Lincoln boss Michael Skubala labelled as “unbelievable” his team’s crucial 1-0 win at Oxford.

The Imps kept their season alive with a resolute defensive performance and a victory thanks to Danny Mandroiu’s 47th-minute penalty after Ruben Rodrigues was adjudged to have fouled Ben House.

The win enabled Lincoln to leapfrog Blackpool into seventh place in League One, just two points behind Oxford with two games to go.

Skubala said: “We were unbelievable – we have a special group here. We played for the shirt, you could see that.

“I can’t really pick anyone out, we were collectively fantastic and I’m just so proud of them.

“We said to them before the start ‘let’s just keep it alive and then see what the pressure might do’ and we’ve done that.

“We knew we couldn’t come here and dominate the ball, Oxford have some very good players.

“But we thought we could catch them on the counter and hurt them and the players carried out the game plan to perfection.

“It was a great penalty from Danny Mandroiu. He was as cool as ice.

“The way we ran the clock down was perfect.”

Lincoln’s win came despite losing Reeco Hackett in only the fifth minute to a bad arm injury.

They also had substitute Dylan Duffy sent off for a second yellow card in the 83rd minute, when he fouled Marcus Browne, but the 10 men held out.

Oxford manager Des Buckingham was unhappy with the penalty award.

He said: “I’ve watched it back and it’s as clear as day…. Ruben Rodrigues won the ball.

“So, yes, I’ve got complaints about the penalty because it’s a key moment and in the end that’s what has decided the outcome of the game.

“I think we played well enough, especially in the first half, to feel we should have won the game – we created a couple of big opportunities.

“If we keep presenting opportunities like the ones to Tyler Goodrham and Mark Harris I’m sure they’ll take them.

“But we’d scored 13 goals in the last three games, maybe we had used up our share.

“We’re in a strong position with two games to go. So I’m not going to stand here and keep moaning about the penalty – we’ve just got to refocus for Stevenage at home on Friday night.

“I’m disappointed the performance here hasn’t given us the result because we definitely deserved to get something from this game.”

Conor Shaughnessy struck late on as Portsmouth secured the League One title and promotion to the Championship with a 3-2 win over Barnsley at Fratton Park.

Pompey knew one point would return them to the second tier following a 12-year absence, but they were up against it after Devante Cole and John McAtee scored for the play-off chasing Tykes either side of Kusini Yengi’s equaliser.

However, the hosts got the job done courtesy of Colby Bishop’s 83rd-minute penalty and Shaughnessy’s last-gasp effort.

Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane could be consigned to a trophyless season on Wednesday night, but Tottenham head coach Ange Postecoglou has defended the striker’s move to Germany.

Postecoglou worked with Kane for several weeks last summer before the England captain decided to leave his boyhood club in a £100million move in pursuit of a “new challenge”.

While the 30-year-old has enjoyed an excellent individual campaign with 39 goals in all competitions, Bayern’s last hope of winning a trophy this term is the Champions League after Bayer Leverkusen clinched the Bundesliga title on Sunday.

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Arsenal visit the Allianz Arena on Wednesday with the Champions League quarter-final finely poised after a first-leg 2-2 draw, and Postecoglou feels it would be unfair for Kane’s switch to be deemed a failure if Bayern go out this week.

“I don’t think that’s fair,” the Australian said.

“I’m not going to speak for Harry, for God’s sake, but I don’t think that’s the only reason he left. I think he was pretty clear that he wanted a different experience and I think there’s nothing wrong with that.

“That’s been my whole career. He was at one club for a very long time. He was at a point where he either makes a decision to stay and become a one-club man, which is fair enough, or he can experience something different as a footballer, maybe as a person.

“I don’t know. These are questions for him. But I don’t get this notion that he just moved just to win things.

“I don’t think if he had stayed here, he didn’t think he was going to win things. I just think he wanted a different experience and he’s getting that.

“I’m sure at the end of his career, if that was his reasoning behind it, he’ll find that it does. It gives you a real broad experience about what football is about, what life is about.

“I know every decision I’ve made in my career, it’s very hard for other people sometimes to understand because they’re not living my life.

“They’re not with my family or with the people around me to know why you come to these decisions.

“They’re very rarely (made) around too many simplistic things. Most of the time there’s a whole range of factors that you put into it.”

Kylian Mbappe scored twice as Paris St Germain came from two goals down on aggregate to stun Barcelona and reach the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Trailing 3-2 from the first leg, the visitors faced an uphill struggle when Raphinha scored the opener for Barca.

But the match turned when Ronald Araujo was sent off for a professional foul and goals from Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and Mbappe’s double gave PSG a 4-1 win on the night and a 6-4 aggregate victory.

Barca took the lead, and gave themselves a two-goal cushion in the tie, in the 12th minute after superb work from Lamine Yamal.

The 16-year-old collected a pass on the right and ran at Nuno Mendes before a nifty piece of skill took him past the Portugal full-back.

Raphinha, who scored twice in the first leg, did not know much about his third of the tie as it ricocheted in off his shin four yards out.

The hosts almost had a second when Raphinha’s cross was only cleared to Robert Lewandowski, whose shot just went over the crossbar.

PSG remained a threat, though, and Marc-Andre ter Stegen had to make a smart save low to his left to keep out Mbappe’s close-range effort.

The drama came in the 29th minute when Araujo was shown a straight red card after he barged Bradley Barcola over on the edge of the area.

The Spaniards protested furiously that Pau Cubarsi was a covering defender, but after a VAR review, the decision stood.

Ten minutes later PSG were level on the night when Barcola whipped in a low cross which eluded Mbappe but was emphatically finished by Dembele at the far post.

After the break Vitinha collected the ball 25 yards out and, with no defenders closing him down, rifled into the net.

Ilkay Gundogan shaved a post for Barca but their night was about to take another turn for the worst when, first, boss Xavi was shown a red card for his angry reaction on the touchline.

Moments later PSG had a penalty when Joao Cancelo slid in and brought down Dembele, and Mbappe duly dispatched the spot-kick as the Ligue 1 side went ahead in the tie.

Barcelona staged a late rally but Gianluigi Donnarumma saved brilliantly from Lewandowski and Raphinha fired wide.

And in the last minute PSG broke forward and Mbappe lashed in the fourth to seal a stunning win.

Che Adams notched a brace to give Southampton a 3-0 victory over Preston, a third home win in seven days and a clear view of the Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion places.

Striker Adams claimed a classy first-half double – which took him past 100 league goals – before Scotland team-mate Stuart Armstrong crashed in a third.

After three defeats in four matches in February, Saints thought they would be consigned to the play-offs but three wins in a row, along with Ipswich, Leeds and Leicester’s stumbles, have them four points outside the top two with a game in hand on all but Leicester.

Saints were forced into a pre-match alteration as Gavin Bazunu hobbled out of the warm-ups, with Alex McCarthy brought in for his first league start since the final day of last season – having not initially been named on the bench.

The former England international fumbled his only real work of the night – an early low shot from Mads Frokjaer – but from that point, the hosts suffocated North End with electric passing and goals.

After a couple of close shaves, Adams reached his ton of goals with a 19th minute tap-in. The Scotland international made a smart run in the middle to put himself on the end of Adam Armstrong’s low centre.

Ten minutes later and Saints had doubled their lead after a gorgeous free-flowing move which ended with Adams coolly slotting into the bottom corner following a pass from David Brooks.

Freddie Woodman’s high position twice gave his colleagues a heart-in-mouth moment as Adam Armstrong and Adams both took aim with lobs from 35 yards – both ending up on the roof of the goal.

Saints grabbed their third in the 33rd minute, when Duane Holmes’ abject attempt at a clearance fell to Stuart Armstrong to stroke into a largely unguarded net.

Holmes, already booked, was lucky to stay on the pitch as he tripped Ryan Manning on the edge of the box soon after – with Stuart Armstrong’s free-kick straight at Woodman. But the United States international was hooked by manager Ryan Lowe before the end of the half.

Stuart Armstrong struck the base of a post but Saints would not have been too worried against a Preston side who have not scored a second-half goal on the road in 2024.

Adams had a number of chances to claim the match ball in the second half, none more so than in the 67th minute when he duped a defender with his run, pulled a lofted through-ball down and was only foiled by the onrushing Woodman’s face.

Woodman also saved a rasping effort from Brooks as Saints eased off with the three points secured.

Veteran defender Curtis Davies headed home the winner to complete a precious Cheltenham 2-1 comeback victory over League One relegation rivals Burton at the Pirelli Stadium.

The Robins produced a stirring second-half fight back to end their four-game losing run with goals from Matty Taylor and Davies after substitute Steve Seddon had given the Brewers the lead.

Seddon fired home in stoppage time at the end of a first half which, by and large, was a scrappy affair with both sides aware of the magnitude of the game, in terms of the scrap to beat the drop.

It was no real surprise it came from a set-piece, Jasper Moon’s long throw helped on by Sam Hughes and falling perfectly for the substitute to drive home.

Taylor got Cheltenham back into the game six minutes after the break with a looping header from Jordan Thomas’ cross and the turnaround was complete with a little under twenty minutes to go when Davies rose highest in the six-yard box to head home Will Ferry’s corner.

Victory pushed Cheltenham to within two points of the Brewers and safety and with a game in hand on Albion.

Fleetwood were left hanging onto their League One status by a thread after missing two penalties in a 4-1 drubbing at Peterborough.

Promise Omochere and Bosun Lawal both fluffed their lines from the spot when being denied by Posh keeper Jed Steer before an avalanche of late goals secured Posh’s play-off place and left the Cod Army six points from safety with just two games to play.

Lawal fired Fleetwood into a shock lead after just 13 seconds and then earned the ninth-minute penalty that Omochere saw saved by Steer.

Posh striker Malik Mothersille tapped in his first English Football League goal from David Ajiboye’s cross to bring the hosts level in the 17th minute.

But Charlie Adam’s men had another golden opportunity to boost their survival hopes when Omochere was brought down by Josh Knight for another spot-kick with 15 minutes to go, only for Lawal to see his effort saved by Steer.

Posh then struck three times late on to wrap up a win that maintained their outside chance of automatic promotion with Archie Collins coolly slotting them ahead in a one-on-one situation in the 81st minute.

Substitute Jonson Clarke-Harris then finished the job by bagging a quickfire brace in the fifth and sixth minutes of stoppage time.

Port Vale are right up against it as they battle to avoid relegation from League One following a 2-1 defeat to Wycombe at Vale Park.

Ethan Chislett cancelled out David Wheeler’s opener for the visitors before Nigel Lonwijk scored a late winner, leaving Darren Moore’s side three points from safety with two games of the season left.

Dale Taylor could have opened the scoring for Wycombe after just 40 seconds when he pounced on a defensive error and slid the ball wide from the edge of the area.

Wanderers were ahead just three minutes later, however, when Wheeler was in the right place to blast the ball home after Connor Ripley denied Sam Vokes.

The home side responded well after the early setback and would have been level in the ninth minute had Franco Ravizzoli not made a great save to push Chislett’s effort over the bar.

It was Vale who started brightest after the break and were level just two minutes into the second half when Chislett found himself in space before slotting the ball past Ravizzoli.

The closing stages saw Vale going all out for the win with Jensen Weir coming close on a couple of occasions before Lonwijk sealed victory for Wanderers with only four minutes remaining.

Paris Maghoma rescued a point but a 2-2 Sky Bet League One draw with Shrewsbury dented Bolton’s hopes of automatic promotion.

The third tier’s lowest scorers twice shocked their hosts by taking the lead.

But facing a first home defeat to their visitors for 34 years, Bolton salvaged a draw when Maghoma fired home his ninth goal of the campaign after 71 minutes.

However, Ian Evatt’s side still trail second-placed Derby by three points, with both teams having two further games to play.

Shrewsbury survived an early scare when Mal Benning deflected a Cameron Jerome effort against his own post.

Shrews goalkeeper Marko Marosi – in excellent form throughout – twice denied Aaron Collins before Tom Bloxham’s surging run and excellent delivery set up Daniel Udoh’s 21st-minute opener.

Veteran Jerome equalised after 41 minutes with his first Bolton league goal and first since scoring for Luton in October 2022.

But Jordan Shipley’s stunning left-footed effort from Elliott Bennett’s corner, two minutes later, restored Town’s lead.

In the second half, Bolton battered away in vain until Maghoma’s goal salvaged a draw.

Lincoln kept alive their League One play-off hopes with a crucial 1-0 victory over sixth-placed Oxford at the Kassam Stadium.

Danny Mandroiu hit the winner from the penalty two minutes into the second half after Ruben Rodrigues fouled Ben House.

They held out despite having substitute Dylan Duffy sent off for a second yellow card seven minutes from the end.

It was a must-win game for the Imps after their home defeat by Wigan at the weekend and they started the better.

Paudie O’Connor forced goalkeeper Jamie Cumming into a save with a far-post header at a corner and Freddie Draper headed wide from close in.

The visitors suffered a blow when Reeco Hackett had to go off with an arm injury after what looked an innocuous challenge.

As the half wore on Oxford settled and keeper Lukas Jensen twice saved from Tyler Goodrham and Mark Harris also went close twice as the U’s turned up the heat.

But City also looked dangerous and Draper squandered another good opportunity from eight yards.

The U’s were caught cold at the start of the second half when they conceded the spot-kick, hammered home by Mandroiu to Cumming’s left.

Cameron Brannagan added an extra dimension for United when he came off the bench and he cut in from the left to hammer a fierce drive that Jensen did well to save.

But Lincoln defended resolutely for a victory that keeps their season going.

Chris Martin scored his 16th League One goal of the season as Bristol Rovers claimed a late 1-0 victory over Cambridge at the Memorial Stadium.

The Rovers striker fired low into the goal after 87 minutes as he converted Luke Thomas’ cross, with the Pirates scoring at home for the first time in five games.

That goal made up for Martin’s earlier gilt-edged miss – the 35-year-old former Norwich and Derby forward was unable to convert a 33nd-minute penalty.

U’s goalkeeper Will Mannion dived to his left to stop the striker’s low, poorly-placed shot, after Paul Digby had been penalised for a foul on Scott Sinclair, as the Rovers winger attacked following Luke Thomas winning the ball just outside the Cambridge area.

The visitors threatened throughout via set-pieces, as Digby and Macauley Bonne both headed first-half corners over the crossbar.

And Mamadou Jobe went even closer when his 60th-minute header crashed off the woodwork as the defender met a Danny Andrew free-kick.

Luca Hoole cleared Liam Bennett’s shot off the line in the last minute of stoppage time to preserve Rovers’ result, after another Cambridge corner.

Mikel Arteta believes Champions League quarter-final success against Bayern Munich will take Arsenal to the next level as he told his players to “write a different story” at the Allianz Arena.

The Gunners head into Wednesday’s second leg locked at 2-2 with Thomas Tuchel’s Bayern after a thrilling draw at the Emirates Stadium last week.

Defeat to Aston Villa on Sunday has since dented Arsenal’s Premier League title bid as attention now turns to Europe once again.

Arsenal had lost seven last-16 ties in succession before returning to the Champions League this season – three times to Bayern.

Arteta, though, feels reaching a semi-final against either holders Manchester City or record 14-time winners Real Madrid would elevate Arsenal.

Asked how transformative victory would be and whether it would take Arsenal to the next level, the Spaniard replied: “Absolutely.

“It would be unbelievable. If we make it happen tomorrow and we’re in the semi-final, we’ll be in a really high emotional state with something that we haven’t achieved in 15 years and that’s the opportunity.

“All the preparation has been to achieve that. We have earned it. We have earned it for 10 months and everything we did last season, to start our journey in the Champions League after so many years.

“Tomorrow we have an unbelievable opportunity to make it happen.”

Arteta has overseen a sea change in approach to big away games this season, ripping up the recent form books and guiding Arsenal to draws at title rivals City and Liverpool.

They have lost 5-1 on their last two visits to the Allianz – but Arteta wants another memorable away performance to redress more recent history.

“We have to change it and the opportunity comes there,” he added.

“There are lots of things we can do to write our story very differently tomorrow, we know that and it is going to be about putting in a very, very strong performance collectively and individually to earn the right to be in the semi-final.

“Most of our players haven’t experienced a night like this, this is going to be the first one, they are super-motivated, they are prepared, they feel confident and it is something that tomorrow we are going to have to show against an opponent that has this experience – but we want to make it happen.”

Kyle Walker is set to return as holders Manchester City bid to reach the Champions League semi-finals for a fourth successive year against Real Madrid on Wednesday.

The England right-back has missed the treble-winners’ last five matches after suffering a hamstring injury on international duty last month.

Walker played a full part in City’s final training session before they host Spanish giants Real in the second leg of their quarter-final tie at the Etihad Stadium, which will begin with the aggregate score 3-3.

Manager Pep Guardiola said: “He’s been training good. I don’t know if from the beginning or from the bench, but I think he will be with us tomorrow.

“It is incredibly good news for many reasons. You know the physicality is massively important and in football it is how you challenge your opponent. Everyone knows the quality Kyle has.”

Walker did not travel to Spain for last week’s pulsating first-leg draw at the Bernabeu Stadium but was an unused substitute for the 5-1 thrashing of Luton on Saturday.

Team-mate Bernardo Silva has welcomed the potential return of the City skipper.

The midfielder said: “He is very important because we know Kyle has controlled some of the best players in the world and always does a phenomenal job when he plays.

“He’s our captain and he’s a player who, in the last few years, has played against players like Vinicius, (Kylian) Mbappe and Neymar and has defended against them like nobody else.”

Jude Bellingham admitted joining Real Madrid last summer was a “no-brainer”.

The England midfielder opted for the Spanish giants amid interest from a host of Europe’s top clubs after three highly-impressive seasons with Borussia Dortmund.

The 20-year-old Birmingham academy product has hardly looked back since, netting 20 times in an outstanding debut campaign at the Bernabeu Stadium that has catapulted him into the game’s elite.

Bellingham, speaking at a press conference ahead of Real’s Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday, said: “I had good chats with loads of clubs – including Dortmund – and my family were great in helping me chew up that information.

“It’s difficult while you are still in the season to take in the information and process it and still have to play at the weekend or in the Champions League.

“I had conversations with other teams but when Madrid came in it was a no-brainer really. The size of the club, the project, the plan going forward, the chance to play with such amazing players.

“I just jumped at it. That’s why I made my decision.”

Bellingham has no doubt his game has developed considerably since joining Real and he puts a lot of that down to the influence of veteran manager Carlo Ancelotti.

He said: “I think the sign of a good manager is when he can make you believe that you’re a bit better than maybe you thought you were before.

“I think he fills me with that confidence every day, in training and in the game. Not only that, but he’s a top person. He makes you feel comfortable.”

Real are locked in a ferocious battle with holders City to advance to the semi-finals after an enthralling 3-3 draw at the Bernabeu last week.

City are now regarded as the favourites due to their home advantage – and the fact they thrashed Real 4-0 at the same venue last season – but Bellingham is taking no notice of predictions.

He said: “That’s just the impression from the outside, the feeling from everyone else.

“I’m not a gambler and I’ve never been to the bookies, so I don’t know about betting favourites and things like that.

“But I do know that we’re a pretty good team ourselves. They’re the treble winners, they’re an amazing team but we’ve got some brilliant players.

“There’s external noise, but internally, we’re confident.”

Jude Bellingham has demanded football’s authorities – particularly in Spain – do more to combat racism but admitted: “I doubt that will happen.”

The England midfielder’s call came after his Real Madrid team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni was racially abused by a Mallorca supporter after scoring last weekend.

It is the latest of a number of incidents in Spanish football, with another Real player in Vinicius Jr having been a regular victim of offensive chanting and gestures.

Bellingham, speaking to media ahead of Real’s Champions League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday, said: “I think in the games where we go away, in La Liga especially, you almost get so used to it that I wasn’t even aware of the (Tchouameni) incident. I think that’s a massive problem in itself.

“More has got to be done, whether it’s the punishment and how you react to it or how you move proactively to (stop) this kind of thing.

“I think it’s a horrible way for a player to prepare for a game, knowing that they’re probably going to get racially abused. It’s disgusting. It shouldn’t happen.

“The people in power need to do more. No-one deserves that kind of thing.

“It’s definitely a call-out for the people who are in charge to take control. I doubt that will happen.

“It’s going to be something that I imagine we will still have to just deal with going into games. You have just got to play your game and hope that the people look after you, and they’re not doing it well enough at the moment.”

Vinicius broke down in tears at a press conference as he discussed his experiences of racism ahead of Brazil’s recent friendly against Spain in Madrid.

Bellingham expressed sympathy for his colleague.

He said: “I think the blame gets shifted more onto him because of maybe his playing style and the way he likes to express himself and I don’t think that’s fair.

“The game would miss players like Vini if he decided to take a break because of this thing. More needs to be done to support these players.”