Nice take Champions League place, Saint-Etienne relegated in French season finale
Champions League finalists Paris Saint-Germain had already clinched the title while Marseille and Monaco wrapped up qualification for Europe's elite club competition before the Ligue 1 campaign reached its climax.
However, one more spot at the continent's top table remained up for grabs on the last day with fourth-placed Nice in pole position to take it if they could hold off the challenges of Lille, Strasbourg and Lyon.
The Ineos-owned club made sure of a top-four place by crushing Brest 6-0 on the Cote d'Azur with Gaetan Laborde scoring twice.
Ivorian international Evann Guessand put Nice in front with his 12th Ligue 1 goal this season, with Badredine Bouanani later netting a penalty before Terem Moffi and Ali Abdi also hit the target.
Nice will enter next season's Champions League in the third qualifying round in early August and will have to win two two-legged ties to make the league stage.
Lille finish fifth and go into the Europa League after substitute Chuba Akpom's late penalty secured a 2-1 win at home to Reims, while Strasbourg suffered a dramatic 3-2 loss against Le Havre in a result which created a stunning late twist in the relegation battle.
Le Havre needed to win and hope one of Reims or Nantes lost in order to escape the drop zone, and the Normandy side showed remarkable resolve to come from behind twice before snatching victory in extraordinary fashion.
Abdoulaye Toure's second penalty of the game, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, propelled Le Havre out of the drop zone and means Reims will go into a play-off against second-tier Metz for the right to play in Ligue 1 next season.
Reims will now have to navigate the two legs of that tie either side of next weekend's French Cup final against PSG.
- Lacazette's 200th Lyon goal -
Strasbourg's defeat allowed Lyon to climb above them and take sixth place as they beat Angers 2-0 with Alexandre Lacazette scoring twice.
The former Arsenal striker's brace saw him reach a double-century of goals for his boyhood club as he now prepares to leave Lyon, the side where he made his Ligue 1 debut in 2010.
Rayan Cherki, another of Lyon's standout performers, later indicated that he would be leaving the club.
"I am going to remain prudent but I think that was my last game for Lyon," said Cherki.
Lyon are guaranteed European football next season and will be in the Europa League if PSG win the French Cup, which would mean Strasbourg go into the Conference League.
Saint-Etienne needed a positive result as well as favours from elsewhere in order to avoid being relegated but they slumped to a 3-2 loss at home against Toulouse.
Yann Gboho scored what proved to be the winner for Toulouse, as 10-time champions Saint-Etienne make an immediate return to Ligue 2.
"I take full responsibility for our relegation," said Saint-Etienne coach Eirik Horneland.
"I think we could have done much better with this team but we can be optimistic about the future."
- PSG title party -
PSG warmed up for their upcoming finals, including the Champions League showdown with Inter Milan in Munich on May 31, by coming from behind to beat Auxerre 3-1.
Lassine Sinayoko put Auxerre ahead as the visitors threatened to spoil PSG's title party, but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scored twice in the second half for the hosts either side of a Marquinhos header. Goncalo Ramos also had a penalty saved.
Marseille made sure of finishing second as they beat Rennes 4-2 at the Velodrome with Mason Greenwood scoring twice, including once from the penalty spot, while Adrien Rabiot also grabbed a brace.
Greenwood scored 21 goals in his debut Ligue 1 season to finish as the division's joint-top marksman alongside PSG's Ousmane Dembele.
Third-placed Monaco slumped to a 4-0 loss at Lens. Neil El Aynaoui netted twice for Lens, whose coach Will Still later announced his departure from the club.
Nantes ensured their safety by defeating relegated Montpellier 3-0.
as/iwd
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
25 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bayer Leverkusen monitoring Chelsea outcast Raheem Sterling
Bayern Leverkusen are among the clubs keeping tabs on Chelsea forward Raheem Sterling ahead of a potential summer move (h/t BBC Sport). The English winger spent the last season on loan at Arsenal, where he hardly made an impact. He managed to score only one goal and five assists in 28 games for the Gunners whilst being mostly confined to substitute appearances. Sterling now finds himself not in Enzo Maresca's plans, with the Blues looking to sell him to trim their bloated squad. Leverkusen are looking to provide the English forward with an escape route as they prepare for the Champions League this season. With his career on a steady decline over the last few years, Sterling will be eager to revive his form. As Erik ten Hag has taken the reins at Leverkusen, there could be more emphasis on wingers compared to his predecessor Xabi Alonso, who relied on wing-backs. Amine Adli and Jonas Hoffman are the only prominent wingers in the squad, so a player of Sterling's calibre would be a good addition to the team. While there may be concerns over his form, Sterling's experience and European pedigree would be valuable assets for the Bundesliga side. But the ex-Manchester City star's lofty salary does not align with Leverkusen's wage structure. Leverkusen have been working to recruit a new winger after failing in their pursuit of Johan Bakayoko, who has joined RB Leipzig from PSV Eindhoven. Die Werkself have strengthened their armoury considerably with the signings of Ibrahim Maza, Mailk Tillman, Jarell Quansah and Mark Flekken in this window. Juventus are also keeping tabs on Sterling, who is valued at around £20 million by the Blues.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
What is the greatest save you've ever seen live?
This coming Sunday, the winners of the Women's European Championship will be crowned, but perhaps the most iconic moment of the tournament has already been and gone. It's wasn't a goal nor a celebration, but instead the breathtaking, gravity-defying save pulled off Germany's Ann-Katrin Berger that kept her team alive in their quarter-final encounter with France. It was spectacular enough on a TV screen but imagine seeing it in the flesh. Inspired by Berger's moment of brilliance and the feeling of wonder it evoked, we asked our writers to take a trip down memory lane and wax lyrical about the best goalkeeper saves they've been privileged enough to see live. Enjoy this list and make sure to share the greatest save you've ever seen in person in the comments section below. Now, let's start with the save that inspired this collection of treasured stops… Ann-Katrin Berger, July 2025, Germany 1-1 France AET, Euro 2025 The existential urge that arises when an athlete executes some other-worldly feat is to go full rankings mode. Get out of the pantheon of (insert similar moments here) work backwards and write accordingly. That didn't happen in St. Jakob-Park after 105 minutes during Germany's Euro 2025 quarter-final win against France. It just simply didn't. And that's because what Ann-Katrin Berger did is simply unquantifiable and unrankable. Did you see her left arm? The way it effectively abandons its socket and sinews? The way she torqued and adjusted her body mid-scramble/leap? All while being completely and utterly beaten by the ball's arc, its headstart towards her goal? And yet somehow there's power to propel herself upwards despite falling explicitly backwards? But I want to go back to her arm because all the freeze frames of her save call to mind not any goalkeeper but Odell Beckham Jr. Specifically, 2014 OBJ for the New York Giants against the Dallas Cowboys, the one-handed catch that launched a million others. That is what we are talking about here: a save that is not really a save but a piece of transcendent sporting artistry that very few, if that, are capable of executing in these masses of bones and muscles we call human bodies. Megan Feringa Jordan Pickford, May 2022, Everton 1-0 Chelsea, Premier League Stuck perilously in the bottom three at the business end of the season, the arrival of European champions Chelsea at Goodison Park was daunting for Frank Lampard's side. Nevertheless, Everton managed to get ahead with Richarlison's goal and held on thereafter thanks to a performance by Jordan Pickford that beggared belief. There were many remarkable stops, including one at point-blank range with his face, but the finest of them all was from Cesar Azpilicueta. Pickford dived to his right to try to keep out a Mason Mount shot and the ball struck one post before zipping across goal, hitting the other upright and pinballing out to the waiting Chelsea captain. The Everton keeper had the awareness to crane his neck after his dive, following the trajectory of the ball along the line and realising it had stayed in play. So in a split second, despite regaining his feet in a slightly awkward position that left him facing the crowd not the play, he sprinted across goal in time to be in position to stop Azpilicueta's shot. It was an eight-yard dash that probably saved his team from a slow march to relegation. Greg O'Keeffe Nigel Martyn, Leeds United 1-1 Everton, April 2004, Premier League 'Nigel, give us a goal…' sang the Leeds United fans towards their former hero in the Everton goal. It was meant in jest, even though Leeds' predicament at the time during the 2003-04 Premier League season was deadly serious. Just three years after reaching the Champions League semi-finals, United were heading for relegation. Back-to-back wins in early April had brought renewed hope of survival but, still, only another three points against Everton would do if there was to be a great escape. Hence the half-tongue-in-cheek plea to a now 37-year-old Nigel Martyn, sold by a skint Leeds the previous summer. The fans could have saved their voices, as the veteran went on to produce a truly stunning individual display to earn Everton a 1-1 draw. His best save came after a miscued clearance had found James Milner. The teenager's curled shot was going in all the way until Martyn thrust a big hand skywards to tip the ball wide. Leeds never recovered, losing their next four games to drop out of the top flight, destined not to return for another 16 years. Martyn, though, rightly remains hugely popular at Elland Road, his name invariably at the very top of any polls to decide their best ever goalkeeper. Richard Sutcliffe Mary Earps, Spain 1-0 England, August 2023, World Cup final It's the World Cup final. Spain, who are trained from infancy in the art of collectively zip-wiring the ball around you, have a penalty. They are already 1-0 up. It is 69 minutes into the second half and their No 10, Jenni Hermoso, is standing over the ball. This is going in. Until it's not. Step up, Mary Earps, the 'queen of stops'. Look, this wasn't the best penalty but it was one great save. Earps clamped onto the ball low to her left like it was a car Hermoso had parked in the wrong place — but the bigger moment came next. England's goalkeeper jumped up and swore like mad. She stuck her tongue out which, along with the industrial language, felt like a rallying cry that boosted a nation and restored belief with 20 minutes to play. England ultimately lost the final but that sweary save will live on in our hearts forever. Caoimhe O'Neill Petr Cech, Chelsea 2-1 Liverpool, May 2012, FA Cup final This was not just a superb stop to light up an ordinary game. It was on the big occasion — a major cup final being played at Wembley against a bitter rival. It also ensured Chelsea would lift a trophy. Chelsea seemed to be cruising to another FA Cup triumph in 2012 when they went 2-0 up early in the second half only for Liverpool substitute Andy Carroll to get a goal back in the 64th minute. Carroll looked certain to equalise with eight minutes to go. He was picked out by Luis Suarez unmarked at the back post, just four yards out. The striker headed the ball with all his might and from my vantage point in the press box — and basically everyone else's inside the stadium that day — it looked a certain goal. However, Petr Cech dived to his right and somehow clawed the ball away, even though it was already behind him, before all of it crossed the line. To add to the drama, the ball came off the underside of the crossbar and was then cleared to safety by Branislav Ivanovic. Carroll and Suarez had already begun their celebrations and could not believe Cech had denied them. They were not the only ones. Simon Johnson Joe Hart, Manchester United 1-0 Manchester City, November 2008, Premier League It's not usually the marker of a brilliant save, but the most impressive part of Hart's heroic stop in the dying moments of the Manchester Derby back in 2008 was the pace that he showed to get there. City had been here before — a goal down to their arch-rivals thanks to Wayne Rooney's opener — but few could have anticipated just how close they would come to both nicking a point, and conceding a second, in added on time. With minutes to go, Joe Hart came up for a corner, and could only watch as Richard Dunne swivelled and stabbed a volleyed effort towards goal, blocked on the line by Patrice Evra and hacked away by John O'Shea. The goalkeeper stayed up for the resulting free kick but was caught miles out of his goal as a terrible back-pass gave Ryan Giggs and Rooney a clear run at City's open goal. Giggs didn't seem to fancy his chances from range, laying it off for Rooney to cut inside and blast it goalwards from all of 45 yards. But Hart, somehow, made up the ground, punching the ball just wide of the post at full-stretch before clattering into the net. In the end, it was another dismal derby defeat for City, but the sheer absurdity of the situation — watching in horror as the ball sailed towards the unguarded net, a flash of bright green shooting across the pitch to save it — makes it a game I'll struggle to forget. Thom Harris Guillermo Ochoa, Mexico 0-0 Poland, November 2022, World Cup Mexico entered the 2022 World Cup in turmoil. The country had turned against Argentine manager Gerardo 'Tata' Martino and there was little hope that the CONCACAF giants would progress from Group C that featured Poland, Argentina and Saudi Arabia. But Mexico still had Guillermo 'Memo' Ochoa in goal. He had been spectacular for Mexico at the 2014 and 2018 World Cup finals. His acrobatic reflex saves became part of World Cup lore, often saving Mexico from elimination. But could he do it again in Qatar, during his fifth World Cup at the age of 37? We found out rather quickly. In Mexico's opening group-stage match against Poland at Doha's Stadium 974, Ochoa danced on his line as he stared down Polish striker Robert Lewandowski. The match was scoreless when Poland were awarded a penalty in the 56th minute, in a match that had all the makings of a 1-0 affair. A Lewandowski conversion would surely have demoralised a Mexican side that was already under fire back home but the Poland great had struggled to score for his country on the biggest stage. Ochoa, on the other hand, relished the limelight. When Ochoa dove to his left and blocked Lewandowski's penalty, the roar inside the stadium was deafening. Ochoa had done it again. It was another masterclass from a World Cup legend. Mexico later crashed out in the group stage, proving that hope is futile, but Ochoa's class is timeless. Video for UK readers Video for U.S. readers Felipe Cardenas Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Manchester City 0-2 Manchester United, April 2025, FA Cup Goalkeepers are often peppered with balls from different angles, high to low, left to right, in training. The aim of the game is to get your body from a lying position to standing as quickly as possible. But rarely do you see such reactions in matches. In last year's FA Cup Manchester derby semi-final, Yui Hasegawa hit a beauty of a free kick right on the edge of the penalty arc. Manchester United's Phallon Tullis-Joyce did so well to dive to the right and get a firm hand on the shot to tip the ball onto the bar, but she was down on the ground. The rebound fell right in front of City's Lily Murphy. Surely she would score but up popped the USWNT goalkeeper in a flash. Somehow, she had the balance and strength to stick her left leg out and clear Murphy's header. United's No 1, usually so calm and measured, pumped her arms and let out a roar. 'LET'S GO!!!' United won 2-0, sending them through to their third consecutive FA Cup final. Charlotte Harpur Jimmy Walker, Swindon Town 1-1 Walsall, December 1999, First Division It was almost the end of a century and, for Walsall, it was an age of possibility. They were back in the second tier of English football for the first time in over a decade and only the fourth time in their history and, having upset all of the odds in the previous season to beat big-spending Manchester City and win promotion alongside even-bigger-spending Fulham, a team made up largely of other clubs' cast-offs was making a decent fist of batting to stay there. Collecting something from Swindon, who began the day bottom, was vital for a Walsall team two places and two points above them and, after a young midfielder called Michael Carrick (whatever happened to him?) had scored for Swindon to cancel out Darren Wrack's opener for Walsall, Jimmy Walker clinched the visitors a point in dramatic fashion in stoppage time. Grainy YouTube footage does not do it justice. As Iffy Onuora fired in a shot from a rebound off the frame of the goal, Walker already looked beaten, the ball seemingly past him, yet somehow he managed to react and claw it away. Walsall ended up relegated on the final day of the season but the fight to avoid the drop was epic and Walker's role in it helped cement his legend at Bescot. This young reporter from a weekly newspaper, given the chance to cover a club he had watched from the terraces a couple of years earlier, has never forgotten that moment. Steve Madeley Mike Maignan, Republic of Ireland 0-1 France, March 2023, World Cup qualifier These days, heroic failure rather than tangible results is the steady feed that fuels Republic of Ireland fans, nine years on since they last tasted the delicacies of major tournament football. All the usual ingredients were on show when then-world champions France came to Dublin in March 2023 for a European Championship qualifier. A resolute defensive display, undone by a moment of quality — this time a long-range Benjamin Pavard strike — followed by an earnest yet limited effort to equalise. But when awarded a last-minute corner, murmurings of belief echoed around the Aviva Stadium. This turned to cacophonous expectation when Nathan Collins connected perfectly with Josh Cullen's whipped delivery, powerfully guiding it towards the top right corner from just outside the six-yard box. Then a clawing hand appeared. Mike Maignan, with body and fingertips fully outstretched, legs splayed mid-air, reached behind his body to miraculously keep out the Irish captain's effort. 'I thought I had done everything,' said Collins post-match. He had, but Maignan's lightning reflexes meant it was yet another gut-wrenching, last-gasp rug-pull for the Irish faithful. Conor O'Neill Matz Sels, Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool, March 2204, Premier League Last season, Matz Sels conjured up a truly remarkable save to keep out Brighton & Hove Albion's Danny Welbeck, when he dived full length to get the slightest of touches to a shot that was bound for the top corner, steering it onto the crossbar. But the Nottingham Forest keeper had pulled off an even better one during the 2023-24 campaign. When Darwin Nunez connected powerfully with a corner, his header already looked to be beyond Sels' reach, but he somehow stretched out a hand with remarkable speed and strength to swat it away from goal, right on the line, before gathering the ball into his grasp. The fact that the ball also seemed to take a deflection off Murillo only made his effort even harder to read — and the save all the more impressive. Sels has been the most influential keeper at Forest since Brice Samba, who produced penalty shootout heroics against Sheffield United in the Championship play-off semi-final as the club plotted a course to promotion in 2022. Paul Taylor This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Premier League, Soccer, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Will Patri Guijarro be the next Spain midfielder to win the Ballon d'Or?
When holding midfielder Patri Guijarro was asked to play in defence for the 2021 Champions League final against Chelsea because Barcelona's regular centre-back Andrea Pereira was suspended, it was out of her comfort zone. But she was flawless and Barcelona won 4-0. And when Barca discovered that attacking midfielder Alexia Putellas was set to miss almost the entire 2022-23 season with an anterior cruciate ligament injury, their replacement in the transfer market was not an equivalent playmaker, but instead defensive midfielder Keira Walsh. Guijarro was asked to step forward into the role played by Putellas, the world's best player. She was up for the challenge. 'I watched a lot of videos of her to analyse how she moved and what she looked for in build-up play,' Guijarro said in No Nos Digas Que Es Imposible (Don't Tell Us It's Impossible), a new book about Barcelona by Maria Tikas. 'She's not a fast player, but she's very intelligent when it comes to finding space and looking forward.' When that season's Champions League final arrived, Guijarro was now established as a key attacking midfielder. Putellas had returned from injury, but she was not 100 per cent fit and had to be content with a place on the bench. Barcelona went 2-0 down to Wolfsburg, but Guijarro scored twice at the start of the second half to draw them level, before Fridolina Rolfo smashed in the winner. Guijarro, a starring centre-back in the equivalent fixture two years before, was named player of the match as an attacking midfielder. That sums up Guijarro; constantly sacrificing herself for the team and capable of playing almost any position. That is why she is such a good all-round holding midfielder, a position crucial to the possession play of both Barcelona and Spain. Traditionally, players in that role do not get the plaudits, especially when they are playing in the same midfield as Putellas and Aitana Bonmati, who have split the past four Ballon d'Or awards between them. But maybe that is starting to change. 'Patri is the foundation of the team,' said team-mate Vicky Lopez in a press conference before the semi-final against Germany. 'She's the one who drives the team forward, who makes us all play well and perform at our best. If you watch a match and focus only on Patri, you can't help but smile when you see her play. 'Playing with her is very easy and very difficult at the same time. There are passes that only she sees and you don't expect. You have to get used to her. She doesn't give easy passes. Her passes are almost always forward, with purpose. For me, playing with her is very nice. She's one of the best in the world and very underrated.' Last year, Spain won the men's European Championship with Rodri voted the player of the tournament and then, later in the year, winning the Ballon d'Or. Rodri symbolised the new Spain. On the one hand, he had all the typical qualities of a Spanish holding midfielder: comfortable in possession and intelligent in a positional sense. But he was also a more aggressive, offensive-minded player than his predecessors. He pushed up and pressed high. He pushed forward to offer a goalscoring threat. His team, in turn, were more direct than previous Spain sides. And all this can be said of Guijarro. Look at a touch map from her performances so far at this tournament and it is not what you expect of a holding midfielder. Most of her touches are well inside the opposition half, partly a reflection of Spain's dominance, but partly because she often takes advantage of being unmarked to push on. Guijarro's aggression means Spain are excellent at getting into good attacking situations immediately after being without possession. Take this move early on in the 5-2 win over Belgium. Not many holding midfielders would be closing down this high up the pitch. But after Guijarro helps to force a turnover, she simply keeps on running and gets on the end of this through ball from Mariona Caldentey. Five seconds after hopefully closing down an opponent, Spain's holding midfielder is playing a cutback from close to the byline. Away from the pitch, Guijarro is a sensitive, reliable figure. She was one of the first signings of Barcelona's professional women's era in 2015, although she was initially hesitant, as she wanted to finish high school in her native Mallorca. Eventually, an agreement was made that she could finish her studies at La Masia, becoming something of a revolutionary as the first female player to study at the club's academy. She was instantly respected in the dressing room and was named one of the side's captains at the age of just 21. Those who know her best describe her as loyal and caring, to the point of neglecting herself and her own interests in order to look after others. She conveys this same attitude to the team when she plays. 'Patri is one of the best people you could ever meet,' says one person close to the player, who preferred to remain anonymous to protect relationships. Guijarro is also Spain's dressing-room DJ. When Lopez was selected to start against Portugal in the team's opening Euro 2025 game, she knew what to play. 'Before the match, Patri played some dembow songs to motivate me,' Lopez told RTVE after the match (dembow is a music genre with roots in the Caribbean). On and off the pitch, she looks after her team-mates and sets the rhythm. If Spain feel like a more aggressive, attack-minded side than at the 2023 World Cup — getting the ball forward quicker and also pressing with more intensity — it is partly because of the return of Guijarro, who refused to play for Spain during that era. She has long been famous for fighting for women's footballers' rights. She feels deeply that she has to leave this sport in a better state than she found it, not only in terms of sporting success, but also off the pitch. And she has demonstrated this in everything she has done throughout her career. She and Barcelona team-mate Pereira were co-founders of FutPro, a union for female professional footballers in Spain, and she became a member of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) assembly. 'There had never been any FutPro players who voted for the president of the RFEF, and finally we were able to,' she said in an interview with newspaper El Mundo earlier this month. 'For us, voting was like women's suffrage in Spain in 1933.' Lawyer Amanda Gutierrez, FutPro's president, told The Athletic: 'Thanks to a change that FutPro is working on following the 'Se Acabo' ('It's Over') movement, we insist there should be female assembly members. There is now one female futsal player and six in Liga F. It is very important to be an assembly member because they are the ones who vote for the president and decide the president's salary. They have a say in what is decided. It is a way of being involved and knowing what is going on. It is a huge responsibility and Patri took it on.' In September 2022, 15 Spain players sent an email to the RFEF declaring themselves unavailable for selection and demanding what they considered basic conditions for professional footballers. Guijarro was among the hard-liners; as the months went by, more than half of the initial 15 agreed to return. But she refused, alongside — most notably — Barcelona team-mates Mapi Leon and Claudia Pina, as well as Lola Gallardo, Ainhoa Moraza, Nerea Eizagirre and Amaiur Sarriegi. Spain lifted the World Cup without her, with holding midfielder Teresa Abelleira performing well in that position. Guijarro is not a proud person. What happened has not prevented her from returning to the national team when she felt the changes they were asking for within the institution had been made. She eventually agreed to return ahead of the Olympics last summer, after the RFEF's clean-up, which involved dismissing president Luis Rubiales and coach Jorge Vilda. Centre-back Leon remains a significant absence from this side, but the return of Guijarro and Pina, as well as Lopez's evolution into a first-teamer, have made Spain more complete. Among wonderful contributions in the final third from the likes of Pina and Putellas, Guijarro has probably been Spain's most consistent player at the Euros. The moment that sums it up best is her goal against Italy: not just because she got herself on the scoresheet, but because of the nature of the goal. Latching onto a loose ball from an Italy clearance, she simply slammed it into the net. Spain have scored prettier goals at this tournament, but this was what Guijarro is all about. What other defensive midfielders would regard as a potential interception, she sees as a potential goal. From defence to attack, without pausing for breath. Guijarro finished a respectable 11th in the Ballon d'Or voting last year, although she was behind five Barcelona team-mates, and ultimately her role is generally considered to be about letting more attacking players shine. But her performances at Euro 2025 have been even more dominant than we've become accustomed to. In this form, she is a serious contender to be named the best player at this tournament, and maybe the best in the world. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Barcelona, Spain, Women's Soccer, Women's Euros 2025 The Athletic Media Company
