Portsmouth boss John Mousinho felt he saw the worst and the best from his side as they recovered from a terrible start to fight back and secure a hard-earned 3-2 win at struggling Reading.
Protests from the home fans – with around 2,000 supporters also staging a pre-match protest march against Chinese owner Dai Yongge – saw the game paused twice after tennis balls were thrown onto the pitch before the Royals took a shock 2-0 lead through quick goals from Lewis Wing and Charlie Savage.
Pompey, though, fought their way back on to level terms before the break through on-loan Chelsea midfielder Tino Anjorin and Colby Bishop.
Terry Devlin then slotted in the winner early in the second start to extend Pompey’s unbeaten start.
“I was really disappointed by the way that we played for 25 to 30 minutes,” Mousinho said.
“But even at 2-0 down, I was still quite positive of getting back into the game. We then proved that with 15 minutes-worth of very good football.
“The (tennis ball) protests impacted the flow of the game, but Reading had to deal with that as well. They just got on with it.
“For us, it was really Jekyll and Hyde in that first half. To start off, with what we have put together collectively, we were an unrecognisable team.
“But once we had taken that kick in the face (of Reading’s goals), we were excellent.”
After the final whistle, Reading substitute Amadou Mbengue received a red card following a skirmish between both sets of players.
Reading slipped to the bottom of the table as their winless run stretched to seven matches.
“We were just not able to keep the lead,” said Reading manager Ruben Selles said.
“And at 2-1, we had an amazing opportunity to make it 3-1, but that has been happening so often to us lately.
“We don’t put the ball in the net and the next one is coming against us.
“The performance was there, we were competitive against one of the best teams in the league, but we need to be more robust and more ruthless.”
'It's a shame' - Alonso confirms Leverkusen's Boniface out with thigh injury
Bayer Leverkusen boss Xabi Alonso confirmed that Victor Boniface will be sidelined for some time after picking up a thigh injury on international duty with Nigeria.
Boniface, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances in all competitions this season, was replaced late on in the Super Eagles' 2-1 defeat to Rwanda on Monday.
It is another blow for Leverkusen, who have managed 17 points from 10 games so far this season, the worst start to a league campaign in 12 years by a defending champion.
Only Omar Marmoush and Harry Kane (both 11) have scored more goals in the league than Boniface this term (six).
Alonso revealed that the 23-year-old will miss Saturday's Bundesliga encounter against Heidenheim and their Champions League tie against RB Salzburg next week.
"We will have to see how long he will be out. It is a shame," Alonso told a press conference.
"He has a thigh injury. For tomorrow, for Salzburg and maybe a bit longer. We will have to wait and see.
"It is too early to say but we hope he can still play this year. We have to see with the recovery and improvement but it is not a matter of six or eight weeks."
Leverkusen have dropped points in six Bundesliga games already this season (D5, L1), as often as they did during the entirety of their 2023-24 title-winning campaign (D6).
They come into this weekend's fixture against Heidenheim on a three-game winless run in the Bundesliga (D3), the first time they have gone this long without a victory since between April and May 2023 (five games).
Leverkusen sit fourth in the Bundesliga, already nine points behind leaders Bayern Munich as the busy festive schedule kickstarts on Saturday.
Alonso's side have eight games in just under a month, including a DFB-Pokal round of 16 clash with Bayern at the start of December.
"Eight games in four weeks. It is nothing new for us," Alonso said. "An intense phase is coming up for us and it starts tomorrow.
"We have clear goals for the Bundesliga, the Champions League and the German Cup."
Object thrown at City striker 'Bunny' Shaw in Champions League win over Hammarby sparks UEFA investigation
UEFA has opened an investigation after Manchester City striker Khadija Shaw was hit by an object during their Women’s Champions League win against Swedish side Hammarby on Thursday.
The towering Jamaican striker scored both goals in City’s 2-1 win at the Stockholm Arena to see her side through to the quarterfinal stage.
Her animated celebration in front of the home fans after her first goal saw the 27-year-old being booked, with replays also showing an object seemingly thrown her way from the stands.
“Proceedings have been opened against Hammarby IF for throwing of objects (Article 16(2)(b) of the Disciplinary Regulations),” UEFA said in a statement.
“Manchester City player Khadija Shaw received a yellow card following her goal presentation for unsporting conduct,” the statement added.
Following the game, City captain Alex Greenwood chided match broadcaster DAZN for failing to mention the incident in a social media post.
The post on X, external said Shaw “antagonised” the home fans and received “stick” from them.
Greenwood replied, "Correction. Travel to Stockholm, score a big goal. Celebrates her goal. Gets objects thrown at her.”
Girona handed huge injury boosts ahead of Espanyol clash
Michel says Girona are in better physical shape ahead of their home clash against Espanyol after being handed numerous injury boosts.
Last season's surprise package, Girona, have had a mixed start to the campaign and sit 10th in the table but registered back-to-back league wins before the international break.
They have struggled with injuries to key players this season, but Viktor Tsygankov, Jhon Solis, Arnaut Danjuma, Yaser Asprilla, Ladislav Krejci, Ivan Martin, and Alejandro Frances are all available for the game.
Michel hopes that having a wider group of players available will help them to extend their winning run.
"We are better physically. Only Yangel Herrera, [Gabriel] Misehouy, Portu and Abel Ruiz are out, and the rest are in the squad" Michel told reporters.
"Each case will be different in terms of giving us minutes, but they are ready to help us.
"Now we have replacements in each position, and it gives me peace of mind. We need everyone ready and in the next two to three weeks, we will be ready to play at 100%."
Michel said Herrera, who has scored twice and registered one assist in LaLiga this term, was not expected to return until the new year.
"He is a player who makes the difference in terms of duels, arrivals into the opponent's area and possession. He is vital, but we will not have him until 2025," he added.
Girona have 18 points after 13 games and will face an Espanyol side sitting in the relegation zone. The visitors are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road, but Michel has won just one of his four LaLiga matches against Espanyol (D2 L1).
The Girona head coach said Manolo Gonzalez's team cannot be taken lightly despite their underwhelming performances in away games.
Espanyol are yet to win away this season, losing five of six games on the road.
"We faced each other in pre-season and we drew. It will be difficult since they are a very good team in transition with players like [Javi] Puado or Jofre [Carreras] with speed and depth," Michel said.
"It's always a different game. It's a derby, and it's good to play them. There is a rivalry that must be sporting and, for our people and the players, it is a different game."
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