David Fofana came off the bench to mark his home debut with two goals as his stoppage-time equaliser earned Burnley a point in a 2-2 draw against Fulham.
The Cottagers, without an away victory since the opening day of the season and winless in the league at Turf Moor since 1951, appeared to be cruising after goals from Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz had them 2-0 up inside 21 minutes.
But on-loan Chelsea striker Fofana, on as a substitute just after the hour, got them back into it with a 71st-minute header before bundling in the leveller in the first minute of stoppage time – equalling in 20 minutes his number of league goals for Union Berlin in 17 games during a previous loan this season.
Vincent Kompany’s side remain seven points adrift of safety, but this ended a run of 19 Premier League games in which Burnley had lost after conceding first, and the mood inside Turf Moor improved dramatically after Fofana’s late intervention.
Kompany’s side, whose last league win was away to Fulham on December 23, began well and kept the Cottagers inside their own half. After Lyle Foster dispossessed Tosin Adarabioyo it took a superb recovery tackle from Tim Ream to deny Wilson Odobert a clear shot at goal.
But it fell apart very quickly. Kompany gave a debut to Lorenz Assignon, who arrived on loan from Rennes on deadline day, but the right-back needlessly conceded a 17th-minute corner when he shepherded the ball out of play rather than hook it clear.
The mistake was instantly punished as Andreas Pereira whipped the ball in and Palhinha turned it goalwards, with his header beating James Trafford with the help of a deflection off Sander Berge.
It got worse four minutes later when Antonee Robinson’s long punt up field turned into the perfect ball for Muniz to score his first Premier League goal.
The 22-year-old Brazilian, starting in place of the injured Raul Jimenez with new boy Armando Broja on the bench, was played onside by Vitinho as he got goalside of Hjalmar Ekdal, running at Trafford before lifting the ball over the exposed goalkeeper to a chorus of boos from the Turf Moor crowd.
Ekdal was hooked at half-time as Maxime Esteve, Burnley’s other deadline day signing on loan from Montpellier, came on for his debut.
Josh Brownhill, making his 100th Premier League appearance, had a shot which picked up a deflection on its way to Bernd Leno, but it was Fulham who continued to probe to the frustration of the home fans.
Willian’s curling low shot was pushed aside by Trafford, who then repelled Adarabioyo’s powerful header from the resulting corner. Soon after, the goalkeeper made a smart save to deny Muniz at his near post.
Fofana came on for his home debut alongside Johann Berg Gudmundsson just after the hour, and soon set up Brownhill, who blazed wastefully over.
Moments later, the Ivorian was celebrating his first Burnley goal. Assignon led a breakaway down the left, and sent in a cross which sailed over Leno to leave Fofana to head into an open goal.
Marco Silva responded by giving Broja his debut but his decision to reinforce the defence with Kenny Tete backfired.
The Dutchman missed what looked a routine interception of Gudmundsson’s ball forward and it ran through to Odobert to send in a low cross, and Fofana beat Ream to the the near post to divert it home.
The goal survived a VAR check for handball, to the delight of the home crowd and the relief of Kompany.
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
'It's a joke' – Ten Hag slams reports of Man Utd fire sale
Erik ten Hag has angrily denied reports claiming almost every player in Manchester United's squad will be up for sale in the upcoming transfer window, describing them as "a joke".
United are officially out of the running for Champions League qualification and could yet end Ten Hag's second season at the helm out of Europe entirely, with Newcastle United and Chelsea among the teams looking to hunt down the sixth-placed Red Devils.
Big changes are expected in United's first transfer window under the stewardship of INEOS founder Jim Ratcliffe, who assumed full control of football operations when his purchase of a minority stake in the club was ratified in February.
Earlier this week, reports emerged suggesting United were entertaining offers for all but three of their players, namely Rasmus Hojlund, Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo.
Speaking at a press conference to preview Monday's Premier League trip to Crystal Palace, Ten Hag shot down those suggestions.
"It's a joke! As long as I worked here, 200 players are apparently getting interest from Manchester United every summer, which is untrue. We did some research," Ten Hag said.
"Every summer, we sell every player in our squad, which is untrue. Be calm and take responsibility when you make up such a headline. It is total c**p."
Despite coming under fierce pressure this campaign, Ten Hag has repeatedly insisted he will remain at Old Trafford for the 2024-25 season.
He knows there is plenty to be done as the Red Devils enter a new era, saying: "There's always a lot of work, that's normal when you go into a transfer window.
"We are still below the levels of the expectations that Manchester United have, so we have to catch up.
"I am now going into my fifth window, two windows were okay, two windows we did nothing. We have to make new improvements in the summer.
"There is a base of this squad that is very good. Injuries had a big impact on our season."
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
