Ipswich kept pace with Sky Bet Championship leaders Leicester and extended their lead over third-placed Preston to eight points after a thrilling 4-2 victory over North End at Portman Road.
Conor Chaplin fired Ipswich ahead before the visitors levelled through Mads Frokjaer-Jensen. Brandon Williams’ superb solo effort restored Town’s advantage, which was added to by Nathan Broadhead.
Ben Whiteman got Preston back in it, but Kayden Jackson’s late fourth ensured promoted Ipswich’s extraordinary start to the season continued and inflicted a third straight defeat for the visitors.
Preston were on the back foot defending resolutely in the opening stages, but Town broke the deadlock in the 18th minute with a wonderfully-worked corner routine.
Leif Davis found Chaplin unmarked 12 yards from goal and his first-time strike beat goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.
Broadhead then had the Preston shot-stopper scrambling back on his goal-line after an audacious shot at goal from fully 50 yards out.
But Preston drew level in the 27th minute. Town defenders Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess failed to deal with a through ball and Frokjaer-Jensen placed the ball past home goalkeeper Vaclav Hladky.
Massimo Luongo went down in the penalty area, with appeals for a spot kick turned away, but Ipswich soon retook the lead through Williams.
It came from a darting run forward down the right from just inside his own half. He cut inside the penalty area and his precise shot struck the inside of the left-hand post before settling in the back of the net.
Just before the break, Broadhead’s shot from 25 yards was deflected wide and from the resulting corner Town went further in front.
Broadhead was on hand to nudge the ball over the line after George Hirst headed back into the danger zone.
Again, Preston fought their way back into the game after manager Ryan Lowe made three changes at half-time.
Substitute Whiteman’s shot from outside the box after 52 minutes took a deflection off Luke Woolfenden to beat Hladky and reduced the arrears to 3-2.
The visitors were firmly back in it and pressed forward at every opportunity.
But Ipswich confirmed their victory in the 78th minute following a flowing move, which was finished off by substitute Jackson as Kieran McKenna’s side made it six games unbeaten.
Napoli 0-2 Bologna: Champions League-chasing Rossoblu down tame hosts
Napoli saw their winless run extend to five games after Bologna secured a 2-0 win with two quickfire goals at their lacklustre hosts in Serie A on Saturday.
Forward Dan Ndoye gave Bologna the lead in the ninth minute, heading home from point-blank range, before defender Stefan Posch nodded in to double the advantage three minutes later following a corner.
Napoli should have pulled one back soon after when they were awarded a penalty for Remo Freuler's foul on Victor Osimhen but Bologna goalkeeper Federico Ravaglia kept out Matteo Politano's low shot.
Bologna, at least temporarily, moved up to third on 67 points, leapfrogging Juventus – with 66 – who host relegated Salernitana on Sunday.
Napoli are eighth on 51 points as last season's Scudetto winners continue to struggle to match their heroics from the previous term.
Rodgers hits back at criticism as Rangers triumph puts Celtic on brink of title
Brendan Rodgers hit back at his critics after Celtic overcame Rangers to put one hand on the Scottish Premiership title, with the Bhoys manager suggesting he had been treated "like a novice".
Rodgers' side moved six points clear of Rangers after Saturday's 2-1 victory at Parkhead, needing only a point ahead of Wednesday's trip to Kilmarnock to secure the top-flight trophy.
Soon-to-be champions Celtic have struggled at times after Rodgers' return to the club, though the former Liverpool boss has been hampered by injuries to numerous key players.
Cameron Carter-Vickers, Reo Hatate, Callum McGregor and Daizen Maeda have all suffered from fitness struggles this term, though Celtic have still responded to move within touching distance of the title.
Earlier in the season, former Celtic striker Chris Sutton suggested Rodgers was "going through the motions" after defeats against Hearts and Kilmarnock – and Rodgers clearly took note of those comments.
"From a professional perspective there will be doubt," Rodgers told his post-match press conference after downing Rangers.
"From a personal perspective, I am surprised in a way where I heard somebody saying 'Brendan Rodgers was going through the motions' earlier in the season.
"Now, I get to work between half seven and eight o'clock every day of my life. I leave the training ground between half six and seven o'clock at night. And then when I get home, I have my dinner and probably flip on the computer and watch more football.
"Now, if that's going through the motions, I want to know what every other manager is doing. So, from a personal level, I have been treated like a novice since I've come back here. Like it's my first job.
"However, my first objective is to make sure Celtic win. Part of that is a part of the criticism and I understand that.
"But it's the mentality of the team that is most important to me, and that mentality you can see from where we were, with injuries, how we progressed, how we stayed unified and together, and how we then get to this point where we are nearly crossing the finishing line.
"And we don't just want to cross it, we want to sprint over it. We have two games to go, plus a final, and that is our mentality."
Rodgers and Celtic's celebrations could start sooner than Wednesday, if Rangers fail to beat Dundee the day before.
Another title would mark Celtic's 54th Scottish Premiership trophy and their 12th in the last 13 seasons.
Al Hilal crowned Saudi Pro League champions after Al Hazm hammering
Al Hilal secured their fourth straight Saudi Pro League title after Aleksandar Mitrovic starred in Saturday's 4-1 thrashing of bottom side Al Hazm.
Faiz Selemani restored parity after Mitrovic's 15th-minute opener at Prince Faisal bin Fahd Stadium, only for Jorge Jesus' hosts to roar back and be crowned champions with three games remaining.
Ahmed Al Juwaid's own goal handed the initiative back to the dominant Al Hilal, who led 4-1 at the break after Mitrovic added another to his tally and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was on target.
The second of Mitrovic's strikes took him to a team-leading 26 league goals this term as Al Hilal breezed to another title, moving an unassailable 12 points clear of Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.
Jesus' side are unbeaten through all 31 games this season after securing their record-extending 19th top-flight crown in history, while Al Hazm need to win their last three matches to have any chance of staying up.
Al Hazm's relegation rivals Al Tai boosted their chances of survival in Saturday's earlier clash after a 1-1 draw away against Al Raed.
Al Tai are just a point away from 15th-placed Abha Club in their bid for top-flight safety after Ibrahim Al Nakhli's strike was cancelled out by Al Raed's Mohammed Fouzair in the second half.
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