Michael Carrick revealed details of Middlesbrough’s scary 24 hours before securing a late 1-1 draw with promotion-chasing Southampton.
Emmanuel Latte Lath headed in a 90th-minute equaliser after Adam Armstrong had put Saints into the driving seat.
It had come after 70mph winds battered the south coast and forced a hairy two attempts at landing into Southampton Airport on Thursday.
Boro boss Carrick said: “We didn’t get to the hotel until about 10pm last night after our flight was abandoned coming into land.
“We were getting blown all over the place as we were trying to coming into land and then we ended up having to take off again. We almost got diverted to Birmingham.
“It was tasty. Some of the boys were slightly tetchy, it wasn’t pleasant.
“Some of the boys are talking about getting onto the coach on the way back!”
Middlesbrough have 11 injuries, including four centre-backs on the sidelines, which forced midfielder Jonny Howson into the backline.
Howson’s horrifically sliced attempt to clear Kamaldeen Sulemana’s cross gifted Armstrong the opener – his 19th goal of the season and 30th he has been involved with in the league.
“To go 1-0 down and Jonny playing centre-half, it felt like a long day but I’m proud of them,” said Carrick.
“The boys showed what they were capable of against a strong side and with the jabs the boys have had with injuries.
“A lot of teams have had injuries but it has been a revolving door. The boys have adapted unbelievably well.
“I am so so pleased with the boys. We felt we deserved something from the game. I enjoyed watching it. I was desperate for the boys to get something after their effort.”
Ivorian striker Latte Lath’s late header was his 10th of the season and made Saints pay after Che Adams missed a series of gilt-edged chances.
“Che will be frustrated he hasn’t scored,” said Southampton manager Russell Martin. “But it isn’t the reason we lose.
“We still need to defend properly and win the game 1-0.
“I’m really disappointed and frustrated. We should have scored three or four goals. If you aren’t going to score enough to win it you need to defend with your lives.
“The goal is rubbish, it is nowhere near as good a chance as any of ours but he has taken it well.
“We created a lot of chances and on another day we win with a lot of goals but we couldn’t get that next goal and it really hurt us.
“What better way to take out our frustration than on Monday in a really big game (away at promotion rivals Ipswich).
“The lads are annoyed. I was so angry straight after the game so I took a bit of time to talk to them because there was an opportunity there, especially with the result at Leicester (who lost 1-0 to Bristol City).
“But there will still be a lot of twists and turns and some crazy results because the end of the season does some crazy things to teams and people feel pressure in strange ways.
“The game on Monday is perfect for us to bounce back and no one needs to build it up at all.
“We will do everything we can to learn from today. Hopefully we can use the frustration and turn it into a positive.”
Vardy eyes 100-point season after Leicester's title win
Jamie Vardy has challenged his Leicester City team-mates to reach 100 points after sealing the Championship title with one game to spare.
The Foxes were promoted back to the Premier League without kicking a ball after Leeds United’s 4-0 defeat to QPR on Friday, but they needed to win on Monday to earn top spot.
Enzo Maresca’s side cruised to a 3-0 victory over Preston through Vardy’s brace and Kasey McAteer’s header, moving them to 97 points.
With one last milestone in their reach, Vardy wants to make sure they end an already successful season on a high.
Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: “We can celebrate it tonight, but now we have another target which is 100 points.
“We are over the moon. It has gone by quick but it's a graft. Not many days off, I'll tell you that.
“The lads - they've given it all. Thoroughly deserved, and I'm glad we've had 5000 to come and celebrate with us. It's not like it's 20 minutes up the road."
After a run of just three victories from nine games in the league between mid-February and April, Leicester have now won each of their last three outings.
Maresca has praised his players for their hard work in what he labelled a “tough season”.
“Fantastic, it's been a fantastic season. The Championship is a tough season and very intense, but I'm very happy," said Maresca.
"Now it's time to enjoy the work of the season to bring this special club back to the Premier League. We deserve it.
“The last two days they have been fantastic. We got promoted, but it was difficult in game preparation. But we used all of today to prepare for the game, the morning and afternoon. It was good.”
Barcelona 4-2 Valencia: Lewandowski hat-trick leads Barca to 4-2 win over 10-man Valencia
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored a second-half hat-trick to help his side fight back to claim a hard-fought 4-2 win over Valencia, who were leading 2-1 when they were reduced to 10 men just before the break.
Fermin Lopez's header from a Raphinha cross put Barca in front after 22 minutes, but Valencia's Hugo Duro struck in the 27th and Pepelu scored from the spot after a foul by Ronald Araujo 11 minutes later to give the visitors the lead.
But after Valencia keeper Giorgi Mamardashvili saw red for a handball outside the box before the break, Xavi's side dominated and Lewandowski scored with two headers from corners in the 49th and 82nd minutes before getting his treble with a free-kick in added time.
The win postponed Real Madrid's almost inevitable LaLiga title celebrations for a couple of weeks as Carlo Ancelotti's side sit atop the standings on 84 points.
Barcelona moved back to second in LaLiga on Monday with 73 points as they leapfrogged surprise package Girona, who are third with 71. Those two teams will meet in a Catalonia derby on Saturday.
Data debrief
Barcelona conceded two goals in the first half of a home game for the second time this season, after also doing so against Girona in LaLiga in December 2023.
However, Lewandowski's goals have been invaluable to La Blaugrana this season as he's earned 17 points with his 16 goals in the league.
Preston 0-3 Leicester City: Foxes seal Championship title in style
Leicester City cruised to a 3-0 win over Preston in the Championship on Monday to clinch the title with a game to spare.
Jamie Vardy was the star for the Foxes as he scored in both halves before Kasey McAteer made sure of the points with an unmarked header.
Abdul Fatawu had the chance to cap an already memorable night for the travelling fans but hit the post with his curler.
Preston slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat, while Leicester go into their final game against Blackburn Rovers with the knowledge that they will lift the trophy after the final whistle.
Data Debrief
Jamie Vardy has scored 18 goals this season (two in this game), more than any other Leicester player in the competition. He has also netted in his last three games, scoring four goals in total.
It was a dominant performance from the Foxes, who had 19 shots with 11 of those on target. At the other end, Preston only managed to test Jakub Stolarczyk once from their five attempts.
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