Who were you supporting in the Champions League final? I've read many answers that were made up on the spot, the kind where everyone felt sorry for Arsenal, a team that keeps missing out on the prize (this time with the cruelty of penalties, a real drama that we here know something about and you wouldn't want to be in their shoes), managed by a coach like Mikel Arteta, from Pep's school, meaning the Barça school, and which, historically, is a team that has always been close but no cigar.Because, seen from Barcelona (and I would say from half the world), no one at PSG can stand him if it weren't for the figure of Luis Enrique. Two consecutive finals, and two consecutive won finals, cannot be a coincidence. You can see it on his worn face, because nowadays, a director of anything finds it extremely difficult for things to be done as he orders, that his success is the result of many hours of not thinking about anything else and surrounding himself with a good team. And even more so if we take into account that to link two European Cups, he first had to build a team where many others failed by trusting that an album of expensive stickers would be enough.Which leads us to the laughter that escapes us from under our noses and makes the Parisians' victory more bearable: Mbappé. Because when it doesn't matter to your team at all, you always end up going to the sidelines of the argument about which result bothers the empire's machine the most, and, of course, that cover from two years ago addressed to Mbappé continues to make history: "If you want to win the Champions League, you know..."The most important lesson from Luis Enrique's (and Arteta's) success is that there are no shortcuts to a job well done and that the mountain of data that professional football moves needs a talent and a heart to organize it and, above all, to inspire it.

When The Killers started to hit it big, Arsenal won what was their last Premier League in 22 years (2004) and played their first Champions League final (2006). Mr. Brightside, the first big hit from the well-known band from Las Vegas, defined a generation at the beginning of the century. It was, just like other tracks by The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand or Arcade Fire, a classic on DJ Amable's playlists at Sala Razzmatazz and caused dopamine rushes at Karma, a club that closed a few months ago after half a century filling the nights of thousands of Barcelonans. Then came Human, which became one of Pep Guardiola's Barça anthems, and other anthems of verse, chorus, bridge, coda, and raised fist. What times those were.

It was an open secret, but it has now become official. Mapi León and Ona Batlle will not continue at Barça next season. The Barça club –which on Tuesday announced the departure of Alexia Putellas– closes a successful cycle to make way for a great batch of youngsters who want to "conquer the world", as the Barça captain described at her farewell event. The Aragonese centre-back – who is expected to join Michele Kang's London City (owner of Olympique Lyonnais) – leaves after nine seasons, 27 titles and 313 matches with Barça, and the Vilassar de Mar full-back would return to England to Arsenal.

Mariona Caldentey, Jana Fernández, Laia Codina, Lucía Corrales… These are just a few names of footballers who in recent years have swapped Barça for England. A phenomenon that is becoming increasingly frequent among Spanish female footballers. The conditions and opportunities in the Women’s Super League (WSL) – the name given to the English top division – are becoming increasingly attractive for players, who decide to embark on a new adventure in search of more competitive projects.

Barça has established itself as a true attacking machine. With 87 goals in all competitions, it is the second-highest scoring team in Europe, only behind Bayern Munich (92). It also ranks second in chance creation, surpassed only by Real Madrid. However, this offensive prowess contrasts sharply with a persistent defensive fragility, especially evident in the Champions League. The data not only corroborates this perception but also reveals a worrying pattern that distances the Blaugrana from the defensive standards demanded of top European contenders. In the top continental competition, Barça has conceded 13 goals, an average of 1.9 goals conceded per game, without managing a single clean sheet. This figure is particularly significant considering that all of the goals have come from inside the penalty area, a clear indicator of problems defending vulnerable zones. In total, the team faced 74 shots on goal, a high exposure for a team aspiring to compete with the best.

Paris surrendered at the feet of a Catalan woman. Again, for the fifth time. The French capital dressed up for another year for the Ballon d'Or ceremony, the award given by the French magazine France Football and which recognizes the best players of the season. A historic gala, because Aitana Bonmatí won the Ballon d'Or ahead of Mallorca's Mariona Caldentey, who came in second. Alessia Russo, a double European champion with Arsenal and the English national team, finished third. In the men's category, it was a celebration for PSG: they were chosen as the best club, Luis Enrique won as the best coach, and Ousmane Dembélé won the grand prize, the Ballon d'Or, ahead of Lamine Yamal, who came one step away from causing an upset. The player from Mataró became the youngest player to climb the podium, doing so at 18 years old. Until now, the youngest had been Brazilian Ronaldo in 1997 at 21 years old.

You can't always win, and you can't always dominate. Barça was left with a sliver of courage against a great Arsenal side that knew how to read the game at every turn until delivering the final blow in the second half, just when it seemed the Catalans had already taken control of the final. It wasn't Aitana's, Alexia's, or Salma's day. The final was played in English. And the question is... what now?

A changing of the guard in the reign of European football. Only the most pessimistic could have predicted that Barça, who had reached the Champions League final on the back of a thrashing, would fall to Arsenal (1-0), a team that hadn't played a decisive title match since 2007. Barça, which boasted four Ballon d'Ors with Alexia and Aitana and reigning champions of the last two Champions Leagues, was surprised in Lisbon by an uninhibited team that played its cards well and left the Catalans with a sliver of a nose. Barça attacked more, but Arsenal were more aggressive. A painful defeat for the more than 15,000 fans who painted Lisbon blaugrana and accompanied the team to the José Alvalade Stadium, which experienced an unexpected London celebration.

Ten years after winning the Champions League with Barça, Luis Enrique will try to repeat the feat with Paris Saint-Germain. The French side made no mistake against Arsenal in the second semi-final and will face Inter at the Allianz Arena in Munich on June 1st in a final unlike any other. In fact, PSG is only reaching its second final, after losing to Hansi Flick's Bayern Munich in 2020, the year of the pandemic. As life goes, PSG could reach the top of the league in the first year without Kylian Mbappé.

The king of Europe no longer wears a crown. For once, logic was stronger than all the calls from Real Madrid fans to experience another epic night at the Santiago Bernabéu. Arsenal will play in the Champions League semi-finals against Luis Enrique's PSG, having eased through the second leg of the quarter-finals (1-2). Much ado about nothing, in the end. Real Madrid fans endured a night of helplessness in which some players like Vini and Rodrygo were mere shadows. The Whites' chances of winning titles are dwindling, as they await the Copa del Rey and La Liga finals.

Real Madrid may be experiencing an apparent nightmare from the spectators' perspective, while their players experience the situation with the same ease as two retirees sipping a café con leche on a weekday morning. This occurred at the Emirates Stadium until the 57th minute. From then on, Arsenal ruined Real Madrid's café con leche in their favorite competition and took away their table and chairs. Two moments of brilliance from Declan Rice and a goal from Mikel Merino gave Arsenal a 3-0 lead heading into the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals next Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabéu.