Norwich head coach David Wagner admitted he would be having words with Borja Sainz, whose early red card potentially cost his side in the 1-0 Championship defeat against West Brom at The Hawthorns.
Winger Sainz was sent off in the 34th minute for two bookable offences within five minutes – the second for a needless dissent – after twice going close to giving the Canaries the lead.
Brandon Thomas-Asante’s 50th-minute goal sealed the points for the Baggies, who cemented their place of fifth in the table
“When you’re on a booking, you can’t ask for another yellow,” said Wagner, whose side lost their five-match unbeaten run as a result.
“Everyone knows this – this rule has not been since yesterday and this rule exists all over the world.
“So it’s something you can’t do, especially if you’ve been booked and this is why – even if it’s a harsh decision – it was the correct decision and there is no one to blame but Borja himself.
“I have to speak with him and I will do, for sure, but officially and not in public.
“If he takes what’s right out of this situation – and I’ll make sure he takes what’s right – it will be another step in his progression.
“We’ll support him but it’s my job to speak about the truth as well.”
Wagner stopped short of saying the dismissal cost Norwich the game, but it made for a change of plan at half-time.
“On one side, yes it changed the game and cost us the game, but on the other side, it doesn’t mean that you are automatically not without an chance,” he added.
“I said at half-time: ‘Is it difficult? Yes, super difficult. Is it possible? It is, so let’s go for it’.”
West Brom wasted chances galore before Thomas-Asante’s winner, with John Swift missing six openings, including hitting the post and missing a kick in front of goal.
But Norwich could have snatched an equaliser but for goalkeeper Alex Palmer keeping out substitute Ui-Jo Hwang’s shot in the 77th minute.
West Brom head coach Carlos Corberan felt his side were on top, regardless of the sending off.
“The result was fair, from the way the game was going against 11 players and the way it went when we were against 10,” he said.
“I know the group wanted to take responsibility when they think something hasn’t gone well and we never want to make excuses.”
Thomas-Asante has now eclipsed his Albion tally of seven goals last season and Corberan felt the striker was back to his best.
“I wanted to see a reaction from the previous game because in the last game, I didn’t see his real level,” he added. “Today I saw him competing much better.
“I think sometimes – depending on the context of the game – it switches towards the advantages of one player.
“He’s not good at every single thing, but the important thing for him is to know what type of striker he is and play with the maximum mentality that he needs to play with.”
Bristol City Women 0-4 Man City Women: Hosts relegated as Fowler double inspires WSL leaders
Mary Fowler scored twice to set WSL leaders Manchester City on their way to a 4-0 rout of Bristol City, who suffered relegation as a result, on Sunday.
With Arsenal having drawn with Everton earlier in the day, Man City knew a victory would be enough to take the title race down to two teams.
That victory duly arrived in emphatic fashion, with all four of Man City's goals arriving in the second half.
Fowler's fantastic strike opened the scoring in the 62nd minute, with the Australia international doubling her tally soon after, paving the way for an Amy Rodgers own goal and Alex Greenwood's late header to seal a huge victory.
Arsenal are now out of the title race, with Chelsea - who have two games in hand on Gareth Taylor's team - the only side capable of catching Man City.
The Robins, meanwhile, will be playing in the second tier again next term.
Data Debrief: Bristol heading down with a whimper
Bristol City have failed to score in their last five games in the WSL, a run of 544 minutes without a goal.
They mustered just 0.09 expected goals (xG) to Man City's 3.4, with the visitors having now kept a clean sheet in nine of their 20 league games this season.
De Rossi demands more from 'tired' Roma ahead of crunch run
Daniele De Rossi acknowledged his Roma team may be tired, but he insisted they must not allow themselves to be embarrassed.
Roma fought back to draw 2-2 with last season's Serie A champions Napoli in a pulsating fixture on Sunday.
Tammy Abraham's late header secured a point for De Rossi's team, who took the lead through Paulo Dybala's penalty before going behind to goals from Matias Olivera and Victor Osimhen.
With Serie A set to have five teams in the Champions League next season, Roma occupy fifth spot with four matches remaining, but sixth-placed Atalanta are just two points behind with a game in hand.
There is also the small matter of a Europa League semi-final against Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on the cards over the coming weeks, and De Rossi set the stall out.
"We drew, it is not a result to throw away, but it is not the result or the performance that we wanted," Roma coach Daniele De Rossi told Sky Sports Italia.
"At times you can steal the ball off Napoli, but we then gave it back again too many times. Napoli had a lot of chances in the first half, we did better in the second, but we have to do better.
"Look, we are tired, but we cannot start thinking that we’re tired and that means we can be embarrassed in the final few weeks of the season."
Roma host Leverkusen on Thursday before taking on Juventus on May 5, with a crunch clash against Atalanta – who are also into the Europa League semi-finals – set to follow after the away leg against Xabi Alonso's team.
Key to a successful end to the campaign for Roma will be keeping Dybala fit. The Argentine has been involved in the joint-most goals (12) in Serie A since the turn of the year, scoring nine and setting up three, level with Juve's Dusan Vlahovic.
PSG's latest Ligue 1 title arrives as Monaco lose to Lyon
Paris Saint-Germain have been crowned as Ligue 1 champions after Lyon overcame Monaco 3-2 on Sunday.
A 4-1 midweek win over Lorient ensured that one more victory would be enough for Luis Enrique's team to get over the line, but PSG failed to get the job done themselves when they faced relegation-threatened Le Havre on Saturday.
That game was the 700th match of the QSI era at PSG, and the club's 1,900th in France's top flight.
However, PSG's wait to win their third straight title did not last long, as less than 24 hours later, Lyon – who will face the Parisians in the final of the Coupe de France at the end of May – came out on top in a topsy turvy encounter with second-placed Monaco.
Substitute Malick Fofana was the matchwinner for Lyon, and ultimately the player who handed the title to PSG.
Wissam Ben Yedder had put Monaco ahead in the opening minute, but quickfire goals from Alexandre Lacazette and Said Benrahma turned the match on its head before half-time.
Ben Yedder netted his second to restore parity on the hour mark, and thought he had sealed his hat-trick when he volleyed in from a free-kick, only to have strayed offside.
With only a win good enough for Monaco to stay in the fight, the visitors were then caught out in the 84th minute, with Fofana racing onto Lacazette's throughball and finishing calmly.
After a dismal start to the season, relegation looked a real possibility for Lyon, but they are now, with three games remaining, still in with a shout of qualifying for Europe.
PSG on the other hand now have 12 Ligue 1 titles to their name, with 10 of those coming under QSI's ownership. Aside from the COVID-impacted 2019-20 season, five of their last six league titles have been secured before the start of May.
It also means Luis Enrique remains in the running for a treble in his first season at the club, with PSG taking on Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-finals next week.
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