Daniel Farke refused to lament his lacklustre Leeds side after the chance of a club-record 10 successive league wins was ended with a 1-1 draw in a West Yorkshire derby with 10-man Huddersfield.
The promotion-chasing Whites had enjoyed a perfect league start to 2024, but had to come from behind to rescue a point.
Substitute Michal Helik, the Terriers’ unlikely top scorer, put the hosts ahead before captain Jonathan Hogg was sent off in first-half stoppage time.
Patrick Bamford, making his first start since February 10, levelled in the second half but Farke’s charges failed to find a winner with Crysencio Summerville hitting the post late on.
“I’m far away from punishing my players for their performance,” stressed Farke, whose side missed the chance to pile the pressure on league leaders Leicester by winning the lunchtime kick-off.
“We have won 28 points out of the last 10 games so I won’t criticise them because they didn’t have their best game. Individually they didn’t have their best day. But you have to expect that sometimes.
“We have to draw a line under that pretty quickly. It’s difficult when a team defends and that’s all they do.
“It was a quick turnaround for us and the pitch was not easy to play. We created chances, we got the equaliser, but it was a bit like a cup game with how scrappy it was.
“We had to rely on the offensive players to put the ball into the net. We should have won, Summerville hit the post. But we have to accept the point.”
The hosts had to play nigh on an hour with 10 men after Hogg’s stray elbow on Junior Firpo saw him booked for a second time.
And Farke felt the Terriers resorted to time wasting as they secured a hard-fought point.
He added: “Someone told me it was the lowest time the ball was in play ever in the Championship. It’s difficult to create because every goal kick takes two minutes.
“It’s difficult when a game’s scruffy like that. We conceded from a set-piece and shouldn’t have given that set-piece away.
“If there’s such a day when you have such a scruffy day, you have to make sure you don’t lose it.
“We had 80 per cent possession. You have to play from side to side when they have nine players in defence.
“We would have preferred to have moved the ball a bit quicker. The pitch was also horrendous.”
The hosts gave themselves a boost in their relegation battle after picking up a decent point in Andre Breitenreiter’s first home game in charge of the club.
He hailed his side’s resilience after going a man down and said: “The boys did a fantastic job today to play over 60 minutes with a player less.
“It’s very hard against Leeds with their quality. They did a really fantastic job. They showed hard work, hard fight and good discipline in defending.
“Until the 45th minute we made it hard for them, we pressed high and went into the lead with a set-piece.
“But the red card was unnecessary. We have to take the right decision so we made a substitution at half-time.
“It’s a derby and we spoke before the game about keeping clear heads, but derbies are full of emotion.
“He knows about his mistake. He apologised. As a leader he’s fantastic, but next time please not again.
“The players were fantastic and can be proud of their performance. We can be happy with this point and thank the players for their performance.”
Chelsea Women 0-2 Barcelona Femeni (1-2 agg): Holders reach Champions League final again
Women's Champions League holders Barcelona overturned a 1-0 first-leg deficit to reach a fourth straight final on Saturday, beating 10-player Chelsea 2-0 at Stamford Bridge.
Emma Hayes' hopes of ending her glittering spell with the Blues by lifting the Champions League trophy were dashed in heartbreaking fashion in front of a sell-out crowd in West London.
Barca went ahead through Ballon d'Or winner Aitana Bonmati 26 minutes in, the diminutive Spaniard seeing her shot deflect off Kadeisha Buchanan to beat Hannah Hampton.
The hosts pushed for a response as Sjoeke Nuksen struck the post, but their position worsened just before the hour mark as Buchanan was perhaps harshly shown a second yellow card for her tackle on Salma Paralluelo.
Barca penned their hosts back from there and Bonmati was decisive again as they inched ahead with 15 minutes to play, drawing a foul from Ashley Lawrence and allowing Fridolina Rolfo to convert from the penalty spot.
Jonatan Giraldez's team have won two of the last three editions of the Champions League, also losing in the final to Lyon in 2021-22. They could be reunited with Les Lyonnaises in next month's final in Bilbao, as they hold a 3-2 lead over Paris Saint-Germain at the halfway stage of the other semi-final.
Data Debrief: Bonmati caps trademark Barca performance
Aided by Buchanan's red card, Barcelona showcased their mastery of possession-based football at Stamford Bridge, enjoying 67.8 per cent of the possession and completing over twice as many passes as Chelsea (583 to 224).
Bonmati was at the centre of everything for the Blaugrana, playing a key role in both goals as well as laying on two chances for team-mates and playing 31 passes in the final third – no Chelsea player recorded more than 11.
Bayer Leverkusen 2-2 Stuttgart: Last-gasp equaliser preserves champions' unbeaten run
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen scored a last-gasp equaliser through Robert Andrich to come from two goals down and rescue a 2-2 draw against Stuttgart on Saturday.
The late drama ensured the hosts extended their record unbeaten run to 46 matches across all competitions.
Leverkusen – who play Roma in the Europa League semi-finals, are also through to the DFB-Pokal final and have already secured their first-ever league title – have now scored 16 goals in stoppage time in all competitions this season.
After a low-key first half, Leverkusen were quickly 2-0 behind after the break with Chris Fuhrich drilling in on the rebound after keeper Lukas Hradecky had palmed a shot on to the post in the 47th minute.
Deniz Undav doubled the visitors' lead 10 minutes later before Leverkusen launched their comeback attempt with Amine Adli beating keeper Alexander Nubel with a low drive in the 61st.
Nubel made three sensational saves to protect Stuttgart's slim lead, but Andrich came to the rescue deep in stoppage time to extend their impressive undefeated run.
Stuttgart are third in the table on 64 points, five behind second-placed Bayern Munich. Leverkusen are top on 81 with three matches remaining.
Everton 1-0 Brentford: Toffees join Bees in ensuring Premier League status
Everton made mathematically certain of remaining in the Premier League on Saturday as Idrissa Gueye's goal handed them a 1-0 home win over Brentford, who are also safe after Luton Town's earlier loss to Wolves.
Luton's 2-1 defeat at Molineux meant Brentford's slim fears of relegation were behind them before kick-off, while Everton knew a third straight victory would also secure their place in the top flight for next season.
The Toffees' old wastefulness was on show in the first half, but Gueye powered home 15 minutes into the second period to hand them a third Goodison Park triumph in the space of six days.
The result saw Sean Dyche's men climb above their visitors to go 15th in the table, one place and point clear of Brentford, who can also plan ahead for 2024-25 in the top flight after pulling clear of danger.
Everton were without Dominic Calvert-Lewin through illness and Beto due to the head injury he suffered against Nottingham Forest. Their absences were felt when the first chance fell their way after six minutes, Youssef Chermiti failing to get a touch on McNeil's tempting cross.
Mathias Jensen had Brentford's first sight of goal 20 minutes in following good work from Vitaly Janelt, but in-form defender Jarrad Branthwaite denied him with a huge block.
The best opportunity of a low-key opening period, though, fell to Abdoulaye Doucoure, who sent an awkward volley spinning well wide after finding space on the stroke of half-time.
Brentford should have gone ahead within five minutes of the restart, but Jordan Pickford brilliantly smothered Ivan Toney's shot when his England team-mate looked destined to tap home at the far post.
McNeil then rattled the crossbar from range as Everton turned up the pressure, and they made the breakthrough on the hour.
Gueye fired into the top-left corner after Brentford failed to clear following a goalmouth scramble, with the goal confirmed by VAR amid questions about a subjective offside.
Keane Lewis-Potter worked Pickford from the edge of the box, but that was as close as Thomas Frank's men came to an equaliser, and Everton almost had a second when James Garner's free-kick struck the bar in stoppage time.
Everton rescue act complete
When Everton welcomed Burnley to Goodison Park on April 6th, they remained in severe danger of seeing a chastening campaign end in relegation.
However, a run of four wins in five games – the most memorable being Wednesday's 2-0 triumph over Merseyside rivals Liverpool – has dragged the Toffees clear and ensured there will be no repeat of last year, when they remained at the highest level by the skin of the teeth on a nervy final day.
Having earned their first win of the campaign against Brentford back in September, Everton have also done the double over the Bees for just the second time, previously beating them home and away in the second tier back in 1952-53.
Toney struggles continue
While Brentford had enjoyed a resurgence of their own prior to Saturday's game, beating Sheffield United 2-0 and Luton 5-1 in their last two matches, both of those victories came without injured striker Toney.
He returned to the Bees' lineup here but was uncharacteristically quiet, failing to beat Pickford when presented with the visitors' best chance shortly after half-time.
Toney has now failed to score in his last eight Premier League matches, his longest ever run without a goal in the competition. With Ollie Watkins and Dominic Solanke in fine form as Gareth Southgate prepares to name his England squad for Euro 2024, his barren spell has come at a poor time.
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