Why hello there! This is Beyond The Pitch, where we explore the scores and fixtures of the FIFA World Cup, Premier League, and the English Football League, from The Pitch to The Headlines
MILLIE BRIGHT ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT FROM FOOTBALL AGED 32
Chelsea captain and former England international Millie Bright has retired from football. She retired from the national team in 2025 and has now made the decision to end her playing career as a whole.
Bright joined Chelsea in 2015 and broke the Women's Super League all-time appearance record.
She is also Chelsea's record appearance maker (314), and scored 19 times to win the WSL for Chelsea on all eight occasions. In 2021 and 2025, they also won the domestic treble.
Bright won a total of 20 trophies in 12 years at the club.
Speaking about the decision, Bright said: "Representing Chelsea over the last 12 years has been everything to me, but I'm now ready to say goodbye to playing football."
A club statement confirming the news read: "We thank Millie for her incredible contribution to Chelsea and are delighted to announce she will be staying on at the club as a trustee of our foundation, continuing her passionate work in supporting others, which began while she was representing us on the pitch."
She also played a pivotal role in England winning Euro 2022 and captained England to the World Cup final the following year. She was awarded an OBE in the King's New Year's Honours List of 2024.
Millie Bright's stats in the WSL | Source: Sky Sports
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI-FINAL FIRST LEG: PSG 5 - 4 BAYERN MUNICH
Nine goals were scored in one of the best Champions League games of all time in the first leg between PSG and Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the Champions League.
This was the first time in a European semi-final match that both teams scored four or more goals.
It is also the joint-highest scoring semi-final match in European Cup history after Rangers lost 6-3 to Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960.
PSG led 3-2 at half time after Ousmane Dembele scored a penalty in added time. Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Dembele then scored in 2 minutes to put PSG 5-2 up.
Bayern scored two goals in three minutes through Dayot Upamecano and Luis Diaz, which sets up the second leg very nicely next week.
Five goals need to be scored in the second leg to make it the highest-scoring Champions League knockout tie in history.
Michael Olise with his tradmark celebration after scoring | Source: Sky Sports
BRIGHTON REVEAL PLANS FOR FIRST PURPOSE-BUILT STADIUM FOR WOMEN'S FOOTBALL
The proposals were approved by the council in October 2023, but there were delays with the project, so the club have had to wait up to now.
It will be built right next to the Amex Stadium, where the men's side play. It will be linked with the current main ground via a bridge link and will have a minimum capacity of 10,000.
The stadium should be open no later than the start of the 2030/31 season. Brighton chairman and owner Tony Bloom said at a press conference: "I'm extremely excited. We've been discussing those plans for quite a long time. We knew we wanted to bring women's football, our team, back to Brighton."
The stadium will be the first built with female athletes and women's football supporters in mind. The stadium will have easy access for families and social spaces.
This is a huge moment for women's football, as most women's teams share grounds with other teams or play in a ground where the men's side used to play.
Concept art for the new stadium | Source: Sky Sports
What do you think about Brighton's plans? Let me know in the comments down below.
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