Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz came under increased pressure after a 1-0 defeat against West Brom at The Hawthorns.
An eighth loss left the Owls with their worst ever start to a season from the first 10 games of the Sky Bet Championship season, and they are already seven points adrift of the safety line.
John Swift’s 13th-minute goal settled the match with the Owls having now gone 312 minutes without a goal, with their only points so far coming from draws against Middlesbrough and at Leeds.
But it could have been different if Juan Delgado and Tyreeq Bakinson had converted early chances for the visitors.
Not surprisingly, Munoz rang the changes – seven – from Friday night’s 3-0 home defeat to Sunderland, with a return to a 4-4-2 formation.
It mattered little as West Brom dominated the game of few opportunities as their fifth game unbeaten saw them climb to fifth.
Carlos Corberan’s side started by forcing numerous corners and crosses from which the recalled Brandon Thomas-Asante and Kyle Bartley missed the target with headed half-chances.
West Brom took the lead in the 13th minute with a goal of classic simplicity. Darnell Furlong played the ball down the right, Akin Famewo missed the chance to cut it out and Jed Wallace crossed low for Swift to sweep it high into the net from six yards.
Swift’s fifth goal of the season soon had the near 2,000 Wednesday fans calling for Munoz’s head but just after the goal, the Owls created two excellent chances.
The sliding Delgado missed Ashley Fletcher’s cross from point-blank range, then Bakinson’s curling shot heading for the top corner was clawed away by goalkeeper Alex Palmer.
Matt Phillips should have done better from Furlong’s cut-back but got caught in two minds and the opportunity was gone.
Okay Yokuslu’s low shot following a scramble then Swift’s free-kick from out wide were both tipped away by goalkeeper Devis Vasquez as West Brom pressed for a second goal.
Wednesday remained in the game and Fletcher’s angled shot was blocked by the chest of Palmer.
The second half took a while to produce a goalmouth incident, with Wednesday mopping up various Albion attacks.
Dangerman Swift went closest when his curling shot dipped just over the bar from 25 yards after he cut inside.
The Baggies dominated but were their own worst enemies as they overplayed in front of goal rather than opting to shoot.
Fiorentina 2-2 Napoli: Kvaratskhelia keeps visitors' slim European hopes alive
Dethroned Italian champions Napoli's hopes of playing European football next season are hanging by a thread after they played out a 2-2 draw at Fiorentina in Serie A on Friday.
Napoli took the lead in the eighth minute through defender Amir Rrahmani, who nodded home a corner by Matteo Politano.
Cristiano Biraghi levelled for Fiorentina in the 40th minute from a free-kick, before M'Bala Nzola put the hosts in front two minutes later when he fired a shot into the bottom corner of the net.
Napoli's Khvicha Kvaratskhelia responded with another stunning free-kick early in the second half to rescue a point for his team.
Eighth-placed Fiorentina, on 54 points and with a game in hand, are five points behind Lazio in seventh.
They can still earn a Europa League spot either by leapfrogging the Rome side or by winning the Europa Conference League final in which they face Greece's Olympiakos on May 29.
Ninth-placed Napoli, on 52 points, still have a slim chance of making the Europa Conference League playoffs.
Data Debrief
Fiorentina left-back Biraghi has now scored six goals from direct free-kicks since the start of 2021-22, which is behind only James Ward-Prowse (seven) - now of West Ham and formerly of Southampton - as the most across Europe's top five leagues in that period.
Kvaratskhelia also levelled via a direct free-kick, making this the first Serie A match in which both teams scored via that route since Fiorentina against Lazio in April 2018 (Jordan Veretout and Luis Alberto in that case).
Southampton 3-1 West Brom (3-1 agg): Saints set up play-off final with Leeds United
Southampton saw off West Brom 3-1 at St Mary's on Friday to set up a Championship play-off final showdown with Leeds United.
Leeds thumped Norwich City 4-0 at Elland Road 24 hours earlier to book their place at Wembley, where Southampton now await on May 26.
The first leg between the Saints and West Brom finished goalless - just like the other semi-final - but the home side's quality told in the end.
Russell Martin's side dominated the first-half possession, with David Brooks going closest to scoring with a shot that hit the outside of the post.
Southampton made the breakthrough via a powerful Will Smallbone finish four minutes into the second half after Gray Diangana lost possession.
Darnell Furlong had a shot helped over by Alex McCarthy, while David Brooks - who assisted the opener - had a strong penalty appeal rejected.
Southampton remained in control, though, and Adam Armstrong scored a second with a shot through Furlong's legs and past Alex Palmer.
Armstrong's second goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 86th minute after Tom Fellows fouled Ryan Manning in the box, rendering Cedric Kipre's late header a mere consolation.
Al-Nassr 1-1 Al-Hilal: Mitrovic scores last-gasp penalty
Aleksandar Mitrovic scored a penalty in the 10th minute of second-half stoppage time as Al-Hilal denied Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr victory in a 1-1 draw.
Mitrovic netted his 27th Saudi Pro League goal of the campaign after Sadio Mane was harshly judged to have fouled Saud Abdulhamid in the area.
Mane stuck out an arm to shield the ball, catching his opponent in the throat, though the contact appeared to have been outside of the box.
Mitrovic made no mistake to keep Al-Hilal's unbeaten campaign going.
The Serbian's spot-kick cancelled out Otavio's first-minute opener, with Ronaldo having set up his compatriot.
Champions Al-Hilal remain 12 points clear of Al-Nassr at the summit of the Pro League standings.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo the provider
Ronaldo leads the scoring charts in Saudi Arabia this season, though he had to settle for an assist on Friday.
That came from the only chance he created, with the 39-year-old limited to 25 touches, though he did have four shots.
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