Harry Kane

The race for this season's European Golden Shoe is hotting up, with some big names in contention

Bayern Munich have taken the top spot in the UEFA rankings from Real Madrid following their Champions League clash. Real Madrid’s defeat and subsequent elimination from the Champions League against Bayern Munich last Wednesday continues to have consequences for the Spanish giants. That result has now directly impacted their position in the UEFA rankings. Real Madrid have lost top spot after a long spell at the summit, overtaken by Bayern Munich. The German side now have 146.500 points, moving ahead of Los Blancos, who sit second with 144.500. The podium is completed by Liverpool, who also climbed one place and are now third with 130.000 points. Of the four teams still remaining in the Champions League, the next best-ranked side are Paris Saint-Germain, who moved up one position to fifth place after their dominant win over Liverpool. Meanwhile, Arsenal have climbed to seventh, while Atletico Madrid have broken into the top ten. The updated UEFA rankings after the Champions League quarterfinals: 1- Bayern Munich (146.500) 2- Real Madrid (144.500) 3- Liverpool (130.000) 4- Inter Milan (127.000) 5- PSG (126.500) 6- Manchester City (125.500) 7- Arsenal (113.500) 8- Barcelona (113.250) 9- Bayer Leverkusen (105.000) 10- Atletico Madrid (103.750) Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich now lead the UEFA rankings. How do the UEFA rankings work? The UEFA rankings are a comparative system that evaluates the performance of clubs, national teams, and associations competing in European competitions, based on their results over a recent period. In the case of clubs, the calculation is based exclusively on performances in continental competitions, not domestic leagues. That means results in the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League are what matter. There is also a defined time frame used to assess those performances. “The season coefficients from the five most recent seasons are used to rank the clubs for seeding purposes,” UEFA explain on their official website. There is also a separate ranking that considers the last ten seasons instead of five, though it is used for financial rather than sporting purposes: “The season coefficients from the ten most recent seasons are used to calculate revenue club coefficients for revenue distribution purposes only.” In that alternate ranking, Bayern Munich also hold first place, with a slight edge over Real Madrid. The top two positions remain the same compared to the five-year ranking, but differences emerge further down: Manchester City sit third, while PSG and Barcelona round out the top five.

As VfB Stuttgart prepare for a defining run-in that includes a heavyweight clash with Bayern Munich and a high-stakes DFB Cup semi-final derby against Freiburg, winger Jamie Leweling sat down to discuss facing the champions, learning from the best, and why big occasions bring out the best in his side.

FOOTBALL’S Benjamin Button just keeps on getting better. While many of his counterparts have gone completely the wrong way, Harry Kane is ageing like the proverbial fine wine. He raised his bat on Wednesday after netting a 50th goal for Bayern this season, taking his overall tally during his time in Munich to 135 goals...

The father of Bayern Munich head coach Vincent Kompany proudly wore a Bayern scarf in the Belgian parliament on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Bavarians put four past Real Madrid to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League.

From bit-part player at Liverpool to Bayer Leverkusen defensive bedrock and full England international, Jarell Quansah's debut Bundesliga season could scarcely have gone much better. We sat down with the 23-year-old to discuss life at the BayArena, Harry Kane, his FIFA 2026 World Cup hopes and more...

Is Kylian Mbappé actually the issue at Real Madrid? We break down his trophy drought since joining, while his former club continues to thrive without him, and debate whether Harry Kane has quietly become the Ballon d’Or frontrunner. Then Sophia Wilson joins us to talk about leaving soccer at the door, motherhood, and what really drives her as a competitor. Finally, Kaylyn Kyle stops by to unpack Javier Mascherano’s shock exit from Inter Miami CF, Nashville SC’s statement win, and what it all means for the future of MLS and the USMNT.

Bayern will look to strike again in the Champions League, this time against a PSG side that also enters the match as one of the heavy favorites. Leer

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Archie Rhind-Tutt and Jonathan Liew to discuss Wednesday’s Champions League action On today’s pod: a Champions League classic in Munich. Bayern beat Real Madrid 4-3 on the night, 6-4 on aggregate, in a game that had just about everything. The panel try to unpack it, from Manuel Neuer’s early mistake to Arda Güler’s brilliance, Harry Kane reaching 50 goals for the season and the chaos that followed. But the big talking point: was that Eduardo Camavinga second yellow a turning point? And why do Real Madrid always seem to end up furious with the referee? Elsewhere, Arsenal are into the semi-finals. That’s the positive. But the panel ask: has there ever been a less enjoyable route to the last four? Are Arteta’s side controlling games, or just strangling them? With eight clean sheets, are they quietly brilliant defensively, or is this football that raises bigger existential questions about what the point of it all actually is? Plus: how do Arsenal approach the looming Premier League title decider at the Etihad? Elsewhere, there a huge Merseyside derby on the horizon, more questions around Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham, and news of a Football Weekly live show in New York.

Do you know how far back the EPL goes? The Premier League, as it exists today, only started in 1992. In the three decades since, it has produced some of the most remarkable individual and team performances in football history. But, for interest’s sake, here’s a deep dive into the history of the EPL for… The post EPL Records and History first appeared on Breaking The Lines.