Sheffield Wednesday manager Danny Rohl feels his team’s hunger is powering their form and it helped them to beat relegation rivals Rotherham 1-0.
Ike Ugbo netted his sixth goal in five matches to hand Wednesday a valuable win in their relegation battle, taking them three points from safety and leaving Rotherham 19 points adrift at the bottom.
The Owls have now won three games on the bounce and continue to pile the pressure on the teams above them.
Rohl said: “It was a big one. I am very proud of my team at the moment. It is outstanding what they are doing.
“Everybody knows Rotherham are always difficult with the second balls and set-plays.
“At half-time I said it was great what we were doing. But we had to score with the next chance.
“It was a big impact from our subs. A draw was not enough. I had to change the shape and we scored immediately. Then it was about bringing the game home.
“Our defending at the moment is great to see. We are finding a balance between playing nice football and making the right steps.
“Rotherham did not really have a big chance. It was always about us. At the moment we are bringing the games home.
“The performances from my team are outstanding. The mentality we have – everybody is hungry and I am very proud of what we are doing.
“We are the hunter at the moment and we have the momentum.”
Rotherham weathered a storm throughout the first half with Wednesday coming close a number of times.
The visitors thought they had struck when Akin Famewo headed in Will Vaulks’ free-kick but it was ruled out for offside.
Wingers Ian Poveda and Anthony Musaba posed most of the danger themselves and both came close after cutting in off their flanks.
Rotherham threatened properly for the first time early in the second period when Sam Nombe’s effort glided just over the bar.
Wednesday built patiently for their opener and got it in the 66th minute with a flowing team move.
Barry Bannan and Ugbo were both involved before Dominic Iorfa picked out the in-form striker to stroke home.
Bannan was then pivotal at the other end as he got a desperate block on Andy Rinomhota’s effort to prevent a leveller.
It was actually Wednesday looking more likely in stoppage time and substitute Mallik Wilks’ header rattled off the post from Marvin Johnson’s cross.
Rotherham head coach Leam Richardson said: “It was frustrating and I am gutted for the fans really. In a derby you want to give a strong positive result for them.
“The lads got emotionally attached to the game a little bit.
“The second half was evenly balanced but the goal is horrendous from our point of view. They’re all avoidable but it takes the same pattern at the minute where we are competitive to a level but then we are looking for that quality and momentum to go our way.
“We are very fix and mend at the minute with players playing out of position. There is disparity in the squad. We are limited in a lot of areas and we have six players on the bench.
“Whatever we lack in certain areas it’s not a will to win. Our levels seem to drop after 60-70 minutes.”
Postecoglou: Spurs have a confidence problem to overcome
Ange Postecoglou says that Tottenham need to "overcome" their low confidence after suffering a 4-2 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday.
Spurs slipped to their fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, being left to bemoan their slow start as they found themselves 4-0 down by the hour mark thanks to goals from Mohamed Salah, Andrew Robertson, Cody Gakpo and Harvey Elliott.
Richarlison came off the bench to salvage some pride for Spurs, scoring one before setting up Son Heung-min for a goal on his 300th Premier League appearance.
Spurs had the opportunity to cut the gap to the top four after Aston Villa’s defeat to Brighton, but they remain seven points off a Champions League spot.
Postecoglou’s side still have a game in hand over the Villans, though he was sure that Spurs would be able to put their recent poor run behind them.
Asked if Spurs had a confidence problem, Postecoglou told Sky Sports: "Maybe in the front third there is.
"It probably is a bit of a lack of confidence, but again, that's something the guys have to work through.
"You have to find a way to overcome that because, ultimately, if you don't put pressure on the opposition in the front third after you've worked your way up there, they're going to get comfortable with their position."
Spurs have won just one of their last nine Premier League away games, failing to win any of the last five.
Despite that run extending at Anfield, Postecoglou highlighted what he thought was an improvement on their recent performances.
He continued: "Obviously a hugely disappointing outcome for us but at least we were more like ourselves today in terms of our football.
"Our last two away games at Newcastle and Chelsea, apart from the results which weren't great either, we just didn't try and play our football.
"I thought today, even in the first half, some of our football, our pressing was back to where it should be."
Roma 1-1 Juventus: Juve miss chance to close gap to second after draw with Roma
Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at Roma on Sunday, missing the chance to close in on Milan in second place in Serie A.
Roma took the lead after 15 minutes when Romelu Lukaku found himself in the perfect position to tap in the rebound from a Bryan Cristante shot.
Bremer levelled with a header for Juventus just after the half-hour mark when Federico Chiesa picked him out inside the box from a corner.
Both sides had chances to find a winner in the final minutes, with Roma keeper Mile Svilar making a fingertip save to push Manuel Locatelli's volley over the bar.
Third-placed Juventus have 66 points, five fewer than Milan, who drew 3-3 with Genoa earlier on Sunday. Roma are fifth with 60 points.
Data Debrief: Leading from the back
Since scoring his first Serie A goal in the 2019-20 season, Bremer is the defender with the most headed goals in the Big-5 European leagues, netting 13 in total. Each of his last seven goals have been headers.
His goal was enough to earn Juventus a point today, but it means that they have drawn each of their last four in the competition - a first since February-March 2012 under Antonio Conte.
Chelsea 8-0 Bristol City: Blues rout hands Hayes perfect home send off
Guro Reiten starred as Chelsea thrashed already-relegated Bristol City 8-0 to keep their title hopes alive in the Women's Super League on Sunday.
The Norwegian scored four goals, netting the opener from the penalty spot to get Emma Hayes' last home game in charge off to the best start.
She scored the other three in the second half in just over 20 minutes, while teeing up Agnes Beever-Jones for the seventh goal with just two minutes left.
Beever-Jones got two, with Sjoeke Nusken and Niamh Charles also adding to the scoreline to eradicate the goal-difference advantage that Manchester City, who lost to Arsenal earlier on Sunday, had over them.
Chelsea move to within three points of the Citizens, with a game in hand over them, remaining in the fight to lift their fifth-consecutive league title.
Data Debrief:
Chelsea have scored eight goals in a game for the first time since December 2022 against Leicester City, a match they also won 8-0.
The Blues have scored in their last six games in the WSL, though it does not come close to their longest run of games with a goal in the competition - a run of 20 from April 2023 to February 2024.
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