Vincent Kompany said David Fofana offers Burnley “something different” after the on-loan Chelsea striker came off the bench to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw against Fulham.
Burnley looked destined to lose their 10th home game in 12 this season after Fulham took control with two goals in the space of five first-half minutes from Joao Palhinha and Rodrigo Muniz – the Brazilian scoring his first Premier League goal.
But Fofana, making his home debut, came off the bench just after the hour and headed Burnley back into the game in the 71st minute before bundling in an equaliser in the first minute of stoppage time – two goals in 20 minutes matching his return from 17 appearances for Union Berlin during his last loan move.
“We can use any help we can get and David showed today that he gives us something different and we will need it,” said Kompany.
“I’ve not spent one second talking with him about what he did in the Premier League or with Chelsea. But he’s played in the Bundesliga, which is a very, very tough league and he’s a player that comes back with a wealth of experience.”
All three of Burnley’s January arrivals featured, with Lorenz Assignon making his debut from the start and fellow deadline-day arrival Maxime Esteve coming on at half-time to reinforce a defence too easily breached in the 17th and 21st minutes.
“I think that was a turning point for us, the performance of Fofana, the performance of Maxime Esteve, the performance of Assignon and the other players who came off the bench, that was a turning point for us,” Kompany said. “We have to have this week-in, week-out.”
Burnley, still seven points from safety, have been on the wrong end of late drama recently, but this result ended a run of 19 Premier League games in which conceding the first goal had spelled defeat for the Clarets.
“That’s what football is made for,” Kompany said. “In the first half we didn’t start badly at all but kind of out of nothing we’re 1-0 down and out of even less we’re 2-0 down and then, the first half, there was no real momentum in it, we didn’t really get going.
“But I saw a team at half-time that had character and passion and wanted to fight. The guys had a go at each other, five minutes later they’re in a huddle and they were ready to run their socks off and they got their rewards.”
While Burnley celebrated, Fulham rued what had looked like a golden opportunity to end a winless run away from home that stretches back to the opening day of the season, and a winless league run at Turf Moor which dates back to 1951.
“There is frustration of course in our dressing room at the way we lost two points this afternoon,” Marco Silva said.
“Until the moment they scored for 2-1 we are the best team in the pitch. We could have made it 3-0 instead of 2-1 but for their exceptional goalkeeper who kept them in the game.
“We lost two points because they punished the mistakes, it’s not the first time it has happened.
“You have to be stronger at this level. If you make mistakes of course you are punished. For 70 minutes we played so well but you cannot switch off and be naive like we were.”
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
Luis Enrique hoping for home comforts in semi-final second leg
Luis Enrique is hoping Paris Saint-Germain's home support proves the difference in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.
PSG must try to overturn a 1-0 deficit when BVB visit the Parc des Princes next week.
Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal victory over visitors PSG, who had more possession throughout Wednesday's game but could not take their chances at Signal Iduna Park.
While PSG beat Barcelona in the quarters and Real Sociedad in the last 16, playing the second leg away both times, Luis Enrique knows their home fans could be crucial if they are to reach the final at Wembley on June 1.
"We saw an even match with two teams that play good football when they have the ball," Luis Enrique told reporters.
"We both created many scoring chances. This time our opponents scored and we didn't. The result reflects how close the game was.
"In the last two rounds, they had the home game as their second game, whereas it was the other way round for us. Now it's a different and new scenario, we'll have the crowd on our side in the second leg.
"I would have liked to create the chances we have created, but you have to be effective to score. We'll see what version we show in Paris."
Despite creating more chances after the break, PSG lost without scoring for the first time across all competitions this season.
"We missed our chances in the second half," PSG defender Achraf Hakimi told Canal+.
"We knew what they were going to do, with long through balls. We were very focused, the coach repeated it all week."
PSG have progressed from two of their previous four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20.
"We've come back from 1-0 down before," added PSG captain Marquinhos.
"We've shown that we can do it, especially at home, with the energy of our supporters, it's going to be a different scenario. We know we can do a lot better. We just need to take our chances and be more decisive.
"We conceded a goal that we shouldn't have conceded, and we've been talking all week about these deep passes from this Borussia team. It's the details that make all the difference, and we're going to do better in the next game if we want to go through."
Al-Nassr 3-1 Al-Khaleej: Ronaldo nets twice and passes up penalty in cup semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 3-1 to reach the final of the King Cup of Champions on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored either side of half-time as Al-Nassr teed up a final clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took advantage of an error from opposing goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic to open the scoring 17 minutes in, then tapped home at the second attempt to make it a double shortly before the hour mark.
That goal could have made it a hat-trick for the Portugal star, but he passed up the chance to take a first-half penalty after Ivo Rodrigues handled in the area, Sadio Mane instead stepping up to blast his kick into the top corner.
Fawaz Al Terais was on target late on for Al-Khaleej, but that proved a mere consolation in a one-sided affair which saw Al-Nassr rack up 21 shots and 3.78 expected goals (xG), with their opponents managing just nine shots totalling 1.37 xG.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo's mini drought over
Ronaldo was frustrated against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, but he was back on song against the same opponents on Wednesday to end his mini drought of two games.
While Ronaldo's 43 touches were the fewest of any outfielder to start for Al-Nassr, he managed seven shots, five shots from inside the area and four dribbles – all game-high figures.
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