Enzo Maresca insisted his Leicester players remained full of belief even when they were trailing during their 3-1 comeback win at Swansea.

Matt Grimes fired the hosts into a 20th-minute lead with a sublime volley, but Jannik Vestergaard fortuitously bundled into the net on the stroke of half-time to level proceedings with what was his first goal for the Foxes.

Second-half efforts from Abdul Fatawu and substitute Kelechi Iheanacho earned the visitors their 11th win from 12 Championship matches this season.
“I’m very happy because even at 1-0 down, the team continued in the same way. No panic,” said Italian boss Maresca.

“This for us is the most important thing. In the first half we were in control. We conceded some transitions, but even with that I think we were in control. We created chances.

“We deserved [to get to] 1-1. In the second half we continued to play the same way.

“The good feeling is that when we were 1-0 down, I can see for the players on the pitch that it doesn’t matter – continue, continue, continue. They can see that continuing that way, something is going to happen.”

Michael Duff was heavily criticised in the opening stages of the season as Swansea’s seven-game winless run ensured they made their worst start to a league campaign in 32 years.

But having won four consecutive matches prior to their defeat against the Championship leaders, Duff felt his side’s showing against the Foxes proved Swansea are a side on the up.

“I think we fell the wrong side of big moments in the game,” said Duff. “But the general performance I was pleased with. I thought the structure of the team looked good, the energy looked good and some of the quality was good.

“Ultimately, the supporters aren’t stupid and they clapped them off the pitch having got beat.

“The last time we got beat (at home) was against Bristol City and quite rightly the players got booed, because we looked nothing like we did today.

“If you are going to get beat, that’s the way to get beat. The lads gave me everything today. I think that performance would probably 90% of the time have beaten most teams in this league.

“So there were loads of positives. The attendance, the noise in the stadium – they came with the players. Other than the result, there were a lot more positives than negatives.”

Swansea boss Michael Duff praised his side following the 3-1 victory at Plymouth which made it four Championship wins on the spin.

Josh Key’s 90th-minute breakaway goal capped a superb Swans comeback after Luke Cundle had fired Plymouth into an 18th-minute lead.

Jerry Yates restored parity and then sub Ollie Cooper scored with a brilliant long-range strike within a minute of his 67th-minute introduction.

Duff said: “We were good, it was a good game. The thing that probably got us over the line is that we were slightly better in both boxes.

“I enjoy every win, trust me, and I felt we were good value for the three points. They put three on Blackburn down here and six on Norwich, so it is a tough place to come.

“We played on Wednesday and have had two away games this week so to get a nine-point week was really pleasing. We stayed calm at half-time, there was no panic.

“Some of the blocks were brilliant, some of the defending was really good. We talked about being good in both boxes and that is where we win the game ultimately.

“We gave ourselves the opportunity to get back in the game and scored three good goals.

“It was nice when the third goal goes in, it is like a home game then. That’s why we took some extra time with the travelling fans at the end because they have done the same journeys as us.

“We travelled six hours last week and four yesterday and moments like that are really important, we will have a few days off now and then we are in.

“Football doesn’t owe you anything, we have got a tough one next and we will be plan for that. Enjoy this one, it has been a good away day.

“It was end to end, two teams going for it trying to play the right way.”

Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher was in philosophical mood after the game.

He said: “I thought it was quite an even game and we were probably the better team in the first half.

“They might have edged it second half although even when they went ahead we responded quite well and got into some brilliant areas.

“We had a big chance at 2-1 down, the game could have been two-all and the game’s different.

“Then the game could have gone either way because with our crowd behind us in the last 15 minutes who knows?

“Can’t fault the lads’ effort again. Some of the play to get up to the final third and into the box was excellent. We have just got to be better in both boxes.

“Once you throw everybody forward you are always open to the counter attack and once again they were clinical and took it.

“It’s always small margins and we probably should have been more than 1-0 ahead at half-time.

“We had a couple of big chances in the first half that if we score and get a two-goal cushion it gives us something to hang onto.

“All I can ask is that the lads keep showing the same character but a bit more quality.”

Swansea made it four Championship wins on the spin following a 3-1 comeback success at sun-blessed Plymouth.

The icing on the cake came with the Swans’ superb 90th-minute breakaway goal, with substitute Liam Walsh playing the ball out to the right to Jamie Paterson on the run.

His precise pass inside enabled Josh Key, who timed his run to perfection, to finish past stranded goalkeeper Conor Hazard as Argyle were committed to attack in search of a leveller.

Sub Ollie Cooper had made it 2-1 with a brilliant 68th-minute long-range strike – a minute after coming on.

Cooper initially collected the ball on the right and exchanged passes with skipper Matt Grimes before unleashing a superb strike from fully 25 yards and into the corner which gave Hazard no chance.

Attacking midfielder Luke Cundle, who spent a spell on loan at Swansea last season, fired Argyle ahead in the 18th minute.

Ryan Hardie broke down the right, beating the offside trap, before cutting back a cross into the penalty area.

The ball was scrambled clear but only into the path of Cundle who side-footed home, first time, into the roof of the net from just inside the left-hand side of the box.

The Swans levelled after 56 minutes having started the second half well.

Paterson crossed to the left where Liam Cullen headed the ball back across the face of goal enabling striker Jerry Yates to bundle it home on the goal-line.

Carl Rushworth made a brilliant one-handed stop, low down, to deny Bali Mumba as he went one-on-one with the keeper on the hour after wriggling through the middle of the penalty area.

Argyle had started the game well with skipper Joe Edwards connecting with a far-post header to greet a sixth-minute corner from the left but Cullen made a brilliant diving headed clearance to deny him.

The Swans responded with Josh Tymon’s superb 12th-minute cross from the left into the box skipping past everyone before being cleared at the far post by Macaulay Gillesphey, with Cullen ready to pounce.

Argyle’s Northern Ireland keeper Hazard was forced to go full stretch to keep out Cullen’s measured strike from the right-hand side of the box after being teed up by Josh Key.

Rushworth and his defenders did well to keep out a string of Argyle shots as the home side pressed for a second in a goalmouth scramble as half-time approached.

Shortly after the break, Rushworth made a brilliant one-handed save from Hardie’s rising drive on the run, which seemed destined for the top corner, before two Swansea goals won it for the Welsh side.

Swansea centre-back Ben Cabango has given Wales boss Rob Page another injury worry after he limped out of his side’s 2-1 home win over Norwich in the Championship.

Wales are already without Aaron Ramsey and Brennan Johnson for the vital Euro 2024 qualifier with Croatia on October 15 and Swansea boss Michael Duff confirmed Cabango suffered a hamstring issue after he went off in the second half of his club’s victory on Wednesday night.

“Ben did the right thing in coming off. He felt something in his hamstring in the first half and then again later on,” said Duff.

“If he isn’t fit for the weekend, then I don’t think he’ll be able to go off to play for Wales during the international window.”

The win gave Duff’s new-look side a haul of 10 points from a possible 12 in their last four Championship matches having failed to win in any of their opening seven games in all competitions.

“I was delighted with the result and the performance. We started with real intent and the first goal came from a high press,” said Duff.

“Then their goal came from us getting our press wrong. In the second half we defended our box well and got the winner.

“Norwich are one of the best teams in the league and we finished very strongly against them. The fans really got behind us in the added six minutes at the end because our lads were out on their feet.”

Norwich boss David Wagner was “very disappointed” after seeing his side fail to press home their advantage in the second half.

“We didn’t do our job properly in each box, goals change games and we didn’t take our chances,” said Wagner.

“That’s three away defeats in a row now and we lost a game that we could have won. We have to be better in both boxes.

“After two away defeats in a row we knew we had a chance to pick up some points in an important game. It was there for us, but we didn’t do our job.

“Obviously the result is very disappointing. Performance-wise, first half we were not good, second half we were much better.

“Second half we have to kill the game. We had enough very good opportunities until 75-80 minutes.

“After that they put pressure on us with set-pieces. If you don’t kill the game, then one situation can cost you.

“It’s very frustrating that we were not clinical in both boxes today and have not won a game we had opportunities to win at 1-1.”

Bashir Humphreys hammered home his first senior goal to make it three wins in a row for Swansea as they beat Norwich 2-1.

The 20-year-old left-back powered a half-volley into the roof of the net from an 82nd-minute corner to make it 10 points from the last 12 for Swansea and move Michael Duff’s men up to 15th in the Championship.

Last season it only took the Canaries 58 seconds to open their account in west Wales with a goal from their then Finnish star Teemu Pukki that turned out to be the winner.

This time it was Swansea who struck early as Jamal Lowe found the back of the net in the third minute.

Lowe nipped in to take the ball off a dithering Adam Forshaw to allow Matt Grimes to pick up the pieces and the home skipper then turned it into a one-two with Low, who scored his third goal of the season.

Norwich hit back in the 22nd minute when a long carry by Jonathan Rowe up the left flank engineered a goal for Gabriel Sara. Rowe’s initial cross was blocked by Ben Cabango, but a second from Dimitris Giannoulis took a slight deflection before finding the head of Sara on the six-yard box.

That sparked new life into David Wagner’s men and two minutes later they worked an overload on the right that enabled Jack Stacey to race up to the edge of the box before letting fire with a vicious right-foot shot that was heading into the top-left corner until Carl Rushworth in the home goal got a fingertip to it to push it past the post.

Swansea almost crept back into the lead in the 36th minute when a cross from the right was touched on by Jerry Yates, but went agonisingly wide of Angus Gunn’s far post.

Norwich started the second far more positively and put their hosts on the back foot. Referee Tom Nield issued three yellow cards to Swansea players in the space of seven minutes soon after the restart and a shot across goal from the dynamic Rowe almost gave the visitors the lead in the 57th minute.

Moments later Wagner made three substitutions, bringing on top scorer Adam Idah, Oriel Hernandez and Przemyslaw Placheta. Placheta presented Idah with a golden chance to score with a cross that he somehow header over the bar in the 75th minute, shortly after Jerry Yates had a goal ruled offside from a corner.

Shane Duffy somehow kept out a header from Yates at the far post, but in the 83rd minute there was no stopping Humphreys’ thunderbolt.

Swansea boss Michael Duff hailed his side’s 3-0 Championship win over Millwall as the best of his tenure as they secured a commanding victory at the Den.

Jamaican International Jamal Lowe opened the scoring with a penalty before goals from Matt Grimes and Mykola Kukharevych sealed the triumph, Duff’s third in charge since taking over in June.

The visitors won their second Championship game in a row having taken only two points from a possible 21 from their previous seven matches.

“It’s probably the best result of my Swansea tenure so far,” Duff said. “3-0 away from home at a tough place to come.

“I thought we saw a bit more of what we wanted to look like. It was some really good football. The reaction’s been good ever since the Cardiff game, where we let everyone down.

“We probably should have had three clean sheets and nine points since then. The players have stuck together through all of it.”

Swansea sparked to life in the 23rd minute when Lowe converted a penalty, awarded after Jerry Yates’ shirt was pulled by Jake Cooper in the box.

Lowe produced a stuttering run-up before sending Bartosz Bialkowski the wrong way to end the hosts’ hopes of a third-straight clean sheet and to notch his second goal in as many games.

Duff added: “The first goal was 40-plus passes going into the build-up to the penalty, which I think should have been a red card as well.

“I knew they would have a reaction. We had to change shape a couple of times, but we survived it. You’re not going to dominate a game for 90 minutes, not in the Championship – very rarely anyway.

“It’s still a long, long way from where we want to get it to.”

Grimes moved Swansea further ahead after 57 minutes, as some neat interplay offered an inviting opening for the skipper and his 20-yard strike squeezed under Bialkowski.

The Lions were unable to take their chances at 2-0 down with Carl Rushworth turning a long-distance strike from Ryan Leonard over the crossbar before the goalkeeper saved Kevin Nisbet’s point-blank effort with his face.

Kukharevych then made certain of the three points for the Swans with an 80th-minute header for a first away victory since April.

Millwall manager Gary Rowett took a different view of his side’s reaction to conceding, believing they showed frustration rather than fight.

He said: “Goals change moods, goals change feelings in stadiums and players’ confidence levels. It shouldn’t do, but that’s the way the game is.

“Sometimes at 0-0 you have to ride those little moments and the first goal was a really poor penalty to give away from where the ball was.

“We got into some decent positions without having a clinical edge. That was the difference.

“I didn’t like our reaction from 2-0 down. I think we have a habit of conceding goals and showing our frustration rather than fighting until the last second.

“Again we had some big moments, but without that goal it gives you nothing to lift the mood and atmosphere.

“It’s disappointing. The third goal summed it up, we gave it away, crossed it to a lad unmarked to head it in. It was certainly three poor goals from us to concede today.”

Swansea made it back-to-back Championship wins as they ran out convincing 3-0 winners at Millwall.

The Welsh club had taken just two points from a possible 21 in a torrid seven-game winless run in the English second tier with head coach Michael Duff beginning to feel the heat.

But they collected all three points in south London with goals from Jamal Lowe, Matt Grimes and Mykola Kukharevych on target.

The first major chance fell to Millwall in the 17th minute, but Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth kept out Duncan Watmore’s effort after the attacker had played a one-two with Kevin Nisbet to race goalwards.

Swansea struggled to create in the opening stages but took the lead in the 23rd minute. Referee John Busby failed to spot a shirt pull by Jake Cooper inside the penalty area on Jerry Yates but was alerted to the infringement by his assistant.

Lowe produced a stuttering run-up before sending Bartosz Bialkowski the wrong way with the resulting penalty to end the hosts’ hopes of a third-straight clean sheet as he scored in successive matches.

Lowe went close to a second before the half-hour mark as he latched on to an excellent crossfield pass by Ben Cabango, only for Bialkowski to claw away the attempt.

Lions boss Gary Rowett had already ditched his three-man central defence during a lacklustre opening 45 minutes and made a double change at the break, bringing on Romain Esse and Joe Bryan for Ryan Longman and Brooke Norton-Cuffy as he tried to spark more life into the hosts – instead they went 2-0 down after 57 minutes.

Some neat interplay offered an inviting opening for skipper Grimes and his 20-yard strike squeezed under Bialkowski.

Millwall had chances to reduce the deficit, but Watmore produced a tame effort from five yards out after Nisbet had bulldozed past Harry Darling.

Swansea goalkeeper Carl Rushworth tipped over a long-distance effort by Ryan Leonard and then produced a point-blank stop from Nisbet – the ball striking him flush in the face.

Home fans vented their anger at Rowett after Swansea scored a third in the 80th minute, Kukharevych headed home Josh Key’s cross from the right of the penalty area.

It sealed the visitors’ first victory on the road since a 3-0 success at Norwich in April.

Sheffield Wednesday manager Xisco Munoz pleaded for unity at the struggling Championship club after fans turned on him during a 3-0 defeat at Swansea.

The winless Owls were brushed aside by their fellow strugglers in south Wales to the disgust of a large travelling contingent who called for Spaniard Munoz to go.

Wednesday offered little all afternoon, with a first-half Jamal Lowe penalty and later strikes by Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino proving their undoing.

Munoz said: “The performance was very strange. In the second half we had chances to score, but we are in difficulty now.

“Everything is negative but it’s important we stay together, I need people to help me in this situation.

“I know how hard the players are working every day. We can put the focus on me, but I will continue until my last day.

“I am not stupid, I knew the situation when I signed here. I understand the unhappiness.”

Swans boss Michael Duff went into the game with his side having failed to win any of their opening seven matches and only one point better off than their opponents.

Victory went some way to lifting the gloom, though restless Swans fans may still take some convincing Duff is the long-term solution.

The former Barnsley boss admitted during the week that he had been feeling the heat, even admitting his mother-in-law had criticised him over recent poor results.

After the final whistle, Duff said: “She was at the game! I’m a lucky man. I’ve a supportive family and a loyal dog. When we win, he wags his tail when I come home.”

But Duff added: “It’s not about me. I carry the can, but I won’t be coming in on Monday high-fiving anyone.

“I’ve said to the players to enjoy it for now. Hopefully winning can become a habit.

“I’m proud of the players and pleased with our crowd as well.

“A few passes went astray early on but there was no negativity.

“My overriding emotions are pride and relief.

“I am proud of the players and pleased with the crowd as well.

“At 0-0 a few passes went astray but there was no negativity in the ground at all.

“The players stayed together and showed a lot of energy and quality and could have scored a couple more goals.

“Once the second goal went in you could feel almost a sigh of relief in the stadium rather than a cheer because everyone has been feeling it.

“Everyone wants to do well but everyone has to be pulling in the same direction. Today I felt it was a little bit more how we want things to be.”

Sheffield Wednesday fans turned on manager Xisco Munoz as their team were brushed aside 3-0 by fellow strugglers Swansea in Wales.

Goals by Jamal Lowe, Jerry Yates and Charlie Patino ensured the dismal Owls’ wait for a win on their return to the Championship extended to an eighth game.

Wednesday fans sold out the away end, but were forced to witness a limp display from their team which saw them threaten only in very brief spells.

They called for Munoz to go at regular intervals throughout the second half as defeat became inevitable – and with just two points on the board there’s a possibility they may well get their wish in the coming days.

As for Swans boss Michael Duff, a first win of the season will, at the very least, earn him a stay of execution.

Duff was the focus of his own fans’ anger ahead of kick-off after failing to engineer a win since taking over from Russell Martin in the summer but victory lifted the mood considerably.

The mutual desperation for three points showed in the early exchanges, with feisty tackles flying in and referee Anthony Backhouse showing leniency.

Swansea lost centre-back Nathan Wood and left-wing Josh Ginnelly to injury before the interval, but were comfortably the better side up to that point.

There were early chances for Swans striker Lowe and his Wednesday counterpart Lee Gregory, but it was the hosts who took the lead in the 28th minute.

When Ginnelly got around Pol Valentin on the edge of the 18-yard box, the Owls right-back panicked and tugged him back by his shirt.

Referee Backhouse’s decision to award a penalty was greeted with few complaints from Wednesday players and Lowe made no mistake from 12 yards.

The Swans thought they had doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time through Liam Cullen, but the midfielder’s strike was ruled offside.

But Wednesday could have had few complaints had the damage been worse at the halfway mark, having faded badly after a promising first 10 minutes.

The Owls managed some possession and territory for the first time in the game up to the hour mark.

Defender Bambo Diaby came closest to equalising when he rattled the underside of the crossbar from four yards out after a Wednesday corner had been flicked to the far post.

But with the visiting fans’ anger towards Munoz intensifying, Swansea sealed victory with two goals inside four minutes.

Lowe created both. First his pinpoint pass allowed substitute Yates to side-foot home in the 64th minute.

Then a clever through-ball three minutes later sent Patino racing clear and the Swans midfielder chipped over advancing Wednesday goalkeeper Devis Vasquez into an empty net.

Michael Duff insisted there are “positive signs” for Swansea despite them not winning a league game since he took over as boss.

A 1-1 draw at QPR, who rescued a point with Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time header, continued a frustrating start to Duff’s reign.

They are third from bottom of the Sky Bet Championship table after seven matches.

Duff, who took over during the summer following Russell Martin’s departure for Southampton, said: “It’s frustrating for the players and for me but there were positive signs.

“In the first half-an-hour we were good and that’s how I want it to look. We need to build a foundation.

“I know it sounds silly, but the stats will tell you that teams are not playing through us and we’re creating chances. You have to start with that.

“We’ve had a couple of false dawns, but today we showed spirit and character and the shape was good.

“I’ve said to the players that if we can guarantee that shape, togetherness and spirit then we’ve got the foundations. It’s about sticking to the process.”

A win for the Swans would have been a much-needed boost following Saturday’s 2-0 defeat by arch-rivals Cardiff.

It would have also eased the pressure on Duff, who is already feeling the heat from frustrated fans.

“The Saturday game magnifies it because of who it is,” he said.

“We’ve explained to the players why it happened. We worked on things and then they do their own thing. That doesn’t work.

“But today we stuck to the task. That was a positive, but we’ve got to win games.”

QPR boss Gareth Ainsworth was not content with the result despite the late equaliser.

Ainsworth was convinced Josh Ginnelly’s early opener should not have stood and that his team deserved to win the game.

“No, I’m not happy. The Swansea goal is handball,” Ainsworth said.

“The referee missed it and the assessor has said they couldn’t see it without VAR – but his hand’s out.

“The rub of the green’s going against us at the moment. We deserved more from that game.

“I will add, though, that we must hit the target more. We must work the opposition keeper more. We’re creating chances and we need to take them.

“Lyndon’s header was that moment of brilliance in a game where we should really score more goals.

“We’ve got to be better at getting on the end of things. But we are creating chances and that’s a good thing.

“At the final whistle you saw seven or eight boys just collapse on the floor because they’ve emptied the tank again.

“Disappointed we didn’t get more out of tonight, but it would have been an absolute travesty had we not got that point.

“We’re creating plenty of chances but we’ve got to start finishing them off now.”

Lyndon Dykes’ stoppage-time goal rescued a point for QPR in a 1-1 draw with Swansea at Loftus Road.

Josh Ginnelly’s early goal looked like giving the Welsh side a first Sky Bet Championship win under boss Michael Duff.

But Scotland forward Dykes, on as a substitute, equalised by getting in front of defender Ben Cabango to head home Ilias Chair’s left-wing cross.

Swansea ended the match with 10 men after Ollie Cooper was sent off in the final seconds after a foul on Dykes earned him a second yellow card.

Dykes’ goal spared Rangers a fourth defeat of the season at home, where they have won just once since last October.

Summer signing Ginnelly, making his first league start for Swansea, netted after seven minutes.

He was helped by a mistake by goalkeeper Asmir Begovic, who failed to hold Jamal Lowe’s low cross from the right and the ball ricocheted off Ginnelly and into the net despite defender Osman Kakay’s attempt to prevent it crossing the line.

Swansea, beaten in their previous four matches and having lost four of their previous five in the league, defended well and always looked a threat on the counter-attack.

Rangers struggled to create clear-cut openings but striker Sinclair Armstrong missed a great chance to equalise midway through the first half.

An unchallenged Armstrong collected Andre Dozzell’s pass and, seemingly believing he was offside, turned and scooped a shot woefully high and wide before discovering he was being played onside by Swansea’s on-loan Chelsea youngster Bashir Humphreys.

Rangers made a determined start to the second half and the lively Paul Smyth did well on the right and crossed for Chair, who headed wide.

Dykes, fit again after a recent knee injury, was sent on by R’s boss Gareth Ainsworth on the hour as the hosts continued to search for an equaliser.

Swansea might have added a second had Jerry Yates connected properly with a scuffed shot which was easily gathered by Begovic.

Swans midfielder Matt Grimes fired wide as the visitors again looked to hit Rangers with a sucker punch, and at the other end Chair missed the target with a similarly wayward effort from long range.

In the closing stages, Dykes poked a shot wide from near the edge of the penalty area and Chair saw a low strike deflected wide, but Ainsworth’s team were eventually rewarded for their persistence.

Carlos Carvalhal says he and his coaching staff "changed almost everything" about their approach to football after suffering relegation from the Premier League with Swansea City in 2018.

Carvalhal made a name for himself in the English game by leading Sheffield Wednesday to the Championship play-off final in 2016, where they were beaten by Hull City.

Wednesday were then beaten in the semi-finals after finishing fourth under Carvalhal in 2016-17. That remains their highest second-tier finish since 1990-91, when they were promoted in third.

However, Carvalhal left the Owls for Swansea City in December 2017, only winning eight of 25 games in south Wales and overseeing their relegation from the Premier League the following May.

Carvalhal has since enjoyed something of a renaissance with the likes of Rio Ave and Braga, before moving to Spain to keep Celta Vigo up with a final-day victory over Barcelona last season. 

The Portuguese coach is proud of his achievements since leaving English football, claiming his stint at Swansea provoked a change in his approach to the game.

"After England, we were at Sheffield Wednesday for two and half years and half a year at Swansea, then we stopped for one season," Carvalhal told Stats Perform at the Thinking Football Summit.

"We decided to stop and reflect on the things that we did and the things that we wanted to do in the future. We changed almost everything. In this moment, we saw football in a different way. 

"We are not basing it on the system [anymore], we are basing it on spaces and creating spaces. It's the way that we look at football, completely differently, like a chess player looking at the table.

"The results were fantastic, I can tell you. 

"We took a big risk to go to Rio Ave. Rio Ave is a medium club in Portugal. We were in the Premier League, and nobody from the Premier League goes to Rio Ave. But we decided to go there because it's a calm club, there were some good players, we could put our ideas on the pitch. 

"The reality was that we achieved Europa League [qualification]. Braga the same, we continued improving, in Celta Vigo we improved and we have stopped now to refresh a little again.

"I know €14 million was raised in Rio Ave with the players that we developed, which is very good for the club. Almost €100 million at Braga, and now in Celta Vigo with Gabri Veiga and Javi Galan probably about €50 million. So we are improving players.

"It's something that of course we are very proud of and something that we want to do in the future in the next challenge."

Carvalhal oversaw Rio Ave's best points return in their Primeira Liga history in 2019-20 (55 points), before leading Braga to their third – and most recent – Taca de Portugal one year later.

The 57-year-old has been out of work since leaving Celta in June, but he is ready to get back into the game and believes taking regular breaks is crucial to stay fresh.

"The gaps, I need to rest for my mental health, which I care about. Usually, you never see me have problems with other coaches, with referees and so on, because of these kinds of things.

"I decided [to move] because we did very well [at Braga]. We did the best the club has done in its history. In two seasons, we won the cup and we reached three finals. 

"We achieved the quarter-final of the Europa League, 17 players from the academy played in the first team. At Celta Vigo, we arrived at the club in a very difficult position. We finished in 13th. 

"There's a lot of pressure. So I spoke with my staff, I said I need to stop for three or four months and after, we go back to the market. So at this moment, we are on the market again. 

"We are not under pressure, it's not about money. We can't say that we don't ever go for the money because we never know what will happen tomorrow, but I would prefer to go because of passion and football. Let's see what happens."

Erol Bulut explained the reasoning behind his decision to keep Ollie Tanner at Cardiff after the young winger claimed South Wales derby hero status in the Bluebirds’ 2-0 win over Swansea.

Cardiff had lost the previous four derbies against their bitter rivals and were being held at bay before 21-year-old Tanner was sent on as a 70th-minute substitute.

Tanner, who was signed from Isthmian League side Lewes in July 2022 and spent the second half of last season on loan at York, scored his first Cardiff goal within 60 seconds of arriving and then won the penalty which captain Aaron Ramsey converted to seal matters.

Cardiff manager Bulut said: “He came from nothing and last season he was not here.

“When I had the pre-season, I gave everybody the chance to play and I saw that he had something in him.

“He has a good left foot, he has a good shot, he can dribble, he is strong on the ball. So I said I will give him a chance and keep him.

“I hope for his career he continues likes this, keep his feet on the floor. I said I would not give him away (on loan), I made the right decision.”

Bulut, the former Fenerbahce manager who has taken charge of passionate Istanbul derbies with Besiktas and Galatasaray, said before the game he had mingled with Cardiff fans in a city centre pub to understand the importance of the rivalry.

It was Cardiff’s first derby win on home soil since November 2013, which was a Premier League fixture.

He said: “To have a win is special. I’ve played a lot of derbies in my career as a player and a coach and I said to them this game was different.

“The fans told me it was 10 years since we won (in Cardiff) and this was very important for us. It was a must for the table and what pleased me is that we were really a team on the field.”

Swansea have yet to win a league game under Michael Duff and remain in the bottom three.

Duff was given short shrift by some Swansea fans as he went to them after the final whistle.

He said: “It’s part of the job. I don’t like getting beat. I’m not stupid.

“I’m sure there’ll be a vent at me, but I’ve been here before. This is where you see the true characters at the club.

“The ones that stick together, the ones that don’t blame everyone else and whisper in the corridor. There’s been a lot of change at the club. That’s not me hiding behind it.”

Swansea did not manage a shot on target until the final minute, with Duff adding: “It’s the lack of quality that cost us the game.

“I faulted them the last time we got beat because there wasn’t enough intensity, that was there today.

“We couldn’t sustain attacks, we couldn’t build momentum and every time we went forward we gave it away. That’s why we didn’t get any threat.”

Cardiff ended their South Wales derby losing streak with a 2-0 Sky Bet Championship win over Swansea.

Ollie Tanner wrote his name into the history of the fixture just seconds after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute with his first Cardiff goal and then won the penalty which Aaron Ramsey converted.

The 21-year-old winger was signed from Isthmian League side Lewes in July 2022 and spent the second half of last season on loan at York, but it was his name that reverberated around the Cardiff City Stadium as Swansea were finally sunk on derby day.

Swansea had won the four previous meetings between the bitter rivals and completed the first league derby ‘doubles’ into the bargain.

But those victories came under the management of Russell Martin and new boss Michael Duff had blotted his copybook by downplaying the derby before the international break.

Duff had backtracked from those comments two days before the trip east on the M4, but a first win of his reign was necessary to lift Swansea out of the relegation zone.

Cardiff had also made an indifferent start under new manager Erol Bulut with only one win in five matches, but performances on the whole had been encouraging with the Bluebirds punished by their failure to close out games.

Duff handed debuts to deadline-day signings Jamal Lowe – back for a second stint at the club and scorer of a derby double in December 2020 – Josh Tymon and Kristian Pedersen, but suffered a blow when the experienced Joe Allen was injured in the warm-up and withdrew.

Cardiff forced the early pace with a safely-gathered Mark McGuinness header and Carl Rushworth pushing out a vicious Jamilu Collins cross, which Ike Ugbo was unable to profit from at the far post.

The best chance of a frenetic first period high on endeavour but shot on quality came in the third minute of stoppage time.

Ramsey picked out Ugbo, who showed good strength to fend off Nathan Wood. Ugbo’s header fell into the path of Yakou Meite, but his powerful snapshot was well saved by Rushworth.

Meite tested Rushworth again within seconds of the restart with a ferocious 25-yard attempt that swerved in the air, and their personal contest continued as the Swansea goalkeeper clung on to another attempt from the Ivory Coast international.

Jay Fulton was booked for a lunge on Manolis Siopis as tempers began to rise and Tymon was also spoken to by referee Sam Barrott after clattering into Ramsey.

Duff replaced Lowe and Yates with Jamie Paterson and Josh Ginnelly after 63 minutes to try and inject some life into the Swansea attack.

The pair instantly combined to good effect as Tymon fired over, but Swansea did not muster a shot on target until the 90th minute.

Cardiff carried the greater threat as Ugbo missed Ramsey’s cross and Fulton cleared Karlan Grant’s effort off the line before Tanner struck.

Tanner took possession with his first touch and then cut inside Tymon to unleash an unstoppable shot into the far corner of Rushworth’s net.

Pedersen then dragged Tanner to the ground four minutes from time and Ramsey, as he had done for Wales on Monday, stroked home the spot-kick to start the Cardiff celebrations.

Nigel Pearson felt biting his lip was the key to Bristol City’s comeback win at Swansea in the Sky Bet Championship.

The visitors claimed a 2-1 victory after falling behind to Liam Cullen’s 10th-minute opener, Mark Sykes and Sam Bell rewarding their control with second-half strikes.

The turnaround came after Bristol City felt several decisions went against them in a first half that saw them have three goals disallowed.

Pearson said: “What we talked about (at half-time) is, if we could keep our composure, we knew that we’d continue to create opportunities.

“Let’s use the frustration of it to perform. I think that’s the big thing.

“There’s no good me being in there ranting and raving because there’s nothing to rant about, apart from maybe the guy out in the middle.

“I bit my lip. It hurts a bit now! But I’m just pleased that our players got a reward for their performance.”

Bristol City have lost only one of their opening five games and are on eight points heading into the international break.

“We created a lot of chances and we have done in our away games so far,” said Pearson.

“The goal we conceded was a sloppy one from our perspective, but Swansea didn’t create too many chances in that first half.

“They went a bit more direct when they went behind and Max (O’Leary) had to make a couple of saves.

“It was a bit tighter but we felt we looked like creating chances on the counter because we’ve got pace in the team.

“You’ve got to move the ball quickly and we always felt we could get some success in wide areas. But to do that you’ve got to have the intention of getting forward.”

Swansea have yet to win in the league under new boss Michael Duff after drawing two and losing three of their opening five games.

Duff signed Bashir Humphreys, Josh Tymon, Jamal Lowe and Kristian Pedersen on Friday’s transfer deadline day and believes Swansea will be stronger when they return to action against derby rivals Cardiff on September 16.

“We’ve got four new players that will give us a better balance,” said Duff.

“There’s good competition for places now. People need to put their hands up. The season almost starts now.

“I thought we were poor. I thought we were slow, we were pedestrian, with and without the ball and we didn’t do the basics well enough.

“We started the game well on the front foot, went 1-0 up but then went passive. We gave two poor goals away.

“It’s a difficult game if you don’t do the basics properly. We didn’t get on the front foot at all, we weren’t aggressive enough.”