Reading manager Ruben Selles praised the strong character of his players for brushing aside the club’s off-field worries to secure a vital 4-0 League One victory over Cambridge.
Goals from Sam Smith and Femi Azeez gave Reading, who are still beset by constant cash-flow problems, a commanding half-time lead and they cruised past Cambridge after the break with further efforts from Lewis Wing and Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan.
“It was really important for me to see the character of the team as the week has been another difficult one for us,” Selles said.
“The boys have been working really hard to get that kind of performance and to get those goals.
“We focused on the task in hand and it is good to find a group of players who want to compete for each other in that way.
“I’m very proud of what they did today.
“We were very ruthless in the final third, very ruthless in what we did. I would like to see that more often.
“It’s not myself who kept the players focused. I think they learnt themselves to keep focused as individuals and as a team.
“It was a great expression of the character of the dressing room. The team is alive, it means that it has that life inside.
“It makes them really difficult to beat and they showed that. So it’s not down to me, it’s absolutely them.”
Struggling Cambridge, with new head coach Garry Monk three matches into his reign, lost heavily to Reading after a previous 6-0 defeat at Lincoln on Tuesday.
“It’s been a difficult week,” said Monk. “But I’m not going to lose any belief in the squad.
“It’s been a difficult two games that we’ve had but I’ve seen enough in the players, the ability is there.
“But it’s been a symptom of these two games. We started this one well enough and with a bit of momentum.
“But it seems that every time we get that bit of momentum, we kind of shoot ourselves in the foot.
“The first two goals were similar to Tuesday (against Lincoln). They were just poor goals, just individual errors, whether that’s down to concentration or decision-making.
“And it leads straight to a goal. Unfortunately, that’s what happened on Tuesday and that’s what happened today.
“There were quite a few large spells in the game overall when we were quite competent with the ball and were doing OK.
“But we come out in the second half, again gain momentum, but not taking our opportunities is then compounded by Reading’s last two goals.
“And then you’re out of the game.”
Pochettino leaves Chelsea after one season
Mauricio Pochettino will leave Chelsea by mutual consent after one season in charge, the club announced on Tuesday.
Despite a poor start to the season, Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-place finish, confirming a European place - an improvement on their 12th-place finish in 2022-23.
He also led them to the EFL Cup final and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Speculation surrounded Pochettino's position during the latter stages of the Premier League campaign, though he remained tight-lipped about his future.
The Argentinian had one year left on his contract but now leaves the club with immediate effect.
In a club statement, Pochettino said: "Thank you to the Chelsea ownership group and Sporting Directors for the opportunity to be part of this football club's history.
"The club is now well positioned to keep moving forward in the Premier League and Europe in the years to come."
Sporting Directors Laurence Stewart and Paul Winstanley said: "On behalf of everyone at Chelsea, we would like to express our gratitude to Mauricio for his service this season.
"He will be welcome back to Stamford Bridge any time, and we wish him all the very best in his future coaching career."
Alonso wants to write more history with Leverkusen in Europa League final
Xabi Alonso is hopeful that his Bayer Leverkusen side can make more history in their Europa League final against Atalanta on Wednesday.
Leverkusen became the first side in Bundesliga history to go unbeaten in a single season on their way to the top-flight title, and across all competitions, they have not lost any of their last 51 matches.
Now, they have the opportunity to complete an unbeaten treble if they can get past Atalanta before taking on Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal on Saturday.
Only three sides have previously won the competition without losing a game – Chelsea in 2018-19, Villarreal in 2020-21 and Eintracht Frankfurt in 2021-22, with Leverkusen looking to be added to that list.
Alonso is taking charge of his first European final as a manager and highlights the ambition the club have to do something significant.
"It would mean a lot, a lot to me [to win a European trophy]," he told UEFA. "To be able to share it with the people from the club, with the fans.
"You see what it meant when we won the Bundesliga. To be able to win a European title after so many years since we won [the UEFA Cup in 1988] would be historic, and we want to do that, to have a historic season.
"It would be something written in golden letters, not only in the history of our club but probably all European football. I hope we can."
Like his counterpart, Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini is also taking charge of a European final for the first time in his career.
The Italian side clinched a top-five finish in Serie A with their win over Lecce on Saturday and are looking to win their first major trophy in 61 years.
Looking back on the season, Gasperini says he is proud of the work his side have done to make it through to the club's first European final.
"It feels good," Gasperini said. "It's a great achievement and source of satisfaction, achieved with a really good season from this whole team.
"Is it the highest point of my career? Yes, in terms of accomplishment and prestige, absolutely. In terms of gratification, fortunately, I've had quite a few, although perhaps not on the same level.
"This team always wanted it. Sometimes, you get teams who are good technically but lacking in determination and hunger.
"From the start, from the group stage, since we played in Lisbon, in a group where we were not the favourites – Sporting [CP] were the favourites – we played great matches against strong opponents. Of course, winning at Anfield boosted our confidence even more."
Southgate envisages central role for 'brilliant' Foden at Euro 2024
Gareth Southgate believes Phil Foden's starting position is less important than the spaces he is allowed to attack, pledging to find a way of letting him operate centrally at Euro 2024.
Foden was included in England's 33-man preliminary squad on Tuesday, and he is expected to be among the first names on the teamsheet after enjoying a fine campaign.
Foden was named Premier League Player of the Season as he helped Manchester City win an unprecedented fourth straight title, scoring 19 goals and adding seven assists.
Only three players in the league bettered Foden's goal tally, while he also ranked seventh in the division for chances created (73) and fourth for possession won in the final third (35 times).
Foden scored two excellent goals as City clinched the title with a 3-1 final-day win over West Ham, drifting infield from the right to find space between the lines and in the penalty area.
While the presence of Real Madrid's Jude Bellingham and Arsenal's Bukayo Saka has led many to conclude Foden will be stationed on the left in Germany, Southgate is aware of the need to grant him positional freedom.
"Phil has played off the right, off the left, the key is where he ends up, not his starting position," Southgate said at a press conference on Tuesday.
"He plays on the left with City, sometimes he stays wide, but he's allowed to drift, and it has always been the same with us. He's allowed to drift.
"Then there's where a player has to defend. Jude has played as a 10 all season, and sometimes he has defended on the left for Real Madrid.
"It's about where these players arrive and where you allow them to drift, that's the key. I think if you spoke to all of our players, we never pin them to a touchline, that's not how we work so there is that freedom."
Foden produced a series of talismanic displays for City in the run-in, scoring match-winning hat-tricks against Brentford and Aston Villa and masterminding a vital comeback against Manchester United with two goals in March.
The 23-year-old stepped up while players like Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland were sidelined through injury, and Southgate has been impressed by his ability to shoulder that responsibility.
"It's obvious the brilliant season Phil has had, how he stepped up in big games not only when big players have been out but when he's been playing alongside them as well," Southgate added.
"You want him in central areas as you do one or two others, so we have to find the best way of making that happen."
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
