Preston remain five points shy of sixth-placed Norwich in the Championship table despite cruising to a 3-0 win over a dismal Rotherham that leaves the Millers on the brink of relegation.
Duane Holmes gave the hosts the lead after 22 minutes before Emil Riis’ brace saw Preston take complete control of proceedings before half-time.
Whether North End’s recent impressive form will prove enough to see them go on to grab a once unlikely play-off spot remains to be seen, but Ryan Lowe’s men have now lost just once in their last 10 games.
Rotherham, meanwhile, are now all-but down, having still not won a match in 2024 and not won at all on their travels this season.
Leam Richardson just has not been able to turn the tide since taking over from Matt Taylor in December and rock-bottom Rotherham are now 19 points from safety with only seven games left.
After a rather pedestrian opening quarter of an hour at Deepdale, the hosts created the first opportunity of the game.
Andrew Hughes pounced on a loose ball in the Millers box, only for his effort to be blocked by keeper Viktor Johansson.
Testing weather conditions did not help the flow of the game, but it gradually began to come to life.
Rotherham’s Oli Rathbone fired a shot narrowly off target, before Preston struck gold at the other end as they took the lead.
Duane Holmes celebrated his return to the starting line-up, darting in to coolly convert a smart cross from Robbie Brady.
Minutes later roles were almost reversed as Holmes provided a cross for Brady, but he headed just wide.
The hosts had well and truly awoken from their early slumber, and Will Keane was next to go close soon after.
It took the seemingly doomed Millers a while to respond to going behind, and they went close to a leveller after half an hour.
However, Preston keeper Freddie Woodman was agile enough to dive and keep out a thumping strike from Cafu.
With half-time approaching, Preston deservedly doubled their advantage.
This time Riis provided the finish, taking a touch from Mads Frokjaer’s cross before slotting smartly past Johansson.
Five minutes later Riis struck again to make it 3-0 and effectively make it game over, as the Dane poked home from close range after a ball into the Millers box was not cleared.
The first chance of the second period went Rotherham’s way but Charlie Wyke’s header was comfortably saved by Woodman.
Preston, who remained firmly in control, responded with hat-trick hunting Riis firing in a shot which was diverted behind for a corner.
Riis then turned provider as his cross was met by Keane, who glanced a header inches off target.
North End skipper Alan Browne and substitute Layton Stewart missed late chances to make it 4-0, but that did not matter as this game had been long since won thanks to a hugely impressive first-half effort from the in-form hosts.
Paris Saint-Germain 3-0 Toulouse: Neves stars in comfortable home win
Paris Saint-Germain maintained their unbeaten start to the Ligue 1 season with a comfortable 3-0 win over Toulouse on Friday.
Following Monaco's 3-2 win over Brest earlier in the day, Luis Enrique's side responded emphatically to stay five points clear at the top of the table.
After a dominant start, PSG got themselves ahead in stunning fashion when Achraf Hakimi's cross was brilliantly driven first-time into the bottom corner by Joao Neves.
But Toulouse provided a threat after the break and should have drawn level in the 70th minute through Shavy Babicka, but he fired over with only Matvey Safonov to beat.
That mistake ultimately proved costly with the hosts doubling their advantage eight minutes from time when Beraldo took advantage of some poor defending to finish inside the box.
The triumph was sealed in the first minute of second-half stoppage time through substitute Vitinha, who danced into the box before finishing high into the corner from close range.
Luis Enrique's side will now turn their attentions to the Champions League, with a daunting trip to the Allianz Arena to face Bayern Munich awaiting on Tuesday.
Data Debrief: Party in Paris
PSG's dominance in Ligue 1 continued on Friday, with Luis Enrique's side now having lost just one of their last 41 matches in the top-flight (W30 D10).
Neves was a particular standout for the hosts, winning more duels (nine), registering the joint-most shots on target (two) and the joint-most final third entries (seven) during the game.
Despite the scoreline, PSG were perhaps fortunate to emerge victorious. Though Luis Enrique's side accumulated 17 shots to Toulouse's 11, it was the visitors who ended the contest with a higher expected goals (xG) total, managing 1.39 to the Parisiens' 1.35.
Bayern Munich 3-0 Augsburg: Hat-trick hero Kane smashes Bundesliga record
Harry Kane scored a hat-trick to become the quickest player to score 50 Bundesliga goals as Bayern Munich comfortably dispatched Augsburg 3-0 on Friday.
Kane opened the scoring in the 63rd with a penalty before netting a quickfire double in second-half stoppage time to smash the record previously held by Erling Haaland.
Despite controlling the early possession, Bayern were unable to make their dominance count, with Nediljko Labrovic rarely troubled in the opening 45 minutes.
The hosts maintained their dominance after the interval, with Leon Goretzka's looped header grazing the crossbar before Jamal Musiala went close soon after.
However, Bayern were awarded a penalty after a lengthy VAR review saw Mads Pedersen penalised for handling the ball, with Kane stepping up to score from 12 yards.
The England captain grabbed his second of the game in the third-minute of stoppage time following another VAR review which saw Keven Schlotterbeck sent off after tripping Kane inside the box.
Kane sent Labrovic the wrong way but was not to be denied a fourth treble of the season, brilliantly taking down Goretzka's searching ball before heading the ball home.
Data Debrief: HurriKane
Kane has now scored 50 Bundesliga goals in 43 matches. Before him, Haaland was the quickest player to reach 50 Bundesliga goals, having done so in 50 appearances in the competition for Borussia Dortmund.
He is also the quickest to reach that total for Bayern by some distance. Kane has reached that tally quicker than the likes of Gerd Muller (83 games), Mario Gomez (71 games), Roy Makaay (67 games) and Robert Lewandowski (64 games).
10 of Kane’s goals have come from penalties, while 32 of them have been with his right foot, nine with his left and nine with his head.
Messi 'will be our No.10 in 2026', hopes Inter Miami chief Mas
Inter Miami fully expect Lionel Messi to remain at the club beyond his current contract ahead of the 2026 MLS season.
Those were the words of Miami's club managing owner, Jorge Mas, who was speaking to the media following Gerardo Martino's resignation earlier on Friday.
Messi joined the MLS side in July 2023 on a two-and-a-half-year contract, leading the Herons to the Supporters' Shield and Leagues Cup during his time in the United States so far.
His current deal is due to expire at the end of next year, though Mas made clear his desire to see Messi remain with the Herons at Miami Freedom Park, the club's new stadium that will open in 2026.
"He’s under contract through 2025. Leo and I will sit, and we’ll discuss the future,” Mas said.
“As I’ve said before, and I will repeat it now: I fully expect that in the opening of our new stadium in 2026 in Miami and the opening of our 2026 season, hopefully after a trophy-laden 2025 season, that Lionel Messi will be our No. 10.”
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