Jamie McGrath hit a double as a 4-2 victory at Motherwell gave Aberdeen a much-needed morale boost ahead of the Viaplay Cup semi-finals.
McGrath scored in each half with Nicky Devlin and substitute Luis Lopes also on target as the Dons claimed their first win in five matches to send them to Hampden on a high when they face Hibernian on Saturday.
Motherwell conceded some sloppy goals and never troubled Aberdeen keeper Kelle Roos until substitute Theo Bair netted his first goal at Fir Park in the 79th minute.
Mika Biereth scored his third goal in three cinch Premiership appearances off the bench in stoppage time but the Steelmen have now taken just one point from six games.
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson had taken responsibility for Sunday’s 2-0 defeat at Kilmarnock, admitting he should have made more than one change to his starting line-up. He made two at Fir Park as Dante Polvara and Leighton Clarkson came in.
Motherwell had Lennon Miller back from suspension while Conor Wilkinson made his first start since August.
Both sides had some decent spells of possession without threatening, until some hesitant defending gifted the visitors the lead in the 26th minute.
Dan Casey failed to get a decent connection on his header following Devlin’s cross and Paul McGinn was slow to react as McGrath got in behind to nod home at the far post.
The goal seemed to have a major and contrasting impact on each team. Aberdeen looked increasingly confident on the ball while Motherwell were struggling to string two passes together and the crowd started to get on their backs.
A slack pass from McGinn set up Polvara to shoot straight at Liam Kelly before the away team doubled their lead in the 44th minute.
McGrath’s pass put Bojan Miovski through and, although McGinn made a last-ditch tackle, Devlin was by far the quickest to follow up and slotted home.
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell made two half-time changes, bringing on Biereth and Calum Butcher, who was making his first appearance since suffering a foot injury in May.
The start of the second half was delayed by about seven minutes by a technical issue with the VAR equipment.
The home fans soon lost their patience with referee Colin Steven as he booked four of their players in the space of eight minutes and waved away several appeals for Motherwell free-kicks – Biereth’s yellow card came for a show of dissent.
McGrath had a header saved before adding to his tally in the 68th minute after another goal-saving challenge fell for the Dons.
Casey this time slid in to nick the ball off Miovski’s feet and McGrath emerged with it as Kelly hesitated to pick up, before the Irishman found the net. The goalkeeper was booked for dissent as he claimed for an infringement.
Kelly was well beaten six minutes later when he came for Ryan Duncan’s corner as Lopes headed into the empty net.
Bair soon curled the ball home from 22 yards with Roos slow to get down at his near post.
The Canadian missed a decent chance from Biereth’s driven cross before the Dane slotted home following a cross.
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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