Dusan Vlahovic’s stoppage-time header saw Juventus come from behind to win 2-1 at 10-man Salernitana.
The Bianconeri had run out comfortable 6-1 winners in the Coppa Italia tie between the sides in Turin on Thursday night – but found themselves behind shortly before half-time at the Arechi Stadium when Giulio Maggiore finished off a swift counter-attack.
Maggiore was then dismissed for a second caution in the 53rd minute and Juve substitute Samuel Iling Junior equalised just after the hour.
When it seemed Serie A’s bottom club would hold out for a valuable point in their survival fight, Vlahovic headed in a looping cross from Danilo to seal a dramatic win and put Juventus back to two points behind Serie A leaders Inter.
AC Milan had earlier extended their unbeaten run to six games in all competitions with a 3-0 win at strugglers Empoli.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek put the Rossoneri ahead in the 11th minute and Olivier Giroud doubled the lead from the penalty spot before half-time.
Teenager Chaka Traore, who opened his Milan account in Tuesday’s Coppa Italia victory over Cagliari, wrapped things up with a late third.
Napoli’s dismal season continued with a 3-0 defeat at Torino to slump to ninth in the table.
Antonio Sanabria, Nikola Vlasic and Alessandro Buongiorno were on target for the hosts as the defending champions endured another miserable afternoon – with wing-back Pasquale Mazzocchi having been sent off four minutes after coming on for his debut.
Saturday’s evening kick-off saw Atalanta draw 1-1 at top-six rivals Roma, while Lazio recorded a third straight victory with a 2-1 win at relegation-battlers Udinese.
Barcelona were made to work for their place in the last 16 of the Copa del Rey with a 3-2 win at fourth tier Barbastro.
Raphinha struck in each half to seemingly put the LaLiga side in control.
The Segunda B outfit, though, pulled a goal back on the hour through Adria de Mesa before Robert Lewandowski added Barca’s third from the penalty spot with two minutes left.
Barbastro reduced the deficit again in stoppage time when Marc Prat slotted home a spot-kick, but there was to be no grandstand finish as Barca saw out the closing stages.
Villarreal’s tie at Unionistas was abandoned following a lighting problem at the Municipal Reina Sofia stadium ahead of the start of extra-time, with the scores level at 1-1.
Last-season’s runners-up Osasuna needed extra-time to get past third tier Castellon 1-0 – as did Valencia in their 2-1 win at LaLiga2 side Cartagena, who had played the second half with 10 men.
Celta Vigo fought out at 4-2 win at Segunda Division Amorebieta, while Mallorca won 3-0 at Burgos.
Juanlu Sanchez’s late goal helped Sevilla to a 2-1 victory over 10-man Racing Ferrol, while Athletic Bilbao beat Eibar 3-0 and Real Sociedad won 1-0 in Malaga.
Kylian Mbappe scored a hat-trick as Paris St Germain coasted to a 9-0 win over sixth-tier Revel in their Coupe de France tie.
Marco Asensio was also on target in the first half, when the Regional 1 side scored an own goal, before Mbappe completed his treble three minutes after the restart at the Stade Pierre-Fabre in Castres.
Goncalo Ramos added a sixth from the penalty spot before Randal Kolo Muani scored twice late on, either side of Cher Ndour’s first PSG goal, to wrap up a comfortable night’s work for the Ligue 1 leaders.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half strike gave Marseille – depleted by players away at the Africa Cup of Nations – a 1-0 win at fifth-tier Thionville Lusitanos.
In an all-Ligue 1 tie, Monaco edged past Lens 6-5 on penalties having been 2-0 up inside the opening 20 minutes before the hosts mounted a fightback to draw 2-2.
Lyon coasted to a 3-0 win over Championnat National 3 outfit Pontarlier and Rennes won 2-0 at Guingamp.
There were also victories for Le Havre, Reims and Toulouse while fifth-tier Saint-Priest, Rouen, Laval and Championnat National 2 side Bergerac Perigord all made it through to round of 32.
Eve takes heart from friendlies against Guyana; reiterates call for support ahead of tough World Cup qualifiers
Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Angus Eve welcomed the outcome of their two-match friendly series against Guyana, but in the same breath, says he is bracing for even tougher assignments when kick off the 2026 World Cup qualifiers next month.
Though pleased that a few local-based players gave him much to think about in their 2-1 and 2-0 win over Jamaal Shabazz’s Guyana outfit, Eve again rued Trinidad and Tobago’s citizenship laws, which he believes puts them at a slight disadvantage against regional opponents, who have the luxury of importing heritage players from elsewhere around the world.
As such, Eve, who used the Guyana fixtures to fine-tune tactics and expose more players to the national team, is hoping to get the necessary support to spur his Soca Warriors on throughout the World Cup qualifying campaign, which gets under way against Grenada on June 5.
“I think when we used to play before, going against Grenada was a foregone conclusion,” Eve said as he reminisced on the twin island republic ‘s dominance in the past.
“But the immigration laws in this country do not help us. We do know Grenada has a lot of players coming back from England. They might not be the quality as those for Jamaica, but we do know they have a lot of those sort of players coming back,” he reasoned during a post-match interview.
Eve and his men will also have St Kitts and Nevis, Costa Rica and The Bahamas to contend with in Group B.
Former Soca Warriors and Manchester United striker Dwight Yorke recently joined the call for a review in the citizenship laws, which states that “A person shall not become a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, if at the time of his birth – (a) neither of his parents is a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago.” Until such changes are made, both Yorke and Eve believe Trinidad and Tobago will remain on the backfoot when compared to other nations.
“So, we need the 12th man to be on board with us. The guys are going to come out and give everything that they have, so it’s just for the fans to come out and support the team. The 23 players and the TTFA alone can’t qualify. We need support from corporate, the Government, the fans, the normal man in the street, because when the team does qualify, then all of us will be celebrating as a nation. So, we need a national effort to qualify,” Eve stated.
That said, the tactician quickly pointed out that the team still has much to do in terms of their technical and tactical efficiency, particularly those local players who might be included in the final squad.
“I think it could have been a bigger scoreline (against Guyana). We gave some sloppy chances, and we have to alleviate those problems when we play the next team,” Eve declared.
He named midfielders Matthew Woo Ling and Daniel David and veteran striker Kevon “Showtime” Woodley, who scored in both games, among those that impressed against the Jaguars.
“I thought when we put them on in the second half, it changed the game, and we got a little bit more tempo and we got more penetration. So, very happy for these guys. They got the opportunity and I thought that they grasped it with both hands. A number of them gave us some stuff to think about, so there is a lot of positive,” Eve noted.
Ten Hag unconcerned by Fernandes' fitness ahead of Man Utd's trip to Brighton
Erik ten Hag is not worried about Bruno Fernandes' fitness ahead of Manchester United's final game of the Premier League season.
Fernandes impressed in an attacking midfield role in United's 3-2 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.
The Portugal international was forced off through injury late on, yet Ten Hag is not overly concerned.
"Bruno didn't miss so much and he's fit," Ten Hag told United's media channels.
"I would say that is one of my least concerns, if he can keep going. He's fresh and he's in very good form but the others you mentioned, it's important [to get game time].
"They missed some games. [Marcus] Rashford, of course. [Lisandro] Martinez missed, I would say, almost the whole season. So every minute that he can get, we have to give him."
Should United win, and Newcastle fail to beat Brentford, then the Red Devils will be guaranteed European football next season, even if they lose the FA Cup final when they face Manchester City at Wembley on May 25.
Ten Hag's future is uncertain, but Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi pointed to United's injury issues as a main factor in their frustrating campaign.
"They have suffered a lot of injuries, problems, but they are still a very good team," he said.
"Ten Hag's Ajax team has been one of the best in quality of play. For United, this season, it's been tough playing without a lot of important players."
Brighton are entrenched in mid-table after failing to match the same heights they managed last season.
However, two of their players - Pascal Gross and striker Denis Undav, who is on loan at Stuttgart - were on Thursday called up for Germany's Euro 2024 squad.
De Zerbi said: "I am happy for Undav. He is becoming a great player. Pascal is not a surprise - he deserves to play for the national team."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Brighton - James Milner
James Milner has appeared in the final game in 16 different Premier League campaigns – if he plays in this match, he’ll be the first player in the competition's history to do so in 17 different seasons.
Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes
Fernandes has created 113 chances in the Premier League this season, 14 more than any other player. He also created the most chances last season (119) and is the first player to do so in back-to-back seasons since Eden Hazard in 2013-14 (93) and 2014-15 (100).
MATCH PREDICTION: DRAW
In their first 19 Premier League matches this season, Brighton were the fifth-highest scorers in the Premier League (38 goals) and had a conversion rate of 13.3 per cent. In their last 18 games since the turn of the year, only Everton (15) have scored fewer goals than the Seagulls (17), with their conversion rate of 6.6 per cent the worst of any side in this time.
United have lost their final league game in two of the last five seasons (W3), as many times as they had in the previous 33 campaigns (W23 D8).
Brighton have lost their final game in four of their six Premier League campaigns, with the exceptions being a 2-1 win at Burnley (2019-20) and a 3-1 home win v West Ham (2021-22).
Brighton have won each of their last four Premier League games against United – the last side to beat the Red Devils in five consecutive league games was Norwich City between 1988 and 1990.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Brighton - 35.4%
Man Utd - 35.9%
Draw - 28.7%
Real Salt Lake v Colorado Rapids: Armas targets Rocky Mountain Cup
Chris Armas is desperate to claim early-season silverware in the form of the Rocky Mountain Cup as the Colorado Rapids prepare to visit rivals Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
The Rapids are flying high in fourth in the Western Conference standings, four points adrift of top side RSL after 13 matches.
They should approach Saturday's derby in good spirits after their 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in midweek, while they have already beaten RSL once this season – by a 2-1 scoreline on the road in early March.
"I wish we were hosting this one, the Rocky Mountain Cup is such an important thing to us and to our fans," Armas said.
"It'd be nice if we maybe played one at home and one on the road. Two on the road is tricky but it is what it is.
"We have the slight edge at the moment but we have work to do, to go there and get the trophy. You can go through an entire season and not play for a trophy, and now we are."
RSL boss Pablo Mastroeni represented Colorado for 11 years of his playing career then coached them for three years upon his retirement, but he feels he has come a long way since then.
"I think the biggest thing is my evolution as a person. When I first got into coaching, I'd just finished my career and threw myself into the deep waters," Mastroeni said.
"Over time you understand your game model and the way you want to play the game. These things take time, and it's really broadened my perspective."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Salt Lake – Andres Gomez
Gomez scored his fifth goal of the season in Real Salt Lake's 2-0 win over the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.
He and Cristian Arango (11) have now combined for 16 goals this MLS campaign, the only team-mates to combine for more are Inter Miami's Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez (21).
Colorado Rapids – Rafael Navarro
Navarro scored the game's only goal in Colorado's win over Vancouver, becoming the first Rapids player since Diego Rubio in 2022 to score in three straight regular-season matches.
The only Rapids player in the last 12 years to score in four straight league games was Kei Kamara in 2019.
MATCH PREDICTION – REAL SALT LAKE WIN
The Rapids ended a seven-match losing streak in the Rocky Mountain Cup (two draws, five defeats) with a 2-1 victory at Real Salt Lake on March 9.
However, they haven't won two in a row against RSL since a pair of victories in September 2006 and April 2007.
Real Salt Lake have won three of their last four home matches, drawing the other and keeping clean sheets in all of those games. The Rapids are the only visiting team to win at America First Field this year, but RSL may just get their revenge this weekend.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Real Salt Lake – 49.2%
Colorado Rapids – 23.3%
Draw – 27.5%
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