The finish line is within sight, and so is a Chelsea record. Tammy Abraham’s 26th goal of the season for Bristol City this weekend was the 119th by a Blues loanee this season, meaning we’re within seven goals of surpassing the tally of 125 notched by the 2013-14 Loan Army.
Headliners
Tammy is finishing his maiden professional campaign as he started it and now has four goals in his last four appearances for a Bristol City side that are almost certain to avoid relegation from the Championship. There is almost no chance whatsoever that they would have been able to pull it off without his goals, and number 23 in the league –good enough for second place behind Leeds’ Chris Wood – came in typically opportunistic fashion in a 3-2 win over Barnsley.
He should walk away with multiple honours at the club’s upcoming awards evening, although he was harshly omitted from the PFA Team of the Season for England’s second tier despite his remarkable – and record-breaking – year as a teenager.
England
It would be a surprise if we saw Loic Remy again for Crystal Palace this season, and an even bigger surprise if he’s a Chelsea player at the start of next season.
Moving swiftly back to the Championship, the big clash of the weekend saw Huddersfield Town host Fulham in a game potentially full of loanees. Fulham – with Tomas Kalas starting and Lucas Piazon on as a late substitute – recorded a resounding victory over a Town side welcoming Izzy Brown back from injury in the 54th minute, and are the division’s form side going into the playoffs. Huddersfield, on the other hand, are on the slide, and although their playoff place is relatively safe, they will not be able to call upon the services of Kasey Palmer again this season, with manager David Wagner ruling him out with an ongoing hamstring concern.
Their slump will allow Christian Atsu and Newcastle United to confirm their place back in the Premier League with a win over Preston on Monday evening. They still have a slight chance of pipping Fikayo Tomori and Brighton to the title after the Seagulls suffered an unlucky defeat at Norwich, the young defender an unused substitute there.
There were mixed emotions in League One as Swindon Town, with Charlie Colkett and Fankaty Dabo continuing as regulars in Luke Williams’ starting eleven, were relegated following a 2-1 defeat to Scunthorpe United. They have often been amongst the club’s better players since arriving in January but a dysfunctional boardroom and an extremely youthful squad came together to send them back into the fourth tier.
Jay Dasilva celebrated his 19th birthday by completing 90 minutes again for Charlton in a 2-1 win away to Chesterfield, for whom former academy forward Reece Mitchell scored. Jake Clarke-Salter was an unused substitute for a Bristol Rovers side who lost 4-2 at Peterborough and can no longer reach the playoffs.
The League Two playoff race, on the other hand, is out of control. With two rounds of league matches remaining, seven points separate Exeter in 5th from Grimsby in 14th, and slap bang in the middle of that pack are Jamal Blackman and Wycombe Wanderers. The big stopper made his 50th appearance of the season in their 2-1 win over Doncaster Rovers on Saturday and they remain firmly in the mix.
The injured Jordan Houghton was in with the travelling Doncaster Rovers fans for the occasion, and it would not be a surprise to see him back with the club in League One again next season (when fit) one way or another. Back in League Two, though, Alex Kiwomya was an unused substitute as Crewe Alexandra beat Leyton Orient 3-0.
Nathan Baxter’s sixth clean sheet of his stay at Solihull Moors was his most important as it proved the foundation for a 2-0 win over Eastleigh that confirmed another year in the National League for the club. He was understandably delighted at full time, and also conducted an interesting interview with Chelsea this week in which he explained the thought process behind going out on loan at such a tender age this season.
🎥 WATCH | Nathan Baxter and @OSterling19 on #SMFC's survival Saturday. 💙💛 🎙 by @thealexmanners. pic.twitter.com/GT1ZmO8jmW
— Solihull Moors FC (@SolihullMoors) April 22, 2017
A really enlightening and mature interview here with 18 year-old Chelsea goalkeeper Nathan Baxter. https://t.co/P2i7zv6xoQ #CFC
— Chelsea Youth (@chelseayouth) April 20, 2017
Spain
Jeremie Boga and Victorien Angban were both unused substitutes as Granada lost 2-0 to Sevilla on Friday.
Italy
Juan Cuadrado was part of the Juventus side that knocked Barcelona out of the Champions League in midweek, the Colombian was a regular outlet on the counter attack but repeatedly lacked end product in the 0-0 draw. He was then rested on Sunday as Juve cruised to a 4-0 win over Genoa.
Milan welcomed Mario Pašalić back from suspension for a full outing against Empoli, but the 2-1 defeat leaves the Rossoneri looking in from the outside as far as European qualification goes.
Germany
Andreas Christensen finished on the losing side as Borussia Mönchengladbach were beaten 3-2 at home by Dortmund.
Michael Hector was not involved as Eintracht Frankfurt beat Augsburg.
Netherlands
With a week to go until one of the biggest matches in their history, Vitesse looked to already be focusing on the KNVB Cup Final as they were comprehensively beaten 2-0 at home by Eredivisie leagues Feyenoord. Without the injured Matt Miazga, they were second best in every department, with Lewis Baker a subdued presence in midfield, whilst Nathan (45 minutes ) and Mukhtar Ali (15 minutes) came off the bench later in the game.
Feyenoord are now one win away from the title after Ajax lost 1-0 to PSV later on Sunday afternoon. Marco van Ginkel played the full 90 minutes but Bertrand Traore lasted just 43 minutes before going off injured just three days removed from helping Ajax into the last four of the Europa League with a 4-3 aggregate win over Schalke.
Danilo Pantic continues to be absent from Excelsior’s squad.
Belgium
Cristian Cuevas missed Sint-Truiden’s defeat to Union St-Gilloise, but Matej Delač did return to the starting eleven for Mouscron’s trip to Genk. Unfortunately, they lost 6-0.
TurkeyKenneth Omeruo and company should be safe from the drop.
Switzerland
Miro Muheim will be hoping to make his FC Zurich debut away to Neuchatel Xamax on Monday evening.
Brazil
Wallace didn’t feature for Gremio away to Guarani in the Copa Libertadores on Thursday and will hope for better in Serie A action away to Novo Hamburgo later on Sunday night.
Colombia
Joao Rodriguez is still out for Cortuluá.