Sheikh Yer Man City rounded off an outstanding domestic season by crushing Watford at Wembley to clinch a historic treble. Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus both scored twice as Pep Guardiola's team became the first English men's side to achieve the feat of winning the Premier League, the FA Cup and the Carabao Cup in the same season. They reaffirmed their status as this season's dominant force as Watford were utterly outclassed, City achieving the biggest FA Cup final win since Bury beat Derby six-nil in 1903. Watford's best chance of over-turning the odds came early on when City keeper Ederson saved at the feel of Roberto Pereyra and they were furious when referee Kevin Friend waved away penalty claims after Vincent Kompany blocked Abdoulaye Doucoure's shot with his arm (albeit, with his back turned). The contest was effectively over from the moment David Silva finished from close range after twenty six minutes, Jesus doubling the advantage before half-time after Bernardo Silva's sublime pass. Watford rallied briefly after the break but were always wide open to the counter attack. They were brutally punished by an imperious City side, as substitute Kevin de Bruyne scored from Jesus's pass just after the hour before the Brazilian raced clear for another goal shortly afterwards. Sterling scored twice in the final ten minutes - turning in Bernardo Silva's perfect cross before bundling in the final goal of a memorable display from Guardiola's side. It was City's sixth FA Cup triumph and their first under Guardiola, who has now won six trophies since taking over at The Etihad Stadium in 2016. City's win means that Wolves, who finished seventh in the Premier League table, will play in the two-legged second qualifying round of the Europa League on 25 July and 1 August. City claimed their first league and FA Cup double - the first time it has been achieved since Moscow Chelski FC did it under Carlo Ancelotti in 2010. This comprehensive triumph, however, was about even more than that. The securing of three trophies underscores the scale of City's achievement - and emphasises the hunger and desire which has driven them this season, notably to finish ahead of Liverpool Alabama Yee-Haws in a relentless Premier League title race. Their ability to move to another level when required was on show here at they resisted Watford's early promise - and then brushed them aside. They refused to ease up when Watford were down and out, pressing forward until the final whistle, with substitute John Stones only being denied by the bar in the final seconds as City almost became the first team in win an FA Cup final by seven goals. And it was all achieved without leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero, restricted to a place on the bench alongside De Bruyne, Stones and Leroy Sane. After securing the Premier League title at Brighton & Hove Albinos last weekend, Guardiola stated that he is 'addicted' to winning. This was a performance of class and quality from a team that looks in shape to satisfy the Catalan's craving for years to come.
UEFA investigators reportedly want Sheikh Yer Man City to be extremely banned from the Champions League for a season if they are found guilty of breaking financial rules. However, according to one allegedly 'well-placed source', a final decision is 'yet to be made' by chief investigator Yves Leterme. The former Belgian prime minister, chairman of the investigatory panel of UEFA's independent financial control board, is set to make a recommendation this week. With no vote in such cases, the final decision lies with him. But several of his colleagues are 'understood' to have firmly 'expressed the view' at a recent meeting that a season-long ban would be a suitable punishment if Sheikh Yer Man City are found very guilty according to BBC Sports. Leterme and his team have been looking at evidence first uncovered in a series of leaks published by the German newspaper Der Spiegel last year. The reports alleged that Sheikh Yer Man City had broken Financial Fair Play regulations by artificially 'inflating' the value of a multimillion-pound sponsorship deal. City were fined forty nine million knicker in 2014 for a previous breach of same regulations. The Premier League champions denied any wrongdoing and UEFA said that it 'could not comment on an ongoing investigation.' But, according to the New York Times, investigators now want rules upheld and City punished with a ban. UEFA's adjudicatory chamber would have to decide whether it agreed with any recommendation from Leterme although it is unlikely to apply to next season's competition because City could, and probably will, appeal and even take their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport. But it would still be a major blow for a club desperate to win Europe's most prestigious club competition for the first time and who could also soon face a transfer ban, with the FA, Premier League and FIFA also currently investigating Sheikh Yer Man City over their signing of youth players. A statement from Sheikh Yer Man City said that the club is 'fully cooperating in good faith with the CFCB IC's ongoing investigation. In doing so the club is reliant on both the CFCB IC's independence and commitment to due process; and on UEFA's commitment of the 7 March that it "will make no further comment on the matter while the investigation is ongoing." The New York Times report citing "people familiar with the case" is, therefore, extremely concerning. 'The implications are that either Manchester City's good faith in the CFCB IC is misplaced or the CFCB IC process is being misrepresented by individuals intent on damaging the club's reputation and its commercial interests. Or both. Manchester City's published accounts are full and complete and a matter of legal and regulatory record. The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false, and comprehensive proof of this fact has been provided to the CFCB IC.' Financial Fair Play was introduced by UEFA to prevent clubs in its competitions from spending beyond their means and stamp out what its then president, the disgraced and disgraceful Michel Platini called 'financial doping' within football. Under the rules, financial losses are limited and clubs are also obliged to meet all their transfer and employee payment commitments at all times. Clubs need to balance football-related expenditure - transfers and wages - with television and ticket income, plus revenues raised by their commercial departments. Money spent on stadiums, training facilities, youth development or community projects is exempt. The Club Financial Control Body, set up by UEFA, has the ultimate sanction of banning clubs from UEFA competitions, with other potential punishments including warnings, fines, withholding prize money, transfer bans, points deductions, a ban on registration of new players and a restriction on the number of players who can be registered for UEFA competitions. In 2014, Qatar-owned Paris St-Germain received a similar financial punishment to the one Sheikh Yer Man City received. PSG were deemed to have breached FFP rules when the CFCB decided their back-dated one hundred and sixty seven million smackers sponsorship contract with the Qatar Tourism Authority, which wiped out their losses, had 'an unfair value.' That meant the French side exceeded allowed financial losses by a wide margin when, under FFP rules, clubs were limited to losses of thirty seven million notes over the previous two years. They received a fine, a spending cap and were only allowed to register twenty one players for the Champions League for a season. PSG also remain under investigation for their 2017-18 finances when they signed Neymar from Barcelona for a world record two hundred and twenty two million Euros and Kylian Mbappe from Monaco, initially on loan, for one hundred and eighty million Euros.
Steve Clarke's Kilmarnock clinched third place in the Scottish Premiership - and a Europa League place - after a late winner against Glasgow Rangers. The home side shrugged off the potential loss of their manager, who is favourite to be named Scotland head coach, to edge out Aberdeen. Veteran former Rangers winger Chris Burke's early strike was cancelled out by Alfredo Morelos' thundering finish. But Eamonn Brophy's late penalty sealed the victory Kilmarnock needed. It means Clarke's side stayed ahead of Aberdeen, who won at Hibernian, on goal difference and secured a return to European football for the first time since 2001. They also ended the visitors' run of seven consecutive victories as Kilmarnock finished their season with a flourish thanks to three straight wins of their own.
Fußball-Club Bayern München were crowned champions of Germany for the seventh successive season with a crushing last-day victory over Eintracht Frankfurt. Niko Kovac's side, who trailed leaders Borussia Dortmund by nine points after twelve games, needed only a draw to secure a twenty ninth Bundesliga title. Kingsley Coman opened the scoring before Sébastien Haller equalised. David Alaba, Renato Sanches, Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben made sure of Bayern's victory at The Allianz Arena. They finished two points ahead of Dortmund, who won two-nil at Borussia Mönchengladbach thanks to goals from England winger Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus. It was fitting end to Bayern's season as legends Robben and Ribery scored in what proved to be a procession to the title. The pair - with twenty two Bundesliga seasons, one hundred and eighty five goals and fifteen titles between them - started from the bench alongside full-back Rafinha, who will also leave this summer. By the time Robben and Ribery came on, Bayern were already three-one up. Bayern players embraced Robben, Ribery and Sanches at the end of the match and they were given the honour of lifting the Meisterschale trophy by captain Manuel Neuer. Bayern can complete the domestic double when they face RB Leipzig in the DFB Pokal final on 25 May.
Benfica avoided a slip-up against Santa Clara to secure their thirty seventh Portuguese league title. The Lisbon-based giants needed only a point in their final match at the (real) Stadium Of Light, with rivals FC Porto looking to take advantage of anything less. However, two goals from Swiss forward Haris Seferovic, one from Joao Felix and Rafa Silva secured a four-one victory. Porto recorded a two-one win over Sporting Lisbon in a game which saw both teams reduced to ten men. Sporting left-back Cristian Borja was shown a straight red in the twentieth minute before Luiz Phellype gave the visitors the lead. Danilo Pereira equalised in the seventy eighth minute before Hector Herrera grabbed a winner three minutes from time. Porto's Jesus Corona received two yellows in stoppage time. Benfica finished the season with eighty seven points, two ahead of Porto, who were last year's champions, with Sporting third on seventy four points.
Antoine Griezmann was jeered by his own fans as he played his final match for Atletico Madrid on Saturday. The French World Cup winner, who joined Atletico in 2014 and signed a new five-year deal last June, announced on Tuesday that he would be leaving. There were chants of, 'out, out, out' (only, you know, in Spanish - so, that'd be 'afuera, afuera, afuera' then) as Atletico trailed two-nil at Levante before goals from Sergio Camello and Rodrigo ensured a point. Rivals Barcelona will pay Griezmann's one hundred and twnety million Euro buyout clause. Wirh Barca having already won the title some weeks ago, Valencia secured the fourth Champions League spot in La Liga on Saturday. The Madrid-based side, promoted to the top flight only two seasons ago, faced Villarreal and had to better rivals' Getafe's result against Real Valladolid. Getafe drew two-two whilst Valencia recorded a two-nil win to join Barca, Atletico and Real Madrid in the Champions League. Getafe finished fifth on fifty nine points along with sixth-place Sevilla - both will play in the Europa League next season.
Ajax Amsterdam capped a memorable season with their first Dutch league title since 2014 as a four-one final-day win at De Graafschap secured a domestic double. Erik ten Hag's side - who came so close to a place in the Champions League final - needed just a point to win their thirty fourth title. First-half goals from Lasse Schone and Nicolas Tagliafico ensured that the title was added to their Dutch Cup win. Dusan Tadic then scored twice - goals in an eleventh consecutive league game. Youssef el Jebli had briefly equalised for the hosts, whose season is not over yet - they go into the relegation play-offs to try and stay in the Eredivisie. Ajax were again outstanding for long periods in the final appearance for midfielder Frenkie de Jong, who agreed to sign for Barcelona for sixty five million knicker in January, while captain Matthijs de Ligt is one of several other brilliant young stars who are also expected to leave this summer. Ajax - and more than one hundred thousand of their fans - threw the party of all parties to celebrate their victory. Huge crowds packed into Amsterdam's Museumplein to celebrate the Eredivisie win and Dutch Cup success. Indeed so many people turned out that Dutch media reported the city's Van Gogh and Stedelijk museums were closed and three secondary schools were forced to move final exams to a different location 'because of the noise.' There were also poignant moments, with Ajax dedicating their title to Abdelhak Nouri, who collapsed during a pre-season friendly against Werder Bremen in July 2017. The midfielder was airlifted from the pitch and it was later revealed he had suffered 'serious and permanent' brain damage. De Ligt also gave a moving speech referencing the late Johan Cruyff, a three-time Ballon d'Or winner and Ajax and Netherlands legend. 'We've shown everyone what Ajax is about, what kind of city Amsterdam is,' he said. PSV Eindhoven, who won three-one against Heracles Almelo, finished second and will join Ajax in next season's champions league, whilst Feyanoord (who beat Fortuna Sittard four-one despite Steven Berghuis's amusing penalty miss) and AZ 67 Alkkmaar will compete in the Europa League.
Kick It Out have 'unreservedly apologised' to Brighton & Hove Albinos following comments reportedly made by its Head of Development Troy Townsend over the dismissal of Chris Hughton. Hughton was sacked by Brighton on Monday after securing them a seventeenth-placed finish in the Premier League. Townsend criticised the decision in a Daily Torygraph interview. Kick It Out said that it apologised 'for the impact the comments have had on the club's reputation.' The anti-racism body added in a statement that it was also sorry for 'any inference' from Townsend's comments that Hughton's sacking was 'linked in any way to his ethnicity.' Hughton, who was contracted with The Seagulls until 2021, was one of just two black managers in the Premier League. The former Newcastle and Norwich boss had guided Brighton to an FA Cup semi-final earlier this season, where they lost to Shiekh Yer Man City at Wembley. Townsend, the father of Crystal Palace forward Andros, described Hughton's dismissal as 'shabby' in the interview. He said: 'We are now at worse than square one. What people don't understand is the real difficulties for black managers getting through the bottle neck at the top of football. We are talking about measly numbers. It's so shabby. What are the expectations of Brighton? Surely it is to stay in the league. You are fourth from bottom and you have got to an FA Cup semi-final. I don't get it. They must have been planning it for some time. Look at how Chris has been treated at Newcastle and Norwich and now Brighton? Being nice is his nature, but I know behind closed doors he is a different guy, he knows how to get his teams going. He has given Brighton another year of Premier League football and he gets repaid like this? Really?' Hughton first joined Brighton in December 2014 and led the club to the Premier League for the first time in 2017.
Notlob Wanderings have set up an emergency food bank with donations from local businesses to help out staff who have not been paid. During a turbulent year for the club on and off the field, non-playing employees have not been paid for April. The Trotters, who were extremely relegated to League One this season, became the first Football League club to enter administration for six years on Monday. 'We're grateful for the support,' club chaplain Phil Mason said. 'Often there is this perception that within football, people are paid a king's ransom, but of course the reality is that a lot of staff behind the scenes are on significantly low wages. They've got mortgages or rent to pay, they may have something coming up within their family and they've got food to put on the table as well as get to and from work.' It has been a tough season for the club, with players still to receive their salaries for March and April, alongside a return to League One after two unsuccessful seasons in The Championship. Businesses have helped provide toiletries and nappies, as well as tinned goods, pasta, rice, freezer meals, frozen vegetables and bread. And, The Community Trust have also been given assistance from within the wider football community, including an unnamed Championship club believed to be Preston Both Ends. 'It's tremendous that we've had support from a Championship club,' Mason told BBC Radio Manchester. 'They have donated a significant amount in terms of ASDA and Sainsbury's vouchers so we can use those in order to get additional provisions for the food supplies that we're offering to staff.' Some staff have found the ongoing problems at the club have exacerbated existing mental health issues and the Trust is offering support and counselling to those who need it. 'It's incredibly stressful for staff, there's no doubt about that,' Mason said. 'The reality is, one in three or four people will have mental health issues and they can be triggered by a whole variety of things, not least of course the fact a person has not been paid or is not sure when they will be paid. They're anxious about the future of the organisation they work for, they don't know whether they're going to be kept on or made redundant and all those issues end up in places of stress and anxiety and that has an impact upon relationships at home, at work and how they feel about themselves and their own self worth.'
A second Grasshopper Zurich match in two months has been abandoned, with the club facing relegation from the Swiss top flight for the first time in sixty eight years. Their away match against Lucerne was halted in the second half as fans threatened to invade the pitch. The twenty seven-time Swiss champions are currently bottom of the table and were losing four-nil at the time of the abandonment. Swiss media said that Grasshoppers fans demanded players hand over their shirts as they were 'not worthy to wear them.' The club said that had it decided to hand over shirts to fans 'because the situation threatened to escalate. The decision does not mean that we approve of unsportsmanlike and humanly questionable behaviour,' they said in a statement. Their match with Sion on 16 March was also abandoned in the fifty sixth minute after some fans threw fireworks on the pitch. Grasshoppers were losing two-nil at the time and Sion were subsequently awarded a three-nil win. The club, bottom of the Swiss Super League and are winless in their past seventeen games, have condemned Sunday's incident. 'It is is shameful and simply unacceptable,' they said. 'The endangerment of spectators, stadium personnel and players is not accepted by Grasshoppers. Rioters break football in this way. They once again prevented the regular course of a championship game and thus hurt Grasshoppers and Lucerne.' The Swiss Football League said: 'The referee saw the safety of the players no longer guaranteed. The SFL will provide information on how to proceed in the coming days.'
Former Wales manager Chris Coleman has been extremely sacked by Hebei China Fortune, the club he took over eleven months ago. Hebei are one place off the bottom of the Chinese Super League with only one win in nine games this season. The club confirmed Coleman's departure in a social media post. It stated: 'After friendly negotiation and agreement reached between the two parties, with immediate effect, Mister Chris Coleman will no longer serve as head coach.' As they lost three-two at home to mid-table Henan Jianye on Saturday, disaffected fans held up a banner which read: 'Hello Mister Coleman, please go home! You're fired!!!' and in Chinese said: 'Coleman, your mum wants you home for dinner.' Coleman led Wales to the Euro 2016 semi-finals, but opted not to continue as Wales manager, joining Blunderland where he was unable to save The Mackem Filth from relegation to League One. After being sacked by The Black Cats, he took over from current West Hamsters United boss Manuel Pellegrini at Hebei.
