A clinical first-half strike from Marvin Johnson proved enough as 10-man Sheffield Wednesday edged to a 1-0 victory at Preston.
The Owls, who remain rooted in the Championship drop zone, were forced to defend for their lives in the second half.
They were reduced to 10 men when George Byers saw red late on but Wednesday held on to seal a potentially precious fourth victory in seven matches.
In driving rain, both sides began purposefully. Preston skipper Alan Browne went close with a thumping drive, while Wednesday replied with Will Vaulks heading inches over as he darted in to meet Djeidi Gassama’s cross.
It was Preston who were doing most of the early running, however, and they went mighty close again midway through the first half.
Browne worked the ball tidily out to Duane Holmes, and he turned inside before drilling an angled effort just over the crossbar.
The Owls saw Vaulks’ free-kick comfortably saved by Freddie Woodman, before they went on to take the lead shortly before the half-hour mark.
Johnson coolly slotted past Woodman after racing on to Bailey Cadamarteri’s precise through-ball.
Ryan Lowe’s Preston had seen much more of the ball in the first period, but it was Wednesday who went into the break with their lead comfortably intact.
Preston’s match-winner against Leeds on Tuesday, Liam Millar, made an explosive start to the second period.
The Canada winger was full of tricks before firing an angled strike at Owls keeper Cameron Dawson.
Minutes later Millar took advantage of a perfectly-executed one-two with Ali McCann before curling a fine strike against the crossbar.
It appeared boss Lowe had offered stern words to his Preston charges at the interval as they were well on top during the run-up to the hour mark.
On one of Wednesday’s rare breaks they went close when Gassama just could not stretch enough to meet a terrific cross from Johnson.
North End kept up their forward momentum and were probing for a much-needed opening.
However, they were nearly caught out again at the back when Owls’ substitute Byers almost lashed home a potential victory-clinching second with 20 minutes left.
A sense of desperation was beginning to creep in among the Preston faithful in the closing stages, and that was not helped by Browne skying a disappointing effort as he met Brad Potts’ smart cross.
Substitute Mads Frokjaer-Jensen whistled a low strike inches off target as the hosts kept pressing, before the Danish midfielder was hacked down by Byers late on, earning the Wednesday man a straight red card.
However, Danny Rohl’s side hung on, to the delight of their delirious gathering of travelling fans who roared ‘we are staying up’ at the final whistle.
Borussia Dortmund 4-2 Bochum: Guirassy brace inspires comeback victory
Serhou Guirassy's double inspired Borussia Dortmund to an impressive comeback victory as they downed Bochum 4-2 at the Westfalenstadion on Friday.
Dortmund found themselves behind in the 16th minute when Matus Bero fired home a left-footed finish beyond Gregor Kobel at his near post.
The home supporters were then stunned into silence five minutes later as Dani de Wit capitalised on an error by Kobel to double Bochum's advantage.
Dortmund's attempts to get back into the game were repelled by a series of saves from visiting goalkeeper Patrick Drewes, only for Guirassy to hand the visitors a lifeline a minute before half-time with a well-taken header.
Nuri Sahin's side equalised in the 62nd minute through captain Emre Can's spot-kick following Felix Passlack's foul on Guirassy.
Guirassy would dust himself down to give his side the lead soon after, finishing into the far corner after being picked out by Karim Adeyemi.
The result was sealed by substitute Felix Nmecha, with the midfielder shifting the ball onto his left foot before squeezing a low effort underneath Drewes.
Data Debrief: Guirassy hot streak continues
Since his move from Stuttgart, Guirassy has been on fire for Dortmund, taking his tally to three goals in three Bundesliga games for his new side.
The Guinea international was a constant threat, registering more shots on target (three) and touches in the opposition box (nine) than any other player on the pitch.
Adeyemi also impressed for the hosts, notching two assists and creating four chances for his team-mates, a total only bettered by Pascal Gross (five).
Al-Nassr 2-0 Al-Wehda: Ronaldo on target to maintain Pioli's winning start
Cristiano Ronaldo was on target from the penalty spot to help secure Al-Nassr a 2-0 victory over 10-man Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.
Angelo had given the hosts the leave just before the break, and Al-Wehda's game went from bad to worse as Waleed Bakshween received some late marching orders.
Al-Nassr dominated the first half and, after Wesley had struck the woodwork, finally got their reward in the 40th minute as Angelo latched onto Sadio Mane's throughball to lob a fine finish over Abdullah Al Owaishir.
Al-Wehda showed some fight after going behind, with Youssef Amyn flashing a shot wide on the stroke of half-time before Juninho Bacuna forced Bento into a good save after the restart.
The result was put beyond doubt shortly after though – Mohamed Al Makahasi pulled down Sultan Al Ghannam in the box, and Ronaldo made no mistake with the resulting spot-kick.
Mane was denied a goal of his own in the 81st minute, with Ronaldo straying just offside in the build-up, before Bakshween received a needless second yellow card for dissent five minutes later.
Al-Nassr move up to second in the table, just one point behind leaders Al-Hilal, for now, with Al-Wehda down in 14th.
Data Debrief: Pioli makes dream start
Stefano Pioli won his first match in the Saudi Pro League 3-0 against Al-Ettifaq, and on Friday, became the first manager in the club's history to start his reign with back-to-back clean sheets in the competition.
The hard work was done in the first half though, as Al-Nassr had 14 of their 19 shots, accumulating 1.42 expected goals as they hit the target five times.
No Neymar return until 2025, says Al-Hilal boss Jesus
Neymar will not return from his anterior cruciate ligament injury until January 2025 at the earliest, Al-Hilal boss Jorge Jesus has warned.
Neymar left Paris Saint-Germain for Al-Hilal in a €90million deal in August 2023, becoming one of the faces of the Saudi Pro League's major recruitment drive.
However, he only played five matches for the club before rupturing his ACL while on international duty with Brazil last October.
The 32-year-old subsequently missed the remainder of the season as well as the Selecao's ill-fated Copa America campaign, and he remains some way away from a return.
Neymar was removed from Al-Hilal's Saudi Pro League squad in September, with the 19-time champions only able to register a maximum of eight foreign players for the first half of the season.
Reports had suggested Neymar was close to a return after Al-Hilal posted footage of him training on social media, but Jesus says Brazil's all-time leading scorer must wait until the halfway point of the campaign before being considered.
"Neymar is an important player for Al Hilal and the league in general," Jesus told reporters on Tuesday.
"I can't, however, specify a date as to when he will return, but we will look at the situation in January."
With no restrictions on foreign players featuring in the AFC Champions League, Neymar could, in theory, play in that competition if he returns to fitness before January.
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