Kylian Mbappe drew a blank for the first time in seven games as Paris St Germain squandered a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Brest.

Goals from Marco Asensio and Randal Kolo Muani had given the home side a 2-0 half-time lead and put them seemingly on course to restore their eight-point cushion at the top of Ligue 1 following Nice’s victory over Metz on Saturday.

However, Luis Enrique’s side started the second half sluggishly and were deservedly punished when Mahdi Camara pulled one back on 55 minutes before substitute Mathias Pereira Lage equalised with a sublime flick.

PSG’s miserable evening was compounded in stoppage-time when the previously impressive Bradley Barcola was sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession.

Brest arrived at the Parc des Princes having won six of their last seven league games but it was PSG who started better, Vitinha flashing a shot high and wide in the fourth minute before Barcola set up Mbappe for a low shot which was saved by the legs of goalkeeper Marco Bizot.

At the other end, Jeremy Le Douaron headed narrowly wide from Kenny Lala’s cross, although Gianluigi Donnarumma probably had it covered at his right-hand post.

Chances remained at a premium until the deadlock was broken in the 38th minute, the influential Barcola playing a delightful chip into the path of Asensio, who struck a left-foot volley into the ground and just inside the far post.

Vitinha was inches away from doubling the lead with a curling shot from just inside the area after a one-two with Warren Zaire-Emery, but moments later it was 2-0 when Muani stabbed home from two yards after Asensio’s shot had been palmed away by Bizot.

Whatever Brest manager Eric Roy said at half-time had the desired effect and his side flew out of the blocks, Pierre Lees-Melou and Hugo Magnetti drawing saves from Donnarumma before Camara’s shot deflected off Danilo and into the net.

Lala then forced Donnarumma into another good stop at his near post before Martin Satriano picked out Pereira Lage in the area, the 27-year-old showing great determination to sprint across the box before cheekily flicking home the equaliser from close range.

Erik ten Hag promised to deal with the absence of Marcus Rashford after the England striker missed Manchester United’s 4-2 FA Cup victory at Newport.

Rashford reported ill on Friday after reportedly spending the previous evening at a Belfast nightclub.

“He reported ill,” United boss Ten Hag said after watching his side survive a massive fright in South Wales as League Two Newport fought back to 2-2 after conceding twice inside the opening 13 minutes.

“The rest is internal matter. I deal with it, we will deal with it.”

Ten Hag said there was a “no good culture” when he arrived at United in 2022 and he has encountered disciplinary issues during his Old Trafford tenure.

United misfit Jadon Sancho returned to Borussia Dortmund on loan earlier this month after falling out with the Dutchman.

Asked if Rashford was another example of that “no good culture”, Ten Hag said: “I don’t go in this case. We talked before about it, we played a good game, and now we move on.”

United established early command against opponents 76 places below them in the pyramid, Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo – with his first senior goal – producing excellent strikes.

But Bryn Morris and Will Evans scored either side of half-time and United were in danger of becoming victims of a seismic giant-killing act before Antony and Rasmus Hojlund struck in the final quarter.

Ten Hag said: “The first 35 minutes it was very dominant. We did not give the opponent any chance and should have been three, four, five-nil up.

“Out of nothing they score a goal and straight after half-time again.

“We have to be critical of bad defending in transition. Poor defending from the cross, it’s 2-2, and they turned it around.

“But you see how resilient we are. We stayed calm, went back in our game, got the third and fourth goal, so job done.”

Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw were all back in the starting line-up after injury, while Harry Maguire made a late cameo for his first appearance since December 12.

“I know the character from Licha (Martinez), Casemiro, Luke Shaw, (Raphael) Varane, Bruno, Antony, (Alejandro) Garnacho, Hojlund. All fighters,” Ten Hag added.

“Sometimes you are in this situation. It was a bad pitch, but we totally dominated them for 35 minutes.”

Newport belied their lowly standing of 16th place in the fourth tier with a committed performance sprinkled with some attacking moments of real quality.

Exiles boss Graham Coughlan revealed Ten Hag had given him “a nice little bottle of red wine” after the game, and admitted that he was contemplating a major upset after United had been pegged back.

Coughlan said: “I was dreaming at two-all. We gave ourselves a mountain to climb first 10 or 15 minutes.

“You can’t start a football game like that against that quality of opposition.

“They hit us hard, they were clinical and we learned quickly what the Premiership is all about in that first 10 or 15 minutes.”

On United’s late show costing County a lucrative replay, Coughlan added: “It was just unfortunate we couldn’t reach our cup final and go back to Old Trafford.

“I thought we had them at two-all. They were rattled. They could have gone under, and that’s a strange thing for a League Two manager to say.

“But the Premier League class shone through, so full credit to United.”

Australia defeated Indonesia 4-0 on Sunday to advance to the quarter-finals of the Asian Cup, where they will be joined by tournament debutants Tajikistan.

Two goals in the first half put 2015 Asian Cup champions Australia in control in the last-16 clash with Indonesia at the Jassim bin Hamad Stadium on Sunday.

Martin Boyle's header added to an early own goal from Elkan Baggott.

Late strikes from Craig Goodwin and Harry Souttar scuppered any hopes that Indonesia, playing their first game in the knockout stage, may have had of getting back into the match.

"We knew they would come out here with nothing to lose today, we knew they would come and fight and run," said Jackson Irvine, who had a hand in two goals.

"In the first half they caused us some problems with their energy and intensity but our experience and professionalism shone through in the second half and I think we had too much for them on the day."

Indonesia had chances, coming close after just six minutes but Rafael Struick fired over from close range. With half-time looming, Yakob Sayuri fired wide while unmarked on the left side of the area.

"I am very proud of my team,” said Indonesia captain Jordi Amat. "We knew from the start it would be a tough game. They were more clinical in the first half. We had our chances but couldn’t score. We need to work and come back stronger."

Australia will face the winner of Tuesday's tie between heavyweights South Korea and Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Tajikistan will take on either Iraq or Jordan after they overcame the United Arab Emirates 5-3 on penalties, following a 1-1 draw at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium.

Tajikistan's resolve could easily have faltered after Khalifa Al Hammadi's equaliser deep in second-half stoppage time cancelled out Vahdat Hanonov's opener and forced extra time.

But with a shoot-out required to settle the contest, goalkeeper Rustam Yatimov was Tajikistan's hero when he kept out Caio Canedo's spot-kick, with Alisher Shukurov keeping his cool to continue the minnows' dream run.

Lazio and Napoli played out a bore draw in their Serie A clash at the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday evening.

Neither side could find a breakthrough and had to settle for a 0-0 draw which will not live long in the memory.

Lazio had a chance to draw level on points with fourth-placed Atalanta while Napoli missed the opportunity to leapfrog their hosts.

Gustav Isaksen missed a presentable early chance for Lazio, who thought they had taken the lead moments later.

Taty Castellanos controlled the ball on his chest before executing a perfect overhead kick and burying the chance – only for the offside flag to cancel out his wonderful finish.

Isaksen and Castellanos then combined, with the latter’s smart flick hooked away by Leo Ostigard when it looked destined for the back of the net.

Napoli saw a Gianluca Gaetano long-range shot fly wide as they struggled to create chances throughout the contest.

Mohamed Bayo scored a last-gasp winner to send Guinea into the last eight of the Africa Cup of Nations with a 1-0 win over 10-man Equatorial Guinea.

A poor-quality game looked destined for extra time in Abidjan when Bayo headed home from Ibrahim Diakite’s cross with just 22 seconds remaining in the last of eight minutes of stoppage time.

The majority of that time had come from a lengthy VAR check which eventually saw Equatorial Guinea awarded a penalty for a foul by Sekou Sylla on Iban Salvador, only for captain Emilio Nsue to hit the base of a post with his spot-kick.

An early shot narrowly wide from Bayo was the only attempt on goal worthy of mention in an otherwise turgid first half, but the game sprang to life in the second period.

Nsue failed to make the most of a fortunate ricochet just two minutes after the interval as he volleyed wastefully over the bar from 10 yards, while Guinea briefly thought they had broken the deadlock when Mory Konate headed home from a free-kick in the 53rd minute.

The flag was instantly, and correctly, raised for offside, however, but Guinea were handed a man advantage just two minutes later when Federico Bikoro was shown a red card for a high-footed challenge which delivered a painful blow to Bayo’s ribs.

Equatorial Guinea could have been forgiven for playing for extra time but should instead have taken the lead from the penalty spot after Sylla’s foul on Salvador was eventually confirmed following a VAR check.

That gave Nsue the chance to net his sixth goal of the tournament but, after sending goalkeeper Ibrahim Kone the wrong way, the veteran forward could only look on in despair as his shot hit the base of a post.

Despite their numerical advantage Guinea rarely looked like scoring and Jesus Owono comfortably tipped over substitute Serhou Guirassy’s 82nd-minute header, but the deadlock was finally broken in dramatic fashion with Bayo in the perfect place to head a deserved winner.

Arsenal and Manchester City enjoyed important away victories at Liverpool and Tottenham respectively to keep pace with Women’s Super League leaders and defending champions Chelsea.

Vivianne Miedema, who sat out 312 days with an anterior cruciate ligament injury before making an October comeback, netted her first goal since December 2022 at the hour mark of Arsenal’s 2-0 victory at Prenton Park.

Leah Williamson returned from her own ACL recovery as a substitute in Arsenal’s midweek Conti Cup victory over Reading and was named in the Gunners squad by boss Jonas Eidevall – celebrating both his 41st  birthday and 100 games in charge – but did not play.

January signing and player of the match Emily Fox was instrumental in the build-up to both goals, Arsenal’s second coming via a left-footed effort from Caitlin Foord as the Gunners became the first side in WSL history to reach 500 points.

The result drew Arsenal level with City on 28 points, three behind the Blues.

City’s advantage on goal difference is largely due to the prolific efforts of Khadija Shaw, who netted her joint WSL-leading 12th of the campaign in her side’s 2-0 victory at Tottenham.

City had won this fixture by a seven-goal margin in November and while Spurs proved sterner opposition this time, Jamaica star Shaw, level with the Blues’ Lauren James as the WSL’s top goal-scorer with Sunday’s strike, still made her mark.

An own goal from Tottenham defender Amy Turner put Gareth Taylor’s side in the ascendancy after nine minutes and Shaw wrapped up the points.

Spurs stay sixth after Robert Vilahamn saw his team’s four-match winning run end despite a solid display at Brisbane Road.

Nikita Parris’ brace made the difference in Manchester United’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to ease the pressure on head coach Marc Skinner, who had faced calls to leave from some fans.

United, having been cast adrift of the top three after losing three of their previous five league matches, remain 10 points behind the leaders but still in the mix of clubs vying for Champions League places next season.

Both of Parris’ goals came in the first half as United earned only their second home league win of the season, with Rachel Daly pulling one back on the hour mark with a controversially-awarded penalty.

Defeat capped a difficult week for Villa, who are waiting to find out if they will be expelled from the League Cup after fielding the ineligible Noelle Maritz as a substitute during Wednesday’s 7-0 victory at Sunderland.

Elsewhere, Janice Cayman fired Leicester to a 1-0 victory over Everton, the second time the Foxes have defeated the Toffees in five days after Wednesday’s 5-1 Conti Cup win.

Bristol City remain in the WSL’s relegation place and in search of just their second win of the campaign after they fell 2-1 to West Ham in their bottom-two battle.

Honoka Hayashi’s 13th-minute opener was cancelled out by Amalie Thestrup after the restart, but Viviane Asseyi ensured her side would end the afternoon three points clear of their opponents when she fired home to secure an all-important victory in the 55th minute.

West Brom face punishment after after crowd disorder and violent scenes marred Sunday’s FA Cup tie against rivals Wolves.

Play in the Black Country derby at The Hawthorns was suspended for more than half an hour after trouble flared in the stands and fans spilled onto the pitch.

West Midlands Police confirmed arrests were made following the second-half disturbances and one person was taken to hospital with head injuries.

There were reports of fans clashing with police and some West Brom players were concerned about family members sitting close to the trouble. At least one, Kyle Bartley, went into the crowd to get children out.

Baggies manager Carlos Corberan later confirmed no players’ family members were hurt but the violent unrest, into which the Football Association swiftly launched an investigation, completely overshadowed the contest.

Corberan said: “Unfortunately this happened but fortunately no dramatic situation with the families or with any person happened, because of course lives are more important than anything.

“Everything was controlled by the security people and the situation didn’t have any negative consequence on the families. But, of course, the players were worried because they knew that the families were there.”

The FA issued a strong statement on the trouble.

It read: “The disorder that occurred at the Black Country derby between West Bromwich Albion and Wolverhampton Wanderers is completely unacceptable.

“Safety and security are of the utmost importance, and the behaviour of those involved is dangerous and inexcusable.

“We will be investigating these serious incidents alongside the clubs and the relevant authorities, and the appropriate action will be taken.”

Emotions had been running high throughout the match, which was the first between the neighbouring clubs in front of spectators since 2012.

The tensions spilled over shortly after Matheus Cunha fired Premier League Wolves into a 2-0 lead and effectively settled the fourth-round tie 12 minutes from time.

A statement from the home club read: “West Bromwich Albion Football Club condemns in the strongest terms the unsavoury scenes which disrupted Sunday’s Black Country derby at The Hawthorns.

“The club will work with West Midlands Police and the Football Association to fully investigate the incidents which resulted in a suspension to the game.

“Any individual involved in the disorder will be subject to a club ban, in addition to potential criminal investigation.”

The main disturbance occurred in the corner of the West Stand and the Birmingham Road End, a section which theoretically held only home supporters.

Police and stewards rushed to the area but security also had to be increased on the opposite side of the ground soon after as the atmosphere became increasingly hostile.

There had also been pockets of trouble elsewhere in the ground earlier in the game, which had been designated high risk with increased security and an 11.45am kick-off ordered.

Flares were thrown towards the pitch from the away end after Pedro Neto opened the scoring for the visitors and objects were later thrown at Wolves’ Tommy Doyle.

A police statement read: “We have extra officers at this local derby and they responded immediately as disorder in the stands caused fans to spill onto the pitch. Two people have been arrested for public order offences.

“We worked with officials to get the game restarted as soon as possible.

“Another man was arrested before the game for possession of an offensive weapon. A man has been taken to hospital with head injuries.”

The players eventually returned to play out the final 12 minutes after a stoppage of 34 minutes.

Bartley was substituted before the restart but Corberan said this was unrelated to what had occurred.

He said: “I had wanted to make the subs before they scored the second goal and Bartley had a yellow card.”

Wolves manager Gary O’Neil said: “Obviously it’s really disappointing. Anybody that wants to come to watch a football match should feel safe.

“Young children, elderly people could be in that area and we shouldn’t have to discuss incidents like this.

“They shouldn’t happen and I hope everyone’s safe and there’s no serious injuries and there’s no lasting effects to it.

“I thought the game was played in a really good spirit and it’s disappointing that things that went on off the pitch obviously now need to be spoken about.”

Erik ten Hag’s blushes were spared as Manchester United edged out Newport in the FA Cup fourth round on a day when crowd trouble marred the Black Country derby.

United raced into a two-goal lead at Rodney Parade as Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo struck inside the opening 13 minutes.

Sky Bet League Two side Newport battled back as a long-range deflected Bryn Morris effort halved the deficit before the break and Will Evans levelled two minutes after the restart.

But a strong United side fought back as Antony’s first goal of the season and a stoppage-time Rasmus Hojlund effort earned a 4-2 win.

The Football Association has launched a swift investigation as play was suspended during Wolves’ visit to rivals West Brom.

Play at The Hawthorns was stopped for more than half an hour after ugly scenes broke out in the stands and fans spilled onto the pitch.

West Midlands Police confirmed two arrests were made following the second-half disorder and one person was taken to hospital with head injuries.

Once play got back under way, Matheus Cunha’s goal secured a 2-0 win for the visitors after Pedro Neto had broken the deadlock in the first half.

Liverpool eventually cruised to a 5-2 victory over Norwich in their first outing since manager Jurgen Klopp announced he was stepping down at the end of the season.

Curtis Jones headed the Premier League leaders in front before Norwich levelled out of nowhere through Ben Gibson, only for Darwin Nunez to restore the Reds’ advantage.

Diogo Jota and Virgil van Dijk pulled Liverpool further clear and Ryan Gravenberch wrapped up the win after a stunning Borja Sainz effort had given the Canaries slim hope of a comeback.

United will face the winner of the replay between Bristol City and Nottingham Forest in the next round, while Wolves host Brighton.

Meanwhile, Liverpool welcome either Watford or Southampton – who drew 1-1 at Vicarage Road after Stuart Armstrong’s late leveller for Saints cancelled out Matheus Martins’ fifth-minute free-kick.

Manchester United survived a huge FA Cup fright to win 4-2 at Newport after the Welsh minnows levelled having been two goals down.

Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo – with his first United goal – struck inside the opening 13 minutes and safe passage into the fifth round seemed inevitable.

But Newport shook Rodney Parade to its rafters as Bryn Morris and Will Evans levelled and made light of the 76 rungs between the two clubs on the football ladder.

United’s troubled season was in danger of sinking to a new low, but a last-16 date at Bristol City or Nottingham Forest was eventually secured as Antony scored for the first time since last April and Rasmus Hojlund sealed matters in stoppage time.

The first competitive game between the two clubs had been billed as the biggest in Newport’s history, with just over 9,000 crammed into modest surrounds for a tie expected to earn the League Two club around £400,000.

But County’s recent cup pedigree – wins over Leicester and Leeds, as well as holding Tottenham to a Rodney Parade draw in 2018 – and a seven-game unbeaten run put United on notice they could not expect a smooth ride by the banks of the River Usk.

Erik ten Hag could almost feel the breath of home supporters standing just yards behind him and there was little space on the pitch either during a frantic opening.

There was no Marcus Rashford in the United squad with the England striker having reported ill on Friday after reportedly spending the previous evening at a Belfast nightclub.

Ten Hag said before kick-off that Rashford’s absence was an “internal matter” and that he would “deal with it”.

Turkey goalkeeper Altay Bayindir came in for his debut with regular number one Andre Onana at the Africa Cup of Nations.

But United were stronger – at least on paper – for some time with Casemiro, Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw back in the starting line-up, while Harry Maguire was on the bench after suffering a groin injury on December 12.

Newport named the same side which had accounted for Eastleigh in round three with the presence of former farmer Evans, their United-supporting 18-goal marksman, presenting the kind of charming storyline the FA Cup tends to supply.

Fernandes did his best to remove the romance after seven minutes when receiving a ball from Shaw and finding Antony.

The Brazilian played an instant return and Fernandes drilled a shot of rare purity past Nick Townsend within the blink of an eye.

County fans, raucous at kick-off, were silenced and left despairing again as Diogo Dalot motored down the right to set up 18-year-old Mainoo, who carefully caressed his finish into the bottom corner.

Alejandro Garnacho might have made it worse but rattled the crossbar and Antony drifted in from the right flank to force Townsend to tip over.

Newport kept Bayindir honest with efforts from Evans and Ryan Delaney, but Morris’ 36th-minute thunderbolt really came out of the blue.

Morris, at Grimsby when the Mariners reached the quarter-finals of the FA Cup last season, chested the ball down and unleashed from 25 yards to beat Bayindir with the help of a deflection off Martinez.

Townsend denied Fernandes with the final kick of the first half and the importance of that save was underlined within two minutes of the restart.

Adam Lewis crossed and Evans stole in front of Raphael Varane to level with an outstretched foot.

With it becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish who was the Premier League side, and Ten Hag being reminded of his employment prospects in the morning, Bayindir held Delaney’s header under his own bar.

Harry Charsley drove wide, but United re-took the lead after 68 minutes as Shaw curled on to a post and Antony slotted the rebound.

Maguire was sent on late to preserve United’s slender lead before Hojlund extended his scoring streak by pouncing on a loose ball and drilling home.

Marie-Louise Eta made history on Sunday as she became the first female coach to take charge of a Bundesliga fixture, guiding Union Berlin to victory over Darmstadt.

The 32-year-old former Germany youth international was named as an assistant first-team coach for Die Eisernen earlier this season.

She took charge of the Bundesliga strugglers for their home game against bottom club Darmstadt with Nenad Bjelica suspended.

Eta’s first experience leading a side in the division ended with a 1-0 victory courtesy of Benedict Hollerbach’s strike just after the hour as she also completed all of the pre and post-match media duties.

A Women’s Champions League winner with Turbine Potsdam in 2010, Eta had previously worked in the youth set-up at Union.

She was brought in to work with the first-team squad last year and stepped up in the absence of the suspended Bjelica.

Bjelica was banned for three games after shoving Bayern Munich forward Leroy Sane in the face during a 1-0 loss to the reigning champions on Wednesday.

The German Football Association deemed the act – which saw the Croatian sent off – as “unsporting behaviour” and handed out a ban which left Eta at the helm for the first time.

Having finished fourth last season, Union have had a harder time of it this campaign but the Eta-inspired victory over Darmstadt moved the home side five points clear of the relegation spots.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he had to “pull himself together” for the FA Cup victory over Norwich after an outpouring of emotion from friends and fans after he announced he would leave the club at the end of the season.

His players followed through on his insistence that nothing should change with a 5-2 win over Norwich to set up a fifth-round tie at home to either Watford or Southampton.

It came amid a celebration of Klopp at Anfield, who sat in contemplative mood as the Kop belted out ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ before kick-off and followed it up with a first-minute rendition of ‘I’m so glad that Jurgen is a Red’.

“It’s emotional but I have to pull myself together. I received all the messages. I’m not made of wood,” said Klopp.

“It was a top performance from everybody involved, really good.

“We could have passed a little but with more purpose, direction and being quicker in the way we scored two goals but conceded a set-piece goal.

“But it is clear when you are as dominant as we are, if we improve in some departments we create more chances.”

Curtis Jones and Darwin Nunez scored either side of Ben Gibson’s headed equaliser but in the second half it was virtual one-way traffic and further goals came from Diogo Jota, Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch, with Borja Sainz’s screamer briefly making it 4-2.

However, other major plus points were the returns from injury off the bench from Andy Robertson – out since October with a dislocated shoulder – fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold and midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai.

With Premier League matches against Chelsea and Arsenal in the next week, having them all back is a real boost.

“It was very important that we could give them minutes. Trent and Dom were not that long out but Robbo was out for a long time and each minute they could get is really important and here it helped to share intensity,” added Klopp.

“We played pretty good without them, so it is about how we are playing. We have to make sure we are the one team Chelsea does not want to play against and Arsenal doesn’t want to play against.”

Norwich boss David Wagner, Klopp’s long-time friend, admitted his side were up against it.

“A deserved win for Liverpool, the better side won. My team put a shift in and tried to play out from the back. We scored two wonderful goals and were competitive,” he said.

“I said before, ‘let’s attack this competition with freedom’. We were able to get some players closer to the squad and it was a step for us. Now we have to make sure we recover in the Championship.”

Russell Martin hailed his players for keeping Southampton’s unbeaten run going via the late goal that secured a 1-1 FA Cup draw at Watford.

It had looked as though Matheus Martins’ early free-kick might turn out to be enough for the Hornets but substitute Stuart Armstrong’s leveller ensured there will be a replay at St Mary’s and extended Saints’ club-record run to 22 matches dating back to September.

The winners will travel to Liverpool in the last 16, with Jurgen Klopp’s side having beaten Norwich 5-2 at Anfield in another tie that was on the go when the fifth-round draw was made.

Manager Martin made nine changes to his usual league line-up but the second-half introduction of four experienced faces saw the tie saved.

He said of his players: “They have amazing mentality, they were relentless in the second half and the last half-hour in particular. They just won’t accept being beat, which is an amazing trait for any team to have and they deserved that.

“The goal was a rubbish one to concede, really poor. I said to the guys at half-time we just lacked a bit of aggression. There was a lot of disappointment because they wanted so badly to take their opportunity.

“We took that frustration into the second half and the guys who came on had a real impact in the game. We scored a little bit too late but we still kept trying to win it.

“It was a proper cup tie and the atmosphere was great. We had 4,000 fans on a Sunday afternoon in not the most glamorous of cup ties against a club in the same division that we have already played once this season.”

Martin felt the prospect of a trip to Anfield would be a big incentive for both sides to win the replay.

He said: “To play at Liverpool is a huge opportunity in Jurgen Klopp’s last season as manager. We have a number of players coming back from injury who will hopefully be ready for that game as well.”

Watford manager Valerien Ismael, who had made six changes, was disappointed his players could not hold out for the win.

But he argued holding Saints to successive 1-1 draws in the space of a few weeks – Watford scoring a late equaliser of their own on December 9 – was an achievement in itself.

“We needed a second goal – or to keep a clean sheet,” he said. “We were solid, disciplined and well-organised and over the the 90 minutes the mentality and the desire was there.

“The only thing I will say is we need to be more composed. We lost the ball too many times. If you want to become a top team you need to control the ball.

“At the end we put on players who are not fit at the moment and you could see the pace dropped but they need game time.

“We competed well against them, for the second time at home.

“We had quite a lot of chances, we were very dangerous but we ran out of energy to push and get the clean sheet to win the game.

“It showed we are able to compete with them. The second game will be interesting.”

QPR boss Marti Cifuentes praised his team for showing fighting spirit in their 1-1 draw at home to fellow strugglers Huddersfield.

The hosts were poor in a vital match for both sides at Loftus Road, where Jack Rudoni’s late goal looked like leaving third-from-bottom Rangers six points adrift of the Terriers who are immediately above them in the Championship table.

Kenneth Paal equalised in the fifth minute of stoppage time by kneeing a cross from Ilias Chair into the top corner of the net.

“Not a good performance and it was generally a poor game. I’m not very pleased with our performance,” Cifuentes admitted.

“Having said that, we knew there would be tension in this game because it was so important to both sides, so you could see we couldn’t get the grip on the game that we would have liked.

“Then we had to accept that the picture of the game was a lot of fight, a lot of duels and aerial situations.

“So I want to praise the guys, because after conceding a goal in that minute and having the courage and personality to chase the draw, and then to keep pushing to try to get the victory, shows that even when we’re not having our best performance the team is competing well.”

A win would have taken QPR out of the relegation zone, where they have been since September. They remain in deep trouble.

However, Cifuentes insisted: “To be able, on a day like today, when many things didn’t go well, to pick up a point, I think is a step to the next level and in the right direction.

“The first thing is to be competitive and the second is that, even on the bad days, you can pick up points. Hopefully we can maintain that.”

Huddersfield have won just one of their past 11 league matches and the draw was their 13th of the season.

Boss Darren Moore said: “To not come away with the points, we’re disappointed with the result.

“The positives are that it’s another solid performance. We’ve come to a difficult place and really controlled the game for large periods.

“You have to come here and set your stall out and I thought the boys did that today. We certainly felt we should have taken all three points.

“When you lose a goal that late in the game, especially when you’ve dominated large periods of the game, we certainly feel it’s two points dropped.

“My message to the players has been that we’ve got to keep pushing and believe that those three points are not far away.

“When we get the three points, I really think it will be a glue in terms of performances, confidence and our fans seeing it and us pushing on and going forward.

“We’re nearer to turning draws into victories than losing.”

Gary O’Neil praised the resilience of his Wolves players and hopes their achievement is not forgotten after crowd trouble marred their FA Cup fourth-round win at rivals West Brom.

The Premier League side triumphed 2-0 in a fierce Black Country derby at The Hawthorns that was suspended for more than half an hour after problems erupted in the stands.

The trouble flared shortly after Matheus Cunha had scored the visitors’ second goal in 78th minute and players had to be taken back to the dressing rooms for a period before the game could be completed.

The stoppage was a concerning period, particularly with some West Brom players worried about family seated in the area, but the matter was dealt with by police and security.

Two arrests were made amid the disturbance and one fan was taken to hospital with head injuries but no players’ family members were hurt.

Wolves manager O’Neil said there had not been any doubt among his players during the delay that the game should be completed.

He said in a press conference: “They weren’t unsure, I think they’re a resilient group. We put big faith in the people that are in charge, the police and safety officer and officials, to only put us into situations that they think are safe.

“We came to do a job. Of course, I sit here and answer questions around the other stuff, but the main aim of today and of all week was to get a team ready to come here and win, and I don’t think that should be lost in it either.

“I think it’s really important that the lads get the credit for what was a fantastic win away from home at West Brom, in really tough circumstances.

“It’s been 28 years since we’ve been here and won and, in the end, 2-0, was fairly comfortable. We dealt with a tough atmosphere and a good side. The lads were really professional and managed to get the job done.”

West Brom boss Carlos Corberan said his players also wanted to play on.

“We wanted to play the game,” he said. “The referee wanted to keep playing the game, Wolves players and coaches wanted to keep playing the game.

“And the situation for me, the word was that the safety people in the stadium had made a very good job to allow a restart of the game. That was the target that we had.”

Corberan, whose side had trailed 1-0 at the interval to a Pedro Neto goal, felt the atmosphere prior to the crowd trouble had been of an intensity that can help his side as they chase promotion from the Championship.

He said: “It was an unbelievable atmosphere. If we are able to replicate this – we will not talk about the incident – if they keep supporting the team as they were doing for the rest of the league, they can help us a lot because they give you an extra level of energy.”

Aliou Cisse refused to be drawn on whether he is managing the best Senegal team in history, insisting the Africa Cup of Nations holders will be brought back down to earth if they lose to Ivory Coast in the last 16 on Monday.

Senegal lifted the trophy for the first time in 2021 under the stewardship of Cisse and topped Group C this time around with three wins from as many matches.

They face Ivory Coast for a place in the quarter-finals, with the hosts limping through to the knockout rounds as one of the best third-placed teams.

Cisse has an experienced squad of players and boasts the likes of Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson, Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham and captain Kalidou Koulibaly.

Asked if he was overseeing the best Senegal side of all time, Cisse replied: “It’s hard to say.

“I don’t like talking about myself. Others can talk about us and what we are doing.

“Now is not the time to take stock because we are in the middle of competition. What matters to us is tomorrow’s match because, if unfortunately it goes badly, we will come back to earth again.”

Cisse, though, was happier to discuss how well his team have taken to their defence of the trophy.

“Our team is going through a good period after three matches, where we achieved good results in the group stage, and I am satisfied with it,” he added.

“We will play a very difficult match. If we win, we will continue the adventure, and if we lose, we will return home.

“We qualified with nine points and the opponent with three points, this does not matter. Now a new competition has begun. Ivory Coast remains a major team in Africa, they have good players.

“The defeat in their last two matches remain just an accident, they will show another performance in front of their fans.”