FEATURES

Just like pretty much everyone else on the planet, former Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock thoroughly enjoyed Bayern Munich's thrilling Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid. The tie ebbed and flowed for 180 mesmerising minutes before the Bavarians eventually prevailed 6-4 on aggregate, thanks in no small part to Eduardo Camavinga's idiotic dismissal in the closing stages of the second leg.

GOAL reviews the major takeaways from Americans playing in Europe, including a clash between USMNT teammates in Italy's big game

Arsenal will take a slender advantage into the second leg of their Champions League semi-final clash with Lyon, after the defending European champions beat the eight-time winners 2-1 in north London on Sunday. Jule Brand had given OL an early lead but two calamitous errors in the visitors' defence proved costly, as Ingrid Engen's own goal levelled the scores up to set the scene for Olivia Smith, who had been a livewire all afternoon, to win the game late on.

Manager-less Chelsea earned the right to salvage something from their waning season by battling past Leeds in the FA Cup semi-finals at Wembley on Sunday, courtesy of Enzo Fernandez's first-half header. Interim head coach Calum McFarlane can now prepare to lead his side out against Manchester City in the showpiece in May.

When Bryan Mbeumo joined Manchester United last summer, he said his mentality was "to always be better than I was yesterday". But after a wonderful start to life at Old Trafford. the £71 million signing has hit a wall, with no shortage of fans starting to wonder whether he was worth the money at all.

The Herons came from behind as the search for a home win goes on for Lionel Messi and his teammates.

Nico Gonzalez scored a late screamer as Manchester City roared back from an almighty scare to beat Southampton 2-1 on Saturday and reach the FA Cup final for a fourth consecutive season. Finn Azaz's unstoppable curler had given the Championship side an unlikely lead, but Jeremy Doku's deflected equaliser soon restored parity before Gonzalez provided the grandstand finish.

Arsenal returned to the top of the Premier League table as Eberechi Eze's stunning strike secured a 1-0 win over Newcastle on Saturday. The Gunners produced another nervy display in their bid to end their 22-year wait for the title, but the struggling Magpies couldn't take advantage as Mikel Arteta's side moved three points clear of Manchester City, albeit with Pep Guardiola's side again now having a game in hand.

Liverpool climbed up to fourth in the Premier League table with a 3-1 win over Crystal Palace on Saturday. Alexander Isak and Andy Robertson's first-half goals put the Reds in control while third-choice goalkeeper Freddie Woodman produced a number of superb saves to help preserve the lead before Florian Wirtz made the points safe in stoppage time. The afternoon was somewhat soured, however, after Mohamed Salah suffered an injury that might rule him out for the final weeks of his Liverpool career.

Manchester City's hopes of wrapping up the Women's Super League title with games to spare suffered a major blow as they slumped to a 3-2 defeat at Brighton on Saturday. Kerolin had given the champions-elect an early lead on the south coast, but Andree Jeglertz's side were wasteful in attack and desperate in defence as they suffered just their third league defeat of the campaign.

Lindsey Heaps has done a lot of incredible things in her career to date. With the United States women’s national team, she has won the World Cup, and at she has lifted another 12 major titles at club level, including the Champions League. But perhaps her biggest impact on the sport has been her trailblazing efforts for U.S. women’s soccer, in more ways than one.

In the wake of Liam Rosenior's all-too-predictable sacking, Chelsea's search for a new head coach could and perhaps should come down to a choice between two Spanish tacticians. Andoni Iraola and Cesc Fabregas are the two leading candidates for the role - a result of the fine work they have done at overachieving Bournemouth and Como, respectively. However, as the Blues' owners face a defining appointment of their turbulent reign, who would be the right choice?

GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, including some big meetings of USMNT stars

At just 17 years of age, Vasilije Kostov is rewriting the record books at the highest level of Serbian football. The latest jewel to emerge from Red Star Belgrade's famed academy, the attacking midfielder is defying all logic as he puts Europe's elite on red alert with a stellar individual campaign for his country's biggest club.

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.

When Arsenal stunned Barcelona to win the Women's Champions League last year, there were so many individuals who deserved to be singled out for praise. Be it the exceptional turnaround overseen by interim-turned-permanent coach Renee Slegers, the goal-scoring exploits of Alessia Russo or the timeless class of Kim Little in midfield, there were so many reasons for the success. It was hard, though, not to be drawn in particular to the impact of Mariona Caldentey.