Vincent Kompany has promised his Burnley team will fight until the end in their battle against relegation and believes there is still more to come from his players this season.
The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to four games but could not earn what might have been a crucial win as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on Tuesday night, with Rayan Ait-Nouri cancelling out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s fine volley.
The gap to safety grew to six points with seven games left to play, but with a trip to fellow strugglers Everton up next on Saturday, Kompany will keep believing.
“I’m fairly confident our team is a team of improvement, we can get better and I want them to continue doing that,” Kompany said.
“It’s not surprising at all that we are where we are but, OK, that’s in the past. It’s what the next game brings. Start the game with confidence we can do something.
“I don’t conceive a moment this season where we won’t keep fighting.”
For Wolves, the draw moved them on to 42 points, surpassing last season’s total with eight games left to play.
They sit three points behind seventh-placed West Ham with a game in hand, and two points behind Newcastle having played the same number.
In a season which began with questions over whether or not they had the resources to compete, earning European football for next campaign remains a very realistic target despite a recent glut of injuries.
“There’s never been a top-seven focus, just finish as high as we can,” Gary O’Neil said. “I would love us to finish in the top seven, the lads would love to finish in the top seven and they’re pushing as hard as they can.
“Obviously it has just been made more difficult but that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve it.”
Wolves have been particularly depleted in attack, lately relying on the goals of usual left-back Ait-Nouri, who scored for the third time in four games.
Teenage striker Leon Chiwome led the line at Turf Moor in only his second Premier League appearance, and although Matheus Cunha came off the bench to make his first appearance since mid-February the likes of Pedro Neto, Hee Chan Hwang, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde remain out.
O’Neil said he had seen such problems coming during the January window because of the amount he was asking of the club’s small squad, but financial constraints meant they could do nothing to mitigate the situation.
“We are missing some very good players which makes it difficult to get results in the Premier League,” he said.
“It’s a tough situation and a bit of me is disappointed that we got into such an unbelievable position and then the injuries have caught up with us.
“We told the club in January that we were overloading the players – I felt our injury record would get worse and that we could suffer a couple of injuries in the top line that would make a huge difference.
“We had a Premier League number nine lined up and a small amount of money stopped us doing it. You can see why the club’s aim was to stay in the Premier League.
“I’m trying to pick a starting eleven from about 12 outfield players – I doubt there’s another club who are like that. Unbelievable credit to the lads in there. It’s a special group.”
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.
Kimmich ready to open Bayern Munich talks amid Barcelona speculation
Joshua Kimmich is ready to open talks with Bayern Munich over his future at the club amid speculation linking him with Barcelona.
The Germany international has spent nine years at the Allianz Arena, but he is due to become a free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign.
Barca have been repeatedly linked with Kimmich in recent transfer windows and are said to retain an interest ahead of next season.
Speaking to Spanish outlet AS, the midfielder talked up Barca - as well as fierce rivals Real Madrid - but fell short of saying he is open to a move.
"I want to talk to Bayern. When I do that, I won't go out and talk to the press about it," he said.
"I'm not thinking about this. I will speak to Bayern first. But of course, Barcelona and Real Madrid are amazing clubs with an amazing history."
Kimmich has played 37 times in all competitions this season for Bayern, whose last remaining hope of silverware is in the Champions League.
Bayern will face Real Madrid over two legs for a place in the final, with the first match in that double-header taking place in Bavaria on Tuesday.
Thomas Tuchel will depart the dethroned Bundesliga champions at the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick the favourite to succeed him.
The managerial uncertainty is not helping with regards to the Kimmich rumours, but he insists that will not be a deciding factor on his future.
"It's not the most important thing right now," he said. "I know that when you sign a contract you don't sign it with the coach.
"You sign it with the club. For me, the most important thing is the club, not just the coach.
"But it's also important to know what the coach thinks about you and the team. Other people in the club can worry about choosing the coach."
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