We’re almost at the end of the 2024-25 European club soccer season, but this weekend still gave us some unforgettable moments, big talking points and top-tier drama to discuss Monday morning.

In the Premier League, the only thing left to really decide was who gets a Champions League spot for next season … and the manner in which Aston Villa slipped out of the top four at Manchester United was quite something to behold.

In Italy, Napoli clinched a second Serie A title in three seasons thanks to manager Antonio Conte and league MVP Scott McTominay (yes, the guy Man United no longer wanted), but celebrations are likely muted because we’re all wondering whether Conte sticks around to run it back next season. In Spain, Real Madrid said hello to Xabi Alonso and waved goodbye to both Carlo Ancelotti and longtime midfielder Luka Modric, both receiving praise for their contributions to the super club as it begins an exciting, but far-from-guaranteed, new era.

Elsewhere, Tottenham celebrated the Europa League with a heavy final-day defeat and more speculation around manager Ange Postecoglou, plus we got a DFB-Pokal champion (Stuttgart) and a French Coup champ (Paris Saint-Germain) as we build to the final games of the season, Wednesday’s UEFA Europa Conference League final (Chelsea vs. Real Betis) in Wroclaw, Poland, and Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final (PSG vs. Inter Milan) in Munich. Here are some musings and reactions to the most memorable moments of the weekend.

One refereeing call costs you the Champions League: Aston Villa’s anger over call vs. Man United

No, it doesn’t actually come down to one call. I get that. A season is made up of hundreds of moments: some go your way, some don’t. They usually don’t balance out, but each one, flipped the other way, could have a massive impact, and emotionally, what happened to Aston Villa at Manchester United on Sunday felt like one of those season-deciding moments.

With 17 minutes to go, Villa were down to 10 men and deadlocked at Old Trafford against Manchester United. That’s when United keeper Altay Bayindir, under pressure from Morgan Rogers, bobbled the ball and lost possession, before the Villa forward slotted the ball home. Villa boss Unai Emery — and most watching — thought they had scored, propelling them up to joint-fourth in the table, at least momentarily. But no: Referee Thomas Bramall stopped play, believing (incorrectly) that Rogers had kicked the ball out of Bayindir’s hands; because this happened moments before Rogers’ shot on goal, the VAR could not review it.

Emery went wild on the sidelines, and you can see why. Villa lodged a formal complaint with the Premier League, arguing that Bramall, who is in his third season as a top-flight referee, should not have been appointed to such a “high stakes” match. They also said he had admitted his error and apologized.

I get Villa’s anger. It’s one thing when a referee misjudges something (we all make mistakes), but when he whistles too soon, denying VAR the chance to intervene, it’s a technical error, and that’s not acceptable. But the whole requires some context.

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Nicol: Referee made a calamitous error in disallowed Villa goal

Steve Nicol believes the referee has “messed up big time” in disallowing Aston Villa’s goal in their 2-0 defeat to Man United, denying them Champions League qualification.

Manchester United ended up winning the game 2-0, with late goals from Amad Diallo and Christian Eriksen. The thing is, even with the disallowed goal, had Villa simply hung on for the draw — instead of conceding late against a team with nothing to play for — they would be in the Champions League courtesy of Newcastle’s home defeat to Everton. Throw in the fact that they were very poor throughout — at the time of Rogers’ non-goal, the xG count was 1.54 to 0.07 in United’s favor — and it’s fair to say that had things taken a different turn, it would have been down to Bayindir’s demerit, rather than Villa’s merit.

Oh, and that’s before we get into the other bonehead decision of the game: Emi Martinez, a World Cup winner who should know better, needlessly taking out Rasmus Hojlund and getting himself sent off at the end of the first half. Maybe they should file a formal complaint about him, too.

As for United, it was a surprisingly good performance given they were coming off the Europa League disappointment and had little at stake. Under-fire manager Ruben Amorim took the mic after the game to apologize to the fans and say “good times were coming.” I like it when coaches are honest and accountable, and Amorim has been nothing but transparent from the start. That said, he knows all too well that it’s time for words to make way for deeds. With no European football, he’ll have plenty of time next season to teach his players his system. And his United future will rest on that.

Could Antonio Conte really leave Napoli after one title-winning season?

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Will Antonio Conte leave Napoli after winning Serie A?

Gab & Juls discuss Antonio Conte’s future at Napoli after winning Serie A.

It feels absurd to even ask the question, and it is absurd, if not for the fact that it happened two years ago. Luciano Spalletti guided Napoli to the first scudetto of the post-Diego Maradona era; the club reminded him that, in lieu of a new deal, they’d simply be exercising their option for an extension. So he walked. Now they’ve won Serie A again, and while Conte has another two years remaining, it’s not clear at all that he’s going to stick around.

“Is Conte staying? You need to be happy where you are. … If you’re unhappy and you suffer, you need to move on,” Napoli president Aurelio De Laurentiis said Saturday, 24 hours after the 2-0 win against Cagliari that sealed the crown. “We have a great relationship based on respect and professionalism. … We’ll see.”

Why would Conte possibly be “unhappy”? Well, this is where the usual buzzwords come out. He’s a winner, he’s ambitious, he wants the sort of investment and strengthening of the squad that De Laurentiis may or may not provide. It’s a familiar script with Conte, and you can see his point.

Conte took over a team that finished 10th the season before, and which replaced Victor Osimhen with Romelu Lukaku and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia (in January) with Noah Okafor (who would play just 40 minutes of football). He lost big players to injury down the stretch — Stanislav Lobotka, Alessandro Buongiorno, David Neres — and still won. He proved, for the umpteenth time, that he makes players better. And not just Scott McTominay (who deservedly won the league MVP), but Amir Rrahmani (who started every game), Mathías Olivera and Matteo Politano, too. It’s only reasonable that Conte uses the leverage he has to demand the side reload and come back stronger not just to defend the title, but to compete in Europe as well.

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Marcotti: Conte reinvented McTominay, Napoli en route to Serie A title

Gab Marcotti and Craig Burley react to Napoli’s second Serie A title in three seasons under Antonio Conte.

You can also see De Laurentiis’ point. Conte knew Osimhen and Kvaratskhelia were leaving when he took the job, just as he knew that Napoli have a relatively tight budget. Winning the title is a tremendous achievement, sure, but seven of his best XI were there when they last won it two years ago. And of course, with no European football, he had all week long to prepare for each match. Would it be nice to invest heavily in the team and get a lot stronger? Of course, but he’s running a business and has books to balance.

There was plenty of speculation about Conte returning to Juventus over the weekend, and it’s probably not a coincidence. This is where leverage matters. Conte has his ever-more-burnished instant impact reputation. De Laurentiis has the two years remaining on his contract and the knowledge that whoever wants Conte will have to pony up some significant compensation.

If you’re a Napoli fan, you want this resolved quickly so you can get back to celebrating, perhaps with the realization that while Conte deserves a ton of credit, nobody is irreplaceable. The guy who led Napoli to the title two years ago is living proof.

It’s not to be taken for granted that Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric got a fitting Bernabeu farewell

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Moreno: Fans around the world appreciate Luka Modrić

Ale Moreno heaps praise on Luka Modrić, who played his final match for Real Madrid after 13 years at the club.

I say it’s not something to take for granted, because others before them did not enjoy the same goodbye, from Miguel Munoz to Zinedine Zidane. So it was nice to see the Real Madrid faithful get their chance to see off Carlo Ancelotti and Luka Modric in the way they deserve.

In Ancelotti’s case, it was 11 years to the day since he delivered “La Decima” — the club’s long-awaited 10th European Cup. In Modric’s case, it was 13 seasons and 591 games after he first joined Real. It’s weird to think he basically had a whole other career before arriving at the club on the eve of his 27th birthday.

Ancelotti welled up, not for the first time, at the ovation, while Modric read the well-worn, but still heart-tugging quote: “Don’t cry because it’s over … smile because it happened.” He attributed it to Gabriel Garcia Marquez; others attribute it to Dr Seuss. According to these guys, they’re both wrong and it was a German poet named Ludwig Jacobowski. Whoever it was, their contribution to aphorisms is in the same ballpark as Modric and Ancelotti.

Some measure greatness by trophies won, and in that department, few can touch them. Maybe it’s more apt to do so by how they conducted themselves, always with faith in human ability over systems. Ancelotti didn’t start his coaching career that way: he became the “man-manager” who placed talent ahead of systems. Modric’s technique and creativity were sometimes augmented by systems and tactics, but never a slave to them, and maybe that’s the takeaway.

A new era is beginning with Xabi Alonso. Based on his body of work thus far, it’s more about the team than the individual, more about repetition than intuition, more about organization than improvisation. Maybe it’s what Madrid need, but it’s going to be a heavy lift given the way this club has been run for the past decade.

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Rafa Benítez offers words of advice to Xabi Alonso ahead of Madrid move

Former Liverpool and Real Madrid manager Rafa Benítez gives his thoughts on Xabi Alonso’s imminent move to Real Madrid.

Quick hits

10. Paris Saint-Germain devastate Reims in French Cup final: It’s not remarkable in any way shape or form that they won, completing a double (that they hope will become a treble on May 31) against a Stade Reims side embroiled in a relegation playoff (they drew the first leg against Metz, the return is on Wednesday). What is remarkable is exactly how they did it, with three first-half goals (which could have been twice that) in a devastating first half against an opponent that sat deep in the hopes of clogging space (like some think Inter will do in Munich). Luis Enrique couldn’t have asked for anything more, especially from Bradley Barcola (who bagged two goals, taking his season total to 21) and Désiré Doué, who delivered two assists and showed moments of unplayability. The only wrinkle is Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who missed the game with a migraine; but when they’re like this, they’re scary even without him.

9. Inter’s B team get it done at Como, but the key part was avoiding injuries: The nice thing about rotating as much as Simone Inzaghi does is that when the second string comes in, they’re comfortable and know what to do. That was the case at Como on Friday night. Inter didn’t control their fate (Napoli’s win would make their game irrelevant) but they achieved their two goals: they won the game just in case something screwy happened in Naples (it didn’t), and they avoided injury to their regulars (at most you’ll see four of Friday’s starters against PSG), while giving the likes of Lautaro Martínez, Alessandro Bastoni, Nicolò Barella and Marcus Thuram every chance to be at their best in Munich. Mission accomplished.

8. Third-tier Arminia Bielefeld lose German Cup final, but it’s still a fairytale (only for Stuttgart): Yes, Bielefeld winning it would have been a story for the ages, and to be fair, it might have been a different story if Noah Joel Sarenren-Bazee hadn’t missed the mother of all sitters in the 12th minute. But Stuttgart dominated from there, going 3-0 up by halftime en route to a 4-2 win. Make no mistake: This is still a fairytale (though not of Bielefeld proportions). This is a Stuttgart team that finished ninth this season and was largely rebuilt after losing key players the year before. Plus, the last time a non-heavyweight won the DFB-Pokal was a decade ago. Fools will look at Sebastian Hoeness and see him slipping from second to ninth. Those who take a closer look will conclude that this season is almost as much of an achievement as last year.

7: It’s weirdly fitting that João Félix steals the show in the most irrelevant of games: Many Milan fans wanted the season to already be over. Facing a relegated team with nothing to play for and nothing to celebrate (and not even your coach to boo, since Sérgio Conceição was suspended) is about as much of a buzzkill as you can hope for. So maybe it’s apt that Joao Felix — who was booed for much of the game — should turn things around for the Rossoneri, hitting the crossbar and scoring a gem of a free kick. It won’t be enough to keep him in Milan, and he’ll go back to being Chelsea’s conundrum in the summer. Milan have enough issues to resolve without him, starting with the new coach and new sporting director (though Igli Tare, apparently, is close to joining from Lazio). There’s a lot of talent and youth here; what they need isn’t so much new signings (though there’s that too), but mainly someone to make the pieces fit together.

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Will Ange Postecoglou still be sacked despite Europa League win?

Gab & Juls discuss Ange Postecoglou’s future after Tottenham finished the Premier League season with 22 defeats.

6. Memo to Ange Postecoglou that you don’t keep your job based on a trophy: Well, not if you want to run a serious club, anyway. Imagine a Europa League final where Luke Shaw and André Onana don’t make a hash of things and Micky Van de Ven doesn’t make that goal-line clearance. Easy to do, right? Would it mean Spurs are suddenly worse? Of course not. The whole issue of Tottenham retaining Postecoglou based on the Europa League victory is flawed from the start. Yes, it’s very important to win your first trophy in 17 years, but that’s done. You keep (or change) your coach based on how you think he can make Tottenham perform next year and the year after that. This year can offer a clue, for better (Europa League winners) or worse (22 defeats, including Sunday’s 4-1 humiliation against Brighton). But it’s no more than a data point. I suspect Daniel Levy views things the same way, which means Postecoglou may well be gone this summer.

5. Like their season, it was far from easy, but Juventus hit their Champions League goal: Manager Igor Tudor came in to salvage Juventus’ season (read: get them back into the Champions League) and he did just that, thanks to their 3-2 win at Venezia. He did it by keeping things simple: playing the best players, avoiding experiments and flights of fancy and grinding out results. He also instilled a toughness and a fight that often wasn’t there under Thiago Motta, and it made all the difference, given the way they went a goal down at Venezia after just two minutes and then, having taken the lead, got pegged back to 2-2. Manuel Locatelli‘s penalty won it for them, but only after Michele Di Gregorio‘s save kept them in it. Nothing came easy to them, just like nothing came easy this season. You expect Tudor to go — especially given that he said after the game, “whoever coaches the team in the Club World Cup should be coaching them next season” — and who they turn to next will be a huge call. Expect the usual internal debates between conservatives and progressives. The good news is the Champions League revenue will give them some breathing room.

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Why Marcotti thinks Barcelona’s title is their most impressive since Pep’s first

Gab Marcotti explains why Barcelona beating Real Madrid to the LaLiga title is their most impressive achievement in over a decade.

4. Robert Lewandowski worked out nicely for Barcelona after all: When Barcelona signed Lewandowski in the summer of 2022, I absolutely hated the deal. Spending €45 million on a soon-to-be 34-year-old on monster wages made little sense for a club mired in red ink and with president Joan Laporta having to pull financial levers left and right just to stay afloat. Three years on, I still think it made little sense at the time, but I have to admit it worked out. With two goals on Sunday in Barca’s 3-0 win at Athletic Bilbao, Lewandowski hit 101 in 147 games in all competitions. More importantly, he helped deliver two LaLiga titles and a Spanish Cup in three seasons, while helping Barcelona return to their pomp on the pitch with this year’s deep Champions League run. Now, between wages and transfer fee, Lewandowski cost them around €150 million. Could they have spent that money better? Maybe, but as it turned out, I think most would say it was worth it.

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Where would Florian Wirtz fit in at Liverpool?

Gab & Juls react to Liverpool’s links with Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz.

3. A draw in the Community Shield preview between Liverpool and Crystal Palace: Sunday’s 1-1 game itself turned out to be about as relevant as the Community Shield these two clubs will be playing in August (other than Ryan Gravenberch‘s red card), but it was nice to see Trent Alexander-Arnold get love from the majority of the Anfield crowd. Like I said before, I have no problem with fans choosing to boo him if they feel he let them down. That’s their right. But I’d like to think, considering what he has contributed to this club, that the vast majority will always appreciate what he has given them.

2: Man City book their Champions League spot, and now it’s a waiting game: As in “a waiting game for the verdict on the 115 charges.” You know, the verdict we were all told was “imminent” back in January. (Pep Guardiola thought that too, by the way, which suggests everyone is in the dark here.) Sunday’s 2-0 win at Fulham secures third place, and if you’re determined to see the glass as half-full, you might even conclude that finishing third three points behind Arsenal makes it a less than disastrous season. But that’s a stretch. City emerge from their season of collapse with a host of doubts and unknowns — it’s not just the 115 charges, either. It’s a playing squad that suddenly doesn’t look qualitatively head and shoulders over everybody else. (Take out Erling Haaland, Rodri, Éderson on a good day and Josko Gvardiol; how many top-10 players by position do they actually have?) They need to continue their rebuild, and having the Champions League revenue coming in will make it much more viable. But confidence is at its lowest ebb since the start of the Guardiola Era. And that’s before you get into the charges.

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Why Chelsea ‘deserve a lot of credit’ for UCL qualification

Steve Nicol talks about Chelsea’s Premier League season after the team finished fourth to secure its spot in the Champions League.

1: I’m OK with Enzo Maresca’s rant as long as it was the adrenaline talking: Chelsea’s 1-0 win in Sunday’s head-to-head with Nottingham Forest was nervy and tight and, frankly, huge for the club. They needed the victory to be sure of Champions League football, and they needed Champions League football to relieve the pressure of Financial Sustainability rules and strengthen the squad further. Maybe that’s why Maresca said what he said postgame: “I didn’t have any about the players, the doubt was from outside … they were saying we are too young, we are not good enough. Unfortunately for them, they have all been wrong. So in English, how do you say it? F— off to all of them, because the players deserve that. The effort they have been doing is fantastic.” I’m OK with him letting loose given the occasion, but it was Maresca himself who pointed out how young his squad was. And what he didn’t point out — because let’s face it, he’s a club employee — is that he went into the season without a viable reserve center forward, or with a bunch of defenders who keep getting hurt, or with a winger who got written off/shipped out on loan after six months, or with another winger who tested positive for the performance enhancer meldonium. Nobody is doubting the effort of his players. Champions League football was the minimum goal, and the Europa Conference League, if they win it, is a nice bonus. Maresca did what he was supposed to do, but let’s not pretend his job was straight-forward — let alone easy — given the way his squad was put together.