Millwall boss Gary Rowett heaped praise on his side’s positive response following a shaky start to the season after they convincingly beat Rotherham 3-0 at The Den.
The Lions produced the perfect response to weekend defeat to Leeds as Ryan Longman’s first-half strike put the hosts ahead before Zian Flemming and Tom Bradshaw each added second-half goals.
The win saw Millwall climb up the Sky Bet Championship table to 11th as Rotherham were left in 21st following a lacklustre away performance.
Rowett said: “We responded but we responded in a way that I just didn’t think we allowed Rotherham to create anything or really put us under pressure and that’s probably the bit that I liked the most about the performance.
“It’s never easy at the weekend when you play a game and you lose 3-0 in the game that I didn’t think we deserved to lose 3-0 in.
“But you’ve got to still come out and fight and then show a little bit of spirit and that’s what today was.
“We passed the ball, we were quite patient, we still look to go in behind and attack quickly.
“We kept it at the right times and I think that made it very difficult for Rotherham to build anything against us.
“Casper (De Norre) was excellent in that respect, he just kept receiving the ball, kept getting into intelligent positions and I thought he was outstanding tonight.
“For Zian and Brad [Tom Bradshaw], it’s nice for them to get on the scoresheet. Both of them were excellent for different reasons and in different ways.”
Matt Taylor rued defensive errors and admitted Rotherham have come second best all too often in the Championship so far, registering just four points from seven games.
Since a 1-0 win in 2014, Rotherham have failed to score a single goal in any of their subsequent trips to The Den and Millers boss Taylor rued his side’s inability to match Millwall’s strength.
Taylor said: “We weren’t where we needed to be to stand up to Millwall’s style. It was similar to the weekend really where we’re second best too often I’m afraid.
“We’ve got a problem with physicality; I have to start with my backline in relation to that.
“We’re looking for solutions, we didn’t quite have the glue to stick certain units together.
“I was actually quite pleased to get in at half-time at 1-0, despite a really good strike to go behind to.
“We tried to change a few things and in the second half, we started the brighter but that second goal is unfortunately where we are at the moment, it kind of came out of nothing, not an outstanding attack.
“We can give credit to the opposition, but we’re just too easy to play through and to score against.”
Bochum 0-5 Bayer Leverkusen: Champions crush 10-man hosts to hit 50 games unbeaten
Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen crushed hosts Bochum 5-0 on Sunday to stretch their remarkable unbeaten run across all competitions this season to 50 consecutive matches.
Xabi Alonso's team, aiming for a treble of titles, surpassed Benfica's long-standing European unbeaten record with a 2-2 draw against Roma on Thursday that sent them through to the Europa League final.
On Saturday, they did not ease off against lowly Bochum, scoring twice late in the first half versus the last Bundesliga team to beat them in the previous season.
Patrik Schick put Leverkusen in the driving seat in the 41st minute and Victor Boniface doubled their lead with a penalty in first-half added time, with Bochum down to 10 men following a straight red card early on for Felix Passlack.
Amine Adli made it 3-0 in the 76th minute and Josip Stanisic added another 10 minutes later with a low drive before delivering an assist for Alejandro Grimaldo to score in stoppage time with a tap-in.
Leverkusen, who face Atalanta in the Europa League showpiece match and Kaiserslautern in the DFB-Pokal final, have 87 points with one Bundesliga game left this season.
Bayern Munich, 2-0 winners against Wolfsburg earlier on Sunday, are 15 points behind in second place.
Data Debrief: Leverkusen match Bayern's record
Leverkusen became the third team in Bundesliga history to remain undefeated in all of their away games in a season, joining Bayern as the only side to achieve the feat (in the 1986-87 and 2012-13 seasons).
Alonso's side have also scored 87 goals in the Bundesliga this season, extending on their already broken club record this term.
Erik ten Hag: Man United fans are understanding of situation
Erik ten Hag is confident he still has the understanding of supporters after Manchester United's poor run of form continued with defeat to Arsenal.
United were beaten 1-0 by Premier League title chasers Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday in a game that saw them create little.
While United did well to restrict Arsenal's chances, they had just two shots on target themselves - long-rangers from Casemiro and Antony.
The Red Devils have had to contend with a number of injury problems this season, not least against Arsenal with a makeshift defence fielded.
And for that reason, Ten Hag - whose job beyond this season has been called into question - believes the fanbase remain supportive.
"They understand where we are and where this club is," he told Sky Sports. "We have so many injuries in key areas.
"The fans don't get what they deserve, but they understand this and that is why they are behind the team.
"I think that is why they are with us we are united. Hopefully we can pay them back in the future."
Ten Hag pointed out that United were without seven possible starters, forcing him to field veteran Jonny Evans alongside Casemiro at centre-back.
Casemiro was at fault for Arsenal's goal as he was slow getting back up the field, meaning Havertz was onside before teeing up Trossard.
Ten Hag, though, was not willing to point the finger of blame at the underperforming midfielder.
"In that situation he is a midfielder playing in that position and making a small mistake, but it has hard consequences," he said.
"Before that, in possession we could have done better in others positions. It's details."
Eighth-placed United have won just one of their past eight league matches in a run that includes a 4-0 thumping at Crystal Palace earlier in the week.
The Red Devils have lost 19 games in all competitions this season, which is their most since 1977-78 when also losing 19.
Asked if he believes he is the man to turn things around, Ten Hag said: "I have no doubt about this.
"Mostly, this team has the right spirit and they execute the rules and principles of the game even if they have to adapt in their positions.
"I can only be happy and it is a big compliment for this team that they executed all that they could and they were fighting."
West Brom 0-0 Southampton: Hawthorns draw sets up intriguing second leg
West Brom and Southampton played out a goalless draw at the Hawthorns on Sunday in the first leg of their Championship play-off semi-final.
Both teams had plenty of chances, but a combination of poor finishing and impressive goalkeeping from the Saints' Alex McCarthy and the Baggies' Alex Palmer ensured the tie remains finely poised for the return leg at St Mary's Stadium on Friday.
Roared on by a loud Hawthorns, the hosts started well but were unable to capitalise, and it was Southampton who went closest in the first half as Kyle Walker-Peters smashed a deflected effort wide, while Palmer kept out Flynn Downes' shot.
West Brom rallied, though, and had a golden opportunity to take the lead with 33 minutes on the clock as Grady Diangana nodded Tom Fellows' cross goalwards, only for McCarthy to get across and make a brilliant stop.
The tempo slowed somewhat after the interval, but the game burst into life again with just over 10 minutes to play, as McCarthy denied Diangana before substitute Ross Stewart lashed goalwards up the other end, only to see his shot somehow kept out by the wrong-footed Palmer.
Both sides pressed for a precious goal late on, but neither could break the deadlock and it remains all to play for at St Mary's to see who will face either Leeds United or Norwich City at Wembley on May 26.
Data debrief
There was certainly attacking endeavour on display at the Hawthorns, but neither side could find the back of the net despite the teams combining for 1.76 xG (expected goals), split 1.03 for Southampton and 0.73 for the hosts.
With Norwich and Leeds drawing 0-0 in their first leg earlier on Sunday, it is the first time since 2011 that the first leg of both Championship play-off semi-finals have ended goalless.
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