Substitute Elijah Adebayo struck a stoppage-time equaliser as Luton fought back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Chris Wood’s second-half double appeared to have set Forest on their way to a third league win of the season but Chiedozie Ogbene fired Luton a late lifeline and Adebayo rescued them a point in the second minute of added time.
New Zealand striker Wood could have easily ended up with a hat-trick as he went close with two other headers while Luton’s Jacob Brown spurned a golden chance to equalise for the visitors when they trailed 1-0.
Forest forced the early pressure as Wood’s early volley was held by Luton goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and Ibrahim Sangare headed narrowly over.
Luton responded through Ogbene’s low cross, which narrowly evaded team-mates Carlton Morris and Brown.
Morris fired a low shot wide as Luton made their intentions clear by committing men forward on the counter before another first-time effort from Wood deflected off Luton defender Teden Mengi for a corner.
Luton’s former Manchester United forward Tahith Chong’s shot from outside the box was comfortably saved by Forest goalkeeper Matt Turner and Wood failed to get his header on target from Serge Aurier’s cross.
Forest went close again on the stroke of half-time when Sangare somehow missed the target from Morgan Gibbs-White’s low ball across the six-yard box.
But the home side broke the deadlock three minutes into the second period. Anthony Elanga threaded a neat through-ball into Wood’s path and the striker provided an emphatic left-footed finish.
Wood should have made it 2-0 moments later when he headed Aurier’s excellent cross inches over before Luton spurned a golden chance to equalise, with Brown heading tamely at Turner from six yards.
Wood appeared to have sealed the points for Steve Cooper’s side with a fine header from Elanga’s pin-point, in-swinging cross with 14 minutes remaining.
But the Hatters refused to lie down. Their appeals for a penalty as Morris went down inside the box were dashed by VAR before Ogbene lashed home a volley from eight yards, which stood after another VAR check.
Still the visitors were not finished.
Tom Lockyer launched a long ball into Forest’s penalty area and Adebayo took it superbly on his chest before firing home to haul his side level in the second minute of added time.
Leverkusen reach Europa League final and stretch unbeaten run with late show
Bayer Leverkusen reached the Europa League final and stretched their remarkable unbeaten run to 49 games on Thursday, Josip Stanisic scoring seven minutes into stoppage time in a dramatic 2-2 draw with Roma.
Having won last week's first leg 2-0 in Italy, Leverkusen were strong favourites to advance to this month's final in Dublin, though two Leandro Paredes penalties left them facing up to the prospect of extra time.
Paredes halved Leverkusen's aggregate lead on the stroke of half-time after Jonathan Tah fouled Sardar Azmoun, then repeated the trick following a bizarre handball from Adam Hlozek shortly after the hour mark.
However, Roma's hearts were broken as goalkeeper Mile Svilar – who was otherwise outstanding – failed to claim a routine corner and it bounced in off the unfortunate Gianluca Mancini with eight minutes of the 90 remaining.
Rather than sitting back at 2-1 up in the tie, Leverkusen chased a leveller in order to preserve their unbeaten record across all competitions this season.
It was yet another last-gasp effort that kept that record intact, with Stanisic firing into the bottom-left corner after being played through by Granit Xhaka.
Xabi Alonso's team are now unbeaten in 49 games in all competitions, breaking Benfica's previous European top-tier record of 48 matches, set between 1963 and 1965.
Leverkusen will face another Italian side in the showpiece game, after Atalanta crushed Marseille 3-0 in Bergamo to seal a 4-1 aggregate win in the other semi-final.
In-form striker Gianluca Scamacca had already rattled the crossbar when La Dea took the lead, with Ademola Lookman's strike deflecting in off the unfortunate Samuel Gigot.
Lookman then turned provider as Atalanta stretched their advantage seven minutes after the break, teeing up Matteo Ruggeri for a rasping finish into the top-right corner.
Gian Piero Gasperini's men were able to add some gloss to the scoreline at the death, with El Bilal Toure's pinpoint finish giving Pau Lopez no chance to round off a dominant win.
Montreal boss Courtois encouraged by progress, but still envies Messi and Miami
CF Montreal coach Laurent Courtois has been delighted by the way his players have adapted to his methods this season, though he joked he would still swap any of them for Lionel Messi ahead of Saturday's clash with Inter Miami.
Montreal sit 11th in the Eastern Conference standings with 12 points from their first 10 league games under Courtois, 12 adrift of early pacesetters Miami.
However, plenty of outside factors have impacted their start to the season, not least the fact they have played eight of their matches – including each of their first six – on the road.
Courtois is proud of the way his players have learned on the job, though he still believes there is more to come from them.
"I keep telling them that I have no in-between. I'm either going to be your biggest fan, or really tough and really demanding. Because we don't have time to play. We don't have time to lose," he said.
"At the same time, I'm such a fan of what they've been doing, accepting the stuff that I've been asking them to do, while being on the road for three months.
"I think they want to play soccer in the right way. I have a few codes that I think can be helpful.
"We need together to come up with common ground to execute in this way. They're still far from what I think they can do."
However, Courtois does see one area for improvement ahead of Saturday's clash with the Herons, quipping: "I wouldn't change any of my players for any others – except Messi."
Miami trounced the New York Red Bulls 6-2 last week, with Messi scoring once and laying on five assists in an incredible performance.
That display left coach Gerardo Martino in disbelief, as he said: "I always say this, and it's redundant at this point, but he always does something new.
"To have an involvement in all six goals of a team's goals in a 6-2 is something that will be difficult to see again."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
CF Montreal – Jonathan Sirois
Last week's 4-1 defeat at Nashville SC was the seventh time Montreal have conceded four or more goals in a regular-season MLS game since the start of 2023, more than any other team.
Only two MLS goalkeepers have faced more shots than Sirois (55) in 2024, though he has conceded 2.1 goals fewer than Opta's expected goals on target (xGoT) model suggests he should have. He will need a big performance against Messi and company.
Inter Miami – Lionel Messi
Messi has 10 goals and 12 assists in eight league matches this season. No player in MLS history had reached 10 goals and 10 assists in fewer than 16 appearances in a season before.
The Argentine has also reached 25 goal contributions in 14 MLS matches overall, seven fewer than any other player in MLS history required to bring up that figure.
MATCH PREDICTION – CF MONTREAL WIN
Montreal have won six of their nine all-time meetings with Miami (one draw, two defeats), including a 3-2 victory over the Herons on March 10.
Only New York City FC (2.22) and the Chicago Fire (2.17) average more points per match against Miami than Montreal (2.11) among teams the Herons have faced five or more times.
While Montreal are winless in their last three league games, the last two of those were played on the road.
On home soil, they are a different proposition, going unbeaten through their last six games (two wins, four draws), including a win and a draw in their first two home matches of 2024. They have only lost three of their last 17 regular-season home games dating back to last April (10 wins, four draws).
Miami, despite their star quality, have been vulnerable this campaign, trailing in nine MLS games – a joint-high alongside the San Jose Earthquakes. They cannot keep relying on rescue acts.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
CF Montreal – 47.2%
Inter Miami – 25.7%
Draw – 27.1%
Resurgent Crystal Palace have faith in Glasner project, says Munoz
Crystal Palace defender Daniel Munoz believes the Eagles are beginning to hit the levels they expected to reach under new boss Oliver Glasner, as they look to continue their strong form against Wolves on Saturday.
Palace are one of the form teams in the Premier League, with Monday's 4-0 rout of Manchester United making it four wins and one draw from their last five matches.
Michael Olise netted twice as Palace demolished the Red Devils at Selhurst Park, recording their biggest league win over United since they managed a 5-0 success back in December 1972.
Palace can leapfrog Fulham and Wolves into 12th in the table with a victory on Saturday, and right-back Munoz says confidence is high within the squad.
"It was a very special win for all of us. Everyone is happy – the players, the fans, our families," Munoz said, reflecting on Monday's game.
"It was a great game. The team is getting to the level we all want and that is reflected on the pitch.
"I think the dressing room has started to believe. I think you can feel that belief from the new coach."
While Palace are ending a middling campaign on a high, Wolves have seen a fine season fizzle out somewhat, their European hopes fading amid a spate of injuries to key attackers.
Gary O'Neil's side will likely need to beat Palace to keep hopes of a top-half finish alive, and star forward Matheus Cunha says a strong finish will also help to build momentum for 2024-25.
"I think six points would be very important," Cunha said, looking ahead to Wolves' final two games.
"It's hard, we play Liverpool and an important game against Crystal Palace at home – we have around the same points, so we need to play and get three points and keep focused.
"We've done an unbelievable season, but we cannot finish with a bad feeling. We need to win to make it feel like a good season and keep going for the next one."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wolves – Hwang Hee-chan
Following goals against Luton Town and Manchester City in his last two games, Hwang is looking to score in three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time.
He has 12 goals overall this season, with only Raul Jimenez netting more in a single Premier League campaign for Wolves (13 in 2018-19, 17 in 2019-20).
Crystal Palace – Jean-Philippe Mateta
Since Glasner's first Premier League game in charge of Palace on February 24, only Cole Palmer (11) and Alexander Isak (10) have scored more goals in the competition than Mateta (nine).
He has scored six goals in his last six league appearances, and with Olise and Eberechi Eze providing him with service, he should get plenty of chances at Molineux.
MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW
Wolves have lost five of their last six Premier League games against Palace, including a 3-2 defeat at Selhurst Park in September's reverse fixture. However, the one exception was a 2-0 win in this exact fixture last campaign.
Palace have won 55 per cent of their Premier League games against Wolves (6/11), only managing a better ratio against Stoke City (70 per cent, 7/10) among teams they have faced at least 10 times in the competition.
However, with little to play for, it would be no surprise to see the spoils shared at Molineux; Wolves have not won their final home league game in any of the last three seasons (two draws, one defeat), having done so in six of their previous seven campaigns.
The Eagles, meanwhile, have not won their final away league game in any of the last four seasons, drawing one and losing three since triumphing 3-2 at Cardiff City in 2019.
Only bottom club Sheffield United (16) have scored fewer away goals in the Premier League than Palace (17) this season, so a repeat of Monday's free-flowing display may not be on the cards.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Wolves – 36.9%
Crystal Palace 33.1%
Draw – 30%
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