It’s Thursday, meaning it’s time for On the Continent, your European football entrée before the weekend’s action. Most countries are hitting the home stretch of their seasons, but one major league has already been decided in record time:

ii. Speaking of the French champs, if you’re looking for a good read to enjoy in the aftermath of their dominant performance against Liverpool, be sure to check out our good friend Rory Smith’s new piece on PSG, Lens and Ligue 1’s acrimonious power struggle. Read that here. 📖

iii. Hey Philadelphians! Next month, on May 12, we’ll be live in the City of Brotherly Love (and cheesesteaks) for Men in Blazers Live from Philly, presented by Verizon. Rog will take the stage with some very special guests for a night of making memories through football. Come raise a glass. 🍻

iv. And now, around the world in three great goals from yesterday:

🇨🇴 First off, come for the incredible Javier Mena finish in Colombia’s top-flight, but stay for the otherworldly celly. 

🇪🇸 We’ve watched this incredible Julián Álvarez free-kick seven times already and still haven’t quite found the right words to describe it. Let’s just go with “infinitely bendy.”

🇫🇷 And to no one’s surprise, the best Georgian footballer on the planet, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, knocked home a brilliant goal for PSG. Truly, a tradition unlike any other.

Cheers,
Tommy Stewart, Jacob Schneider & Max Bonem

P.S. This stat is absolutely wild. Look away, Spurs fans. 🫣

Real Madrid vs. Girona (Friday, 3 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Álvaro Arbeloa was so focused on Bayern Munich last weekend that his Real Madrid side lost 2-1 to relegation-threatened Mallorca, widening the chasm between them and Barcelona to seven points. A fit-again Jude Bellingham was an impactful sub in both matches, so the midfield virtuoso will surely start against mid-table Girona, who have impressively beaten both Villarreal and Athletic Club in recent matches.

Real Sociedad vs. Alavés (Saturday, 8 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

New Jersey’s Pellegrino Matarazzo is quietly performing miracles at Real Sociedad, hoisting them from 16th to seventh in La Liga in under four months. Not only has he taken Txuri-urdin (the White and Blues) four points off the UCL spots, but they’re also set to meet Atlético Madrid in a massive Copa del Rey final next Saturday. Not since Ernest Hemingway has there been such a fruitful love affair between an American and the Basque country.

More: A beautiful moment as 19-year-old Ibai Aguirre is welcomed home by his boyhood friends after making his Sociedad debut.

Barcelona vs. Espanyol (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Barcelona take a brief breather from their Simeonean Odyssey with Atlético Madrid when local rivals Espanyol make the short trip across town on Saturday. Marcus Rashford has adeptly stepped into the injured Raphinha’s Hagrid-sized shoes, scoring in Saturday’s win, but Hansi Flick’s side missed their maestro in yesterday’s 2-0 UCL loss to Atléti. The old footballing adage suggests “form goes out the window for local derbies,” but Barça are the best team in Spain and their neighbors haven’t won a game of football since (checks calendar) last December!

AC Milan vs. Udinese (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Max Allegri has always maintained that his Rossoneri side never had title hopes this season, but after holding Serie A’s second spot for so long, Monday’s defeat to concede their position to Napoli was crushing. Christian Pulisic was only a substitute, but his fruitless 2026 of zero goals scored continues to concern USMNT fans ahead of the World Cup. The last time these two met, he bagged a brace in a 3-0 victory, but Udinese head to the San Siro having just held the league’s in-form side Como to a 0-0 draw.

Parma vs. Napoli (Sunday, 9 a.m. ET, Paramount+)

Napoli’s Serie A title defense seemed over a long time ago, but Antonio Conte is a wily operator. His side have undramatically won their last five matches by narrow margins, grinding direct rivals AC Milan down in a beautifully Italian 1-0 arm wrestle the other day, putting them just seven points behind Inter. Parma are probably safe from relegation but winless in five under manager Carlos Cuesta, the Arteta disciple who’s the same age as “Toy Story.”

Como vs. Inter Milan (Sunday, 2:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Lautaro Martínez scored a remedial brace in Inter Milan’s 5-2 drubbing of Roma last weekend, reminding Cristian Chivu exactly what he’s been missing since his captain was injured in late February. The timing of his return is serendipitous for the Nerazzurri, whose 30-mile journey north to face Cesc Fabregas’ fourth-placed Como side, is the toughest test in their Scudetto run-in. 

St. Pauli vs. Bayern Munich (Saturday, 12:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

With another Bundesliga title soon to join Vincent Kompany’s best-dressed manager award in his trophy cabinet, the Bayern Munich boss may rest key players in this filler between their gargantuan UCL two-legger with Real Madrid. Harry Kane, however, has six games to score 11 goals and beat Robert Lewandowski’s 2020/21 record of 41 in a season, so he will not want to miss out on a chance to stat pad against Hamburg’s hipster favorites St. Pauli, who are fighting for their lives at 17th in the table. 

Borussia Dortmund vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Saturday, 9:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Borussia Dortmund’s grasp on second place is as certain as Bayern’s hold on the top spot, and a win against Bayer Leverkusen would guarantee their Champions League return next season. Kasper Hjulmand's Leverkusen side are fifth and four points adrift of those coveted UCL places, but with four draws in their last six and no back-to-back wins since January, their form is flakey. They also have the small matter of a DFB-Pokal semifinal with Bayern in just under two weeks time…

More: Which Bundesliga teams are competing for the European spots?

🇫🇷 Ligue 1: PSG & Monaco Are Making Moves

Monaco are surging up the Ligue 1 table, and a key figure in their run has been none other than USMNT forward Folarin Balogun. Les Rouge et Blanc are unbeaten in 10 matches and are on a six-game winning streak - with Balogun finding the back of the net in each victory like he’s Steph pulling up from the logo in a playoff game. Now, they’re just one point out of third in the standings, and are right in the hunt for Champions League football next season. Once again, though, it’s looking like the Ligue 1 title is PSG’s to lose. With seven matches left in the campaign, the Parisian giants are four points up and on track for a fifth-straight league crown.

🇳🇱 PSV Take Eredivisie in Record Time

PSV Eindhoven have now won three consecutive Eredivisie titles, but their 2025 and 2026 wins couldn’t be more different. Last year they did it on the last day of the season after a generational capitulation from Ajax, but their 27th title this season was accomplished earlier than any Dutch team in history as they coasted to victory with 23 wins in 29 matches. While the decline of Ajax has contributed to their recent success, hiring Peter Bosz as manager in 2023 has directly correlated with their domination of Dutch football. They’ve also been aided by USMNT stars Sergiño Dest and Ricardo Pepi, whose 15 goal contributions so far this season earned him a move to Fulham that has since collapsed. Still, don’t be surprised if El Paso’s finest finds a way to the Premier League next season.

An heir to the Polish throne that Robert Lewandowski has occupied for nearly 20 years has finally emerged, and his name is Oskar Pietuszewski. Arguably the biggest talent the country has seen since the Barcelona ace emerged for Borussia Dortmund in 2010, at just 17, Pietuszewski became the most expensive transfer for an under-18 player in Primeira Liga history at $11.6 million when Porto secured his services from Jagiellonia Białystok this past January. He’s hit the ground running too, with three goals and two assists in 10 league appearances in Portugal’s top flight. With footwork that would make Allen Iverson proud, Pietuszewski looks like the next attacking phenom to come out of Porto, following in the footsteps of Luis Díaz and James Rodríguez.

More: How Porto beat Premier League sides to the signing of a 17-year-old sensation.

Bologna 🇮🇹 vs. Aston Villa 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (TODAY, Paramount+, 3 p.m. ET)

Unai Emery and Villa were labeled title contenders through the first few months of the Premier League season, but their form dwindled in the winter months, and now a Europa League title is all that’s left for them. They need this – and they need Morgan Rogers, who hasn’t bagged a goal since January. Bologna are a challenge, though, and are coming off an exhilarating extra-time win over Serie A rivals Roma in the last round of the competition.

Porto 🇵🇹 vs. Nottingham Forest 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 (TODAY, Paramount+, 3 p.m. ET)

With relegation a genuine reality for Forest, it will be interesting to see what sort of lineup Vítor Pereira rolls out against his former club. However, the Tricky Trees’ season looks to be shifting tides like the River Trent itself as they’re unbeaten in their last three. Porto, who sit top of the Primeira Liga, meanwhile, are led by the legendary Thiago Silva and look to be one of the strongest teams left in the competition.

Congratulations to last week’s winner, [email protected], who was the first person to correctly answer that when Antoine Griezmann came third in the 2018 Ballon d’Or, Luka Modrić took the top spot. Send us an email and we’ll get you a patch.

👋 We’ll see you again tomorrow. In the meantime, you can send us your stories, questions or theories about the secret to Pellegrino Matarazzo’s success to [email protected].

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