Chelsea have sacked head coach Graham Potter following Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa left the Blues mired in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Potter left Brighton and Hove Albion to take charge of Chelsea following Thomas Tuchel's dismissal in September, but the 47-year-old struggled to inspire consistency during a season of change at Stamford Bridge.

Despite Chelsea spending an estimated £289.7million on players including Enzo Fernandez, Mykhaylo Mudryk, Benoit Badiashile and others in January, Potter has struggled to lead the Blues into contention for European qualification.

While Chelsea overcame Borussia Dortmund to tee up a Champions League quarter-final tie with Real Madrid, they have won just two of their past nine Premier League games.

Saturday's home defeat to Aston Villa saw Unai Emery's team leapfrog Chelsea into the top half of the table, with Potter leaving the Blues in 11th place, 12 points adrift of the top four.

Former Brighton full-back Bruno Saltor, who followed Potter to Chelsea earlier this season, will take the reins as interim head coach.

In a statement on the club's website, Chelsea thanked Potter for his efforts and said he would "collaborate with the club to facilitate a smooth transition".

Co-majority owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: "On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea.

"We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome.

"Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.

"We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter-final ahead.

"We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high."

Chelsea host Liverpool in their next Premier League game on Tuesday before visiting Wolves on Saturday, after which they will travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of their Champions League last-eight tie against holders Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain suffered their second home defeat in a row as Lyon won 1-0 at the Parc des Princes to breathe life into Ligue 1's title race.

Christophe Galtier's men lost 2-0 at home to Rennes before the international break and were disappointing again as they succumbed to back-to-back league defeats for the first time since September 2020.

The story of the first half revolved around two penalties: one that was struck against the post by Alexandre Lacazette, and one that was not given in favour of PSG for an apparent handball.

Yet, Lyon were unperturbed by Lacazette's miss, sealing only a second league win at PSG since 2007 thanks to Bradley Barcola.

PSG should have established a fourth-minute lead, but Vitinha inexplicably chipped over from close range after being found by Kylian Mbappe's disguised pass.

Mbappe was similarly wasteful a few moments later, prodding across goal following a wonderful one-two with Lionel Messi.

PSG were fortunate to not concede in the 39th minute, however – Lacazette hitting the post from the spot after being bundled over by Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Lyon arguably got lucky as well on the stroke of half-time as Dejan Lovren escaped punishment for handling in the area.

They made the most of that let-off early in the second half.

Sael Kumbedi passed across the six-yard box and Barcola – a first-half substitute – converted past Donnarumma, who desperately overcommitted by diving to his near post.

Barcola nearly got a second when forcing a fine Donnarumma save just past the hour, but it mattered little as PSG failed to rescue a draw, with boos heard from the stands on the final whistle.

Rafael Leao scored two brilliant goals as Milan stunned Serie A leaders Napoli with a crushing 4-0 victory at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona on Sunday.

Leao netted either side of a close-range strike from Brahim Diaz, opening the scoring with a lobbed one-on-one finish before doubling up with a powerful effort on the break.

With Serie A's leading marksman Victor Osimhen out injured, Napoli applied plenty of pressure but lacked cutting edge, and Alexis Saelemaekers added some gloss with a fine solo goal for the Scudetto holders.

The result saw Milan take advantage of Inter's loss to Fiorentina by going third in the table, and Stefano Pioli will hope it represents a sign of things to come ahead of the teams' upcoming Champions League quarter-final tie.

Giovanni Simeone – starting in place of Osimhen – missed the first clear chance when he fired over from 12 yards out, but it was Milan who struck first after 17 minutes.

Leao raced onto Diaz's throughball before dinking an impudent finish over Alex Meret, silencing the home crowd and ending his 11-game goal drought at club level. 

Things got even better for the Rossoneri eight minutes later, with Diaz sitting Mario Rui down after controlling Ismael Bennacer's left-wing cross before finishing high into the roof of the net.

Mike Maignan made strong saves to thwart Piotr Zielinski and Rui as Napoli looked to hit back, while Olivier Giroud went close to finding the bottom-right corner after the interval.

Despite Napoli dominating possession, Milan went further ahead when Leao capped a lightning break by tricking his way past Amir Rrahmani and lashing into the top-right corner.

With Napoli all at sea defensively, Saelemaekers added a memorable strike of his own, dancing through several Partenopei challenges before prodding beyond Meret after 67 minutes.

Chelsea have sacked head coach Graham Potter following Saturday's 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa left the Blues mired in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

Luke Shaw believes Manchester United lacked "passion, desire, hunger and attitude" in an "unacceptable" performance in Sunday's 2-0 loss to Newcastle United.

A brilliant display from the Magpies saw Eddie Howe's men leapfrog the Red Devils into third in the Premier League as goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson condemned them to defeat in their first game since the international break.

Erik ten Hag's side have now failed to score in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since February 2020 as they mustered just one shot on target at St James' Park, a tame long-range shot from Antony that Nick Pope comfortably saved.

With this winless three-match run dragging them back into the dogfight for the Champions League places, Shaw felt Sunday's dismal display was a couple of games in the making, declaring Newcastle won the match with their superior mentality rather than their footballing ability.

"[We were] not good enough," Shaw told Sky Sports. "As a team, we have to be honest. I do think Newcastle are a very good side but I don't think they won the game on quality today.

"I think they won it on passion, desire, hunger, attitude. They clearly had that higher motivation, and that [cannot] be possible.

"It's not acceptable and we know that. It was a massive game today and they wanted it more. At Man United, that cannot be possible.

"You need that motivation, you need that passion, hunger, attitude, because it's an extremely tough place to come to, here. If we don't have that, we're going to suffer. It was obvious on the pitch. We didn't create too much, to be honest.

"I think maybe you could say it has been coming. Before the international break, we had dropped levels, and it was clear to see today they were not there."

Shaw's side will look to get back on track on Wednesday, when they host a Brentford side at Old Trafford who are themselves looking for European qualification.

The left-back acknowledged that will be a difficult fixture, saying: "We have three days to pick it back up because Brentford is going to be a tough game.

"We're a team. When we go out on that pitch, we all need to fight for each other. Sometimes, this season, maybe it's not shown like that. I'm sure we'll go through it all again and speak again. We need to realise the problems, and change them quick, because we can still have a very good season."

Joe Willock believes Newcastle United "owed" Manchester United a loss as they got revenge for their EFL Cup final defeat to the Red Devils with a 2-0 Premier League victory.

The Magpies were denied a first major trophy in 68 years as goals from Casemiro and Marcus Rashford condemned them to defeat at Wembley in late February.

But Eddie Howe's men put in a much-improved performance at St James' Park on Sunday, as Willock and Callum Wilson struck to haul them above Erik ten Hag's side and into third in the Premier League.

Speaking after his team moved into the Champions League spots, Willock felt Newcastle used the cup final disappointment to their advantage as they got vengeance for that heartbreak.

"Today we played really well," he told Sky Sports. "We deserved the victory. It was electric today in here. We fed off the crowd and got the big three points.

"I feel like we owed them one after the cup final. We took that very bitterly, we didn't take that lightly. Losing a cup final, it hurts a lot. We took that anger into this game today and from the start we dominated play."

Willock's goal set Newcastle on the way to their first league victory against the Red Devils since October 2019, and the Magpies now lead them in the table by virtue of their far superior goal difference. 

The former Arsenal man is confident his team can get over the line and finish in the Champions League spots for the first time since the 2002-03 season under Bobby Robson, with Opta rating it a 58.2 per cent chance they end the campaign in the top four.

"I feel like we have to believe," Willock added. "We've been in and around there all season.

"We've got a brilliant team, brilliant manager and a brilliant environment for us players to work in, so I feel like there's nothing stopping us."

Howe felt his team's efforts warranted the three points, having accumulated 3.57 xG (expected goals) and restricted Ten Hag's side to just one shot on target, a tame long-range effort from Antony that Nick Pope easily saved.

"Today we fully deserved the win," Howe said. "It wasn't a lucky win.

"We knocked at the door the whole game, I think statistically we were very strong today. So I'm really pleased with the players."

Newcastle's bid to finish in the top four is now entering a crucial stage with three consecutive away matches next up, starting with a trip to the London Stadium to face relegation-threatened West Ham on Wednesday.

Howe urged his players to keep their focus, explaining: "That was my words after the game. We've got three games in six days, we have to be focused on West Ham.

"But we're in a good vein of form. Three wins in a row is difficult to do in the Premier League, so we'll look forward to those games."

Erik ten Hag believed Newcastle United "wanted to win more" than Manchester United on Sunday.

The Red Devils slipped to a second defeat in their last three Premier League games as they suffered a 2-0 loss, with second-half goals from Joe Willock and Callum Wilson at St James' Park claiming revenge for the Magpies' EFL Cup final loss to United.

United dropped to fourth in the Premier League as a result, behind Newcastle on goal difference and just one point ahead of Tottenham.

Speaking after the game, Ten Hag acknowledged his side deserved to lose, suggesting it was attitude that made the difference.

"I hate to say it but they were better today," he told Sky Sports. "Especially [their] determination, passion and desire. They wanted to win more this week, so they won.

"I think we had our opportunities, but then you have to go for goal with the determination that they did. By far, it was not good enough. We allowed them too many chances.

"You have to be hungry. You have to give everything, every game. I think our attacking game was not good enough. I don't want to focus on one person.

"It has nothing to do with one person. It was about team performance. We didn't break them. It wasn't good enough."

However, the Dutch coach was adamant United are not at risk of falling down a slippery slope, pointing to their response following a 7-0 drubbing against Liverpool as proof of their resilience.

"This is normal," he added. "In a season, you have setbacks and you have to deal with them so many times.

"After Liverpool, we came back. I don't have the concern. I believe in my team, [and] I believe they will bounce back."

Carlo Ancelotti professed his love for Real Madrid and appeared to allay worries about his future at the club after Sunday's 6-0 demolition of Real Valladolid.

The experienced Italian has been strongly linked with the vacant head coach role with the Brazil national team, who have been searching for a new boss since Tite's exit at the end of the World Cup.

Several Brazil players have publicly backed Ancelotti for the job with the Selecao in recent weeks, and Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) president Ednaldo Rodrigues also confirmed an interest.

Ancelotti declared a desire to stay with Madrid on Friday, but then caused a little concern in some circles when adding that "the future is unknown".

After seeing Karim Benzema inspire a big win on Sunday with a hat-trick, Ancelotti showed no signs of stress.

Speaking to Los Blancos legend Guti – who revealed that Friday's comments left him anxious – on DAZN, Ancelotti said: "Do I look worried about my future, Guti?

"I love Madrid as much as you do."

Madrid may be well adrift of LaLiga leaders Barcelona but Sunday's victory – during which Karim Benzema scored a first-half hat-trick – was a reminder of just how devastating they can be when in the mood.

Success cut Barca's lead back down to 12 points, and while that will in all likelihood prove an insurmountable gap, Ancelotti was keen to emphasise how crucial he believed the win to be.

"[It was] key. At first, we suffered a bit, and they had chances. But as soon as we made it 1-0, everything was easier," he said.

"The transitions were spectacular and Karim was at his best level. Everything went well."

The game included a second-half cameo for Eden Hazard, who was making just his fourth LaLiga appearance of the season.

It was the 32-year-old Belgian's first league outing since September, and although his introduction was greeted by jeers, he looked fairly sharp.

In 25 minutes, he registered four key passes – bettered by only Marco Asensio's five – and set up Lucas Vazquez's stoppage-time goal, with Ancelotti adamant Hazard can be a useful option during the run-in – assuming he stays fit.

"I heard [the whistles], yes," Ancelotti said. "Eden has trained well this break. He has played very little, but he has done well and has given an assist. He's training well, he can have opportunities."

Manchester City's 4-1 victory over Liverpool on Saturday showed they can cope without Erling Haaland, believes Kevin De Bruyne.

The forward, who leads the Premier League charts with 28 goals this term, missed out on his side's clash with the Reds through injury.

Despite his absence, Pep Guardiola's hosts still ran rampant at the Etihad Stadium to keep up the pressure on Arsenal in the title race.

For De Bruyne, victory reinforced the suggestion City can cope without their first-choice frontman, with the Belgian pointing to Argentina's World Cup winner Julian Alvarez as a handy understudy.

"Erling is an unbelievable player, but we've been winning loads of games in the last eight years that I've been here," he told City's website.

"He's an additional piece that helps us a lot, but we know if he's not there, we have Julian who is a World Cup winner.

"I don't think it's a bad replacement we have as a team-mate. Everybody knows their task and whoever is on the pitch will do the job."

Saturday's result saw City stay eight points off the heels of the Gunners, with a game in hand as they aim to reel them in at the summit.

Though their title chances are technically out of their own hands, De Bruyne still expects them to push Arsenal all the way, as they also compete in the FA Cup and Champions League.

"Obviously, we know we are behind," he added. "We are still doing a really good job and are playing in three competitions.

"To be [at] this stage of the season and to be there means you've been consistent.

"In the league, Arsenal have been a little bit better than us, but we can try and win as many games as possible and see where we end up."

Joe Willock's first goal since November and a late Callum Wilson header moved Newcastle United into the Champions League spots on Sunday as they beat top-four rivals Manchester United 2-0.

Knowing a win at St James' Park would leapfrog the Magpies above the Red Devils and into third, it appeared Newcastle's luck was out as they saw countless chances come and go.

But Willock's close-range header finally put Eddie Howe's side ahead, before Wilson nodded in Kieran Trippier's free-kick to secure a magnificent win that takes them into the Champions League places.

Erik ten Hag's men see their own top-four hopes dented as they drop to fourth, just a point above Tottenham, though they do have a game in hand over the Londoners.

A lively opening saw Wout Weghorst lash into the side netting before David de Gea made a brilliant stop to deny Alexander Isak's header and then Willock's effort from the rebound.

The visitors were on the ropes and forced to spend much of the first half defending, with Sean Longstaff sending a powerful drive whistling past the upright before Willock blazed over from close range.

Ten Hag's men survived until the interval, and Fabian Schar fired an effort from distance just wide after the break as Newcastle continued to press.

The Red Devils' resistance was finally broken in the 65th minute, Allan Saint-Maximin nodding Bruno Guimaraes' delivery back across to Willock, who headed in from close range to send the home fans into raptures.

Joelinton then saw a close-range effort tipped onto the crossbar by De Gea from a corner, but Wilson sealed the victory when he nodded home Trippier's free-kick in the 88th minute to secure three precious points in the Magpies' bid for European football.

Josko Gvardiol won plenty of admirers during Croatia's run to the 2022 World Cup semi-finals.

The 21-year-old central defender is contracted until 2027, but has a hefty release clause that will become active in 2024.

As a result, clubs are likely to be competing to secure the Croatian's services in the next transfer window.

TOP STORY – CITY AND REAL PRIORITISE GVARDIOL SIGNING

Manchester City and Real Madrid have both made RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol their priority centre-back target for the next transfer window, according to 90min.

The report claims Leipzig wants £75m (€85m) for the Croatian defender, who almost joined Chelsea last off-season.

City and Real are also both in contention to sign Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, complicating the Gvardiol move.

The report also claims City are willing to offload Aymeric Laporte to help facilitate any move.

ROUND-UP

– Liverpool are the favourites ahead of Manchester City in the race to sign Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount in the off-season, reports Football Insider.

– Manchester United are keeping an eye on Joao Felix 's situation with the Atletico Madrid forward currently on loan at Chelsea, claims Mundo Deportivo. Chelsea have been linked with a permanent deal for the Portuguese.

– The Sun claims Leicester City are keen on re-signing Harry Maguire on loan from Manchester United amid talk he will exit Old Trafford.

– Arsenal 's desire to land Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus could see the Gunners offer up Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe as part of a deal, reports Calciomercatoweb.

– Fichajes claims Manchester City and Chelsea will battle it out to sign Milan full-back Theo Hernandez.

– Barcelona have prioritised a move for Liverpool winger Luis Diaz in the next transfer window, according to Fichajes.

Expansion franchise St Louis City's perfect start to their inaugural MLS season was ended by Minnesota United who triumphed 1-0 after Luis Amarilla's 78th-minute penalty on Saturday.

City had made MLS history by winning their first five games but that was ended by the Loons with Amarilla drilling home the spot kick after a needless challenge by Kyle Hiebert.

Hiebert brought down Amarilla just inside the box with a rash tackle when Jakob Nerwinski appeared to have Kervin Arriaga's wayward pass under control.

Substitute Samuel Adeniran came closest to equalising for St Louis, with a 95th-minute shot going over the bar after a great first touch from Klauss' right-wing cut back.

St Louis remain top of the table with 15 points from six games, but unbeaten Minnesota climb up to fourth in the Western Conference.

Cincinnati continued their impressive start to the season with a 1-0 home triumph over Inter Miami who slumped to their fourth straight defeat.

Yerson Mosquera scored the 45th-minute winner for Cincy, who are top of the Eastern Conference.

Giorgos Giakoumakis scored an early winner as Atlanta United moved up to second in the East with a 1-0 home win over New York Red Bulls, who are down in 12th in that conference.

Jordan Morris and Leo Chu scored first-half goals as Seattle Sounders stayed second in the West with a 2-1 victory at LA Galaxy, who are without a win and have only three points from five games.

LAFC remained unbeaten and third in the West despite a 0-0 draw at the winless Colorado Rapids, while SJ Earthquakes climbed to fifth with a 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo with all three goals coming from penalties.

Vancouver Whitecaps snapped a run of three straight draws with a resounding 5-0 win over 10-man Montreal with Simon Becher scoring a double. Becher is the fastest player (87 minutes) in MLS history to score his first four goals.

Franck Boli rescued a 1-1 draw for Portland Timbers at Dallas, Chicago Fire and DC United drew 0-0 and Nashville triumphed 2-0 at Orlando City.

Federico Bernardeschi netted another spectacular goal with a strike straight from a corner in Toronto's 2-2 home draw with Charlotte.

Sporting KC remained winless after a 0-0 draw at Philadelphia Union, New England drew 1-1 with New York City and Real Salt Lake suffered their fourth straight loss, going down 4-0 to Columbus Crew.

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri says his side "didn’t play very well" leading to him storming down the tunnel before full-time in their 1-0 home win over Verona.

The Bianconeri secured their fifth straight win in all competitions with Moise Kean's 55th-minute strike the difference.

But Allegri was unimpressed with his side and stormed down the post-side tunnel before the full-time whistle.

"We didn't play very well and I think in the last five minutes we had to go and score a second goal, keep pushing them and maintain the pressure," Allegri told Sky Sport Italia.

"It doesn't seem like much five minutes, but all Verona needed was a long ball into the box and anything could happen. We could've been here licking our wounds if they had equalised.

"It was a complicated match, as they always are after the international break. It was a tough game and we knew it was going to be because Verona make you play badly, they press all over the pitch.

"That's why we were blocked in the opening minutes, then we managed to move the ball around and create chances.

"We could have done better once we had taken the lead and double our advantage, without giving them a chance to get near our area. It's something we need to improve on."

The win keeps Juventus in the hunt for European qualification, although their 15-point deduction, means they are seventh on 44 points. Juve (44) are behind fourth-placed Milan (48), Atalanta (48) and Roma (47) in the race for Europe, with all but Atalanta having a game in hand.

Allegri was quick to point out if not for that deduction they would be on 59 points and subsequently second in Serie A. Juve will have their appeal against that penalty heard on April 19.

"This result means we have earned 59 points on the field, closing the gap on Inter and momentarily on Milan and Lazio," he said.

"We've got Inter on Tuesday in the Coppa Italia and then Lazio on Saturday, so we’ve got to be ready.

"In football if you have a good run of results, that allows you to catch up pretty quickly. We have to take it one step at a time.

"The 'real' table that we see there shows we are still four points off the Champions League spots and that is a lot."

Simone Inzaghi did not hide his frustration at Romelu Lukaku's struggles in front of goal after Inter lost 1-0 to Fiorentina on Saturday.

Inter's losing streak in Serie A was extended to their worst in six years as Giacomo Bonaventura's second-half header proved decisive at San Siro.

The Nerazzurri have now lost three straight top flight matches, with Bonaventura's winner coming shortly after a woeful miss from Lukaku.

Having rediscovered his goalscoring touch while on international duty with Belgium, Lukaku was unable to transfer that form across to his club side as he failed to hit the target from close range with the goal gaping.

No Inter player had more shots than his three, with Lukaku not managing to get any of them on target, despite accumulating 1.2 expected goals.

While not pinning the blame entirely on Lukaku – who is reported to have confronted Inzaghi about a lack of opportunities while he has been fit this season – Inter's coach was quick to point out the importance of those misses.

Speaking to DAZN, Inzaghi said: "If he had scored those chances, Lukaku's performance would be judged in a very different way.

"His role is to create the opportunities, make the movements that the team needs.

"He wasn't the only one who had chances today, so I wouldn't focus only on Romelu."

Inzaghi also stressed he is ultimately responsible for turning Inter's fortunes around. 

"There is great disappointment, we lost two consecutive home matches," he said. "We need to work more, starting with me.

"At the moment, we need to be more determined, because we had so many chances to score and we should have done.

"I cannot ask for more in terms of effort, as the players did everything I asked of them."

Inzaghi is not wrong. While Fiorentina had more shots (19 to 16) and got the same number of attempts on target (three each), Inter finished with a 2.8 xG compared to the visitors' 1.2, suggesting the quality of opportunities that went their way was far greater.

Lukaku's glaring miss came from by far the best opportunity of the match, with Opta's model estimating the chance would be converted 92 per cent of the time (0.92 xG).

The 29-year-old's future is uncertain. He is on loan at Inter, but due to return to parent club Chelsea at the end of the season.

Before the match, Inter chief Giuseppe Marotta told DAZN: "[Lukaku's] love for the Inter jersey is 10 out of 10, we'll evaluate the prospects with Chelsea."

Xavi highlighted Barcelona's success as a team effort rather than down to individual performances after a comfortable 4-0 win in LaLiga over Elche.

A Robert Lewandowski double, plus goals for Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres, saw the Blaugrana swat aside their rock-bottom hosts at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.

Against a team who look almost certain to be relegated, there were few doubts about Barca's superiority.

But Xavi was quick to praise his side's unsung heroes as much as their headline-makers, stating his belief that it is a balance of both that will bring them the title.

"It has been a rounded night," he said. "[It was] a very good game, from start to finish. We have a team with players who do not necessarily participate too much.

"[But] they performed at a high level. This is [the definition of] a team. We have taken one more step [towards the championship], we are closer. We have shown that we are a unit."

The coach highlighted the versatility of several of his players, including Eric Garcia, who played in midfield, and Marcos Alonso, who fulfilled a centre-back role.

On Fati, Xavi was happy to see the player put his off-field distractions behind him, following a week where his father complained about his lack of minutes for the club.

"Ansu made a difference," he added. "It has left him exhausted, but he has done a great job for the team. His goal comes because of his work ethic and talent.

"He has that, and it will come out. If he continues to work like this, he will end up playing more often."