Bradford boss Mark Hughes remains determined to turn the tide as pressure mounted on him thanks to a late Tranmere goal in a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Prenton Park.
An 83rd-minute strike from substitute Kieron Morris was enough to secure the points for Rovers after Regan Hendry had seen his first-half effort cancelled out by Andy Cook after the break.
The result comes on the back of a 4-1 home defeat to Walsall which saw Hughes on the receiving end of boos from Bradford fans and once again the Bantams faithful vented their anger at the final whistle, chanting ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’ as the teams left the field.
As for Rovers, the victory was just their third of the season as they look to move away from the League Two relegation places following a poor start to the campaign.
Hughes said: “We’re disappointed as I thought we should have been one or two goals to the good but we weren’t able to convert, especially in the first half.
“It was very evenly matched in the second half and it could have gone either way and they were helped by the performance of the referee who was absolutely hopeless.
“The penalty award was obviously a great clearance by Kevin McDonald and should never have been given and they fed off that.
“After getting back to 1-1 I thought we could go on and win the game. I’m disappointed in terms of the result but I thought the level and endeavour was good.
“We just need to clear our heads and come out the other side. Wins change everyone’s mentality so we’ve got to be strong and confident in what we are doing.
“We were the better team but didn’t get the result we wanted. We didn’t get the breaks but we’ve just got to move on.
“We’re all in this together and we all want to turn this around.”
Tranmere Interim Manager Nigel Adkins hailed the togetherness of his side.
“We did some really good things on Saturday but the scoreline speaks for itself,” Adkins said.
“As for today, you could see there was a togetherness and a determination and we played some good football at times.
“You could say we might be a bit fortuitous because on any other day the goalkeeper would probably have saved that.
“We were disappointed having conceded from a corner but we responded to that and that’s the most important thing, how you respond to disappointment.
“We scored a great goal through Kieron Morris who has been out of the team for a while, but as I always say to the players – be ready to take your chance when it comes and he’s done that.
“But for me tonight was about everyone doing everything they can for Tranmere Rovers and the club and the supporters and you could see that togetherness with the fans tonight, too.”
Luis Enrique: PSG 'far from the level' to turn Champions League fortunes around
Luis Enrique believes that despite Paris Saint-Germain's unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season, it is not enough to turn their fortunes around in the Champions League.
PSG cruised to a 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday, maintaining their six point advantage over Monaco at the top of the standings.
The Parisiens have 32 points from their 12 league matches. Over the last 70 years, only under Thomas Tuchel have they had more at this stage (36 in 2018-19).
PSG have also scored a division-high 36 goals, netting three or more times in nine of their 12 matches this season, as many as in their last 24 last term.
However, that form has failed to transpire in the Champions League. Luis Enrique's side sit 25th in the new 36-team league after taking four points from their four games.
And with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich up next, the PSG boss said his side's good run in the league will not be enough to win the competition.
"I think that we have numbers in Ligue 1 that are in line with our quality and in the Champions League we are far from our level. It's not logical," Luis Enrique said.
"It is clear that we have to improve our effectiveness, there is no doubt about it.
"A competition like the Champions League is different, is short, fewer games, it does not reward regularity, it rewards being good at the right moments.
"However, I think it's important to go into a Champions League match having won. It's not that it's decisive, but it's more positive," the coach added.
Friday's victory was sealed with goals from Joao Neves, Beraldo and Vitinha, sealing a sixth consecutive Ligue 1 triumph at the Parc des Princes.
Neves has now been involved in eight league goals this season (two goals, six assists), having only recorded five goal contributions in 50 appearances for Benfica.
The Portugal international also won more duels (nine) than any other PSG player against Toulouse, with Luis Enrique showering praise on the 20-year-old.
"Joao played the first half as a pivot, which is his usual position. In the second half we made more use of his ability to bring the ball out from the back in a more delayed position. I think he was very good," Luis Enrique said.
"Clearly when a midfielder scores the goal and it's something we insist on, well it seems to bring out his game more. I'm more satisfied. In the second half I liked him."
'It was typical Kane', says Kompany after Bayern star smashes Bundesliga record
Vincent Kompany quipped it was "typical Harry Kane" after the England captain netted his 50th Bundesliga goal in Bayern Munich's 3-0 win over Augsburg.
Kane scored all of Bayern's goals in Friday's victory, as Kompany's side went, at least temporarily, eight points clear at the top of the Bundesliga.
In the process, Kane netted his 50th goal in the competition, reaching the milestone in just 43 appearances, smashing the previous record of 50 set by Erling Haaland during his time at Borussia Dortmund.
Two of Kane's goals came from the penalty spot, before he rounded off his hat-trick in the 95th minute with a deft header after he had exquisitely controlled Leon Goretzka's lobbed pass.
"It was typical Harry Kane," Kompany said. "He had situations in the first half where he could maybe have done better.
"But a player like him can score at any moment, he went on to score three."
Joshua Kimmich hailed Kane's composure from the penalty spot.
"I've never seen him miss one," Kimmich said.
"In general we have complete faith in him and he repays that faith. To take and score a penalty like that is a real quality. It's always regarded as easy from the outside but it's quite extraordinary."
Ten of Kane's 50 Bundesliga goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Kane is also the quickest Bayern player to hit 50 league goals for the club, surpassing Robert Lewandowski's previous record of 64 games by a staggering 21 matches.
The 31-year-old has netted every 75 minutes on average.
"We said at half-time we should just keep going and create chances," Kane told reporters.
"Thankfully we got the penalty and from there the game opened up.
"We have a big week ahead with PSG in the Champions League, then Dortmund, then [Bayer] Leverkusen in the cup.
"We're in a good moment, we're feeling good and should just keep the momentum up."
Bayern's dominance was reflected in the match stats, with Kompany's team having 33 shots to Augsburg's two, getting 14 of them on target, and accumulating 3.77 expected goals (xG) while giving up just 0.1 at the other end.
But Kompany says there is much more to come.
"It's normal for it not to be easy – after all it's a Bundesliga game," he said.
"We had 33 attempts at goal and very often found ourselves inside their box. But we remained patient and continued to show that we wanted to score goals.
"When you're in the penalty area as often as we were, it's normal that there will be a penalty given at some point.
"I'm never satisfied because I want us to always be improving. I know how important the win was tonight, and I can really appreciate it."
LA Galaxy test not ‘David against Goliath’ for Minnesota, claims Ramsay
Minnesota United head coach Eric Ramsay believes this season has already been a success for his side, no matter the result of their Western Conference semi-final against the LA Galaxy.
The Loons are the lowest-ranked side left on the West side of the MLS playoff bracket after finishing sixth in the regular season, though have impressed in the postseason so far.
They edged Real Salt Lake in their best-of-three series, winning both games on penalties, though come into their encounter with the Galaxy as the underdogs from the outside.
However, Ramsay does not see it that way, believing that his players could cause an upset this weekend.
“There is, of course, a level of satisfaction, but I think it’s difficult to do that until you know how everything pans out,” Ramsay said. “I’ve tried not to think too much beyond the upcoming game and sort of take the balance of the season as a whole once that’s done.
“But I don’t think anyone can deny that relative to the circumstances and the expectations that we’ve had a really good year and sort of anything from this point onwards set against what was talked about prior to the season would, of course, be a bonus.”
“That’s not to say that I don’t feel nor expect us to go another step beyond because, if I look at our form at the moment, I do feel we’re a good match up for anyone in the league.
“There’s absolutely no way that we’re going into this game feeling as though it’s David against Goliath, and we’re huge underdogs, and you’ve got a 20% chance of winning the game. That’s just not how we look at it. So I’m trying to, again, balance those two perspectives.”
LA Galaxy, meanwhile, swept aside the Colorado Rapids in their best-of-three series, helped by the influential Gabriel Pec, who has starred in his first season in the MLS.
The Brazilian has 37 goals involvements (19 goals, 18 assists) so far this season, with his 61 chances created, a total only bettered by Riqui Puig (63) this campaign.
And Galaxy head coach Greg Vanney is confident he can help lead his team all the way to glory this term after seeing first-hand the improvements he has made.
“I’ve seen the evolution on the field,” he said. “When he first came there was a lot of stress. You could tell he came from a club [where] winning and losing and producing were heavy.
“I saw a player who had unique talents and then inside of that some really, really great talent that needs to come out.”
“When we watched video of him, the interesting thing was when he was scoring goals, he was constantly ending up inside the box. So the question was ‘how do we get this guy inside the box more often?’
“What’s been great about him is he’s just had a lot of open-mindedness to develop different parts of his game.”
PLAYERS TO WATCH
LA Galaxy – Riqui Puig
Puig has also been in fine form for the Galaxy, registering 14 goal involvements (eight goals, six assists) in his last eight games for the club in all competitions.
He scored twice in each of the Galaxy’s two wins over Colorado in the first round, the fourth player in MLS history, and third for the Galaxy, to score multiple goals in consecutive matches in a single postseason, something no player has done in three straight playoff matches.
Minnesota United – Kelvin Yeboah
Yeboah has been one of the standout players in the MLS since joining Minnesota from Serie A side Genoa in July, and he will be looking to continue that form this weekend.
He set up Joseph Rosales for the Loons’ only goal in their first round series against Real Salt Lake. Yeboah (five goals, two assists) has been involved in seven of Minnesota’s last 12 goals (excluding own goals) dating back to mid-September.
MATCH PREDICTION: LA GALAXY WIN
This will be the second postseason meeting between the Galaxy and Minnesota after LA knocked the Loons out in Minnesota in the first round in 2019. The Galaxy have also lost only one of their seven all-time home matches against Minnesota (W4 D2).
The Galaxy scored nine times in their two first-round matches against Colorado, equalling the most goals scored in a span of two playoff matches in MLS history. No team has scored more than 12 goals in a span of three matches in a single postseason before (Toronto in 2016, San Jose Earthquakes in 2003).
Minnesota won on penalties in both matches against Real Salt Lake in the first round, becoming the fourth team in MLS history to win multiple penalty shoot-outs in a single postseason (Real Salt Lake 2009, New York City FC 2021, Seattle Sounds 2024). No team has won three shoot-outs in a single postseason.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
LA Galaxy – 50.8%
Draw – 24.9%
Minnesota United – 24.2%
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