Tony Mowbray praised his Sunderland side’s second-half display after they dramatically sealed a play-off place with a 3-0 win over Preston.
After a rocky opening 45 minutes, second-half goals from Amad Diallo, Alex Pritchard and Jack Clarke at Deepdale meant the Black Cats had done all they could in their quest to try and sneak into the play-off places.
That victory proved enough to finish in sixth and claim the final play-off spot after Millwall spectacularly blew a 3-1 lead to lose 4-3 to Blackburn at The Den.
Blackburn finished just behind Sunderland in the table, also on 69 points but with an inferior goal difference, while Millwall fell down to eighth after having had matters in their own hands before kick-off.
Sunderland will now face Luton over two legs for a place in the final at Wembley, and Mowbray was pleased that his side were able to take charge after a frantic first half.
He said: “I felt as though we could come here and control the game.
“I knew we could win at Preston, we’ve won away at West Brom and Norwich – we’ve been good away from home.
“We started sloppy, but then grew into the game. We were naive and let them have too many chances. It was like a basketball game in the first half.
“We didn’t have harsh words at half-time, but we discussed that we needed to control the game better. We became more confident and, off the back of the first goal, we controlled things. It was a solid performance.
“I always believe we’ve got attacking players at the top of the pitch who are really talented and, if we can get the ball to them around the edge of the box, then we can score.”
Travelling Black Cats fans brought incredible energy to Deepdale, but Mowbray admitted there were some injury concerns ahead of their semi-final.
“It’s an incredible scenario to see the people of Sunderland enjoying their football so much,” he added. “It’s going to be awesome being in the semi-finals, we’ve got to be ready for Luton.
“As I sit here now, the conundrum in front of us is really difficult because we’ve got injuries to central defenders, but we have to find another performance.”
Preston finished the season in 12th but only six points behind Sunderland and Blackburn, and boss Ryan Lowe admitted key moments across the season as a whole had cost them.
Lowe commented: “We’ve given it a good go but it’s not been today or Sheffield United that’s cost us the play-offs, it’s from games earlier on in the season.
“I said about mentality, I don’t mean they’re not giving everything, I mean being savvy and taking the opportunities. We went out all guns blazing and we wanted to have a right good go.
“We fell short by six points but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not bad. For us and clubs like us, we need to keep building and I think we’re going in the right direction, we just need that little bit extra.
“We’re pleased with what we’ve tried to do and where we are. The effort of the players and the staff, they’ve been excellent.
“I want to bring the good times back to this club. We are slowly but surely trying to get there, but our aim is to do what Sunderland have done today and get into those play-offs.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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