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• Atalanta 0-1 Juventus: Vlahovic strike hands Bianconeri Coppa glory

  An early strike from Dusan Vlahovic earned Juventus a 1-0 win over Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final on Wednesday, as Massimiliano Allegri's side lifted their first trophy for three years.

  Vlahovic put Juventus in front in the fourth minute when he latched onto a pass from Andrea Cambiaso and broke into the box, before driving his finish past goalkeeper Marco Carnesecchi.

  The Serbia striker thought he had doubled Juve's lead in the 72nd minute when he nodded home from Cambiaso's cross, but that effort was disallowed for offside.

  The Bianconeri had just 34 per cent of the possession and sat back for long periods, but Atalanta were unable to make their dominance of the ball count, failing to record a single shot on target from 13 attempts.

  They will hope to fare better when they face Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final later this month, having now lost three Coppa Italia finals under Gian Piero Gasperini.

  Data Debrief: Juventus on top once more

  The Coppa Italia is Juventus' competition. They hold the record for most finals played (22) and won (15), and have now lifted the trophy in six of the last 10 years.

  Allegri, meanwhile, has now won the Coppa on five separate occasions, surpassing Sven-Goran Eriksson and Roberto Mancini to become the competition's most successful coach outright.

• Brighton 1-2 Chelsea: Palmer and Nkunku boost Blues' European hopes

  Chelsea maintained their European charge with a fourth successive win on Wednesday, overcoming Brighton by a 2-1 scoreline at the Amex Stadium. 

  Cole Palmer’s excellent header – his 22nd Premier League goal of a fine debut campaign – put the Blues ahead after they had been denied an early penalty by a VAR review.

  Both sides enjoyed plenty of chances with Pascal Gross going particularly close for Brighton, but Christopher Nkunku pounced to give Chelsea breathing room in the second half. 

  Chelsea captain Reece James was sent off for a petulant kick on Joao Pedro late on and Danny Welbeck halved the arrears in stoppage time, but the visitors held on to ensure a top-seven finish remains in their hands going into the final day. 

  Chelsea thought they had an early chance to score from the spot as Facundo Buonanotte's challenge on Marc Cucurella was penalised, but the penalty award was overturned after a VAR review.

  Mauricio Pochettino’s side continued to push for the opener as Malo Gusto's deflected effort was tipped over by Bart Verbruggen, and they eventually broke through in the 34th minute.

  Cucurella burst down the left-hand side before floating a cross into the box, and Palmer arrived to send a looping header over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net.

  Nicolas Jackson had an excellent chance to double Chelsea’s lead deep into first-half stoppage time, but he failed to convert Palmer’s cross on the volley.

  Substitute Nkunku then went close shortly after the break, but his driven effort from the edge of the box went narrowly wide.

  The Seagulls should have equalised in the 57th minute as Tariq Lamptey’s dipping cross found Gross totally unmarked, but he somehow put his shot wide from inside the six-yard box.

  Pochettino's men punished that miss seven minutes later, with Gusto cutting back for Nkunku to pick out the bottom corner with his first-time finish.

  James was sent off after a VAR review as stoppage time loomed, having appeared to kick out at Pedro. The Seagulls pilled on the pressure from there as Adingra struck the post on the volley before Welbeck poked home a Pedro delivery, but Chelsea ultimately held firm.

  Brighton’s conceding first curse

  Brighton have now failed to win in their last 11 matches when conceding the opening goal in the Premier League, in a run which dates back to a victory over Brentford on December 6.

  The Seagulls had opportunities to equalise after Palmer’s first-half header, but Nkunku’s goal gave them a mountain to climb, one they were unable to scale even with a one-man advantage. 

  A top-half finish is now the limit of Brighton's ambitions. They stay 10th, and a win over Manchester United on the final day will ensure they avoid dropping into the bottom half.

  Chelsea’s impressive 2024 continues

  Pochettino has started to turn things around since the start of 2024, with Chelsea securing 32 points in the Premier League since the start of January.  

  The contributions of Palmer have certainly helped the Argentine, with the young attacker scoring the opening goal in nine league games this season. 

  Chelsea supporters wouldn’t have been expecting a late push for the European places, but with the Blues sitting sixth going to the final day, qualification is in their hands. 

• Premier League clubs to vote on scrapping VAR after Wolves proposal

  Premier League clubs will be asked to vote on the prospect of scrapping VAR for next season following a proposal from Wolves.

  The use of VAR in the Premier League has been a talking point since its introduction at the start of the 2019-20 season, with a number of controversial decisions intensifying the debate surrounding its use this term.

  Wolves have been on the wrong end of several contentious decisions this season, starting from their opening game last August, as Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) representative Jon Moss apologised for a failure to award them a penalty during a 1-0 loss to Manchester United.

  More recently, Wolves saw a potential stoppage-time equaliser against West Ham disallowed for a subjective offside call against Tawanda Chirewa, with boss Gary O'Neil given a one-match ban for a post-match outburst towards referee Tony Harrington.

  Nottingham Forest have also been angered by several decisions in recent weeks, while PGMOL memorably apologised to Liverpool after Luis Diaz saw a goal wrongly disallowed in a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham last September.

  Wolves have now tabled a resolution calling for VAR to be abolished, with clubs set to vote on the issue at an annual general meeting on June 6. Premier League rules require 14 of 20 clubs to vote in favour of a proposal for it to pass.

  In a widely reported statement, Wolves said VAR had been introduced "in good faith and with the best interests of football and the Premier League at heart" but lamented a number of negative repercussions. 

  The club say VAR has caused frustration and confusion among match-going fans, negatively impacted the atmosphere at games, diminished accountability of match officials and overreached beyond its original aim to correct "clear and obvious" errors.

  Wolves also said persistent errors being made despite the presence of VAR were difficult to accept and had furthered "completely nonsensical" allegations of corruption from supporters.

  The club added: "Our position is that the price we are paying for a small increase in accuracy is at odds with the spirit of our game, and as a result we should remove it from the 2024-25 season onwards."

  A Premier League spokesperson said: "The Premier League can confirm it will facilitate a discussion on VAR with our clubs at the annual general meeting next month.

  "Clubs are entitled to put forward proposals at shareholders' meetings and we acknowledge the concerns and issues around the use of VAR.

  "However, the league fully supports the use of VAR and remains committed, alongside PGMOL, to make continued improvements to the system for the benefit of the game and fans."

  Sweden recently became the first country to opt against the implementation of VAR at the top level following a fan backlash.  

  Wolves boss O'Neil has repeatedly spoken out against the use of VAR since saying the award of two controversial penalties to Fulham in a 3-2 loss last November had turned him against the technology.