GM football fans. It’s Thursday, Apr. 10 — An admission in Maradona’s trial, MLS scraps traditional scoring at youth level, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

UEFA Europa League, Quarter-Finals, Leg 1: Olympique Lyonnais vs. Manchester United, 20:00 / 15:00. United are unbeaten in this season’s UEL and have lost just once in their last 21 games in the competition–but Lyon have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions. Rangers vs. Athletic Bilbao, 20:00 / 15:00. Rangers have now lost five straight home matches in 90 minutes. Meanwhile, Bilbao are unbeaten in five since losing the first leg to Roma in the last 16. Tottenham Hotspur vs. Eintracht Frankfurt, 20:00 / 15:00. Spurs have won just one of their previous 13 first-leg ties at this stage of continental competition, while Frankfurt have only lost two of their last 23 matches in the UEL. See all Europa League fixtures here.

Results…

• UEFA Champions League, QF: Barcelona 4-0 Borussia Dortmund (Report) | Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Aston Villa (Report)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Maradona Trial Admission

A doctor accused of negligence in the death of Diego Maradona has admitted that it was a mistake to send the Argentine home following surgery he underwent in 2020. Later that year, Maradona died aged 60 while undergoing home hospitalisation.

Seven medical professionals who treated Maradona are currently on trial for negligence. They face prison terms between eight and 25 years if convicted on the charge of "homicide with possible intent." The trial, which began on March 11, is expected to last until July.

More than 100 witnesses are expected to take the stand. According to some, the home where Maradona was taken lacked necessary medical equipment. Mario Alejandro Schiter, who treated Maradona’s drug addiction for decades, said, "Knowing [Maradona], I would not have suggested home hospitalisation—he was not easy to manage.”

MLS ‘Quality of Play’ Index

MLS Next has introduced a new way of ranking teams in its youth developmental league. Instead of using the traditional win-loss-draw table to rank teams, the league is implementing a Quality of Play index focusing on both team and individual performance.

With help from Taka, a UK-based analytics firm, the Quality of Play rankings use specific offensive and defensive actions that will contribute to each player’s and team’s overall ranking. Scoreboard results were removed from the league table last year in anticipation of the model’s rollout. See how players’ rankings are captured here.

Notably, teams with a high quality of play index don’t always win. While the technology was being trialled at MLS’s annual Generation Adidas Cup last year, several of the highest-ranked quality of play performances were not winning teams.

See MLS Next’s technical director talk about the development in detail here.

Bodycam Debut Incoming

Referees will wear bodycams at the Club World Cup this summer. It will be the first time bodycam footage will be used for immediate broadcast, offering viewers a new perspective of matches.

Bodycams were first trialled in English grassroots football in 2023. Fifa reported that the results were successful in improving player behaviour and reducing referee abuse. It was first used in the Premier League during last season’s fixture between Crystal Palace and Manchester United. Watch the footage here. It has also been trialled in the German Bundesliga.

Fifa also announced that the new law aimed at stopping goalkeepers from time-wasting will be used at the Club World Cup. If a goalkeeper holds the ball for more than eight seconds, the opposing team will be awarded a corner, not an indirect free-kick.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk are closing in on new deals at Liverpool as the agreement reaches the final stages (More) | Manchester City have frozen ticket prices for next season following fan protests (More)

> A study shows that 75% of academy footballers in England have gum disease as a result of stress and sugary drinks; young male and female players are more likely to have tooth decay and poor oral hygiene than non-footballers of the same age (More)

> Former England striker Eni Aluko has won the first part of her libel case against Joey Barton, which found that his X posts were defamatory (More)

> San Sebastian locals have written to Fifa asking to withdraw it as a venue for the 2030 men’s World Cup; it was named as one of the 11 Spanish venues of the tournament taking place in Spain, Morocco and Portugal (More)

> Fabio Cannavaro has been sacked as head coach of Dinamo Zagreb after just over four months in charge (More)

Americas

> Tigres beat LA Galaxy and is the first team to qualify for the Concacaf Champions Cup semis (Report) | See upcoming fixtures (More)

> Hailton Correa de Arruda, the Brazilian goalkeeper better known as Manga, who won four league titles with Botafogo and played at the 1966 World Cup, has died aged 87 (More)

Rest of the World

> The Saudi Pro League (SPL) have launched the inaugural SPL Fans’ Choice Awards for the 2024-25 season; fans can vote across a range of categories (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Would MLS attract more talent if it removed the salary cap?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 💰 Absolutely... (81%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (15%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 💰 H.C: “MLS suffers from an identity crisis. It wants more US-born players; it wants a bigger international audience; it wants to develop players, but also superstars. The only way to accomplish this is with a much bigger investment, and the salary cap needs to go.”

• ✍️ B.B: “When MLS started in 1995 it tried to learn from the mistakes of the NASL. One of the key mistakes was signing every international star at the expense of developing American talent. It worked well enough for the big market teams like NYC, but other teams struggled to be competitive. If the salary cap is removed there will be a feeding frenzy to scoop up every international aging star—and the result will likely be about the same—the smaller market teams will not be able to compete, and prospects for all but a few American players will be limited.”

• ✍️ T.A: “The easy answer is yes but that does not mean it’s good for the league. The US market is huge, but football is still a niche sport. Overspending can cause more harm than good. Sure, if you pay higher than market value, you will attract players. However, the top players in the world will still prefer Europe as long as the Champions League exists.”

EXTRA TIME

What's the weirdest instance of cheating in football history?

What history says about Madrid’s comeback chances.

The best UCL free-kicks of all time.

… and alternative angles of Rice’s first free-kick vs Madrid.

Ever seen a manager wear a pink tuxedo to a match before? (via X)

How Birmingham blew away League One.

Why the PL claimed five Champions League spots.

Barcelona’s 2025-26 home kit leaked.

… and Arsenal’s home kit leaked too.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Real Madrid’s 3-0 defeat to Arsenal was their joint-heaviest defeat in the first leg of a UEFA Champions League knockout stage tie. Can you name the team that beat them by the same margin (4-1) in a 2012-13 semi-final?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

UEFA Europa League, Quarter-Finals

• Bodo/Glimt vs Lazio (17:45)

• Olympique Lyonnais vs Manchester United (20:00)

• Rangers vs Athletic Bilbao (20:00)

• Tottenham Hotspur vs Eintracht Frankfurt (20:00)

UEFA Conference League, Quarter-Finals

• Legia Warszawa vs Chelsea (17:45)

• Celje vs Fiorentina (20:00)

• Djurgarden vs Rapid Vienna (20:00)

• Real Betis vs Jagiellonia Bialystok (20:00)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Borussia Dortmund. See the match report here.