Stoke secured a vital victory in their fight for survival as they defeated Middlesbrough 2-0 but remain in the Championship relegation zone.
A Bae Jun-ho strike before the interval – his second goal in as many games – set the Potters on their way.
And Lewis Baker added the finishing touch to a well-worked corner routine to secure a rare home win.
With the mounting threat of a first relegation to the third tier since 1998, Stoke rose to the occasion to secure just a second win in eight games and relieve pressure on boss Steven Schumacher.
Meanwhile, Boro fell to a fourth defeat in five games.
Stoke, who entered the match in the relegation zone for the first time this season, were given a “call to arms” by Jonathan Walters pre-match.
But the interim technical director’s rallying cry was nearly undone as Middlesbrough raced out of the gates.
Boro should have taken the lead inside three minutes when Riley McGree was found in the box but goalkeeper Daniel Iversen did well to race out and smother the forward.
Despite the early warning sign, the Potters gradually found their rhythm and they also spurned a glorious opportunity to snatch an early advantage.
An intricate Stoke attack ended with Jun-ho teeing up the onrushing Million Manhoef but the January recruit from Vitesse could only blaze over the target.
An end-to-end Basketball-style first half unfolded and again Michael Carrick was left ruing a sequence of missed chances.
Emmanuel Latte Lath – making his first start since December due to injury – rounded Iversen and had an open goal at his mercy but Michael Rose blocked on the line.
The Potters looked to capitalise before the interval with Seny Dieng called to action to deny Niall Ennis’ nodded header.
And the hosts’ persistence was rewarded prior to the break with an opener courtesy of the in-form Jun-ho.
The South Korean youngster shrugged off the challenge of Luke Ayling, advanced powerfully and fired a low effort beyond Dieng to rouse a vocal home support.
Stoke continued to dictate terms after the restart.
And they should have doubled their advantage when Daniel Barlaser was caught sleeping inside his own area.
A lively Baker pickpocketed the Boro midfielder and teed up Josh Laurent in the six-yard box but Dieng stood strong to keep the tie within reach.
However, the former made amends for his indecision when he eased the local faithful’s nerves with the Potters’ second inside 70 minutes.
A corner routine off the training ground ended with a drilled Baker shot deflecting off Matt Clarke beyond a wrongfooted Dieng, confirming a crucial Stoke win.
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.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
