Highlights

A promotion/relegation playoff between Le Mans (third-place finishers in the Championnat National, France’s third division) and Gazélec Ajaccio (18th-place in Ligue 2, France’s second division) was decided in the most extraordinary of circumstances on Sunday. 

The first leg, played at MMArena in Le Mans last Friday, finished 2-1 in favor of Gazélec. Accordingly, the Ligue 2 side was heavily favored to retain its division two status ahead of today’s return leg at Stade Ange Casanova.

As “You’ll Never Walk Alone” rung through the gorgeous Wanda Metropolitano rafters on Saturday night, Jurgen Klopp finally had his Champions League trophy. And Liverpool is finally back on top of the world.

Liverpool defeated Premier League rival Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 in the Champions League final on Saturday in Madrid, giving the Reds their sixth European championship. (Just as we here at The18 predicted.)

The U.S. secured passage to the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup by defeating Qatar 1-0 thanks to a goal from 19-year-old PSG forward Timothy Weah on Thursday. It was, in all honesty, the American’s worst performance so far in Poland, but the result sees the team finish runners-up behind Ukraine in Group D.

The U.S. now awaits the result of tomorrow’s meeting between France and Mali — a France victory or draw will see a knockout round clash against Les Bleus, but a Mali victory would see the U.S. play against the African side.

Chelsea defeated Arsenal 4-1 in the final of the Europa League thanks to a mesmerizing second half performance from Eden Hazard, who's almost certainly played his final match for the Blues before moving to Real Madrid this summer. Hazard recorded two goals and an assist before being subbed off to a standing ovation in the 89th minute.

Here he is talking post-match and saying goodbye.

"I made my decision already...I love Chelsea. Chelsea is part of my life, part of my family."

The best young women’s player on the planet is from a town in Scotland with a population of 33,698 inhabitants, and that’s what makes our beautiful game so glorious. How is 20-year-old Erin Cuthbert this good? How has she managed to lift Scotland to its first-ever Women’s World Cup appearance? Why isn’t she the talk of the global footballing community?

With two matches remaining in Spain’s Segunda División, Albacete has assured itself of at least a spot in the LaLiga promotion playoffs following Saturday’s 2-0 away victory over Sporting Gijón. 

The first goal was scored by Eugeni from the penalty spot, and the second arrived in the 58th from 30-year-old Paraguayan attacker Javier Acuña. Acuña’s effort was from well inside his own half, but the pace and accuracy on the strike beat Sporting keeper Dani Martín, a 20-year-old who’s represented Spain at the youth levels.  

For many Americans, win = good and loss = bad. It’s ingrained in the psyche of a sporting nation that values hundreds of points in a single game — the highest entertainment consisting of a series of start-stop mini games that bear no resemblance to the intricate processes that dictate the 90 minutes of play on a soccer field. 

Despite playing the second leg at home, top-seeded León couldn’t find a way past Tigres goalkeeper Nahuel Guzmán while putting five shots on frame, and Tigres is now the Liga MX Clausura champions thanks to André-Pierre Gignac’s lone goal from the first leg.

It’s Tigres’ seventh Liga MX crown and fifth title this decade. For manager Ricardo “Tuca” Ferretti, it’s a seventh league title overall, drawing him level with Ignacio Trelles for the most all time.