Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel wants to build on his side’s last-gasp win over Leipzig when they travel to Freiburg on Friday.

Harry Kane’s stoppage-time winner last Sunday ended Bayern’s run of three straight defeats in all competitions.

“It’s been a good week,” Tuchel told a press conference. “A win always helps everyone, particularly a last-minute win. It’s given us confidence and a positive general feeling.

“We’ve had a good week, the messaging hasn’t changed much. We’re carrying on. Tomorrow it’s about being ready. The focus is more than ever on the here and now.”

Bayern remain eight points adrift of Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen so their season probably hinges on overturning a 1-0 deficit against Lazio in the second leg of their Champions League meeting on Tuesday.

But Tuchel insisted: “The match takes place before Lazio. It’s a completely different match.

“The best preparation for one match is a successful performance. We have to take it up a notch. We managed a little uptick against Leipzig, which has given us energy.

“I’m confident we’ll win tomorrow, but it’ll only happen with full focus. It’s always difficult in Freiburg.

“They’re very flexible, very variable and do a lot of running. They carry the ball well down the right with (Ritsu) Doan. (Vincenzo) Grifo on the left tries to be a threat with crosses from deep.

“They also use long balls with up to seven attacking players. We need answers and that’s what we’ll prepare the team for. It’s always passionate in Freiburg, too.”

Tuchel will hand a late fitness test to former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane.

“Leroy always wants to play,” he said. “He’s someone who can tolerate pain extremely well. He’s felt something in the last few weeks.

“Maybe he’s been grinning and bearing it a bit too much. I get the impression he’s not completely free. He has a lot of aches and pains and is paying a bit of a price for the overload.

“We need to find the best solution for tomorrow. He’s doing an individual test now. If he can, we’ll take him into the final training session.

“We’ll see if he can make the squad tomorrow and perhaps help us from the bench. We have to look from day to day.”

Matthijs de Ligt is suspended in Freiburg so Minjae Kim will come into the side.

“Serge Gnabry is back in training but it’s too early to take him,” added Tuchel.

“Alphonso Davies is also back in training, he’ll be in the squad. Kingsley Coman, Sacha Boey and Noussair Mazraoui aren’t available.”

Jamaica's young Reggae Boyz booked their spot in this summer's Concacaf Men’s Under-20 Championship, after they clipped Bermuda 3-2 in their final Group F qualifying contest in St Kitts and Nevis, on Wednesday.

Robino Gordon (2nd), Fabian Reynolds (11th) and Ashton Gordon (83rd) got on the score sheet for the Jamaicans, while Bermuda's goals were courtesy of Xahvi Deroza (50th) and Hayden Dill (61st).

Grenada and Martinique played to 4-4 stalemate in the other Group F fixture at the SKNFA Technical Center in Basseterre.

Caleb Redhead (9th, 84th), Vijay Valcin (36th) and David Juba (70th) scored for Grenada, while Martinique got a hat-trick from Lenny Lamorandiere (14th, 35th, 80th), with Kerane Leria (4th), getting the other.

By virtue of topping the group with maximum nine points, the John Wall-coached young Reggae Boyz joined Group D and E winners Canada and Haiti in the Concacaf Championships round where they will meet top six teams –United States, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic - in Mexico in July to battle for four spots to the 2025 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

Meanwhile, Cuba will continue their pursuit for Group A honours on Thursday, when they oppose Belize, while out-out-of-contention Anguilla and British Virgin Islands (BVI) will also do battle, at the Estadio Nacional in Managua, Nicaragua.

Cuba, currently second on six points, could overtake leaders Nicaragua (nine points) on goal difference, provided they defeat Belize by a healthy scoreline. Given the 6-1 result from their last meeting in the United States in 2018, Cuba might have very little issues doing so.

Over in Group B, second-placed Suriname (six points) and third-placed El Salvador (four points), will square off in the feature contest at the ABFA Technical Centre in Piggots, Antigua and Barbuda. Victory for either would see them overtake host nation Antigua and Barbuda (six points) at the top, heading into the final round of games.

Guyana, on a point, and the pointless Turks and Caicos Islands, will lock horns in the group curtain raiser, with both aiming for a confidence-boosting win.

Finally, in an evenly poised Group C, host nation Guatemala (six points) and Aruba (four points) will do battle at Estadio Doroteo Guamuch Flores in Guatemala City, where victory for either, would see them assume pole position from Curacao (seven points), who will be idled.

The opening game will see Barbados and St Martin, hunting their first point of the campaign.

Liverpool’s youngsters have had a significant week in the spotlight, helping beat Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday before setting up an FA Cup quarter-final trip to Manchester United after victory over Southampton.

Three of them – Bobby Clark, Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas – are following in their former professional footballer fathers’ footsteps.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the fresh faces who have taken their opportunity to shine at Anfield.

Bobby Clark

Given a handful of opportunities in recent weeks, the 19-year-old is an attacking midfielder. The son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark, he joined the club from the Magpies in 2021 and signed a long-term contract last December.

Jayden Danns

An 18-year-old forward, son of the much-travelled former Colchester, Crystal Palace and Bolton midfielder Neil Danns, only made his first-team debut as an 89th-minute substitute in the 4-1 win over Luton last Wednesday. A week later he came off the bench to score twice against Southampton.

Lewis Koumas

Koumas, the son of former Wales international Jason Koumas, joined the club as a 10-year-old from one of his dad’s former clubs Tranmere and only signed his first professional contract last month. He enjoyed a dream debut as, picked in the starting line-up, he scored the opening goal against Southampton.

Conor Bradley

A relatively familiar name among the group having been given an opportunity in the second half of the campaign in the absence of Trent Alexander-Arnold. The Northern Irish right-back, 20, who spent last season on loan at Bolton, has shown promise for his attacking and defensive qualities.

James McConnell

The 19-year-old midfielder has featured a handful of times off the bench after making his debut against Toulouse in the Europa League in October. Joined Liverpool as an Under-15s player after catching the eye at Sunderland.

Jarell Quansah

Warrington-born defender who has established himself in the first-team squad this season. The 21-year-old, who had a loan spell with Bristol Rovers last term, is a ball-playing centre-half who has come through the ranks at Liverpool after joining them at the age of five.

Trey Nyoni

Nyoni spent 10 years at Leicester’s academy before joining Liverpool in September. The England Under-16 international’s rapid rise saw him come off the bench against Southampton to become the club’s youngest player to feature in the FA Cup at 16 years and 243 days and third-youngest in Liverpool’s history.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk had advised the club’s emerging young stars to keep their feet on the ground – as he will be keeping an eye on them.

Eighteen-year-olds Jayden Danns and Lewis Koumas, sons of former Premier League professionals Neil and Jason, scored the goals which beat Southampton 3-0 to set up an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United.

The last week has seen academy players thrust into the spotlight with an injury crisis denying Jurgen Klopp the services of 13 first-team players – with Andy Robertson’s illness briefly adding to the issues – and after impressing in the Carabao Cup final win over Chelsea they were central figures against Saints.

Danns came off the bench to score twice in only his third appearance, all coming in the space of eight days, while Koumas was making his debut when he scored the opener.

Klopp cautioned about putting too much expectation on the teenagers and Van Dijk said the next step in their development was to build on their early breakthroughs.

“It was a big night for all of them and they should really take it in and enjoy it and see it as a start and really use it in every way,” said the 32-year-old defender, who admitted he felt old when “half my age” Trey Nyoni came off the bench.

“They all have quality and all can play good football but it is about showing your quality and it’s a start.

“For example, Trey at 16 years old, it is incredible. There will be so many ups and downs coming for him but he has to take it in as players (are) maybe coming back in the next weeks and months and it could be difficult for him (to get in the squad).

“He has to keep pushing and the same for the rest of the young boys. That should be the mentality and I am sure they will do that.

“In my career I’ve seen players who make their debuts after coming through the ranks and then disappear.

“Even learning from being around the first team is massive and you should soak it all in and don’t get carried away.

“They have to keep improving, keep working; staying humble is a very important thing but we have a great culture and I’m definitely one of the guys to make sure they keep doing that.”

To produce such a result with injuries biting hard, just three days after a gruelling 120 minutes at Wembley, was testament to the determination of the youngsters and the endurance of the senior players still able to turn out.

Van Dijk played only the first half as Klopp agreed a pre-match plan for him to be replaced by Ibrahima Konate after his influential performance against Chelsea.

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A post shared by Virgil van Dijk (@virgilvandijk)

And the Dutchman revealed one of the perks of being captain was that he got to take the trophy home on their arrival back on Merseyside.

“I wanted to show my kids in person, close up,” he said.

“I put it on the kitchen counter when I came home and left it there. I’ve got four kids and they were so happy to see it and then I took it back to training the next day so everyone could take a picture with it at the AXA (training centre) as they have all played their part in the success we have had and they deserve to be holding the trophy.”

Arsenal are preparing to open contract negotiations with Jorginho following a string of standout performances, the PA news agency understands.

The 32-year-old Italy midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season.

Jorginho joined Arsenal from London rivals Chelsea last January and has so far made 41 appearances across all competitions, scoring once.

A Euro 2020 winner at Wembley, the former Napoli player has impressed Gunners boss Mikel Arteta with his professional approach and has added much-needed experience to a young squad at the Emirates Stadium.

It is understood that a one-year deal with the option of a further year is planned as an opening point for talks with Jorginho, who won the Champions League and Europa League during his five-year stint at Chelsea.

He put in a man-of-the-match display in Arsenal’s 4-1 win over Newcastle on Saturday and also shone in the recent 3-1 victory over Liverpool.

Jack Butland claims Rangers just keeping look ahead to the next challenge after their 2-1 win against Kilmarnock on Wednesday night kept them two points clear of Celtic at the top of the cinch Premiership.

Killie had beaten Michael Beale’s Rangers 1-0 on the opening league game of the season, but found successor Philippe Clement’s Light Blues more robust – eventually.

Danny Armstrong scored with an 11th-minute penalty after his cross had struck the arm of John Lundstram arm before Butland made a great save from Matty Kennedy’s close-range strike early in the second half, which proved pivotal.

Two goals in four minutes – a trademark free-kick from Rangers captain James Tavernier and a Tom Lawrence strike –  made it 11 wins in a row for Rangers to keep them ahead of the Hoops, who demolished Dundee 7-1 at Parkhead.

Butland told Rangers TV that attention turns to Motherwell at Ibrox on Saturday.

He said: “We just keep going. Three points is all that matters at the minute.

“Yes, we’d love to have a clean sheet – penalties is frustrating – but we’re getting the wins and that’s what we need to do.

“Obviously it’s a lot better feeling than it was the last time we came here.

“So we’ll enjoy it, get back to training, recover and look forward to Motherwell at the weekend.

“There’s never any panic, we just remained calm, kept reiterating at half-time why we’re in the position we are in and how we’ve got there.

“And we just continued to do that in the second half, remained calm and in the end we got two brilliant finishes from Tav and Tom and I guess it’s three points that we were after.”

Butland enjoyed his reflex save from Kennedy, diving low to his right to claw the ball away, saying: “It was a huge moment. I think the lad thought he had scored so it’s nice to be able to have that moment. That can sometimes take the wind out of a team’s sails as well.

“It seemed to give us a lift. It could have gone a little bit sideways at that point if that goes in so it was nice to contribute with that and ultimately then set us up for a really big second half.”

It was another huge contribution from set-piece specialist Tavernier, who scored his 20th goal of the season.

“That’s what Tav does,” said Butland. “It’s not easy for someone to step up and take penalties like he does and score goals like he does and especially the free-kicks as well.

“It is something that he works on religiously every day.

“So when you’re a leader like he is, when you play the way he does and when you practice the way he does, those opportunities go in and he earns them and he’s come up with another vital goal for us.”

Cristiano Ronaldo will serve a one-game suspension on Thursday after the Saudi Arabian Football Federation disciplined its star player for an offensive gesture at opposition fans.

Ronaldo is set to miss Al Nassr’s Saudi Pro League clash against Al Hazm after the country’s governing body took a hard-line approach to the Portuguese forward’s conduct during a 3-2 win over Al Shabab.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner had reportedly been subjected to persistent chants of ‘Messi’, in reference to his long-time La Liga rival, when he marked Al Nassr’s victory by cupping his ear and thrusting his hand towards his pelvis.

The moment did not appear in a live broadcast, but caught the attention of the SAFF after appearing via mobile phone footage on social media.

A spokesperson told PA news agency: “The Disciplinary and Ethics Committee at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation has issued a one-match ban to Cristiano Ronaldo as well as a 10,000 Saudi Riyal fine to SAFF and 20,000 SAR fine payable to the opposition club Al Shabab FC for ‘provoking fans’ or ‘inciting fans’ as per Article 57 of the Disciplinary and Ethics Committee at the Saudi Arabian Football Federation.”

The total monetary cost to the 39-year-old comes to less than £6,500, who is said to be earning more than £170million per year.

Local outlet Al-Riyadiya reported that Ronaldo had sought to explain his actions, citing a written statement which said: “I respect all clubs. The joy after the shot expresses strength and victory, and it is not shameful. We are used to it in Europe.”

Liverpool made a pre-tax loss of £9million last season as increased commercial income did not offset a drop in money made from media and matchday revenues.

The previous 12 months had produced a small profit of £7.5m.

Liverpool’s biggest income stream in 2022-23 was the £272million, up £25m, generated from off-field income but a last-16 Champions League exit a year after reaching the final meant television money dropped by £19m to £242m.

Matchday revenue also fell by £7m due to fewer games being played across last season after the previous campaign when the club played in every fixture – a total of 63 – they were eligible for, winning both domestic cups and reaching the Champions League final.

While overall revenue remained the same at £594m, increasing costs are cutting into the balance sheet with staff expenses having increased 79 per cent since 2018, up from £208m six years ago to £373m for the year ending May 2023.

The wage bill in this period alone rose £7m to £373m.

Administrative expenses for that same period have increased by 70 percent from £320m to £562m, while utility costs have doubled from two years ago while rising inflation has driven up other costs.

“Operating this great club in a financially sustainable manner and in accordance with football’s governing principles has been our priority since FSG (Fenway Sports Group) acquired LFC in 2010,” said managing director Andy Hughes.

“Despite the significant growing costs of football, the success of our commercial operations demonstrates the strength of our underlying financial position so we can continue to operate sustainably while competing at the highest levels of football.

“While these financial results are a moment in time on our journey, what remains constant is the growing global appeal of the club and, thanks to our amazing support, LFC continues to be the most globally followed club in the Premier League.”

Matchday revenue will increase after the new Anfield Road stand was fully opened earlier this month, taking Anfield’s attendance to 61,000.

“Matchday revenue is a hugely important part of our overall financial sustainability model,” added Hughes.

During the reporting period Liverpool signed Darwin Nunez, Cody Gakpo, Calvin Ramsay and youth team goalkeeper Kornel Misciur for a combined initial fee of £105m but offloaded Sadio Mane, Divock Origi, Takumi Minamino and Neco Williams.

There were also significant contract renewals for Mohamed Salah – who became the highest earner in the club’s history with a reported £300,000-a-week deal – Joe Gomez, Harvey Elliott, Curtis Jones, Jarell Quansah, Stefan Bajcetic and Ben Doak.

Gary Neville admits his “bottle jobs” jibe at Chelsea was harsh but stands by his claim the Blues froze in the Carabao Cup final.

Sky Sports pundit Neville branded Mauricio Pochettino’s side “blue billion-pound bottle jobs” during Sunday’s 1-0 extra-time defeat to injury-hit Liverpool.

Pochettino has overseen a disappointing campaign since arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer and his expensively-assembled squad were beaten by Virgil van Dijk’s late header.

Former Manchester United defender Neville explained the thinking behind his comment when speaking on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, saying: “I got progressively angrier during extra time with Chelsea… then I thought, should I say it, is it too strong?

“I was thinking that as I said it, and sometimes when you think that you might think that it’s a reason not to say it, but I felt as though it needed to be said, it’s a harsh line.

“I said that they froze in extra time, there is no doubt that they were playing with fear and froze.

“Bottle doesn’t mean cowardness, they just froze on the day, we froze in games sometimes, in Champions League semi-finals.

“Sometimes you do freeze – Manchester United, the year before they won the Premier League title against Leeds, they bottled the run-in.

“We bottled the run-in, when we were without Roy (Keane) in 1998, against Arsenal – we’ve all bottled run-ins.”

Pochettino reiterated his rejection of Neville’s dig after Chelsea’s battling 3-2 FA Cup win over Leeds on Wednesday night.

“I cannot be angry about that,” he said. “With all my love to Gary, it’s not fair to use this type of word for a team that is so brave, a club that always fights for big things.

“We know that we are brave and that we are working really hard. For us, it’s not an important comment.”

Conor Gallagher wanted to give Chelsea fans something to celebrate after their 3-2 victory over Leeds in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues bounced back from Sunday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool thanks to goals from Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and Gallagher.

Gallagher, who scored a 90th-minute winner with a tidy finish in the box past Illan Meslier, dedicated the victory Chelsea’s supporters.

“Sunday was a big disappointment and we wanted to bounce back and give the fans something to celebrate,” Gallagher told Chelsea’s official website. “Thankfully we did that last night.

“It was a great atmosphere. Leeds fans are always very passionate and loud, but I think our fans were great as well, especially considering the disappointment the other day.

“So I have to say thank you to them and hopefully we gave them something to celebrate.”

Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal in the 118th minute at Wembley as Mauricio Pochettino’s side sustained a big blow to their campaign.

Gallagher admitted it has been difficult to overcome the defeat following the short turnaround between the two games, with the FA Cup representing the only chance of silverware for the club this season.

He added: “It was really tough for the players to bounce back. Obviously everyone has been down over the last few days, but we had to make sure we were right for this match because it was such an important game.

“Physically, it was fine for me coming off the bench, but the lads who played the full game against Leeds after playing 120 minutes the other day were fantastic and we’ve got to give a lot of credit to them.

“It was a big shift and a good performance. I thought we dug deep and thankfully we got the win in the end.”

The midfielder’s strike rounded off a spirited Chelsea performance and took his tally for the season to four in all competitions.

“It’s nice. I obviously like to score goals and I struggled to do that before the goals started to come, so hopefully I can continue to get more,” Gallagher said.

“It was a great pass from Enzo (Fernandez) and a good goal. We were really happy to get one right at the end because obviously it meant we didn’t have to go into extra time, and I think we were looking a bit tired.”

What the papers say

Wolves’ Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 23, and Crystal Palace’s England international Eberechi Eze, 25, are among Tottenham’s main summer targets, according to The Independent. The club have put a wide-playing forward at the top of their shopping list.

Mason Greenwood’s future at Manchester United will be decided by the end of May. The Sun reports the club will make a decision on the 22-year-old English forward, who is on loan at Getafe.

Dele Alli could be handed a fresh start to his time at Everton. The Daily Express, via The Athletic, reports the club are looking to give the former England midfielder, 27, a new deal.

Liverpool are interested in Brentford’s Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, 24, according to the Daily Express.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jorginho: Arsenal’s Italy midfielder, 32, could return to Serie A in the summer, reports Goal.

Diant Ramaj: Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are looking at Ajax’s German goalkeeper, 22, according to German outlet Bild.

Middlesbrough secured their first ever major trophy and a place in Europe with victory in the League Cup final on this day 20 years ago.

A 2-1 triumph over Bolton at the Millennium Stadium saw Steve McClaren underline his emerging credentials as a potential long-term successor to England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, becoming the first English manager in eight years to win one of the nation’s three main prizes.

With the first half a comedy of defensive errors, this final may have been more slapstick farce than stylish drama but it was hugely entertaining nonetheless.

Joseph-Desire Job gave Boro the lead after just two minutes and on-loan Boudewijn Zenden then converted a mis-hit penalty.

Bolton gamely battled back, with Mark Schwarzer’s careless mistake enabling Kevin Davies, who sat in the stands for Southampton’s FA Cup final defeat the season before, to pull a goal back after 21 minutes.

However, while Per Frandsen struck the post in that frantic first half, McClaren’s side, who were inspired by captain Gareth Southgate in defence and Gaizka Mendieta in midfield, steadied their resolve in a far more formulaic second half.

McClaren, who became England manager in 2006 after leading Boro to the UEFA Cup final, highlighted the performance of Southgate, saying: “You need heroes in a cup final and we had 11, 12 or 13 out there, and in the second half Mendieta was magnificent, but if there’s one player I’d single out it’s Gareth Southgate.

“He has been the talisman of this football club since I came. I made him my first signing and told him the ambitions and we’ve had many ups and downs since then but I’m delighted for him because he deserves it.

“We wanted to bring a trophy to Middlesbrough after 128 years. That was my ambition when I sat down with the chairman. Personally it’s fantastic but the fans were magnificent.”

With another window providing another pair of defeats to reflect on, interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert is hopeful that the rift between the World Cup players and the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) will be resolved soon, so the programme can regain its competitive edge before the start of any other major women’s competition.

This, as he bemoans the fact that the impasse had a hand in Jamaica’s failure to qualify for the ongoing inaugural Concacaf Women’s Gold Cup, and the possibility of the country’s current ranking taking a hit by virtue of the recent results, which could discourage potential opponents.  

Gilbert’s sentiments follow the new-look Reggae Girlz 0-1 defeat to Chile in the second of their two-match international friendly series in Santiago on Tuesday. Yessenia Lopez scored the lone goal in the 34th minute.

The Girlz lost the first game 1-5 on Friday.

While he welcomed the improved performance from the new-look team, coupled with the exposure to high level competition for most players in a now widened pool, Gilbert believes a mixture of the World Cup players and their younger counterparts is the best way to build going forward.

“Both games served us well because like I said a number of players were exposed to high level competition and it was good. So, I hope we can continue to use the FIFA windows, to not only widen the pool and look at as many players as possible, but also to ensure that we are in competitive mode ahead of the other competitions including the World Cup qualifiers,” Gilbert said.

“So, I am optimistic that the World Cup Girlz will be up for selection (for the April window), so hopefully all things can be sorted out by then because we want to continue to build,” he told SportsMax.TV.

Reflecting on the overall trip to Chile, pointed out that the improved performance speaks volumes of what can be achieved when players spend more time together, as he believes additional training sessions contributed to a more energetic and cohesive display.

“It was a way better performance and I honestly thought that we should have taken something out of the game. We created a few scoring opportunities and should have converted at least one, but overall, everything about the performance was much better in terms of our energy and all that,” Gilbert shared.

“I think we applied ourselves much better than the first, and I think having a few training sessions contributed to that because we sorted a few things out. So, we were better and more aggressive in terms of how we defend and applied pressure to the Chileans,” he added.

 Despite the low of dealing with numerous player injuries, Gilbert rated the overall trip a success where player development is concerned.

“We made six changes from the first game, and some were forced changes, so that was a major low for us. But the high point is the exposure that the younger players got and the way they performed, I think they acquitted themselves well which augurs well for the programme going forward,” he ended.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp likened the instant impact of his academy players to that of darts player Luke Littler last month – but then asked for the youngsters to be given time to find their feet.

Jayden Danns scored his first two goals in only his third appearance after fellow 18-year-old Lewis Koumas had opened the scoring on debut as Southampton were beaten 3-0 to set up an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United.

As sons of former Premier League players Neil Danns, the ex-Crystal Palace midfielder, and Jason Koumas, who played for West Brom, the pair will have a lot of experience to call on but Klopp said they should be allowed to do that out of the spotlight.

Referencing Littler, who reached the World Darts Championship final at the age of 16, the German asked for perspective despite the youngsters’ key roles in a depleted side.

“It is little bit like the new darts sensation, it is fine for tonight. Tomorrow, leave the boys in the corner,” Klopp said.

“Everyone who is with us, we should have our moments, they will have more moments than we expect.

“All of it was obviously incredibly important. Against a Southampton team we would have had problems with anyway but in our situation we tried to give as much information as possible to them and we had to improve during the game.

“The first 15 minutes we were all over the place; we tried to press but the timing was horrendous and Southampton used that.

“We found a way into the game and the goal we scored was in a nearly perfect moment, it felt like a momentum change and then an exceptional finish from Lewis.

“We now had the momentum rather than Southampton and won a lot of high balls and scored, the play was special, the way we won the balls was special and something like that, as impossible as it seems, can happen.

“Maybe the people (fans) don’t forget it when the transfer window opens, don’t close the door (on young players) with 12 signings.”

On Danns, who came off the bench to score twice in 15 minutes to earn the man-of-the-match award, Klopp added: “Exceptional talent. Of course it is not natural that a boy 18, is as calm as you like. The second goal calm as you like.”

Saints boss Russell Martin was left to rue several missed chances in the opening 30 minutes in particular.

“I don’t think 3-0 is a fair reflection of the game as we should have been one or two up before they got close to a goal,” he said.

“The difference in the game is the quality of the finishing and their goalkeeper making some brilliant saves.

“If we are ever going to lose, then let’s do it being the team we want to be and I can’t ask any more from them tonight.

“I really enjoyed watching my team but I am really hurt for them and the result as I didn’t think we deserved that.”

Steven Naismith condemned the “idiots” who threw objects at Lawrence Shankland as he waited to take Hearts’ penalty in their 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian.

The Jambos top scorer had to hold his nerve before he equalised from the spot just before half-time after a range of items rained down on him from the stand behind the goal housing Hibs fans.

Shankland was struck by more objects when defending a corner later in the game, while Hibs goal-scorer Emiliano Marcondes was also hit by something thrown from the Hearts end.

Hearts boss Naismith said: “I think it was everything that was in everyone’s pockets, whether it be coins, vapes or whatever. All the stuff getting launched on, it’s just not acceptable.

“If that then gets looked at, what’s going to happen is they are just going to reduce the amount of fans that can go into that stand and that’s going to impact what I think is a good atmosphere, a good derby which has a fierce rivalry.

“It’s just idiots that are going to spoil the party for everybody. It’s just not good enough, end of.”

Shankland’s penalty – contentiously awarded after Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas went down while trying to get away from Will Fish – just before the break cancelled out Marcondes’ 27th-minute opener for Hibs.

“It was end to end at times, both teams had chances and, ultimately, that bit of quality was the thing that was missing in the game,” added Naismith.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery was adamant his team deserved to win the game and felt referee Kevin Clancy made an error by sticking with his decision to award the penalty to Hearts even though he was advised by VAR to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

“The VAR is there to call the referee over so he doesn’t make a mistake and when he called him over, I looked at it on the monitor and my opinion is no way it’s a penalty – and I don’t think anybody else probably thought it was,” said Montgomery.

“And then, lo and behold, he’s got a clear view of it, he can slow it down, he can watch it. Yeah, he gives a penalty. I’m just really disappointed that we don’t take three points. It cost us two points.

“Maybe we’ll get another apology this week like we did after Aberdeen. Maybe we won’t. But at the end of the day, what we won’t get back is any points.”

Asked about the objects being thrown from the stands, Montgomery said: “I don’t condone it, Steven doesn’t condone it. Neither do the clubs. Unfortunately there were a few things.

“Emi Marcondes had it in the first half as well when we had serious pressure on them.”