Opinion

Real Madrid are in trouble. And when Real Madrid are in trouble, Florentino Perez always asks those around him, "Is there anything to be said for bringing back Jose Mourinho?" Why? Because hiring Mourinho worked once before. Kind of. Back in 2010, Madrid had been put in an unbearable position by Barcelona. They weren't just being beaten by their most hated rivals, they were being embarrassed by them. So, Perez turned to Mourinho, the self-anointed 'Special One' who had just upset Pep Guardiola's pass-masters - in every sense - on his way to winning a European Cup with Inter.

Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez have a lot in common. They're two tenacious but technically gifted midfielders who played pivotal roles in Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup. They also presently play for big Premier League teams, but both have been repeatedly linked with Real Madrid. Up until last summer, such speculation made an awful lot of sense.

The clock is ticking down to a potentially tenure-defining decision for Thomas Tuchel, who will be putting the final touches to his England squad for the 2026 World Cup. However, there is still time for those on the fringes to make a late push into the manager's thinking as the season enters his final weeks. Some, though, stand a much better chance than others.

In the 44th minute of Bayern Munich's Bundesliga clash with St. Pauli on November 29, Luis Diaz ended up prone in the penalty area. However, while the winger had lost his balance, he'd not lost control of the ball - and somehow managed to flick it up off the floor and into the path of Joshua Kimmich to score. It was an extraordinary piece of skill - but Bayern boss Vincent Kompany wasn't in the least bit surprised by it.

Manchester United have not beaten all their 'Big Six' opponents in one season for three years, but interim head coach Michael Carrick can complete the set with victory over Liverpool on Sunday. If his team can pull that particular feat off and clinch third place in the Premier League, then no one will be able to say that he does not deserve to be in charge next season.

Arsenal are about to experience a whole new level of pressure. After wrestling their teetering Premier League title chase back on course with a much-needed victory over Newcastle, the Gunners are now preparing to enter Atletico Madrid's Metropolitano cauldron in the Champions League semi-finals. However, while the prospect of a domestic and European double is tantalising, head coach Mikel Arteta must see the bigger picture.

Within the last two months, Phil Foden has made more starts at Wembley than the Etihad Stadium. They have all, however, reached a familiar and sad ending, with the Manchester City and England midfielder being substituted after a hugely disappointing individual performance.

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice made a point of telling his team-mates after Sunday's Premier League loss to title rivals Manchester City, "It's not done." And he was right, it's not. The title race is far from finished, as underlined by City's laboured win over Burnley on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola's men may have gone top of the table with their 1-0 victory at Turf Moor - but only on goals scored.

"It's a long way from Cumbria", said James Trafford after 25 friends and family travelled to watch the Manchester City goalkeeper star in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley in March. But many of those who were there to support Trafford that day will again be making the same 300-plus mile journey on Saturday to see him in action against Southampton in City's FA Cup semi-final, and will hope to do so again for the final on May 16.

McKennie is putting together a historic season at Juventus - but how does it stack up against Bradley, Reyna, and the best USMNT midfield campaigns in Europe?

If we're being brutally honest, it always felt like a case of not if, but when the axe would fall on Liam Rosenior after he was named as the surprise successor to the sacked Enzo Maresca in January. A positive start in the Stamford Bridge dugout now feels like a distant memory, with a historically-bad run of form accelerating his downfall. Having overseen a fifth league defeat in a row, Rosenior has deservedly been relieved of his duties - but he was simply a symptom of the Blues wider, deeper problems.

The banner unfurled by Manchester City fans on the south stand of the Etihad Stadium on Sunday really did sum up the narrative nicely, "Panic on the streets on the London." After a devastating 2-1 defeat at the home of their Premier League title rivals, Arsenal are now just three points clear of Pep Guardiola's men - and having played one game more.

There is a bitter irony to the fact that Chelsea will face Brighton on Tuesday at one of the lowest ebbs of the BlueCo 'project'. The Blues travel to the south coast with their hopes of a top-five Premier League finish hanging by a thread, and the club hierarchy is finally ready to move away from a transfer model that was inspired by the Seagulls' success as a result.

Manchester City beat Arsenal in an absorbing contest at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to draw to within three points of the Premier League leaders. As a result, if Pep Guardiola's men win their game in hand at Burnley in midweek, they'll replace the Gunners at the top of the table on goal difference. Nobody could have envisaged such a scenario unfolding just over a month ago, when Arsenal beat Everton to move 10 points clear of their title rivals.

It's being billed as the biggest Premier League clash in years. On Sunday, Arsenal finally travel to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manchester City in what has been marked in the calendar as potential title-decider for months. But with the two sides separated by just six points at the top of the table, and City holding a crucial game in hand, Mikel Arteta's out-of-sorts Gunners shouldn't feel like they need to live up to the much-hyped occasion.

Arne Slot declared that the "future was bright" for Liverpool after Tuesday's Champions League elimination but there was no lifting the doom and gloom around Anfield. The hosts hadn't just lost yet another game to Paris Saint-Germain - they'd also lost Hugo Ekitike to injury. Indeed, what little hope Liverpool had of overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit effectively ended the moment their only fit and in-form forward hit the deck with nobody near him.

Chelsea simply had to win Saturday night's Premier League clash with Manchester United. But they didn't. They lost. Again. And without scoring a goal. Again. It's now four blanks in a row in four defeats in a row for the Blues - their worst goal-less run of results since November 1912. As a result, Liam Rosenior's struggling side remain sixth in the Premier League standings, four points behind fifth-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand.