Joyful Friday! One main European remaining is formally within the books with Atalanta’s win over Bayer Leverkusen within the Europa League, and between the FA Cup and the UEFA Girls’s Champions League, there’s loads extra in retailer this weekend. I am Pardeep Cattry with the most recent.

📺 Footy repair

All occasions U.S./Jap

Friday, Could 24
🇺🇸 NWSL: Orlando Delight vs. Portland Thorns, 7 p.m. ➡️ NWSL+

Saturday, Could 25
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 FA Cup: Manchester Metropolis vs. Manchester United, 10 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇪🇺 UWCL: Barcelona vs. Lyon, 12 p.m. ➡️ DAZN
🇩🇪 DFB Pokal: Kaiserslautern vs. Leverkusen, 2 p.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Milan vs. Salernitana, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+
🇺🇸 MLS: Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Inter Miami, 10:30 p.m. ➡️ Apple TV+

Sunday, Could 26
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Championship playoffs: Leeds vs. Southampton, 10 a.m. ➡️ ESPN+
🇮🇹 Serie A: Hellas Verona vs. Inter, 2:45 p.m. ➡️ Paramount+

⚽ The Ahead Line

🔵⚫ Atalanta make historical past

The underdogs prevailed in Dublin on Wednesday, when Atalanta snapped Bayer Leverkusen’s 51 match profitable streak in fashion with a 3-0 win to take house the Europa League trophy. The unlikely victory got here courtesy of a hattrick from Ademola Lookman, who turned the primary individual to attain thrice in a Europa League remaining.

Lookman’s first aim got here within the twelfth minute and set the tone for the rest of the match, during which Atalanta let Leverkusen have the ball however by no means relinquished momentum and had been finally extra medical. The goalscorer had among the best performances of his profession and was emblematic of an Atalanta workforce that obtained every part proper, in response to Mike Grella.

• Grella: “[There was] a lot exhausting work round [Lookman] to place him in these conditions, 1-v-1. I feel he [had] 4 profitable dribbles out of six. He was simply beating his defender on a regular basis and his ending is implausible. You discover loads of wingers that maintain all of the instruments however then possibly the ending, they do not, however he finishes like a No. 9. He is only one piece of an Atalanta aspect, although, that I assumed was simply good on the evening — actually, actually great things. … You speak in regards to the nerves and also you speak about totally different moments, Lookman didn’t make any errors.”

There have been loads of causes for Atalanta to really feel triumphant on Wednesday. The membership gained their first European title and solely their second-ever trophy, the primary coming in a Coppa Italia victory six many years earlier. The victory in Dublin marked a excessive level for a membership that started an aspirational rebuild a number of years in the past, which Francesco Porzio notes included a assorted forged of characters together with an ex-player, American buyers and revered supervisor Gian Piero Gasperini, who gained his first-ever trophy.

• Porzio: “Former membership participant and Italian businessman Antonio Percassi determined to purchase the membership again in 2010 and the fortunes modified for the higher, and currently, it has been with large American affect. From that second on every part modified for the workforce primarily based within the north of Italy and only a one-hour drive from Milan. Atalanta began from zero and struggled for some years till supervisor Gasperini was appointed in 2016. The previous Genoa coach created some of the fascinating initiatives of Italian soccer, primarily based on younger gamers from the academy and nice scouting by the membership administrators through the previous years. It labored so effectively that Atalanta reached Champions League soccer 4 occasions lately, together with once they misplaced to PSG within the quarterfinals of the 2019-20 version.”

The history-making win means Atalanta will return to the Champions League subsequent season, which can provide them the most recent probability to chart their admirable upward trajectory into the highest ranks of European soccer.

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🔗  Midfield Hyperlink Play

🏆 Barcelona, Lyon chase UWCL glory

UEFA’s subsequent trophy presentation comes on Saturday, when Barcelona and Lyon will duke it out in Bilbao to win the Girls’s Champions League in a battle between ladies’s soccer’s previous and new powerhouses.

Barcelona return to the showcase a yr after profitable the title and stay the gold normal in a brand new age of the ladies’s sport, thanks largely to their star-studded roster. Aitana Bonmati remains to be on the high of her sport after her unprecedented trophy haul in 2023 and has 5 objectives this season, whereas Caroline Graham Hansen has matched that tally. If anybody’s having a breakout season, although, it is 20-year-old Salma Paralluelo. She went from making a reputation for herself with 15 objectives in 30 video games final season to turning into a go-to goalscorer this season, with 32 objectives in 34 video games. She additionally  leads her workforce with six objectives within the competitors, rising as the most recent attacking star for a goalscoring juggernaut.

They are going to be eyeing revenge towards Lyon, who beat them 3-1 within the 2022 remaining to win a document eight UWCL title. The French champions had been as soon as the definition of excellence in Europe, however within the face of elevated funding and competitors from across the continent, they’ve demonstrated a capability to maintain tempo. Kadidiatou Diani leads the competitors with eight objectives whereas Ada Hegerberg has 5 of her personal, permitting Lyon to make their technique to Saturday’s remaining with relative ease. U.S. ladies’s nationwide workforce captain Lindsey Horan can be amongst the standouts, and can goal for her second Champions League winners’ medal.

Saturday’s match is anticipated to be the most recent instance of the more and more aggressive nature of the ladies’s sport, and never simply on the pitch. Barcelona supervisor Jonatan Girladez and Lyon counterpart Sonia Bompastor take new high-profile jobs this summer time — the previous has already introduced that he’ll be part of the NWSL’s Washington Spirit and the latter is anticipated to interchange Emma Hayes at Chelsea. Their strikes reveal the ambition of golf equipment on either side of the Atlantic, and also will present the most recent take a look at of Barcelona and Lyon’s talents to take care of their excessive standing underneath new management.

🔗  High Tales

🏆 Atalanta’s good evening: This is extra on Atalanta’s win over Leverkusen, during which Gasperini and firm placed on an ideal show towards the seemingly unbeatable opposition.

🇺🇸 Hayes formally begins: Emma Hayes is making the rounds after formally assuming her position because the USWNT head coach, and stated her main focus for the nationwide workforce is to information them amidst the altering panorama in ladies’s soccer.

🪑 Managerial musical chairs: Thiago Motta is inching nearer to turning into the Juventus coach, Vincent Kompany is in superior talks to take the Bayern Munich job, Hansi Flick is rising as a number one contender to succeed Xavi at Barcelona, Mauricio Pochettino is being linked to the England position, and Eric ten Hag’s days at Manchester United more and more appear numbered.

🟨 Paqueta charged: The FA charged West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta with 4 important breaches of its playing guidelines, alleging that he deliberately sought yellow playing cards on 4 events.

🔴🔵 Lewandowski on Mbappe: Robert Lewandowski stated he isn’t “scared” about Actual Madrid’s potential to overshadow Barcelona with Kylian Mbappe’s impending arrival.

💰  The Again Line

💵 Greatest bets

• FA Cup remaining: Manchester Metropolis vs. Manchester United, Saturday, 10 a.m.
  💰 THE PICK: Manchester Metropolis to win 3-0 (+850) — Manchester Metropolis have scored three objectives in each of their earlier video games towards their rivals this season, and there is little to recommend that they cannot do it once more on Saturday. Anticipate the motivation that carried Metropolis into their fourth successive Premier League title to ship the products one final time earlier than the summer time, particularly if Phil Foden and Erling Haaland are within the lineup.
• DFB Pokal remaining: Kaiserslautern vs. Bayer Leverkusen, Saturday, 2 p.m.

💰 THE PICK: Florian Wirtz to attain (+135) — Their 51 sport unbeaten run could formally be over, however Leverkusen can nonetheless finish their season on a excessive with their first DFB Pokal in three many years. They’re the heavy favorites towards second division aspect Kaiserslautern, so count on a handful of Leverkusen’s finest to get on the scoresheet. That features Florian Wirtz, who was the star of their historic present this season.

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