibaut Courtois and Erling Haaland the Real Madrid keeper came up victorious. Alas he couldn’t keep out the relentless hordes of Manchester City attacks as the defending Premier League champions won 4-0 (5-1 on aggregate) to book their ticket to the UEFA Champions League final on Wednesday.
City deserve all the credit for their victory. They outclassed Real Madrid on every inch of the field. The area of most difficulty was trying to get past Courtois in goal.
Manchester City took a massive step on its journey to a third straight Premier League title by beating relegation-threatened Everton 3-0 at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.
City midfielder İlkay Gündoğan was man of the match after scoring a stunning opener in the 37th-minute before setting up Erling Haaland for a header just two minutes later. Then, six minutes into the second half, Gündoğan curled home a right-footed free kick beyond the despairing dive of Jordan Pickford to secure all three points for City.
While Erling Haaland was struggling to free himself from Antonio Rüdiger during Manchester City's 1-1 draw versus Real Madrid in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday night, his father Alf-Inge was having an intense confrontation with Real Madrid fans in the Santiago Bernabéu stands.
Alfie was a guest in one of the stadium's VIP boxes and had several exchanges with Real Madrid supporters, including some caught on camera.
After 90 minutes of thrilling action at the Bernabéu on Tuesday night, it sure would be nice if we could just immediately go to the Etihad and scratch the itch for more of Real Madrid vs. Manchester City. This is highly addictive stuff.
The first leg saw Vinícius Júnior and Kevin De Bruyne exchange thunderously rifled efforts for a 1-1 draw, while the rhythm of the match mirrored this give and take with the individual battles turning into a series of brutal punches followed by staggering counters.
I think this CBS tweet is a pretty accurate summary of it all.
MADRID - Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti believes that gaining a mental advantage over Manchester City will be as important as the result when the two teams meet at Santiago Bernabéu in their Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday.
Ancelotti said that beating Osasuna 2-1 to clinch the Copa del Rey title on Saturday had given his side a much needed confidence boost after a run of poor results as they prepare to host Pep Guardiola's team who are in superb form.
There were a few bright spots for Major Leeds Soccer as they only lost 2-1 to Manchester City on Saturday and gave the league leaders a late scare. One of the rare positive moments from the game was the Weston McKennie long throw strategy.
If you support the United States men’s national team then you know all about McKennie’s throw-in abilities. For some reason Leeds have rarely asked the American to utilize his skills.
New Leeds manager Sam Allardyce was all over it and asked McKennie to huck a ball into City’s box in the 10th minute.
MANCHESTER — Manchester City's Erling Haaland scored his record-breaking 35th Premier League goal of the season to help secure a 3-0 victory against West Ham United that sent his side back to the top of the table on Wednesday.
The Norwegian killed off a stubborn West Ham resistance when he dinked a delicate chip into the net after 70 minutes to break the record for the amount of goals in a single season in the Premier League.
Our 2023 UEFA Champions League semifinal predictions are coming in hot with certified locks for a rematch of last year's instant classic between Real Madrid-Manchester City and a historic Derby della Madonnina between rivals Inter and AC Milan.
Who will contest the final on June 10 at the Atatürk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul? Let's turn to our collection of Nostradamus-minded folks to find out.
Real Madrid vs. Manchester City
LONDON - Erling Haaland put yet more notches in an incredible first season with Manchester City but Julián Álvarez also received special praise from manager Pep Guardiola after Sunday's 2-1 win at Fulham which put City back on top of the table.
City were dealt a blow with Kevin de Bruyne ruled out with an injury, but even without their Belgian playmaker the combination of Haaland and Álvarez ensured victory.