West Brom beat already-relegated Rotherham 2-0 at The Hawthorns to consolidate their place in the Championship play-offs.

Brandon Thomas-Asante and John Swift secured the win as the Baggies took full advantage of slip-ups by the chasing pack.

The major talking point came in the lead up to Swift’s goal from the penalty spot. Referee Geoff Eltringham adjudged defender Lee Peltier to have handled the ball despite clearly being outside of the penalty area.

Rotherham initially negated Albion’s efforts to make an early breakthrough. Swift had an opportunity when he met Tom Fellows’ low centre from the right but he guided his effort over the bar.

Thomas-Asante then was played in, over the top, by Swift, but the striker forced his shot wide from a tight angle.

West Brom went ahead midway through the first half. Celtic loanee Mikey Johnston sent Adam Reach racing down the left and he delivered a sharp low ball for Thomas-Asante, who could not miss from a couple of yards out.

Rotherham, having fallen behind, might have allowed the floodgates to open but they themselves began to play with more purpose.

Hakeem Odoffin sent a deep cross from the right which Cafu ambitiously met on the volley but ultimately hammered his half chance well over the bar.

West Brom doubled their lead in first-half stoppage time, however, in the most controversial of circumstances. Thomas-Asante leathered a shot from around 25 yards out which appeared goalbound, only for the ball to strike Peltier.

Referee Eltringham paused for a moment before pointing to the spot – despite Peltier appearing to be a number of yards outside of the penalty area.

The decision was greeted with disbelief by The Hawthorns and understandable bemusement by Rotherham, who had assistant head coach Rob Kelly booked for his protests. Swift duly converted to hand the hosts a half-time cushion.

Rotherham returned to the field undeterred and so easily could have pulled one back immediately when Sebastian Revan burst into the penalty area and laid the ball off for his captain Oliver Rathbone, who fizzed a shot just wide of Alex Palmer’s post.

Revan himself then tested Palmer but the Millers were grateful to their own keeper Viktor Johansson, who stopped Thomas-Asante adding to West Brom’s tally after he was superbly played in by Johnston.

The hosts’ top scorer then blazed an effort over the bar from six yards out in what was his final act before he made way for the returning Josh Maja in the closing stages.

Hull and Middlesbrough’s play-off hopes hit after draw

Finn Azaz’s deflected second-half goal helped Middlesbrough claim a 2-2 draw at Hull but a point apiece does little to boost either side’s Sky Bet Championship play-off hopes.

Emmanuel Latte Lath followed up a brace in Boro’s 2-0 win over Swansea on Saturday with an early goal at the MKM Stadium but Jaden Philogene’s cross-cum-shot drew Hull level just before the half hour.

Middlesbrough goalkeeper Seny Dieng played Lewis O’Brien into trouble which allowed Jean Michael Seri to put the Tigers deservedly in the lead ahead of half-time but Azaz had the final say, albeit after his strike took a crucial final touch off Alfie Jones before nestling in the goal.

Both teams sit six points adrift of sixth-placed Norwich with Middlesbrough in ninth, one place ahead of Hull, who have a game in hand over their two rivals.

This was a missed opportunity for both sides, even if Middlesbrough extended their unbeaten run to eight matches and it was the visitors who stormed out of the traps after kick-off was delayed by a quarter of an hour due to heavy traffic in the area.

Hull’s defenders were caught on their heels and paid their price as Latte Lath bagged his sixth goal in his last eight matches.

Having taken six minutes to score in the reverse fixture, which Boro lost 2-1 in December, Latte Lath needed just four this time after stealing in behind a high line and steering beyond Ryan Allsop from an acute angle.

Hull gradually warmed to their task and were unfortunate Abdus Omur slipped at the vital moment in front of goal as his miskick sailed wide while Jacob Greaves’ header was clawed away by Dieng as Middlesbrough were hemmed into their own half.

Hull’s persistence was rewarded as the influential Philogene delivered a teasing ball that seemed to elude Ozan Tufan at the back post before sailing into the net.

While Hull awarded the 29th-minute goal to a celebrating Tufan, it was officially given to Philogene.

Luke Ayling headed off his line following Omur’s chip as Hull continued to pour forward but they were given a helping hand four minutes before half-time.

Dieng’s attempt to play out from the back backfired spectacularly as Seri nudged O’Brien off the ball on the edge of his own area before lashing into the top corner.

Despite being outplayed for most of the first half, Middlesbrough might have drawn level at the start of the second as Jonny Howson’s thunderous effort was palmed by Allsop into the path of Latte Lath, who got into a tangle and could not slot in the rebound.

Howson at the other end made a desperate intervention to block Seri’s goal-bound effort while Regan Slater drilled across the face of goal and wide as Hull looked to give themselves some breathing room.

Their inability to do so came back to haunt them as they were hit on the break in the 71st minute.

Azaz exchanged passes with Isaiah Jones before bearing down on goal and his shot ricocheted off Jones and over Allsop as Middlesbrough drew level.

Omur might have nicked victory for Hull in the closing stages after springing the offside trap and going clean through but he was denied by the legs of Dieng.

Andreas Christensen nets winner as Barcelona beat PSG in first-leg thriller

Barcelona seized the initiate in their Champions League quarter-final with Paris St Germain after Andreas Christensen’s header secured a 3-2 win from a thrilling first leg at Parc des Princes.

Substitute Christensen, who won the competition with Chelsea in 2021, nodded home an Ilkay Gundogan corner just two minutes after coming off the bench to add to Raphinha’s double.

PSG trailed at the break following Raphinha’s opener but looked well placed to take a lead to Spain next week when quick-fire strikes from former Barca forward Ousmane Dembele and Vitinha turned a topsy-turvy tie in their favour early in the second period.

Luis Enrique’s Ligue 1 hosts hit the woodwork either side of Raphinha’s second before Christensen settled an engrossing encounter between two heavyweight clubs.

Kylian Mbappe was largely subdued as his quest to become a European champion before leaving the French capital in the summer suffered a setback.

With former PSG and Barcelona forward Ronaldinho and France manager Didier Deschamps among those watching from the sold-out stands, the hosts had the better of the cagey opening exchanges.

Yet the visitors grew into the contest and went closest to an early breakthrough.

PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma was forced to race out of his box to deny Raphinha before Nuno Mendes cleared Robert Lewandowski’s goal-bound header off the line following Gundogan’s corner.

Mbappe had made little impact at that stage but suddenly came to life, culminating in Kang-In Lee stinging the palms of visiting keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Gianluigi Donnarumma endured a shaky start to the match, particularly from crosses, and he failed to convince as Barcelona snatched the lead eight minutes before the break.

A flowing move which began deep in Barca territory led to the Italy keeper diving at the feet of Lewandowski following a dangerous delivery from 16-year-old Lamine Yamal but his slight fingertip touch fell kindly for Raphinha to fire his first Champions League goal high into the unguarded net.

PSG boss Enrique was the last man to lead Barcelona to Champions League glory – in 2015 – and he was left with plenty to ponder at the end of an underwhelming first half for the hosts.

The Spanish coach’s half-time team talk clearly did the trick as PSG raced out of the blocks in devastating fashion.

Dembele, who left Barca last summer having cost almost £100million from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, seized on a loose ball in the away team’s 18-yard box and chopped his way past Frenkie de Jong to lash a powerful left-footed effort into the roof of the net.

Vitinha turned the tie on its head just three minutes later, taking a touch to control a precise pass from Fabian Ruiz before calmly slipping the ball beyond Ter Stegen.

Momentum was firmly with the home side and shell-shocked Barca were fortunate not to fall further behind in the 55th minute when Bradley Barcola’s effort flicked the top of the crossbar after brushing the fingertips of Ter Stegen.

PSG were left counting the cost of that near miss just seven minutes later when the away side drew level.

Donnarumma conceded possession with a poor clearance and Barca substitute Pedri made an instant impact with an inch-perfect lofted pass which was expertly dispatched on the volley by Brazil forward Raphinha.

Dembele fired against the right post as PSG pushed to regain the lead before decisively falling behind again 13 minutes from time.

Corners had been a problem for the home side all evening and the unmarked Christensen took advantage by heading home Gundogan’s inviting delivery from inside the six-yard box.