What a weekend of European soccer! In the English Premier League, Manchester City beat Arsenal 2-1 to take control of the title race with just over a month to go; will we look back on Sunday's game as the turning point? Erling Haaland (who else?) scored the decisive goal, and Kai Havertz missed a last-minute header from close range in a game that delivered on drama, quality and narrative.
Also in England, Manchester United defeated Chelsea to more or less seal their top-four finish at the Blues' expense, which is a remarkable turnaround under interim boss Michael Carrick. Meanwhile, Chelsea are on the outside looking in and running out of games. Who deserves the blame for yet another underwhelming season? Liverpool's last-gasp derby win at Everton also bolstered the Reds' quest for Champions League action next season.
Elsewhere, Bayern Munich sealed their latest Bundesliga title with a lot of squad rotation and a big win over Stuttgart, though this one under new-ish manager Vincent Kompany feels different than past successes. Real Sociedad clinched the Spanish Copa del Rey under U.S.-born boss Pellegrino Matarazzo, Juventus took another significant step toward a top-four finish in Serie A, and Paris Saint-Germain wobbled in Ligue 1, losing vs. Lyon to leave the door open for Lens to take this title race right down to the wire.
- Reaction: Man City win over Arsenal gives them title edge
- Lindop: Liverpool dream again after Van Dijk goal, derby drama
- VAR Review: Should Gabriel have been sent off for Haaland headbutt?
The Gunners' visit to Manchester City on Sunday was only going to provide definitive answers with an Arsenal win. Such a result would have left Pep Guardiola's men nine points back with a game in hand -- not quite done and dusted and not enough to quell the Gunners' nerves, but to most observers, pretty darn close to "game over." Instead, with City's 2-1 win, we're on the proverbial knife edge, with matters potentially coming down to goal difference. (Let's hope not: It is such a silly and inconsequential metric with which to determine something as important as a league title.)
Games like these, with so much at stake, often disappoint. Fear and conservatism rule, and individual incidents are often the deciding factor. This wasn't like that exactly, though there were plenty of game-turning moments, from Gianluigi Donnarumma's blunder to the Gabriel-Erling Haaland incident that could (and probably should) have seen the Arsenal defender sent off, to the many chances spurned to the four times (two each) that the woodwork was rattled.
Pep Guardiola played his strongest available, front foot XI -- the 4-2-3-1 with Rayan Cherki in the hole that took him four months to identify -- and went for it. It was no surprise, as City needed the win; but what did surprise was the approach of Mikel Arteta, who made some huge calls, like starting Kai Havertz over Viktor Gyokeres. Some of us advocated this for some time, but the big Swede had been permanently first-choice even after Havertz's return from injury. With Bukayo Saka out, Arteta also opted against a traditional winger and played Eberechi Eze wide while starting Martin Odegaard, who had missed the past two games, had been hampered by injuries, isn't having a great season and last played 90 minutes in 2025.
Each of those decisions made sense. With Piero Hincapie and Cristian Mosquera (instead of Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori, both of whom were unavailable), Arsenal had de facto center backs in the fullback roles, and because neither is a standout on the ball, playing out against an energetic press can get tricky (and dangerous). Adding Eze, Odegaard and Havertz gives you ballers up the pitch and allows you to play more of a possession game. Shaking up a side that really hadn't played well in two months also made sense.
The problem is, each move was also risky. Odegaard might have hobbled off injured in the first half. Eze might have been isolated on the wing. Havertz might have had one of those days where the barn door shrinks to the side of a microchip. More importantly, Arteta asked his team to play a different sort of game, which isn't easy to do when you've played a different way (and had success) for much of the season. And if you get it wrong and get spanked, confidence starts to wane, you look really silly and get called an "overthinker" or "tinkerer," and the season goes down the drain. (Look at Arne Slot and his back three in the Champions League.)
play0:54Leboeuf: Arteta will be to blame if Arsenal don't win the title
Frank Leboeuf says mistakes from Mikel Arteta have allowed Manchester City back into the Premier League title race.
Arsenal lost, but they were by no means outplayed. That's why performance matters, and why Arteta doesn't seem foolish when he says his team are "more convinced than ever." A game like this sets a platform of what Arsenal can do not just in the Premier League, but in the Champions League as well.
Still, City have the momentum now, and Guardiola once again has shown the ability of finding the framework that allows individual talent to shine at the right time. Witness Cherki's breath-taking opener, or Nico O'Reilly's assist for Haaland.
Speaking of Haaland: He managed just six touches in the opposition box, and four of them were shots, at least two of which he probably could have done better with. But he was there when it mattered, scoring the second goal, and his running battle with Gabriel, coupled with some sterling defensive work, helped define the game. If you really want to nitpick, he should have gone down during the Gabriel incident ... but I'm glad he didn't.
A word, too, on Donnarumma: His heavy touch gifted Arsenal the equalizer within a minute of City taking the lead. Athletes, at all levels, are told to shake off mistakes and focus on what comes next. It's easier said than done. In his case, he came back with a superb stop to deny Havertz and the foresight to cue up the move that led to the Haaland goal.
A win over Burnley on Wednesday night will see City pull ahead of Arsenal at the top of the table, whether on goal difference or on goals scored. From there, as Arteta says, it's a "five-game season" for all the marbles. Who's taking it? No clue. As a neutral, I'm just grateful for what both clubs delivered Sunday.
OK, we knew Bayern would win the title, so this isn't much of a surprise. But the way they did it, with eight changes to the team that knocked Real Madrid out of the UEFA Champions League last midweek, roaring back as they did with four goals after conceding the opener, was pretty remarkable. The fact that they could swat aside with such ease a Stuttgart side still gunning for a top-four finish speaks volumes about this club and the way Vincent Kompany has them humming.
When I saw the starting XI -- Luis Diaz, Josip Stanisic and the indefatigable Joshua Kimmich were the only holdovers from the Madrid second leg -- I figured it might be one of those days when you drop points, but still celebrate at the end. Was I wrong. It was as if the early goal from Stuttgart's Chris Fuhrich only made Bayern see red as they dominated the rest of the way, before conceding in garbage time to seal the 4-2 result.
play1:03Kane reflects on Bayern Munich's 'fantastic' Bundesliga title win
Harry Kane speaks after Bayern Munich's 4-2 win over Stuttgart secured the Bundesliga title.
Kompany's changes were inevitable considering their heavy legs after the Madrid game and with the German Cup semifinal against Bayer Leverkusen coming up Wednesday, but it didn't feel as if they were just about resting players and avoiding injury. The likes of Jamal Musiala, Alphonso Davies and maybe even Nico Jackson and Leon Goretzka may yet have their say between now and the end of the campaign, and you feel Kompany wants to encourage competition for places. Beyond that, no matter who plays, the relentless mentality is unchanged (4.33 xG tells its own story).
Kompany, who, lest we forget, was far from the first choice as manager and was coming off relegation at Burnley, deserves a huge amount of credit not just as a coach, but as the face of the club. It's easy to say that anyone can win the Bundesliga with Bayern -- they've won 13 of the past 14 seasons -- but Kompany feels different, perhaps because he did it without the résumé (at least as a coach).
Beyond that, Bayern have already broken the single-season goals record -- they're averaging 3.63 a game in the league and no, that's not a typo -- and can still equal the points record. And of course, they're on course for the Treble. Sure, we can crack jokes about the lack of competitiveness among the rest of the Bundesliga (though before we get too snarky, let's remind ourselves how dominant Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and the two Spanish giants have been in recent history). But let's recognize the fact that Bayern have taken their plentiful resources and really made them count. Not every one-percenter does that.
play2:31Does Michael Carrick deserve to stay at Man United next season?
The 'FC TV' crew react to Manchester United beating Chelsea 1-0 in the Premier League.
On the pitch and off, there's a very long list of problems at Chelsea, some the results of poor choices that might have made sense at the time, some needlessly self-inflicted, and some less so. On Saturday night, fans hoped a convincing victory over a marquee opponent like Manchester United might help turn the tide of negativity. They got the performance (to a point), but not the win, which in some ways makes things worse.
Chelsea hit the woodwork repeatedly, they won the xG battle (1.57 to 0.29) and they held United to a single shot on target. Unlucky for Chelsea, but that's all the visitors needed as the quality of Bruno Fernandes and Mathias Cunha shone through in a 1-0 result. Unlucky? Sure, but that's the way this low-scoring sport works.
The numbers are pretty horrifying. Six defeats in their last seven (all competitions). Their last home league win was in January. In all competitions since Feb. 7, they've won one game against top-flight opposition, and now they're part of a grab-bag of teams chasing Liverpool for that fifth Champions League spot. Manager Liam Rosenior carries the can, because that's how football works and owners think, but the issues run far deeper, and on Saturday, he seemed jinxed as well.