Sunderland climbed into the Sky Bet Championship’s play-off places with an inspired come-from-behind 3-1 victory against Plymouth, who lost for the first time in the league under Ian Foster.
Argyle were unbeaten in three Championship games since Foster replaced Steven Schumacher and looked well positioned to continue their fine run when Ryan Hardie fired them into a half-time lead at the Stadium of Light.
But the Black Cats were a team transformed after the break, with Pierre Ekwah, Jack Clarke and substitute Jobe Bellingham all on target as Michael Beale’s improving side extended their own unbeaten league run to three games.
Buoyed by their impressive recent form and their first away win of the season at Swansea, Plymouth settled well and created the only meaningful chance in the early stages when Hardie forced a good save out of Anthony Patterson.
Sunderland dominated possession in the opening 45 minutes, but lacked invention, and their only shot on target in the first half was a speculative Clarke effort from distance that was stopped by visiting goalkeeper Conor Hazard.
After stifling and frustrating Sunderland for much of the first half, Plymouth caught the hosts cold on the counter to get themselves in front six minutes before the break.
In-form Morgan Whittaker turned defence in to attack with a brilliant pass to set Hardie away. The striker still had work to do, but kept his cool to round Patterson twice before clinically and delicately chipping home.
Hardie almost doubled Plymouth’s lead instantly with what would have been a stunning second goal. From inside his own half, the striker spotted Patterson off his line and his audacious attempt to catch the keeper out bounced just wide.
Sunderland turned the game on its head after the break and were level just seven minutes into the second half.
The Black Cats won a free-kick on the edge of the area when Darko Gyabi fouled Patrick Roberts, and former West Ham midfielder Ekwah fired through the broken wall and found the bottom corner.
Just seven minutes later, Sunderland were in front after Clarke’s latest moment of magic.
The winger’s 14th goal of the season was undoubtedly one of his best. There was plenty of work to be done when he picked up the ball on the left, but he cut inside before hitting an unstoppable drive that went in off the post.
Bellingham secured the victory for Sunderland halfway through the second half and just two minutes after coming off the bench.
The teenager had barely touched the ball before setting off on a driving run into the box, cutting inside and lashing into the far corner beyond the helpless Hazard.
Struggling Roma edge Torino as Lazio put five past Como
Roma’s embattled manager Ivan Juric found a small reprieve as his side scraped past Torino 1-0 for their first win in four Serie A matches.
Paulo Dybala scored the winning goal in the 20th minute, pouncing on a poor backpass from Karol Linetty and rounding Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic before applying the finish.
The result meant that Roma climbed up to 10th place, with 13 points from 10 matches and relieved some pressure off Juric, who is under the microscope only a month and a half into his tenure in Rome.
Torino, meanwhile, are now only one point ahead of the Giallorossi after their fourth defeat from five outings.
Elsewhere in Italy, fifth-placed Lazio posted a commanding 5-1 win over 15th-placed Como in a game that saw both sides finish with 10 men.
LaLiga clubs pledge to help raise money for victims of Spain's flash floods
LaLiga and its clubs will help raise funds for the Red Cross to support those affected by the flash floods which have killed at least 158 people in Spain.
The league aim to raise the money by publicising a campaign during match broadcasts this weekend and through their social media accounts.
After the Spanish FA postponed seven midweek Cup ties and all games scheduled for Valencia's eastern region this weekend, it asked competition organisers to observe a minute's silence before matches that will be played as a tribute to the victims.
"Spain's professional football joins the condolences and expresses its solidarity with the families of the victims and the missing," LaLiga said in a statement on Thursday.
Real Madrid announced they would also collaborate with the Red Cross and donate one million euros ($1.09 million).
"The Real Madrid Foundation and the Red Cross have today launched a fundraising campaign to support those affected by the storm and the club have decided to support this campaign with a donation of one million euros to help the many families who are in a critical situation and need all our help and solidarity," the Spanish champions said in a statement.
Six postponed Copa del Rey games have been rescheduled for next week, leaving Real Sociedad's match against Jove Espanyol in Alicante as the only tie without a new fixture date.
LaLiga asked the 10 affected clubs in the top two divisions to submit a proposal for new dates before next Tuesday.
Saturday's LaLiga match between Valencia and visitors Real Madrid plus Villarreal's clash with Rayo Vallecano are among the games postponed, as Valencia made the Mestalla stadium available as a drop-off point for donations of food and essential items.
Vanney aims to wrap up playoff tie after LA Galaxy's 'best performance' against Rapids
Greg Vanney will hope for a repeat of LA Galaxy's five-star victory in game one that represented “one of their best" performances to wrap up his MLS playoff clash with Colorado Rapids in two games.
Vanney’s tactical masterplan saw Galaxy triumph 5-0 at home as they restricted Colorado to just one shot and an expected goals (xG) total of 0.03 while accumulating 2.46 xG themselves.
The LA Galaxy boss made his name at Toronto FC, where he won the MLS Cup as well as three Eastern Conference playoff titles. When he resigned in 2020, it was Colorado’s Chris Armas who took up the mantle but did not fare as well.
Early indications of their meeting in the playoffs suggest Vanney is proving his knack for success remains and is winning the battle of the ex-Toronto bosses.
“I thought it was a very clean performance, and probably one of the best. I can't remember all 34 at this point, 35 now, but it was definitely one of the best ones, I think, and at a good time,” Vanney reflected on the performance post-match.
LA Galaxy had emerged victorious in both prior meetings this season, but neither time had they managed to keep a clean sheet. Yet in game one, Armas’ side struggled to even penetrate their box with just 10 touches inside it all game.
“[Vanney] has been great, and he has a lot of experience. This week was everything. In the playoffs, we need to set the tone and set the intensity. He did that right from, not just this week, but of course [because of] playoffs, training was intense,” said goalscorer John Nelson.
“Defensively, we needed to do that, and that's what he talked about the whole week. Like you saw tonight, we were relentless. We were fouling. We weren't giving them anything.
“So the whole week’s focus was to counter-press defensively, and we know we're going to score goals. We showed that tonight.”
Armas will need to find a way to beat his Toronto predecessor in a must-win game for his side at Dick's Sporting Goods Park, owing to the best-of-three playoff format.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Colorado Rapids – Djordje Mihailovic
If the Rapids are to take the match back to LA Galaxy for a decider, they will need goals and Mihailovic will be crucial. He boasts the second-most goals scored for Colorado (11) in the MLS, only four behind top scorer Rafael Navarro.
He is also their top assister (10), meaning he has the most goal contributions on the squad (21). Distribution is clearly a strong point as he has more than double the number of key passes (87) than any other Rapids player – Cole Bassett comes closest on 35.
LA Galaxy - Dejan Joveljic
Galaxy's top scorer, Joveljic, has 17 goals in the MLS so far this season and has also delivered the lowest minutes per goal (118.6). He will surely hope to add to the tally when he travels to Colorado.
He was on target in game one as he and Riqui Puig each scored twice in Galaxy’s win over Colorado.
It makes them the third pair of Galaxy teammates to each score twice in a playoff game, along with Cobi Jones and Carlos Ruiz in 2002 and Carlos Hermosillo and Danny Pena in 1998.
MATCH PREDICTION – LA GALAXY WIN
Galaxy have won each of their three meetings with Colorado this season, including the 5-0 win in Game One on Saturday.
Prior to that, Galaxy had won only one of their 11 matches against the Rapids between 2018 and 2023 (D3 L7).
That 5-0 win was only the seventh win by a margin of at least five goals in MLS Cup playoff history. It was the third of those by Galaxy, who also beat Dallas, 6-1, in 1998 and defeated Real Salt Lake, 5-0, in 2014.
Colorado were held to just one shot in their 5-0 loss to Galaxy. It was the first time this century that the Rapids had only one shot in an MLS match, regular season or playoffs.
The hosts are a team out of form and have lost five straight matches dating back to the regular season, with two of those defeats coming against Galaxy.
Prior to this drought, however, the Rapids had lost just three of their previous 13 regular-season matches dating back to the middle of June (W9 D1).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Colorado Rapids – 32.5%
Draw – 25.5%
LA Galaxy – 42.0%
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