Plymouth manager Ian Foster was furious with referee James Linington after his side lost 2-1 at Norwich to stay deep in the Sky Bet Championship relegation scrap.
The high-flying Canaries scored two second-half goals to take the points, after being stunned by Morgan Whittaker’s 10th-minute opener, his 20th of the season.
The second-half comeback brought Linington’s decision not to award a penalty to Plymouth when Alfie Devine went down under a challenge from keeper Angus Gunn under the spotlight, while the official’s insistence that Lewis Gibson went off before the corner that led to the winner was also a bone of contention.
“All we ask is that the officials make the right calls and that wasn’t the case today,” said Foster.
“I thought the referee got lots of decisions wrong and two of them were absolutely key decisions in the game.
“For me it was a clear penalty. Their keeper slid in, didn’t get the ball and took Alfie out – but he gave a yellow card to Alfie.
“For the corner there was a collision between two of our players and immediately the referee calls the physio on – he doesn’t ask if our player needed treatment, which he didn’t, he was fine.
“We have to accept responsibility for not defending set-plays properly – but it was still frustrating.
“I think the loyal fans who travelled all this way to follow their team would have been proud of the performance – I know I am.
“We have spoken about being more ruthless at the key moments in both boxes but overall there were a lot of positives to take from that.”
The match was settled by two goals inside seven minutes, both from right-wing corners.
The first was a set routine, with substitute Christian Fassnacht playing the ball low into the path of the deep lying Josh Sargent, who had the space he needed to sweep home his 14th goal of the season.
Regular taker Gabriel Sara then sent in a more conventional corner to the near past where Sam McCallum headed it on and a deflection off Ashley Phillips took the ball into far corner of the net.
It was a deserved win for Norwich, but relegation-threatened Plymouth gave the hosts a scare by taking the lead after just 10 minutes when Whittaker nodded home Matthew Sorinola’s cross to make it 20 for the season.
“It was a big win for us, especially after going behind so early,” said Norwich head coach David Wagner.
“In the first half I thought we played really well, we didn’t let the goal affect us and created lots of chances without being able to take them.
“In the second half we were not so good and sometimes over the course of the season you have to rely on your set-pieces, which we work on very hard.
“Overall it was probably not at the level we have shown over the past few games but once again the players have put in a shift, shown their togetherness to get the result we wanted.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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