sport

As Leicester seek their first-ever FA Cup trophy on Saturday, Kasper Schmeichel believes the club are in a much stronger place now than when they caught lightning in a bottle to claim the Premier League title in 2016.

The Foxes will face Chelsea at Wembley looking for their first silverware since that day this weekend and will resume hostilities with the Blues three days later

England manager Gareth Southgate has urged his side to „allow everybody to dream“ of a European Championship triumph by making a strong start to this summer’s tournament.

Southgate has overseen major improvements since being appointed England boss on a full-time basis in 2016, leading his side to the semi-finals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and to the last four of the inaugural Nations League tournament a year later.

Liverpool kept their hopes of Champions League qualification alive with a thrilling 4-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford. But how did we rate the players?

MANCHESTER UNITED
Dean Henderson – 6

Manchester United midfielder Fred received racist abuse on Instagram following the 4-2 loss to Liverpool at Old Trafford on Thursday.

The 28-year-old started the game for United before being substituted for Mason Greenwood in the 63rd minute with United 3-1 down at the time.

Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire, moving to within two points of leaders Atletico Madrid.

Despite missing a number of first-team regulars, Real started the stronger and first-half strikes from Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the visitors in control.

Pep Guardiola says the focus is on the Champions League final for Manchester City after his players had the opportunity to enjoy „perfect“ Premier League title celebrations.

The Spaniard reclaimed the Premier League title, his third English top-flight crown as City boss, following Manchester United’s defeat by Leicester City on Tuesday.

Xavi Hernandez has chosen to extend his stay in charge of Qatari side Al-Sadd for another two years, dampening speculation he could take over at former club Barcelona next season.

The legendary ex-Barcelona midfielder joined Al-Sadd as a player in 2015 after 17 trophy-laden years with Barca, becoming head coach after hanging up his boots in 2019.

Mikel Arteta launched an impassioned defence of his Arsenal players after their hard-fought 1-0 win over Chelsea.

The Arsenal boss was left angered by how comments in his pre-match press conference were portrayed by the media and insists he has never doubted the commitment of his players.

Thomas Tuchel blamed his own team selection for Chelsea’s 1-0 defeat by Arsenal, after making seven changes to his line-up ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup final.

Tuchel suffered only the second defeat since taking charge at Stamford Bridge with the Blues unable to cut through a defensive Arsenal side who hung onto their 16th-minute opener,

It was the second goal in the final moments of Liverpool’s 2-0 win over Southampton that confirmed victory and calmed nerves at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp had seen his side concede late equalisers in their previous two Premier League games. This one ended the right way.

On the face of it, Thiago Alcantara was an unlikely scorer. This was his first goal for the club since signing from Bayern Munich in September. But perhaps it should not have been such a surprise. Fabinho’s presence alongside him in midfield allows for a more advanced role.