Daniel Farke felt Leeds’ 1-0 victory over Stoke was his side’s “best win in 2024” as they continued their Championship automatic-promotion charge.
Dan James could have had a couple in the first half but for Daniel Iversen’s saves before the Wales international put his side ahead with his 11th goal of the season just after the half-hour mark.
Stoke did not roll over and Illan Meslier kept out chances from Lewis Baker, Tyrese Campbell and Josh Laurent in the second period.
Mateo Joseph saw one blocked off the line to deny Leeds a second while substitute Ben Pearson was sent off late on for the visitors.
Farke said: “For me, it is the best win in 2024 because everyone expects us to win this home game.
“Everyone expects us at Elland Road to beat each and every opponent right now against a team not in the best position and think it should be an easy win.
“It feels like in the stadium ‘we are going there for a cup of tea and a cake’ perhaps instead of this explosion we had against Leicester where everyone was on it.”
Leeds kept the heat on top two Leicester and Ipswich and will play their third league game in six days when they travel to Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night.
Farke’s side have a chance to put points on the board before their promotion rivals but the German bemoaned the congested fixture list.
He added: “Even today was our third game in six days with two tough away games and thank God the home game today.
“Four games in 10 days, I’m not sure any other teams in Europe have such a schedule but what else can we do. We have to adapt to it and try keep going and stay unbeaten.
“When you have such a schedule you cannot expect offensive fireworks and top-class games. You can’t always be at your best in this schedule – I’m happy out of the last three games we have seven points.”
Stoke boss Steven Schumacher praised his side, who remain in the bottom three of the Championship.
He said: “I think we showed some real character and stood up to some intense pressure at times.
“We didn’t fold or buckle which is a good sign from the team that they are ready for the challenge and I think in the second half we showed everyone what type of team we can be but didn’t do enough to get the equaliser we probably deserved.
“I don’t think he (Pearson) needs to get involved in the first one and the second one there is not a lot in it. It’s frustrating because we will miss Ben again.
“Iversen made some good saves tonight and he kept us in the game. He is a good goalkeeper and we will need him in the run-in.”
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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