QPR head coach Marti Cifuentes praised a quality goal and an impressive performance after his team boosted their Championship survival hopes with a deserved 1-0 victory at Bristol Rovers.
Ilias Chair’s cool finish, passing the ball into the net from Lucas Andersen’s 42nd-minute cross, was enough to lift the visitors to within one point of fourth-from-bottom Millwall.
The visitors defended their lead with organisation and tenacity in the second half, showing the sort of character they will need to escape the drop.
And a delighted Cifuentes said: “I know we have the necessary spirit to move up the table and it was evident today.
“Our goal came from two quality players combining. Ilias Chair is already a top player for us, but I have told him he has the ability to do even greater things.
“Lucas Andersen also has a lot of quality and it was good to see them working together to create the chance.
“But every member of the team deserved credit for a tremendous performance against very good opponents.
“Bristol (City) had beaten Southampton in the week and we knew how tough it would be to come here and win.
“We worked on certain things to combat their strengths and it was important we bounced back quickly from a poor performance against Stoke.
“It sums up the Championship that Bristol (City) were so good in midweek and yet we were able to restrict them to very few chances today.
“What’s so difficult is to put together consistent performances and results. That is what we must be aiming for in our remaining games.
“Today we have been very good, but being like that for one game is not enough.”
City head coach Liam Manning admitted it was a rare off-day for his team, who have been closing in on the play-off positions.
“From the start, we never got going,” he said. “Collectively – and that includes me with the changes I made – we were not good enough.
“It has been a really hectic schedule since Christmas and perhaps that showed physically and mentally today.
“It’s not an excuse because top teams like Manchester City cope with tough programmes. But they have some of the best players in the world.
“We will give our lads tomorrow and Monday off because I think a short rest will do them good.
“Then it will be back to prepare for our next game. We knew we would have to cope with expectation levels today after our win against Southampton.
“Queens Park Rangers are a better side than their league position suggests. I watched them and was aware that we would be in for a very tough game.
“The players are as frustrated as myself because we can be so much better. But they are an honest group and I have nothing but praise for their efforts in recent weeks.”
City lost young striker Sam Bell with a hamstring injury after only 22 minutes and Manning added: “We won’t be sure how serious it is until we get a scan, but obviously it didn’t look good.”
Cole Palmer 'one of the best in the world' - Reece James
Cole Palmer has been hailed as "one of the best in the world" by team-mate Reece James after playing his part in Chelsea's thrilling 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest.
England international Palmer superbly assisted Mykhailo Mudryk's early opener in Saturday's Premier League contest, before Willy Boly's swift leveller and Callum Hudson-Odoi's second-half curler put Forest in front.
Chelsea pulled off a remarkable late turnaround, however, as Raheem Sterling levelled up on 80 minutes and fellow substitute James assisted Nicolas Jackson's winner two minutes later at City Ground.
Palmer's assist means he has directly contributed to 31 goals in the Premier League this season, which is the joint-most in the division alongside Aston Villa's Ollie Watkins.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the late win at Forest, captain James said: "Cole Palmer is one of the best in the world, I think personally.
"At [Manchester] City he didn't play as much as he would like but he has come here and taken the chance with both hands."
Palmer is just the fourth player in Premier League history to score 20 or more goals and provide 10 or more assists in his debut campaign for a club.
The others on that prestige list are Andrew Cole with Newcastle United in 1993-94, Jurgen Klinsmann with Tottenham in 1994-95 and Mohamed Salah with Liverpool in 2017-18.
The 22-year-old, stood alongside James, said of his colleague's comments: "I wouldn't go that far! But it's nice to hear.
"It's all new to me. This is my first season playing properly in the league. It was a very important win and now we focus on the next one."
Chelsea have now won three Premier League games in a row and are level on points with sixth-place Newcastle United.
Since Boxing Day, only Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool have picked up more points than Chelsea's 35 in the Premier League, while only leaders City have suffered fewer defeats.
James, who was making his return from a five-month absence, added: "We learn every day.
"We're still young but we are improving and we're coming strong at the end of the season. Slowly but surely we are finding our feet and reaching a level."
Granada 0-4 Real Madrid: Diaz stars in crushing victory for LaLiga champions
Newly-crowned LaLiga champions Real Madrid earned an emphatic 4-0 win over relegated Granada on Saturday, breaking a single-season club record after making it 29 LaLiga games unbeaten.
Carlo Ancelotti's side continued their superb form following their Champions League semi-final win over Bayern Munich, reaching 90 points in the league and moving 15 clear of second-placed Girona.
Fran Garcia broke the deadlock with an easy finish after a long series of passes in the 38th minute before he set up Arda Guler to slot home and extend the advantage just before half-time.
Brahim Diaz made it 3-0 in the 49th minute with a shot into the near post, and the former Manchester City attacker scored his second nine minutes later off a Luka Modric pass from the right.
A much-changed Madrid were in control throughout as Los Blancos moved to 29 league matches undefeated, surpassing their best unbeaten run in a single campaign under John Toshack in 1989-90.
Granada, meanwhile, were already relegated after Mallorca's 1-0 win at Las Palmas as their LaLiga stay came to an abrupt end on Saturday.
Nottingham Forest 2-3 Chelsea: Reds made to wait for safety after late collapse
Nottingham Forest must wait to make mathematically certain of their Premier League status after conceding two late goals in a dramatic 3-2 home loss to Chelsea.
Forest began Saturday's thrilling game knowing a point from their final two matches would be enough to secure safety after Luton Town's 3-1 loss at West Ham and Burnley's 2-1 defeat to Tottenham.
After Willy Boly cancelled out Mykhailo Mudryk's strike inside the opening 16 minutes, Callum Hudson-Odoi thought he had won the game with a delightful 74th-minute curler against his former side.
However, Chelsea silenced the City Ground through quickfire goals from Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson in the final 10 minutes.
Chelsea's third win in a row keeps them seventh and level on points with Newcastle United in sixth, while Forest are three points better off than Luton with a game to go, but they are 12 goals better off in terms of goal difference.
Mudryk controlled Cole Palmer's defence-splitting pass and finished across Matz Sels to give Chelsea the lead, but Boly levelled for Forest with a free header from Morgan Gibbs-White's free-kick delivery – the ball taking a touch off Conor Gallagher on its way in.
Jackson had a chance to restore Chelsea's lead before the interval, but his effort was kept out by Sels when played through by Palmer.
Forest also created plenty of opportunities at 1-1 as Ryan Yates clipped the outside of the post and Gibbs-White did likewise from a close-range header, with the rebound dropping to Wood.
The Forest striker somehow blazed over in one of the misses of the season, which almost proved costly as Thiago Silva clipped the post at the other end soon after.
Hudson-Odoi was next to hit the frame of the goal, but it did not appear to matter when he cut inside Malo Gusto and curled the ball away from Petrovic.
Then came a late twist, though, as substitute Sterling scored a similar curler at the opposite end in the 80th minute, before fellow replacement Reece James – returning from a lengthy lay-off – crossed for Jackson to head home a dramatic winner.
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