Arsenal ensured the champagne stayed on ice in Liverpool despite being held to a 2-2 draw at home to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
Defeat for the Gunners would have handed Arne Slot’s side the Premier League title, but a further point at home to Tottenham on Sunday will clinch a 20th English league crown.
Chelsea are close to more Women’s Super League success after a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace sent them six points clear at the summit.
Spoils shared at Emirates
Mikel Arteta was without Ben White and Mikel Merino for the visit of Palace and later cast doubt about the availability of the duo for next week’s Champions League semi-final first leg tie with Paris St Germain.
Bukayo Saka did feature off the bench with Arsenal 2-1 up at this stage after first-half goals by Jakub Kiwior and Leandro Trossard cancelled out Eberechi Eze’s fine volley for Palace.
Jean-Philippe Mateta had the last laugh though as he robbed possession from William Saliba and expertly lobbed David Raya to ensure the spoils were shared, but Liverpool’s champagne stayed on ice with no late winner found for the visiting south Londoners.
Chelsea with one hand on trophy
Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor insisted “nothing is done yet” despite a 4-0 win over Crystal Palace able to open up a six-point advantage at the top of the Women’s Super League with only nine points left to play for.
Victory over Manchester United next Wednesday could clinch more domestic success for the Blues, but they will quickly shift focus to Saturday’s improbable Champions League task after a Catarina Macarino’s brace maintained their unbeaten run in the division.
Bompastor’s Chelsea are unbeaten after 19 WSL matches this term and yet require a performance for the ages to topple weekend opponents Barcelona, who hold a 4-1 advantage after last week’s semi-final first leg.
New era beckons for Rangers
Rangers revealed on Wednesday that “productive conversations” with a US-based consortium have taken place regarding a complete takeover of the club.
After it was revealed in February that American insurance firm owner Andrew Cavenagh and the 49ers Enterprises had been in talks about acquiring a controlling stake in the Old Firm outfit, those plans were made public.
It was also confirmed that Kevin Thelwell, currently director of football at Everton, will become Rangers’ sporting director from this summer.
What’s on
Plenty of Premier League managers will face the music on Thursday with press conferences set to take place at Southampton, Leicester, West Ham and Fulham.
Across the globe, Atletico Madrid are one of eight LaLiga teams in action while Bologna and Empoli do battle to determine who joins AC Milan in the Coppa Italia final.
Back in England, Sky Bet League One champions Birmingham make the trip to Stevenage.
