Sunday’s action around Europe’s top leagues delivered plenty to talk about and rounded out the weekend in style. Manchester United seized on some sloppy Liverpool play to grab a 2-2 draw and put a dent in Jurgen Klopp’s title aspirations, while Feyenoord also made history against their biggest rivals, Ajax.

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We also got some Americans in action, more mediocrity for Chelsea and an Old Firm clash between Rangers and Celtic that delivered six goals and extended the title race in Scotland. So keep reading for the storylines from Sunday, and keep scrolling for what you missed Saturday.

SUNDAY REVIEW

The lead: Mainoo’s “Macheda moment” makes a difference for Man United

There’s a saying in boxing that it’s the shots you don’t see coming that hurt the most. On Sunday at Old Trafford, that explained Manchester United’s sudden uplift against Liverpool, after two acts of brilliance and gave fans something to cheer for.

Erik ten Hag’s side were being hammered by fans in the stands after a dreadful first-half. No shots — and 0.00 XG — compared to Liverpool’s 15 attempts. No control or influence over their archrivals. No hope.

And then, like a lighting bolt, a Liverpool mistake and a moment of magic. Jarell Quansah played a clumsy square pass just inside his own half, which rolled straight to Bruno Fernandes, who delivered a pinpoint long-ranged strike over the head of Caoimhín Kelleher and levelled the scores. It was United’s first shot on goal.

“A pretty exceptional finish,” Klopp said. “In this mood lift in the stadium, the atmosphere lifts and they score the second.”

A little over 15 minutes later, United worked the ball forward, culminating in 18-year-old star Kobbie Mainoo receiving the ball at the left edge of the Liverpool box, working onto his right foot and curling a strike into the far bottom right corner. “It was a goal from the game plan,” Ten Hag said.

It was also a goal reminiscent — arguably even a carbon copy — of Federico Macheda’s infamous late winner as a 17-year-old starlet against Aston Villa in 2009 that sent the Stretford End into raptures. Mainoo’s had much the same impact.

Though it didn’t end in victory, it was enough to stun Liverpool and damage their title push. For United fans, that’s still something worth cheering. — Connor O’Halloran

Sunday talking points around the leagues

Old Firm delivers drama and keeps title race in the balance

It’s been roughly 10 years since the Scottish title has been much of a contest — there are a litany of reasons why — but this season is giving us a genuine race and a return to form for one of the sport’s storied rivalries. Sunday’s wild 3-3 draw between Rangers and Celtic delivered the chaos and drama we want from such grudge matches, while Rangers’ pair comebacks from 2-0 and 3-2 down could end up delivering them a first top-flight title since the 2020-21 season.

Rangers opened the campaign with three defeats in seven games to spell the end for manager Michael Beale, with new man Philippe Clement restoring order and a winning mentality to the tune of 19 league victories in 24 games. Yet they came out slowly, ceding the edge to their rivals. Celtic took the lead in the first minute as Daizen Maida raced onto a hopeful long ball and deflected James Tavernier’s casual clearance beyond Jack Butland to silence the home crowd.

Celtic were superior throughout the first half, with 11 chances to Rangers’ four, and they doubled their lead from the penalty spot around the half-hour mark, with Matthew O’Riley chipping it “Panenka style” beyond Butland after Connor Goldson’s handball. But rivalry games often ignore things like form and momentum as more mysterious forces swirl, as the second half proved.

Just five minutes into the second half and Rangers had one back: Tavernier scored a penalty of his own after a Fábio Silva dive was reviewed by VAR and overturned, with Alistair Johnston instead judged to have stepped on the former Wolves forward’s foot. The hosts thought they’d made it 2-2 barely a minute later, only for VAR to overrule Cyriel Dessers’ finish due to a foul during the build-up, and it set up a chaotic ending with three goals coming after the 86th minute.

Abdallah Sima’s deflected effort leveled for Rangers, but the visitors regained the lead barely a minute later as sub Adam Idah kept his cool — and the ball — under pressure to slip a shot beneath Butland. With eight minutes of injury time signaled by referee John Beaton, Rabbi Matondo seized on John Lundstram’s pass to curl in a brilliant third for Rangers and ensure the latest meeting in their 136-year battle ended all square.

The result leaves Celtic still in first place, though Rangers do have a game in hand that must be completed before the “championship” phase of the season begins. (After 33 games, the league table splits into two mini-leagues of six teams each, with every team playing each other ones to determine titles, European qualification and relegation.) Not bad for 90 minutes’ work, eh? — James Tyler

Chelsea slide back to mediocrity with draw at Sheffield United

This time, there was no miracle for Chelsea: no late flurry, no belated drama going their way. In fact, it was actually the opposite. Three days after beating Manchester United 4-3 at Stamford Bridge with two very late goals deep in added time, Sunday saw them conceding a late equaliser, in the 93rd minute, in a 2-2 draw at Bramall Lane on Sunday in a game that summed up their season.

It’s been a season defined by inconsistency and all-round mediocrity from the Blues and Mauricio Pochettino; it’s been a story of one step forward, two steps back. Only twice this season have they won two league games in a row, back in October (Fulham and Burnley) and in December (Crystal Palace and Luton). That’s it.

At full time, Thiago Silva’s face said it all. The Brazilian veteran was back in the starting XI after being dropped for the last five games, and here he scored the opener after just 11 minutes. His body language before heading back to the dressing room — crouched, looking stunned — seemed to suggest he couldn’t believe his side had dropped points.

The Blades had lost three of their last four league games at home — 5-0 against Aston Villa, 5-0 against Brighton and 6-0 against Arsenal — before a 3-3 draw against Fulham, yet Chelsea hardly created anything against them. Their performance with the ball was so bad, so slow and so pedestrian. They had 68% of possession for a mere 0.37 expected goals — one of their worst showings this season — and three shots on target (6 for Sheffield for 1.36 xG).

Once again, Pochettino’s choices and tactics were hard to understand. He played Conor Gallagher as a left winger, which made no sense, and once more, the lack of structure, patterns of play and identity in this team was baffling. This is on Pochettino more than anything for not having this squad performing all season, but his players were off it on Sunday. The way they conceded the second equaliser (the first one was bad enough with a Petrovic mistake) was pathetic. All of them were ball watching, from Petrovic again to Mudryk, Badiashile or Chalobah.

In the end, the reality is that Chelsea were seconds away from a victory that could have hauled them into the conversation for European places next season; instead, they still sit in 9th, five points behind Manchester United in sixth with a game in hand.

If there are no positives for Chelsea to take from this game, there is hope to be gleaned for Sheffield United. They are still bottom of the table, nine points behind Nottingham Forest, but they played with a lot of heart, desire, energy and a clear plan against Chelsea. They had everything their opponents didn’t. — Julien Laurens

Americans Abroad

Sunday was a mixed bag for U.S. players in Europe, though several did feature in good results. Midfielder Weston McKennie played a steady 90 minutes as Juventus beat Fiorentina 1-0 to keep their grip on third place with seven games to go in Serie A, and forward Folarin Balogun was a late sub in Monaco’s 1-0 home win over Rennes.

Elsewhere, defender Cameron Carter-Vickers went the distance for Celtic in their eclectic 3-3 draw at Rangers, while midfielder Paxten Aaronson played the full 90 in Vitesse’s 3-0 home defeat to NEC Nijmegen. The other notable result was in the Bundesliga, where defender John Brooks was a second-half substitute in Hoffenheim’s 3-1 win over Augsburg. — Tyler

News of the day

  • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he expects more plot twists in the Premier League title race after his side salvaged a 2-2 draw at Manchester United on Sunday.

  • Tottenham boosted their Champions League qualification hopes with Manchester United’s under-18s gave the first team some inspiration on Saturday April 6, 2024

    The catch here? The final was being played at the Estadio La Cartuja in Seville, over eight hours’ drive away. Athletic’s fans that had missed out on tickets to the final sold out their home stadium and watched all the drama unfold from there. What a way to celebrate a historic win. — Mike Wise