Lewis Hamilton lauded “phenomenal” Ollie Bearman as a “future star” after the British teenager completed a dream 24 hours by securing points on his Formula One debut for Ferrari.

Bearman was drafted in as a last-minute replacement for appendicitis-hit Carlos Sainz and after qualifying 11th, made up four places in Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to finish seventh – remarkably two positions ahead of Mercedes’ seven-time world champion Hamilton.

Hamilton applauded Bearman as he drove past him following the chequered flag and then waited by his Ferrari to embrace the 18-year-old.

Hamilton, 21 years older than his countryman, said: “To be pulled out of your class and put straight into a Ferrari, and then to go straight into practice, he did such a phenomenal job and it has just showed he is a really bright future star.”

Bearman had been due to compete in F1’s feeder series, Formula Two, in Jeddah before Ferrari told him only a handful of hours before final practice on Friday, that he would be replacing Sainz – becoming the youngest British F1 driver in the process.

Following surgery, Sainz was back in the paddock for Saturday’s race. Despite walking gingerly, Ferrari expect the 29-year-old Spaniard, who will next year make way for Hamilton at the scarlet team, to be back in his cockpit for the Australian Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

Bearman was thrust into the spotlight after just two practice run-outs for Ferrari’s B team Haas last season – but his showing under the lights may have helped fast-track his progression to the big time.

Although a full-time seat at Ferrari is not on the cards for 2025, both Haas drivers’ Kevin Magnussen, 31, and Nico Hulkenberg, 36, are out of contract at the end of the season.

And George Russell, who finished one place ahead of Bearman, said: “I fully expect to see him on the grid next year, or the one after.

“He did an amazing job, coming in at a circuit like this which is extremely difficult. He exceeded everybody’s expectations and he caught a lot of people by surprise. He clearly had confidence from the off to push the car to the limit.”

Away from Bearman’s impressive debut – which saw him win the fan-voted driver of the day award – Mercedes endured another disappointing evening. Russell and Hamilton crossed the line 40 and 47 seconds respectively behind Max Verstappen, who stormed to his second win of the season and ninth in a row stretching back to last year.

“There is something we need to spot and unlock and it is not by a lack of trying,” said Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff.

“We push so hard and we are going to give it a massive go in the next week to come back to Melbourne stronger. I am 100 per cent sure we are going to unlock that performance gap.

“I have changed my mindset, and I don’t think additional pressure on us makes it better. I can see the buzz in the organisation. You feel down but we are trying to turn that into motivation. That is why we believe we can turn it around, and I am 100 per cent sure we can.”

Owner Andrew Megson hopes the true price of loyalty is a second Cheltenham Festival winner, as he seeks to reap the rewards of backing the in-form Ben Pauling.

The definition of loyalty is a strong feeling of support or allegiance and the Megsons have never wavered in their belief in Pauling – the man who delivered them an emotional first Festival success with Global Citizen two years ago.

Now, the enthusiastic Yorkshireman and his wife Jane are putting their trust in Pauling once again, as the on-fire Naunton Downs handler prepares the family’s three Festival runners for action in the Cotswolds.

“We’re very excited and also a little nervous, but at the moment all the horses are well, so we are all extremely excited, especially for the Supreme on Tuesday to start off with,” said Megson.

“We think Ben is a fantastic trainer and is a really nice guy, who we trust completely.

“We really admire how Ben and Sophie have backed themselves. Where they were before was a nice yard but you wouldn’t say it was state of the art and it was holding them back.

“They’ve gone out, bought a golf course and converted it to how Ben thinks a perfect yard should be, from the gallop to the American barns to the round gallop. It’s clearly cost a lot of money, but they have taken a big risk and backed themselves and we really admire that.”

He went on: “Ben is picking up some big races, winning a lot of races and is definitely hitting form at a good time.

“He’s a great guy with a great team and is always loyal to his people. The way that him and Sophie have invested in themselves and challenged themselves to get to the top is great. He’s a young guy with lots of ambition and he’s great to be around.”

Not only have the Megsons put complete faith in their trainer, but they have also backed his jockey Kielan Woods, who was aboard Global Citizen in 2022 and will partner all three of the family’s Pauling-trained Cheltenham runners this term.

Their support comes at a time when Woods has spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines, having received a 45-day ban for persistent whip offences.

However, despite Ben Jones shining aboard the Pauling string during Woods’ suspension and the financial services sector expert considering the loan of a calculator, there was never any doubt in Megson’s mind that the 31-year-old Woods would continue riding the family’s string.

He joked: “We’ve got a huge amount of time for Kielan and we think he’s a brilliant horseman and jockey – we would just be happier if he could count to six!

“He assures us now he’s learnt to count and we think he’s as talented as anyone. We hope we are loyal people and we want to stick by him. We’ve given him an abacus and told him when you get to six, stop.

“Kielan rode our only Festival winner and Ben trained our only Festival winner, it is days like that you never forget.

“Yes, Kielan seems to have fallen foul of the stewards but not for one minute have we thought about not letting him ride. If none of us made a mistake, life would be quite dull.”

With Pauling and Woods in place, it is full steam ahead in the quest for a second Cheltenham Festival winner, in an ownership experience that began at a charity dinner – and was assisted by a generous helping of alcohol.

Lured into syndicate life via a tour of Jonjo O’Neill’s Jackdaws Castle, Andrew and Jane were soon bitten by the racing bug and before long their light purple silks were a common sight throughout the winter.

And it was somewhat fitting that Global Citizen, who had given them a first graded success in the Dovecote as a six-year-old, would provide Festival glory in the twilight of his career four years later.

“I actually cried when Global Citizen won,” said Megson, reflecting on that Grand Annual triumph.

“It was quite an emotional day and we didn’t end up celebrating like we probably should. Firstly, we were shattered, and secondly, I had a meeting the following day which I couldn’t attend with a hangover, but I will never forget it.

“We had the nerves in the morning, then concerns about the ground and thinking we might not run, and then you are watching the race and you are in disbelief.

“I said to Jane, he’s going really well and when he came round the home bend he wasn’t off the bridle – and then you end up just shrieking and making an idiot of yourself.”

Now, the Megsons are eyeing another day to remember and head to Prestbury Park with some trump cards to play at a time their handler can do no wrong.

They will have a runner in the very first race of the meeting, where the highly-regarded Tellherthename could get the week off to a flying start, seeking to justify connections’ immense belief, as he takes on the might of Ireland in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Megson said: “Tellherthename would be the most exciting horse we’ve owned. We’ve always thought he was very special from the start.

“He did nothing at Aintree on Boxing Day but the ground was bottomless and he just couldn’t get through it, but we love him and he’s done everything we want – this will be his big test, the biggest test.

“The chances of getting a horse good enough to be competitive in the Supreme are low and we are very excited. God knows what the emotions will be like on Tuesday morning. When you have a runner in Cheltenham, it is all you think about.”

On day two at Prestbury Park, it would be fitting if lovable rogue Harper’s Brook could follow in the footsteps of Global Citizen and give trainer, jockey and owner a second Grand Annual in three years.

Meanwhile, in the Wetherbys Champion Bumper, taking Sandown victor Sixmilebridge will also represent the owners and is getting his connections excited ahead of his crack at Wednesday’s finale.

“We love Harper’s Brook and we’ve gone past getting frustrated with him because he has the unique ability of throwing away a race that looks impossible to lose,” added Megson.

“He’s pulled himself up two or three times and you just think ‘well why have you done that’.

“He’s getting quite a name now, but he has no idea what he’s doing and if he runs to his full potential, then he is a great horse.

“He is just as likely to win with his head in his chest as he is to pull himself up going down the hill. We just hope he remembers what winning was like at Sandown and he’s ready to do it again.”

On Sixmilebridge, he went on: “Ben and Kielan love this horse and we’ve all loved this horse from day one.

“He’s always had a bit of a bug and his trach wash has never been clean and when he ran at Sandown, Ben said his trach wash was still not perfect. But it was either run him and give him a try or we just put him away and hope things get better next season.

“He was backed off the boards and won pretty well, which we were thrilled about. It has blown the cobwebs out and his trach wash is now clean, so we’re pretty excited about him.”

Ollie Lawrence has revealed that England’s stunning victory over Ireland was forged in the disappointment of their Calcutta Cup mauling at Murrayfield.

A 23-22 triumph clinched through Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop goal means England will contest the Guinness Six Nations title on ‘Super Saturday’ when they face France in Lyon.

Ireland remain in the driving seat but the standout win of Steve Borthwick’s 20 Tests in charge means their dream of completing back to back Grand Slams is over.

All facets of England’s game came together on a captivating afternoon at Twickenham where their skills and intent were matched by a steely resolve and Lawrence admits the display was fuelled by their error-strewn mauling by Scotland in round three.

“We’re happy with the win. Coming to Twickenham, back home, it was really important for us to bounce back after the Scotland game,” said the Bath centre, who scored the first of his side’s three tries.

“We were really frustrated and disappointed that we didn’t put in our best performance up there. There was a lot of frustration in camp.

“We left a lot out there so our mindset coming into this game was that we’re playing against the best team in the world here. This is our home ground, let’s take it to them and bring the physicality and let’s have a go.

“Last week in training we worked a lot on our kick return and our counter attack, which is an important element of our game, but we didn’t really show it against Scotland.

“It was a shift in mindset – let’s shift the ball and have a go at these teams because we’ve got such good players but we need to utilise them.

“We got the balance right against Ireland that’s the reason we got the result we did.”

England were expected to be the latest victims of Ireland’s procession to becoming the first side since France in 1997 and 1998 to win successive Grand Slams, an outlook reflected in their startling odds of 4-1 underdogs.

Instead, they tore into Andy Farrell’s men from the start and never allowed their heads to drop even when James Lowe ran in what appeared to be a decisive 72nd-minute try for the champions.

“There was a lot of external noise that we did touch on throughout the week. A lot of focus was on trying to shut that up, but also trying to ignore it as much as we can,” Lawrence said.

“Because when you play well for England everyone is behind you and when you don’t get the result you want everyone can be on your back.

“As a team we tried to stay as close as we could and ignore that. Playing at home, against Ireland, showed we’re heading in the right direction.

“The title discussion will be outside noise. All we can do is go to France and try to win that game. That will be our focus for the week.

“We will probably look back and rue that result against Scotland. Fine margins, we didn’t perform that day but we did today so it’s a step forward.”

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been left out of the Egypt squad for a forthcoming international friendly tournament.

The 31-year-old left the Africa Cup of Nations early when he picked up a hamstring injury on January 18 against Ghana and, after appearing as a second-half substitute against Brentford in mid-February, was then sidelined again with what manager Jurgen Klopp said was muscle fatigue.

Salah returned to training this week and came off the bench in the 74th minute of their 5-1 thrashing of Sparta Prague in the Europa League on Thursday.

The Liverpool top-scorer has 19 goals this campaign and his return to fitness sparked a club-versus-country row, with Egypt previously rejecting Liverpool’s request to exempt their captain from the tournament in Abu Dhabi, where they will face New Zealand and then either Tunisia or Croatia in the final.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp previously admitted: “Two games with Egypt is really not up to me.

“We want to be careful, we have to be careful, but we’re in the middle of a super-intense period of the season and we need everyone.”

However, Salah has now been omitted from the squad announced by the Egyptian Football Association on Sunday and so will be able to remain with Liverpool to work on his fitness for the title run-in.

Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah has been left out of the Egypt squad for a fothcoming international friendly tournament.

The 31-year-old left the Africa Cup of Nations early when he picked up a hamstring injury on January 18 against Ghana and suffered a re-injury during a second-half substitute appearance against Brentford on his return.

Salah has been out of action since but returned to training this week and came off the bench in the 74th minute of their 5-1 thrashing of Sparta Prague on Thursday in the Europa League.

The Liverpool top scorer has 19 goals this campaign and his return to fitness sparked a club-versus-country row as Egypt previously rejected Liverpool’s request to exempt their captain from the tournament in Abu Dhabi where they will face New Zealand and either Tunisia or Croatia in the final.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp previously admitted: “Two games with Egypt is really not up to me.

“We want to be careful, we have to be careful but we’re in the middle of a super-intense period of the season and we need everyone.”

But, the Egypt FA have reportedly agreed to reluctantly leave their star man out of the international break and Salah will remain with Liverpool to work on fitness for their title run-in.

Brendon McCullum will seek to fine-tune England’s approach before the summer after admitting they went into their shells during a chastening tour of India.

England head coach McCullum and captain Ben Stokes won 10 of their first 11 Tests in charge but have lost seven of the last dozen following a 4-1 reverse in India.

McCullum and Stokes have shown a resistance to making adjustments since taking charge but they let several competitive positions slip against Rohit Sharma’s side, demonstrating a lack of ruthlessness.

McCullum did not go into specifics about how England go to the next level ahead of home summer series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka but accepted there were instances where they seemed unsure of themselves in India.

“India probably outplayed us at the style of cricket that we want to play and made us start to retreat a little bit so that’s something that we will have to change,” McCullum said.

“If anything we got more timid as the series went on. It is something we need to address because other teams will put us under pressure as well and we can’t really allow that doubt to creep into our game. We need to have total conviction in what we are doing in those pressure situations.

“We will allow the dust and hurt to settle a bit and then use that to make changes we need to ensure we are a better version of what we have started out as.

“We will have some time to reflect and come back bigger, stronger and more refined.”

McCullum and Stokes have allowed players the freedom to express themselves and that, in turn, has brought accusations there are not enough honest conversations in difficult moments.

But McCullum said: “While we’re both very relaxed and happy to make sure everyone’s enjoying themselves – they’re excited to play in big series and not anxious as such and trying to let their talent come out – let’s not mistake that for us not having a hard edge.

“We didn’t get where we’ve got to in life and in our careers without having some sort of hard edge as well.”

McCullum was similarly dismissive of the suggestion batters are not under enough pressure for their spots following several collapses in recent weeks, but added those on the fringes must make compelling cases.

“At this stage, these are the guys we believe are the best cricketers to win a series,” McCullum said. “If it doesn’t play out, of course if someone is nagging down the door you look at that.

“Certainly nothing is closed to anyone, it’s just that you have to bang the door down.”

After an innings-and-64-run defeat in Dharamsala inside three days, Stokes defiantly warned “write this team off, write me off at your own peril”.

He averaged 19.9 with the bat but made a heartening return to bowling in the last Test and should be back to being a fully-fledged all-rounder by the summer.

“I actually think he wanted it too much with the bat,” McCullum said of his captain. “He was trying to give himself every opportunity to build a big innings to ensure when the pressure moments came, which he knows how to deal better than anyone else in the world, that he was going to be the man to be there.

“It takes us away from being totally present in the moment. He tried his best and wanted it too much but he’ll be back.

“To have him back in full operation is a huge positive for us and moving forward allows us to know we can balance the team in the right way.”

There was no late surprise among the final list of eight runners in Tuesday’s Unibet Champion Hurdle, with Willie Mullins opting to keep hot favourite State Man and Lossiemouth apart.

In the disappointing absence of the reigning champion Constitution Hill, last year’s runner-up State Man will be prohibitive odds to provide the Festival’s most successful trainer with a fifth victory in the feature event on day one of the showpiece meeting.

There were calls for his stablemate Lossiemouth to take on the boys following her scintillating display on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham in late January, but as expected she will instead line up as a short-priced market leader in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle.

State Man will still be joined by a fellow Mullins runner in the Champion Hurdle though, in the form of Zarak The Brave, while Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point and Lorna Fowler’s Colonel Mustard also represent Ireland.

Constitution Hill’s trainer Nicky Henderson will instead have to rely on the supplemented Betfair Hurdle winner Iberico Lord and talented mare Luccia, with Hughie Morrison’s admirable veteran Not So Sleepy and Nemean Lion from Kerry Lee’s yard completing the line-up.

Lossiemouth is one of four Mullins runners in the Mares’ Hurdle, with Ashroe Diamond, Echoes In Rain and Gala Marceau giving him an enviable hand.

Love Envoi (Harry Fry) and Marie’s Rock (Henderson) look the best of the British in an 11-strong field.

The curtain-raising Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is fiercely competitive, with the Mullins-trained pair of Mystical Power and Tullyhill joined at the head of the market by Elliott’s Firefox.

Henry de Bromhead has opted to run Slade Steel in the Supreme rather than Wednesday’s Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle, while Jeriko Du Reponet puts his unbeaten record on the line for Henderson.

Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Hunters Yarn all run for Mullins in the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy, with Elliott’s Found A Fifty and De Bromhead’s Quilixios also in contention.

Eldorado Allen (Joe Tizzard) heads a 23-strong line-up for the Ultima Handicap Chase, while Liari (Paul Nicholls) and Ndaawi (Elliott) top the weights for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, which has attracted a maximum field of 22 plus two reserves.

Only seven runners have been declared for the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Chase, with Corbetts Cross and Embassy Gardens – trained by Emmet and Willie Mullins respectively – disputing favouritism.

Nicky Henderson has dismissed speculation about the well-being of JCB Triumph Hurdle market leader Sir Gino, insisting he is “100 per cent”.

The four-year-old was ultra-impressive when accounting for Burdett Road at Cheltenham on Trials day, since when he has been hot favourite to claim Triumph glory on Friday.

However, Sir Gino’s price began to drift alarmingly on Betfair on Saturday night, prompting suggestions he was under the weather.

His odds soon came tumbling back down, though, and Henderson said his charge is in fine spirits ahead of the Festival.

“He was in great form yesterday morning – I don’t know where this has come from, I really don’t,” the Seven Barrows handler told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme.

“It’s just one of those things they love to throw at you just to test your mental agility, I think – it’s crazy.

“He schooled on Thursday and you wouldn’t see anything slicker. He had a nice piece (of work) on the last little bit he’s going to do. He doesn’t run until Friday…and he is 100 per cent, I can promise you, 100 per cent.”

Henderson also issued a positive update on Gold Cup hope Shishkin.

He added: “He’s in very good nick, I like to think. Shishkin is in very, very good form – we’re very happy, he’s come on a lot from Newbury I’d say.”

Meanwhile, Constitution Hill has been taking things easy since being ruled out of Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle.

“He hasn’t done much for the last week because the only thing to do is leave him alone and let him get over this,” said Henderson.

“We will take his blood again tomorrow morning, which will be comparable to last Monday’s one, and we just hope these figures keep improving. They’ll give me an indication just to when we can start to wander on with him.

“He’s absolutely fine in himself. He was down in the doldrums that week, after the gallop at Kempton, and he quietly over that weekend afterwards started to perk up a little bit, but we’ve done very little this last week.”

Huw Jones batted away any notion that Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was under pressure after Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations implosion in Italy.

The Scots blew their chance to set up a shootout for the title with Ireland in Dublin next weekend as they went down 31-29 in Rome despite holding a 22-10 lead after an encouraging opening half an hour.

It was the Azzurri’s first Six Nations victory at home for 11 years and their first in the championship since winning in Wales two years ago.

The surprise defeat cranks up the heat on Townsend just five months after the Scots – widely deemed to have one of the best squads in their history at present – suffered a second consecutive World Cup group-stage exit on the 50-year-old’s watch.

However, Jones claimed the players should carry the can for the debacle in the Eternal City and appeared irritated by the suggestion that it would place the long-serving head coach under renewed scrutiny.

“I don’t know about that,” said the experienced centre. “We’re all behind the coaches, we’re all behind Gregor.

“We love the way we play, the way we want to play. We have a good plan.

“When we execute it, it’s brilliant and we play some good rugby. I don’t think this defeat was on Gregor, I think it was on the players.

“We didn’t execute our plan well enough and Italy played well.”

Scotland looked in control after three tries in the opening half hour from Zander Fagerson, Kyle Steyn and Pierre Schoeman. But a disallowed George Horne touchdown – after a foul in the build-up by Schoeman was detected – two minutes into the second half when they led 22-16 proved pivotal.

Italy, who had scored in the first half through Martin Page-Relo, turned the screw with tries from debutant Louis Lynagh and substitute Stephen Varney, and some excellent kicking under pressure from Paolo Garbisi took the game away from the Scots before Sam Skinner’s late try gave them a glimmer of what ultimately proved false hope.

Saturday was one of Jones’ most soul-destroying days in a Scotland jersey, and he said: “We hate losing. It’s really tough to take, hugely disappointing.

“We spoke during the week before the game about having our best performance, having an 80-minute performance, but we were really poor in the second half. We let the game slip away from us.

“Credit to Italy, they were good, but we had that try chalked off and then conceded four or five penalties in a row. We couldn’t get back in the game and they managed that period better than us.

“Our discipline wasn’t good enough. We didn’t react to that try-swing well enough.

“We are gutted with our performance. Across the board we managed it badly. The leadership and the processes and the communication was good but we’ve all got to look at ourselves and the actions we took.”

While the manner of the defeat itself was bad enough, there was further reason for Scottish frustration later in the day when Ireland’s surprise defeat to England meant Townsend’s men had effectively squandered a golden chance to set up a last-day title shootout with Ireland.

Had they won in Rome, they would have been able to secure a first championship triumph since 1999 with victory in Dublin next weekend.

Instead – although still with an unrealistic mathematical chance of the title – they head to the Irish capital scrambling to avoid a demoralising two-win, bottom-half finish from a campaign that previously promised so much.

Jones admitted it felt like Scotland had let a huge opportunity slip from their grasp.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. “It is really disappointing.

“We wanted to get a win and then go to Dublin next week full of confidence and try to do something but this obviously takes the wind out of the sails a bit.

“We’ve got to react, we’ve got to react quickly and prepare for another game.

“We’ll go through a range of emotions but we’ve got to review it objectively and then turn our attention to Ireland.”

Jamison Gibson-Park feels the prospect of igniting another St Patrick’s weekend party in Dublin is a “massive” incentive to help Ireland swiftly move on from an agonising 23-22 defeat to England.

Andy Farrell’s men were on the verge of retaining the Guinness Six Nations title with a game to spare before being punished by Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop goal at Twickenham.

The “gutting” late drama halted Ireland’s pursuit of consecutive Grand Slams but they will still win the championship if they beat Scotland next Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.

Leinster scrum-half Gibson-Park is eager to lift more silverware on home soil following the jubilation of last year’s flawless tournament triumph, which was sealed with a win over England amid patron saint celebrations in the Irish capital.

“We’ve thrown a lot into this championship and we were pretty keen to go after the Grand Slam,” he said.

“That’s gone now but there’s still plenty to play for, thankfully.

“It’s massive, man. I mean we were able to get it done last year in front of our friends and family and home supporters, which means a huge amount.

“There will be that same drive next weekend for sure.

“Faz (Farrell) has already said to us that we’ve got to dust ourselves down, congratulate England and just get ready for Scotland.”

Jack Crowley’s four penalties ensured Ireland led 12-8 at the break in south-west London before James Lowe’s two tries put them on the cusp of glory.

But Steve Borthwick’s impressive hosts were the better side for large parts and deservedly snatched victory at the death as replacement fly-half Smith decisively added to scores from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl to spark wild scenes on the pitch and in the stands.

Gibson-Park was forced to play the final 30 minutes out of position on the right wing after the departures of Calvin Nash and Ciaran Frawley to failed head injury assessments exposed head coach Farrell’s decision to name a six-two split of forwards and backs on the bench.

The 32-year-old expects a thorough inquest into only Ireland’s second defeat in 22 games dating back to the summer of 2022.

“We are thankful over the last number of years, we have been on the right side of the ledge a lot of the time,” he said.

“But every now and again, it’s the way it goes.

“Plenty of things to review and obviously we have to dust ourselves down because there’s still a championship on the line.

“It will be tough but England showed up and sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles and you don’t end up on the right side of the result.

“It’s gutting but plenty to learn and we’ll have to show up for next week.”

Captain Peter O’Mahony credited England for derailing Ireland’s Grand Slam dream.

The Munster flanker, who was sin binned for hands in ruck just before the hour mark, said: “It was a massive pressure match, pressure environment.

“They’re a quality side and I thought they showed that in spades with the way they defended, clinical in their attack, and disrupted a lot of the stuff that we wanted to do.

“It was a savage battle out there.”

Kai Havertz may have scored the winning goal in a Champions League final but his late header to seal victory over Brentford and send Arsenal top of the Premier League was also a “dream” moment for the forward.

With title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City facing off 24 hours later, any victory for Arsenal would have taken them to the summit for the first time in 2024.

It looked like they were on course to miss out after returning goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale gifted a goal to Yoane Wissa to cancel out a brilliant Declan Rice header, only for Havertz to convert with four minutes remaining and secure a 2-1 victory.

After a slow start following his summer move from Chelsea, where he netted the only goal of the 2021 Champions League final against Manchester City, Havertz now has four in four league games and was serenaded by the home fans at full-time.

“As a kid, I think you dream that you’re going to have moments like this in your career and Saturday I had something like this,” he said.

“The supporters made it very special to me and I’m very thankful to have this moment. Thank you to all of them.

“You always hope for that (connection with fans). I know maybe it wasn’t from the beginning but I always try to work hard and just not drop my confidence.

“I just give my best every game and I did it so I’m happy now that I’ve had some of those moments now.

“I’m very delighted, it was a big game for us. To play in these games and win it at the end is always very nice and it was a great feeling.”

Havertz’s late goal was controversial as there was a chance he could have been sent off earlier in the game.

After being cautioned for catching Kristoffer Ajer with an elbow, the Germany forward seemingly dived in an attempt to win a second-half penalty.

“Right now, I don’t think momentum is with us,” Vitaly Janelt told Brentford’s official website.

“Everyone expected that Arsenal would win by three, four, five today because of their last results, but everyone knows how difficult it is to play against us either at home or away.

“They didn’t create many chances and, for me, it was a clear yellow and then red to Havertz, it was a clear dive for me. Then he scores the winner, but that’s football.”

Bruno Fernandes says Manchester United need to knuckle down, rack up wins and improve in possession as they attempt to sneak into the Champions League spots.

This has been a season to forget for Erik ten Hag’s side, who put back-to-back Premier League defeats behind them by edging past relegation-threatened Everton 2-0 on Saturday lunchtime.

First half penalties from Fernandes and Marcus Rashford decided the contest at Old Trafford, with the former calling on United to ignore background noise and focus on themselves during the run-in.

Put to the Red Devils skipper that it feels like every match feels like a big game right now, he told MUTV: “It is actually.

“Obviously we know that this season is not being (as) good as we want, so we want to improve as much as we can until the end of the season.

“Improve obviously position-wise because we want to try to get as close as possible to the Champions League spots.

“We know that we don’t depend only on ourselves, but we have to do our job like we did today and win our games.”

United remain sixth after beating Everton and sit eight points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa, who host Tottenham – the team between them – on Sunday.

Fifth could yet prove enough for Champions League qualification but the Red Devils will be relying on other teams to improve England’s UEFA coefficient.

United have 10 Premier League matches remaining and now turn their attention to keeping alive their hopes of ending a season to forget with silverware.

Ten Hag’s men host Liverpool in the FA Cup quarter-finals next weekend, when a repeat of the kind of sloppiness seen against Everton, particularly in the first half, could lead to an ugly outcome.

“No one gives the ball away on purpose,” Fernandes told Stadium Astro.

“So, you miss the pass, sometimes it doesn’t go the way you want.

“Obviously, we need to get high focus in these kind of games (against Everton) because we know they have a really strong counter-press and a really strong counter-attack.

“We know that every ball that they could recover, they will try to get their space and their time to have their chances.

“But I think overall the performance was good, obviously there’s always margin to improve.

“I think keeping more on the ball, more spells with more passes, trying to play higher on the pitch in their half, keep the ball there and then still creating a lot of chances that we create today.”

United take on a Liverpool side whose FA Cup progress led next weekend’s Merseyside derby to be postponed.

That means Everton have three weeks to stew on an 11th successive winless Premier League match, with boss Sean Dyche taking his team on a European training camp next week.

“We want to remind the players of the good side of these performances while putting that demand on the next part of it,” said the Everton manager, whose side return to action at Bournemouth on March 30.

“So, what is it that changes this situation? What is it that occurs when we take responsibility? That’s where we’re trying to get to. That will certainly be part of the demand of these next three weeks.

“We’re all together, make no mistake about that. I lead it. I’ve got no problem with that.

“We’ve got to stay with the consistency of what we’re doing while adding… the only way I can describe it is the will and demand to get hurt to score a goal, where it means that much that you will score a goal.

“When you get tight then, of course, a bit of that freedom can go, but we’re the only ones who can change it.”

Luke Evangelista snapped a third-period tie and Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves to lift the surging Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Kiefer Sherwood had the other goal for Nashville, which has won 10 of its last 11 games (10-0-1) to move into the top wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.

The Predators have won six straight road games and are 17-4-2 in their last 23 away contests.

Columbus got a career high-tying 47 saves from Daniil Tarasov but was unable to win for the fourth time in five games.

The Predators registered the game’s first 14 shots, but it remained scoreless until Sherwood scored his eighth of the season with 7:41 left in the opening period.

Demko exits in Canucks’ win

Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith combined on a shutout and the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks rolled to a 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Demko stopped all 12 shots he faced before leaving midway through the second period and the Canucks said only that he would not return to the game.

DeSmith turned aside 10 shots to help the Canucks win their fourth straight game.

Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver.

Tarasenko leads Panthers over Flames

Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first two goals in a Panthers uniform and Anthony Stolarz turned aside 34 shots to lift the league-leading Panthers to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames.

Tarasenko, acquired from Ottawa on Wednesday, scored his first goal of the game 23 seconds into the second period to snap a scoreless tie, and tallied again with 5:05 left in the period to extend the lead to 4-1.

Sam Bennett and Kevin Stenlund also had goals for the Panthers, who bounced back from Thursday’s loss to Philadelphia to improve to 13-2-0 in its last 15 games.

Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames, who had won six of seven.