Liam Cullen scored the only goal as Swansea beat Blackburn 1-0 for their first Ewood Park victory since 1971.
The Welshman’s second of the season – a sumptuous curling strike in the 28th minute – was the perfect response to a fast Rovers start that saw Callum Brittain and Sammie Szmodics both spurn chances to put the hosts ahead.
Swansea’s Jamie Paterson should have profited from a defensive lapse early in the second half but was denied by Leo Wahlstedt and they had to show their character to weather a late Rovers storm that saw substitute Harry Leonard twice miss glorious chances.
The visitors held on to win their third consecutive game on the road and climb up to 13th, a place and a point behind Blackburn who will rue the chances missed at either end of this encounter.
Rovers missed a gilt-edged opportunity in the first minute when Tyrhys Dolan’s left-wing cross fell perfectly to Brittain six yards out but he steered the ball beyond the post.
Their dominance continued and Szmodics almost finished off a well-worked corner but though his shot beat Carl Rushworth, Jamal Lowe brilliantly cleared off the line.
Swansea looked in danger of being overrun but Cullen flashed one wide from the right soon after, before Lowe twice had the ball in the net only to be denied both times by the offside flag.
There was no reprieve in the 28th minute though as Swansea moved the ball brilliantly to Cullen on the right who cut back on to his left foot before whipping a superb strike into the far corner from 20 yards.
The visitors had a further sight of goal just before the break when they worked the ball to Jerry Yates just outside the area but his shot did not have the power to trouble Wahlstedt.
Rovers made alterations at half-time and one of the substitutes, Andrew Moran, set Szmodics up in the 54th minute but he blazed over.
Swansea should have made doubled their advantage two minutes later when Scott Wharton gifted the ball to Paterson on the edge of his own area but Wahlstedt produced a stunning save with his outstretched leg to divert behind.
The hosts looked the more dangerous as the game wore on and Leonard’s run and cross found Szmodics whose first-time strike was well held by Rushworth.
Leonard missed an even better chance in the 75th minute when Adam Wharton’s pass set him clear but he hammered wide of the left post.
A frantic finish saw Harry Darling’s 82nd-minute header cleared by Harry Pickering, before Blackburn passed up another great opportunity when Leonard met James Hill’s 90th-minute cross perfectly only to power his header straight at the grateful Rushworth.
Allegri says Juventus future will become clear in next two weeks
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said questions regarding his future will be resolved in the next couple of weeks after the Bianconeri's slump continued with Sunday's 1-1 draw with Salernitana.
Juve looked set for a humiliating Serie A loss at home to Stefano Colantuono's already-relegated side, only for Adrien Rabiot to equalise in stoppage time.
It was a fifth straight league draw for Allegri's side, who have slipped to fourth in Serie A, seven points behind second-placed Milan and level with Bologna in third.
Juve were neck-and-neck with recently crowned Scudetto winners Inter at the turn of the year, and their dismal end to the season has seen Allegri's position called into question.
Asked about his future on Sunday, Allegri said: "Just be patient a little bit longer, in 10 to 15 days you'll know what will happen next year.
"Anyone who has played football knows that even the great teams can experience a moment of difficulty when the games become tough. We will certainly have to grow."
Wednesday's Coppa Italia final against in-form Atalanta presents an opportunity for redemption.
"The final against a team like Atalanta that has grown a lot will certainly be balanced," Allegri said. "It's a one-off game and we will have to try to make as few mistakes as possible.
Regarding Sunday's match, the 56-year-old said the performance was not satisfactory but stressed the importance of avoiding defeat.
"We started reasonably well, then made a mistake in our decision-making. We became disjointed and we didn't hold our positions," he said.
"You can't lose a match like that, otherwise you risk never picking yourselves back up again."
Atalanta not favourites for Coppa Italia final against Juventus, insists Gasperini
Atalanta do not consider themselves favourites for Wednesday's Coppa Italia final against Juventus despite their strong form, says coach Gian Piero Gasperini.
Atalanta have enjoyed a fantastic season, reaching the Europa League final – where they will face unbeaten Bundesliga champions Bayer Leverkusen on May 22 – and the Coppa Italia showpiece.
La Dea are also in the driving seat to secure Italy's fifth Champions League place for next season, after Sunday's 2-1 home win over Roma took them three points clear of the Giallorossi with a game in hand.
On Wednesday, an out-of-form Juve side await Atalanta at the Stadio Olimpico, as Gasperini seeks his first trophy with the club he joined back in 2016.
"I think it's a bit much to suggest we'd be favourites against Juve. We are in good form, but it's difficult to tell playing every three days," Gasperini told DAZN on Sunday.
"Naturally, we go into this Coppa Italia final with great enthusiasm."
Atalanta's Milan loanee Charles De Ketelaere produced another fine performance against Roma, scoring twice inside 20 minutes.
With 13 goals and nine assists, he is one of three Atalanta players to record 22 goal involvements in all competitions this season, alongside Gianluca Scamacca (17 goals, five assists) and Teun Koopmeiners (15 goals, seven assists).
Manchester City and Leverkusen (four apiece) are the only teams in Europe's top five leagues with more players with at least 22 direct goal involvements.
"Everyone knew he could play, or Milan would not have made an investment like that. He deserves the credit, he was going all over the place, right, left and centre tonight," Gasperini said of De Ketelaere.
Lorenzo Pellegrini reduced the deficit for the visitors with a penalty after 66 minutes, but overall Atalanta were dominant.
While Gasperini was happy with the win, he did not enjoy the wastefulness of his side.
"I don't know if we've learned a lesson, other than we had so many scoring opportunities and did not aim properly, otherwise we would have killed it off a lot earlier," he said.
"Failing to win this match really would have caused us a lot of problems."
Vilahamn wants to use FA Cup final defeat as 'beginning' for Tottenham Women
Tottenham Women manager Robert Vilahamn believes his side will use their FA Cup final defeat to start something special, rather than ending their good work.
Spurs were hammered 4-0 by Manchester United Women in Sunday's Wembley Stadium showpiece as Ella Toone and Rachel Williams were on target before Lucia Garcia's second-half double.
Vilahamn's side failed to manage a shot on target but the Spurs boss suggested his team will catch up to the women's elite clubs.
"The main thing I said was this is not the end, it is the beginning," Vilahamn said.
"We still have a gap between us and the top teams but that's normal. We are closing the gap but we haven't closed the gap yet."
Tottenham finished sixth in the Women's Super League as well as reaching this final, their first FA Cup showpiece appearance in their short history.
Vilahamn wants his Spurs players to use this defeat as motivation going forward.
"If you take away the feelings right now, you need to look at these players doing some incredible things this year," he said.
"We are at Wembley playing in front of our fans and they are actually enjoying it and staying, and supporting us after.
"We got a good experience today and we are learning how to play at Wembley more times. We need to look at it that way because the players are amazing."
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