West Brom boss Carlos Corberan was full of praise for striker Brandon Thomas-Asante after his two goals helped earn the Baggies a 4-1 win over Blackburn.
The hosts were three up inside 33 minutes thanks to a Tom Fellows effort, an own goal by Dominic Hyam and a Thomas-Asante strike.
Jake Garrett pulled a goal back for Blackburn after 60 minutes, but Thomas-Asante soon restored the hosts’ three-goal advantage.
West Brom cement fifth position, five points clear of sixth place, whilst Blackburn drop to 18th in the table and are winless in six league games.
Corberan, whose side strengthened their position in fifth, said of Thomas-Asante’s display: “Excellent, not only for the goals but the way he was linking the play and how he was helping the team build attacks.
“The most important thing with Brandon is his mentality and his physical condition to play and always be ready to help the team.
“The most important moment is every game he plays with us and today he was able to help the team with the goals that he scored.”
The afternoon saw the return of key players John Swift, Adam Reach and Jed Wallace for West Brom and Corberan was delighted to have the trio back after injury lay-offs.
“I liked a lot the contribution of Reach, I think he was perfect for the type of game we wanted to play today,” the head coach said.
“His contribution in defending was very important too.
“To have all your fullest squad is one of the key points in the Championship.”
Blackburn boss Jon Dahl Tomasson admitted it was a bad day at the office for his side, who have now conceded the most goals in the Championship
“We need to accept it was not a good day,” he said. “We knew coming here with the quality of West Brom it would be a tough task. I thought we started the game well, but I was disappointed in the manner we gave the goals away.
“We gave three set-piece goals away today. When Garrett scored an excellent goal in the second half we had a chance to get back in the game, but we conceded immediately.
“The only thing I was pleased with today was to give Sam Gallagher minutes who’s been out for four months.”
Tomasson feels his side are too easy to score against at the moment.
“When you look at the whole play, I thought we were just as good as West Brom, but games are won in each box in the way you defend,” he said.
“Are you winning your duels, are you winning your personal duels, the first and second contact, are you smelling danger all those things? Football is won in each box and we need to do better.”
Leverkusen star Wirtz named Bundesliga Player of the Year
Florian Wirtz played a starring role for Bayer Leverkusen this season and has been named the Bundesliga Player of the Year.
Wirtz scored 11 goals and provided a further 11 assists on the way to helping Leverkusen win their first-ever top-flight title.
The forward was pivotal in Leverkusen’s title charge as they became the first German team to complete an unbeaten season.
Only Victor Boniface has scored more goals than Wirtz this campaign, netting 14 times, while his tally of 11 assists is second only to Alejandro Grimaldo (13) across the Bundesliga.
Wirtz came off the bench to score a hat-trick in Leverkusen’s 5-0 win over Werder Bremen in April which clinched the title with five games remaining.
The Bundesliga champions still have the German Cup final on Saturday against Kaiserslautern, which follows the Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Wirtz played a critical role in helping Leverkusen reach their third European final, having been involved in eight goals in the Europa League this season (four goals, four assists), the most of any player in the team.
He has also created 28 chances from open play in the competition, a tally only five players can better in a Europa League campaign, most recently Amin Younes for Ajax in 2016-17 (30).
In all competitions, Leverkusen’s unbeaten run stretches to 51 matches, as they aim to finish an unbeaten season with a treble.
Kane injury doubt for England Euro 2024 squad
Harry Kane may be a doubt for England’s Euro 2024 squad as he continues to struggle with a back problem.
Gareth Southgate is due to name his preliminary squad for Euro 2024 on Tuesday, ahead of upcoming friendlies against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Iceland.
The England captain missed the final two Bundesliga games of the season after going off towards the end of Bayern Munich’s Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid.
Thomas Tuchel confirmed prior to their final match against Hoffenheim that Kane was back in England to undergo treatment.
When later asked again about the nature of the striker’s injury, Tuchel admitted that Kane had been struggling for a couple of weeks.
"In Madrid, it was borderline. We tried injections and treatments. The back has completely closed.
"It has gotten worse and kept breaking out in small, everyday movements. There's no chance he's even training."
Kane scored 36 league goals in his debut campaign for Bayern, though due to the injury, he finished five adrift of Robert Lewandowski’s single-season goal record of 41, set in 2019-20.
The final announcement of Southgate's 26-man squad will be revealed on June 7, ahead of the tournament opener against Serbia on June 16.
Pochettino prioritising continuity as Chelsea draw up transfer plans
Mauricio Pochettino feels continuity will be key for Chelsea ahead of his second season in charge, ruling out the prospect of another clear-out at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea clinched European qualification on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday, a 2-1 win over Bournemouth ensuring they beat Newcastle United and Manchester United to sixth place.
The Blues finished the campaign with five straight victories, the first time they have achieved that feat since doing so in March 2022 under Thomas Tuchel.
A positive end to Pochettino's debut campaign has quietened talk of his job being under threat, and he wants to see evolution rather than revolution ahead of 2024-25.
"Does the club need new signings? Always, you can improve," Pochettino said after Sunday's victory.
"They are going to be much better next season because they will have one year of experience, a tough experience.
"That is the advantage of being solid and consistent and not making too many changes.
"Next season, if we keep 80 to 85 per cent of the squad, for sure it is a big step forward because it is about having continuity in the ideas and the knowledge between them. That is important for the club.
"That is a club decision. Like it was from the beginning, we [the coaching staff] are going to be there to help and if not, we are going to do our job."
Chelsea only lost one of their final 15 matches of the Premier League season (nine wins, five draws), with that defeat coming by a 5-0 scoreline at Arsenal in April.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal (16 each) and Liverpool (12) won more Premier League games than Chelsea's 10 between the turn of the year and the end of the campaign, with their total of 43 goals in that time ranking them fifth among all teams in the division.
Chelsea's overall tally of 77 goals in 2023-24 was their third-most in a Premier League season, behind only their title-winning campaigns of 2009-10 (103) and 2016-17 (85).
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