Chelsea completed an impressive comeback to beat Manchester City 3-0 at Stamford Bridge and book their place in the Women’s Champions League semi-finals.
There was confirmation of a change to the summer transfer window, while speculation continued over Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold moving to Real Madrid.
Friday night will see domestic action resume in the Sky Bet Championship ahead of FA Cup quarter-final weekend.
Blues on song at the Bridge
Chelsea booked a place in the Champions League semi-finals with an impressive 3-0 victory over Manchester City at Stamford Bridge, securing a 3-2 aggregate win.
The Blues – facing City for a fourth consecutive match – needed to lay it all on the line back in west London after losing the away leg 2-0, which was a first defeat across all competitions this season.
Sandy Baltimore fired Chelsea ahead in the 14th minute and Nathalie Bjorn nodded in a second before Mayra Ramirez added the decisive third before the break.
Sonia Bompastor’s side join Arsenal in the last four, where Chelsea will face holders Barcelona – who thumped Wolfsburg 6-1 at Estadi Johan Cruyff to complete a comprehensive 10-2 aggregate win.
Summer transfer window shake-up
Premier League clubs have today agreed the dates for the Summer 2025 Transfer Window.
Learn more here ⬇️
— Premier League (@premierleague) March 27, 2025
Premier League clubs have agreed to take advantage of an early summer transfer window created by FIFA around the Club World Cup.
English top flight clubs will now be able to recruit and retain players in a special window between June 1 and 10.
The exceptional registration period was approved by the FIFA Council last October and is open to any national association which has teams involved in this summer’s Club World Cup, which starts on June 14.
FIFA regulations limit closed-season transfer windows to a maximum of 12 weeks, so the Premier League window will be closed again from June 11 to 15, before reopening on June 16 all the way through to September 1.
TAA’s likely departure irks Jamie Carragher
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold is expected to be one of the players on the move during that summer transfer window, with reports of a switch to Real Madrid gathering pace this week.
The 26-year-old England right-back is out of contract this summer, and has reportedly agreed terms on a lucrative free transfer to the Spanish giants.
Liverpool-born Alexander-Arnold made his debut for the club as an 18-year-old in 2016, since when he has won the Champions League, Premier League, Carabao Cup, FA Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Club World Cup – with another league title seemingly on the way this season.
The news of Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave has not gone down well with Liverpool fans – and that includes former Reds defender Jamie Carragher.
“I’m not angry about him going on a free,” Carragher said in latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast.
“Where I’m at is that, as a local player and a Liverpool fan, Liverpool are in a position where they’re competing for the league and a European Cup every year.
“So, if you’re a Liverpool fan and a local player, I’m just disappointed that he doesn’t think that this is it.”
Liverpool, meanwhile, have held initial talks over the signing of Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen, the PA news agency understands, with the Dutch full-back a potential replacement for Alexander-Arnold.
Harry Redknapp – Thomas Tuchel is a ‘German spy’
Harry Redknapp joked that new England manager Thomas Tuchel is a “German spy” at a recent charity event.
In footage obtained by the Guardian newspaper, the former Tottenham and Portsmouth boss told a live audience Germany’s Tuchel had been “sent over to f*** us up”.
Redknapp, 78, had been asked questions about former England manager Gareth Southgate and his successor Tuchel, who took charge of his first game last week.
“I liked Gareth Southgate, I liked him a lot, but we should have won something,” Redknapp said in the published clip.
Then asked about Tuchel, Redknapp said: “I’ll be honest with you, I think he’s a German spy.”
What’s on today?
The Sky Bet Championship promotion race resumes on Friday night, with Sheffield United aiming to go above Leeds at top of the table when they host play-off hopefuls Coventry.
Ahead of FA Cup quarter-final weekend, there will be several managers holding press conferences.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler is first up at 9am with Pep Guardiola, Andoni Iraola and Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom – whose side are the lowest ranked team left in the last eight – among those on a busy afternoon schedule.
