Stefano Pioli feels Milan dropped two points against Roma despite Alexis Saelemaekers snatching a draw with a 97th-minute equaliser at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday.

The Rossoneri headed into the match in the Champions League places but above fifth-placed Roma on just goal difference, and it appeared the Giallorossi would leapfrog Pioli's men as Tammy Abraham scored in the 94th minute with the match's first shot on target.

But with Roma seconds away from a huge win, Saelemaekers turned home from Rafael Leao's deep cross to break the hosts' hearts and keep Milan in the top four.

Despite his team snatching a draw at the death, Pioli still felt Milan dropped two points, with city rivals Inter just three points behind and with a game in hand.

When asked if Roma had dropped points, Pioli replied: "For us too, it means that tonight we all go home unhappy. It's not the result we wanted.

"We didn't play badly, we lacked the right decisions in the last 30 metres. It's a shame we didn't exploit situations. We knew that the difficulty was to unlock the match, we didn't succeed."

Roma may have seen a crucial three points slip through their fingers with seconds to play, but head coach Jose Mourinho remained appreciative of his players' efforts, telling reporters: "I'm sad, but I'm more proud than sad. 

"Only we can do what we've done, only us with all our limitations, only us with all the players we've lost, could play this match against Milan. Milan have two teams, one on the pitch and one on the bench. I'm not envious of Pioli; he is always fair and nice to me.

"I'm super proud and I'm sure Roma fans go home like I do, sad but proud."

Cameron Norrie finally delivered some British success in Madrid as he beat Yosuke Watanuki in straight sets.

With Andy Murray and Dan Evans crashing out in the first round and Emma Raducanu withdrawing on the eve of her match due to a hand injury, it had been a rotten week for the Brits.

But Norrie went some way to putting that right with his 6-4 7-6 (5) victory.

The British number one, who is looking to kickstart his European clay court season after early exits in Monte Carlo and Barcelona, made an inauspicious start against the Japanese and trailed 4-1.

But he found his rhythm and reeled off five successive games to take the first set.

The second was tighter, though it was the Brit who was the enforcer, seeing two break points saved as it went to a tiebreak.

And Norrie was able to get the job done, winning on his second match point.

Evans, seeded 19th, had earlier crashed to a straight-sets defeat to Bernabe Zapata Miralles.

The Spaniard, ranked 42 and a clay-court specialist, won 6-3 6-2.

Tim Murtagh recorded a 10-wicket match haul as Middlesex secured a second successive LV= Insurance County Championship victory at the expense of Kent in Division One.

The seamer reached 1000 wickets in all formats for his team after taking six for 42 – and match figures of 10 for 82 – as Kent fell to 128 all out at Lord’s.

Ben Compton and Jack Leaning had dragged Kent back into contention with an 87-run partnership but seven wickets tumbled cheaply, setting Middlesex a comfortable chase of 86 as Sam Robson and Pieter Malan steered them to victory with nine wickets remaining.

Surrey also secured a nine-wicket victory with a dominant display against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

The visitors added 70 to their total, with Jamie Smith top-scoring on 88, to set a first-innings lead of 131, but a fantastic spell from Kemar Roach saw the fast bowler take three for nine, leaving Warwickshire 22 for four at lunch.

Roach finished with a five-for as the hosts fell to 141 all out and Surrey knocked off the required 11 runs in two overs.

In Division Two, Matthew Potts starred with the ball picking up five wickets as Durham claimed victory by an innings and seven runs against Derbyshire at Chester-Le-Street.

The visitors had made a good start to day three with Matthew Lamb and Luis Reece putting on 149 runs for the sixth wicket, but Durham sparked into life after Lamb fell just short of his century on 99, pinned lbw by Ben Raine.

England seamer Potts then skittled through Derbyshire’s lower order, taking five for 65 for Durham to extend their lead at the top of the table.

Sussex continued their push for victory against Gloucestershire, sparked by substitute fielder Tom Clark’s direct-hit run out of Marcus Harris.

A chaotic period then saw Nathan McAndrew claim the wickets of James Bracey and Graeme van Buuren from successive balls for Gloucestershire to go four down at tea.

Sussex took five further wickets in the late session, with McAndrew finishing the day with figures of five for 53 to leave Gloucestershire 198 for nine at the close, still 257 runs behind their opponent’s first-innings total.

Chris Cooke and Michael Neser starred with the bat as Glamorgan fought back against Leicestershire.

Chasing 407, Glamorgan were struggling on 225 for seven in their opening innings before Cooke and Neser shared an eight-wicket partnership of 211 to help move the side on to 446 for eight.

Cooke remained unbeaten on 121 at the close of play, with Neser departing for 90 after being bowled by Chris Wright.

England boss Shaun Wane insists England can only continue to improve after a side stacked with debutants thumped France 64-0 in a one-sided mid-season international in Warrington.

Captain George Williams was one of only three survivors from last year’s World Cup squad to feature as Wane rang the changes, with one eye on this autumn’s much tougher three-test series against Tonga.

England coasted into a 36-0 interval lead, but Wane revealed he still demanded plenty of improvements against opponents who were thoroughly outclassed in every department and scarcely managed to muster any attacking intent.

“I was quite harsh on them defensively at half-time, because I had an eye on how we were going to play against Tonga, and the improvements in the second half were probably the most satisfying thing for me,” said Wayne.

“We looked a lot stronger and what it said to me was that this is a really young team, with so many debutants, and with how well we’ve adapted it just shows how strong we are with World Cup players to come back.”

Williams and Ash Handley both helped themselves to hat-tricks, while Danny Walker scored twice and Jake Wardle, Kai Pearce-Paul and Harry Smith also crossed.

Smith added 18 points with the boot before Williams, who also produced the pivotal move in four of his side’s tries, kicked the last conversion to ensure the men’s result mirrored that of an equally one-sided women’s international earlier.

“I was really happy,” added Wayne. “There were certain things I wanted them to work on and they’ve delivered. It was outstanding and those 13 debutants are a credit to their Super League clubs and their chairmen.

“My talk before the game was about Tonga and how we can put a stamp on our position, so credit to the RFL for getting that series on. It is something for us to look forward to and conversations with players and clubs will be easier because of that.”

Adding specific praise for the influential Williams, taking on the captaincy role for the first time due to the absence of Sam Tomkins, Wane added: “How he’s spoken this week and how he’s developed as a leader, it’s great to see how he’s come on.”

Shell-shocked France boss Laurent Frayssinous called the result a “reality check” as he begins the daunting process of building a team capable of impressing when they host the next World Cup in 2025.

“It is a reality check about where we are – obviously the scoreboard is pretty tough and the dressing room is shattered, but it is where we are, and it is a learning curve for a few kids here,” he said.

“We’ll take our medicine and we’ll keep working and just make sure we handle the situation better next time. I was not expecting to lose by 60 – if I thought about it I would have stayed at home.

“I thought we had the respect of England and I don’t want England to judge us on that scoreboard tonight, because next time we will be better, I guarantee.”

Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick as Real Madrid beat Almeria 4-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu to move within eight points of Barcelona at the top of LaLiga.

After Girona and Rayo Vallecano dealt the top two surprise midweek defeats, Madrid had the chance to cut Barca's lead – at least temporarily before the Blaugrana face Real Betis. 

Benzema ensured they seized that opportunity in emphatic fashion, benefitting from excellent assists from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo before stroking home a third from the penalty spot. 

Lazaro and Lucas Robertone netted either side of a long-range fourth from Rodrygo as Almeria fought gallantly, but Madrid were ultimately deserved winners.

Benzema was heavily involved from the off and had already tested Fernando Martinez by the time he opened the scoring five minutes in, tapping home after Vinicius darted down the left to cross with the outside of his boot.

His second, arriving after 17 minutes, owed much to Rodrygo, who turned Samu Costa with a brilliant piece of skill before teeing up Benzema to sweep home.

Largie Ramazani headed wide as Almeria sought a response, but the winger was then at fault as Benzema clinched his hat-trick, tripping Lucas Vazquez to allow the Frenchman to convert from the spot.

Almeria clawed one back on the stroke of half-time, Lazaro tapping in Ramazani's low cross from the left.

But any hopes of a comeback were extinguished within three minutes of the restart, when Rodrygo rifled into the top-right corner after finding space on the edge of the area.

Almeria hit back again when substitute Robertone headed past Thibaut Courtois, but Madrid remained in control – twice going close to a fifth when Benzema shot against the post and Eduardo Camavinga had a header ruled offside.

A 97th-minute Alexis Saelamaekers equaliser stunned Roma and earned Milan a point at Stadio Olimpico on Saturday to maintain their place in the Serie A Champions League places.

Milan headed into the game above the Giallorossi on just goal difference, and it appeared it would remain that way as a quiet affair was moments away from finishing goalless.

But in the fourth minute of stoppage time, Abraham fired into the bottom corner to send the home fans into raptures and seemingly lift Jose Mourinho's men above the visitors.

However, Saelemaekers stuck in the dying seconds to nick a draw for Milan and extend their unbeaten Serie A streak against Roma to seven matches.

Roberto De Zerbi credited Brighton’s Wembley agony as the stimulus for Saturday’s history-making 6-0 Premier League demolition of Wolves.

De Zerbi hailed the finest performance of his managerial career after the ruthless Seagulls ripped apart Wanderers to emphatically reignite their European push.

Doubles from Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck at the Amex Stadium paved the way for Albion’s greatest result in the top flight.

The thumping triumph moves the Sussex side on to 52 points – two behind Tottenham in fifth – to match the club-record tally, accrued in 1982.

De Zerbi felt his team’s stunning display was a direct response to the pain of last Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to Manchester United, which was followed by a meek 3-1 midweek defeat at lowly Nottingham Forest.

“I think it’s the best performance in my career as a coach,” said the Italian former Sassuolo and Shakhtar Donetsk manager.

“We scored six goals but if we speak about the level of the play, the style of the play, the quality of the play, I think we are playing a very high level of football.

“This victory started in Wembley, not today, because today we showed pride, we played well.

“We suffered a lot after Wembley because we deserved to win, we suffered a lot in Nottingham because we played the Nottingham game with the heads still in Wembley and today you watched the reaction.

“The players are not like the players on the PlayStation or robots. They gave soul, heart and in those five days they suffered a lot.”

De Zerbi opted to begin with influential trio Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma on the bench due to fatigue fears amid a hectic fixture list.

But the surprising selection did not remain a talking point for long as the reshuffled Seagulls blitzed their shell-shocked visitors in the south-coast sunshine.

German forward Undav fired Brighton ahead in six minutes with his first Premier League goal before Gross’ brace and a Welbeck header made it 4-0 at the break.

Woeful Wolves were frequently exposed defensively and, despite making three changes for the second period, former England forward Welbeck claimed his second just after the restart before Undav’s delightful dinked finish compounded their misery

Wanderers boss Julen Lopetegui apologised to the travelling fans as he took responsibility for the humiliation.

The Spaniard conceded his side contributed to their own downfall as they slipped to an embarrassing loss which keeps them looking over their shoulders in the battle to avoid relegation.

“It’s a very bad day for us,” said Lopetegui, whose side sit eight points above the drop zone.

“I accept my responsibility today. We are sorry a lot for the fans who came here. I don’t recognise my team today, my players they are better than they showed.

“I am guilty more than ever today because I am the coach. In the same way, the players have to know they have to do better.

“I apologise for the fans. It’s a bad day for them. We play for them and we are very sad about the end (result).”

George Williams and Ash Handley both helped themselves to hat-tricks as England scored 11 tries in an overwhelming 64-0 win over feeble France in Warrington.

Home favourite Williams marked his debut as captain with a dominant display, playing the crucial ball in all three of Handley’s efforts, while the Leeds winger returned the favour in a scintillating two-man show.

Danny Walker scored twice, while Jake Wardle, Kai Pearce-Paul and Harry Smith also crossed and Smith added 18 points with the boot, as Shaun Wane’s new-look side oozed potential ahead of a much tougher test against Tonga in the autumn.

Williams, Pearce-Paul and Jack Welsby were the only survivors from November’s World Cup semi-final heartbreak to feature in Wane’s 18-man squad as the England coach sets his sights firmly on the build-up to the 2025 World Cup in France.

Of his raft of debutants, Wigan duo Morgan Smithies and Ethan Havard also shone, but France, beaten 42-18 by England in the second round of the World Cup in November, were dreadful, singularly failing to threaten the England line and seldom mustering a move into their attacking half.

England took less than five minutes to get their assault under way when a neat kick by Williams, the lynchpin of Warrington’s remarkable Super League resurgence this season, sent Handley scampering over in the right corner.

Williams sparked the move that led to England’s second, spraying the ball out to Jake Wardle, who, showing no ill-effects from an earlier challenge from Paul Marcon that sent the pair spiralling through the advertising boards on to the concrete concourse, neatly switched inside to send Smith clear.

Smithies’ short pass sent Walker in for his first after 25 minutes, then Walker’s pinpoint 40-20 set up Welsby, reverting to his favoured full-back role in the absence of World Cup captain Sam Tomkins, to send Wardle over on the left.

Welsby proved pivotal once again five minutes before the break when he burst through the flat-footed French rearguard and sent the always-ready Williams over under the posts.

Williams’ looping ball out wide found Handley, who cut inside Marcon to touch down for his second, and the other side of the interval the Leeds man returned the favour by pouncing into space on the right flank and feeding Williams the simplest of opportunities.

As France wilted England stepped up the pace, Handley grasping a Williams kick in the corner then Pearce-Paul barging clear, again prompted by Williams carving open the opposing defence.

Williams completed his hat-trick after a break down the flank by Handley, then Walker went over for his second, Williams duly stepping up to take over kicking duties and wrap up a thoroughly convincing victory.

Max Verstappen accused Formula One bosses of creating “artificial excitement” and ordered them to “scrap” the new sprint schedule.

F1 has revamped the weekend format in Baku by introducing two qualifying sessions. One on Friday, which decided the order for Sunday’s Grand Prix, and a second shorter qualifying session to make up the grid for Saturday’s sprint race, which was won by Sergio Perez.

The sport’s chiefs believe the revamp will enliven a race weekend and appeal to their younger audience. Practice has been reduced from three hours to just one to make way for more on-track action.

Verstappen has already threatened to quit F1 if the sprint calendar – set at six events this season – is expanded.

And pressed for his assessment of the new format, the double world champion, who finished third on Saturday, said: “It is terrible. Just scrap the whole thing.

“It is hectic. It is not proper racing. It is more like gambling. I will have more success in Las Vegas when I go to the casino.

“I like racing. I am a pure racer but this is more for the show. Of course, it is important to have entertainment but if all the cars are closer you create better entertainment.

“That is what we have to try and aim for and not to implement this artificial excitement.

“It feels like a football match when one team is winning 3-0 and then suddenly you just reset it to 0-0. I find it unnecessary.”

The changes, which gained support from the grid’s 10 teams following a unanimous vote on Tuesday, will apply to the five other sprint rounds in Austria, Belgium, Qatar, Austin and Brazil this year. A regular grand prix weekend will remain as it is.

Verstappen, who holds a 13-point lead in the championship, continued: “I got bored in qualifying [on Saturday] to be honest. I like to have one qualifying where you put everything in it.

“I did that yesterday which I enjoyed and then we had to do it again today and I was like ‘my God another qualifying’. I just don’t enjoy that.”

Late strikes from Ivan Toney and Josh Dasilva saw Brentford come from behind to condemn Nottingham Forest to another Premier League defeat on the road.

Forest had led through birthday boy Danilo, who celebrated turning 22 with a goal in first-half stoppage-time.

But Toney equalised with a free-kick eight minutes from time, taking his Premier League tally for the season to 20.

And with Forest down to 10 men after Danilo went off injured, substitute Dasilva secured a 2-1 win to send relegation-threatened Forest spinning to a seventh straight away defeat.

Brentford dominated the first half and Bryan Mbuemo’s early cross was met with a glancing header from Rico Henry which flew across goal and wide.

Kevin Schade then headed straight at Forest goalkeeper Keylor Navas from Vitaly Janelt’s cross.

Forest’s first chance of the opening half came when Serge Aurier overlapped and played the ball back to Brennan Johnson.

The striker lofted the ball high into the box where Taiwo Awoniyi looped his header over David Raya and over the crossbar.

Navas was called into action again to save Ethan Pinnock’s close-range shot in a crowded area with Mikkel Damsgaard unable to connect with the rebound.

The Costa Rica keeper then held Ben Mee’s header from another Mbeumo free-kick, before Forest took a shock lead.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s shot from the edge of the box ricocheted off the heel of Mee into the path of Danilo, who rifled the ball home from eight yards.

The January signing from Palmeiras, who scored his first goal for the club in their midweek against Brighton, celebrated with a Samba dance in front of the travelling fans.

After the break Dasilva saw a shot blocked and Mee’s attempted scissor-kick flew over.

Raya saved from Gibbs-White and then held an acrobatic overhead kick from Moussa Niakhate as Forest searched for a second.

But they were undone after Cheikhou Kouyate fouled Frank Onyeka 25 yards out.

Toney, who had done little of note all afternoon, stepped up to curl the free-kick between Navas and his far post.

In doing so the striker became the first Bees player to hit 20 goals in the top flight since the 1930s.

Forest, who had used all their substitutes, had to see out the match a man down after Danilo limped off.

Brentford sensed their chance and Navas scrambled to keep out Onyeka’s deflected shot before Aaron Hickey drove narrowly wide.

It was Dasilva who hit the knockout blow, cutting in from the right wing and lashing home the winner in stoppage time.

Marlie Packer believes England can sell out Twickenham before the 2025 World Cup final after the Grand Slam was completed in front of a crowd of 58,498.

France were edged 38-33 in a riveting Tik Tok Women’s Six Nations title decider that set a new record attendance for a women’s game, surpassing the previous highest of 42,579.

The Rugby Football Union has targeted a full house for the World Cup final when it hosts the tournament in two years’ time, but Packer believes that on the evidence of Saturday that goal could arrive earlier.

“For me as a Red Rose, I want to sell out Twickenham,” said England’s captain after the first standalone women’s match to be staged at Twickenham.

“I believe we can do it and I believe we can do it before 2025 for the World Cup final. Look at today – we weren’t a curtain raiser, it was all about us.

“The other nations are closing the gap and getting professional contracts, so the quality of the games is getting better and not just England v France games.

“Everything is on the rise so more tickets will be sold and more stadiums will sell out.”

While Packer sees the possibilities at Twickenham, the Saracens openside is keen for England to continue their policy of playing at Premiership grounds.

“When we take the Red Roses on the road, we get fans in from all over the country. We’re a brand and we want to keep selling our brand,” Packer said.

“Yes it would be great to play at Twickenham every time and that in itself will come in time, but we need to keep building our fanbase.”

England led 33-0 at half-time but France hit back with five tries in a tense finish.

“We had done enough in the first-half and we took our points in the second-half to finish off the game,” Packer said.

“But we’ll look back at this game to see what we need to work on in the second-half. We got the victory and that’s what we came here to do today.”

France captain Audrey Forlani admitted her side failed to do themselves justice as they slipped to a 33-0 interval deficit.

“In the first-half, that is not a true reflection of our team,” Forlani said.

“If you look at the second-half, that is our real team. We need to keep working and keep that second half in mind.”

Max Verstappen called George Russell a “d***head” following their sprint race collision at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.

Sergio Perez raced past pole-sitter Charles Leclerc to win in Baku, with Verstappen third and Russell fourth. Lewis Hamilton finished seventh.

Verstappen vented his anger at Russell following an altercation on the opening lap which left him with a hole in the side of his Red Bull.

Verstappen confronted Russell immediately after the race and in full glare of the television cameras.

Russell, still with his crash helmet on, protested his innocence to the double world champion.

“I didn’t do it on purpose, mate,” he said. “I had no grip. I just locked up.”

Verstappen replied: “Mate, we all have no grip, we all need to leave a little bit of space.”

Russell started walking away from Verstappen before adding: “Watch the onboard (camera).”

Verstappen answered: “Yeah, sure. Well expect next time the same. D***head.”

Verstappen had been in an agitated mood throughout Saturday’s 17-lap dash following the early altercation. He started third but had Russell for company at the first corner.

Verstappen kept ahead before Russell sensed his next opportunity at the second bend.

Russell then nudged Verstappen under braking before carrying the momentum through to turn three to move ahead of his Red Bull rival.

“He tapped me,” yelled Verstappen, who grazed the wall. “That’s how he got the position, report it.”

Moments later, the Red Bull driver was back on the radio. “Did he really drive into the side of me? I don’t get how he can damage my car and keep the position. I find it ridiculous,” he said.

A safety car – deployed when Yuki Tsunoda lost a tyre after he smashed into the wall – came in at the end of lap five and Verstappen made short work of taking third back from Russell when he flew underneath the Mercedes driver at turn one.

Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase congratulated his driver. “Without contact as well,” he said. “Nicely done.”

“Yes, I know how to do that,” replied Verstappen. A series of bleeped-out expletives followed.

Verstappen, who in the past has had numerous collisions with Russell’s Mercedes team-mate Hamilton, then carried his anger over to the post-race press conference.

“I did leave him (Russell) enough room,” said the Dutchman. “He got through the corner without hitting the inside barrier, but apparently it is hard not to hit a Red Bull car for them.” Them being Mercedes.

The coming together between Verstappen and Russell was not investigated by the stewards.

“I’m here to fight, I’m here to win and I’m not just going to wave him by because he is Max Verstappen in a Red Bull,” said Russell.

“When he came over to me I thought he was coming to say ‘good battle, nice fight’. I was very surprised at how angry he was.

“From my side, his position was already lost. Ever since eight-year olds in go-karts, if you are on the inside at the apex of a corner then it’s your corner. If a driver is trying to resist a position on the outside they are taking a huge risk.

“On lap one, on a street circuit, I was really quite shocked that he was trying to hold the position.”

Verstappen’s championship lead was reduced from 15 points to 13 after team-mate Perez cruised past Leclerc on the eighth lap before cantering to the flag.

For Sunday’s 51-lap Grand Prix, Leclerc starts on pole position, with Verstappen alongside him on the front row.

Hamilton, who on Saturday started sixth and then dropped a position after he was passed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, starts fifth on the grid.

Brighton ended a difficult week on a major high by emphatically reigniting their European push with a history-making 6-0 demolition of Wolves at the Amex Stadium.

Doubles from Deniz Undav, Pascal Gross and Danny Welbeck helped the rampant Seagulls rip apart Wanderers en route to registering their biggest Premier League success.

Roberto De Zerbi’s side came into the game having suffered an agonising FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United last Sunday before a meek midweek defeat at lowly Nottingham Forest.

But the eighth-placed Seagulls stylishly set aside those setbacks to move on to a club-record 53 Premier League points – two below Tottenham in fifth – with a spell-binding performance in the Sussex sunshine.

The emphatic triumph was Albion’s greatest since returning to the top flight in 2017, bettering last season’s 4-0 thrashing of Manchester United.

Stunned Wolves offered little on a chastening afternoon as they slipped to a resounding loss which keeps them looking over their shoulders in the battle to avoid relegation.

Brighton boss De Zerbi called for Albion’s fans to be a 12th man following five successive games on the road.

Fearing fatigue amid a hectic fixture list, the Italian made the drastic decision to begin with influential trio Moises Caicedo, Alexis Mac Allister and Kaoru Mitoma on the bench.

The surprising selection did not remain a talking point for long as the reshuffled Seagulls, who made five changes in total, made a blistering start and led inside six minutes.

Joel Veltman’s low cross from the right was flicked on by Welbeck for Undav to slot home his maiden Premier League goal from the edge of the six-yard box.

Following a lengthy VAR check for offside, the strike stood before play was briefly halted again minutes later as Stockley Park reviewed a tussle between Diego Costa and Adam Webster before concluding the former was not guilty of violent conduct.

Wolves manager Julen Lopetegui this week claimed the Seagulls’ eye-catching style of play is the best in world football.

His lacklustre side were culpable of giving the swashbuckling hosts a major helping hand as Brighton’s rapid beginning swiftly turned into an unassailable advantage.

The second goal arrived in the 13th minute when Wolves sloppily conceded possession in midfield, allowing Julio Enciso to drive forward and slip in Gross, who lifted the ball high into the net beyond Jose Sa.

Gross’ second of the afternoon – in the 26th minute – was a stunner. The German midfielder sprayed a pass wide to Enciso on the left and, after receiving the ball back, unleashed a dipping volley into the right corner after his first touch looped into the air.

In between those strikes, Welbeck rifled over as he attempted to capitalise on a poor pass from Sa, while Matheus Nunes tested Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele during a rare attack for the shell-shocked visitors.

Former England international Welbeck would not be denied for long.

The forward increased Albion’s lead to 4-0 six minutes before the break by climbing highest at the back post to nod in Pervis Estupinan’s left-wing cross.

Lopetegui responded to a dismal opening period by making three half-time substitutions.

But the alterations had little, if any, impact and Brighton stretched their lead three minutes into the second period when Welbeck’s left-footed effort from the edge of the D found the bottom left corner.

Solly March, who missed the crucial penalty in last weekend’s shoot-out defeat at Wembley, then received a rapturous reception when he was replaced.

Woeful Wolves again contributed to their own downfall in the 66th minute as their punishment continued.

Undav became the third Seagulls player to claim a brace, dispossessing the dithering Nunes on the edge of the visitors’ box to delightfully dink over Sa.

Billy Gilmour and Estupinan each went close to heightening Wolves’ embarrassment.

Aside from an effort from Daniel Podence, the away side offered little resistance to being dismantled before being booed off by the disgruntled away end as jubilant home fans saluted a record-breaking success.