A second-string Ipswich side put another feather in the cap of manager Kieran McKenna after they fought back from two goals down to stun Wolves in the Carabao Cup third round with a 3-2 win at Portman Road.
McKenna, who has developed a reputation as one of the brightest coaches in England after he masterminded the Tractors Boys’ promotion to the Sky Bet Championship last season, watched his team go 2-0 down early on.
Hwang Hee-Chan and Toti netted inside 15 minutes for the Premier League side but they still slumped to a fifth defeat in eight matches under new boss Gary O’Neil.
Omari Hutchinson started the Ipswich comeback with a fine 28th-minute finish before Freddie Ladapo ensured it was all square at half-time. Jack Taylor’s superb 25-yard strike soon after the break handed former Manchester United assistant McKenna his first victory over a top-flight club.
A total of 20 changes were made by both teams for this tie but it was Hwang, a starter for Wolves at Luton, who broke the deadlock in the fourth minute.
Ipswich’s Dominic Ball was at fault after he could only clear Pablo Sarabia’s cross to Sasa Kalajdzic, who passed through to the unmarked Hwang and the left-footed strike by the Wolves attacker was too powerful for Vaclav Hladky.
It silenced the expectant Portman Road crowd, which had seen the Tractor Boys making a flying start on their Championship return and win seven of their opening eight fixtures, but it was 2-0 after quarter of an hour.
Sarabia’s dangerous corner picked out full debutant Santiago Bueno and while Hladky made a fine save from point-blank range, Wolves defender Toti was on hand to smash home on the goal line to punish more slack Ipswich defending.
The narrative of McKenna’s all-conquering team being ready to claim a top flight scalp had not gone to plan so far, but the tide started to turn midway through the first half and Hutchinson reduced the deficit in the 28th minute.
The Chelsea loanee had looked a threat and when he was slipped in by Marcus Harness, he did not need a second invitation and rifled beyond Wolves captain Dan Bentley from eight yards with his weaker right foot.
It was Hutchinson’s stronger left foot which forced Bentley into action next but the visitors’ goalkeeper was able to tip over the 20-yard free-kick.
McKenna’s men were impressing now though and the equaliser arrived six minutes before half-time through Ladapo.
Ipswich’s reliable back-up forward was played in by Harness and his low strike was too strong for Bentley, who got a hand to the effort but failed to stop the hosts restoring parity.
A Harness shot deflected wide 50 seconds into the second period signalled the intentions of the Championship outfit and while Matt Doherty had a shot blocked for Wolves soon after, the fifth goal of the contest went to the hosts.
Harness again claimed the assist but it was all about former Peterborough midfielder Taylor, who received the ball around 25 yards out and let fly with a thunderous effort that flew past Bentley.
O’Neil reacted with Matheus Cunha introduced alongside forwards Fabio Silva and Nathan Fraser, but it was Ipswich’s night and a low save by Hladky from Bueno’s 73rd-minute header helped send McKenna’s side through to the last-16 of this competition for the first time since 2010.
Dortmund boss Terzic not surprised by Sancho's quality
Borussia Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho's quality after the on-loan forward helped the German side to a 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first-leg tie of their Champions League semi-final.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for 85 million euros ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he always sees Sancho's quality in training.
"It's maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven't had rhythm for a while," he told reporters.
"We know his quality, and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon."
Dortmund bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fullkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
Despite winning the first leg, Terzic knows that the tie is still all to play for in the second leg.
"We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one. It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today," he said in a press conference.
"This is just half-time and next week will be a different story. It won't be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.
"We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG, but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans, and they will want to turn the tie around.
It is a victory that, coupled with Bayern Munich’s draw with Real Madrid on Tuesday, secures Germany a fifth automatic Champions League spot next season.
"We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way. But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution," Terzic added.
"Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it [added spot] does not improve our Bundesliga season, but it does offer a softer landing."
Luis Enrique hoping for home comforts in semi-final second leg
Luis Enrique is hoping Paris Saint-Germain's home support proves the difference in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Borussia Dortmund.
PSG must try to overturn a 1-0 deficit when BVB visit the Parc des Princes next week.
Dortmund's Niclas Fullkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal victory over visitors PSG, who had more possession throughout Wednesday's game but could not take their chances at Signal Iduna Park.
While PSG beat Barcelona in the quarters and Real Sociedad in the last 16, playing the second leg away both times, Luis Enrique knows their home fans could be crucial if they are to reach the final at Wembley on June 1.
"We saw an even match with two teams that play good football when they have the ball," Luis Enrique told reporters.
"We both created many scoring chances. This time our opponents scored and we didn't. The result reflects how close the game was.
"In the last two rounds, they had the home game as their second game, whereas it was the other way round for us. Now it's a different and new scenario, we'll have the crowd on our side in the second leg.
"I would have liked to create the chances we have created, but you have to be effective to score. We'll see what version we show in Paris."
Despite creating more chances after the break, PSG lost without scoring for the first time across all competitions this season.
"We missed our chances in the second half," PSG defender Achraf Hakimi told Canal+.
"We knew what they were going to do, with long through balls. We were very focused, the coach repeated it all week."
PSG have progressed from two of their previous four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those coming against Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20.
"We've come back from 1-0 down before," added PSG captain Marquinhos.
"We've shown that we can do it, especially at home, with the energy of our supporters, it's going to be a different scenario. We know we can do a lot better. We just need to take our chances and be more decisive.
"We conceded a goal that we shouldn't have conceded, and we've been talking all week about these deep passes from this Borussia team. It's the details that make all the difference, and we're going to do better in the next game if we want to go through."
Al-Nassr 3-1 Al-Khaleej: Ronaldo nets twice and passes up penalty in cup semi-final
Cristiano Ronaldo returned to the scoresheet with two goals as Al-Nassr beat Al-Khaleej 3-1 to reach the final of the King Cup of Champions on Wednesday.
Ronaldo scored either side of half-time as Al-Nassr teed up a final clash with Saudi Pro League leaders Al-Hilal, who beat Al-Ittihad 2-1 in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
The former Real Madrid and Manchester United star took advantage of an error from opposing goalkeeper Ibrahim Sehic to open the scoring 17 minutes in, then tapped home at the second attempt to make it a double shortly before the hour mark.
That goal could have made it a hat-trick for the Portugal star, but he passed up the chance to take a first-half penalty after Ivo Rodrigues handled in the area, Sadio Mane instead stepping up to blast his kick into the top corner.
Fawaz Al Terais was on target late on for Al-Khaleej, but that proved a mere consolation in a one-sided affair which saw Al-Nassr rack up 21 shots and 3.78 expected goals (xG), with their opponents managing just nine shots totalling 1.37 xG.
Data Debrief: Ronaldo's mini drought over
Ronaldo was frustrated against Al-Khaleej in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday, but he was back on song against the same opponents on Wednesday to end his mini drought of two games.
While Ronaldo's 43 touches were the fewest of any outfielder to start for Al-Nassr, he managed seven shots, five shots from inside the area and four dribbles – all game-high figures.
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