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Man City 3-0 Brentford (Doku 60′, Haaland 75′, Marmoush 90+2)

ETIHAD — “I feel like if I have goals we are talking about a different conversation.” It is time to have that chat.

Since Jeremy Doku insisted in mid-April that once he starts scoring more, we have to consider him in the same bracket as the Vinicius Jrs of this world, the flying winger has taken his game to new heights.

Without Doku, it is not churlish to suggest this title race would be done. His stunning strike in the dying embers of a brutal clash with Everton on Monday was worthy of being the difference between title winners and nearly men.

His fourth goal in five was only one notch down on the spectacular scale, but its meaning ramped up to the maximum, inspiring Manchester City to a crucial three points over Brentford.

In a season where brutish giants have been the order of the day, it is still refreshing to know that a Jeremy Doku-type trickster can still have such potentially season-defining moments.

City needed something, anything. In a drab first half at the Etihad, where anything other than victory would have left Arsenal with the easiest of rides to a first title in 22 years, the hosts looked like nerves had got the better of them.

Jeremy Doku is at it AGAIN for Man City! pic.twitter.com/p3rkazaUUi

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) May 9, 2026

Erling Haaland missed a gilt-edged header and another from close range, but Brentford, chasing their European dreams themselves, had their moments – Igor Thiago remaining a threat throughout the opening period.

Nothing was coming off. Bernardo Silva almost lost his rag. Matheus Nunes was perhaps fortunate to escape further punishment for two fouls that, on another day, could have got him in big trouble.

The only player who remained a constant beacon of hope was the man with a life-affirming point to prove. Brentford created three openings all match – Doku managed six alone, becoming just the third player to record six or more chances and complete six or more dribbles in a Premier League game this season.

Like Arjen Robben made his forte down the years, you knew what Doku was going to do on the hour mark, but Brentford – like Everton before them – were powerless to stop the Belgian slipping inside before arrowing a strike into the top corner.

The strike again took an extraordinary trajectory, flying through the air like a homing missile. In games with so much riding on them, such moments of standout quality are rare. It was anything but an outlier, however. All three of Doku’s goals this week have either put City one goal in the lead or drawn them level.

Haaland’s scrappy finish and Omar Marmoush made sure of the victory, but Doku has already done the damage.

“He has always had the ability with the ball, the dribbles, but the last pass, the finish, has come this season,” Guardiola said.

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“I said if you want to become a better player, you have to win games for yourself. The big players have to have this mentality. He has to say ‘I am Jeremy Doku, I can win games on my own.”

The past few weeks Doku has taken things to a whole new level. The quality of goals is one thing, but to step up and drag a team full of faltering megastars over the line twice in a week is a greater indicator of how he can be judged in comparison to his peers.

At the moment, on these shores at least, there is nobody at his level. And what a time to get there.

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Memo to Thomas Tuchel. Take Rio Ngumoha to the World Cup. Arne Slot might not fancy him and Tuchel is unlikely to deviate from his sense of order. Nevertheless, since Ngumoha is playing fantasy football, so shall I. 

Think about it. At 17, few opponents will know much about him. Neither does Slot, you might argue. This was only Ngumoha’s third start of the season. Even allowing for inexperience, in a season of disruption, injuries and the decline of Mo Salah, to keep a kid with his feet on the bench feels like neglect. 

And when it came to making a change with 25 minutes to go, it was Ngumoha’s number that was inexplicably raised, evincing jeers all around the ground.

Ngumoha’s pass for Ryan Gravenberch’s goal equalled the number of assists by overlapping full-backs Milos Kerkez and Jeremie Frimpong, and Liverpool coughed a combined £70m for them.

Ngumoha brings trickery, pace and caprice. Lamine Yamal played 50 times for Barcelona before his 17th birthday. He made is full debut for Spain aged 16 and 50 days. As the saying goes, if you are good enough you are old enough.

This is not to equate Ngumoha with Yamal just yet. Only to make the case for investing in the preternaturally gifted. Apart from Gravenberch’s goal, a spectacular wallop inside six minutes, Ngumoha was the one source of real hope in another disjointed Liverpool display.

As well as his assist, Ngumoha lit up the left side, his appetite for running at defenders causing panic in the Chelsea rearguard. At one point Ngumoha, twisting back on himself through 360 degrees, sucked five defenders into his web and still managed to get his pass away.

Though he favours his right foot, the left serves him well enough, allowing him to throw defenders off balance and cut to the byline.The pass to Gravenberch was hit with perfect pace, facilitating the deft touch and power finish.

Ngumoha, who has represented England 35 times from U-15s to U-19s, looked at ease in this company. Of course he wouldn’t start for England, but what an option he would be to crack a game wide open against tired legs late in matches, much like Chelsea counterpart Cole Palmer in fact.

Absurdly, Palmer’s inclusion in Tuchel’s squad has attracted scrutiny during this period of unfettered Chelsea decline. He has not been at his effervescent best, yet even a half-cock Palmer is an upgrade on most.

Palmer was at the centre of Chelsea’s rehabilitation at Anfield, his movement, touch and vision gradually wresting control from the home team as the first half wore on. Were VAR recalibrated to allow fractional transgressions that do not confer any advantage, Palmer would have been on the scoresheet with his rifled effort at the start of the second half.

His ability to float ghost-like between the lines centrally as well as out wide offers Chelsea and England the option to cut teams open through the middle, a point of difference rarely utilised by the national team.

The point edged Liverpool closer to Champions League qualification and ended a run of six-consecutive defeats for Liverpool. End-to-end contests of this nature, replete in flaws and inconsistencies, are manna for the neutral and torment for the partial.

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The result offered its own judgment on two teams that have fallen below their own expectations and standards, neither good enough to put the other away.

The deployment of full-backs as wingers, Frimpong for Liverpool and Mark Cucarella for Chelsea, sacrificed creativity for industry, and made even more peculiar the choice of Slot, also booed at the end of the game, to remove Ngumoha, the most dynamic player on the pitch.

Moreover, adjudicator Ally McCoist made Cucarella the man of the match! What do I know?

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Where do you want your statue, Oliver Glasner? For all the drama that has swirled through Crystal Palace’s season, the outgoing manager has delivered yet again.

Another final, another shot at silverware. This time, a European final in Palace’s debut continental campaign, with Glasner hoping to add the Uefa Conference League to his FA Cup and Community Shield – it would be the perfect farewell in his final game as Palace manager.

In two years at Selhurst Park, Glasner has got Palace punching well above their weight. At this point, it would not be surprising if his middle name were “final”.

However, the road to Leipzig has been arduous and defiant. In fact, the adversity began well before the start of the season when Palace were demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules, but that injustice has spurred them on and built their resilience.

Glasner and his side continued to navigate choppy waters throughout the season, with some supporters calling for his dismissal midway through the campaign after a couple of public meltdowns, protests, the sales of Eberechi Eze and Marc Guehi, and Jean-Philippe Mateta attempting to force a move in the winter transfer window.

Palace did have a rocky spell of results and there were allegations Glasner had checked out after announcing his departure, but that was not the case at all. It was merely the product of games stacking up with a short squad in a maiden European campaign. After all, that is taxing for a squad with very little European experience.

But, in the end, the character of the group has shone through. With all the turmoil, the squad stuck together and, most importantly, stood by their manager – even after he announced he would leave the club at the end of the season. Supporters may have wavered, but the squad never stopped believing.

Thursday’s win against Shakhtar Donetsk was their 55th game of the season. With a spot in the Conference League final booked, Palace will finish the campaign having played 60 games – the most matches the club has played in a single season. It has been a physically and emotionally draining campaign for all involved, albeit Palace are now enjoying the fruits of their labour.

Full-time scenes as Crystal Palace reach their first ever European final

Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max. pic.twitter.com/RewwZPJuhO

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

It was one big party. Ismaila Sarr ensured Palace’s spot in the final in the 52nd minute, scoring his ninth goal in the competition this season. From that moment, any lingering nerves were alleviated, and the festivities began.

Palace knew they were well and truly on their way. The Palace fans chanted Glasner’s name for the first time since January, and Dean Henderson acquired the Holmesdale Fanatics’ megaphone after the final whistle to conduct the choir behind the goal.

There was a rousing rendition of “Stand up if you love Palace”, as every block in the ground got off their feet in unison. Even the Whitehorse Lane end, colloquially known as the family stand, got involved. Maxence Lacroix, of course, pulled out his signature fist-pump celebration – treating both ends of the ground to it.

Among the joyous moments was an evocative one. Nathaniel Clyne – whose first spell at the club coincided with administration in 2010 – made his 250th Palace appearance as a late substitute. From helping save the club from perishing at Hillsborough on the Championship final day in 2010 to booking a spot in a European final 16 years later, Clyne has seen it all.

Playing European football was Palace’s reward for winning the FA Cup last season, and if Palace get over the line in Germany, there will long be debate about which of the two achievements is more prestigious.

There has been a greater shine to the Conference League journey, though. Especially on Thursday night at Selhurst Park. Palace played just Stockport and Millwall at home on the way to Wembley last season, there was no peak at home until after the final. Whereas a decisive leg of a European semi-final at Selhurst Park, with every minute edging closer to Germany, enabled one of the most electric SE25 atmospheres ever.

Fans could watch the game in their normal seats, surrounded by the same old faces, and witness history unfold. Not at a neutral venue like the FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa, but at home.

Glasner has already installed himself as the greatest manager in Palace history. For all his faults – namely, his occasional divisive comments – he has proved he is a born winner and has transformed the way Palace operate and are spoken about. He has less quality in his squad than the group that won the FA Cup last season, but he has managed to navigate them to even greater heights.

He may be a dissident, though his record speaks for itself. Being an outspoken character, there were concerns that he might struggle to nail down a top job post-Palace, with the clubs in the upper echelons wanting to avoid managers who speak out.

But Glasner has backed his rhetoric with results and has rightfully earned himself the pick of the top jobs again. Europa League winner at Frankfurt, alongside his achievements at Palace. Consider what he could accomplish with greater resources.

For now, his focus is on preparing for the Conference League final. If Palace are victorious in Leipzig, they would not have romped the competition – far from it. It would be a product of sheer graft and determination, which makes getting to the final all the sweeter.

Each season, only three teams out of the hundreds of clubs in Europe can lift a continental trophy. Palace are just 90 minutes away from becoming one of those. Surreal does not do it justice.

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It is only a short drive back to the East Midlands, but it would have felt like an age for Nottingham Forest as they stewed on the ramifications of Thursday night’s 4-0 defeat to Aston Villa.

Morgan Gibbs-White was probably fed up of the thinking time already, Forest’s No 10 having cut a powerless figure on the sidelines at Villa Park.

One of the more enduring images of this Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa was the sight of a stitched-up Gibbs-White on the Forest bench, sporting a Harry Potter scar and bruises around both eyes.

He was named among the substitutes, but clearly he was not fit to play, making Monday’s clash of heads with Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez as crucial as any other moment of this tie, which Villa turned around emphatically.

For those fans in red, it was a tough watch. Forest never looked like troubling Villa, recording just two shots on target, making the what-could-have-beens with Gibbs-White fit a futile but inevitable reflection.

Gibbs-White has played his way into World Cup contention of late, thriving at Forest after being convinced to stay last summer by owner Evangelos Marinakis – turning down Tottenham Hotspur’s advances and extending his contract to 2028.

It was a “statement of intent” in Forest’s own words, with Marinakis regarding a move to Tottenham a backwards’ step for the attacking midfielder.

The Greek knew what was possible with Gibbs-White in the squad, and even through this madcap season – copy and paste for Forest fans these days – featuring four permanent managers and a relegation battle, the Champions League still drew closer thanks to the Europa League’s offering.

Last week’s 1-0 win over Villa in the first leg took them within touching distance – 180 minutes away – but Thursday reverse set them back at least another year, and was a chastening reminder of where Forest truly stand against a club they would love to emulate, never mind Brentford, Bournemouth and Brentford, one of whom could yet reach the Champions League as well.

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It is worth remembering Forest were without a host of other regular starters beyond solely Gibbs-White, with Murillo, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Ibrahim Sangare and Ola Aina also absent due to injury.

And the sobering reality is that this could be a mere glimpse of the times that lie ahead.

The Champions League would have given Forest a foundation to thrive, to build around Gibbs-White and ensure he is not merely the talisman but one of many.

Instead, it will now be harder to convince some players to stay. Gibbs-White may well be glad he did not leave for Tottenham after all, but with an England place uncertain, the 26-year-old could get itchy feet if he misses out on Thomas Tuchel’s squad for North America.

The widely-coveted Elliot Anderson meanwhile looks destined to leave, The i Paper reporting Manchester City are in pole position ahead of Manchester United to sign the midfielder.

Murillo also has admirers, including United, Liverpool and Real Madrid, and the loss of those two players in Forest’s spine, even while retaining others, would have a major impact: Anderson and Murillo could fetch north of £150m combined, but their departures would set a far different tone for the summer than the one Marinakis would have wanted. There would have to be more conversations with players within the squad, and tougher talks when it comes to enticing players without the lure of the Champions League.

And who ever knows what is around the corner with Forest. Vitor Pereira has steadied the ship, a 10-game unbeaten run pulling them six points clear of the drop zone with three games to go, and taking them to a European semi-final.

However, Pereira also enjoyed a bright start at Wolverhampton Wanderers before it went south at the start of this season.

The Portuguese is not one for longevity. His previous five roles have all lasted less than a year, his stint with Chinese Super League outfit Shanghai SIPG from 2017 to 2020 the longest he has ever managed.

But then again, Marinakis is not one for managers hanging around either, an approach that very nearly paid off until it very much didn’t, meaning this season now reads as a once-in-a-generation opportunity squandered.

We will never know how this European campaign would have played had Nuno Espirito Santo remained in charge, or reigning Europa League winner Ange Postecoglou, or Sean Dyche for that matter.

What does matter is the direction in which they’ve gone, and the fear they could retreat further still once the transfer window opens.

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The trend tends to go: the bigger the club, the bigger the financial loss. And in League One, they don’t get bigger than Bolton Wanderers.

Last season, the cumulative losses across all 24 teams were £154m in the third tier of English football.

Bolton contributed just under £14m. In a league awash with debt and negative numbers, that did not even move the dial. In fact, the club insisted it was a “deliberate strategy”.

Then nothing else was said. Remember: this is League One, where money has a very short shelf life.

Those losses can be offset if promotion is achieved – which is why the spending was planned.

Yet with a wage bill that is astonishingly 98.8 per cent of Bolton’s turnover, failure to climb the ladder could lead to the most spectacular fall.

“It costs millions just to turn the lights on at places like this,” a source close to the club told The i Paper.

“This is a Premier League stadium that costs the same as a Premier League stadium to put matches on, yet we are charging League One prices.

“You have to gamble in this division like nowhere else. I’m not sure how much longer it can go on.”

For so long a top-flight staple, Bolton have been dragged down by the financial burden of the stadium, stuck in the third tier or lower for seven years.

It is all well and good when you have owners who are willing to take on these debts.

But what happens when they get bored?

There are only a finite number of businesspeople willing to adopt a loss-leading enterprise from the outset, one with little hope of breaking even, never mind making a profit.

Carlisle United had a wage bill of £7m in a season they were relegated from the Football League.

Bolton simply must go up. Everyone is banking on it. But living on the edge is not just the modus operandi of the club’s hierarchy.

Supporters have been given the roughest of rides this season.

A breathless 13 stoppage-time goals have earned Bolton a crucial 18 points that have been the difference between a shot at promotion and mid-table obscurity, followed by the impending financial oblivion.

The average minute of a Bolton goal this season is 58 – by far the highest in League One. And they keep getting later, and later.

Ibrahim Cissoko’s 101st-minute strike in the 3-3 draw with Huddersfield Town lays claim to being one of the latest goals ever scored by the club.

It is likely to take another of these last-gasp interventions to get the better of a Bradford City side who Wanderers drew with in their final league match of the campaign.

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The alternative does not bear thinking about.

“So many clubs fly by the seat of their pants in everything they do,” a source says.

“It is just numbers to them. As long as they go up, they can write those losses off down the line.

“It isn’t clubs like ours’ fault, though. But it cannot go on like this.”

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VILLA PARK — Slow and steady wins this Midlands race, and now one night in Istanbul stands between Aston Villa and their biggest achievement for 44 years.

For there in Turkey lies the tangible reward for calm progress under Unai Emery. What would be the cherry on top of the Spaniard’s era.

And while the Europa League is not quite the European Cup, a generation of Villa supporters have waited patiently to witness their side lift major silverware, and they will believe now is finally the time after a raucous evening at Villa Park.

It felt fitting too that Emiliano Buendia, Ollie Watkins and John McGinn were their heroes on the night, the trio – among Villa’s old guard – uniting to turn this Europa League semi-final against Nottingham Forest around, from 1-0 down after the first leg to emphatic 4-1 winners on aggregate.

INCREDIBLE

John McGinn scores an almost identical goal minutes after his last and Aston Villa have four

TNT Sports and HBO Max pic.twitter.com/yNwyv9oXO7

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

Watkins played like a man possessed, before and especially after he was bandaged up following a collision with Morato. He looked intent on securing that World Cup spot, and this performance must surely have solidified the England striker’s position as Harry Kane’s back-up in North America this summer.

Prince William, who roared on every goal from the stands at Villa Park, would surely give Watkins’ inclusion in Thomas Tuchel’s squad the royal seal of approval.

Watkins had got the ball rolling for Villa, eradicating the early nerves when tapping in the opener on the night and leveller on aggregate.

Buendia had danced his way through Forest’s defence to assist, and the Argentine then scored Villa’s second from the spot after VAR intervened for a pull on Pau Torres’ shirt by Nikola Milenkovic.

Loaned out last year and free to leave last summer, few Villa fans could have foreseen Buendia leading the charge in a European semi-final in 2026, yet here he was providing the creative spark that Forest could not put out.

Buendia then rolled the carpet out for captain McGinn to take centre stage, the Scot rolling in two left-footed strikes to seal Villa’s place in the final.

John McGinn scored in Aston Villa’s 2019 play-off final win to earn promotion to the Premier League.

Seven years later, he’s scored a brace to send them to a European final.

What a journey pic.twitter.com/oEwQYowDVD

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026

A better pound for pound signing you will not find in the Premier League. McGinn joined from Hibernian for £2.75m in 2018.

That equates to just north of £340k for every year of service, less than £8,500 for every game played, while every goal – now 35 – has cost Villa just £79,000.

A bargain in modern football and a legend of the club already, McGinn was there with Villa in the Championship, scoring in the 2019 play-off final to help them return to the Premier League, and since then he has grafted his way towards becoming a player they dare not start without.

And though signed before Emery took charge, like Buendia and Watkins, McGinn has come to symbolise everything positive about Villa under the Spaniard.

“He’s been amazing,” McGinn said of Emery after the victory over Forest. “But so have all the managers I’ve played under. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League, Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader.”

Together, Villa and McGinn have punched above their weight, and now the crowning moment of the Emery era is within touching distance, with Freiburg their final opponents on 20 May.

“It would mean everything,” McGinn said at the prospect of lifting silverware with Villa.

He would be the first Villa captain to do so since Andy Townsend in 1996, and no one in claret and blue would deserve it more.

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Tony Mowbray will never forget the moment he first set eyes on Amad Diallo.

“When I got the call to manage Sunderland it was out of the blue so my thinking was simple: judge them on what they do on the training pitch,” he recalls. And one player was impossible to ignore – the slight 20-year-old loan signing who “seemed to just be having fun”.

“With Amad the ball was just stuck to his left foot, no-one could get the ball off him or get anywhere near him. He’s that kind of player who can beat three men in a phone box, you know? I turned to my assistant Mark Venus and said: ‘This kid is a genius. Why hasn’t he been playing?'”

It didn’t take long for Mowbray to change that. Diallo was deployed as a “false nine”, played 37 times and scored 13 goals in a season where Sunderland rediscovered themselves.

He signed for a club who had just returned to the Championship after four seasons in League One but the storm clouds were gathering. Manager Alex Neil had walked out in protest at the club’s model, which he felt wouldn’t allow them to compete in the second tier. Questions were being asked of the ownership.

The unassuming Diallo arrived off the back of a failed loan spell at Rangers – his talent was undoubted but expectations were fairly muted. He ended up becoming one of the most important loan signings in the club’s history, helping to shift the mood around the club profoundly.

“At the time I don’t think Sunderland fans really knew what to expect. They’d been in League One but it’s a massive club so expectations are high,” Mowbray says.

“Amad ended up being perfect for us. Hugely, hugely talented boy but also not in the slightest bit flashy or arrogant. He’s quite insular, certainly not gregarious, not a ‘look at me’ type because he does it with his feet instead.

“Hard work is a non-negotiable at Sunderland. They loved Amad because he did all of that, put his body on the line, got into his tackles, but he was also unbelievably talented as well.”

Mowbray is typically modest about his role in Diallo’s progress but the player was moved to tears by a video message from his former manager that was shown to him in a Sky interview this week.

“As I do with all footballers, I try and encourage him to be the best version of themselves by reconnecting with their inner child,” Mowbray recalls.

“To be a professional footballer you’ve all been the best player in your school team. We’ve all been the best in the district and the county and he needed to find his inner child and believe in his talent.

“I was constantly saying ‘Give the ball to Amad, give the ball to Amad’ and it grew really. He didn’t want to let the team down, he knew he had a responsibility and he just did amazingly well.”

Diallo travels to Wearside this weekend with his Manchester United career at a bit of a crossroads. Performances since the Africa Cup of Nations have been below the standards he set early in the season and with big spending planned for the summer, there have been the first rumblings about his long-term future at Old Trafford.

Michael Carrick has talked him up and it’s understood he has support behind the scenes but an error against Liverpool last week was typical of his recent travails.

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If confidence ever wavered, The i Paper understands that Sunderland would make their pitch. Still considered a “dream signing” by key figures in the club’s recruitment department, the Black Cats have tried several times to re-sign Diallo since that first loan spell. Every time Manchester United have knocked them back but interest endures.

“We certainly wanted to bring him back and it would have happened if it was possible because he loved his time at Sunderland,” Mowbray says.

“But I remember saying to Stuart Harvey that on the back of what he’d achieved with us he would get a chance. Their loans manager was in the stands most weeks, so they knew what they had. Of course I wanted him back but I was also happy for him that he got the chance at Manchester United because I couldn’t speak highly enough about him as a person and a footballer.”

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