If you’re still thirsty for more European football action after a breathless round of Champions League last-16 matches, then On the Continent is the perfect place for you:

ii. If you’re in need of a good read today, check out our friend Rory Smith’s most recent piece on the Champions League and how it’s a shared delight in an increasingly fractured world. Read that here. 📈

iii. And now, a few of yesterday’s best goals from around the world:

🇺🇲 Please take a moment to watch Lionel Messi score his 900th(!!!) career goal. Even at 38 years old, he’s still making it look easy.

🇩🇪 Speaking of top-tier goals by greats in their 30s, savor this beautiful footwork and finish from Bayern’s Harry Kane. It’s almost rude how easy he makes it look.

🇦🇩 If you need one more, take a trip with us to the Andorran Primera Divisió for one of the smoothest volleys you’ll ever see. “Clean” doesn’t even do it justice.

iv. Meet ADO Den Hag’s Diogo Tomas, who just helped his Dutch club get promoted back to the Eredivisie. Sunglasses, a cigar, and a beer is a big mood. 😎

Cheers,
Tommy Stewart & Max Bonem

PS - Can you guess which footballer has the record for scoring against the most teams in his career? Surprisingly, it’s not the guy mentioned above. 🤔

Real Madrid vs. Atlético Madrid (Sunday, 4 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

The most-played fixture in the history of Spanish football happens to be between these neighboring titans, who are the cultural, aesthetic and footballing antithesis of each other. But history will be irrelevant on Sunday, because Álvaro Arbeloa has four points to make up on Barcelona in the La Liga title race. Former Atléti No. 1 Thibaut Courtois is likely to miss out with a groin injury, while Kylian Mbappé could return to the starting XI, but it’ll be tough to fiddle with the formula that twice beat Manchester City. Diego Simeone’s side won’t care which Galácticos they face because as well as relishing their own UCL run and incoming Copa del Rey final, pouring cerveza over Los Blancos’ parade perennially gives them life.

Barcelona vs. Rayo Vallecano (Sunday 9 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Barcelona toyed with Newcastle before dissecting them in a 7-2 decimation yesterday, so the Spotify Camp Nou will be hungry for another decadent feast of goals this weekend. Since Hansi Flick became Barça’s manager at the start of last season, his team have scored a frightening 303 times in 105 matches, but yesterday’s backline fallibilities also highlighted just how top-heavy they are. Rayo Vallecano are six unbeaten in La Liga and enjoying their own European adventure where they’ll play in the UEFA Conference League round of 16 today.

More: Barcelona’s president says he’ll extend Hansi Flick’s contract.

AC Milan vs. Torino (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

Like Icarus, perhaps AC Milan flew too close to the sun when they narrowly beat Inter at their shared San Siro stadium 11 days ago. Last weekend’s 1-0 loss to Lazio was a brutal reality check that might have reminded Max Allegri that his side isn’t ready to challenge for the Scudetto this season, especially without the creative spark of Christian Pulisic, whose miserable goalless streak in 2026 has now reached 13 games.

Fiorentina vs. Inter Milan (Sunday, 3:45 p.m. ET, Paramount+)

After grabbing a point in a strenuous arm wrestle with Atalanta last weekend, league-leaders Inter Milan should welcome captain Lautaro Martínez back to their team on Sunday. Cristian Chivu’s side have only won two of the six matches the Argentine striker has missed with a left calf muscle injury, and his 14 goals mean he remains Serie A’s top scorer, a statistic that reflects the league’s current poor health. If Martínez is to get back off the mark, he’ll need to find a way past David de Gea, who’s attracting interest from Juventus after being made Fiorentina captain this season.

Bayern Munich vs. Union Berlin (Saturday, 10:30 a.m. ET, ESPN+)

Sadly for Union Berlin, Harry Kane was unleashed against Atalanta yesterday, scoring a remedial brace after a couple of games spent on the bench clenching his fist like the Arthur GIF. Even the ever-eloquent Vincent Kompany ‘couldn’t explain’ this finish, as the England captain reached 52 goals for club and country this season. He’ll be licking his lips ahead of the visit of Temu Tommy Shelby, Steffen Baumgart’s mid-table side, whose famous fanbase have literally bled for their club.

Borussia Dortmund vs. Hamburg (Saturday, 1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+)

Borussia Dortmund have recovered well from their decisive Der Klassiker defeat last month, winning the two games since and narrowing the still vast gap between them and leaders Bayern to nine points. Thirty-five-year-old Hamburg manager and weekend wizard Merlin Polzin not only has a poem for a name, but has restored one of German football’s most famous club’s top-tier status, bringing them back to the Bundesliga this season after seven years away, all while playing bold attacking football.

Imagine most of the FA Cup happening as a competitive canapé before the Premier League season starts and you’ll have an idea of how Sweden’s Svenska Cupen works. In last weekend’s Cupen quarterfinal, Stockholm’s Hammarby beat neighbors Djurgårdens in stoppage time, sparking chaotic limbs that showed just how much this tournament matters to Sweden’s passionate football fans.

Because of the arctic conditions in Sweden, their Allsvenskan league season starts in April and runs through the summer until November. And while legends Zlatan Ibrahimović, Henrik Larsson and now Alexander Isak were snapped up by European giants at a young age, domestic Swedish football is an absolute spectacle with sold-out stadiums and fervent supporters who paint their towns according to their club colors on match days.

On Sunday, last season’s Allsvenskan top two – Hammarby and champions Mjällby – compete in opposing semifinals, meaning a meeting of monsters for May’s Svenska Cupen final is very much on.

More: Let noted Hammarby superfan Alexander Skarsgård tell you all about his favorite club.

Although Benfica’s 17-year-old right-back Daniel Banjaqui has only played a handful of first-team matches, he’s already the subject of several YouTube compilations entitled, “Welcome to (insert name of gigantic European club here).” His manager, José Mourinho, is fighting tooth and nail to keep him as half of England and Europe allegedly try to prise him away. 

Ahead of turning 18 next week, Banjaqui’s natural abundance of pace and dream combo of robust defensive instincts and attacking intuition have already drawn heady comparisons with compatriot, Nuno Mendes. The right-footed teenager is also already a champion at youth level, having won both the U17 World Cup and U17 European Championship.

Banjaqui’s contract expires next year, and he’s yet to commit his future to the club he’s played for since he was nine, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see swoops from his many suitors this summer.

Congratulations to last week’s winner, E.T. Leipprandt, who was the first to correctly answer that Zlatan Ibrahimovic has never won the European Golden Shoe, despite scoring 38 in the 2015/16 season, two off Luis Suárez’s 40. 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 recs for the best jamón spots in Madrid to [email protected].

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