Scott Parker insisted winning was all that mattered after Burnley lost the chance to create an English football record by conceding in a 2-1 victory at Cardiff.
Burnley had kept 12 successive clean sheets in the Sky Bet Championship since Watford scored against them on December 21.
Manchester United’s league record of 14 straight shut outs, set between November 2008 and February 2009 was in danger, but the Clarets fell short when Cardiff striker Yousef Salech halved Burnley’s lead just before the interval.
It was the first goal Parker’s side had conceded in the league for 1,132 minutes.
Asked whether he was disappointed at missing out on beating United’s record, Burnley boss Parker said: “Not really. It’s a shame we conceded, but the most important thing is we won.
“We pride ourselves on being rock solid but our main focus is on winning games.
“I was surprised with the way it (Cardiff goal) went in. It was a little bit uncharacteristic, we were sloppy turning the ball over in that area.
“We’ll see where we can fix that, but overall I’m immensely proud of the team.”
Close-range finishes from Josh Brownhill and Maxime Esteve had put the Clarets in command after 40 minutes but Salech headed home to give Cardiff hope.
It was central defender Esteve’s first goal since joining from Montpellier in January 2024, and in doing so he became the 20th Burnley player to score in the league this season – a club record.
Burnley now trail second-placed Sheffield United by two points and are five adrift of leaders Leeds with 11 games left to play.
Parker said: “I’m pleased with the three points. We gave them a bit of hope with the goal, but at the end you need resilience and the ability to dig in and we had that.
“I thought the energy was impressive. We looked like a proper team who understood their roles. At times you have to grind and dig in and get the results.”
Cardiff dropped to 21st after Hull’s win over Plymouth and remain five points above the relegation zone.
Bluebirds boss Omer Riza said: “You can’t give away goals the way we did. It was poor, we were not sharp enough in those moments.
“We scored the goal and that gave us a lifeline. We tried to get after them a little bit more and I thought we were better than them second half.
“We had our chances against a good side that don’t concede goals, but the bottom line is we don’t pick up any points.
“I’m disappointed because I thought we were worth a point but we gave ourselves too much to do.”
Jack Grealish dedicated his goal to his late brother after scoring in Manchester City’s 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Leicester on Wednesday.The England international hit his first Premier League goal for 16 months, on his first start in the competition since last December, as City moved back into fourth with a comfortable success at the Etihad Stadium.It came on the 25th anniversary of...
David Moyes bemoaned an “offside” goal that gave Liverpool a 1-0 win over Everton – but admitted James Tarkowski was lucky to avoid an early red card on a controversial night at Anfield.Diogo Jota’s 57th-minute goal gave Liverpool a 100th derby win and moved them a step closer to the Premier League title, but both sides were left unhappy with decisions from referee Sam Barr...
Eddie Howe hailed Sandro Tonali’s shooting power after seeing him cap a fine display with a stunning winner to edge Newcastle into the race for Champions League qualification.The 24-year-old Italy international brought an incident-packed encounter to a fitting conclusion with a 74th-minute piledriver which beat goalkeeper Mark Flekken from an improbable angle to hand the Magpies a precious 2...
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery believes Marcus Rashford is “progressively getting better” in all aspects of his game following his first Premier League goal for the club.The on-loan Manchester United forward set Villa on course for a comprehensive 3-0 win over fellow European hopefuls Brighton with a 51st-minute finish at the Amex Stadium.Rashford’s milestone strike came three days ...
Southampton boss Ivan Juric vowed to keep fighting as relegation moved sharply into focus after Crystal Palace denied them only a third Premier League win of the season.Substitute Matheus Franca’s stoppage-time header, to secure a 1-1 draw for the Eagles, means Saints will be down at the weekend if they lose at Tottenham and Wolves beat Ipswich.If relegation is confirmed on Sunday, Southampt...
Derby boss John Eustace insists his side are reaping the rewards for the hard work they have put in since he was appointed as manager after the Rams earned a 2-0 win over Preston to climb out of the Sky Bet Championship relegation zone.Derby came out firing after a lacklustre opening period and Craig Forsyth coolly slotted the hosts in front with his fourth goal of the season.The Rams doubled thei...
Notts County manager Stuart Maynard hailed a “massive” three points as his side comfortably saw off MK Dons at Meadow Lane to maintain their promotion challenge.Two stunning strikes from David McGoldrick and Will Jarvis from the edge of the box, either side of Nick Tsaroulla’s close-range effort, earned County a convincing 3-0 win.“I think every three points is massive now,...
Kieran McKenna was not getting too giddy dreaming of a miracle escape from relegation after Ipswich beat Bournemouth 2-1 to pick up their first Premier League win of 2025.Goals from Nathan Broadhead and top-scorer Liam Delap did the damage as Ipswich put a further dent in Bournemouth’s hopes of qualifying for Europe.McKenna, whose side are still nine points adrift of 17th-placed Wolves who t...
Liverpool re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League with Diogo Jota’s strike against Everton settling a second controversial Merseyside derby of the season.Jota’s first league goal since mid-January was potentially one of his most important of the campaign as the 1-0 victory kept second-placed Arsenal at more than arm’s length.It also ended Everton manag...
Ewan Otoo poured cold water on Livingston’s title ambitions in the Scottish Championship by netting the winner in struggling Dunfermline’s 1-0 win.Three points for the visitors would have been enough to lift them above Ayr United and within five of pace-setters Falkirk, but they were unable to take the chance.After back-to-back wins they were brought back to earth at East End Park, whe...
- 1 Hot WAG flaunts 'astonishing' washboard abs in bikini
- 2 Danny Rohl hails Sheffield Wednesday resilience in draw at Cardiff
- 3 Alfie May double sends Birmingham step closer to Championship
- 4 Marcus Rashford scores first Premier League goal for Villa in win at Brighton
- 5 Ryan Lowe and Conor Hourihane felt team deserved more as Wigan and Barnsley draw
- 6 Mat Sadler hails Taylor Allen set-piece skills after Walsall snatch draw
- 7 Chris Davies says Alfie May’s goal drought never concerned him
- 8 Football fan 'eats' raw pig's head in ultimate insult
- 9 Marcus Rashford still looking to improve after firing Villa into FA Cup semis
- 10 Chelsea prepare €70m for Barcelona defender