Chelsea will have defender Marc Cucurella to thank if they hit their target of qualifying for next season's Champions League.

Aston Villa and Chelsea won home games and strengthened their hopes for a top five Premier League finish and a place in next year’s Champions League on Friday. Ezri Konsa and Boubacar Kamara scored and gave Villa a 2-0 win over an under-strength Tottenham Hotspur,

Without the suspended Nicolas Jackson and struggling to find a way through Manchester United’s three-man defence, left-back Cucurella came to the rescue again – just as he did against Leicester City in March – to put his team on the brink of Champions League qualification.

Former FC Barcelona captain, Lionel Messi, has celebrated his old club after emerging as the 2024-2025 Spanish La Liga champions. Lionel Messi, now with Inter Miami, took to Instagram to share in the joy of Barcelona’s victory by reposting a celebratory image from the club’s official account and wrote: “Congratulations.

The victory moves Barca an insurmountable seven points clear of second-place Real Madrid with just two rounds of matches remaining.

Barcelona star Gavi provided a brilliant response, when drawn on the efforts of those behind the scenes at rivals Espanyol to dampen the club’s La Lige title celebrations on Thursday.Barca, of