Huddersfield boss Andre Breitenreiter was delighted to have secured a “dirty” win after his side sealed a dramatic 1-0 success against fellow strugglers Millwall.
Substitute Rhys Healey pounced for the Terriers’ late, late winner in added time, one which handed his side a first win in seven games and lifted them out of the Championship drop zone.
A clearly relieved Breitenreiter said: “It’s an absolutely massive win for us, of course.
“It was not easy for us, especially in the first half, after the first 25 minutes or so we created a number of chances, but we just didn’t score.
“When it got so late into the game we still had the team’s belief and that of the supporters, and in the end we got the goal right at the end.
“We said in the pre-match press conference that sometimes you need that dirty win, and we’ve got a dirty win today.
“Now we need some more wins in these last few games.
“I definitely wasn’t satisfied with the first-half performance, and so I spoke to the players at half-time about being brave and maintaining that belief.”
Both teams created decent opportunities in what proved to be an entertaining goalless opening 45 minutes at the John Smith’s Stadium.
Delano Burgzorg and Josh Koroma went closest for the Terriers, while Jake Cooper somehow headed over the top from close range for Millwall.
As the second half progressed and further chances were missed at both ends, it was looking odds-on this one was going to end goalless, until sub Healey finally broke Millwall’s resistance in such dramatic fashion.
It was a cruel blow for Lions boss Neil Harris, whose side have now lost three of their last four games.
They are now just two points clear of the Championship relegation zone and are clearly being dragged into the scrap.
Harris said: “Obviously to lose a game like that so late is a huge disappointment for everyone.
“I thought the players responded quite well to the late defeat at Rotherham the other night.
“There was no lack of application or desire out there I thought.
“But having said that, I do expect to see much more quality from a team at Championship level.
“We know where we are, both on and off the pitch, but overall we need a stronger mentality, particularly late in games like we saw today.
“We had chances, but we can’t just keep giving them up.
“We need to make improvements to the team in the transfer window, clearly.
“Too many times we missed those chances I mention, some of them nigh-on open goals.
“We can control things like that away from a match day, but again today we just didn’t show enough quality and in the end it’s proved costly for us.”
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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