Page 17 – The Pulse of Football

May

2026

Preview: Chelsea and Spurs contest season defining London Derby

Tenth-placed Chelsea host the relegation-threatened Spurs currently sat two points clear of the relegation zone.

By Filip Mishov

European football vs. Premier League safety, the stakes are high going into the London derby

Chelsea’s disappointing campaign continued as the Blues produced an underwhelming performance in Saturday’s FA Cup Final, but Calum McFarlane‘s squad still boasts a chance to partially salvage the season by securing European football for next term, before Xabi Alonso takes over in the summer. However, Reece James & co. must end their seven-match (1D, 6L) winless run in the Premier League to make that happen and leave London rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, nervously looking over their shoulders going in to Sunday’s final round of games. Something which might even earn a few plaudits from the Stamford Bridge crowd.

Spurs are in pole position to secure safety after West Ham’s dreadful defeat at St. James’ Park over the weekend, and Roberto De Zerbi‘s squad theoretically need only a point from the final two matches to finish just above the relegation zone, due to their vastly superior goal difference.

The Lilywhites are on a four-match (2W, 2D) unbeaten streak, but are without a victory at Stamford Bridge since 2018, which is Tottenham’s only away win against Chelsea in the Premier League era. João Pedro scored the winner when the two sides met at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium earlier in the season.

Key players

Reece James returned to Chelsea’s starting XI at Wembley Stadium, slotting in a midfield role alongside Moisés Caicedo and even though the captain couldn’t help the Blues avoid a defeat, the 26-year-old’s comeback is a big boost. The England international is the joint-highest-rated player (7.27) player in the squad and only behind Enzo Fernández in accurate long balls per 90 (2.6), while just the Argentine (10) and Pedro Neto (11) are ahead of him for big chances created (8).

Conor Gallagher is evolving into one of De Zerbi’s favourites and the energetic midfielder has started in each of the past five matches under the Italian coach, averaging a FotMob rating of 7.44. The 26-year-old found the back of the net against Aston Villa, earning him the Player of the Match award at Villa Park. The Chelsea academy product will play a pivotal role against his boyhood club at Stamford Bridge.

Team news

Levi Colwill is a doubt after completing back-to-back 90-minute appearances for the first time since his return from a long-term injury and the centre-back’s playing time will be managed carefully, something confirmed by the interim head coach. Roméo Lavia picked up a knock and missed the FA Cup final and the Belgian midfielder is also a doubt, while Jesse Derry, Estêvão and Jamie Gittens are all injured.

Guglielmo Vicario is fit and available for the trip to West London, leaving De Zerbi with a big decision to make about whether to drop the in-form Antonín Kinsky and recall the first choice goalkeeper, while James Maddison is also in contention, unlike Dominic Solanke who is not expected to return until Sunday, for the final match of the season.

Prediction

With a top-six finish potentially leading to the Champions League next season, a position that is still mathematically achievable, Chelsea desperately need a win or risk finishing the season in the bottom half of the table, while Spurs are on the brink of securing safety and might even settle for a draw, given their abysmal record at Stamford Bridge and superior goal difference (-9 to West Ham’s -22) in the relegation battle. I expect a low-scoring draw in this London derby.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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May

2026

Preview: Man City can afford no slip ups at Bournemouth

It’s a must-win game for Manchester City at the top of the Premier League tonight, as they travel to play a Bournemouth team with more than one reason to want to topple them.

By Ian King

It’s do or die for Manchester City tonight, and Bournemouth have more than one reason to want to try and trip them up

It’s crunch time, then, at the top of the Premier League table. Manchester City have now won both of the domestic cups this season, but the league title remains out of their reach, and although Arsenal only edged a 1-0 win against Burnley last night, at this point of the season that’s all you have to do. Fail to beat Bournemouth, and Arsenal are the champions for the first time in 22 years. Coming on top of reports that Pep Guardiola is to leave the club at the end of this season, it’s been a difficult 24 hours for the blue half of Manchester.

And Bournemouth will be more than up for this. Not only do they still have a chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League (though the permutations are too complex to go into here), but this evening also marks Andoni Iraola’s final home game as their manager before departing for (as yet unknown) pastures new. They come into this match off the back of a 16-game unbeaten run, the longest that any club has managed in the Premier League this season.

Bournemouth’s record in this fixture is abysmal, though they did manage to edge it last season

The good news for Guardiola is that Bournemouth’s record in this fixture is historically, famously abysmal. These two clubs have met each other previously 25 times before – strangely, the first of these meetings was as late as 1987 – and of these, City have won 22, drawn two and lost one.

The slightly better news for Andoni Iraola is that the one win that Bournemouth have ever managed in this fixture came last season, with the Cherries winning this very fixture 2-1 in November 2024. City beat them twice last season after this at the Etihad, in the league and the FA Cup, but their last meeting at the Vitality Stadium resulted in a Bournemouth win.

Antoine Semenyo has made light work of moving to an elite level club

Cup Final-winning goalscorer Antoine Semenyo has made light work of moving to an elite level club. He’s bounced back to form following a bit of a dip in February and March, and has scored in each of his last two appearances for them. The goalscoring outlet that he has given City beyond Erling Haaland has been one of the key factors in keeping them in the title race for as long as they’ve managed and this is, of course, his first return to the Vitality Stadium since his January move north.

*Semenyo scored 10 of his 16 Premier League goals for Bournemouth this season*

Bournemouth also have an in-form attacking player. Junior Kroupi has scored four times in his last six appearances for Bournemouth and has attracted reasonably strong match ratings in recent weeks, although his performance in their last match at Fulham was a little more tepid than we’d seen in previous weeks. His recent run means that he’s now overhauled Semenyo as their top scorer for the season, and he could break Semenyo’s heart tonight.

Manchester City came through the FA Cup final pretty much unscathed

All the Manchester City injury chatter before the FA Cup final concerned Rodri, but he came through his return unscathed before being withdrawn midway through the second half. The only other small concern they had was over Omar Marmoush, who was withdrawn at half-time against Chelsea, but this was confirmed as a tactical switch and he should be available again tonight.

Things aren’t quite as straightforward for Bournemouth. Ryan Christie was sent off in their last match at Fulham and both are suspended for this one. With a three-match ban for his red card, Christie won’t play for them again this season. Tyler Adams and Lewis Cook could return for this one (though Cook has to be considered doubtful, given that he hasn’t played since February), but Bournemouth will be missing Julio Soler with a thigh injury, while Alex Jimenez remains suspended by the club.

Bournemouth have as much to play for as City tonight, but City have the big match pressure experience

There was a time when you’d look at a fixture like this and consider a Manchester City win pretty much inevitable, but there are plenty of good reasons that this might not be the case tonight. Bournemouth have a lot to play for, with European qualification on the line, and that’s before we even look at a desire for the home fans to give a positive goodbye to their manager and put one over on the starboy who left them in pursuit of the elite level of the game in January.

It’s also reasonable to say that City haven’t been the team they were again, this season. That feeling of the crushing inevitability of them winning match after match – which manifested itself most obviously in their record in this exact fixture – has been missing again this season, most obviously in the way in which they re-seized the initiative in the title race by beating Arsenal in the middle of April before scrambling to a 1-0 win at Burnley and then conceding a near-fatal three goals in 13 minutes at Everton in the game after that.

Bournemouth have been unbeaten for not far short of half the entire Premier League season. That’s a record which cannot be overlooked. If Pep Guardiola is the generational coach that he’s universally claimed to be, then he should be able to get his expensively-assembled collection of star players up for this match, at this of all times. But there are too many good reasons why this could go wrong for them, so I’m going for a 1-1 draw, and for the title race to be over with a game to spare.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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May

2026

MLS Wrap Matchday 14: Lionel Messi inspired Inter Miami finally win at Nu home

It was another busy week of MLS action, full of goals and top performances, and a little bit of supporter unrest, as Inter Miami and Lionel Messi attracted global attention to the league once again.

By James Nalton

An Inter Miami novela

A reminder of Messi’s greatness

Inter Miami had to wait longer than they might have expected for their first win at Nu Stadium.

They had tried and failed four times to secure a victory since the venue’s inaugural match in April, drawing three before losing against Orlando City earlier this month, which was particularly disappointing as it meant their Florida rivals became the first team to win there.

But this 2-0 win against Portland Timbers was more like the kind of performance expected of Inter Miami in their new home.

🇦🇷🐐 Another goal + assist in his 13th league appearance of the season (vs. Portland) takes Lionel Messi to 17 goal contributions for the season.

Messi has received a FotMob Player of the Match top rating in seven of those 13 games. pic.twitter.com/cY7VTAzLjO
— FotMob (@FotMob) May 18, 2026

The game featured several classic Messi moments, one of which saw him dribble through traffic, somehow evading opposition players to set up Germán Berterame’s goal, which put Inter Miami 2-0 up and on their way to a first win at their new stadium. By then, he’d already scored a great goal of his own, brilliantly worked between himself and Telasco Segovia.

It was a reminder that even at the age of 38, Messi is still among the best players in the world, and few can perform this kind of mazy dribbling through a defence and finish it off with an assist or goal.

A wonder save

Another moment of the type we’ve regularly seen from Messi over the years came from a free-kick in the 90th minute that looked destined for the top corner.

On this occasion, though, it produced a save that was of the same quality as the free-kick — a world-class strike that could only be prevented by a world-class save.

Portland’s Canadian goalkeeper James Pantemis pawed the ball out of the top corner, producing one of the moments of the matchday.

While his opposite number in this game, Inter Miami goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair, is set to be the starter for Canada at the World Cup, Pantemis has so far not been in the picture for a place in the squad.

High-profile saves like this will certainly do his chances of joining St. Clair at the World Cup no harm at all.

A supporter protest

The game was not without its difficulties for Inter Miami. Tension is growing between the club’s hardcore supporters section, a group known as La Familia, and the team’s array of star players.

It has been bubbling for a while, less to do with results and more to do with what the fans see as a lack of connection between the club and supporters, especially from the star players, who regularly leave others to interact with fans and media post-match.

La Familia, who have supported the team loyally since the pre-Messi days (when they were among the worst teams in the league), voiced their discontent at this disconnect between the star players and the fans.

The supporters section remained unusually quiet throughout the game in protest, not at performances or results (this section of Miami fans have been through much worse in that regard) but at players’ lack of acknowledgement of the fans, even in defeat.

“Players, salute your fans, acknowledge your people, who ask nothing else of you,” they chanted in Spanish, replicating the tune of a song popular in Argentina used when a team are not meeting expectations.

In one moment, it looked like Messi gestured in annoyance to these supporters in response to these chants, before holding his hand up in what could be seen as a combination of acknowledgement and apology.

In the dying minutes, with the game already won, the dynamic on the pitch became about that relationship between Messi and the fans.

It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out going forward, but it’s safe to say there has been some friction between the club’s hardcore support and the league’s star man.

MVP Mukhtar is back

Nashville SC have been one of the most impressive teams in MLS this season, not least because of the way they balanced a run to the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals with a good start to the league season.

They have been hanging around the upper reaches of the table throughout this period, and are now at the very top of the Supporters’ Shield standings after a 3-2 win against Los Angeles FC.

*The current Supporters’ Shield standings*

Hany Mukhtar was the star of the show, scoring a hat-trick which saw him achieve the highest FotMob rating of Matchweek 14, ahead of Messi.

His three goals showed two sides of his finishing ability. One, taken from close range in the style of a true penalty box striker, and the other two struck from free-kicks, showing his technique from dead-ball situations.

LAFC, meanwhile, have dropped off after an impressive start of their own, and this defeat was their fourth in a row in all competitions, having themselves been knocked out of the Champions Cup at the semifinals stage.

But for Nashville, things are looking up, and 2022 MVP Mukhtar is once again emerging as one of the league’s standout players.

FC Dallas and Sam Sarver’s stone-cold celebration

Sometimes MLS will produce a reminder of what makes American soccer unique.

Sam Sarver has only played 182 minutes of football in the league this season, but despite that, he has been one of the most prominent players in recent weeks.

He has come off the bench to score late goals in three of the last four FC Dallas games, as the Texans continue their promising start to the season.

Sarver’s latest was a dramatic added-time winner against high-flying San Jose Earthquakes to give FC Dallas one of their best results of the year to date.

What was even more memorable than the result was Sarver’s double-celebration. The first part was pre-planned, the second off the cuff, as he mimicked scuba diving off the advertising boards with several teammates, before downing a can of beer that was thrown at him by the San Jose fans.

A legend is born. https://t.co/i3EkZ0pDqw
— FotMob (@FotMob) May 18, 2026

Sarver certainly has something about him, and looks like he could have played for the United States at the 1994 World Cup, such is his vibe. He is very much in the mould of a classic American soccer player and has come through a combination of college and lower league soccer, along with MLS academy football, before being selected in the 2025 SuperDraft by Dallas.

He is the kind of character and the kind of story MLS, and indeed American soccer as a whole, needs. Given his performances in recent weeks, bursting through on goal and finishing with aplomb, he is very much needed by FC Dallas.

“We were thinking about celebrations before the game,” Sarver said.

“I was a big celebrator in college, and my coach, Todd Yeagley, at Indiana, told me about a player from way before I played there that did that scuba celebration, and he yelled at him for it because he didn’t want him to get hurt. And I was like, ‘It’d be funny if we did that.’

“And then after we did that, they were throwing some beers on the field, so I decided to chug one.”

This is soccer heritage.

(Cover Image from IMAGO)

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May

2026

FotMob Interview: Gary Cahill on joining Chelsea, winning titles, and ambassadorial duties

Fresh off a flight from London to Chicago, former Chelsea captain Gary Cahill sat down with FotMob to talk about his time at the club, the trophies he’s won, and the current crop of stars at Stamford Bridge.

By Alex Roberts

Gary Cahill was speaking in Chicago at The Famous CFC presented by Coors Light, the last stop of Chelsea FC’s international fan engagement events in the 2025/26 season. The Famous CFC gives Chelsea fans from across the globe the chance to meet up with fellow Blues and enjoy Q&As, quizzes, games, and the opportunity to take a picture with the Premier League trophy.

Now 40, Cahill saw and it all during his time in West London. Played under seven managers, won eight trophies, and inherited the captain’s armband from John Terry before leaving the club he grew to love back in 2019.

Let’s rewind a little, though. Cahill joined the Blues in January 2012, heading down the M6 from Bolton to put pen to paper on his first Chelsea contract. A few months later, he was playing in and winning a Champions League final.

“It was a crazy rollercoaster for me. I came mid-season to Chelsea, obviously given the opportunity, I jumped at it and came down,” Cahill said. it was a mental six months going on to win the FA Cup and Champions League.”

For the first half of the season, Cahill had been at Bolton, the club he had called home for four years. Chelsea were an entirely different ballgame though, and the centre-back learned that if he didn’t swim, he’d sink… quickly.

“I think the first thing that stood out for me going into the football club and the dressing room itself was that winning mentality, that kind of hunger to succeed and push yourself. I always said I went in as a bit of a sponge, to look at these players and see how they worked, what they did, and how they’ve won so many things.

“There were pure, world-class international players in the dressing room. Then, the football club in general has an expectation to do well. and win, and that was bred into the players. That was my first impressions of going to the club.”

*Cahill lifting the FA Cup for Chelsea in 2018*

It didn’t take long for him to adapt. Cahill would go on to play 45 or more games in his first three full seasons at Chelsea, establishing himself as key player for the club, all the while learning the ropes from the greatest captain the club had ever seen, John Terry.

Terry left Chelsea in the summer of 2017, signing for Aston Villa where he would play out the final season of his career. Under Antonio Conte, they had just become champions, and the dressing room was packed with quality and big personalities.

Eventually, Conte landed on Cahill as his next captain. It was obvious, really. “Yeah, big shoes to fill,” Cahill chuckled. “In my first season I didn’t need to be the leader because there was already loads of them there. I think it gave me the opportunity to learn, to go about my business a bit quieter.

“When you fast forward season after season, I felt like I grew into that role. I had a good upbringing in that sense. I was under the leadership of one of the best captains the clubs has ever had. So, to learn from him, and not just him, there were plenty of leaders in that dressing room, I felt ready for it.

John didn’t play as many games as he previously had, so I was captain on the pitch while he was still club captain. That little transition there gave me the opportunity to grow into the role. To the point where when I was given it, I was experienced enough. I just felt more rounded as a player and person.”

Cahill was the last Chelsea captain to lift the FA Cup. It’s a tournament that holds a special place in English football, the original, the best, there isn’t much like it nowadays. Getting your hands on that famous old trophy isn’t easy.

Eden Hazard scored from the penalty spot to bag a 1-0 win over Man United in the final. If we’re being honest, it wasn’t the best game, but Cahill didn’t care, he had won his second FA Cup since joining Chelsea.

I love the FA Cup,” he said. “Obviously, I’m an Englishman so I’ve been watching it since I’ve been at school. It’s a massive, massive competition and it was one of the proudest moments of my life, lifting the FA Cup as captain.

“We lost it the year before to Arsenal. These opportunities don’t always come by, you really never know if you’re going to get this opportunity again, and you need to have that mindset, I think.

“You can be nervous, have those butterflies and think ‘I need to respect the fact we’re in an FA Cup final. This may never come round again. It’s a great opportunity to go out and do something great.’”

Current captain Reece James had the opportunity to end Chelsea’s ‘Wembley curse’ on Saturday (May 16) as they lined up against Pep Guardiola’s Man City. Unfortunately for the Blues, Antoine Semenyo’s sublime backheel was enough to take the trophy up north.

That’s seven defeats in their last seven finals at the ground, four FA Cups and three League Cups. It’s a far cry from the all-conquering sides that Cahill was a part of, as well as the ones that came before him, even if some of those losses have been… controversial.

“It’s hard to put your finger on just one thing that’s gone wrong,” he said. I think it’s just a learning process for a young squad going through these moments and they’re developing all the time.

“But they need to make sure they learn from them. I use the example of myself as a player, when I lost that FA Cup final against Arsenal to then have that chance again the next year, I felt ‘This has to go our way.’

“Don’t keep reliving them but remember them, if that makes sense. We talk about this young squad, and they need to keep developing. Still, they need to grow, but to grow you have to go through good moments and bad moments.”

Cahill may have hung up boots, but his relationship with Chelsea didn’t end there. Nowadays, he’s a club ambassador, meeting fans, going to events, and helping those who may not get the chance to go watch their side week in and week out.

Chelsea are a global brand now, undeniably one of the biggest clubs in the world, and events like the one Cahill was at in Chicago have become a regular occurrence. Football is ultimately about community.

“We’re doing a famous CFC event at Joe’s Bar, which is great. There’ll be hundreds of Chelsea fans there. It’s incredible to now get the chance to go into these environments, because I obviously didn’t as a player.

“And it’s only growing, which is a great thing. Chelsea are huge around the world but I’ve certainly seen it (grow) over the last few years that I’ve been able to come here. I was here a couple of years ago as well it’s growing all the time so for us to put on these events it gives us a chance to connect with these fans.”

Regardless of the result against City, meeting a bonafide Chelsea legend, alongside a couple of cool, crisp Coors Lights, would have made it memorable. Of course, the recent Xabi Alonso announcement probably lightened the mood too.

(Images from Victoria McDonald / Chelsea Football Club, additional images via IMAGO)

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May

2026

The FotMob Team of the Season for the WSL

After 22 rounds of fixtures, the Women’s Super League campaign is now in the books.

By Jamie Spencer

The 2025/26 Women’s Super League season will go down as one to remember. After six successive titles, Chelsea’s stranglehold on the competition was finally broken and Manchester City, having been so close to glory two years ago, got over the line for their first triumph in a decade.

Arsenal got to within four points of the champions, but despite a late City wobble, 13 straight wins between September and February built an unassailable lead.

Manchester United slipped out of the top three after a marathon season saw results badly tail off after March, while a resurgent Tottenham Hotspur matched their best ever finish (fifth) and set a new club record points tally in the top flight. Even the ambitious London City Lionesses gave themselves a solid foundation in a debut at this level.

Brighton, Everton and Aston Villa will all feel disappointed to place in the bottom half. West Ham and Liverpool proved themselves good enough to avoid the threat of demotion in the end, but Leicester could yet drop through the trapdoor into WSL 2 as the inaugural relegation playoff looms.

Based on average FotMob match ratings over the course of the campaign, here is your WSL team of the season…

In goal, Chiamaka Nnadozie could hardly have wished for a better first season with Brighton and is the only player who makes this team from outside the top four. The Nigeria international kept six clean sheets and was in contention for the Golden Glove (won by Hannah Hampton) until the final matchday. Overall, she directly prevented 3.25 goals.

Manchester City right-back Kerstin Casparij jointly led the WSL in assists this season with seven to her name. She won Player of the Month in November. The Dutch international has embraced Manchester life and has become a cult hero among City fans.

For the third straight season, Maya Le Tissier played every minute in every competition for Manchester United, racking up 3,690 across the whole of 2025/26 – 1,980 in the WSL. Few pass better. Joining her at centre-back is Millie Bright, whose final season before retirement was curtailed by injury. The former Lioness was unbeatable in aerial duels, ranking in the 99th percentile.

*Le Tissier was the only outfield player to play every minute of the season*

After reinventing herself as an elite centre-back in recent years, Alex Greenwood spent much of this season in the once familiar left-back role. She was still able to influence games from the flank, regularly creating chances and finishing the season with five assists.

Vivianne Miedema was back to her best this season. The WSL living legend is more accustomed to midfield these days, yet still contributed 15 goals and assists to City’s title charge. She played her last game in March to be with her mother undergoing cancer treatment. Behind Viv in City’s No. 10 role this season has been Yui Hasegawa in the No. 6. The Japan international makes the team tick and played every minute of every game, aside from two she missed while winning the Asian Cup.

Completing the midfield is Arsenal maestro Mariona Caldentey. The 2023 World Cup winner prefers to stay out of the limelight but her football speaks so loudly. She always wants the ball and few are more creative and inventive.

Japan winger Aoba Fujino scored decisive goals in two successive Manchester City wins in October and November that potentially made all the difference come May. She missed a handful of games in January because of injury and March for international duty but was an automatic starter when fit.

This season delivered a third straight WSL Golden Boot for Khadija Shaw – she shared 2024/25’s – thanks to 21 goals in 22 appearances. Her contract is up this summer and Chelsea are lurking with a reportedly lucrative offer that City are yet to match. “Manchester is where I would want to be, but ultimately we’ll see,” the recently crowned FWA Women’s Footballer of the Year told Sky Sports after the final whistle on the last day.

Alessia Russo was the player Shaw shared last season’s Golden Boot with. But although the England international was left in the dust somewhat in that race this time, her tally of 13 in the league this time marked an improvement by one and a career best. She outperformed her XG (11.6) and also her xA (4.14), ranking joint third for assists across the division.

Honorary mentions this season must also go to Kirsty Hanson, who netted 12 times for Aston Villa, Jess Park, so often Manchester United’s X-factor, impressive debutant Tottenham winger Olivia Holdt and Everton defender Ruby Mace.

(Cover image from IMAGO)

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May

2026

Preview: Leaders Arsenal take on relegated Burnley

Arsenal can take another big step towards the Premier League title by beating an already relegated opponent at home.

By Graham Ruthven

Foregone conclusion?

Everything points to a comfortable Arsenal win when Burnley visit the Emirates Stadium on Monday to face the team many now believe is destined to win this season’s Premier League title.

Mikel Arteta’s side have won their last three league games and can go five points clear of Manchester City with a fourth successive victory. The finish line is well and truly in sight.

Burnley, on the other hand, are only playing for pride following their relegation back to the Championship. The Clarets are without a win in their last 11 league outings.

And yet the pressure of the title race could stiffen Arsenal. It wasn’t so long ago that the Premier League table toppers were struggling to find fluidity due to the anxiety that built up over a number of matches and culminated in the shock home loss to Bournemouth.

Arsenal can’t take anything for granted. It would be easy to get caught up in the anticipation of what might follow only two games from now, but Arteta and his players still have work to do.