GOAL provides you with the major takeaways from British stars playing overseas, including the current England captain and Los Blancos' star midfielder
So there we have it! Liverpool have been crowned Premier League champions with four games to spare, wrapping up the title with an emphatic 5-1 home win over hapless Tottenham. Celtic, meanwhile, achieved the same feat in the Scottish Premiership after a 5-0 demolition of Dundee to retain their crown for the fourth year in a row.
Both sets of fans from those two gigantic clubs are free to begin their summer celebrations early, but that's bad news for everyone else. Aside from an intriguing battle for Champions League qualification in the Premier League, the next couple of weeks will be short of drama and real spectacle for supporters across England and Scotland.
They will, however, still be able to get their fix of high-stakes football by looking overseas. Britain's finest exports will be in the thick of the action, too, with Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and Scott McTominay all chasing domestic glory for their respective clubs in the Bundesliga, La Liga and Serie A.
The 2024-25 title race looks set to go down to the wire in two of those divisions, while there are still six teams fighting for a top-four berth in Ligue 1 behind runaway champions Paris Saint-Germain. GOAL's latest edition of Brits Abroad brings you the lowdown on how all of the star expats are faring as the campaign hurtles towards a thrilling conclusion…
Getty ImagesKane yellow proves costly as Dier grabs goal
Bayern Munich are now just one win away from wrestling the Bundesliga title back from Bayer Leverkusen. That's because Vincent Kompany's side were able to swat Mainz aside in a 3-0 victory at the Allianz Arena on Saturday, which maintained their eight-point lead over Leverkusen and rendered their rivals' 2-0 win against Augsburg on the same day meaningless.
Goals from Leroy Sane and Michael Olise put Bayern in full control before the interval, before Eric Dier headed in their third late on to cap another solid all-around showing from the England international. Dier picked an ideal moment to record his first Bundesliga goal of the season, which will only strengthen his chances of earning a contract extension with the German giants.
His fortunes contrasted wildly with Kane's, though. The England captain endured a rare off-day in the final third, mustering just one shot on goal while struggling to get into the game.
To make matters worse, Kane was also shown his fifth yellow card of the season, meaning he will be suspended for Bayern's potential title party at RB Leipzig next weekend. It was a cruel twist of fate for Bayern's top scorer, who was punished for holding onto the ball after committing a foul, but was clearly unsure that the whistle had even been blown.
"Crazy, crazy decision! It's kind of my story that I'll miss the Leipzig game," Kane said to the media, and it was hard not to sympathise with the 31-year-old. Still, he also vowed to "celebrate more than anyone else" if Bayern get the job done on Saturday, which is testament to his character. Kane fully deserves the first trophy of his career; no one has done more to get Bayern back on their perch, and even from the touchline, he should be made the centre-piece of their coronation.
AdvertisementAFPBellingham's Copa final agony
Not many neutrals shed a tear for Real Madrid after their Copa del Rey final loss to Barcelona on Saturday. In fact, most onlookers were pleased to see Los Blancos get their comeuppance following their public complaints over the appointment of referee Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea and completely unfounded claims of corruption.
Bellingham appeared to fuel that narrative, too, as he was caught on camera in the tunnel at half-time saying "everything goes in their favour". But the real truth is that Barcelona are a superior team this season, and Madrid are just terrible losers.
Barca won the game 3-2 after extra-time, with Jules Kounde grabbing the winner in the 116th minute, and Real lost their heads in the seconds before the final whistle was blown. The Madrid bench erupted with rage after seeing a free-kick go against Kylian Mbappe, with several players running onto the pitch, while Antonio Rudiger even threw an object towards the referee.
Rudiger and Lucas Vazquez were both shown straight red cards for their over-the-top protests, while Bellingham was also dismissed for approaching the officials with an "aggressive attitude" that saw him "having to be restrained by his team-mates". It was an ugly end to what had been a thrilling Clasico contest, and Bellingham should be embarrassed for his part in Real's total head loss.
There was, however, much to be admired in his on-pitch efforts. Bellingham gave everything defensively and drove Madrid forward at every opportunity, which earned him rave reviews from the Spanish media. The 21-year-old still has some maturing to do, but there's no denying his exceptional playmaking and leadership abilities, which may yet help Real to exact revenge on their arch-rivals in La Liga.
McTominay puts Napoli back on top
Why on earth did Manchester United sell McTominay?! It's fair to say most of the Old Trafford faithful will be asking that question after his latest superhuman performance for Napoli.
The Scotland international scored both goals as Antonio Conte's side beat Torino 2-0 to continue his superb debut season at the Diego Armando Maradona stadium. McTominay now has five goals in his last three appearances, and was named Player of the Match for the third game in a row as Napoli moved three points clear at the Serie A summit after Inter's home defeat to Roma earlier on Sunday.
As if all that wasn't enough, McTominay also broke the 63-year-old record, set by United legend Dennis Law, for the most goals from a Scottish player in a single Serie A campaign (11). Napoli were not considered among the favourites for the title this term, having slumped to 10th on the back of their historic Scudetto triumph in 2022-23, but they've managed to defy all the odds, with McTominay leading their resurgence.
The summer addition of Chelsea flop Romelu Lukaku has also been crucial, but McTominay is the heartbeat of this Napoli side; a relentless ball-winner with an excellent passing range and a knack for making late runs into the penalty area to score important goals. He is now on the cusp of lifting the first league title of his career, and having only cost Napoli £25 million ($33m), he may well go down as the bargain signing of the century.
AFPGreenwood grabs 20th Marseille goal
After a testing period that has seen Mason Greenwood's future called into question, it seems he has found form again at the perfect time. The 23-year-old scored twice in Marseille's thumping 5-1 win over Montpellier last week, and followed up that performance with another goal against Brest on Sunday.
Amine Gouiri deservedly grabbed all the headlines for his stunning hat-trick in the 4-1 victory, but it was Greenwood who scored Marseille's all-important second goal in the 37th minute. He manufactured it out of nothing, too, cutting onto his right foot from 20 yards out before letting fly, with a deflection taking his well-struck shot past helpless goalkeeper Gregoire Coudert.
That was Greenwood's 20th goal in all competitions since joining Marseille, and his 19th in Ligue 1, the same number a certain Didier Drogba racked up in his debut season for the club. The former Manchester United forward also provided the assist for Gouri's sensational bicycle kick just before the interval as Marseille strolled to a second-successive win that keeps them two points clear of Lille in second place.
Champions League qualification now beckons for OM, especially if Greenwood keeps delivering the goods, but Roberto De Zerbi has also challenged him to build on a much-improved defensive display. "Have you ever seen Mason Greenwood work like today? It was the first time," the Marseille boss told .
With the manager back on side, Greenwood looks set to remain a key player at Stade Velodrome for at least one more year.
