While fans of the European game will rightly be keeping an eye on the nail-biting title races in the top divisions of France and Spain, an exhilarating fight for promotion is coming to a head in Germany's second division.

With Bochum seemingly comfortable in first place on 60 points (first and second secure automatic promotion), the six teams below are dueling it out for second and third-placed finishes. It is incredibly high-stakes as unlike England's Championship, there is only one playoff place up for grabs as opposed to four.

There was a time when Christian Pulisic’s rumored destination from Borussia Dortmund was Real Madrid. With Gareth Bale fading and Lucas Vázquez not offering as much of a threat, it wasn’t just a fancy of The18 that Pulisic make his way to the Santiago Bernabéu — He Who Must Not Be Named (Florentino Pérez) wanted it.

Early against Real Madrid, Christian Pulisic put the ball on a platter for Timo Werner to score, but his German teammate hit it too close to Thibaut Courtois, whose lanky legs denied Chelsea an early goal. Not long later, Pulisic learned his lesson and opted not to pass, and in doing so put his team in front in the Champions League semifinals on Tuesday in Madrid. The Pulisic goal vs Real Madrid was the opener in a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the UCL semifinals. 

LONDON - Manchester City claimed a record-equalling fourth successive League Cup triumph as Aymeric Laporte's late header sealed a deserved 1-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Spurs had soaked up intense City pressure for most of the game to somehow stay in contention at Wembley Stadium. But City finally made the breakthrough in the 82nd minute from an unlikely source as defender Laporte met Kevin de Bruyne's free kick and headed past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

It was a massive Sunday for USWNT players abroad as Alana Cook’s PSG hosted Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal showdown, while over in England Christen Press’s Manchester United continued its push for a place in next season’s tournament by welcoming Tottenham.

After knocking out eternal rival Lyon in the quarterfinals, PSG was sent crashing back down to Earth in the 13th minute after Jennifer Hermoso opened the scoring for Barça. 

Let’s just rename the “hockey assist” — where a player assists the assist — the Pulisic assist after Christian Pulisic helped create another goal on Saturday. The American provided the pass that Ben Chilwell sent across for Timo Werner to slot home for the match winner as Chelsea scored a massive 1-0 win over West Ham. Sadly, the match was marred by an absolutely ludicrous Fabián Balbuena red card in the final 10 minutes.

One way or another, it seems Daryl Dike is going to be playing in the Premier League next season. While there are plenty of current EPL suitors, another match winner from the 20-year-old American has his new club Barnsley within touching distance of ensuring a place in the promotion playoffs. 

Chelsea all but clinched the FA Women’s Super League crown by holding off Manchester City for a 2-2 draw on Wednesday. Sam Kerr scored and drew a penalty converted by Pernille Harder as the Blues maintained their two-point margin atop the league with two games to play — despite two costly mistakes at the back.