Norwich warmed up for Saturday’s East Anglian derby at high-flying Ipswich by beating Sheffield Wednesday 3-1 at Carrow Road to make it four wins in their last six Championship games.
An early wonder-strike on his full debut from Borja Sainz set the Canaries on their way and they responded impressively in the second half after being pegged back by Bailey Cadamarteri’s 32nd-minute header.
Ashley Barnes restored City’s lead three minutes into the second half and Jonathan Rowe’s back-post header – his ninth goal of a productive campaign – settled the issue after 72 minutes.
The win keeps Norwich on the fringes of the play-off race, while for the relegation-threatened Owls it brought an end to an encouraging run of seven points from a possible nine.
Norwich made a dream start, with Sainz firing them in front with a glorious goal after just seven minutes.
The Spanish winger left a couple of Wednesday defenders in his wake after cutting in from the left before letting fly with a rising drive from the edge of the box that flew past goalkeeper Cameron Dawson and into the roof of the net.
That magic moment set the scene for an entertaining first half, with both sides having plenty of chances.
It needed a superb save from Angus Gunn to keep out Michael Ihiekwe’s close-range header, while at the other end Barnes struck the woodwork with a powerful shot when he had the goal at his mercy.
That miss was to prove costly, with the visitors getting back on level terms three minutes later from a Will Vaulks long throw.
His delivery was nodded on by Ihiekwe and Cadamarteri was on hand at the back post to head home his second senior goal for the Owls.
Barnes missed another good opportunity before the break, lofting the ball over with just Dawson to beat, while the Wednesday stopper needed to be alert to collect a downward header from Adam Idah deep into stoppage time.
Norwich were quick out of the blocks in the second half as well, regaining the lead in the 48th minute as Barnes finally found the target.
An incisive pass from Gabriel Sara found Sainz in space on the left and this time the Spaniard sent in a perfect low cross for the former Burnley striker to slide home from close range.
Callum Patterson fired into the side-netting as the visitors sought an immediate response, but Norwich were largely untroubled and made it 3-1 with 18 minutes remaining.
A left-wing cross to the back post from Dimi Giannoulis was completely misjudged by the visitors’ defence, allowing an unmarked Rowe the straightforward task of nodding home from a few yards.
Vlahovic out of Juventus clash with Milan
Dusan Vlahovic will miss Juventus' trip to Milan in Serie A this weekend and is also a doubt for the Champions League game at Aston Villa, head coach Thiago Motta has confirmed.
Vlahovic returned from the international break with a muscle problem in his left thigh, and the manager, after he confirmed the Serbian's absence for Saturday's game at San Siro, was asked about his chances of playing on Wednesday at Villa Park.
"I don't know. He definitely won't be there tomorrow. We hope to have him back as soon as possible," Motta told a press conference on Friday.
"Injuries are part of football. Now it's Vlahovic's turn, but we'll keep playing with the same principles, attacking and defending together."
Vlahovic is the latest of Motta's injury problems at Juventus. Argentine winger Nicolas Gonzalez missed the last six league games and is still unavailable, while Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik is a long-term absentee.
Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz will also miss the game with Milan and defender Juan Cabal recently suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) injury, the same issue which will keep fellow defender Gleison Bremer out for the rest of the season.
"I'm really disappointed for Cabal because, like Bremer, he'll be out for a long time," Motta said.
"This is another reason to push ourselves, to commit that bit more so that these absences don't weigh too heavily."
Juventus go into the game as the only unbeaten side in Serie A but find themselves sixth in the standings in what is so far a very tight title race, with just two points separating Motta's side from leaders Napoli.
"It's very balanced and this is good for both us and the public," Motta said.
"We must all try to continue like this. We have to try to get as many positive results as possible."
Milan are one place behind Juve but six points off Motta's side.
Serie A side Genoa confirm sacking of head coach Gilardino
Serie A side Genoa have confirmed the departure of their head coach Alberto Gilardino, with Patrick Vieira reportedly on his way in.
Gilardino, a World Cup winner with Italy in 2006, leaves the club with them sitting just one point above the relegation size with 10 points from 12 matches this season.
A former striker who played for clubs including Genoa, Parma, AC Milan and Fiorentina, Gilardino took charge of Genoa in 2022 and helped them earn promotion to the top division before a 11th-place finish during the 2023-24 season.
"The club thanks Gilardino for the goals achieved together over the years and wishes him the best for his career," Genoa said in a statement.
The 42-year-old saw his side salvage a late 1-1 draw against Cesc Fabregas' Como in their last match before the international break.
Genoa were also knocked out of the Coppa Italia in the second round following a defeat to Sampdoria on penalties in September.
Arsenal legend Vieira is set to replace him, according to multiple reports.
The former France midfielder has been out of work since leaving Strasbourg by mutual consent in July.
Doncic backs Mbappe to turn fortunes around at Real Madrid
NBA superstar Luka Doncic has backed Kylian Mbappe to "figure it out" after his underwhelming start to life at Real Madrid.
Mbappe has scored eight goals in 16 games for Madrid in all competitions since joining as a free agent following the expiration of his Paris Saint-Germain contract.
He has gone four matches without a goal – a run that includes losses to Barcelona and Milan – and has been left out of France's latest squad.
However, Dallas Mavericks guard Doncic – a Real Madrid supporter due to his previous ties with the sports club – can see Mbappe turning things around.
"Obviously [their season] could be better," Doncic told Managing Madrid after the Mavericks' win over the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday.
"But when you get a guy like Mbappe, it takes some time to get used to it. We'll figure it out."
Mbappe has scored six goals in 11 LaLiga appearances for Madrid but has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04.
The forward is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes for PSG in his last of seven seasons in Paris.
Madrid thrashed Osasuna 4-0 last time out in the league to return to winning ways but still trail leaders Barcelona by six points.
Asked about his connections with Madrid, former Los Blancos basketball player Doncic said: "I follow Real Madrid every time.
"I grew up there. They taught me everything, so it's a part of my life. You can call it a secondary home.
"I learned a lot of stuff there and, especially, they gave me a way to be here right now [in Dallas]. I always appreciate that 100%."
Madrid return to action after the international break with a trip to Leganes on Sunday.
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