Manchester United did little to turn down the noise surrounding manager Erik Ten Hag’s future after an ultimately dramatic but largely uninspiring 1-1 draw at Brentford.

United looked to have turned a lifeless display into an unlikely three points after Mason Mount climbed off the bench to fire them ahead six minutes into stoppage time.

But Brentford equalised less than three minutes later through Kristoffer Ajer to snatch a point which was the least they deserved.

Ten Hag had shrugged off speculation over his job this week before returning to the scene of his catastrophic second match in charge, when they conceded four goals in the opening 35 minutes.

On the evidence of this underwhelming performance, they have hardly made any progress since that chastening afternoon in August 2022.

In fact, Brentford had enough chances to stage a repeat performance of their 4-0 romp but for the wayward finishing which has made their season a significantly tougher one than the last.

They had 31 attempts at goal and hit the woodwork four times before finally finding the net.

Ivan Toney, fresh from opening his England account against Belgium in midweek, raced through early on but his finish came back off the foot of the post.

The Bees hit the frame of the goal again when Mathias Jorgensen met Mathias Jensen’s cross with a powerful header which clipped the crossbar.

Toney threatened once more when he chased a long clearance and cut inside Victor Lindelof on the edge of the box, only to curl his shot over the top.

Still the chances came and went, with Vitaly Janelt driving across goal and wide, Yoane Wissa’s acrobatic effort flying off target and Keane Lewis-Potter heading straight at Andre Onana.

All United had to show for their limited endeavour in the first half was a Bruno Fernandes shot which fizzed wide and a deflected Marcus Rashford effort saved by Mark Flekken.

United did at least start the second half with a sense of urgency and Fernandes beat the offside trap before squaring for Rasmus Hojlund, whose first-time effort was brilliantly clawed away by Flekken.

Onana then outdid his opposite number with a stunning double save to keep out Yehor Yarmoliuk’s shot and Lewis-Potter’s follow-up.

Wissa came agonisingly close for the hosts when his volley shaved a post before an audacious Toney volley flew just over.

Toney had the ball in the net when he guided in a cross from substitute Bryan Mbeumo, but he was denied by a tight offside decision.

Moments later Mbeumo volleyed against the crossbar and it really did not look like being Brentford’s day when, deep into nine minutes of stoppage time, Casemiro set up Mount to convert at the far post.

But Brentford were not to be denied and when Toney sent the ball across goal in the 99th minute, Ajer was on hand to ensure United left with only a point which will do little for either their Champions League hopes or Ten Hag’s prospects of staying in a job this summer.

AC Milan extended their winning run to six matches with a 2-1 victory over Fiorentina on an emotional night at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

There had been tributes before kick-off to Fiorentina general manager Joe Barone, who collapsed in the team hotel just as they were preparing to travel to the stadium for the match against Atalanta and later died in hospital.

The Rossoneri produced a clinical display with second-half goals from Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Rafael Leao either side of Alfred Duncan’s equaliser to consolidate second place in the Serie A table.

Following a minute’s silence, AC Milan, without the suspended Theo Hernandez, made a positive start as Olivier Giroud forced Fiorentina keeper Pietro Terracciano into an early save after a driving run from Samuel Chukwueze.

Fiorentina – returning to action for the first time since their Europa Conference League tie against Maccabi Haifa on March 14 – continued to be pressed into some deep defending, with Rossoneri winger Leao a constant threat down the left.

Leao floated a cross over to the back post, where Chukwueze’s downward header was palmed away by Terracciano.

La Viola finally created an opening in the 26th minute when Andrea Belotti was played into the Milan penalty area but Mike Maignan stood up to make a smart save.

After Leao’s angled effort was stopped by Terracciano at the near post, Fiorentina again broke quickly with Belotti flashing a ball across the Milan six-yard box.

Terracciano saved from Leao after the forward spun in the right side of the area before Giroud blazed over as Milan pressed for the breakthrough ahead of half-time.

Milan took the lead two minutes into the second half.

Chukwueze sent Leao clear down the right and his improved backheel went across the six-yard box. Fiorentina defender Nikola Milenkovic slipped over, which allowed the ball to fall to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who dug it out from under his feet to stab home a 10th goal of the season.

Fiorentina, though, were soon back on level terms in the 50th minute when Duncan clipped a fine finish into the far corner from the edge of the Milan penalty area.

In a hectic spell, Milan regained the lead in the 53rd minute when Tijjani Reijnders’ through pass saw Leao race clear past Milenkovic before calmly taking the ball around the onrushing Terracciano and knocking it into an empty net.

Milan full-back Alessandro Florenzi went close to a third when his fierce drive from the edge of the area was palmed clear by Terracciano at full stretch.

Rossoneri keeper Maignan was then called into action again to acrobatically push over a rising effort from Belotti and then tipped away a half-volley from Rolando Mandragora.

With 15 minutes left, Milan substitute Christian Pulisic saw his goal on the break disallowed for offside as Stefano Pioli’s side closed out a sixth straight win in all competitions.

Danielle Collins produced a fairytale ending to her first WTA 1000 final in her last year on tour by beating Elena Rybakina to win the Miami Open.

The 30-year-old, who grew up in St Petersburg near Tampa, delighted the partisan home crowd as she produced a determined display to see off world number four Rybakina 7-5 6-3, before breaking down in tears.

Unseeded Collins, runner-up to Ashleigh Barty at the 2022 Australian Open, had won 12 straight sets after losing her first of the tournament, and continued to dig deep as she saw off Rybakina, who had reached a second straight Miami Open final.

The opening set stayed on serve, with Collins saving three break points in the seventh game. The American then dug deep to fend off another break opportunity for Rybakina to hold again and lead 6-5.

Collins continued her momentum to force two set points in the next game, but could not convert.

A forehand into the net from Rybakina presented Collins another opportunity – which this time she took when the world number four sent a return long of the baseline, to the delight of the home crowd.

Rybakina was under pressure on her serve again early in the second set, with Collins dispatching a break point chance with a forehand crosscourt winner to move 2-0 ahead.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion, though, regrouped to immediately break back in the next game before a hold to love levelled the set up again at 2-2.

Collins eventually took what was an error-strewn seventh game from both players to lead 4-3 – which again got the crowd fired up.

The home fans were soon back on their feet as Collins forced home another break chance when Rybakina sent a return long which left her serving for the title.

Collins, though, struggled to finish off Rybakina, who forced a break chance before the American failed to take three championship points – but she eventually found a backhand winner to deliver the biggest title of her career.

“I have worked so hard and it has taken a lot longer than a lot of the players on the tour,” Collins said in her courtside interview with Sky Sports.

“Today was just surreal, coming out here and playing in front of so many people that were behind me. Having a whole stadium on my side was something so special – it is hard not to get emotional.

“It meant so much to me to get over this hurdle. It is just a really special moment.”

Pep Guardiola is the best manager of all time, according to former Manchester City goalkeeper David James.

Guardiola claimed a historic treble with City last season, taking his tally to 11 league titles and three Champions League trophies across his time at Barcelona, Bayern Munich and the Citizens over a glittering managerial career.

Guardiola has led City to the Premier League title in five of the last six campaigns, and his team is deeply entrenched in yet another battle at the top of the division this season, too, sitting third but just a point behind leaders Arsenal, who they face on Sunday in a huge clash.

Alex Ferguson leads the way with 13 Premier League titles over 21 editions of the competition, but James believes the rate at which Guardiola is catching up with the Scot means the former Barca boss must be considered the best manager of all time.

"Tactically, and with regards to what he's won, I'm struggling to think of a manager who's overall done better [than Guardiola]," James told Stats Perform. "Alex Ferguson you could think of, but Alex Ferguson had [a long time]. It's just ridiculous how good this guy is.

"I just think when you look at Pep, in a short period of time, he has effectively dominated anything he wants to go for. The Premier League, it is the best league in the world. His team has dominated.

"It wouldn't surprise me if they win the Champions League again. When you think the EFL Cup was his first [trophy], I think it was three years in a row, now it's the Premier League, and it's kind of like, well next is naturally the Champions League, isn't it?"

James believes it is Guardiola's ability to develop talented players into becoming world class that truly sets him apart from other managers and allows him to have so much success wherever he goes.

"For what anyone says about money being spent, I think other than Jack Grealish at one point, he's never bought the most expensive player," James added. "He gets the players and makes them better.

"You've got Phil Foden. The player I'm looking forward to over the rest of this season and next season is Oscar Bobb.

"There are players in the City side who are coming through or already there, and it's just a joy to watch."

For the majority of Guardiola's City career, Liverpool and their boss Jurgen Klopp have been his team's closest challengers.

That competition is soon to be coming to an end, however, with Klopp set to leave Liverpool at the end of the season after almost nine years in charge at Anfield.

James believes this will prove to be a huge loss for the Premier League, particularly when it comes to Klopp's personality, saying: "He has been so frank, so honest about anything that he's been asked.

"I just think it's so refreshing to have a manager who is managing one of the biggest clubs in the world in the most pressurised environments in sport, if you like, and he takes to it like it's a chit-chat around a cup of coffee over a table.

"While we've got him I think we have to enjoy him, and hope that at some point he comes back to the Premier League in some shape or form and just illuminates football for anyone who's following him."

Yet, James feels the nature of football means that if Liverpool's next manager succeeds on the pitch in a superior fashion to Klopp, the former Borussia Dortmund boss will become just another one of the top managers Liverpool have had.

"Will there be a gap? Yeah," James continued. "And the character will be difficult, if not near impossible to replace.

"However, the game will move on. And if the new manager of Liverpool hardly ever talks to anyone but gets results in Liverpool surpassing Jurgen's success on the trophy trail, then in the end Jurgen will just be one of the great managers that Liverpool had and it will all be about the new guy. We know how this game works."

Aston Villa face a nervous wait to find out the extent of Ollie Watkins’ hamstring injury.

Boss Unai Emery confirmed the England international was taken off at half-time of the 2-0 win over Wolves with the problem and will undergo tests on Sunday.

He is now a major doubt for the midweek trip to Manchester City and Villa will be desperately hoping the injury is not a serious one as they enter a crucial run-in where they are aiming for Champions League qualification and Europa Conference League glory.

Their top-four hopes were boosted by victory over their midlands rivals, with goals from Moussa Diaby and Ezri Konsa in either half earning a vital three points.

Emery said: “He was feeling something, hamstring, more or less, and he was telling us he could carry on playing but the doctor told us it was better not to play with risk and we decided to stop him.

“Tomorrow we will check him and maybe its his hamstring, we hope not a lot, but we will see.”

On the game, Emery said it was important to get back to winning ways at home after recent losses to Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham.

“Very important, those three points here in Villa Park have been difficult, so many times we have played here against Newcastle, Manchester United and Tottenham, all different matches, but we didn’t achieve in those matches,” the Spaniard added.

“But we are being consistent and we are recovering our confidence and our way.

“Today, I think the important was victory. We were serious.”

Wolves were left to rue a big miss by Rayan Ait-Nouri with the score at 0-0 as the Algeria international failed to convert when he had time and space at the far post.

Boss Gary O’Neil said: “It’s a goal. I mean, 99 times out of 100 in a Premier League game that ends in a goal.

“He has got a big area of the goal to hit and he is not very far out so you’d back him to score.

“Sometimes it doesn’t go your way and the goalie makes a good save. Rayan played two 90 minutes for Algeria in the week and I thought he maybe didn’t look as sharp as he has done and a bit tired.

“The only thing I was disappointed with to be honest was the result. Performance-wise there were loads and loads of positives.

“Obviously we didn’t come here to lose so it is really disappointing that we did. But that performance I can sign up for no problem, if that is what the lads are going to give and that’s what we are going to be, that will be enough to win us enough games and keep us moving in the right direction.”

England head coach John Mitchell believes there is “massive growth” left in the Red Roses after they completed a second successive Guinness Six Nations bonus-point victory.

A 46-10 triumph over Wales at Ashton Gate means England top the table with maximum points ahead of their clash against Scotland next month.

As in a runaway win against opening Six Nations opponents Italy, England scored eight tries. And they did it in front of a 19,700 crowd, which was the biggest home attendance for a Red Roses game away from Twickenham.

Full-back Ellie Kildunne led the way with two tries, while there were also touchdowns for Hannah Botterman, Maud Muir, Abby Dow, Lark Atkin-Davies, Zoe Aldcroft and Rosie Galligan.

Fly-half Holly Aitchison kicked three conversions, while Wales posted a consolation try from replacement Keira Bevan and Lleucu George landed a conversion and penalty.

“The game doesn’t always go for you in attack, so you have got to be good on the other side of the ball,” Mitchell said. “The start is the maul defence and we are making good strides.

“To be a really good team and for this team to grow we need to find different ways to score and make sure we can play the game in different ways.

“We are trying to be very clear on our strategy. They built pressure in both halves and I think we left a couple (of tries) out there as well. I still think there is massive growth left in us.”

England captain Marlie Packer added: “We put a spotlight on ourselves. We want to play with tempo and put an exciting brand of rugby out on the pitch.

“Our set-piece was phenomenal, which gave us really good front-foot ball to play.

“We want to let the handbrake off and play. The ball will go down at some points in the game because of how we are trying to play, but hopefully it is exciting rugby.

“We had 19,000 fans here today and we want them to keep coming back.”

For Wales, it was a second successive Six Nations defeat after losing 20-18 to Scotland, but head coach Ioan Cunningham was in upbeat mood.

“I am very encouraged. If I am honest, I thought we left four or five tries out on the field today,” he said.

“It is showing what we can do. It is just about being a bit more clinical.

“I am so proud of the effort. We have just got to balance that up with having that composure at the right time and once that clicks we will be a tough team to stop.”

Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga title hopes were left hanging by a thread after they fell 13 points off the pace as Borussia Dortmund claimed their first win at the Allianz Arena for a decade.

After leaders Bayer Leverkusen hit back to edge out Hoffenheim, Dortmund claimed a 2-0 win in Der Klassiker thanks to goals from Karim Adeyemi and Julian Ryerson to leave Bayern’s title defence in tatters with just seven games left in the season.

Harry Kane was wasteful on his return from an ankle injury that had ruled him out of England’s friendlies against Brazil and Belgium, twice heading wide when it might have been easier to score, while Dortmund were indebted to a star performance from 35-year-old Mats Hummels on his return to Bavaria.

The former Bayern defender made a record 29th Der Klassiker appearance and produced an acrobatic stop to deny Eric Dier to ensure Adeyemi’s 10th-minute opener separated the sides at the interval.

Hummels made a series of important interventions to break up Bayern attacks before Ryerson struck seven minutes from time as Dortmund claimed victory at the home of their rivals for the first time since 2014.

To rub salt into the wound, Kane, who bagged a hat-trick in Bayern’s 4-0 win in the reverse fixture in November, looked to have pulled one back late on, only to be ruled offside by VAR.

Leroy Sane and Kane both passed up chances as Bayern controlled the early running, but they were caught cold after losing possession in opposition territory and Dortmund quickly broke up field.

Julian Brandt slotted in Adeyemi, who dispatched a first-time effort from a narrow angle with his left foot that Sven Ulreich, deputising for Bayern captain Manuel Neuer, got a hand to but could not keep out.

Buoyed by their opener, Dortmund went on the attack again, but Hummels dragged wide after being teed up by Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho before Kane passed up a gilt-edged chance to draw Bayern level.

Joshua Kimmich’s cross needed just a strong header from the unmarked Kane, but he instead glanced wide, while former Tottenham team-mate Eric Dier saw a point-blank header denied on the line by a flying boot from Hummels before Emre Can hooked clear.

Dier had not made the cleanest of connections at the back post, but it still needed a remarkable intervention from Hummels, who instinctively threw up his right leg to deny his fellow defender.

Kane had a quiet first half but was in the thick of the action after half-time when he unselfishly squared for Alphonso Davies, who made a hash of his effort and the ball sailed harmlessly wide.

Dortmund, though, should have given themselves some breathing room, only for Felix Nmecha’s close-range effort to be terrifically palmed away by Ulreich, who made amends for his role in Dortmund’s goal.

It might have been a costly miss, but Kane directed a header at the back post from a corner wide of the target.

Kingsley Coman’s fierce strike was tipped over by Alexander Meyer, just Bayern’s second effort on target as they continued to be thwarted before Ryerson effectively sealed the three points for Dortmund.

Following good work from Sancho on the left, the ball was spread to the right and Sebastien Haller laid it off to Ryerson, who from the edge of the box lashed low across Ulreich and into the net.

As Bayern fans headed for the exits in their droves, Kane thought he had pulled one back after heading home from Noussair Mazraoui’s cross, but VAR ruled he had strayed slightly offside, epitomising his and Bayern’s fortunes on a forgettable night.

Aston Villa maintained their pursuit of Champions League qualification with a 2-0 win over Wolves at Villa Park.

Unai Emery's men had been knocked down into fifth by Tottenham’s late win over Luton earlier on Saturday but they responded in style in the midlands derby.

Moussa Diaby notched his first Premier League goal of 2024 to open the scoring in the first half before Ezri Konsa celebrated his recent England debut with a rare strike, though it was a fluke.

He will not care too much about that as his side climbed back up into fourth position, three points above Spurs, as they chase qualification to Europe’s premier club competition for the first time.

It was also an important victory considering they visit Manchester City in midweek, but the one worry will be the condition of Ollie Watkins, who did not reappear after the half-time interval.

Wolves, so depleted of attacking options they were forced to hand a Premier League debut to 18-year-old striker Leon Chiwome, will regret the glaring chance missed by Rayan Ait-Nouri early in the game as they slipped to a defeat which damages their own hopes of qualifying for Europe.

Villa knew exactly what they had to do after Spurs’ late rally and thought they had made the perfect start when Douglas Luiz forced the ball home after Jose Sa had saved from Watkins, but the England striker was offside and the goal was chalked off.

Wolves should have been celebrating going in front as they spurned a golden chance in the 15th minute.

Santiago Bueno’s cross from the right made it through to an unmarked Ait-Nouri at the far post, but Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez got across brilliantly to deny a certain goal.

Villa began to up the intensity and Watkins had the sort of opportunity he usually gobbles up as Youri Tielemans played him through on goal, but this time he clipped into the side-netting.

Pau Torres then glanced a header straight at Sa before Villa’s dominance was rewarded with a 36th-minute breakthrough.

Luiz’s free-kick was fizzed back across goal by Leon Bailey and, with the aid of a deflection, the ball fell perfectly for Diaby, who lashed home from the edge of the area to end his league drought.

Watkins’ half-time exit disrupted Villa’s fluency after the restart and they needed a huge dollop of luck to double their lead in the 65th minute.

A sweeping move saw the ball played out to Konsa on the overlap and he skewed his chipped cross from the right byline over the head of Sa and in off the far post.

Nicolo Zaniolo, who was the driving force behind the second goal, then had two quickfire chances to kill the game but shot straight at Sa on both occasions.

Villa closed out the game without any issues to register an important win in the race for the top four.

Lazio scored a dramatic late winner to seal a deserved 1-0 victory over out-of-sorts Juventus at Stadio Olimpico.

Adam Marusic netted three minutes into stoppage time as Lazio claimed both the three points and also strike a psychological blow ahead of Tuesday’s Coppa Italia semi-final first leg between the two teams in Turin.

Massimiliano Allegri’s Juve, who have now won just once in their last nine matches, had another day to forget, failing to find their attacking rhythm as they found themselves under the cosh for much of the game.

That did not look like being the case early on as the third-placed Bianconeri started the better of the two sides, with Federico Chiesa looking lively. The Italy international used his pace to get into a dangerous area before his whipped cross was headed narrowly wide by centre-back Bremer.

Felipe Anderson was Lazio’s main outlet during the opening exchanges and he fashioned a chance for Taty Castellanos after beating four Juve players before unselfishly picking out his team-mate, but the Argentinian fired wide from inside the box.

The combination of Castellanos and Anderson continued to threaten a Juve side looking for points to seal a Champions League spot, but again Lazio failed to make the most of their chances with Castellanos missing the target again.

Lazio’s lack of cutting edge continued after a mix-up at the back between Juve centre-back Daniele Rugani and Wojciech Szczesny. The Poland goalkeeper found himself in trouble following a back pass by his defender but after a scramble in the box, Juve managed to clear and save their blushes.

A stellar defensive performance from Bremer continued into the second half as the visitors fought to keep Lazio’s attacking threats under control.

Ciro Immobile combined with Marusic inside the area but the resolute Brazilian blocked the ball, getting a crucial touch on the shot to turn it wide as the game remained goalless.

Lazio coach Giovanni Martusciello turned to his bench in one last attempt to break the deadlock, sending on Spanish forward Luis Alberto in a bid to inject some attacking life into a cagey affair in Rome.

And the home side were rewarded for their efforts in stoppage time when wing-back Marusic rose highest to head in the winner.

Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder could not hide his disappointment after his side let slip a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 against Fulham at Bramall Lane.

The Blades led 3-1 with four minutes of regulation time remaining after Ben Brereton Diaz’s second-half double sandwiched Oli McBurnie’s effort.

Joao Palhinha had headed Fulham level after Brereton Diaz’s opener, while two stunning finishes from substitute Bobby De Cordova-Reid and Rodrigo Muniz – the latter’s in stoppage time – rescued the Londoners a point.

Wilder, whose side had conceded 21 goals in their four previous home matches, said: “When you score three goals at home in the Premier League, to only get a draw, I think that’s the disappointing aspect of it.

“Obviously the narrative from everybody was home form, goals conceded and being out of the game after 25 minutes, so we had to make sure we did something about it.

“We had to get a foothold in the game, so first base was reached at half-time and the message at half-time was we just needed to show a bit more quality, more belief, enjoy the ball a little bit more, and they did.

“We scored three good goals from our point of view. The flip side is another set-piece has hurt us and then two incredible finishes get them something out of the game.”

Brereton Diaz and McBurnie, who had a second effort after the interval ruled out for offside, combined with deadly precision for the Blades’ first two goals.

Wilder added: “I’m sure if we had been able to stick those two together for a little bit more time we would have reaped the rewards of two really good players, who obviously have an understanding.”

Fulham head coach Marco Silva also admitted it had been a bitter-sweet afternoon for his side after they had dominated before Brereton Diaz’s 58th-minute opener.

Silva said: “I have to say it was an exciting game for sure for the people who were here, but I have to be honest, it was a disappointing result for us. Clearly disappointing.

“When you are dominant from the first minute like we were, the team who created more clear chances to win the game – it is disappointing.

“Of course the reaction, I have to say, as a team it was fantastic. As a team we refused to lose this game because of the way we dominated.

“We showed the quality to come back from 3-1, scoring two great goals and creating more chances even to win the game in the last minutes.”

Muniz struck the woodwork twice, either side of the interval, before Fulham fell behind and the Brazilian striker has now scored eight in as many top-flight appearances.

Silva added: “It was unlucky for him with two off the post, but he kept his composure and trusted in himself.

“He scored a great goal to help the team get a point and there’s much more to come from him.”

Oxford coxswain Will Denegri refused to blame illness for why the favourites suffered a disappointing loss in the 169th edition of the men’s Boat Race.

Cambridge, whose women secured a seventh successive trophy, were seen as underdogs despite doing the double last season but took the honours on a sunny Easter weekend where the pleasant conditions were in contrast to the discovery, earlier this week, that high levels of E. coli had been found along the course.

E. coli can cause a range of serious infections and other side-effects and rowers were told ahead of the race not to enter the Thames.

As a result, neither winning crew elected to partake in the tradition of throwing their cox into the river, and while Oxford’s seven seat Leonard Jenkins had earlier revealed to the BBC that he and several crewmates had been plagued by what he branded an E. coli-related illness, his cox was more reluctant to directly blame the bacteria.

Denegri said: “This week we’ve had three people who have had to miss sessions because they’ve had stomach bugs, essentially. Whether that’s related to E. coli in the river I don’t know, but it’s certainly not helped our campaign, and it’s a poor excuse.

“It’s not an excuse, but it definitely hasn’t helped our preparation. We obviously had a bit of a messy start, not the start we wanted. We had a great warm-up, nothing went wrong in the warm-up, so maybe that was not something we were expecting.

“It felt like we never quite got on the rhythm we were hoping to go onto, but at the same time it wasn’t terrible. We were doing a decent job. Cambridge I think today were just a quicker group, and that’s hard to take.”

Earlier, Jenkins had told the BBC:  “It would have been ideal not to have had so much poo in the water. But that’s not to take away from Cambridge.”

Cambridge triumphed by three and a half boat lengths in a time of 18 minutes and 56 seconds.

They have now won five of the last six editions and had taken a substantial lead by the final push to the finish, Oxford’s only glimmer of hope coming when winning stroke Matt Edge had visibly been pushed to his limit.

The dark blue boat drew closer, but by then Cambridge had rallied behind their ailing team-mate and their earlier advantage proved too much for their rivals to overcome.

Denegri was more willing to acknowledge the role flooding at their Wallingford base played in Oxford’s preparation, which forced them on several occasions to make the trip to the much-further Caversham Lake.

He said: “It’s obviously affected us a lot, especially through February. Caversham Lake is an hour and 10 minutes’ drive from Oxford, so spending two and a half hours on the bus every day has definitely interrupted our training.”

Cambridge, who train at Ely, faced no such challenges nor, as chief coach Rob Baker later confirmed, did they have any illness concerns ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

Following guidance issued to competitors, Baker did insist Ed Bracey – who initially said he might be willing – did not get dunked in the Thames, arranging instead for a bucket of clean water to be dumped on his cox’s head.

Bracey said of the victory: “It was very noisy through the middle of the race and very quiet those last few minutes there, but we got it done. We got it over the line in the end.

“[The pollution news] didn’t really change the way we handled anything to be honest. The stuff we were being advised to do is what we normally do, so it was business as usual.”

Baker, who was not aware of the illness plaguing Oxford, agreed Cambridge’s flood-free Ely HQ – “the best place to train in the country” –  was an advantage, and confirmed Edge, who was attended to by medical staff,  needed some fuel and warmth after the race but thought his stroke would be “fine”.

Asked about the E. coli controversy that had marred an another otherwise brilliant weekend for Cambridge, he added: “It’s obviously not a great situation. We’d like cleaner waterways and not have such a risk for our athletes.”

England recorded a second successive bonus-point victory in this season’s Guinness Six Nations as they brushed aside Wales 46-10 at Ashton Gate.

The Red Roses’ pursuit of a sixth title on the bounce continued as they backed up a 48-0 victory over Italy with another try spree.

Watched by a crowd of 19,700 – England’s biggest attendance for a home game outside of Twickenham – Marlie Packer’s team claimed first-half touchdowns from props Maud Muir and Hannah Botterman, hooker Lark Atkin-Davies and lock Zoe Aldcroft.

Holly Aitchison kicked two conversions and, while Wales briefly held the advantage through a Lleucu George penalty, they had a mountain to climb in the second period.

That challenge soon became way too much as quickfire tries from full-back Ellie Kildunne and wing Abby Dow took England past 30 points and confirmed a 39th victory in 41 Tests against Wales since fixtures began between the two sides.

Replacement Keira Bevan touched down for Wales, with George converting, but further England tries followed through lock Rosie Galligan and Kildunne, whose second score matched her double against Italy last weekend, while Aitchison landed one further conversion.

England head coach John Mitchell handed first starts of the Six Nations campaign to Tatyana Heard and Natasha Hunt, but back-row forward Sarah Beckett began a three-match ban after being sent off against Italy.

Mitchell’s opposite number Ioan Cunningham also rang the changes, yet Wales’ preparations were dealt a blow when prolific try-scoring wing Jasmine Joyce withdrew due to a hamstring strain. Lisa Neumann replaced her in the starting line-up.

George kicked Wales into a sixth-minute lead, but England’s response proved swift and decisive as Muir touched down following a thrilling break by Dow.

England were quickly on the front foot again following a bright start by Wales and quality lineout possession underpinned a try for Aldcroft, meaning that she marked her 50th cap in style.

Aitchison’s conversion made it 12-3 and, although Wales battled hard up front, they were undone by a length-of-the-field attack that led to England’s third try.

Centre Megan Jones was the catalyst, showing great pace as she surged deep inside Wales’ half before quickly-recycled ball saw Botterman charge over. Aitchison’s conversion opened up a 16-point advantage after 24 minutes.

England were on the hunt for a bonus point as the interval approached and it almost arrived when Aitchison kicked to the corner, but Dow narrowly failed to touch down.

Wales then saw their scrum obliterated, allowing England an attacking lineout from the resulting penalty, and pressure inevitably told with a try for hooker Atkin-Davies as the Red Roses took a 24-3 lead into the break.

Kildunne and Dow then put England out of sight and, although Bevan claimed a deserved consolation score for Wales, normal service was resumed through England touchdowns from Galligan and Kildunne.

Mauricio Pochettino conceded Chelsea are missing something after they failed to defeat 10-man Burnley in what he reflected had been a “must-win” game at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-2.

Cole Palmer’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner from Raheem Sterling’s delightful flick with 12 minutes to play, looked to have nicked it for the hosts, restoring the lead after Josh Cullen had whacked Burnley level on the volley early in the second half.

Palmer had earlier given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, converting after Lorenz Assignon had fouled Mykhailo Mudryk and been shown a second yellow card, whilst a furious Vincent Kompany was also dismissed from the touchline for remonstrating.

But Pochettino was left to rue another frustrating result when, minutes after Palmer had made it 2-1, Dara O’Shea got forward from a corner, evaded everybody in blue inside the box and headed the ball through the clumsy grasp of goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to salvage the visitors a point.

“Today we didn’t show the capacity, the energy, the hunger,” said Pochettino. “Not the minimum to compete in the Premier League. In defensive phases, we concede too much.

“That is why I’m so upset and disappointed. It’s more here (in the heart) and here (in the head) than in your legs. It’s about being strong like a group, strong like a team.

“We are too slow evolving in this area. That was the key today. The team played well, we had energy. When we have the ball, we go forwards.

“But when we didn’t have the ball, we don’t have the same energy. Today, sorry, I am not happy with the performance when we don’t have the ball.

“It’s difficult to accept not to win. It was a must-win game to be in a position to attack (the table).”

At five games, Chelsea’s unbeaten league run is now the longest they have enjoyed in almost 18 months, but there was little positive cheer shown by fans at the end towards Pochettino and his players.

In failing to beat the Premier League’s second-bottom side, they lost further ground in what looks an increasingly doomed bid to qualify for Europe via their league placing.

Pochettino felt that his team’s problems in turning performances into points ultimately had a psychological root.

“(The players) need to realise that competing is different to playing football,” he said. “We can be there and play, but we need to increase our level.

“It’s not about blaming the players. Maybe we (the coaching staff) need to be tougher with them.

“We need to be more ruthless, find better communication, be more competitive.

“We are missing something. That’s why we are where we are. When we don’t have the ball we need to increase our capacity to recover it.”

Burnley’s assistant manager Craig Bellamy reflected on a performance of which the travelling supporters could be proud.

“To be able to show the patience they showed, working together, the organisation, the commitment, you couldn’t be nothing short of proud watching it,” he said.