David Martindale heaped praise on Livingston for the ruthless way they put 10-man Motherwell to the sword in a 2-0 victory.
The Lions made light work of cutting open their visitors once Lennon Miller had been red carded in first-half stoppage time for clipping the heels of Dan MacKay.
Bruce Anderson made the breakthrough only seven minutes into the second half and Sean Kelly added a second from the spot nine minutes later.
It was a first home victory for the Almondvale side in the Premiership this season and they remain undefeated against teams outside the Old Firm.
Livi boss Martindale said: “We’re not getting carried away, but it’s three points and a clean sheet.
“I felt we just shaded it 11 v 11. Motherwell have had a fairly good start to the campaign and they’ve got a good shape about them and a good structure. They’re well coached.
“I don’t think they caused us many problems in the first half and we worked on Dan MacKay, in particular, attacking those central zones at pace.
“We got our just rewards from it and Dan got his just rewards from it.
“I thought wee Bruce was brilliant today with his link-up, he was fantastic and brings Dan into play, and they went down to 10 men.
“I’ll be honest, I thought it was going to be a difficult second half, in terms of trying to break Motherwell down.
“But we managed to get in behind them quite early on for the first goal and then James Penrice did magnificently for the second goal.
“That took a wee bit of the sting out of the game, playing against 10 men. The boys have got to take a lot of credit for the clean sheet.”
Martindale reserved special praise for Anderson, who led the line for Livingston impressively and grabbed his sixth goal of the campaign.
He added: “Bruce’s link-up was brilliant. It’s a part of his game he needs to join together and be a bit more consistent with.
“He’s always going to score goals if you get the ball into the box, but outside the box he knows it’s an area of his game he needs to work on.
“But, outside the box, I thought he was tremendous today and that was the most pleasing aspect for me.”
Meanwhile, Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell was angered by his side’s second-half capitulation.
The Fir Park side opened the season in fantastic form with 10 points from a possible 12, but have now lost four in a row.
Kettlewell said: “There was nothing in the game before [the red card] and that’s the bit that really frustrates me.
“But it also seemed to be the catalyst for a real degree of naivety from our point of view.
“The decision making wasn’t good enough, we conceded one penalty and could have conceded another.
“It all just spiralled out of control and I have never seen that since being here. It irks me and it begins to anger me, as we have had a lot of plaudits for being a good side.
“We are always well organised but in that second half, it all just spiralled. I take responsibility for that but I have never seen it from the players before.”
Hayes concedes title race is over as Chelsea suffer dramatic Liverpool defeat
It has been a difficult week for Chelsea and their boss Emma Hayes.
After seeing their Champions League dreams dashed by holders Barcelona on Saturday, they had no margin for error when they travelled to Liverpool in the Women's Super League on Wednesday.
Six points behind Manchester City with two games in hand but an inferior goal difference, the Blues needed three points to stop Hayes' final season in charge from totalling unravelling.
But there was to be no respite for the Blues, who were at one point tipped for a quadruple but have been stuck in a downward spiral since losing Sam Kerr to an anterior cruciate ligament injury during the winter break.
Matt Beard's Liverpool put on a tremendous display to win 4-3, with Gemma Bonner scoring a stoppage-time equaliser to leave Hayes certain the title is out of reach.
"I think the title is done," she said after Wednesday's game.
"Of course mathematically it's not, but I think the title is done. Our job between now and the end of the season is to keep pushing until the end, but I think it will be very difficult.
"This team has done a tremendous job in my time here to push for titles.
"I don’t know if we have ever conceded four goals in a half before. Three from set pieces is just unforgivable. But I'm going to credit Liverpool."
Chelsea now need an almighty collapse from City, who may only require three points from their remaining two matches to seal the title, if their goal difference advantage holds firm.
Hayes believes fighting on multiple fronts has not helped her team, adding: "We looked exhausted but I don't want to make excuses.
"I want to remind our fans how much success we have brought over the years. It's just not to be this year."
Next up, Chelsea face relegated Bristol City in their final home game before Hayes departs to take the United States job, with City taking on Arsenal in Sunday's headline fixture.
Sancho outshines Mbappe as Dortmund seize initiative against PSG
Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho issued a reminder of his star quality as Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie on Wednesday.
Niclas Fullkrug scored the winner after 36 minutes, taking in Nico Schlotterbeck's floated pass before driving a low shot beyond PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Fullkrug has now been involved in six Champions League goals this season (three goals, three assists), the joint-most by a German player in their debut campaign in the competition, alongside BVB team-mate Marco Reus in 2012-13 (four goals, two assists).
The star of the show, however, was undoubtedly Sancho.
He tormented Nuno Mendes throughout a lively performance, creating three chances for his team-mates – a game-high tally alongside Julian Brandt, Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi.
Sancho had completed seven dribbles by the halfway point, more than he managed in any full game for the Red Devils.
By full-time, that number had crept up to 12, the most by any player in a Champions League semi-final since Lionel Messi completed 16 for Barcelona against United in April 2008, and the most on record by an Englishman at any stage of the competition (since 2003-04).
Sancho even outshone Mbappe, who struck the far post with a curling effort early in the second half but was limited to just three shots totalling 0.17 expected goals (xG).
PSG did have their chances, though, with their total of 14 shots their most without scoring in any Champions League game since the second leg of their 2020-21 semi-final against Manchester City (also 14), when they were beaten 2-0 and eliminated from the competition.
Dortmund are now unbeaten in 11 straight Champions League home games, winning seven and drawing four.
It's their longest ever such streak at Signal Iduna Park, and they have also won four straight knockout games on their own turf for the first time in their Champions League history.
While Dortmund have a valuable lead to protect in Paris next Tuesday, Edin Terzic will be expecting a strong reaction from PSG.
The Ligue 1 champions have progressed from two of their last four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those successes coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20 (1-2 away, 2-0 at home).
Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain: Fullkrug hands hosts first-leg win
Niclas Fullkrug fired home a first-half winner as Borussia Dortmund claimed a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie in Germany.
Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Fullkrug's path and the Germany international brought the ball under his spell with a wonderful touch before drilling a low shot past Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute.
PSG, on the back foot for much of the first half, improved after the break and struck the woodwork twice in a matter of moments just after the restart.
Kylian Mbappe curled an effort against the right-hand post before Achraf Hakimi scuffed a shot against the other upright on the rebound as Edin Terzic's side escaped with a first-leg lead.
The teams will meet again at the Parc des Princes next Tuesday, with the winners of the tie facing either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid – who drew 2-2 in their first leg on Tuesday – in the final at Wembley Stadium.
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