Sean Dyche enjoyed a standing ovation on his return to Burnley before his in-form Everton side silenced Turf Moor with a 2-0 win which increases the Clarets’ relegation worries at the foot of the Premier League table.

Dyche was back at the ground where he spent the best part of 10 years in charge, twice earning promotion and keeping Burnley in the top flight against the odds before being sacked in April 2022 towards the end of their last, ultimately unsuccessful, battle against the drop.

His Everton side are not that far from the current relegation fight but only as a result of a 10-point penalty for breaching financial rules, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane made it four straight wins. They may sit 16th, but would be ninth without the penalty.

Keane’s 25th minute goal was his first of the season on his first appearance since October 21. Alongside him was Ben Godfrey, making his first league start of the season in a side hastily reshuffled following late withdrawals.

“I was delighted,” Dyche said. “We’re a side pieced together yesterday morning. We lost Myko (Vitaliy Mykolenko) with a tight groin and because we’ve got injuries and suspensions we can’t risk players so we had to change everything in a morning.

“Their acceptance to go and deliver a performance that can win was very pleasing.”

While Vincent Kompany used his programme notes to welcome Dyche back to Turf Moor, it was notable that the man who sacked him, chairman Alan Pace, did not mention Dyche in his own. But Dyche said he had no issues with his old boss, and he was grateful for the reception he got.

“I saw Alan Pace this morning, in the hotel where we were staying, and said hello,” said Dyche. “Football is a weird business, I didn’t throw my dummy out, I’ve done my bit, done my years at Burnley and I shook his hand and said have a nice season, crack on.

“I met Vinny at the end of last season and told him how impressed I was with his work. Said how he hadn’t lost the fabric of it but changed it to his own liking. We can all moan about everyone and everything but people have a lot on their plate. I just try and take care of mine and get on with it.”

For Burnley it was another damaging defeat that leaves them off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone, with only eight points from 17 games.

Kompany’s side played well before falling behind and improved in the second half but rarely threatened Jordan Pickford’s goal.

“We’ve been done on two set plays,” Kompany said. “There’s not too much to say about the overall defending and attacking play. It was more about both boxes today.”

The big positive for Burnley was the return of Lyle Foster, who was back among the substitutes after a period away dealing with mental health issues, and started the second half for his first appearance since October.

“It was a surprise to us,” Kompany said. “We hadn’t expected that he would be able to return but it was the opinion of the experts that keeping him in his natural environment, football is part of his life, is something he needs to do to be happy.

“Forty-five minutes was roughly what he was able to do physically and the second half showed how much of an impact he can have. But it’s important to say this is part of his process of getting back.”

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia bagged the decisive goal as Napoli returned to winning ways in Serie A with a 2-1 victory over Cagliari.

A frustrating first half was littered with opportunities for Napoli, with their best effort coming from Amir Rrahmani’s header, but the visitors came close through Tommaso Augello and Adam Obert.

The game suddenly kicked into life in the second half with three goals in six minutes when Victor Osimhen fired the hosts ahead, but Leonardo Pavoletti quickly equalised before Kvaratskhelia had the final say to net Napoli’s winner minutes later.

Victory ensured Walter Mazzarri’s side bounced back from two consecutive league losses and moved fourth in the table, while Cagliari continue to linger above the relegation zone.

Napoli had a chance in the opening minutes from a free-kick as Stanislav Lobotka chipped the ball to Kvaratskhelia on the right, who fired wide from a tight angle.

The hosts dominated the early stages as Osimhen tested Simone Scuffet twice and they broke from a Cagliari corner but Matteo Politano’s shot was deflected for a corner.

The winger then had an effort scooped up by Scuffet as the hosts continued to push for the opener, coming close again when Edoardo Goldaniga stuck out a leg to block Osimhen’s shot.

Cagliari had a great chance in the 21st minute when a corner was cleared as far as Augello, who fired from the edge of the box but the ball was deflected just wide of the post.

Napoli came close again in the 29th minute as Politano floated a free-kick to Rrahmani on the right, but his header smashed off the far post before being cleared and they were frustrated again when Jens Cajuste cut in from the right and fired over.

Cagliari had a brilliant opportunity from the break as Antoine Makoumbou launched a fantastic cross-field pass to Nahitan Nandez, but Alex Meret did well to rush forward and make the save.

The visitors had a chance just seconds into the second half but Obert’s effort was held by Meret and Napoli’s frustrations continued when Frank Anguissa’s powerful effort sailed over the bar.

The hosts eventually found the opener in the 69th minute when Osimhen’s header was palmed away by Scuffet and despite his best efforts, the ball smashed off the post and into the net.

Napoli’s lead was shortlived as Cagliari captain Pavoletti came back to haunt his former club, bundling in Zito Luvumbo’s cross from close range to level just three minutes later.

However, Napoli suddenly retook the lead in style in the 75th minute as Osimhen kept the ball with some superb skills before passing low across the six-yard box for Kvaratskhelia to smash home at the far post.

Politano then had a goal ruled out for offside before the visitors had a great chance to level in the final minutes when Alberto Dossena headed over the bar.

Joel Embiid "just wants to dominate" in every single game after he starred again for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers put the Detroit Pistons away with the minimum of fuss on Friday, winning 124-92.

Embiid, last season's NBA MVP, tallied up 35 points and added 13 rebounds as the Sixers recorded a second win over Detroit in the space of two days.

With that haul, Embiid became the first player to have 675 points and 200 rebounds across his first 20 games of a season since Wilt Chamberlain in the 1964-65 campaign.

"It's great to be in that class," Embiid said when that statistic was put to him after the game.

"I just want to dominate every single night."

Tyrese Maxey complimented Embiid with 19 points, and he said of his teammate: "He is getting better, which is scary.

"He made a layup today that I like to do where he made a Eurostep and laid it high off the glass. He's 7-foot-2 and he runs the floor at the same speed I do. It's scary."

Sixers coach Nick Nurse added: "You got to give our guys credit.

"They played hard and they made improvements defensively on the stuff we saw from the last game that we tried to work on the last couple days. Whoever hit the floor was out there trying to do the stuff we worked on and it paid off."

While Philadelphia have a quick turnaround as they face the Charlotte Hornets, the Pistons are licking their wounds after a franchise-record 22 straight losses.

Only four teams have lost more successive games in a single season.

"It's deflating," Detroit coach Monty Williams said. "It is what it is. It's a lot of repetitive games."

Sean Dyche deepened the relegation worries of his old club Burnley as his return to Turf Moor ended in a 2-0 win for Everton.

Dyche, who twice guided the Clarets to promotion and kept them up against the odds during a decade at the club, promised to show no sentimentality 20 months after his sacking amid their last, unsuccessful, battle against the drop, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane silenced Turf Moor.

They proved all Everton needed as they won four league games in a row for the first time in three years, their eighth league win of the season already matching last year’s tally as they continue to climb away from trouble. Without their 10-point penalty, Everton would be up to ninth.

Burnley chairman Alan Pace, the man who sacked Dyche in April 2022, failed to welcome Dyche back in his programme notes but the one-time ‘Ginger Mourinho’ is still loved in Burnley, where the Royal Dyche pub proudly bares his name, and he emerged from the tunnel to a standing ovation from all sides.

Vincent Kompany, who brought Burnley back to the Premier League with a 101-point campaign in the Championship, has rebuilt the club in a different image. Having taken four points from their last three games to match the return from the previous 13, Burnley started well, keeping Everton pegged back.

But the results they desperately need are not there to match, and although Dwight McNeil, one of three former Burnley players in the Everton 11, spurned a glorious chance Everton needed only 19 minutes to take the lead.

James Trafford did well to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s close-range header but Burnley failed to defend the resulting corner and it was all too easy for Onana to get away from Josh Brownhill and power in at the far post.

Jacob Bruun Larsen and Jay Rodriguez both saw shots blocked in the Everton box, and six minutes later it was 2-0 to the visitors.

Jordan Pickford hit a long free-kick forward and James Tarkowski headed it down for another former Claret, Keane, to try his luck from range. Trafford parried, but the ball struck Dara O’Shea and fell kindly for Keane, in for the suspended Jarrad Branthwaite, to sweep home his first goal of the season.

Burnley’s early promise dissipated in a silent Turf Moor. They did threaten again just before half-time but Ben Godfrey, making only his second Premier League appearance of the season, got a vital toe to Vitinho’s cross before Zeki Amdouni.

At half-time Kompany turned to Lyle Foster, the South Africa forward surprisingly named among the substitutes after a recent absence to deal with mental health issues. The 23-year-old replaced Rodriguez to make his first appearance since October 21.

Burnley were better after the break, but only managed to create half-chances. Sander Berge had an early shot blocked before Foster failed to get enough power on his effort.

After Trafford failed to clear a corner and Keane had a close-range shot blocked on the line, Amdouni offered a more direct threat at the other end when he eyed up Pickford’s far post from 25 yards out, forcing the England goalkeeper to stretch and push it wide.

Berge rattled the crossbar in the 79th minute, though his shot from the edge of the box would not have counted with the flag up.

It was that old familiar story for Burnley, who dominated possession and had 14 shots at goal but ended the day empty-handed, stuck on eight points from 17 games and off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone. Boos greeted the final whistle.

Nicholas Pooran cracked six sixes and as many fours in a brilliant 82 off 45 balls as West Indies posted 222 for six in their bid to wrap up a T20 series win over England.

Holding a 2-0 lead in this five-match series, the Windies were full of confidence and cleared the rope on 16 occasions in Grenada, taking their tally across the three matches to 43 sixes.

Captain Rovman Powell belted 39 off 21 deliveries while Sherfane Rutherford marked his first appearance of the series with 29 off 17 as the Windies pressed the accelerator to add 79 in the last four overs.

Not even Adil Rashid was exempt from the carnage as he leaked 15 in his final offering, albeit having Pooran caught in the deep to finish with two for 32.

Reece Topley was magnificent up top in his first match back since a broken finger ended his World Cup early, taking one for 14 in three overs in the powerplay but he conceded 18 after being given the 20th.

Topley and Gus Atkinson were given their first outings as England shuffled their bowlers, with Chris Woakes and Rehan Ahmed left out, but it was a mixed bag from the tourists after winning the toss.

Rashid, Topley and Moeen Ali escaped most of the damage but Tymal Mills went for 25 in the 17th over and Sam Curran 21 in the 19th – although he did claim a couple of wickets two days on from being belted for 30 in five legal deliveries.

Pooran steadied the Windies after they lost both openers by the second over then upped the ante after reaching a 37-ball fifty, taking 29 off his next eight deliveries before holing out off Rashid.

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher hailed his side’s fighting spirit as they came back from a goal down to beat 10-man Rotherham 3-2 with a stoppage-time winner at Home Park.

Rotherham had taken an early lead through Jamie Lindsay but goals either side of half-time from Finn Azaz, the first from the penalty spot, put Argyle in the driving seat.

The Millers then had central defender Daniel Ayala sent off in the 55th minute for a second yellow but still managed to level through Tom Eaves, before Morgan Whittaker’s last-gasp strike earned Plymouth their seventh home win of the season.

Schumacher said: “The thing with our lads is because they are young and inexperienced at this level they make mistakes at times, which we can forgive, but what we can never doubt is they never give up and keep going right until the very end.

“I wish it wasn’t as eventful, but to play nearly an hour in the first half and decisions that were made, to score a penalty and all that, it was quite a draining afternoon.

“There was a lot going on but, at the end of the day, today’s result was the most important thing.

“We played so well and worked so hard on Wednesday night (to draw 0-0 at QPR) and we wanted to back that up with three points.

“We made hard work of it really, especially when we went 2-1 up and then they had 10 men. It should have been more comfortable than it was.

“Credit to Rotherham I thought they were brilliant, really well organised and really hard working and a massive threat when they were throwing balls into the box.

“It was tough game and a tougher game than it should have been.”

Despite starting his tenure off on a losing note, new Rotherham boss Leam Richardson, who only took charge earlier this week, took many positives from his team’s display.

He said: “I have been here for a matter of days and you are always looking for signs of encouragement. We put a lot into that game and we should have got more out of it.

“You can only ask for a minimum requirement from your team and that is hard work, desire, application and we had a lot of that today.

“It was a very competitive game. It went the way we thought it would go and we were comfortable within that.

“It is a tough one to take but we stuck at it and we gave a really good account of ourselves coming to a team who are very good on their home pitch.

“While it was 11 against 11, we were comfortable in the game, growing into the game, and deserved to lead.”

Tiger Woods and his son Charlie blamed poor putting after ending the first day of the PNC Championship seven shots off the lead.

The 15-time major winner and his 14-year-old son combined for an eight-under-par 64 in the scramble format as Matt Kuchar and his son Cameron made an eagle and 13 birdies in their 57.

“I drove the ball really good today,” Charlie Woods said.

“Didn’t miss a fairway and still managed to shoot eight under. We just suck at putting.”

“That sums it up right there,” added Tiger Woods, who also had his 16-year-old daughter Sam acting as his caddie.

“Sam was fantastic. This is the first time she’s ever done this, so it couldn’t have been any more special for all of us.

“For me to have both my kids inside the ropes like this and participating and playing and being part of the game of golf like this, it couldn’t have been more special for me.

“I know that we do this a lot at home, needle each other and have a great time. But it was more special to do it in a tournament like this.”

Carlo Ancelotti knows Real Madrid still have a long way to go if they are to achieve their targets for the season.

Los Blancos host Villarreal at the Bernabeu on Sunday looking to keep up the pressure at the top of LaLiga, with surprise leaders Girona not in action until Monday night.

Having secured safe passage through to the knockout stage of the Champions League with a perfect group record, Ancelotti wants full focus on the last two games before the Christmas break.

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“We are up against a well-organised, well-prepared team, but we are on a great run, the results reflect that,” Ancelotti said.

“The atmosphere is good, there’s a good mood around the place and the players are motivated.

“We want to finish the first half of the season strongly, we’ve done really well so far.

“We’ve managed the first part of the campaign well, despite all the problems we’ve had. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I have faith in the campaign.

“I’m pleased with what we’ve done to this point, but well aware of what is still to come because it’s a long season – there are still six months to go.”

Ancelotti’s current deal runs through to the end of the season and the veteran Italian coach has been linked with a switch to take over Brazil’s national team.

For the moment, though, the 64-year-old is just concentrating on the job in hand.

“Being Real Madrid coach is the most important thing. I hope the players will give me a Christmas present by winning the last couple of games so we can have a relaxed festive period,” Ancelotti said at a press conference.

“If the club is happy then I am too. There is no rush to renew my deal, it’s not a problem. We are here until 30 June 2024.”

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Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is fit again after a thigh injury and started the Champions League win at Union Berlin on Tuesday night ahead of Ukrainian Andriy Lunin.

“I have decided (who will play against Villarreal), but I haven’t spoken to them yet. I want them to hear it from me before finding out in the press,” Ancelotti said.

“The good thing is that they make it hard for me because they are both in such great form.”

Villarreal head coach Marcelino, who returned to the club last month, knows his side will have to try to shackle “extraordinary” England midfielder Jude Bellingham if they are to leave the Bernabeu with a positive result.

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“He is the player who has given the best performance in all of Europe,” Marcelino said at a press conference.

“We will try not to let him get involved too much. It will be difficult because he has a lot of participation in most of the pitch, especially in the final third.

“He is accompanied by players of great quality like Rodrygo.

“We are going to need to be strong collectively to reduce their influence on the game.”

Head coach Eddie Howe saluted teenager Lewis Miley after he set Newcastle on the way to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Fulham by becoming the club’s youngest Premier League goalscorer.

The 17-year-old midfielder, who had been introduced as a first-half replacement for the injured Joelinton, ended the visitors’ stubborn resistance with a 57th-minute opener at the age of 17 years and 229 days and paved the way for Miguel Almiron and Dan Burn to wrap up the win.

Howe said: “I’m delighted for him. Today was his moment, put in by Bruno’s [Guimaraes] brilliant run and did he have the composure in front of the Gallowgate to score a massive goal in our season? He did and I’m delighted for him.

“We tried to manage his minutes today and give him a little rest but it didn’t turn out that way.”

Miley’s maiden goal could hardly have been better timed with Newcastle labouring in their attempts to break down a Fulham outfit who had circled the wagons in the wake of Raul Jimenez’s 22nd-minute dismissal for a wild challenge on Sean Longstaff.

Almiron doubled the dose within seven minutes before Burn added a third as time ran down to clinch a seventh successive league win at St James’ Park and salve some of the disappointment of Wednesday night’s Champions League exit.

Howe, who also saw defender Fabian Schar limp off before half-time, said: “It was always going to be, even with 11 v 10.

“Today was never going to be free-flowing, buccaneering, entertaining football because of so many different reasons, the injuries we’ve got, what happened in midweek, the emotion we expended there.

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“The big challenge for us was were we able to recover mentally and lift ourselves to win a really tricky game and I can’t credit the players enough for how they’ve handled today.

“Added to that fact, we lost two massive players as well during the first half so even more reason really to celebrate the players that were on the pitch today and how well they did.”

The Magpies will now start preparations for Tuesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final trip to Chelsea with doubts over Schar and Joelinton, who are nursing muscle injuries.

Fulham boss Marco Silva left Tyneside unimpressed with referee Sam Barrott, who issued a red card to Jimenez following a VAR review minutes after he had himself been caught by Jamaal Lascelles’ arm.

Silva said: “It is a clear foul on Raul but in the opinion of the referee it was not a foul. After the elbow, Raul has to be much more calm, do not go to challenge in that way.

“The ball was not there to challenge – although the way he jumped in at the player, it was not a serious challenge for me.

“Two minutes before, the same VAR didn’t even check the elbow. Everything was strange in terms of the decisions.

“Newcastle are a very good side but before the match I really thought this was a good moment to come and match them and fight them.

“But at the same time, you have to come with a referee with the right experience and ability to be able to handle the pressure. In my opinion, this afternoon, that was not the situation.”

David Martindale was left to rue an injury to Sean Kelly as Livingston missed a penalty in Saturday’s goalless cinch Premiership draw with Kilmarnock.

The Premiership’s bottom side failed to win for an eighth-consecutive match but picked up their first point since the victory over Motherwell on October 7.

It could have been a better day for the Lions but Bruce Anderson was guilty of missing a second-half spot-kick.

Kelly is the team’s regular taker but had to be replaced at half-time after sustaining a hamstring problem.

Martindale said: “Sean came in at half-time and said he felt his hamstring – he would have taken the penalty.

“Bruce grabbed it but your the number nine at a football club, you should be wanting to take penalties.

“Sean had missed a couple previously but I think he’d scored his last three. Sean would 100 per cent have taken it.

“We get the opportunity from 12 yards and I’m disappointed. I spoke to wee Brucey and he’s gutted.

“The wee guy lives and breathes scoring goals. You have to be disappointed he’s not hit the target, if the keeper saves it you take your hat off.

“It really sums the game up.

“To be fair, wee Brucey missed his last penalty. Your number nine is on the park so crack on.

“When you’re going through periods that we’re going through at this point, it seems that everyone is going against you.”

Martindale’s side remain five points adrift at the foot of the table and the Livi manager admitted the missed penalty left a bitter taste after recent struggles.

He added: “I thought it had nil-nil written all over it, it was one of those games.

“The fans probably didn’t realise how strong the wind was. We found it difficult to get out in the first half. They bombarded our box and it was really difficult to get any distance on the ball.

“Fair play to the players because I thought they defended the 18-yard box well.

“It’s hard. I was sitting here last week and was probably a wee bit more positive in terms of the performance. I thought we were unlucky.

“But this week after the game in the changing room there is probably a bit more adversity because you think you had those three points in the bag from 12 yards.

“Albeit we’ve stopped the run of defeats, got a clean sheet and got a point.”

Meanwhile, Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes insisted Livingston defender Mikey Devlin should have seen red for a second-half challenge on Danny Armstrong.

Devlin was booked for the foul but McInnes feels VAR should have intervened.

He said: “It’s a terrible tackle. I don’t know why (referee) Willie (Collum) has not been asked to go to the screen.

“He (Armstrong) had to come off with the injury. It’s a scissors tackle, something we are continually told is to go out the game.

“No one wants to see red cards but it’s a terrible challenge. It’s a nasty challenge and for me it should have been a red card.

“He was labouring after it, he was hurt. If you see the tackle again, you’ll see why he was hurt.

“If Willie gives a red there, VAR isn’t getting involved to say it’s not a red. I think it is a red.”

Gary Caldwell criticised referee Ross Joyce’s decision to send off Jack Aitchison following struggling Exeter’s 1-1 draw at Stevenage.

Aitchison received a second yellow card for apparent dissent in the 43rd minute of the Sky Bet League One contest, with Carl Piergianni heading Boro into the lead shortly afterwards.

Half-time substitute Yanic Wildschut’s first league goal for the Grecians within two minutes of the restart earned the 10-man visitors a battling point but Caldwell, who was booked himself following Piergianni’s goal, could not hide his frustration with the officials.

“We don’t know what he’s sent him off for,” he said.

“He hasn’t sworn, all their players said he didn’t swear at the ref and he’s chosen to send him off. And when we ask him politely why at half-time, he refuses to tell us.

“Only we were getting booked in this stadium because referees are intimidated at this stadium.

“We are very respectful, everything goes against us and we have to deal with that. We dealt with it in a really positive manner.”

The Grecians’ winless league run stands at 12 matches but their under-pressure boss believes the second-half fightback shows the squad are still playing for him.

“I have never doubted that for one second,” he said. “I really believe in this group of players, they give so much.

“A lot has gone against them in recent months and when that happens as a footballer, confidence gets affected and it’s a difficult thing to play through.

“You have seen their character and resilience and we have to use this as a springboard going into the coming games.

“They can all be really proud of how they went about the second half, both the way we defended and when we had the ball.”

Caldwell’s opposite number Steve Evans felt Aitchison should have seen red for the challenge which brought his first yellow card but admitted his side did not do enough to win the game, despite Jordan Roberts and Elliott List spurning fine chances late on.

“We were far from our best,” he said.

“We looked as if Tuesday night’s game took its toll on us in terms of sharpness and freshness. We were off it the first 25 minutes then we got it into the game.

“With the sending off, my only question is why is he even on the pitch to receive a second yellow? He should have been in the shower room after running up and kicking Louis Thompson off the ball.

“Did we do enough in terms of the final pass? No. Did we miss a couple of huge chances? Yes.

“We had great opportunities, great overload, we had command of the ball. But our quality, for once, wasn’t there.”

Pep Guardiola said Manchester City did not deserve to win after a late fightback from Crystal Palace saw them held to a 2-2 draw in a dramatic finale at the Etihad Stadium.

City dominated possession and looked to be cruising at 2-0 up following goals from Jack Grealish in the first half and Rico Lewis nine minutes into the second.

But Palace hit back with a 76th-minute Jean-Philippe Mateta goal before Michael Olise equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time with a penalty awarded after Phil Foden caught Mateta in the box.

Dropping points for the fifth time in six Premier League matches, in their last outing before heading to Saudi Arabia for the Club World Cup, leaves the champions in fourth place, three points behind leaders Liverpool, who host Manchester United on Sunday.

Boss Guardiola, whose side had drawn 4-4 with Chelsea, 1-1 with Liverpool and 3-3 with Tottenham and lost 1-0 to Aston Villa prior to last Sunday’s 2-1 win at Luton, said: “It is not bad luck, it was deserved, we gave away two points.

“When you give this penalty, you deserve it. You see the chances we created, the chances we concede, it’s quite similar, except the Chelsea game, all this season. But we are not able to close the game.

“There was a chance (for Palace) in the first half…but until the (Mateta) goal, they didn’t do anything.

“So the team was really, really good. But at the end, when you give Crystal Palace this penalty, you don’t deserve it. It’s like the penalty for Chelsea (Cole Palmer’s late equaliser).

“The games against Spurs, Liverpool, today, were excellent, but we were not able to win the game. What has happened is because we are not consistent enough to close the games, and many reasons.”

Guardiola denied City were not playing with the same intensity for the final 20 minutes, before adding: “18-yard box, you have to be careful, and we were not. We don’t deserve to win.”

Treble-winners City, who were once again without injured forward Erling Haaland, are now set to play Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds in the Club World Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, with the final taking lace on Friday.

Guardiola said: “Six, seven-hour flight with the result, just three days to recover, three days for a potential final – it is what it is. Now we are down and we lift as quick as possible and go to compete there.”

Reading assistant James Oliver-Pearce revealed boss Ruben Selles apologised after being sent off during the 1-1 draw at Lincoln.

Nelson Abbey scored an own goal for the visitors after just three minutes before Harvey Knibbs secured the Royals a much-needed point in their fight for survival at Sincil Bank.

Reading had the ball in the net on two occasions before half-time, both through Paul Mukairu, but referee Bobby Madley whistled for a foul on the defender for the first before he was denied a second time by the offside flag.

And Selles was sent off when he kicked the ball away to stop the Imps taking a quick throw-in.

Due to English Football League rules, managers who are sent off are not allowed to talk to the media.

Oliver-Pearce, who took the club’s post-match media duties, said: “It was an impulsive reaction. They had a player running to take a quick throw and he tried to delay the restart.

“He was just trying to help the team. He apologised to the dressing room, it’s the first thing he did when he walked in.

“He doesn’t want to let the team down and wants to be out there to support them and the staff.

“I wasn’t aware of it as a rule personally. Apparently if the manager does it it’s a red, but if it’s one of us it isn’t.

“I’m not sure why it’s one rule for us and one rule for others. That’s the laws of the game. It’s a game we’re frustrated by because we had chances to win the game.”

Lincoln boss Michael Skubala was delighted to escape with a point after a below-par performance.

He said: “We’re relieved to get a point. We weren’t good today, let’s be honest.

“We neither effected their last line quick enough when we were trying to be direct or kept it well enough when we needed to.

“If you can’t win it, don’t lose it. That’s the story of the day for us.

“They work hard, sometimes not in the brightest way. They’re not very clever about it sometimes.

“In the end it was a big shift, a tough shift and it’s a point for us. Reading are a good side, they have some good players and we struggled to deal with them down the sides.

“I think it was offside from what I’ve seen. I think they’re fair the referees even though they went in our favour.

“I am aware of that rule now so I won’t do it. I’m not really interested in that, I just wanted to get our lads through that game.”