Wrexham's fierce National League title battle with Notts County has been comparable to the great rivalry between Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Ben Tozer.
There has been a great deal of focus on Wrexham over the past two seasons after the club were bought by Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
The Welsh side have thrived in the spotlight, finishing second last year and falling agonisingly short in an epic play-off defeat to Grimsby Town.
Wrexham bounced back this season and are now in pole position for the single automatic promotion place, needing only to beat Boreham Wood on Saturday to seal their return to the Football League.
That is only after a remarkable tussle with Notts County, however, culminating in the dramatic 3-2 Easter Monday win at the Racecourse Ground.
Both Wrexham and Notts have passed 100 points, with the league leaders setting a points record for the top five divisions of English football.
For defender Tozer, that incredible standard encourages comparisons with perhaps football's greatest rivalry, which saw Messi at Barcelona and Ronaldo at Real Madrid hit their peaks at the same time.
"Everyone would rather have won the league by March, and that's just the way things are," Tozer said, looking forward to the Boreham Wood game.
"People generally want things easy, but if you want to go and win a league, it's tough, it's hard. You have to do the right thing day in and day out.
"And again, it's been great to have that pressure. It probably was the same. We'd both be pushing each other really, and that's okay.
"It's a bit like the Messi and Ronaldo situation pushing each other on. It's been tough and it's been good."
Hayes: This WSL title is the sweetest for Chelsea
Emma Hayes says this Women’s Super League title is the "toughest but sweetest" after being pushed all the way by Manchester City.
Hayes announced earlier this season that this would be her last in charge of the Blues and had written off their chances of lifting the trophy after a 4-3 defeat to Liverpool at the start of May.
However, an 8-0 victory over Bristol City followed by a 1-0 win from their game in hand over Tottenham put their fate back in their own hands going into the final day.
In the end, Chelsea won the WSL on goal difference, with another heavy 6-0 win adding to their advantage over City to help them to a fifth consecutive title.
Hayes took time after the match to reflect not only on the game but also on her 12-year stay at Chelsea.
"What a wonderful performance from the team today," she told Sky Sports. "I picked a team of leaders from the beginning, and I felt it was absolutely essential we had the emotional maturity and regulation for a stadium as fitting as this.
"We've lost a lot of players today so to have some of them back today, it was just an amazing performance.
"I can't say it's my most enjoyable [title] but it's definitely been the toughest, without doubt, and for that reason, probably the sweetest. I'm just so relieved it's over.
"I just haven't got any more to give, I know that. The hardest thing to do is five in a row, because people take their eye off the ball. My legacy is winning while building a team for the future.
"Everyone said girls can't play, nor can they fill stadiums, nor can they get paid, nor can they create history.
"Not only are we not going away, but we are going to fill them every week. Women's football now is a serious business and that for me, is what it's about."
Captain Millie Bright missed six months of the season due to a knee injury, but returned in April to help Chelsea during an important run-in.
"It was pretty special but when half the country writes you off... we've got the monster mentality, we've shown it season after season," she said after the game.
"We were given a second chance. They don't often, but you have to take them, and we did. We beat Bristol City, beat Tottenham, and we've come here and put on a five-star performance to take this title.
"It's extra special to get it for Emma [Hayes] and the players who are leaving us.
"That's our standards, we shouldn't be underestimated to make this sort of comeback because we're defending champions.
"It's been an emotional season for Emma especially. We picked her up [after the loss at Liverpool] like she does for us every day."
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
Martino 'won't take risks' but expects Messi to play this weekend
Gerardo Martino is expecting Lionel Messi to play for Inter Miami at home to D.C. United this weekend, though he emphasised he would not take "any risks".
Messi was absent as Miami were held to a 0-0 draw away at Orlando City last time out with what Martino described as a "bit of a niggle".
The goalless draw, combined with FC Cincinnati's win over Atlanta United, means Miami's lead at the top of the Eastern Conference has been closed to just a point ahead of this weekend's fixtures.
As Miami look to get back to winning ways this weekend, Martino believes Messi will be able to return, though he will not rush the former Barcelona man back onto the field.
"The fact is that he felt some pain in his movements and, given that we're on a run of three games in the space of a week, we felt the most sensible thing to do was leave him out of today's game," Martino told reporters.
"The plan is that he'll play on Saturday, but it’s going to depend on how he progresses. We’re not going to take any risks, and on Thursday and Friday we'll assess his fitness."
D.C. were handed a first loss in four as they were thumped 4-1 by the New York Red Bulls in midweek, but head coach Troy Lesesne believes the defeat does not cancel out the previous solid form displayed by his side.
"For the last three weeks, we can feel good about our performance, and tonight doesn’t just erase all that," Lesesne said.
“We're building still. We can recognise tonight was a setback.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Inter Miami – Luis Suarez
With Messi absent against Orlando, Suarez couldn't make it four straight games with a goal as he drew a blank. With Messi potentially missing again on Saturday, Suarez will be keen to get back among the goals to help his team to victory.
D.C. United – Christian Benteke
Benteke was held scoreless against the Red Bulls despite taking six shots in the match. It was Benteke’s third MLS match this season with at least six shots with all other D.C. players having combined to do that once in league play in 2024 (Gabriel Pirani). The former Liverpool man certainly isn't afraid of pulling the trigger, though he will be hoping this time to find the back of the net with one or more of his efforts at goal.
MATCH PREDICTION – MIAMI WIN
D.C. are unbeaten in three all-time matches at Miami. D.C. are the only opponent that have visited Miami more than once in regular season play and never lost.
Miami’s five-game winning streak ended Wednesday with a 0-0 draw with Orlando. Miami had exactly seven shots for the second straight match, the club’s first time having consecutive MLS matches with single-digit shots since May-June 2023.
In Wednesday’s 4-1 loss to the Red Bulls, D.C. attempted 22 shots while allowing 11. The plus-11 shot differential was United’s highest in a loss by three or more goals since a 3-0 loss to the Columbus Crew in April 2013 (+14).
In 2024, Miami have one win in their five MLS matches (two draws, two defeats) without Messi and seven victories in their nine games with him. The team’s goals per game average in MLS matches this season is 3.2 with Messi, and 1.2 without him.
Messi is clearly Miami's star man, then, and with him looking likely to feature this weekend, the hosts will be the favourites to return to winning ways at the top of the Eastern Conference.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Inter Miami - 50.8%
D.C United - 22.9%
Draw - 26.3%
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