The finish line is in sight across Europe as domestic leagues accelerate to a crescendo. The Premier League, in particular, has a title race bound to go to the last week. My name's James Benge, let's take a look at the weekend ahead.
📺 Footy fix
All times U.S./Eastern
Friday, May 10
🇮🇹 Serie A: Frosinone vs. Inter, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
Saturday, May 11
🏴 Premiership: Celtic vs. Rangers, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🏴 EPL: Fulham vs. Manchester City, 7:30 a.m. ➡️ USA Network
Sunday, May 12
🏴 Championship Playoffs: Norwich City vs. Leeds United, 7 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🏴 EPL: Manchester United vs. Arsenal, 11:30 a.m. ➡️ Peacock
🇩🇪 Bundesliga: Bochum vs. Bayer Leverkusen, 1:30 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Atalanta vs. Roma, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ CBS Sports Golazo Network
⚽ The Forward Line
🏆 Arsenal look to take title race to the wire
Twenty-two years ago, Arsenal won the league at Old Trafford. They can't do so again this season, but they can effectively lose it. Mikel Arteta's side travel to the north west on Sunday knowing that for all the potential complexities that the next eight days may present, their task is rather simple: beat Manchester United and Everton, then wait and see.
Even if Arsenal do that they will need Manchester City to drop points in one of their three remaining games left, starting with a trip to Fulham on Saturday. The Gunners might occupy top spot but their one point lead having played a game more is fragile in the extreme. As their captain Martin Odegaard acknowledged after the 3-0 triumph over Bournemouth, there is nothing they can do but apply scoreboard pressure. Equally, that means they don't need trips to their greatest rivals to provide the motivation they need.
- Odegaard: "It's like any other game we are playing for at the moment [going to Manchester United]. I don't think we need any extra motivation at the moment. I think there is enough there. We know what we are playing for. We know the task. We have to win every game and that is what we are going to try to do."
City might well take it out of their hands. Tottenham and West Ham both look like relatively straightforward assignments for the champions. Arsenal, though, are refusing to loosen their grip on the Premier League crown. Since the turn of the year their record in the top flight is played 18, won 16, drawn one, lost one. That solitary draw at the Etihad saw Manchester City drop the same number of points. Arteta was right to note earlier this year that this form usually has teams streaking to the title, not relying on favors from the Premier League's also rans.
It is also the sort of run that should mean they can roll up to Old Trafford confident, not only of a win, but a handsome one at that. Arsenal's record at Old Trafford over the past two decades and change might be deeply ordinary, but in all that time they've never faced a side as bad as this iteration of Manchester United. After all, this is a team that were shellacked by Crystal Palace on Monday, who have won just two of their last 10 top flight games and given up more shots than anyone in the Premier League this season, other than relegation fodder Sheffield United. All that would appear to stand them in good stead is the Old Trafford aura. Arsenal really ought to win.
Even that might not be enough for Arsenal to be champions, but three points at their great rivals is at least a gauntlet laid down to City, not just for the final week of this season, but the years to come.
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🔗 Midfield Link Play
🇪🇺 Final six set after a week of high drama in Europe
The six finalists are set. When we last caught up on Wednesday we were mere hours away from a semifinal second leg between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich that was both utterly unbelievable and totally predictable. For once, it was Real Madrid that got smacked with a sucker punch when Alphonso Davies struck on the break after an hour plus of domination by the hosts. Less resilient sides would have thrown in the towel long before the 88th minute, when Joselu gambled on the first Manuel Neuer error of an outstanding night. Three minutes later, the former Stoke City striker had fired Madrid into their 18th Champions League final, where they will surely be favorites against Borussia Dortmund.
One wonders how much stoppage time drama we might get if Madrid end up facing Bayer Leverkusen in the Super Cup at the start of next season. Xabi Alonso's side didn't just fight back from two goals down to ensure they beat Roma to a spot in the Europa League final, but by delivering yet another late goal that extended their unbeaten run to 49 games, a post war record in European football. No one has gone this many matches without defeat while playing continental football, a feat that is all the more remarkable given how often they've had to fight back at the death, as Chuck Booth explains:
- Booth: "From the 80th minute onward, Leverkusen have outscored their opponents 32-5 in all competitions and when it gets down to stoppage time, things get even better for Alonso's men. After the 90th minute, Leverkusen have outscored their opponents 14-0, turning five matches into victories and another three into draws. In their 49-match unbeaten streak, they've won 40 of the games. "
Four more games without defeat and Leverkusen will have a strong case for the greatest season in the history of football, perhaps even sport. Between them and immortality (I'm laying claim to the Foreverkusen nickname now thanks) will be, among other opponents, Atalanta in Dublin. Gianpiero Gasperini's side were outstanding, demolishing Marseille 3-0 in Bergamo. Their sights might be a little lower than global immortality, but a cup double would be quite the achievement.
Then there is the Europa Conference League final, a match in which Fiorentina are becoming quite the fixture. A late penalty took them past Club Brugge and back to a second successive spot in the final, but they will have to tame quite the atmosphere in Athens if they are to go one better than against West Ham last season. Olympiacos will be on home soil after a brilliant win over Aston Villa, the nominal home team in the ground of rivals AEK Athens.
🔗 Top Stories
🏆 The Champions League final is set: Carlo Ancelotti and Edin Terzic have plenty of time to mull things over before they take to the field at Wembley next month, but what could decide the biggest game in European football? Here's a much too early look.
📕 Game changing "errors": The fallout from Wednesday's semifinal continues but our rules expert Christina Unkel has the best explanation of the offside controversy at the Santiago Bernabeu.
📅 Final countdown: Get those dates in your calendar for the Champions League and Europa League finals.
📊 Ranking highs and lows: We've had plenty of thrilling late fightbacks for Real Madrid in recent years and a fair few debilitating defeats for PSG too. Our team had a go at ranking both.
✈️ Charter flights in the NWSL: The Kansas City Current were allowed to charter a private flight on their travels back from Seattle -- Sandra Herrera's latest NWSL heat check breaks down when this might become the norm for the league.
🇮🇹 Change afoot at Juventus: The Old Lady of Italian football will also be back in the big time next season but that does not mean that Massimiliano Allegri will keep his job.
🚸 Youth signing at Philadelphia Union: The MLS side have completed the signing of 14 year old Cavan Sullivan, who is expected to join Manchester City in the coming years.
↕️ Titles, UEFA, relegation and promotion: Which teams have done what so far across Europe's top five leagues with just weeks to go?
✅ UCL 24-25: Who has qualified, who risks missing out and what to know ahead of the new format changes from next season.
💰 The Back Line
💵 Best bet
- Premier League: West Ham United vs. Luton Town, 10 a.m.
- 💰 THE PICK: Luton Town to win (+275) -- It might be a chance for the London Stadium to bid farewell to David Moyes but there is everything for Luton to play for, a three point gap to close on Nottingham Forest and just two games to do it. Rob Edwards' side aren't in the best of form but West Ham might be even worse. With so little to play for they might just let this one slip to the Hatters.
📺 What's on CBS Sports Golazo Network
☀️ Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network's flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you'll never have to miss an episode.
📦 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+.
3️⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Thursday): The leading women's soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. The NWSL season is back and our coverage of the women's game is stronger than ever. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT, NWSL and European domestic season all year long.
👟 Kickin' It (Tuesdays): CBS Sports Golazo Network's new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch.
⚽ Call it What You Want (Monday night): A weekly podcast where Jimmy Conrad, Jesse Marsch and Charlie Davies cover all things USMNT and the state of the beautiful game in the United States.
🥅 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can't-miss goals from the day's action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.
📺 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.
