Crack open the bubbly. In France's City of Kings, at the heart of the Champagne region, Lionel Messi made his Paris Saint-Germain entrance as footballing royalty arrived in the 'farmers' league'.
There's a new king in town and although we saw only half an hour of Messi at Reims' Stade Auguste-Delaune, you could hardly take your eye off the man.
Incongruous in the blue of PSG as he was, this is Messi's lot now, the future he has chosen since his Barcelona career ended in a flood of tears.
Ligue 1 gets a rough rap but Messi's arrival instantly makes it box office, and those beholding this spectacle were given a peak into what we should expect.
There was a word in the ear from Mauricio Pochettino and then a hug for Neymar, as Messi replaced the world's most expensive footballer midway through the second half, moments after Kylian Mbappe scored his and PSG's second goal of what turned out to be a 2-0 win.
There was to be no Messi goal, as much as it appeared many inside the stadium were willing there to be one, particularly the pogoing PSG ultras.
His entrance and then his first touch, a simple 10-yard pass deep inside his own half, were cheered loudly, and it was not long before Messi was collecting the ball and charging forward, driving at pace through midfield and darting towards the penalty area.
Such a familiar sight, and here Messi had the luxury of being able to offload to Mbappe on the right. Mbappe, the player Real Madrid desperately want and might yet get before transfer window closes.
Then came notice from the union of Ligue 1 hardmen that Messi would not have it easy in France.
As Mbappe collected the pass, Messi was given the no-nonsense treatment twice by backtracking Reims players as he sought the return ball, Marshall Munetsi practically grabbing the six-time Ballon d'Or winner around the collar in a fruitless effort to halt his progress.
Mbappe could not quite pick the pass, with Messi surrounded, but it was a moment where you wondered what a rich harvest of goals that combination might produce, and whether we might see its potential come to fruition this season.
Munetsi hacked down Messi again later as the game reached stoppage time. Naturally, Messi has seen it all before. It was handshakes all round at the end.
It might be a different shirt, but this was the same old Messi. There was the thrill of one of those delicious give-and-go movements, and referee Francois Letexier played six minutes of stoppage time too. Why not see a little more?
Deep beneath the streets of Reims lie 200 kilometres of cellars and tunnels housing the finest bottles of bubbles, produced in these parts and maturing underground before being dispatched worldwide.
It pays to be patient, the subterranean conditions bringing the best out of the local delicacy before it reaches its fullest flavour. Bring a bottle out too soon and the product will fall short of the exacting standards
Messi's 65 minutes on the bench allowed him to size up the pace of the French game at close quarters, and then he was ripe to be released. The cork is out of the bottle now though, and the thrill of Messi at provincial stadiums such as this is one fans will drink in for as long as this stop-off lasts.
He was fouled three times in all, a joint team high alongside Neymar, had 26 touches, and made 95.2 per cent of his passes (20 of 21). He won four of his five duels – those within the laws of the game – and no doubt delighted Pochettino and his Qatari paymasters.
PSG brought their imported grandes marques to a city that exports its homegrown fizzy finery, where the cathedral has witnessed 31 coronations, and they won with goals from a young player they might be dispatching to foreign climes within a matter of hours in return for a king's ransom.
Perhaps Mbappe might just fancy a full season of this, though. Will his partnership with Messi really be a one-night stand?
As jarring as watching this all unfold must have felt in Barcelona, as bitter an aftertaste as it must have left, all it lacked for the Parisians was the crowning glory of a Messi goal, and they will soon be flowing.
Allegri says Juventus are victims of own success after clinching Coppa Italia final berth
Massimiliano Allegri declared Juventus have been victims of their own success this season after watching his Bianconeri side eliminate Lazio to reach the Coppa Italia final on Tuesday.
Juventus took a 2-0 lead into Tuesday's semi-final second leg at Stadio Olimpico but saw that advantage wiped out when Valentin Castellanos scored either side of half-time.
However, a late strike from Arkadiusz Milik handed Juventus a 3-2 aggregate success and ensured they will appear in their eighth Coppa Italia final in the last 10 years.
Despite Juventus having a chance to lift their first major trophy since 2021 and being on course for a return to the Champions League, Allegri has continued to be criticised by sections of the media.
He believes Tuesday's achievement should be celebrated, however, saying: "It's never easy to reach a final, in the last three years we have played two Coppa Italia finals.
"Now we must concentrate on Serie A, as we have not yet achieved Champions League qualification and this weekend it's the head-to-head with Milan."
Juventus sit third in Serie A ahead of Saturday's home clash with the Rossoneri, and with Italy guaranteed five Champions League places for next season, they are almost certain to be back among Europe's elite in 2024-25.
However, Juventus' drop-off in the second half of the season has led to continued speculation regarding Allegri's future.
At the turn of the year, Juventus were just two points behind Inter at the top of the table, but the Nerazzurri are now 22 points clear of their rivals and have clinched the Scudetto with five games to spare.
Allegri believes a fine start to the season gave rise to unreasonable expectations in Turin, adding: "This final is also worth Supercoppa Italiana qualification, so that is important financially.
"Criticism will always be around Juventus, but it's our own fault for having a great first half to the season that nobody was expecting.
"At that point, people thought we could fight it out with Inter, but I was worried that we could have difficulties in the second half. We had a big advantage and mentally rather let go."
Juventus will face either Atalanta or Fiorentina in next month's final, with the Viola holding a 1-0 lead in the other semi-final tie ahead of Wednesday's second leg in Bergamo.
Gallagher insists Chelsea players are fighting for the shirt after Arsenal collapse
Conor Gallagher insists Chelsea's players are putting in the required effort amid fierce fan criticism in the aftermath of Tuesday's 5-0 defeat to Arsenal.
Chelsea's miserable first season under Mauricio Pochettino took another turn for the worse at the Emirates Stadium as they were put to the sword by Mikel Arteta's title contenders.
The Gunners racked up 27 shots at goal as they recorded their biggest ever victory over Chelsea, who looked devoid of inspiration with leading goalscorer Cole Palmer sidelined due to illness.
During the game, one disgruntled travelling fan held up a banner which read: "I don't want your shirt, I just want you to fight for ours".
The charge that Chelsea are not fighting for results was put to Gallagher by TNT Sports after the game, and the Blues' stand-in captain denied that was the case.
"We definitely are putting the effort in," Gallagher said. "I know how much it means to all the boys. It's a very young squad with not much experience as a team in the Premier League.
"This season we've had a lot of ups and downs. We're still improving and working as a team to get to that next level.
"Today was one of those days where we were nowhere near it and we need to dust ourselves off, look at the performance, where we can improve and all the mistakes we made."
The defeat means Chelsea remain ninth in the Premier League table, three points adrift of sixth-placed Newcastle United and Manchester United in seventh, with both of those teams in action on Wednesday.
Pochettino's men face another daunting task on Saturday when they travel to Champions League-chasing Aston Villa, before hosting Tottenham in another London derby next Thursday.
Harry Maguire accepts big changes 'rightly' coming at Man Utd
Harry Maguire accepts there will be big changes at Manchester United at the end of the season, but he says everyone at the club must remain together amid fierce criticism of their displays.
United have endured a miserable second season under Erik ten Hag, sitting seventh in the Premier League table and 16 points adrift of the top four ahead of Wednesday's visit of Sheffield United.
They could yet end the campaign with silverware after reaching the FA Cup final with Sunday's penalty shoot-out victory over Coventry City, but they have been heavily criticised after narrowly avoiding a humiliating loss in that semi-final.
Ten Hag's men squandered a 3-0 lead and were fortunate to avoid a 4-3 defeat in the dying moments of extra time, when Victor Torp's potential winner was disallowed for a marginal offside call.
Roy Keane said United's players looked "embarrassed" to win the tie, though Ten Hag later said it was the negative media coverage of his team that was embarrassing.
Speaking to Sky Sports ahead of Wednesday's meeting with his former club, Maguire said: "I've been at this club a long enough time to know that the noise around the place is always here, whether it's with the manager or the players.
"There are players under huge amounts of pressure and when you lose matches or go on bad runs, the manager comes under pressure as well.
"We all know it's about maintaining our focus and aims for the season and sticking together. We believe that we can still achieve things this season.
"We've got an FA Cup final, Premier League games to fight in and we're all in this together. The manager, the players, the fans, we all want the same thing and that's to be successful."
United's players celebrated Sunday's win in a muted fashion, with the exception of winger Antony, who has been roundly mocked for cupping his ears to taunt Coventry's players.
Reflecting on the end of that game, Maguire said: "It was a really strange mix of emotions. I don't think we needed to celebrate too hard.
"We let ourselves down in the last 20 minutes of normal time and to play for this club, it involves huge responsibility, and we didn't take responsibility in that last 20 minutes.
"You're coming to training the next day and you're in another FA Cup final. It's what you dream of playing in when you're a young boy, so the boys are really happy.
"But like I said, the way the game ended, we were disappointed with the way we acted."
A decision on Ten Hag's future is one of many which must be made by new minority shareholder Jim Ratcliffe in the coming weeks, after the INEOS founder was handed full control of football operations at Old Trafford.
Maguire has faith in INEOS to get things right in the close season, saying: "They've brought a lot of positivity to the club and to the fanbase. I think there will be changes and rightly so.
"The club is wanting to get back to where it was 15 years ago, and that's fighting for the big trophies and league titles. I'm sure they have a plan."
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