Monday's briefing: Chelsea surprise Paris St Germain as Lionesses move forward
It proved a successful evening too for England's women as they booked their place in the Euro 2025 quarter-finals with a 6-1 rout of Wales, who are heading home as a result.
Elsewhere, there were emotional tributes to Diogo Jota ahead of Liverpool's friendly victory at Preston.
Palmer gives PSG the Blues
Cole Palmer hit back at the critics who had been giving Chelsea 's***' after firing them to Club World Cup glory in New York.
Palmer, who was presented with the Man of the Match award by President Donald Trump, scored the first two goals and set up the third in a surprise 3-0 final victory over Champions League winners Paris St Germain at the MetLife Stadium as Enzo Maresca's men capped an encouraging season in style.
Asked how excited he was by the team Maresca is building at Stamford Bridge, the England international told DAZN: 'He's building something special, something important with a young team. Everyone's talked a lot of s*** about us all season, but I feel like we're going in the right direction.'
Reflecting on the game, Palmer added: 'Obviously it's a great feeling, even better because everyone doubted us before the game. We knew that and to go out there and put a fight on like we did against a great team, yes, it's good.'
Six of the best
Defending champions England cruised into the Euro 2025 quarter-finals with a 6-1 victory over tournament newcomers Wales, who bowed out of the competition in St Gallen.
Georgia Stanway opened the scoring with a 13th-minute penalty before Ella Toone doubled the scoring in the 21st minute before Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo made it 4-0 at the break.
Beth Mead scored a fifth after the restart before Hannah Cain clawed one back with Wales' second-ever goal in a major tournament, but substitute Aggie Beever-Jones completed the scoring for an assured England, who will now face Sweden in Zurich on Thursday.
Liverpool and Preston pay tribute to Diogo Jota
For seven minutes after the final whistle, Liverpool players and staff stood in front of their supporters at Preston as they chanted Diogo Jota's name.
Sunday's pre-season friendly at Deepdale was originally envisaged as a day to kick-start preparations for Liverpool's Premier League title defence, but it played out as a memorial service for Jota and his brother Andre Silva, 10 days after they died in a car accident in Spain.
On the pitch Liverpool eased to a 3-1 win through goals from Conor Bradley, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, but thoughts of Jota and Silva remained at the forefront throughout the day.
As Claudia Rose Maguire, wife of former Preston player Sean, sang Liverpool anthem 'You'll Never Walk Alone' before kick-off, Preston captain Ben Whiteman walked the length of the pitch to lay a wreath in front of the visiting fans with the Bill Shankly Kop dominated by banners and scarves bearing Jota's name.
What's on today?
Victorious Chelsea fly home from the United States as the players finally get to start their summer holiday's at the end of a season elongated by their Club World Cup exploits.
It is all quiet on the Euro 2025 front as the eight quarter-finalists prepare for the renewal of hostilities in Switzerland on Wednesday.
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