AC Milan boss Stefano Pioli is preparing for his side to push themselves when they face Verona in their final match before the international break.

Pioli’s men have a quick turnaround from Thursday night, when they made it two from two over Slavia Prague with a 3-1 win in their Europa League last-16 second leg encounter to book a quarter-final match-up with Roma next month.

First, the second-placed Serie A side will hope to gain more ground on leaders Inter and put more distance between themselves and Juventus, who sit just one point below the Rossoneri.

Pioli told Sky Sports Italy: “We’re fine, it’s a positive moment, our three offensive players have quality. We have to do well on Sunday in another difficult match against Verona, before recovering energy during the break.”

He also praised the efforts of Rafael Leao, who netted the third of AC Milan’s goals on Thursday with a stunning strike into the top corner.

Leao was in turn just as complimentary about his boss, telling Sky Sports Italy: “I’m feeling good, I’m getting along well with (Olivier) Giroud and (Christian) Pulisic, the team is also good.

“It’s my job to help the team even when I don’t score or assist. I’m very happy with myself, but it’s the team that’s doing well.

“As I always say, (Pioli) is one more person who helps me. In the last three years he has better understood how to help me 100 per cent to make a difference, so this good moment is also thanks to him.

“With Giroud and Pulisic we understand each other well. I don’t need to watch them because I already know where they are going in the area; then behind me I have Theo (Hernandez), with him I have an extra weapon.

“Everyone helps me to be a better player, then Pioli puts me in a position to feel calm by telling me ‘Come in and have fun’.”

Verona have lost their last six Serie A matches against AC Milan, and have not recorded a home victory over Sunday’s opponents since December 2017.

Marco Baroni’s men sit in 15th at a crowded bottom of the Serie A table, with just five points separating 13th-placed Lecce from 19th-placed Sassuolo in the second relegation place.

Baroni knows it will be a tough ask to try to gain ground against AC Milan, playing down their chances as he addressed the Italian media in a press conference.

He said: “When you play against these teams, it’s always difficult. Perhaps it’s their best moment too, I have respect for the coach but we have to look at ourselves. We have to play our best game and it might not be enough anyway.

“We have great respect for Milan, they have champions who can decide matches with one play but you don’t defend individually, you defend as a team, you play together and as a team in these matches.”

Steve Evans bemoaned refereeing standards and pleaded for an “equal chance” following Stevenage’s disallowed goal in their 1-0 loss to Leyton Orient at Broadhall Way.

Max Sanders netted the only goal of the game in the 16th minute and moved Orient to within five points of the League One play-off spots.

Stevenage thought they had equalised but Jamie Reid’s equaliser was ruled out due to a handball against Jordan Roberts – much to Evans’ ire.

The Boro boss, whose side now sit two points off sixth-placed Oxford albeit with a game in hand, said: “We are only trying to achieve what Portsmouth are, what Peterborough are, what Barnsley are. Just give us an equal chance to achieve that.

“It has knocked all the stuffing out of me.”

Evans claimed Stevenage have received 17 letters from the FA apologising for previous decisions.

He said: “I have lost all honesty and all faith; I’ve lost it all in referees. I said my piece before but I have lost all heart by the standard.

“I am not questioning the integrity but if that is the standard it is pretty painful.

“My job is to make sure that these young men are full of confidence. They still have great things to go home to, they still have families, they still have little kiddies.”

It was a result that damaged Stevenage’s play-off hopes but appeared to boost Orient’s own bid, leaving them just three points behind their opponents.

However, with games running out, boss Richie Wellens does not believe things will fall in his side’s favour.

He said: “Five points is fine, but it is the seven games (which) is too little and we are chasing too many good teams, and they won’t lose enough points. There is no chance.”

After the win, Wellens hoisted an imaginary trophy in front of the Stevenage fans, which did not please home defender Dan Sweeney.

It caused a post-match scuffle between the two teams but the Orient boss claimed he did not show any malice.

He said: “The fans were giving it and if they want to give their money and abuse me, I love it when come back at you.

“It was only a little trophy lift, and Sweeney came at me. If I do it with the supporters, they laugh at me and I laugh at them.

“I didn’t need to do it, but we have come here on the bare bones and given our supporters a good day out, so why shouldn’t we do it?”

Stuttgart extended their unbeaten run in the Bundesliga to eight games as their usual outlets delivered the goods in a 3-0 defeat of Hoffenheim on Saturday.

Where Deniz Undav faltered in front of goal, he made up for it with two assists for Enzo Millot and Serhou Guirassy, before Jamie Leweling emerged from the bench to put the contest to bed midway through the second half.

Millot's goal 16 minutes in was his third shot of the game, and capped a beautiful team move that involved Chris Fuhrich and Guirassy, before Undav slid in the midfielder for a simple open-bodied finish into the bottom-left corner.

Undav the provider notched his second assist after more fine Stuttgart interplay practically on the half-time whistle. It was a nonchalant ball that unlocked the Hoffenheim defence and Guirassy smashed home for his fifth goal in as many games, and his 22nd Bundesliga goal in just 20 appearances this term.

For Undav, the pair of assists took him up to 20 direct goal involvements in just 21 games – an addition to the evidence pile as to why Germany have called the Brighton loanee up for their upcoming friendlies against the Netherlands and France.

The visitors went three-up thanks to Leweling. There was to be no assist for Undav this time, as the substitute slammed home brilliantly from a corner.

As the triplet of goals tumbled through, it rang true to Stuttgart's opening prowess – they still have not lost in the last 16 games where they have opened the scoring.

It was a sorry performance from European hopefuls Hoffenheim, who mustered only one shot on target, while Stuttgart had 11 going the other way.

Two deflected strikes from Bernardo Silva saw Manchester City become the first team in the history of the FA Cup to reach the semi-finals six seasons running with a 2-0 win over Newcastle.

Pep Guardiola may not want to talk about the prospect of a second treble, but his side are now unbeaten in their last 22 games in all competitions going into the international break after what turned into a Saturday evening stroll in the Manchester rain.

Newcastle can point to a crippling injury list, but the team that ended City’s aspirations in the Carabao Cup back in September could barely lay a glove on them this time, finishing the match with only two efforts at goal to City’s 16.

Guardiola made five changes to the side held 1-1 at Liverpool last weekend, some of them enforced after injuries to Ederson and Kevin De Bruyne, but his players did not skip a beat as they dominated play from the off.

Silva’s 13th-minute opener was the hosts’ first real sight of goal but it had all been City up to that point as they looked for an opening.

When Silva took a stride forward in the Newcastle box, he found space to try a curling shot which deflected off Dan Burn to leave Martin Dubravka wrong-footed.

The second goal came in the 31st minute. Where Silva hit the opener with his right foot, this time he cut inside on to his left and looked for the far post, instead finding the net with the help of Sven Botman’s head.

Newcastle needed a response as the game threatened to get away from them before half-time. In the 36th minute Burn headed Jacob Murphy’s ball back across goal to Alexander Isak, but his well-struck shot was kept out by the left palm of Stefan Ortega.

The German goalkeeper would have always expected to play in this match as Guardiola’s regular cup starter, but it was a welcome sign for City given the injury Ederson suffered at Anfield last weekend.

At the other end a lovely spin from Phil Foden put the England man through on goal, but Bruno Guimaraes did well to force him wide as his off-balance shot missed the target.

They kept the pressure on in the closing minutes of the half as Dubravka saved from Jeremy Doku and then, from the resulting corner, kept out Ruben Dias’ close-range header.

And City were straight back on it at the start of the first half as Foden’s flick released Doku, whose low shot across goal was well saved by the goalkeeper.

Erling Haaland, whose scored five goals as City brushed aside Luton 6-2 in the previous round, then tried his luck, taking the ball from Mateo Kovacic on the halfway line and driving at the Newcastle defence before curling a shot narrowly wide of the post.

The third goal that might have killed the game off completely would not come, yet City rarely looked troubled.

In the 65th minute Silva was dispossessed and Newcastle substitute Miguel Almiron charged at goal. Isak, in plenty of space to his right, demanded the ball but when it came, the pass was behind him and the chance – a rare one for the Magpies – disappeared.

City sent on Oscar Bobb, scorer of their stoppage-time winner at St James’ Park in January, and Julian Alvarez as they kept looking for a third, but Haaland was twice denied late on.

Rodrigo Muniz scored twice as Tottenham missed out on the chance of moving into the Premier League top four after suffering a 3-0 defeat to Fulham at Craven Cottage.

Victory would have meant Ange Postecoglou’s side moved a point ahead of Aston Villa but the north Londoners instead finish the weekend in fifth.

Muniz’s double took his top-flight tally to seven goals in his last seven appearances on a day where the Cottagers shone in west London.

Sasa Lukic scored his first goal of the season as Marco Silva’s side bounced back from last week’s 2-1 defeat by Wolves at Molineux.

Fulham looked to strike an early blow through the in-form Muniz, who was freed into a pocket of space. After his initial shot was blocked by Cristian Romero, Andreas Pereira’s rebound narrowly missed Guglielmo Vicario’s right-hand post.

The hosts’ momentum continued and after Romero was called into action again to block Pereira’s close-range attempt, Muniz proved to be a handful when he outmuscled Radu Dragusin with his back turned to goal, setting the tone for a physical encounter.

Willian was enjoying himself. The experienced 35-year-old, who had a knack of scoring goals against Tottenham in his Chelsea days, looked to punish them again but his first-time effort was stopped by Vicario who got down quickly to keep the scores level despite a one-sided opening period in favour of the hosts.

Spurs rode the storm and began to create chances of their own.

Destiny Udogie exploited space to run in down the left and his cutback found James Maddison on the edge of the area. The England international’s body position suggested he was going for the far post but he opted to go near, dragging his effort wide instead of the open net which Fulham keeper Bernd Leno left unoccupied.

Fulham’s efforts deserved a goal and they got just that. The electric Antonee Robinson broke away and he delivered a perfect ball to the dangerous Muniz before the Brazilian forward performed an intricate touch and powered home into the left-hand corner.

The Cottagers had played the perfect game up to this point and it continued after the break when they doubled their lead.

Fulham’s full-backs had been allowed space all game and this time it was Timothy Castagne’s turn to maraud forward. The right-back’s cross met the thigh of Lukic who had made a late surge into the box and the ball fizzed past the helpless Vicario for a second time.

Muniz’s spectacular run of form took another turn. The forward was well positioned in the box to scrap for the loose ball and claim his brace before he was serenaded with a standing ovation when he was substituted minutes later.

Joao Palhinha thought he added a fourth but referee Robert Jones deemed the strike offside after an interference from Raul Jimenez.

Preston boss Ryan Lowe praised his side for dealing with their injury setbacks in their 1-0 win at his former club Plymouth.

Liam Millar, who came on for the injured Milutin Osmajic after only seven minutes, volleyed home the decisive goal in the 43rd minute, while Layton Stewart, on in place of Brad Potts, went close to a second when he smashed a shot against a post.

Lowe said: “I thought the lads were fantastic from start to finish.

“Losing Emil (Riis Jakobsen) this morning to a sickness bug and then to lose two important players in the first 20 minutes, you are thinking, ‘OK’.

“But I thought the two lads who came on equipped themselves fantastically well and were excellent from back to front. I thought they were brilliant.

“We brought Liam on because we thought he would get in behind them.

“You have to adapt these things and that’s what we did. I am full of faith and belief in the boys that are on the pitch.

“(It’s a) perfect way to go into the international break and a week off.

“Three straight away wins and three clean sheets, that’s not a bad way to go into the international break.

“We want an exciting end to the campaign. I have to keep a level head on it as the manager, but the fans can get excited.

“The fans were brilliant today, excellent, all of them. It doesn’t go unnoticed.

“We should have scored more goals and Layton was so unlucky because he did everything right with his shot that came back off the post.”

“Argyle are fighting for points and I wish them well from now on in because the club has a special place in my heart.

“The fans need to be patient and believe in the process and get behind the coach. Everyone needs to stick together.”

The defeat was Plymouth’s fourth home loss in a row and left them just two points above the bottom three.

Head coach Ian Foster said: “It is disappointing because we desperately want to win games of football and we desperately want to win games here at Home Park.

“I felt we were quite unfortunate to be behind at half-time.

“The players gave everything. We fought until the very end.

“We fancied ourselves in the second period, fine margins, but it’s the way things are going for us.

“It’s a similar situation to last week when we got into good positions and didn’t take our chances. We have got to turn chances into goals.

“It does hurt when we don’t win. We have an appreciation of how important points are at the moment.

“The break now might do us a little bit of good, with recharging the batteries.

“I am quite conscious some of the players need a break and the most important thing is they get a breather now.

“But we are desperate to get back to winning ways when we come back.”

Harry Kane could be an injury concern for England after twisting an ankle during Bayern Munich’s 5-2 win over Darmstadt.

The former Tottenham striker broke the record for most goals scored in a debut Bundesliga season by netting his side’s second just before half-time on Saturday.

But the 30-year-old was substituted eight minutes from time, with England set to face Brazil and Belgium in friendlies over the next 10 days.

Bayern boss Thomas Tuchel told the club’s official website: “(Kane) twisted his ankle in the goal netting. He’s been applying ice to it since.

“We don’t have any news yet. We’ll have to wait and see and hope that it’s nothing major.”

On securing the German league’s scoring record, Kane said on X: “Proud to break a Bundesliga record but more importantly another good win.”

Neil Critchley felt his Blackpool side deserved a point at Wigan after suffering a 1-0 defeat that dented their Sky Bet League One play-off aspirations.

An away win would have seen Blackpool climb to sixth in the table on goal difference ahead of the international break.

But Scott Smith’s 26th-minute goal – his first in senior football – proved to be the difference at the DW Stadium, as Wigan climbed to the 50-point mark.

Blackpool had chances to go home with a point, but England Under-21 goalkeeper Sam Tickle denied Shayne Lavery in the first half, before Wigan Academy product Kyle Joseph headed just wide for the visitors after the break.

“Yes, it was a fine line today, and we knew it was going to be like that,” said Critchley. “Looking at some of their recent results, most of them have been low-scoring games, and we knew the first goal would be decisive.

“They got it, from a really great cross but, from our point of view, a poor goal to concede.

“In the second half we were by far the more dominant team, we pinned them back, and it’s not easy to break down 11 men, but we created some decent chances.

“When you do that, you have to take one of them, and we couldn’t do that.

“You’re not going to come here and dominate for 90 minutes, they’re a good team with some good players.

“They play a really good brand of possession football, they overload the middle of the pitch, and they make it really difficult for you.

“I’ve watched a lot of them this season, and they cause a lot of teams a lot of problems with how they play.

“But there was nothing in the game…they got the first goal, and we dominated the second half.

“Overall I thought we deserved to get a point from the game, but it wasn’t to be.”

Wigan boss Shaun Maloney said: “It was two very different halves.

“Blackpool are one of the better teams in the league without the ball, and when you don’t get your build-up play right, they can quickly create chances.

“I really enjoyed the first half, but the second half was the complete opposite.

“We had to defend, and they had a couple of good chances, one a header and one that hit the side-netting.

“But I get just as much pleasure from watching that second-half performance as the first half.

“In the first half, we went very aggressive with the line-up, but we had to play under great pressure – and we did.

“Blackpool are a very good side, they’re going for the play-offs, and the more attacking they went in the second half, the more we had to defend.

“We’ve had to rely on Sam Tickle a lot in these kinds of matches, but I thought we defended pretty well.

“We gave up two chances in that second half, but in other matches we’ve given up a few more.

“In that sense, it was pleasing that we restricted them to that number of chances.”

Ireland claimed back-to-back Guinness Six Nations titles by beating Scotland in Dublin.

Here, the PA news agency picks out five standout performers for Andy Farrell’s side during the championship.

Tadhg Beirne

Beirne capped a string of standout displays by celebrating title success on the occasion of his 50th Ireland cap. The influential workhorse, who formed an impressive second-row partnership with the emerging Joe McCarthy, reads the game superbly and is a menace in both attack and defence. He produced key lineout steals and also chipped in with crucial tries.

Bundee Aki

It is 10 years since New Zealand-born Aki joined Connacht and he has arguably never been more important to his adopted country. The colossal centre was outstanding at last year’s Rugby World Cup and continued that fine form during the championship. His forceful carrying skills were a key weapon for Ireland, punching holes in opposition defences, while he was lethal presence at the breakdown.

Caelan Doris

While try-scoring hooker Dan Sheehan and powerful prop Andrew Porter deserve honourable mentions, dynamic Doris once again excelled in a formidable forward pack. The 25-year-old has emerged as the successor to captain Peter O’Mahony after skippering his side against Italy. A tackling machine and fearsome carrier, he still has the potential to hit new heights and appears certain to join Farrell on next year’s British and Irish Lions tour.

James Lowe

Named official man of the match for the round three-win over Wales, Lowe consistently starred on the left flank and finished among the tournament’s top try scorers. The New Zealand-born wing brings a different dimension to Ireland’s attack. Offloads, line breaks and carries were just some of the areas where he has shone, while his trusty left boot remains a significant strength.

Jack Crowley

The talented 24-year-old began the tournament as a genuine Test rookie and ended it having admirably filled the void left by the retired Johnny Sexton. Crowley formed a fine half-back partnership with the equally-impressive Jamison Gibson-Park to steer his country to glory. A maiden senior try in the second-round victory over Italy was a major high, while his unwavering mental resilience came to the fore following a few kicking errors.

Ireland became back-to-back Guinness Six Nations champions by crushing Scotland’s quest for a first Triple Crown in 34 years with a scrappy 17-13 win.

Andy Farrell’s hosts were well below their free-flowing best in Dublin but avoided any major ‘Super Saturday’ drama to retain the championship title.

Andrew Porter’s second-half try fatally broke the resistance of the stubborn Scots to ignite the St Patrick’s weekend celebrations and satisfy an expectant capacity crowd at the Aviva Stadium.

Hooker Dan Sheehan set Ireland on course for glory – and a 10th successive win over Scotland – with an opportunistic first-half score, while Jack Crowley kicked seven points.

A pair of first-half Finn Russell penalties meant Gregor Townsend’s men trailed just 7-6 at the break and he added a late conversion following Huw Jones’ consolation try.

Yet the Scots were powerless to prevent Ireland bouncing back from the disappointment of their dream of successive Grand Slams being agonisingly ended by England last weekend.

Underdogs Scotland crossed the Irish Sea with a slender chance of snatching the title but realistically seeking to secure a first Triple Crown since 1990 following a chastening round-four loss to Italy.

Their mission to rip up the script began in positive fashion thanks to an early Russell penalty before Sheehan was gifted his fifth try of the tournament by George Turner’s overthrown lineout.

The fortunate 13th-minute score, converted by Crowley, did little to settle Irish nerves and the fired-up Scots kept up the pressure with another three points from Russell’s boot.

Farrell’s men were struggling to gain meaningful territory during a cagey opening period punctuated with errors and frequent kicking exchanges amid a subdued atmosphere.

Crowley squandered a long-range penalty to stretch the slender advantage as resolute Scotland remained relatively untroubled, while offering a threat on the counter attack.

Ireland, who had been forced to replace injured full-back Hugo Keenan with Jordan Larmour just before kick-off, trudged down the tunnel leading by only a single point and with major room for improvement.

Scotland head coach Townsend acknowledged pre-match that his side needed to produce “something special” to spoil the Irish party and bounce back from a dismal display in Rome.

Crowley made their uphill task slightly harder with a straightforward penalty before the visitors received a major reprieve when Tadhg Furlong’s apparent touch down was chalked off following a lengthy review as referee Matthew Carley deemed the ball had been dislodged.

Heroic last-ditch defending was the only thing preventing a rampant home side showing renewed purpose from fully taking control of the contest.

Scotland flanker Andy Christie superbly halted the weaving Calvin Nash with the try line in touching distance before rusty Ireland replacement Garry Ringrose inexplicably fumbled.

Ringrose, making his first appearance of the tournament following a shoulder injury, atoned with a lung-busting intercept run which led to Ireland’s crucial second try.

Robbie Henshaw was adjudged to have been held up on the line in the immediate aftermath before Porter subsequently powered over from a tap-and-go penalty following a yellow card for Ewan Ashman.

Supporters responded with a rousing rendition of the Fields of Athenry, fully believing the job was done.

However, home fans were forced to endure a nervy final couple of minutes after replacement fly-half Harry Byrne was sin binned for a head-on-head challenge on Russell and Scotland centre Jones broke clear to touch down.

Ireland duly avoided any further issues to jubilantly celebrate a fifth championship title in 11 years – and sixth overall – to underline their status as the northern hemisphere’s leading nation.

Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) executive director Ahmad Nassar believes tennis should do more to protect players after Simona Halep was allowed to return to tennis.

Halep was suspended in October 2022 after failing two drug tests following the US Open. The former world number one was initially banned for four years, but a ruling earlier in March by the Court of Arbitration for Sport slashed her suspension to nine months.

The reduced ban means Halep can immediately return to tennis, and the two-time grand-slam winner is set to make her return at the upcoming Miami Open.

When asked whether players in situations like Halep's should receive help to gain back what she has lost during her time away, Nassar told Stats Perform: "Should there be? Absolutely. Will there be? Probably not. For tennis, this is a much broader issue in terms of governance. 

"Think about Simona’s case. Where did this happen, at the US Open? And so you give the Tour the cover to say 'well, it wasn't actually one of our events'. It was, and we didn't admit it. There has to be an answer.

"The net effect is the player gets doubly penalised."

Now 32, Halep will be a wildcard at the Miami Open.

In Nassar's view, that is an opportunity that not every player in a similar situation would be fortuitous enough to receive.

"I don't want to use the word lucky," Nassar explained. "But Simona is unique in the sense that she's already gotten, 24 hours later, a wildcard to Miami, a WTA 1000 event.

"Ninety-nine per cent of players who go through anything like this will not get that. What do they have to do? Well, they have to go play maybe universal tennis events, and then WTA 125s and get back into it. That could take a year, easily.

"Getting back, building your ranking up, getting your points up, getting the money to be able to go back out there. It becomes really overly punitive at that point."

Nassar is hopeful that Halep can return to her top form, which saw her claim French Open and Wimbledon triumphs in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

He added: "What I'll say is this. Athletes who have been unfairly treated often use that as fuel and motivation when they're back. And so I would not be surprised in the least if that was the case.

"But at the same time, I don't want to make light of what Simona and other athletes who go through this type of nightmare have to endure. We definitely wish her all the best."

Nassar also called out some in tennis for their lack of initial support for Halep, continuing: "It's been interesting to see that decision come out.

"It's like everybody is saying 'welcome back' with open arms. And I have to ask myself, where were these people for 17 months?

"The process was not okay. And it's still not okay."

Vincent Kompany stressed Burnley have “total belief” after his relegation-threatened side beat 10-man Brentford 2-1 at Turf Moor for their first win in 11 Premier League games.

The Clarets took the lead through a 10th-minute Jacob Bruun Larsen penalty awarded for a foul on Vitinho by Sergio Reguilon, who received a straight red card.

David Datro Fofana, having been guilty of a remarkable miss late in the first half, then doubled the advantage with a finish just past the hour mark.

A nervy finale for the hosts saw Kristoffer Ajer score a header for Brentford and a stoppage-time Shandon Baptiste effort ruled out due to Ivan Toney fouling goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.

However, Burnley held out for a first victory of 2024 – and only their fourth in the league this term – to leave an eight-point gap between them and safety with nine games left to play.

Boss Kompany said in his post-match press conference: “It feels great and I think we have to celebrate.

“It’s a day where we won, we got the three points and I think the way we’ll handle this is we’ll really enjoy this moment today and then tomorrow we go back to work.

“The team started hard from the beginning, we were on the front foot, we created situations that forced mistakes from the opponent, we won duels, we were aggressive and then after that I think for large spells we did exactly what we have to do against 10 men. We scored the second goal, probably there’s a couple of goals I still don’t know how we missed it, but OK.

“And then after that I think it’s just like a team when you’ve not been winning, sometimes it becomes a little bit more difficult at the end of games to keep the result, but we did exactly what we had to do in terms of showing grit at times.

“There’s never been a lack of belief. For us, we have total belief, full belief.”

When asked how he would celebrate, the former Manchester City captain said: “It will have to be spontaneous, I didn’t really plan for it just yet. But I’ve celebrated a few times in my life, so I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it again!

“To bring up that energy through the week (after last week being held 2-2 at West Ham due to a stoppage-time Danny Ings equaliser), to start the game like we did, I think then at the end you earn the right to celebrate when you win.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, whose side are winless in six and 15th in the table, four points above the drop zone, had no complaints about the officials’ decisions to give the penalty, send off Reguilon, or disallow the stoppage-time effort.

However, he was unhappy no spot-kick was given to the Bees after Fofana tangled with Mathias Jorgensen early in the second half, an incident he described as a “murder in the box.”

Frank said: “There’s a clear penalty, how the referee (Darren Bond) and the VAR cannot see that, it’s incredible.

“That would have changed the game. It is a 100 per cent clear penalty, especially when they speak about you can’t hold, grab players. That was a murder in the box.”

Kompany viewed the situation differently, saying: “No chance (it should have been a penalty) – and with the way it’s gone this year, I’m even more convinced in saying it.”

Frank said he was “very, very proud” of his players, adding: “What an effort, what a mentality, basically playing the whole match with 10 players – we were very close to getting a point.”

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.”