Bradford manager Graham Alexander felt his side showed real courage to put their four-game losing streak to bed.
Second-half goals from Calum Kavanagh and Bobby Pointon earned City a 2-0 win over Tranmere at Valley Parade.
Alexander was pleased with the response to a slump that had seen them concede 13 goals and score just once in losing to Forest Green, Mansfield, Notts County and Harrogate.
He said: “We want to win and glad we did because we deserved to. But even if we hadn’t, I’d be just as pleased with how the players approached the game.
“We’ve had a difficult two weeks and had heavy criticism which has been justified because of our low performances in those games.
“But there was a big upturn from the players. It was a big challenge for them today.
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark moment, it’s about facing up to it and not hiding away. I thought they did that and showed brilliant courage on the ball on a really difficult pitch for both teams.
“The football we played, especially in the second half, was great testament to that and their work ethic for each other.
“They showed they cared for their team-mates and they showed their true character. Our challenge is to continue to do that.”
A small group of Bradford fans had protested outside the ground before kick-off against club owner Stefan Rupp, who had written an open letter on Thursday apologising for the club’s poor season.
After a goalless first half, the hosts took the lead in the 64th minute when Kavanagh converted Lewis Richards’ cross before Pointon added a spectacular second on his first start for two months.
Alexander added of 20-year-old Pointon: “Everyone will be telling me, ‘I told you so’ and that’s great. Let’s hope he does the same on Monday and next week.”
It was a second successive defeat for Tranmere, who had their chances from set-pieces.
Manager Nigel Adkins said: “It was an open game which made for a good spectacle. It was probably like a throwback to the old days with that pitch.
“We started the game really well with Joe Yarney going close from a corner and Tom Davies had another one with a header in the second half just over the bar.
“That came from a corner after their goalkeeper made a fantastic save from Harvey Saunders. It was 0-0 at the time and sometimes you’ve got to take those chances when they come.
“They have scored two good goals, to be fair.
“The first was a good cross from their player to put the ball in the box for them to go on and score.
“We were attacking for the second and then a bit of miscontrol on the pitch and they were able to break the other way.
“To be fair to the lad, he’s got the ball, drifted inside and put it in the top stanchion. It was a great finish.”
Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona: Stunning late show denies 10-man Blaugrana
Celta Vigo scored two goals in two minutes late on to earn an entertaining 2-2 draw with Barcelona in LaLiga at the Estadio Abanca-Balaidos.
League leaders Barca appeared to be cruising towards victory when they opened up a two-goal lead thanks to captain Raphinha and leading goalscorer Robert Lewandowski.
Raphinha cut inside before tucking home for the opener 15 minutes in, then Lewandowski got his 15th league goal of the season with a simple finish in the 61st minute.
However, the script changed when Blaugrana midfielder Marc Casado was sent off after receiving his second yellow card in the 82nd minute.
With Barca down to 10 men, the home side piled on the pressure and it told in the 84th minute, substitute Alfonso Gonzalez converting following an error from Jules Kounde.
The comeback was complete two minutes later, with Hugo Alvarez drilling past Inaki Pena to deny Flick's visitors victory.
Despite the result, Barca top LaLiga with 34 points, five ahead of Atletico Madrid in second and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.
Data Debrief: Blaugrana finally held
Going into Saturday's game, Barcelona had gone 24 matches without a draw in LaLiga, winning 20 and losing four.
When they entered the final six minutes with a two-goal advantage, it appeared certain they would match their longest streak without a draw in the competition's history, recorded between February and October 2017 (25 games, 23 wins and two draws).
However, Hansi Flick's side were stunned at the death as they dropped points for a second game in succession following a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad prior to the international break.
Motta 'satisfied' despite drab goalless draw at Milan
While Juventus' 0-0 draw with Milan offered little entertainment at San Siro, Thiago Motta was happy with his side's performance.
The scoreless draw brought little in the way of chances for either side but it allowed Juventus to maintain their unbeaten start to the season, where they have kept 10 clean sheets in 13 games.
Motta became just the fifth Juventus manager to not lose any of his first 13 matches on the Bianconeri bench in Serie A history (W6 D7) – after Jesse Carver, Cestmir Vycpalek, Antonio Conte and Maurizio Sarri.
The match only included three shots on target, with only one of those falling to Milan as they struggled to trouble their visitors.
"I am satisfied with the work we have done, especially defensively," Motta told DAZN.
"We didn't concede anything to the opponents; open play is their strong point, and we managed to block them."
Juve have drawn seven of their league games already this season but Motta was content to take another point considering the growing injury list he has to contend with.
Dusan Vlahovic missed the trip to Milan with a muscle problem picked up while on international duty and Juve were already without Arkadiusz Milik, Nicolas Gonzalez, Douglas Luiz, Juan Cabal and Bremer.
"This point can give continuity to us for our work. I'm proud of my players because in the situation we are in we put in a good performance," Motta added.
"I am satisfied with tonight's work and many things. So far we have to be happy, the path is the right one."
Correa 'showed what he can do' against Verona, says Inzaghi
Simone Inzaghi says Joaquin Correa "showed what he can do" as he inspired Inter to a 5-0 win at Verona on Saturday.
The Argentine made his first start of the season, scoring a goal, registering two assists and striking the woodwork twice, as he stepped in for the absent Lautaro Martinez and helped Inter move top of the table.
Each of Correa's three away goals for Inter in Serie A have come at the Bentegodi against Verona, while he both scored and assisted in a single Serie A match for only the second time, after July 2020, for Lazio against Brescia.
"Correa deserved this chance for how he's been working since June, he showed what he can do," Inzaghi told a press conference.
"I'm happy for him. In addition to being a great player, he's a good guy who continued with his work despite some mistrust."
Inter scored at least five goals in the first half of an away league game for only the second time in their history in Serie A, after their 5-1 win against Sampdoria in the first 45 minutes of play back in March 1964.
Last season, Correa was sent on a one-year loan to Marseille and was expected to leave Inter for good as the French club had an option to buy the player.
Upon his return, the 30-year-old made three appearances in the first 12 league games, entering from the bench at Monza, Udinese and Roma before he was selected to pair up with Marcus Thuram from the start against Verona.
Correa opened the scoring in the 17th minute with a chipped finish after a precise pass from Thuram. He then returned the favour and teed the Frenchman up to double the lead in the 22nd, before setting up Yann Bisseck for the fifth before the break.
"It wasn't difficult because my team-mates helped me and were happy when I scored," Correa said.
"I wanted to do the back heel for Bisseck, but there was also a bit of luck. There are a lot of good guys here, we have to continue like this."
Inter next host RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday, and they may still be without Martinez, who fell sick when he returned from international duty.
"We need to see how the virus evolves," Inzaghi said. "Last night he had chills and this morning he had a fever of almost 38 degrees.
"I had [the same virus] too, skipping training on Monday and Tuesday. In any case, he would have been [resting] on the bench today even if he had been here. We'll see."
Martinez scored in both of Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Paraguay (2-1) and Peru (1-0).
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