Aston Villa scored two stoppage-time goals to complete a late turnaround as they won 3-1 against Crystal Palace, who were without their unwell manager Roy Hodgson.
The 76-year-old was taken ill on Saturday morning and did not travel to Villa Park, but looked like he was going to receive the perfect tonic as his side led through Odsonne Edouard’s early second-half goal.
But Jhon Duran fired home an exquisite equaliser in the 87th minute and then Douglas Luiz struck from the penalty spot in the eighth minute of added time after the decision had survived a rigorous pitchside monitor check by referee Darren England.
Leon Bailey’s goal two minutes later sealed what was a worthy victory for the hosts, who bossed the majority of the game.
It was their ninth home league win in a row, which equals their best post-war record as things continue to look up under Unai Emery.
Palace did not say how poorly their manager was before the game, but did confirm he would be in touch with first-team coaches Paddy McCarthy and Ray Lewington throughout the encounter.
But his mood would not have been improved after the chaotic end to the match where his side conceded three times in 13 minutes.
Palace also endured a tough opening, with Villa’s pace and running causing them problems.
They did not make it easy for themselves either and Joel Ward presented Ollie Watkins with a golden chance to open the scoring as he misplaced a pass and the Villa striker went clean through on goal but Sam Johnstone produced a good save to rescue his captain.
Hodgson would not have enjoyed what he was seeing remotely and it looked like they fell behind in the 34th minute.
Moussa Diaby, living on the shoulder of the Palace backline, was superbly picked out by Pau Torres and the France international raced clear and clinically fired home.
However, he was marginally ruled offside by VAR and Palace again escaped.
There were more sighs of relief soon after as Matty Cash miskicked his shot after good work by Nicolo Zaniolo and then the Poland right-back headed over another good chance.
Palace had barely threatened in the first half, but went ahead inside two minutes of the restart.
Jean-Philippe Mateta spun Torres on the right and sent in an inviting cross for Edouard to slide past Emiliano Martinez, who had slipped but would have been out of position anyway.
It was the 25-year-old striker’s fourth Premier League goal of the season and gave Palace a lead out of nowhere.
Palace threatened to build on that advantage and should have gone 2-0 up on the hour-mark but Ward could only divert Joachim Andersen’s header wide of the post from close range.
They could have done with that going in as Villa launched an assault in search of an equaliser.
Duran fired straight at Johnstone with his first touch after coming on before the hosts came within inches of levelling.
Watkins and Bailey both had shots blocked in quick succession and the ball again went to Watkins, and his first-time curling effort hit a post before rebounding off Johnstone and just wide.
The breakthrough eventually came three minutes from time as Duran superbly controlled Lucas Digne’s cross on his chest and then lashed in a fierce left-footed shot.
Five minutes later they were awarded a penalty when Chris Richards brought down Watkins, with referee England taking nearly three minutes in front of the monitor to decide a foul had been committed after the Palace defender impeded his opponent.
Luiz stroked home from 12 yards and then Bailey sealed the win at the end after converting from close range.
Amorim wants Man Utd players to be inspired by club's history
Ruben Amorim wants his Manchester United players to be inspired by the club's history as he bids to bring a winning mentality back to Old Trafford.
Amorim, taking over at the Premier League club following the departure of Erik ten Hag, was speaking in his first interview with the club after a tour of their home venue.
The Portuguese tactician had visited Old Trafford earlier in the week and met a group of supporters, as well as the women's team's vice-captain, England star Ella Toone.
"When you come [to Old Trafford], it's so different. You see the trophies, you see the tragedy that we have as a club. The history," said Amorim.
The 39-year-old added the manner in which the club defied the odds to succeed under Matt Busby after the Munich air disaster in 1958 should be a particular source of inspiration.
"This kind of strength, I think it's important to put in our team. When the players come here, they should take the stadium tour all the time. I think this is very important to do," Amorim said.
"It's normal if you go a lot of years without winning, you start losing that feeling. So I think we need to put all the players doing the same thing, to regain that feeling.
"We haven't won the Premier League for a long time. But if you ask, United is the biggest club in England.
"So this is part of history, it is not now. So we have to address that, to show that and to try to win again."
Asked what his footballing philosophy is, the former midfielder said it all comes down to being a team.
"The team is the most important thing for me. And if you work as a team, then the talent individually is going to shine," he said.
"But if I have to explain the importance of everything, it is the character, the way we fight, the way we play, and we must have an identity.
KC, JC through to Manning Cup semis as champs Mona booted
A new ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup champion will be crowned after Kingston College (KC) registered a decisive 2-0 victory over reigning titleholders Mona High in their Group A quarterfinal showdown at Stadium East on Friday.
Kvist Paul (8th) and Demario Dailey (70th) did the damage for Kingston College in a win that not only ended Mona's campaign but also propelled the North Street-based team into the semifinals alongside Jamaica College (JC), who trounced Tivoli High 4-0 in a simultaneous fixture at the Ashenheim Stadium.
By virtue of the results, Jamaica College topped the group on seven points, one point ahead of Kingston College (six points), while Tivoli High (three points) and Mona High (one point) will now turn their focus to the Walker Cup knockout competition for redemption.
Kingston College’s Head coach, Vassell Reynolds, lauded his team's composure and execution.
"It was a fantastic performance. We knew Mona would come out strong, but the boys stuck to the game plan and delivered when it mattered. Now, we look ahead to the semifinals, but as always, we don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. The aim is to keep the boys grounded and focused, and we will see what happens when that time comes,” Reynolds said.
With a lot at stake for Mona in particular heading into the contest, it was expected to be a close affair, but the manner in which Kingston College started ensured otherwise.
In fact, Mona had very little say in the contest as Kingston College’s show of intent resulted in an early strike inside 10 minutes. Damaine Smith delivered a perfectly placed corner kick, which Paul rose to meet and headed past Mona's goalkeeper, Riquelme Edwards.
Mona High, desperate to respond, almost found themselves further behind in the 15th minute when Dailey fired wide from a promising position.
As Mona struggled to contain Kingston College’s tactical discipline and attacking enterprise, Deshawn Byfield almost added his name to the scoresheet but had his effort dramatically cleared off the line by Dante Peralto.
Despite KC’s dominance, Mona’s goalkeeper Edwards produced a string of superb saves to keep his team in contention.
Just before halftime, he acrobatically parried a powerful shot from Kajay Fletcher, diving full stretch to his right, and Byfield failed to capitalize on the rebound.
Seconds later, Edwards was called upon again to deny a stinging shot from Smith.
Matrim Martin then unleashed a venomous right-footer, but Edwards once more stood tall, ensuring the scoreline remained 1-0 at the break.
The purples continued to assert their authority on the resumption as Dailey threatened in the 68th with a firm shot from close range that went straight at Edwards.
However, the Kingston College striker, sporting the number nine jersey, made amends two minutes later. Sent on his way by a brisk through pass, Dailey powered a low drive past a flat-footed Edwards to double Kingston College’s lead and effectively end Mona’s hopes of a comeback.
Clarke hails solid Scotland as Croatia win boosts Nations League survival hopes
Steve Clarke credited Scotland's defensive resilience after they boosted their hopes of remaining in the top tier of the Nations League by beating Croatia 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn came off the bench to score the all-important goal as Scotland took advantage of Petar Sucic's sending-off to claim their first win of the 2024-25 Nations League campaign.
The result – coupled with Poland's crushing 5-1 defeat in Portugal – means Scotland will stave off automatic relegation to League B if they win in Warsaw on Monday.
While Clarke felt Scotland could have done more with the ball, he was impressed both with their off-the-ball work and with the impact of super sub McGinn.
"My first thoughts when I came off the pitch were that we could play better," Clarke said.
"We could be more clinical when we get to the final third of the pitch. The sending off changed the game, but we were due a little break.
"This is a group of players that want to be successful, want to do well for their country.
"That's another clean sheet, two in a row. If you don't concede goals, you always have a chance to win the game.
"It was nice to get John on the pitch and I thought his finish was really good because it wasn't easy. It was nice to be able to look at the bench behind and know we had people who could come on and affect the game. It's nice when we get everybody fit and available."
The victory was Scotland's first in a competitive match since September 2023, when they beat Cyprus 3-0 in Euro 2024 qualifying.
They had gone 10 games without a competitive victory since then, drawing four and losing six, including a return of just one point from three outings at Euro 2024.
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