Welcome to The Tap-Inn. Where you can tap in to the world of soccer with me, your Irish Tap-Inn bartender, Joe. 🍻

On tap today:

Ready? I thought so. Let’s pour.

Think about those nights out you look forward to for weeks. The night where everybody seems to be around and committed to it. Unheard of.

Then one of two things happens. Either it fizzles — people don’t turn up, two of the boys are arguing over who bought the last round, everyone has to leave early because the babysitter finished at 11 (even the boys who don’t have kids). Or it becomes an all-timer, a night you’re telling the grandkids about.

This is the Champions League final.

One match, neutral venue, winner takes all. No second chances. And every now and then, it delivers something that makes you question what you just witnessed.

Here are three nights that nobody left early from.

Wembley. Bayern Munich lead 1-0 with 90 minutes on the clock. They've been the better team all night. United fans checking if they can catch the last, sad train home to Manchester.

Then substitute Teddy Sheringham pokes home an equalizer in the 91st minute. Before Bayern can even process what's happened, substitute Ole Gunnar Solskjaer prods in a winner in the 93rd.

Two goals. Three minutes. From the brink of defeat to champions of Europe. United completed the treble that season — Premier League, FA Cup, Champions League — all in one year. Ferguson was knighted shortly after.

London was painted red that night.

Istanbul. Half-time. Liverpool are 3-0 down to an AC Milan side that many consider one of the greatest club teams ever assembled. It's over.

Then something happens. Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard scores a goal early in the second half.

"hello hello, here we go"

Says commentator Clive Tyldesley.

They weren’t finished there. Two goals followed in six second-half minutes. Šmicer. Alonso. 3-3. Extra time. Penalties. Liverpool win.

The greatest comeback in the history of the competition. Liverpool fans are still talking about it. This is the one all other comebacks are measured against.

Here's one you probably haven't heard of — and that's a shame, because it might be the greatest display of attacking soccer ever put on a European stage.

Hampden Park, Glasgow. 127,000 fans. Real Madrid — led by Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás and Argentinian genius Alfredo Di Stéfano — dismantle Eintracht Frankfurt so completely that the Frankfurt fans gave Real Madrid a standing ovation at the final whistle.

Here's why this matters right now: tomorrow's game is played at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest — a stadium named after that same Ferenc Puskás. PSG versus Arsenal. Defending champions against first-time finalists. Kvaratskhelia against Saka. Luis Enrique against Arteta. Best attack in Europe against the best defense.

Which shelf does this one end up on?

The bar is set very high. PSG and Arsenal, you’re up.

Saturday, May 30 | Puskás Aréna, Budapest | 12pm ET

PSG are the defending champions. Arsenal are first-time finalists in 20 years, fresh off winning the Premier League. Two Spanish managers. One trophy. Here's what to watch:

12pm ET on CBS/Paramount+. Clear the schedule.

With thirteen days to go before the World Cup, Lionel Messi came off in the 73rd minute of Inter Miami's final MLS game before the tournament, grabbing the back of his hamstring. Argentina fans (and pretty much every soccer fan) crossing their fingers that its nothing serious.

Tests confirmed muscular fatigue — nothing serious. He'd scored two assists before coming off. In a 6-4 win. At 38. Argentina breathe again.

After a weekend of goodbyes in the Premier League last weekend, a legend of the womens game has announced the end of an era.

Three days after lifting Barcelona's fourth Women's Champions League trophy — a 4-0 demolition of Lyon — Alexia Putellas announced she's leaving the club after 14 years. Two Ballon d'Ors. 38 trophies. 232 goals. 507 appearances. She went out as Player of the Season. On her own terms. At the very top.

She's heavily linked with a move to London City Lionesses in the WSL. I’ll keep you updated.

Tomorrow's final is played at the Puskás Aréna, named after Hungarian legend Ferenc Puskás. He played in the 1960 European Cup final. A 7-3 win for Real Madrid. But how many of those 7 goals did he score?

Answer at the bottom 👇

The World Cup opens June 11. Thirteen days. Before that, the USMNT face Senegal this Sunday in Charlotte, NC (3:30pm ET, TBS/Max) — the first ever meeting between the two nations.

It's a timely test. The US lost to Belgium 5-2 and Portugal 2-0 in March and could use a confidence boost before Germany in Chicago on June 6 and their tournament opener against Paraguay on June 12 in LA.

Senegal are no pushovers though. They’re ranked 19th in the world, unbeaten in World Cup qualifying, and led by Sadio Mané. Pochettino's men need to show up.

Phrase: Howler

Origin: British slang, dates back to the late 19th century. Originally used to describe a glaring mistake in any context — academia, politics, everyday life. Soccer adopted it and never gave it back.

Definition: Often a catastrophic, inexcusable mistake. A goalkeeper dropping the ball into his own net. A striker missing a tap in. A defender slipping at the worst possible moment. The kind of mistake where the camera cuts to the bench and nobody knows where to look.

Usage: "That was an absolute howler from the goalkeeper today."

May 29, 1968: Manchester United became the first English club to win the European Cup, beating Benfica 4-1 at Wembley after extra time. Bobby Charlton scored twice. Just ten years after the Munich Air Disaster killed eight of his players, Sir Matt Busby finally held the trophy.

A longtime reader hit us up with a hot take they couldn’t let slide. What was the ref doing here?

Jack Moylan, who scored a hat-trick on his international debut got straight red-carded in Ireland’s friendly against Qatar. His second cap. His second appearance. And now? Sent off.

Here’s the thing: friendlies are usually chilled. Players, refs, even the crowd are rolling in good spirits. You’d have to do something veeeery bad to get a straight red in those.

Check it out for yourself 👇

Ireland still managed a 1-0 win. ☘️

Puskás scored 4 of the 7 goals in Real Madrid's 7-3 demolition of Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup final at Hampden Park. Di Stéfano scored the other three. Between them, two men accounted for every single goal for the 1960 champions.