The celebrations were wild. As Pedro Neto's 93rd-minute stunner completed a defiant Chelsea fightback at Fulham, there was no doubt about the importance of the strike. Chelsea leapfrogged rivals Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest to return to the Premier League top five, a spot which would earn the club qualification for the Champions League next season. And, after weeks of negativity around Chelsea's form and hostility from sections of supporters towards head coach Enzo Maresca, the players and fans celebrated as one - with the scenes carrying on long after the final whistle. Chelsea's first away league win of the year was sparked by the introduction of 18-year-old academy product Tyrique George, with his 83rd-minute equaliser the prelude to a dramatic finale. And it all came just when Chelsea's top-five challenge was in danger of fizzling out. Had Chelsea drawn, we would be talking about a club without a win in nine away matches, seventh in the table with goalkeeper Robert Sanchez's struggling and several goalless forwards. But, instead, Maresca was able to speak in bullish fashion about his side's season. "Chelsea in the last two years have never been in the Champions League spot and this season we spent the whole season there," he said. "Today doesn't change my view, it is already a good season and can become very good if we finish in the Champions League spot. "But for sure today was an important win because it is a derby and can give us a chance - it was probably also the most difficult win - because our rivals all played yesterday so it is was must-win." After celebrating on the touchline, Maresca went down the tunnel rather than join his players and coaching staff in soaking in an important victory with the 3,000-strong away support. He will know Chelsea's first-half performance left a lot to be desired at Craven Cottage, with the late goal showing the mission to return to the Champions League after two seasons away is still on a knife edge. There are still some causes for concern at Chelsea after the comeback win, with struggling forward Christopher Nkunku left out due to a "technical decision". In addition, Maresca said that defender Malo Gusto's muscular injury is "not a good one" and the Frenchman joins defender Wesley Fofana and striker Marc Guiu on the injured list, with winger Mykhailo Mudryk provisionally suspended following a failed drugs test. After the match, Maresca said his decision not to celebrate with the away end was more about giving his players time in the spotlight. He said: "I was very happy because it is a nice feeling to win the game at the end but I think it was a moment for the players because they deserve to celebrate with the fans. "That's the reason I left the pitch immediately. And then when we scored the second one, I celebrated and this was the reason they give me the yellow card, but it was a nice moment between the players and the fans to share that moment. I said many times, the players need to feel that support." There remains concern about the 16-game goal drought of Cole Palmer and Chelsea's general lack of production from their forward line. Jadon Sancho's strike against Ipswich last week, ending a run of 21 games without scoring, was the first by a Chelsea forward in the league since 25 February. Striker Nicolas Jackson has not found the net in 13 matches, while match-winner Neto's goal was his first in eight matches. Tyrique George was promoted from the academy team to the first team on 19 December in a touching moment filmed by the club's channels. He and defender Josh Acheampong were both given permanent first-team lockers after signing new deals in 2024, and most of their opportunities for game time have come in the Conference League. George, who has been with Chelsea since the age of eight, made 10 Conference League appearances, scoring his first goal for the club away at Legia Warsaw in the last round. He is the fifth youngest Premier League scorer for Chelsea and youngest since Callum Hudson-Odoi against Burnley in 2020. "I think Tyrique, when he scored, it was a nice moment but also gave an extra energy to the players to try to win the game in the last minute," said Maresca. "I'm very happy for Tyrique, Ty and Josh both from the academy are good talents, they have to work hard."

The Ligue 1 match between local rivals Saint-Etienne and Lyon was suspended for around 40 minutes after an assistant referee was hit by an object thrown from the stands. Visitors Lyon, trailing 1-0, were about to take a 44th-minute throw-in when Mehdi Rahmouni held his head after being hit by something. French newspaper L'Equipe said Rahmouni had been hit by a coin thrown from the stands. Lyon's medical team treated Rahmouni before referee Francois Letexier led the players and officials left the pitch. Play did eventually resume after a lengthy break, with Saint-Etienne going on to win 2-1. "We're going to restart the game because the assistant referee feels up to restarting," Noel Mannino, the league matchday representative, told AFP. "At the next incident, the match will be stopped for good." Lyon fans were banned from travelling to the match because of previous incidents. Saint-Etienne had previously been threatened with having two ends of the ground closed after recent "massive use of pyrotechnic devices and verbal abuse". In March, their match at Montpellier was abandoned after home fans threw flares on to the pitch and part of a stand caught fire.

Federico Valverde's stunning stoppage-time strike kept Real Madrid in the La Liga title hunt as Carlo Ancelotti's side eventually overcame stubborn Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu. Valverde crashed an emphatic half-volley into the top corner with the outside of his left foot three minutes into time added on to finally reward incessant second-half pressure from the hosts. It was his sixth league goal this season, but first since December against Sevilla. Victory kept Real, who were without France striker Kylian Mbappe as he served a one-match ban following a red card in the 1-0 win at Alaves, four points behind leaders Barcelona with six games to go. Barca had produced their own added-time drama on Saturday, coming from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 thanks to Raphinha's 98th-minute penalty. However, after a humbling week that saw the Champions League holders dumped out of this year's competition with a 5-1 aggregate defeat by Arsenal, Real kept alive their hopes of retaining their league title. It appeared they would be frustrated by Bilbao and goalkeeper Unai Simon, who thwarted Eduardo Camavinga's rising drive and a Jude Bellingham header in a one-sided second half. Real thought they had made the breakthrough with 11 minutes remaining but Vinicius Jr's classy curler was ruled out for a marginal offside against Endrick in the build-up. It took a lengthy video assistant referee (VAR) delay to disallow the strike and, when the officials later deemed a clip on Bellingham in the area was not worth a review, it seemed another frustrating night was on the cards for the defending champions. But full-back Valverde, who had twice earlier gone within inches of breaking the deadlock, popped up late with his sublime strike to ease the pressure on Ancelotti, whose side next face Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday. With ex-Real midfielder Xabi Alonso increasingly linked with the manager's job, Ancelotti admitted this week he would discuss his future at the Bernabeu in the summer despite having a deal until 2026. He is though expected to leave the club.

Chelsea are used to winning in England - but when it comes to facing Barcelona in Europe, they keep hitting trouble. When the Blues were drawn against them in the semi-finals of the Women's Champions League for the third year in a row, their hearts must have sunk. The defending champions have caused plenty of heartache for Chelsea, knocking them out of the competition in each of the past two seasons and beating them 4-0 in their debut final back in 2021. But with new manager Sonia Bompastor in charge - someone who has won the competition with former club Lyon - and fresh players in the squad, Chelsea travelled to Spain on Sunday for this season's first leg, optimistic that things could be different. Instead, Barcelona were ruthless, defeating them 4-1 at the Estadi Johan Cruyff. It leaves them with a huge challenge in the second leg at Stamford Bridge next Sunday (14:00 BST). "We came into this game thinking about it being a good opportunity to perform and to show our best," said Bompastor. "I think the version we showed was not good enough for us to hope to have a better result. We must learn from that. "We want to move forward and turn things around next week. It will be difficult but in football you have to believe." Chelsea, on the hunt for a quadruple this season, now need to pick themselves up quickly. They were still in the game at 2-1 down when wing-back Sandy Baltimore had drilled the ball into the far corner to halve Barcelona's lead. It briefly halted Barcelona's momentum after Ewa Pajor and Claudia Pina had beaten goalkeeper Hannah Hampton. But a lapse in concentration at a corner allowed Irene Paredes to head in a third for Barcelona and Pina added to Chelsea's pain with a stoppage-time fourth. "Barcelona were dominating the game. When Chelsea got the goal from Baltimore you thought they got a lifeline," said former England midfielder Fara Williams on TNT Sports. "It was very naive from them collectively for the first time I've seen this season. They lost their way. I have never seen a Chelsea team fold in the way that they did." It was the Blues' biggest defeat since losing 4-1 to Arsenal in December 2023 and the stats showed they were second best. They had just two shots on target to Barcelona's nine, 11 touches in the opposition box and only 33% possession. Bompastor admitted the last 10 minutes were "not good enough" and her side made "too many mistakes" but she has not lost hope for the second leg. "We like challenges. This will be a big challenge but we have lots of positivity," she said. "It is a new game and a new opportunity for us to perform and we are competitors, so we want to show a better picture of Chelsea. "I'm not concerned [Barcelona were technically better]. It's just facts. We tried our best, it was not good enough but we can show a better picture in the next leg." But is this a step too far? Chelsea have been branded 'mentality monsters' having come from behind several times on their way to winning domestic silverware. They were six points behind WSL leaders Manchester City - with a worse goal difference - with three games to go last season, but still secured a fourth successive title. A stoppage-time winner from Aggie Beever-Jones last week helped them beat Liverpool to reach the Women's FA Cup final. And they turned around a 2-0 first-leg deficit in this season's Champions League quarter-finals, knocking out City to set up the latest meeting with Barcelona. It will take something special to turnaround the 4-1 scoreline with Barca - but can they do it? "It's a tough task, a task that is probably too big for Chelsea to overturn," said Williams. "If you look back to the Manchester City game in the quarter-finals, there was a little bit of hope for Chelsea but the way it unfolded [against Barcelona], I don't think it gives Chelsea any hope of turning the tie around. "Chelsea will have to find a way to mentally bounce back. This is something they haven't suffered under Sonia Bompastor. "Is it out of reach? I think so. But who knows what this Chelsea side can do?" One player who certainly believes is Chelsea defender Lucy Bronze. The England international won three consecutive Champions League titles with Lyon before helping Barcelona to back-to-back successes in the competition. She was emotional at full-time, taking centre stage in the team huddle and delivering a passionate message to her team-mates. "We need to keep the ball better. We can attack them with more quality and more composure," Bronze told DAZN afterwards. "You saw how easy it was for us to score the goal we did. It was probably our one moment of true attack and a goal came from it. "If we have more of those opportunities then Barca are a team you can hurt on the transition - and we are good in transition. "We've already shown in the Champions League that we can win 3-0 at Stamford Bridge, so we have that within us." Head here to get involved