QPR have sacked manager Gareth Ainsworth following defeat to Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester on Saturday.
Goalscorer Andre Dozzell was sent off before Harry Winks inflicted a sixth straight loss which spelled the end of former Rangers midfielder Ainsworth’s reign.
CEO Lee Hoos told the club’s website: “Making a call such as this is never easy. Many supporters have told me in recent months that they have never wanted someone to succeed more than Gareth, which is an indication of the fondness everyone associated with QPR has for him.
“Unfortunately, results this season haven’t gone the way we all wanted and we feel a change is necessary.
“Gareth has been a pleasure to work with from the moment he arrived and I am truly sorry this has not worked out as we all had hoped.”
After Stephy Mavididi opened the scoring on the half-hour, Dozzell equalised shortly before the interval – but the midfielder was dismissed early in the second half for two quick cautions.
Abdul Fatawu reacted angrily to a challenge from Dozzell, who raised a hand towards the Leicester winger and was shown a first yellow card for the foul followed swiftly by another for the retaliation.
Rangers battled hard but Leicester made their numerical advantage count with 10 minutes left when Winks rifled in a right-footed strike for his first goal since moving from Tottenham.
Speaking before his departure, Ainsworth bemoaned his side’s “naivety” after they had a man sent off for the second successive match.
It came after Jimmy Dunne was dismissed during the midweek defeat at West Brom, also for picking up two yellow cards in quick succession.
“Naivety has cost us again. It’s cost us over the past two games,” Ainsworth said.
“Out of the four bookings that have cost us two red cards, I think there’s only one legitimate foul in there and the rest has been just stupidity.
“Andre has reacted just as Fatawu wanted him to. The referee has no choice but to give a second yellow.
“We had a plan put in place that I think was working, but again you need 11 men, especially against the top-of-the-league team.
“I thought there were some superb performances for us. There wasn’t much in the game at all until Andre falls for the trick of gamesmanship from Fatawu.
“Andre has to learn from that. It was always going to be tough after that. It still took a world-class goal to beat us.”
Leicester boss Enzo Maresca insisted there must be no let-up from his side after they maintained their commanding lead at the top of the table.
The Foxes are five points clear of second-placed Ipswich and 14 clear of Leeds, seemingly on course for an immediate return to the top flight in Maresca’s first season at the helm.
The Italian coach, though, warned against any sense of complacency.
“We have just one problem: we are still in October. I would like to still be in the same position in February, March and April,” he said.
“You can lose a game for many reasons, but for sure you can lose a game if you have a drop in intensity. We know that because we always mention that.
“As long as we remain with the same intensity then we can win more games than we lose.
“But the players deserve it. The way they work on the ball and off the ball, they make an unbelievable effort. They are open-minded and fantastic.”
Europa Conference League: Aston Villa stunned by Olympiacos
Aston Villa were stunned by Olympiacos as they suffered a 4-2 home defeat in the Europa Conference League.
On what the Villa faithful hoped would be a famous night at Villa Park, they instead saw their team dispatched by their Greek opponents in the first leg of their semi-final encounter.
Ayoub El Kaabi scored a hat-trick for the visitors, who were 2-0 up inside 30 minutes on Thursday.
Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby struck either side of the interval to restore parity, but El Kaabi sealed his hat-trick from the penalty spot before Santiago Hezze added further gloss with a sensational finish. To add to Villa's misery, Douglas Luiz then missed a penalty late on.
In the other semi-final tie, Fiorentina took a 3-2 aggregate lead against Club Brugge.
M'Bala Nzola was Fiorentina's hero in stoppage time, scoring in the 91st minute to nudge the Serie A team ahead.
Hans Vanaken had scored from a penalty following a VAR check for handball in the 17th minute, cancelling out Riccardo Sottil's early opener, though Fiorentina restored their lead through Andrea Belotti before half-time in a frantic first half.
Thiago equalised for Brugge, but it was ultimately not enough.
Europa League: Wirtz and Andrich goals put Leverkusen on the brink, Marseille hold Atalanta
Bayer Leverkusen put one foot in the Europa League final as Florian Wirtz and Robert Andrich scored in Thursday's 2-0 semi-final first-leg win over Roma at the Stadio Olimpico.
Roma were masters of their own downfall as Wirtz opened the scoring after 28 minutes, Rick Karsdorp's horrible error allowing Alex Grimaldo to race into the area and tee up Wirtz to finish into an unguarded net.
Though Daniele De Rossi's hosts improved after the break, Andrich added a spectacular second with 73 minutes on the clock, the midfielder giving Mile Svilar no chance as he side-footed into the top-left corner from 25 yards out.
Roma should have pulled one back four minutes into stoppage time, but Tammy Abraham could only nod over from inside the six-yard box after a goalmouth scramble, and they now have it all to do in next week's second leg.
Leverkusen's unbeaten run for 2023-24 stands at 47 games across all competitions (39 wins, eight draws), and they are now overwhelming favourites to stamp their ticket to the final in Dublin.
The other semi-final tie remains in the balance at the halfway stage, with Atalanta being pegged back in a 1-1 draw with Marseille at the Stade Velodrome.
Having scored twice in La Dea's memorable win at Anfield in the last round, Gianluca Scamacca took in Teun Koopmeiners' pass before finishing low across goal 11 minutes in, but Gian Piero Gasperini's team couldn't hold on.
Chancel Mbemba was the unlikely goalscorer for Marseille, stepping out of defence to clip a 25-yard effort against the far post and in after 20 minutes.
Neither side could find a winner from there, meaning it's all to play for ahead of next week's return fixture at the Gewiss Stadium in Bergamo.
Orlando City v FC Cincinnati: Acosta hails visitors for absorbing punches
Luciano Acosta has hailed FC Cincinnati for coming through a testing period as they look to make it three straight wins in MLS play at Orlando City on Saturday.
After going unbeaten through their first six games of the season, Cincinnati suffered back-to-back 2-1 defeats against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal.
However, they have since bounced back with two wins over difficult opponents, seeing off Atlanta United and the Colorado Rapids by the same scoreline.
Acosta scored his 44th goal for Cincinnati – the most of any player in franchise history – in that latter game, and he believes their resilience has been key.
"I think it's just about our mentality," Acosta said. "We lost those two games and it was a bit of a punch that woke us up. But now it's about the mentality and getting back to it."
Head coach Pat Noonan said of Acosta: "I think what makes it more impressive is teams are going to try to prevent him from having an impact.
"When you're a key player and you're able to do what he's doing with the focus on stopping you in a lot of ways, that's what is unique."
Orlando, meanwhile, were beaten 2-1 by Toronto FC last week, halting their four-game unbeaten streak and dropping them to 13th in the Eastern Conference.
Forward Duncan McGuire felt the Lions should have taken maximum points from that game and is desperate to atone at Inter&Co Stadium.
"I definitely think we should've won," he said.
"I think how difficult this felt and how this feels for us right now is going to push us and motivate us to train hard all week, to get a win for the fans at home and get the job done."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Orlando City – Duncan McGuire
Maguire scored his fourth goal of the MLS season against Toronto last week – no other Orlando player has netted more than once in 2024.
Those goals have come from an expected goals (xG) figure of 2.7, with the United States international also attempting a team-high 27 shots this campaign.
FC Cincinnati – Luciano Acosta
Acosta has contributed to at least one goal in four straight MLS matches (one goal, three assists).
It is Acosta's fifth streak of four or more straight regular-season games with a goal contribution for Cincinnati, with Brandon Vazquez the only other player to achieve that feat for the team.
MATCH PREDICTION – ORLANDO CITY WIN
Orlando earned a win and a draw against Supporters' Shield winners Cincinnati last season, making them one of two teams (also the New England Revolution) to play Cincinnati twice in the 2023 regular season and not lose either match.
The Lions may just fancy their chances of another positive result against Noonan's men, who have only won one of their last three away games (one draw, one defeat).
Orlando have only lost two of their last 17 regular-season home matches dating back to last April, winning nine and drawing six, so viewers should expect a response to their loss last time out.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Orlando City – 49.3%
FC Cincinnati – 23.6%
Draw – 27.1%
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