In this week's round-up...

• Champions League Final

• ICYMI: Top Headlines From Around The World

• In Stats: Lucy Bronze Makes History

• Kit Drop: AC Milan Home Shirt

• Fave Finds: Barbie x Football

🏆 CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Barcelona complete the quadruple with Champions League win

Barcelona beat Lyon for the first time in their history to retain their Champions League crown in an exciting final, banishing the ghosts of their 2022 Cup Final loss to the French Champions. Barcelona’s Ballon d’Or winners took centre stage, with Aitana Bonmati opening the scoring, and Alexia Putellas coming on in the 92nd minute to score three minutes later, ending Lyon’s late attempts to equalise. Watch the highlights here.

• Lyon’s defence managed to contain Barcelona well. Despite Barca enjoying 64% possession, they had 14 shots, equal to Lyon’s.

• Graham Hansen had a great game and deserves a special mention - she worked tirelessly to create opportunities, combining well with Lucy Bronze and narrowly missing a late chance to score.

• Attendance records were broken again, with 50,827 in the crowd, the largest seen at the Women’s Champions League Final.

• The Champions League title means Barca has won the quadruple for the first time in their history after coming first in La Liga F, the Copa de la Reinas, and the Spanish Super Cup.

• This was the last game in charge for both managers. Barcelona’s Jonatan Giraldez will take over at NWSL team Washington Spirit, and Sonia Bompastor will replace Emma Hayes at Chelsea. 

Bompastor: "We have a great disappointment. We have lost a final and it’s tough now. In these moments you have to recognise that Barcelona had a great match and deserved to be the winners, although it’s hard to accept it. I am disappointed for my players because we worked really hard and wanted to finish this season with a new title and a new Champions League."

Giraldez: "This is one of the best no doubt. It is a Champions League final against a team you haven’t beaten before. I’m very glad that we won and I’m very happy with it being my last final. They said that the team’s performance would be down because of the news [of my departure]. We proved the contrary."

 🚨 NEWS | HOME & AWAY

Top Headlines This Week

🏟️ Anyone fancy a trip to Norway? The 2026 Women’s Champions League Final will head to the Ullevaal Stadion in Oslo.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland will face Israel behind closed doors in their Euro 2025 qualifier on 31 May. The Hampden Park security team were alerted to planned disruptions during the match in protest of the ongoing war in Gaza. The return match has been moved to BSC Stadium in Budapest on 4 June.

🏛️ Steph Houghton MBE, Manchester City and Lioness legend will enter the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame on 12 June at the Etihad Stadium.

🏅 Matt Beard has been recognised for an outstanding season in which he steered Liverpool to a fourth-place finish. He was named the Barclays WSL Manager of the Season by both the Official League and the League Managers Association Awards. 

🌳 The battle for Whitewebb’s Park took a step in Tottenham Hotspur’s favour as the court considering opposition to Spurs’ proposed new academy facility gave Enfield council the go-ahead to lease the parkland on a 25-year lease. The plans to turn the public parkland, used by the community and home to a wide range of local wildlife, into a women’s team training facility has been met with opposition by local residents and groups.

🇺🇸 USWNT

The Emma Hayes era begins

Emma Hayes is back. Ok, so she was barely gone. She took two days' holiday between the end of her Chelsea job and starting the USWNT head coach role and has hit the ground running, announcing her first roster ahead of the USA’s upcoming friendlies. 

Speaking to ESPN, Hayes stressed that there is a process to getting the USWNT back on top and that she values preparation and development over winning straight off the bat. After a long and gruelling end to Chelsea’s season, it's fair to say Hayes looks re-energised and ready to get stuck into what will be a huge challenge to take the USWNT back to their past dominance of world football.

• Hayes on getting started: “I’m really looking forward to getting started. The preparations have been well underway and I can’t wait to get into camp. We know it’s a short turnaround and we have a lot of work to do, but I’m fully focused on making sure that the performances are at the levels that are required to compete. I want to build on the work that Twila [Kilgore, interim and now assistant coach] has been implementing over the last six months. I expect complete commitment from everyone to absorb very quickly the things that I value as the most important so that we can compete this summer. I know they are a highly coachable group and I’m looking forward to challenging them. It’s time to go to work. I can’t wait to meet the fans and it’s really time to get behind the team as we get closer to putting a roster together for the Olympics.

• Hayes on preparing for the Olympics:"If we can perform at our best level, then we have a chance of doing things. But we've got work to do. The realities are that the world game is where it is, and the rest of the world do not fear the USA in the way that they once did and that's valid. It's our job to grasp quite quickly what we need to do to get close again to those levels."

• Hayes on the USWNT compared to the rest of the world: “I think what we saw last summer is how that gap has been closed. It doesn't necessarily need a statement from me; that's clear for everyone to see.”

Full Squad announcement:

• Goalkeepers: Jane Campbell (Houston Dash), Aubrey Kingsbury (Washington Spirit), Casey Murphy (North Carolina Courage)

• Defenders: Tierna Davidson (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Fox (Arsenal FC, ENG), Naomi Girma (San Diego Wave FC), Casey Krueger (Washington Spirit), Jenna Nighswonger (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Emily Sonnett (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Sam Staab (Chicago Red Stars)

• Midfielders: Korbin Albert (Paris Saint-Germain, FRA), Sam Coffey (Portland Thorns FC), Hal Hershfelt (Washington Spirit), Lindsey Horan (Olympique Lyon, FRA), Rose Lavelle (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Lily Yohannes (Ajax, NED)

• Forwards: Crystal Dunn (NJ/NY Gotham FC), Catarina Macario (Chelsea FC, ENG), Alex Morgan (San Diego Wave FC), Trinity Rodman (Washington Spirit), Jaedyn Shaw (San Diego Wave FC), Sophia Smith (Portland Thorns FC), Mallory Swanson (Chicago Red Stars)

Injuries could cause Hayes an immediate headache with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher out with a thigh injury, and Alex Morgan, Jaedyn Shaw, Naomi Girma and Tierna Davidson all having struggled with injuries over the past few months.

For a first look at Hayes in action, watch the USA play Korea Republic on Saturday 1 June, 5pm ET and on Tuesday 4 June, 8pm ET. 

📈 STATS

Lucy Bronze has become the first English Footballer to win five Champions League titles

 👀 FAVE FINDS

💖 Barbie x Football: We’ve re-lived our youth with WSL Panini stickers this year, now it's Barbie’s turn. Enter Christine Sinclair Barbie. Oh yes, the Candian football legend has been included in a new range of athlete Barbies. If that wasn’t enough, Manchester City and Matilda’s star, Mary Fowler has a Barbie too. 

💍 Jess Carter and Ann-Katrin Berger have announced their engagement after seven years together. We're wondering if Emma Hayes will get an invite 😬

🖋️ INSIDE TRACK

Transfer News

Alexia Putellas has extended her contract with FC Barcelona until 2026. With 180 goals and 30 trophies during her time with Barca, she hopes to add to the tally and her already legendary status.

Stina Blackstenius signed a contract extension with Arsenal this week, just days after Miedema left the club. Since joining from BK Hacken in 2022 she's scored 43 goals in 83 appearances. Blackstenius has a knack for scoring big goals when it matters, her extra-time winner in the 2024 Continental Cup Final secured the trophy in a dramatic win over Chelsea.

Everton has been busy securing the services of Katja Snoejis and Elise Stenevik until 2026. The Dutch and Norwegian internationals will both be important pieces of the puzzle as Brian Sorensen seeks to build consistency and aim for a higher finish in the WSL next season. Meanwhile, Rikke Madsen, Everton’s 26-year-old forward, has announced her pregnancy.

Jessica Naz will remain at Tottenham until 2027. The 23-year-old scored three goals and four assists in 10 WSL starts this season. She's been called up to England’s standby list for the next round of Euro Qualifiers which kick off on Friday against France.

Lieke Martens, the Paris Saint-Germain and Netherlands forward will retire from international football following the Netherlands' next two European Qualifiers against Finland on 31 May and 4 June. It's the end of an era, Martens debuted in 2011, scored 62 goals for her country and was part of the 2017 Euro-winning Dutch team.

🤤 KIT DROP

Puma X AC Milan

The AC Milan 2024/25 home kit has a classic design and celebrates the 125th anniversary of the club with commemorative detailing on the back of the shirt. Available to buy now.

Puma’s Ultra 5 Carbon Launch Edition is built for speed. The updated design takes inspiration from F1 motorsport engineering, with a lightweight carbon fibre outsole and a new stud configuration optimised for sprinting, cuts and breaking, players can change direction and explode away from defenders easily. The women’s fit, which has a slimmer profile than the men’s boot, is available to buy now.

📺 WATCHLIST

Women's EURO 2025 Qualifiers - Matchday 3

Friday 31 May
19:05 - Scotland v Israel [BBC iPlayer]
19:15 - Wales v Ukraine [BBC iPlayer]
20:00 - England v France [ITV4, ITV X]

All times in BST