2025/26 Major Finals Roundup Special

UEFA Europa League Final: Freiburg 0-3 Aston Villa

A fabulous performance over SC Freiburg saw Aston Villa taste European glory in Istanbul! Morgan Rogers forced a decent save out of Noah Atubolu right from the off, before Nicolas Hofler failed to guide his good opportunity on target! In the 41st minute, Aston Villa would find themselves in front courtesy of a fantastic strike by Youri Tielemans! Then, in additional time at the end of the first half, Villa’s lead was doubled as Emi Buendia finished brilliantly to send us into the break at 0-2! And then, in the 58th minute, Morgan Rogers got his goal to seal the Europa League Title for Villa! In the end, this was ultimately just a step too far for SC Freiburg! However, due to finishing 7th in the Bundesliga, Freiburg will get a chance at redemption in the Conference League next season! As for Aston Villa, what a fantastic achievement for them! Unai Emery lands his 5th Europa League Title, and what’s next for Villa is Champions League Football!

Championship Playoff Final: Hull 1-0 Middlesbrough

A late, late winner from a forgotten Scottish talent was enough for Hull City to edge out Middlesbrough for a return to the Premier League! David Strelec had a decent opportunity to give Middlesbrough the lead early on, but he was unable to keep his headed effort down, before Oli McBurnie struck the crossbar just before halftime! In the second half, Dael Fry had a good opportunity, but he was also unable to keep his effort down, before in the 95th minute, a mistake by Solomon Brynn opened the door for Oli McBurnie to send Hull back to the Premier League! Overall, Hull City are heading back to the big leagues! The Tigers started the season expecting to be in a Relegation battle, and instead, they’ve ended it with Promotion success at Wembley! As for Middlesbrough, is it controversial to say it’s probably for the best that they didn’t win this game?! Anyway, I’m sure Boro will go again next year!

League One Playoff Final: Bolton 4-1 Stockport County

A couple of late goals over Stockport County sent a rampant Bolton Wanderers back to the Championship! After just 3 minutes, Bolton already had the lead as Ruben Rodrigues eventually scored after a soft piece of goalkeeping by Corey Addai! It didn’t take too long for Stockport County to get back on level terms through Adam Sidibeh, although that proved to be incorrect as VAR decided to rule out the goal for a foul in the build-up! I can’t stand the fact that VAR is being used here when it hasn’t been at any other point in League One this season! Anyway, in the 29th minute, Sidibeh would have his equalising goal following a great ball in by Odin Bailey! In the 64th minute, Bolton’s lead would be restored thanks to a Kyle Wootton own goal, before Jack Bonham made a big save to deny Tanto Olaofe an almost-immediate equaliser! In the 81st minute, a bicycle kick saw Sam Dalby send the Bolton fans into a frenzy, before Josh Dacres-Cogley was shown a straight red card for a hair pull! What made this even worse for Stockport is the fact that this incident took place in the penalty area, meaning Ruben Rodrigues was able to step up to seal an emphatic 4-1 victory! Overall, what a wonderful day out for everyone connected to Bolton Wanderers! It’s taken them a while, but Bolton are finally back in the second tier of English Football! As for Stockport County, this will hurt a lot! However, it’s important that Stockport keep their momentum up, as they’re good enough to go up next year!

League Two Playoff Final: Notts County 3-0 Salford

Salford City are destined to play another season in League Two as Notts County put 3 past them in a wonderful display! After 32 minutes, Notts County found themselves in front as Alassana Jatta managed to slot his effort under the palm of Matthew Young! Right before halftime, Notts County had a second through Lucas Ness, before Kallum Cesay missed a good opportunity to get Salford back into the game at the beginning of the second half! Salford were then screaming for a penalty for a handball, but that wasn’t given, before Jodi Jones killed the game off in the 70th minute! Overall, after losing in the Playoffs last year, Notts County are League One bound! A massive congratulations to them! As for Salford City, they just weren’t good enough on the day! Salford will aim to come back better next year in what is set to be their 8th-successive League Two campaign!

UEFA Conference League Final: Crystal Palace 1-0 Rayo Vallecano

Oliver Glasner bowed out in style as Crystal Palace got their goal against Rayo Vallecano to lift their first piece of European silverware! Alemao had a decent chance for Rayo Vallecano in the first half, but he was unable to guide his effort on target, before Tyrick Mitchell missed a great opportunity to head Crystal Palace into the break ahead! However, in the 51st minute, Crystal Palace would find themselves in front as Jean-Philippe Mateta reacted first following Augusto Batalla’s save! Yeremy Pino was then incredibly unlucky as he struck both posts with the same free-kick, before Batalla made a massive save to deny Mateta a second! And then, in the 95th minute, Alemao had one last chance to rescue the game for Rayo Vallecano, but he dragged his effort wide! Overall, what a 12 months it’s been for Crystal Palace! Oliver Glasner departs as The Eagles’ greatest-ever manager, with an FA Cup, Community Shield, and now Conference League Title to his name! As for Rayo Vallecano, they ultimately just came up short! The aim for Vallecano now has to be to make it back to Europe, after just missing out on that goal twice!

UEFA Champions League Final: PSG 1-1 Arsenal (PSG Win on Penalties)

Arsenal’s European dream came crashing down as Paris Saint-Germain made history as only the second team in the Champions League era to go back-to-back! After just 6 minutes, it was Arsenal who found themselves in front as Kai Havertz took advantage of a fortunate bounce to fire the ball into the back of the net! Bukayo Saka then clearly handled the ball in the penalty area, but nothing was given, before PSG would be awarded a penalty in the second half after Cristhian Mosquera brought down Khvicha Kvaratskhelia! Ousmane Dembele then stepped up and scored to level the game up with 25 minutes still to play! Kvaratskhelia then came close, with his effort deflecting onto the post, before Vitinha fired just over! Bradley Barcola then found himself in on goal in the 97th minute, but his final touch took him too far off course! In extra time, Arsenal were asking for a penalty after a coming together between Nuno Mendes and Noni Madueke, but nothing was given! Personally, I agree with the decision! After a 1-all draw after 120 minutes, the first person to blink in the penalty shootout was Arsenal’s Eberechi Eze, who somehow managed to miss the target completely! However, David Raya then pulled off a big save to stop Nuno Mendes from making it 3-1 straight after, before successful penalties by Declan Rice, Achraf Hakimi, and Gabriel Martinelli meant we were basically into sudden death! However, whilst Lucas Beraldo was able to finish well, Gabriel could only blast his effort over, meaning the Title remains with the Parisians! Overall, Paris Saint-Germain are European Champions, again! How remarkable is it that PSG waited ages for this glory, and now they’ve done what very few have ever done, and that’s go back-to-back! As for Arsenal, it just wasn’t meant to be for them! The Gunners can still hold their heads up high as the reigning Premier League Champions, but their wait for European glory continues!