Manchester City kept the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal with two games remaining after a comfortable 3-0 home win against Crystal Palace.
The William Hill Premiership title race will be decided on the final day of the season on Saturday after leaders Hearts and Celtic both won their penultimate matches.
Hearts boss Derek McInnes, whose side beat Falkirk 3-0 at Tynecastle, was furious after Celtic were awarded a stoppage-time penalty in their 3-2 win at Motherwell. The two sides meet in a title showdown at Celtic Park on Saturday lunchtime.
Phil Foden shines as Man City keep pressure on Arsenal
Phil Foden, right, laid on two assists in Manchester City’s win against Crystal Palace (Martin Rickett/PA) (Martin Rickett)
Phil Foden shone as Manchester City moved back within two points of Premier League leaders Arsenal with a comfortable 3-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Antoine Semenyo and Omar Marmoush both struck from Foden contributions in the first half before Savinho added a late third as City kept their slender title hopes alive at the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday.
With both title challengers having two games remaining, City do still have a chance of securing a seventh league crown in nine years.
There was an obvious positive in the performance of Foden, who was making his first Premier League start in more than two months.
Derek McInnes laments Celtic’s ‘disgusting’ late penalty
Derek McInnes waves to the Hearts fans after his side’s 3-0 win over Falkirk (Andrew Milligan/PA) (Andrew Milligan)
Hearts boss Derek McInnes described the decision to award William Hill Premiership title rivals Celtic a stoppage-time penalty in their win at Motherwell as “disgusting”.
While leaders Hearts were beating Falkirk 3-0 at Tynecastle, Celtic were awarded a contentious spot-kick deep in time added on at Fir Park, which Kelechi Iheanacho converted to snatch his side a 3-2 win.
McInnes’ side lead Celtic by a solitary point in the table with a better goal difference and will face the Hoops in a final-day title decider in Glasgow on Saturday.
Hearts will be crowned Scottish champions for the first time in 66 years if they avoid defeat at Celtic Park, but McInnes was furious over the penalty decision.
McInnes told Sky Sports: “Having seen it again, I think it’s disgusting, I don’t think it’s a penalty kick. But we’re up against it. We’re up against everybody and we’ll be ready for Saturday. If I’m Motherwell, I’m really disappointed with that.”
Kelechi Iheanacho nets dramatic penalty winner
Celtic’s Kelechi Iheanacho celebrates after scoring his stoppage-time penalty (Robert Perry/PA) (Robert Perry)
Kelechi Iheanacho scored a VAR-assisted penalty winner nine minutes into stoppage time to boost Celtic’s William Hill Premiership defence thanks to a 3-2 comeback win at Motherwell as the most dramatic title race in decades took another sensational twist.
Iheanacho slotted a spot-kick as former Hearts midfielder Sam Nicholson was penalised for handball after jumping to head the ball away. The ball appeared to hit his raised hand right in front of his head.
Another former Hearts player Liam Gordon had appeared to hand his old club a massive advantage in the title race after netting an 85th-minute equaliser.
Celtic were heading into a title decider needing to beat the Jambos by three goals and they did not look like getting a winner until referee John Beaton was called to the monitor by video assistant Andrew Dallas as five minutes of stoppage time were coming to a close.
Beaton pointed to the spot and Iheanacho kept his cool to seal victory and spark a pitch invasion from the visiting fans.
Man Utd to speak with Michael Carrick about permanent role
Michael Carrick has guided Manchester United to Champions League qualification (Owen Humphreys/PA) (Owen Humphreys)
Manchester United are set to speak to Michael Carrick about staying in charge beyond the end of the season, the Press Association understands.
The 44-year-old has surpassed the expectations of many since taking over for the remainder of the campaign in January following an acrimonious end to Ruben Amorim’s rocky Red Devils reign.
Carrick has overseen a marked improvement in mood and results, with United clinching Champions League qualification with three matches to spare and on the verge of securing third spot in the Premier League.
Some bookmakers have suspended betting on his appointment and the Athletic reports chief executive Omar Berrada and director of football Jason Wilcox will this week recommend he is offered the role at an executive meeting.
Southampton await ‘Spygate’ hearing
Southampton players celebrate at the final whistle after Tuesday night’s play-off semi-final win Andrew Matthews/PA) (Andrew Matthews)
Southampton face an anxious wait to learn whether the ‘Spygate’ scandal will cost them a place in the Championship play-off final.
Saints completed a 2-1 aggregate victory over Middlesbrough in the semi-final on Tuesday night to set up a Wembley meeting with Hull on May 23, but face an independent commission hearing after being charged by the EFL for allegedly spying on a Boro training session last week.
The timing of the hearing has not been confirmed, but the EFL made a point of requesting that the commission convenes at the earliest opportunity when announcing the charges against the club last Friday.
Meanwhile, Middlesbrough’s Luke Ayling has told the Football Association he does not wish to pursue an allegation that Southampton’s Taylor Harwood-Bellis made a discriminatory remark towards him in Tuesday night’s semi-final second-leg.
The Press Association understands Ayling had flagged to referee Andrew Madley that Harwood-Bellis made reference to his stammer, with the official halting proceedings and speaking to both teams’ coaches.
What’s on today?
Bradford bid to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the second leg of their Sky Bet League One play-off semi-final against Bolton at the University of Bradford Stadium.
