British number one Katie Boulter has claimed her first WTA 500 tournament victory with a 5-7 6-2 6-2 win over Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk in the final of the San Diego Open.
The 27-year-old from Leicester was watched by boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who scheduled an early-morning flight after retaining his title in Acapulco.
After an even start between the two, the sixth seeded Ukrainian began to get the better of Boulter, stringing multiple games together and rapidly closing in on the opening set.
Boulter fought back to even the set at 5-5, but Kostyuk regained the momentum to wrap up the first set 7-5.
Boulter then found her groove in the second, dominating on her first serve to clinch the set 6-2 and force a deciding third set.
The Briton continued her ascendancy into the third, claiming the first break point of the set en route to opening up a 3-1 advantage.
Boulter broke again in the seventh game and stormed home from there to close out the victory in two hours and 13 minutes.
Both women picked up their first WTA Tour titles last year in breakout 2023 seasons.
Boulter claimed her maiden championship on grass in Nottingham last summer, while Kostyuk found victory in Austin.
Boulter has had a flying start to the 2024 season and the victory over Kostyuk guarantees she will break into the top 30 for the first time.
Wet weather suspended play on the final day of the Cognizant Classic with 26 players to return on Monday, including Ireland’s Shane Lowry who sits three strokes off the pace.
After sharing the lead on the third day with American Austin Eckroat and England’s David Skinns, Lowry played five holes on Sunday at Palm Beach Gardens in Florida before play was suspended, hitting one bogey and dropping to equal fourth place.
Eckroat picked up two birdies in his first seven holes to take the outright lead, while Skinns dropped two shots in his five holes to sit tied for eighth.
South African Erik van Rooyen finished one shot behind Eckroat after he shot nine birdies through 18 holes, while American Jake Knapp sits in third place and two shots off the lead after 15 holes.
The severe weather in Florida caused a three hour delay to play with officials having to suspend play because of dangerous conditions for players and spectators, after lightning struck near the course.
Barcelona remain third in LaLiga after being held to a 0-0 draw by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.
A frustrating evening for Barca included midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Pedri coming off with injuries in the first half.
Xavi’s men are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, who had drawn 2-2 at Valencia on Saturday.
And they are a point behind second-placed Girona, whose 1-0 loss at Mallorca earlier on Sunday, via a first-half Jose Manuel Copete goal, had offered Barca the chance to climb the table.
Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid beat Real Betis 2-1 at home with a Rui Silva own goal and Alvaro Morata effort putting the hosts in charge before William Carvalho’s reply, and Alexander Sorloth netted a hat-trick as Villarreal thrashed second-bottom Granada 5-1 at El Madrigal.
In Serie A, second-placed Juventus suffered a third defeat in five games as they lost 2-1 at Napoli.
Giacomo Raspadori scored a late winner on the follow-up when Victor Osimhen’s penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny, after Federico Chiesa had cancelled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s opener.
It leaves Juve 12 points adrift of Inter Milan, who host Genoa on Monday.
Fourth-placed Bologna strengthened their Champions League bid by coming from behind to triumph 2-1 at Atalanta, with Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson netting the winner.
Cagliari moved up a place to 18th with a 1-0 win at Empoli. They are level on points with 17th-placed Hellas Verona, who beat Sassuolo 1-0 at home.
Sunday’s other top-flight game in Italy saw Frosinone and Lecce draw 1-1.
Bayer Leverkusen went 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at 10-man Cologne.
After the hosts had Jan Thielmann sent off early on, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo scored in each half for Xabi Alonso’s men as they took full advantage of second-placed Bayern Munich being held at Freiburg on Friday.
Maximilian Beier’s first-half brace secured a 2-1 win for Hoffenheim at home against Werder Bremen, the hosts holding out for three points after having Marius Bulter sent off in the 73rd minute and conceding a stoppage-time Skelly Alvero goal.
In Ligue 1, Brest are nine points behind Paris St Germain in second after Pierre Lees-Melou’s first-half effort secured a 1-0 home win over Le Havre, extending their unbeaten run to 13 games.
Toulouse came from behind to win 2-1 at home against fifth-placed Nice, and Lens are up to sixth following a 3-0 win at Lyon.
Lorient moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at Rennes, Montpellier dropped in having drawn 2-2 at home with Strasbourg and second-bottom Metz won 2-0 at Nantes.
Dimitri Van den Bergh finally derailed the Luke Humphries juggernaut after beating him in a gripping final of the UK Open.
World number one Humphries came into the tournament at Minehead having won four of the last five major ranking tournaments, which included sealing glory at the World Championship at the start of 2024.
He was a heavy favourite to add the UK Open to his collection after a trouble-free run to the final at Butlin’s, but the Belgian won a deciding leg to claim an 11-10 victory and seal a second major title of his own.
It looked like he had blown his chance as he squandered a 7-2 lead and then missed six match darts, only to finally land his seventh after Humphries had missed chances of his own.
While Luke Littler – who was a beaten quarter-finalist at Butlin’s – has stolen the limelight since his emergence, Humphries was proving himself to be the best player around so this defeat will be a tonic to the rest of the pack.
And Van den Bergh, who excelled as youth player, will be hoping this can help kickstart his career, which showed early promise when he won the 2020 World Matchplay.
He said: “First of all, he showed again why is he the world champion. There was a moment when it was 10-8 and I was like ‘I’m one leg away, I can win this’, and I lost it. I lost my gut but all of a sudden, it turned around.
“My grandad died two years ago and this is my first major win since. This is gold and it’s for him.
“You win some, you lose some, you have got to dig deep and keep trying.”
Humphries said: “I have had a long five days on the road, I am absolutely shattered. I was very lucky to get two darts, I will obviously be gutted because I missed two darts.
“But I did my best with the way I was feeling. I give everything, I really didn’t play well. I am proud of the way I played.”
With Michael van Gerwen, Michael Smith and Gerwyn Price all crashing out in the early rounds, it seemed prime for another battle of the Lukes in the final, but teenager Littler was ousted in the last eight by Damon Heta.
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The 17-year-old has made waves in the first few months on the PDC Tour, having claimed the Bahrain Masters in his debut tournament in January and competed well in the Premier League, but leaves his first major empty handed.
He will have regrets about his defeat as, despite Heta’s incredible level, Littler rallied from 8-4 down and missed two darts at his favoured double 10 to send it to a decider.
Littler said on Instagram: “Disappointed to not make it past the quarters but was a great game. Enjoying my darts and just grateful for everything.”
Home favourite Jemma Reekie took 800 metres silver on the final night of action at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow for her first global medal.
The 25-year-old Scot clocked a time of 2:02.72 as she finished 0.82 seconds behind Ethiopia’s Tsige Duguma.
Reekie told the BBC: “I knew those girls were going to throw something at me that they were confident with, and they were just better than me today.
“I didn’t want anything other than the win, but first senior medal, I made some mistakes and I’ll learn something from it.
“It’s my first senior medal and I’ve got to take it. I’ve got one now and I definitely want one of those Olympic ones, and it will be a good stepping stone forwards.”
There was also bronze for Great Britain in the women’s 4x400m relay earlier in the evening as the team finished with a haul of four medals.
Laviai Nielsen, twin sister Lina Nielsen, Ama Pipi and Jessie Knight again set a new national record – as they had done in the morning’s heats – with a time of 3:26.36.
They came in behind the Netherlands (3:25.07) and the United States, with Jamaica not finishing after the baton came out of Charokee Young’s hand on the third leg, seemingly via accidental contact from Pipi.
Pipi said: “It was a really messy leg but I just stayed focused on what I needed to do and tried to give it to Jessie in a good position, and I think I did that.”
GB’s other two medals had come in the form of golds on Saturday for Reekie’s fellow Scot Josh Kerr in the men’s 3,000m and Molly Caudery in the women’s pole vault.
British pair Georgia Bell and Revee Walcott-Nolan were fourth and sixth respectively in the women’s 1500m final, and team-mate Cindy Sember was seventh in the women’s 60m hurdles, won in a new world record time of 7.65secs by Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas.
The men’s 1500m final included GB’s Adam Fogg coming 14th.
Also among Sunday evening’s finals was the men’s pole vault title being retained by Sweden’s Olympic champion Armand Duplantis.
Mikel Arteta is not setting a points total he believes will deliver the Premier League title – but the Arsenal boss has warned the rest of the season may have to be perfect if they are to do so.
The Gunners travel to bottom club Sheffield United on Monday night knowing victory will once again see them close to within two points of Liverpool at the summit.
Reigning champions Manchester City are also locked in the three-way tussle for the title as Arteta aims to bring the Premier League crown back to Arsenal for the first time in 20 years.
Asked how many points might be required to win the league this season, the Spaniard replied: “You always ask me this question and I never get it right.
“The demands, you might have to win every game. I don’t know. I have no clue.
“There are a lot of games and we are all going to have crazy schedules and this league might be different to last season. Anything under 90 points I think it (winning the league) would be very difficult.
“We have to improve in every aspect, that is all, all managers try to be better in what we do.”
Arsenal were top of the table at this stage last season and led the pack for a total of 248 days before ultimately slipping behind City in the run-in.
“I think we are where we deserve to be,” Arteta said on Arsenal’s current standing.
“We could probably be a little bit better in terms of the points that we have deserved in the league
“Being (back) in the Champions League is another step – that makes obviously the challenge more difficult and the amount of injuries that we had I think we are going good but we want to do better.
“The target is clear. It’s to be better every day so that when it comes to the weekend, earn the right to win and do everything you possibly can to win the game.
“This is the focus and the way I see them training every day gives me more confidence and more reasons to believe that we have a good chance because they really want it.”
Barcelona suffered a costly evening against Athletic Bilbao as they failed to make ground on leaders Real Madrid after a goalless draw that saw Frenkie de Jong and Pedri pick up injuries.
Defeat for second-placed Girona and Real’s draw at Valencia opened up an opportunity for Barca but they were held to a stalemate at San Mames and sit eight points off top spot.
Worse yet, they lost midfielders De Jong and Pedri in the first half, with the latter unable to hold back the tears as he contemplated the latest in a series of fitness setbacks.
Ernesto Valverde’s side struggled to get time on the ball in the opening stages, with his former club Barcelona enjoying plenty of possession as Joao Cancelo established himself as the liveliest outlet on the park.
Hanging on to the ball did not translate into obvious openings, though, with a pair of set-pieces the closest they came to an early breakthrough.
Andreas Christensen headed over Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick and Jules Kounde’s ambitious flick off a corner also cleared the crossbar.
For their part, Athletic were feeding on scraps and largely unable to make use of the ball when they made it into the final third. Barca’s flow was disrupted when De Jong went over on his ankle in the 26th minute, clearly unable to shake off the pain as Fermin Lopez took his place.
They almost grabbed an opener out of nowhere shortly after the half-hour when Cancelo tried his luck from long-range after Unai Simon’s punt up-field and caught the keeper out of position. Simon managed to back-track and get a hand on it but still needed Yeray Alvarez to clear up on the line.
With time running down on the first half Pedri went down with nobody else involved, forced out of the match and letting his emotion get the better of him as he returned to the dugout.
Athletic came alive at the start of the second period, captain Inaki Williams twice finding space in behind and twice missing the target as he let loose. Barca defenders Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi were also forced into shutting down promising moves as the tide threatened to turn.
Alex Berenguer had a couple of promising breaks but floundered when it came to an end product while 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, Pedri’s replacement, saw a penalty shout waved away at the other end.
The hosts almost made Barca’s night even worse in added time when Dani Garcia arrived unmarked at the far post from a corner but failed to direct his header on target.
Giacomo Raspadori’s late goal earned a Napoli a second-straight Serie A win for the first time since September as they recorded a 2-1 victory over Juventus, who lost further ground on the league leaders as a result.
A frantic first-half was on show for supporters inside the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium but Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s strike three minutes before the break put Napoli a goal up at half-time.
Excitement levels in the second period did not drop and Juventus thought they would take a share of the spoils when Federico Chiesa’s beauty levelled things up.
However, Giacomo Raspadori’s rebound from Victor Osimhen’s missed penalty gave Napoli a second win on the bounce, while – as a result – Juventus dropped further behind leaders Inter Milan.
The visitors were first to test the waters and Dusan Vlahovic aimed and fired just wide of the far post in the 11th minute.
Napoli came closest to opening the scoring when Frank Anguissa was denied by Wojciech Szczesny from six yards and Matteo Politano’s follow up was also kept out by the Poland goalkeeper.
The game was already teeing up to be an end-to-end thriller, this time Chiesa picked out Samuel Iling-Junior but his first-time effort went marginally wide.
Juventus came within inches of breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute when Vlahovic latched onto Chiesa’s through ball, he dinked it over the onrushing Alex Meret and onto the post.
Back came Napoli and Mathias Olivera’s goalbound header was cleared off the line by Alex Sandro with the score somehow still at 0-0.
Three minutes before the break, Napoli had a breakthrough. Moments after Anguissa had a shot blocked, a defensive header fell into the path of Kvaratskhelia, who proved too powerful for Szczesny and volleyed the ball into the bottom corner.
Juventus could have had an equaliser almost straight away after Daniele Rugani capitalised on some loose possession in the home defence, the ball fell kindly to Vlahovic but he could not take advantage and skied his effort over the crossbar.
Chances continued to come for Serbia international Vlahovic but he failed to find the back of the net, this time he broke the line but tamely hit his shot into the firm grasp of Meret.
Juventus went in search of an equaliser, Southampton loanee Carlos Alcaraz decided to have a crack this time but his shot deflected kindly for Meret.
The visitors found an equaliser in the 82nd minute when Chiesa found space just inside the box and cracked a daisycutter into the bottom-left corner to level things up at one apiece.
Napoli were given the chance to retake the lead after Osimhen was brought down inside the box by Joseph Nonge, with referee Maurizio Mariani awarding a penalty following a VAR check.
From the resulting spot-kick, Osimhen saw his strike saved by Szczesny but Raspadori was on hand to smash home his rebound via the post to save the blushes of the Nigeria striker.
Juventus missed a golden opportunity to snatch an equaliser at the death when Chiesa’s driven cross was diverted over the crossbar by Rugani with the goal at his mercy.
Napoli held on for maximum points to move up to seventh and leave their second-placed opponents 12 points off the lead.
In a jaw-dropping display of explosive power and determination, Devynne Charlton of the Bahamas soared to new heights, breaking her own world record to clinch gold in the fiercely competitive 60m hurdles at the World Indoor Championships in Glasgow, Scotland.
The final session on Sunday witnessed an explosive showdown between Charlton and the 2022 champion, Cyrena Samba-Mayela. Fueled by the intense competition, Charlton stormed across the finish line in a remarkable 7.65 seconds, not only securing the gold but also eclipsing her previous world record of 7.67 set at the Millrose Games in February.
Samba-Mayela, the French sensation, pushed herself to the limit with a personal best of 7.73 in the semi-finals but was just shy of Charlton's electrifying pace, forcing her to settle for the silver medal with a time of 7.74 seconds.
Poland's Pia Skrzyszowka added to the drama, running a fast 7.79 seconds to claim the bronze medal in the tightly contested race. Meanwhile, Charlton's teammate Charisma Taylor, despite a strong effort, secured the sixth position with a time of 7.92 seconds.
Devynne Charlton's emphatic victory not only secured her a well-deserved gold but also ensured that the Bahamas would leave the World Indoor Championships with a single gold medal. This achievement puts the Bahamas on par with St Lucia and the Commonwealth of Dominica, where Julien Alfred and Thea LaFond claimed gold in the 60m and triple jump events, respectively.
However, the same cannot be said for Jamaica, which experienced a disappointing outing in the 4x400m relay. Despite having three bronze medals in their tally, the defending champions failed to finish the race as the third-leg runner, Charokee Young, dropped the baton, extinguishing any hopes of adding to their medal count.
Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell have returned to the England squad ahead of Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Ireland.
Harlequins fly-half Smith is yet to feature in this year’s championship due to a calf issue, while Northampton scrum-half Mitchell twisted his knee in training after starting the victories over Italy and Wales.
The pair linked up with head coach Steve Borthwick’s group last week for a three-day training camp in York ahead of the final two rounds of the Six Nations, and were on Sunday evening named in a 36-man squad to face Grand Slam-chasing Ireland at Twickenham.
Exeter wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, who scored a try as a replacement in Saturday’s 30-21 Calcutta Cup loss to Scotland, has also been included after missing the training camp due to having a medical exam at Exeter University which had to be completed face to face.
England, who must beat Andy Farrell’s reigning champions to remain in title contention, conclude the tournament against France in Lyon on March 16.
The island of St Lucia is set to erupt in jubilation as the Government plans extravagant celebrations to honour Julien Alfred's historic triumph at the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow. However, when those festivities occur will likely depend on when the athlete would be available to participate.
The 22-year-old sprint sensation made history on Saturday, securing the gold medal in the 60m dash and etching her name in St Lucian athletics lore.
Already recognized as the fastest women ever from St Lucia, Alfred's stellar performance in Glasgow elevated her status to unparalleled heights. Clocking a world-leading 6.98s, she held off formidable competitors Ewa Swoboda of Poland (7.00s) and Italy's Zaynab Dosso (7.05s) to clinch the coveted gold medal, marking the first time a St Lucian athlete has achieved such a feat on the global stage.
In the wake of this historic victory, St Lucia's Sports Minister, Kenson Casimir, expressed the government's eagerness to celebrate Julien Alfred's triumph.
Speaking to Sportsmax.TV, Minister Casimir outlined plans for a grand celebration but emphasized that the arrangements would hinge on Alfred's availability, considering her demanding athletic schedule.
“We have a very long season ahead of us, we would love to celebrate it with Julien but we are thinking about whether or not she comes home, that would be entirely up to her, her technical team, and her staff, coach and others," stated Minister Casimir.
The sports minister further conveyed the island's desire to demonstrate their pride and support for Alfred by parading her across the entire island. However, recognizing the athlete's significant goals and commitments, Casimir expressed the need to coordinate with Alfred's team to determine the feasibility of such a celebration.
“We would love to have her home to really parade her around the entire island, but we have big goals; she has big goals. Of course, I will be on the phone with her soon enough to find out what is possible and what’s not,” he added.
Jonjo O’Neill is not ruling out a Cheltenham Festival appearance for Monbeg Genius after a disappointing effort at Kelso on Saturday.
The eight-year-old was among the leading lights in the ante-post market for the Randox Grand National prior to his outing in the Premier Chase, which was a first run since finishing third in the Coral Gold Cup back in December.
Minor setbacks scuppered his intended runs since and there was concern his season could be curtailed after assets linked to owners Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman were made the subject of a restraint order, but the British Horseracing Authority subsequently confirmed Monbeg Genius would not be affected.
Sent off a 5-2 chance at Kelso, Monbeg Genius trailed home in fifth place, beaten 38 lengths by Thunder Rock, and O’Neill could give him a chance to redeem himself in the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham on Tuesday week, a race in which he finished third last year.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “He’s fine but it was disappointing really, we were expecting a better show than that, to be fair.
“He’ll have to come on a lot, but he’s come out of it fine and we might even give him another spin at Cheltenham, we’ll see. It wasn’t the plan but he might come on a bit more.
“The practice might help, he didn’t jump great yesterday, he didn’t do anything that we hoped he would, so let’s see how he is.
“He’s in at Cheltenham, so we’ll have a look and see.”
Monbeg Genius is now a best-priced 33-1 shot for Aintree on April 13.
O’Neill is also keeping his options open with exciting bumper prospect Mister Meggit following his facile success in the Download The Racecourse App Raceday Ready Open NH Flat Race at Doncaster.
Having won by a dozen lengths on his Carlisle debut in November, the six-year-old hacked up by four and three-quarter lengths at 8-15 at Town Moor following a 119-day absence.
Coral cut Mister Meggit from 25-1 to 16-1 for the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham and O’Neill said: “When I was looking at him in the paddock, I was thinking ‘what are we doing here?’ because he’s a shelly little horse. But he’s obviously got an engine and I was very pleased with that.
“It’s hard to know with a four-runner race, but he did it really sweetly at Carlisle as well. He doesn’t show you up at home or anything like that but when he gets down here, he’s obviously a fair horse.
“We’ll see how he is, there’s Liverpool as well. He’s a very shelly horse, so we’ll just have to see how he comes out of it. He did look good, though.”
Phil Foden scored twice in the second half as title-chasing Manchester City came from behind to claim a crucial 3-1 win over rivals Manchester United.
The champions were stunned by a brilliant strike from Marcus Rashford after just eight minutes but were otherwise the dominant force in a keenly-fought Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Their pressure eventually paid off as Foden levelled with a long-range effort in the 56th minute and then put his side ahead 10 minutes from time. Erling Haaland put the result beyond doubt in stoppage time.
Victory took City one point behind leaders Liverpool ahead of the two sides’ eagerly-anticipated meeting at Anfield next weekend.
Foden, also last week’s match-winner at Bournemouth, is rapidly becoming City’s star of the season but prior to his intervention it seemed Rashford could steal the headlines.
The England forward this week defended himself against suggestions he was not fully committed to United and his blistering opener was an excellent way to do his talking on the pitch.
It came from a route-one punt upfield by Andre Onana which was taken under control by Bruno Fernandes and laid off to Rashford 25 yards out.
He seized the chance as he hit a thunderous first-time shot which flew in off the underside of the bar.
It could even have got worse for City with two more United breaks catching them out.
A Ruben Dias slip allowed Rashford another run at goal but the bounce wrong-footed him and Kyle Walker cleared. Rashford was then unable to make clean contact with a shot after a low ball was whizzed into the area.
Yet these were rare forays in a first half City otherwise dominated, racking up a remarkable 18 shots – their most without scoring in an opening 45-minute period under Pep Guardiola.
Haaland was guilty of their most glaring miss. The prolific Norwegian, who scored five at Luton in midweek, remarkably volleyed over in front of an open goal from a well-cushioned Foden header.
Prior to that Foden and Rodri were both denied by Onana while Jeremy Doku, Kevin De Bruyne and Haaland all failed to make the most of half-chances.
The equaliser came early in the second half as Foden connected with another fine effort from outside the area that curled into the top corner.
United protested, feeling Rashford had been fouled by Walker moments earlier and a furious Erik ten Hag was booked for his reaction on the touchline, but that contact had been deemed minimal by referee Andrew Madley.
The leveller reignited an atmosphere that had become subdued and play was held up after a blue flare was thrown onto the pitch and landed close to Onana.
City continued to probe with Walker shooting at Onana but United retained a threat on the counter-attack and Alejandro Garnacho broke clear only to be denied by an Ederson tackle.
The decisive moment came 10 minutes from time as Foden combined with Julian Alvarez and beat Onana with a low drive across goal.
Haaland wrapped up the scoring with a precise finish – his 28th goal of the campaign – late on.
Andoni Iraola does not believe Bournemouth are safe yet despite ending a seven-game winless Premier League run with a 2-0 victory over Burnley.
The Clarets and Sheffield United are cut adrift at the bottom and the Cherries are now sitting in 13th place, 11 points clear of Luton in 18th.
“I’m satisfied with the situation that we have a gap of 11 points, it’s very good, it’s important,” said the Bournemouth boss.
“But we still need more wins, we still need more points. I feel that Luton, they have very good spirit, they fight every game and they can make a good run.”
Burnley dominated possession and chances but the two moments of real quality came from Bournemouth, with Justin Kluivert opening the scoring in the 13th minute and Antoine Semenyo making sure of the win two minutes from time.
Iraola was left with mixed feelings, saying: “Obviously I’m happy because we needed this win. For sure we played worse than the last games we’ve played, but we’ll take the win.
“I was disappointed with the performance in the first half. We made adjustments and the second half was much better from our side.”
The negative was a hamstring injury suffered early in the first half by key defender Marcos Senesi.
“I think it’s a clear strain in the hamstring,” said Iraola. “I hope it’s not very big.
“It’s a very bad moment for us because we don’t have too many defenders right now. Also for him personally because he has been called again with Argentina. I know that is something important for him.”
Burnley have now gone 10 games without a victory, conceding a combined 10 goals without reply in their last three.
Manager Vincent Kompany felt the performance was a substantial improvement on last weekend’s 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, saying: “I did think we put in the energy that we needed.
“We created I think more shots and chances than in any of the games we’ve played in the Premier League so far this season. And even after conceding the goal, we carried on.
“But the frustration is something that has to substitute into the next game. What we can’t drop is the energy levels we had today.”
Kompany bemoaned the consistency of officiating after Josh Cullen had a second-half effort ruled out for a foul by Jacob Bruun Larsen.
“In the context of this game, you can allow or disallow this goal and have kind of a 50-50 divide,” he said.
“But, if you zoom out a little bit and put this goal against the goal we conceded against Luton, impeding a player while you’re not making contact with the ball, it’s exactly what happened in reverse.
“So in that moment you don’t give a foul and in this moment you do. That side of it is difficult to handle this season.”
Burnley have now lost 11 of their 14 league matches at Turf Moor this season and boos were audible at the final whistle.
“That’s after every defeat in every club,” said Kompany. “It’s football.
“But as long as they’re there from the start, which it was, and throughout the game they support you, that’s part of the things you have to be able to deal with and eventually it all comes back in a positive way.”
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