QPR head coach Gareth Ainsworth admitted defender Jimmy Dunne was naive for his quickfire double booking which turned the game in the 2-0 defeat to West Brom at the Hawthorns.
Dunne was booked for coming back onto the pitch too early then sent off two minutes later for allegedly marking the penalty spot after West Brom were awarded a spot-kick.
Brandon Thomas-Asante crashed home from the spot in the 59th minute before Grady Diangana tapped home the second eight minutes later.
“There was a crazy moment to give the penalty away and then a crazier, more naive moment with the red card,” said Ainsworth.
“I spoke to the referee and he said there was an incident on the penalty spot with the West Brom player.
“I asked him if he was absolutely certain that it was the player he recognised and he said ‘yes, 100 per cent’, so a second yellow was warranted. If it’s true, it’s very naive.
“The first yellow was coming back onto the pitch too early.
“You can accept getting done by football but when you lose a player to that – if it is that – then it’s very naive.”
Rangers have now suffered five straight defeats to remain third from bottom of the Sky Bet Championship.
The pressure is mounting on Ainsworth and they face leaders Leicester at home on Saturday, but he vowed things will improve.
“We’ve got some really good players but I’m sure there’s enough to turn it around,” he insisted.
“We’re going to get out of this and one way or another, I’ll get these boys fighting.
“I know the frustrations of the fans and supporters all over the world make managers targets and sometimes they have to take flak.
“There’s pressure from day one because you get judged on results, but I don’t fear anything.”
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan admitted patience was the key to breaking down QPR as he prepares to celebrate his first anniversary in charge of the club on Wednesday with a return to the top six.
“It was a question of patience and being mature enough because sometimes when you play against 5-4-1, it’s not easy to attack,” he said. “The key in these type of games is not to concede counter-attacks, and at the same time to create chances.
“But at the same time it’s important to dominate so you can create something.
“Things like passing the ball in front of the player instead of the back because if you play at his back, that can lead to you being off balance and you can give them the advantage.
“One thing which helped us was how we were attacking down the sides – having Diangana and Matt Phillips one against one.
“The key was to stretch their last nine with players such as Nathaniel Chalobah and Jed Wallace making runs in behind, which allowed us to start to stretch them and allowed us to get them one-v-one.”
Mikel Arteta has praised Gabriel Jesus for bringing “belief” and “energy” to Arsenal as the forward shone in victory at Sevilla.
Jesus continued his love affair with the Champions League with a fine goal and assist double as the Gunners won 2-1 at the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
A piece of magic set up compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time before Jesus doubled the lead with a fine, curling finish of his own – although he later limped off having moments earlier held his hamstring.
The Brazil forward may not boast the most prolific strike record but he has now scored an impressive 23 goals in 41 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition.
Asked if Jesus had been signed from Manchester City because of his prowess in the competition, Arteta replied: “For sure. He has been through a lot in the last few years and he’s still really young.
“He has enormous experiences – some of them not the nicest but very necessary to be the player that he is today. I’m really happy to have him in the team.
“He came here for a reason. I think he changed our world. He brought so much belief and energy to that team, he needs to step in in those moments. He’s done that. That’s when a player becomes accountable for the team.
“Big games are for big players. He needed to produce those moments to win in a stadium like this. He’s done it for us in a really big way. Then, really sad because he felt something in his hamstring and I’m worried about that.
“We need those players to win games. If you want to play Manchester City, then go to Stamford Bridge, then come here – that’s the level we’re at right now. To come here and win, big credit to the boys.”
Jesus’ night ended as he hobbled off to be replaced by Eddie Nketiah in the latter stages – with Arteta admitting he is concerned for the striker.
“(I am) really sad because he felt something in his hamstring and I’m worried about that,” he added.
“He straight away asked to be subbed which is not good news because Gabriel is not a player who does that at all. We will have to wait and see in the next few days.”
The victory saw Arsenal recover from defeat in Lens last time out and was enough to take them to the top of Group B at the halfway stage.
Arteta’s side will be in a good position to reach the knockout stages if they beat Sevilla in the return game at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight and the Spaniard was pleased with the reaction to defeat in France.
“That result against Lens put us in a difficult position and the team had to react,” he said.
“We are coming from the back of very difficult games where the team has to step in and go against adversity as well with some of the injuries that we picked up to big players.
“The team is so willing to at least try their best even if we don’t manage to be our best all the time.”
Enzo Maresca insists Leicester are not the league’s only title candidates despite James Justin’s goal sending them eight points clear at the top of the Sky Bet Championship following a 1-0 win against Sunderland.
Justin was the unlikely hero for the Foxes, heading home Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner from the left after 12 minutes to seal the points and an eighth successive league win.
The home side spurned numerous chances to extend their lead as both Stephy Mavididi and Kelechi Iheanacho saw shots come back off a post while Black Cats substitute Abdoullah Ba spurned a glorious chance to equalise late on.
Maresca said: “We are happy but we are not thinking we are the only club in the Championship trying to get promoted.
“In football, the normal thing is to lose more than you win. In this moment we’ve won 12 out of 13, it’s not something normal, the players and the fans deserve to enjoy it after the relegation.
“We know that these records are important if we reach our target, these records show what the players have done and that it is not something normal, but we’re still in October.
“We would like to have the same situation in March and April, it’s fantastic, we are not the only team building to reach the title and in our case we changed 14 or 15 players from last season.
“It was a very difficult game, it’s probably the game I’m most happy with in terms of handling a different kind of game, we were very aggressive and were quite good on the ball.”
Sunderland slipped to a third straight league defeat, although Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray was impressed by his side’s performance and believes opponents Leicester are likely to win the title after their record-breaking start to the campaign.
Mowbray said: “We believed we could come here and win the game, we missed some really good chances. I asked the players to challenge themselves and see if they want to play in the Premier League one day.
“We competed really well, we just lacked the composure required at the top end of the pitch. If that’s the level we play at every week, we’re going to win enough games.
“We just need to improve the end product. We can score goals, we missed some golden chances to put the ball in the net.
“We’re not finishing above Leicester City, I think Leicester will win the league. Burnley had the same amount of points as we do at this stage last season, the results will take care of themselves.
“We put a lot of work into defending set-plays because we’re not a huge team, a free header has cost us two games on the bounce.”
Valerien Ismael lauded his Watford players for their “brilliant” team performance as the Hornets ended a 16-game winless away run by beating Swansea 1-0 in south Wales.
Substitute Ken Sema struck a spectacular winner in the 82nd minute to earn the visitors all three points with what was his first goal of the campaign.
It was Watford’s first win on the road since beating Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road in January, and boss Ismael was full of praise for his squad.
“It’s a very long time [since Watford won away], nine months now,” said the Frenchman.
“Congratulations to the players. I said after the game ‘thank you’ for another team performance.
“It was important to be strong and win our duels. We knew that we’ve got the quality to make the difference at any time.
“It was a brilliant performance in a difficult away game. We managed the challenge well.
“It’s a great feeling for everyone, especially for our fans, who came all the way to Swansea in midweek. They will drive back home tonight with a smile on their face.”
Harry Darling and Matt Grimes had decent chances to open the scoring for the Swans while Vakoun Bayo headed straight at Carl Rushworth with what was Watford’s clearest opening in a fairly tame first half.
Kristian Pedersen’s effort in the 72nd minute was ruled out as the contest appeared destined to end goalless.
The defender headed Grimes’ corner beyond Daniel Bachmann, only for referee Andrew Kitchen to disallow the effort after spotting a foul in the box.
It left Sema with the opportunity to steal the headlines late on, with the Sweden international’s thumping strike flying past Rushworth and into the net.
Darling twice went close in the final stages as Swansea pushed for an equaliser, but Bachmann produced a pair of fine saves as the Hornets tasted success on the road at last.
Defeat – Swansea’s second in succession following a four-game winning streak – saw Michael Duff’s side drop to 18th in the Championship table while Watford moved up to 15th.
And Duff was less than impressed with referee Kitchen’s decision to disallow Pedersen’s header.
“I thought we had a good goal disallowed,” he said.
“I think it’s that type of night where, if that goes in, we win the game.
“They (officials) said there was a foul in the build-up to it, but I’ve watched it back several times. I don’t know where the foul is.
“For us not to see where the foul is supposed to have taken place is frustrating because it was one of those nights, it was fine margins.
“They go down the other end and they find a moment of quality where the lad sticks it in the top corner from 20 yards. That’s the one bit we couldn’t find tonight.”
England captain Harry Kane helped Bayern Munich strengthen their grip on Group A in the Champions League as he scored in a 3-1 win at Galatasaray.
Kane scored his 11th goal in 13 games for the German side as he put them 2-1 up after Kingsley Coman’s early opener was cancelled out by Mauro Icardi’s penalty.
The 30-year-old tapped home from close range in the 73rd minute and then Jamal Musiala made the game safe six minutes later to all-but seal qualification for the knockout stages.
Manchester United gave themselves a lifeline with a 1-0 win over Copenhagen in their first home match since the death of Sir Bobby Charlton.
Harry Maguire’s second-half header put them in front, but goalkeeper Andre Onana was the hero as he saved Jordan Larsson’s injury-time penalty.
Jude Bellingham’s electric start to life at Real Madrid continued as he scored in a 2-1 Champions League win at Braga.
The precocious England international scored his 11th goal in 12 games for his new club as Madrid took control of Group C, making it three wins out of three.
Rodrygo put Madrid ahead in the first half before Bellingham doubled the lead on the hour, with Alvaro Djalo getting the Portuguese side back in it.
Giacomo Raspadori’s goal for Napoli kept them on course for qualification as they beat Union Berlin 1-0.
Inter Milan extended their unbeaten start in Champions League Group D with a 2-1 win over Red Bull Salzburg at San Siro.
Oscar Gloukh gave the Austrians hope when he cancelled out an opener from Alexis Sanchez but Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty extended the fine form of Simone Inzaghi’s side.
Brais Mendez’s 63rd-minute strike earned Real Sociedad a 1-0 win at Benfica.
Gabriel Jesus continued his love affair with the Champions League with a fine goal and assist as he led Arsenal to victory over Sevilla.
The Brazil forward may not boast the most prolific strike record but he has now scored an impressive 23 goals in 41 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition and he was the difference as the Gunners won 2-1.
A piece of magic from Jesus set up compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time before he doubled the lead with a fine, curling finish of his own – although he later limped off having moments earlier held his hamstring.
A thunderous Nemanja Gudelj header reduced the arrears on the hour but Mikel Arteta’s side saw out the closing stages to secure victory, moving top of Group B in the process.
Arsenal’s chances were improved by Lens and PSV drawing in the other Group B game.
West Brom climbed back into the Sky Bet Championship’s top six with a 2-0 win against 10-man latecomers QPR at the Hawthorns in a game Jimmy Dunne will want to forget.
Brandon Thomas-Asante netted a 59th-minute penalty before man-of-the-match Grady Diangana scored the second nine minutes later, after he had been tripped by Kenneth Paal for the spot-kick.
The penalty award led to the dismissal of QPR defender Dunne for a second bookable offence for dissent, just two minutes after he was shown a yellow card after being injured.
The result meant West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan could celebrate his one-year anniversary – in stark contrast to opposite number Gareth Ainsworth, who lost for the fifth time in a row.
Until the penalty it looked like West Brom were going to be left doubly frustrated by QPR – first by the Londoners’ late arrival, then by their defence.
The game, which was due to start at 8pm, kicked off 10 minutes late following the delayed arrival of the QPR squad due to traffic following an incident in Birmingham city centre.
Corberan, 40, who will have been in the Baggies hotseat for 12 months on Wednesday, saw his injury-hit side find chances hard to come by until the decisive penalty.
West Brom started the brighter but Thomas-Asante failed to control a beautifully-flighted ball over the top from Diangana which left him through on goal.
Darnell Furlong headed powerfully over the crossbar from eight yards from Erik Pieters’ up-and-under cross.
West Brom looked to find some much-needed inspiration after the break and Okay Yokuslu looped a header over from Matt Phillips’ free-kick.
But they had to be alert at the other end as only a vital block from Cedric Kipre denied Ilias Chair from Reggie Cannon’s cutback.
The breakthrough came when Paal clumsily tripped Diangana as the winger cut in from the right.
Thomas-Asante thumped home the resulting spot-kick into the top corner to end his seven-match drought in style with his fourth goal of the season.
Diangana hit a post with a superb curling effort before tapping home the second goal after Nathaniel Chalobah had beaten Osman Kakay and squared.
The goal – his first since February – came on his 100th league appearance for West Brom since his £20million permanent move from West Ham.
Substitute Jayson Molumby drove just wide in time added on.
Leicester recorded an eighth successive victory in the league to move eight points clear at the top of the table with a 1-0 win against Sunderland as James Justin’s first-half header proved decisive.
Justin rose highest to head home Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s corner after 12 minutes and secure the points as the full-back scored his first league goal for the club in over two years.
The Foxes hit a post twice in the first half and missed a number of chances to double their lead throughout but did enough to secure a 12th win from 13 league matches to continue their stunning start to the season.
Sunderland have now lost their last three league matches and should have equalised at the death only for Abdoullah Ba to fire over from close range as Tony Mowbray’s side struggled to penetrate the league’s meanest defence.
The Black Cats had the game’s first chance when a cross from the right ran through to Jack Clarke at the back past only for the midfielder to see his shot turned away by the legs of Leicester goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.
However, Leicester broke the deadlock in the 12th minute with their first meaningful effort on goal as Justin leapt unmarked at the near post to head in Dewsbury-Hall’s excellent corner from the left.
The home side went close to a second goal soon after as Foxes winger Stephy Mavididi jinked his way into the box and saw a low shot superbly flicked onto a post by the boot of Sunderland keeper Anthony Patterson.
Leicester hit the woodwork again towards the end of the first half as Kelechi Iheanacho blasted a shot against a post after Wout Faes clipped a delightful pass into Cesare Casadei who in turn nodded the ball into the path of the striker.
Chelsea loanee Casadei then spurned a couple of chances to double Leicester’s lead after the break, first shooting straight at Patterson after the ball fell kindly to him in the box before seeing a low shot tipped behind by the Sunderland keeper soon after.
Casadei turned provider a few minutes later, teeing up Iheanacho for a shot on goal only for the Nigerian to curl an effort a couple of yards wide when one-on-one with Patterson.
Sunderland enjoyed their best spell of the game in the final 20 minutes as Dan Neil curled wide after pouncing on an error from Harry Winks despite having time and space to pick his spot.
The visitors wasted another opening shortly after as Dennis Cirkin fired over from the left edge of the penalty area after some excellent build-up play to create a shooting chance.
However, the Black Cats’ best chance to draw level came in the final few minutes as substitute Ba somehow fired over the crossbar from inside the box with the goal at his mercy and Foxes goalkeeper Hermansen on the floor.
Giacomo Raspadori scored the only goal against the run of play as Napoli ground out a 1-0 Champions League win over Union Berlin.
Raspadori’s second-half strike gave his side a three-point cushion in second place in Group C ahead of Braga, who lost 2-1 to leaders Real Madrid.
Union gave a good account of themselves at a raucous Olympiastadion but remain pointless at the bottom of the group.
Diogo Leite headed over from an early Union corner and while the early action on the pitch was otherwise flat, the bouncing home fans were creating quite an atmosphere.
Janik Haberer was denied an opener for the hosts after David Datro Fofana, on loan from Chelsea, tricked his way through brilliantly and laid on a close-range tap-in but was then pulled back by a delayed offside flag.
Brenden Aaronson fired woefully over from Sheraldo Becker’s cutback while Napoli’s wing wizard Kvicha Kvaratskhelia was crowded out after some impressive trickery.
Fofana had a shot saved at the near post and then set up Rani Khedira to swing an effort wide.
Napoli attackers Raspadori and Matteo Politano were consistently too ponderous in cutting inside to shoot, allowing the Union defence to stand firm. Fofana headed wide at the other end in the one minute added to the first half.
The start of the second half was, if anything, even less inspiring but Napoli struck in the 65th minute with a goal created by key man Kvaratskhelia.
Mario Rui won the ball well and fed the Georgian on the left. His first cross was cleared back to him but he took on Christopher Trimmel and teed up Raspadori six yards out to finish decisively.
The Italy forward was soon replaced by Giovanni Simeone among a raft of substitutions by both teams – with Fofana looking aggrieved to be withdrawn – before Eljif Elmas, a half-time introduction, curled a shot high and wide with Napoli team-mates in better positions.
Robin Knoche headed Trimmel’s excellent cross just wide and though Union pushed desperately for a late equaliser, there was to be no way through.
New upcoming NBA star Victor Wembanyama must "remember to be a kid" as expectations grow on the San Antonio Spurs' 19-year-old, who has already been likened to LeBron James.
That was the message from the Chicago Bulls' Andre Drummond, who is well qualified to offer such advice given he has his eyes on a significant milestone of his own.
Drummond is just 37 boards away from reaching 10,000 rebounds in his impressive NBA career, having initially started at the Detroit Pistons with expectations on his shoulders, too.
The Bulls' 30-year-old has been in basketball long enough – and from a similar young age as well – to feel capable of offering advice to the exciting Wembanyama.
The Chicago center told Stats Perform: "For Victor, if I had to give him some advice, I would always tell him to just remember to be a kid.
"I feel like that is something that I didn't take advantage of coming in at 18 years old.
"I feel like I'd stepped into this realm of basketball and like, instantly became a man.
"I had to do everything as a man when I still had my mom and my sister, I still had a family base too, and I think that's the best thing I did do, was bring them out.
"I was so focused on, 'Alright, how do I fit in?' So, I will just tell him to always be himself."
Drummond was rated as the number-one pick of the 2011 class by ESPN after featuring in a gold-medal winning United States team at the Under-17 World Championship.
Having experienced similar pressures in his early career, Drummond sees aspects of his own challenges in Wembanyama.
"Similar to him, I came in and played right away," Drummond added. "I had to figure it out on the fly.
"I was going to a team that was rebuilding and a lot of pressure was on me too, along with him.
"He has a lot of pressure on his back too, because now they're looking at him to be the guy to bring the Spurs back to the calibre that they were.
"For me coming into Detroit, it was like 'well, you have to bring us back to the playoffs, you got to bring us to being a contending team' because all they know in Detroit is winning, they are a blue-collar city.
"So similar stories, different guys. We're all going on the same path at the end of the day, we want to win a championship and we want to be the best we can be."
While likening his experiences to what Wembanyama will face, over a decade on from his NBA introduction Drummond now has milestones in his sights.
"Being 37 away from 10,000 rebounds," he continued, "it puts a lot of perspective for myself and just for the public because I always tell everybody, I feel like I'm the best ever to do it, [regardless of] me having, or about to have 10,000 rebounds.
"I think just my body of work and my percentages and numbers help prove that and honestly, for me it just shows the amount of work I put in.
"Every year I set a goal to be the best rebounder each and every season and to have the honour of reaching 10,000, not too many people have the chance to do that. I am with a group of high-calibre guys."
While delighted to feature in a group that includes the likes of legends Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, which Drummond labelled as "truly an honour", the Bulls star wants to use his experience to help teammates now.
"For myself this year, it's just, I think it's everything away from basketball, I feel like it's just staying with it, controlling things that I could control," he said.
"Focusing on the things that matter, being a good team-mate, being there for the guys, playing hard each and every time I'm out there.
"In practice, pushing our starters to be better each and every day, being a vocal leader. I feel like that's something that I lacked last year, not using my voice for someone who's been around for 12 years now.
"I feel like I should have spoken more and said a lot more to our younger guys, so I think just being that vet that everybody sees me as I'm really showing it."
Gabriel Jesus continued his love affair with the Champions League with a fine goal and assist as he led Arsenal to victory over Sevilla.
The Brazil forward may not boast the most prolific strike record but he has now scored an impressive 23 goals in 41 appearances in Europe’s elite club competition and he was the difference here as the Gunners won 2-1.
A piece of magic from Jesus set up compatriot Gabriel Martinelli to open the scoring on the stroke of half-time before he doubled the lead with a fine, curling finish of his own – although he later limped off having moments earlier held his hamstring.
A thunderous Nemanja Gudelj header reduced the arrears on the hour but Mikel Arteta’s side saw out the closing stages to secure victory, moving top of Group B in the process.
Martinelli should have put Arsenal ahead inside eight minutes after being played through on goal by Jesus, only to shoot straight at the advancing Orjan Nyland.
Moments later Lucas Ocampos stabbed an effort just wide at the other end as both sides looked to strike early in an atmospheric Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium.
David Raya’s inclusion in the Arsenal goal at the continued expense of Aaron Ramsdale was again a talking point before the game and the Spaniard gifted possession to Sevilla at the midway point of the first half but the home side failed to take advantage.
Neither team created anything else of note until stoppage time when, firstly, Sevilla easily cut through the Arsenal defence but Youssef En-Nesyri failed to hit the target as he dragged a shot wide.
Arsenal then took the lead, having escaped another Sevilla attack they broke at pace and a fine touch and perfectly-weighted pass from Jesus set Martinelli in behind. This time the Brazilian made no mistake, calmly rounding Nyland before rolling the ball into an empty net.
The Gunners should have doubled their lead soon after the restart but captain Martin Odegaard blazed over when well-placed inside the box.
Jesus, though, was in confident mood and extended the advantage with a fine solo goal, moving in off the left to curl a finish past Nyland.
Sevilla responded well and got themselves back into the contest when Gudelj powered a header past Raya from Ivan Rakitic’s corner.
The Europa League holders came within inches of equalising soon after, as substitute Mariano Diaz’s strike was tipped onto the crossbar by Raya.
Jesus did not have chance to savour a memorable performance as he gingerly hobbled off to be replaced by Eddie Nketiah with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Arsenal, though, were able to navigate through the difficult closing stages, surviving a late onslaught to secure victory ahead of the return game at the Emirates Stadium in a fortnight’s time, where another three points will leave Arteta’s side sitting pretty.
Harry Maguire’s header and Andre Onana’s stoppage-time penalty save secured Manchester United a vital Champions League win against Copenhagen in their first home match since the death of Sir Bobby Charlton.
Tuesday’s Old Trafford encounter allowed the club to come together and pay tribute to the World Cup winner and all-round gentleman following his death at the age of 86 on Saturday.
Charlton starred for United and in 1968 led them to European Cup glory at Wembley, where Erik ten Hag’s men would love to return for June’s Champions League final.
First comes qualification from Group C, which misfiring United continued to make hard work of as they rode their luck to claim a 1-0 win against Copenhagen after losses to Bayern Munich and Galatasaray.
Maguire temporarily quietened his doubters with a second-half header against the impressive Danish champions, who pushed until the end and looked set to act as party poopers.
Scott McTominay brought down Mohamed Elyounoussi in the box in stoppage time, but goalkeeper Onana – so unsteady since joining from Inter Milan – saved Jordan Larsson’s penalty in a jaw-dropping ending.
Jude Bellingham’s electric start to life at Real Madrid continued as he scored in a 2-1 Champions League win at Braga.
The precocious England international scored his 11th goal in 12 games for his new club as Madrid took control of Group C, making it three wins out of three.
Rodrygo put Madrid ahead in the first half before Bellingham doubled the lead on the hour, with Alvaro Djalo getting the Portuguese side back in it.
Los Blancos had chances to kill the game off but were made to sweat, with victory putting them on the verge of qualification for the knockout stage.
The visitors were under the cosh in the opening exchanges as Braga started well.
But they weathered the storm and took a 16th-minute lead with a goal that saw them go from back to front in a flash.
Nacho’s long ball set Vinicius Junior free down the left, he beat his marker and squared for Rodrygo to slide home at the near post.
Braga still asked questions and Al-Musrati almost levelled when a corner fell to him at the far post but his shot was deflected over.
Madrid showed it only took a moment to cut their hosts open and Vinicius tested Lukas Hornicek’s handling with a shot, while the Brazilian also missed a good chance when Bellingham slipped him in.
Bellingham was involved early on in the second half and fired a warning shot as he controlled Vincius’ cross on his chest and sent in a fierce left-footed half-volley, but Hornicek was equal to it and tipped it over.
There was nothing he could do about the former Borussia Dortmund man’s effort in the 61st minute as Bellingham controlled Vinicius’s pass on the edge of the area and coolly stroked home into the bottom corner.
If Madrid thought the game was safe they were mistaken as just three minutes later Braga hit back.
Simon Banza played in Djalo, who was given too much space and fired into the roof of the net.
Vinicius thought he had killed the game as he raced clear and converted in the final 10 minutes but VAR ruled it out for a marginal offside.
It meant Carlo Ancellotti’s side faced a nervy few minutes, but they held on to continue their 100 per cent record.
Middlesbrough continued their rapid rise up the Championship table as they beat Norwich 2-1 at Carrow Road to make it six league wins on the trot.
Michael Carrick’s rejuvenated side never looked back after Sam Greenwood opened the scoring in the first minute of the second half.
Substitute Sammy Silvera completed a deserved win by netting a second in stoppage time and although Jonathan Rowe pulled one back at the death, his eighth goal of the season was no more than a consolation for the struggling hosts.
It was a second home defeat in the space of four days for the Canaries, who have slumped alarmingly after a bright beginning to the season.
After a slow start Boro had the better of a scrappy first half and carved out a number of decent opportunities as the game passed the half-hour mark.
Josh Coburn sent a close-range header straight at George Long after the home goalkeeper had punched a Jonny Howson high into the night sky and then Lukas Engel fired just over after being set up by a glorious crossfield ball from Isaiah Jones.
The visitors went even closer a few minutes later as the hosts carelessly coughed up possession deep inside their own half, allowing Hayden Hackney to bear down on goal but, although his shot beat Long, defender Shane Duffy was behind him to block.
After the recalled Marcelino Nunez had got an early shot on target, Norwich barely threatened despite having plenty of the ball and were booed off by some fans at the break.
The mood of the home faithful hardly improved when Boro took the lead 33 seconds into the second period
following a woefully misplaced pass by defender Dimi Giannoulis.
Hackney nipped in to intercept and sent Coburn racing through and the youngster simply squared for an unmarked Greenwood to slide the ball home with ease.
Norwich responded in spirited fashion, with Nunez cracking a shot against the crossbar after being fed by Giannoulis and Ben Gibson sending a powerful header inches wide against his former club.
Boro seemed content to soak up the pressure and rely on the occasional counter-attack and as the half wore Norwich struggled to get a clear sight of goal themselves.
It was the visitors who wrapped up the points in the second minute of stoppage time when substitute Silvera picked up a loose ball and skipped into the area before guiding a low shot into the bottom corner.
Rowe produced a tremendous finish from a tight angle to reduce the arrears in the ninth minute of added time but there was no time for another Norwich response.
The San Francisco Giants didn't look too far to find their next manager.
Bob Melvin is reportedly leaving his job as the manager of the San Diego Padres to take the same position with the division rival Giants.
The Athletic was the first to report the hiring, which is expected to be made official Tuesday night.
The 61-year-old Melvin had one year remaining on his contract with the Padres, but reportedly had a frosty relationship with general manager A.J. Preller.
He managed San Diego for just two seasons, leading the team to a berth in the NL Championship Series in 2022 before underachieving this season by finishing in third place in the NL West with a disappointing 82-80 record despite having the third-highest payroll in MLB.
Prior to joining the Padres, Melvin managed the Oakland Athletics from 2011-2021. He led the A's to six playoffs trips in those 11 seasons, and was named the AL Manager of the Year in 2012 and 2018.
He won his first Manager of the Year Award in 2007, while leading the Arizona Diamondbacks to the NL West title and a trip to the NLCS. He spent five seasons in Arizona after beginning his managerial career in 2003 with the Seattle Mariners.
In 20 seasons as a manager in the majors, Melvin has compiled a 1,517-1,425 record with eight post-season appearances.
A native of the Bay Area, the former big league catcher played for the Giants from 1986-88.
Melvin replaces Gabe Kapler, who was fired with three days remaining in the season.
Kapler was 456-411 over four seasons as manager in San Francisco and helped the team win a franchise-record 107 games in 2021. However, the Giants missed the playoffs each of the last two years, finishing this season in fourth place in the NL West with a 79-83 record.
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