Swansea City

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Vitor Matos bemoaned the penalty decision which denied Swansea City victory at Norwich City as he paid tribute to the shift put in by his players at Carrow Road.

Swansea were short of their best as they played a second away game in four days against one of the Championship's form sides.

But having gone it level at half-time, Swansea edged in front through Zan Vipotnik's penalty.

They were on course for a battling away victory until Norwich, who had seen one appeal for a spot-kick turned down when Cameron Burgess challenged Mohamed Toure, were awarded a contentious penalty seven minutes from time.

This time Burgess headed Ali Ahmed's cross clear – but Lawrence Vigouroux was penalised for colliding with Mathias Kvistgaarden after he came off his line in an attempt to deal with the ball into his box.

"What can I say? I cannot control the decision. In my opinion, of course it's not a penalty, but it is what it is," said Swansea head coach Matos.

"It's body-to-body contact, a player going in one direction and a player going in the other. Then Cam clears the ball, so what can I say?

"It's not my job to decide that. So it's more about focus on the performance and that's what we will do."

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Swansea's display lacked the energy they had shown in Tuesday's victory at Queens Park Rangers, but they still did enough to maintain their positive late-season form.

The Swans have lost only one of their past six games – to a last-minute goal from a high-flying Southampton side – while the Norwich draw means they have matched last season's tally of 61 points with one match to play, against Charlton Athletic next weekend.

"I think in this moment of the season, the effort we are putting in, the professionalism, the mentality, the desire – I think that's what we need to focus on," Matos added.

"I think that's been brilliant so far and that's why I am so proud of the boys."

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Vitor Matos says his players deserve the credit for the turnaround in fortunes which has put them in contention for a top-10 Championship finish.

Swansea were staring at a relegation scrap after defeat in Matos' first two games in charge last November left them outside the bottom three only on goal difference.

But the Swans have since won 13 of 26 league fixtures to ensure they head into the final week of the season with a chance to improve on last year's 11th-place finish.

Swansea have taken an average of 1.53 points per game under Matos – compared to 1.06 this season before he arrived – while the goals scored per game average has gone from 0.9 to 1.42.

Their average goals conceded has dropped marginally, while they have nine clean sheets from Matos' 28 league games compared to three in the first 16 second-tier outings this season.

Most significantly, perhaps, Swansea's win ratio has gone from 25% in those first 16 games to 46% in the next 28.

When asked about the turnaround in form, Matos said: "I always said the squad has a lot of potential. There's a lot of things that are still a lot to unlock if we want, but for that you need time, you need training, you need consistency.

"It's not always possible to have everything built straight away and I think that's what we wanted - step by step, sorting the problems in the short term but also preparing for the future.

"The players bought into the ideas brilliantly. I think their character and their mentality is probably the main reason, not me."

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Swansea face a difficult trip to in-form Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST) as they look to end what has been a challenging season on the road with three successive away wins.

Their final game of the campaign is at home to Charlton Athletic on Saturday, 2 May.

Two victories could see Swansea finish as high as ninth, although Matos says he is "really happy" with his team's progress regardless of their league position.

"What we want is that the players feel they love to play with each other, that they love to stay in this club and they love to be here," he added.

"They have connected with the fans, that was quite important as well.

"Then of course, quality of the game, you need to improve that. If you want to be dominant with the ball, be an offensive team, you need to press right, you need to counter-press - that's massive for us.

"Then step by step, while adapting to this intensity - because it's also not easy when you press and you counter-press as much as us - we want to find a way to play with speed, but not rushing the game."

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Vitor Matos says Swansea City's search for a new sporting director is ongoing – but insists the wait for an appointment will not hinder the club's summer transfer plans.

Swansea are believed to have spoken to a number of candidates as part of the latest reshuffle of the club's behind-the-scenes staff.

One of those candidates is Steve Brown, a former Manchester United director of scouting who has also worked at Everton, but there are believed to be other names in the frame.

While the Swans are hopeful of announcing an appointment soon, head coach Matos says nothing is finalised yet.

"[The club] are still looking and the process is not finished," he said.

"That's the only thing I can say, that it's still a process and when it's done I believe you guys will be the first to know."

Matos, whose side go to Norwich City for the penultimate game of the season on Saturday (15:00 BST), has spoken about transfer plans for the upcoming window.

He says the change in the club's recruitment structure "doesn't affect planning".

"When it is done, it will make it easier, so that's it," he added.

"It doesn't affect [things] at the moment. When a sports director comes, it will be much more easy because for sure it will be someone to add something."

Norwich will hope to keep their play-off dream alive as they host Swansea on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Only a victory - and some luck with results elsewhere - will keep the Canaries in the running for a spot in May's play-offs.

Though should Hull gain any points from their trip to Charlton in the lunchtime kick-off, Norwich's season will be done and dusted before they can even touch the ball at Carrow Road.

• Norwich have only lost one of their last 10 home league games against Swansea (W6 D3), a 0-3 reverse in April 2023.

• After winning 2-1 in October, Swansea are looking for their first league double over Norwich City since the 2008-09 season.

• Norwich have won their last home game of the season in six of their last eight Championship campaigns (D1 L1), although one of the exceptions was a 2-2 draw with Swansea in 2023-24.

• Swansea have only won their last away league game in one of the last eight seasons (D3 L4), beating Reading 4-1 in 2019-20.

• In 2026, Norwich have won more Championship matches (14) than any other side. It's two more than they won in the entirety of 2025 (12).

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Youngster Sam Parker looks set to miss the final two games of Swansea City's season with a hamstring injury, but Josh Key could return to play some part at Norwich City on Saturday.

Parker has started Swansea's past four games – and impressed – at right-back, having been handed an opportunity as a result of injuries to Key and Ethan Galbraith.

But the 19-year-old, who previously spent a year out of action due to a hamstring issue, has been added to the injury list after picking up a problem during Tuesday's win at Queens Park Rangers.

"He felt discomfort on his hamstring, so let's see how it is," said Swansea boss Vitor Matos.

"It's the hard thing in sports, when you have an injury in these kind of moments, but we all love Sam.

"We cannot speak about what it is before having the proper diagnosis but whatever happens, I think the steps he did on the last games were really good."

Parker's injury means Joel Ward will come into contention to start on the right flank of defence as Swansea go in search of a third straight away win at in-form Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

Key has not played since mid-March because of a hip problem, but will travel to Carrow Road having returned to training last week, though Matos suggested the right-sided player will not be fit enough to start.

Winger Zeidane Inoussa remains on the sidelines after a long-term back issue, while Melker Widell and Jay Fulton are fit to face the Canaries despite picking up knocks during the QPR win.

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Flynn Downes has been handed a retrospective three-match ban following an incident in Southampton's win at Swansea City last weekend.

Former Swansea midfielder Downes will miss the Saints' FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City on Saturday as well as their final two regular-season Championship games, against Ipswich and Preston.

Downes, 27, was booked during the Swansea game after a clash with Melker Widell.

That incident came immediately his heavy challenge on Liam Cullen, with the FA saying Downes' actions were not seen by the match officials but constituted violent conduct.

"Flynn Downes admitted the charge against him and accepted the standard three-match penalty," the FA said.

Luke Hemmings
BBC Sport Wales

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Head coach Vítor Matos was full of praise for Josh Tymon following Swansea City's 2-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday evening.

It has been a good week for 26-year-old left-back, who was named in the Championship team of the season at the EFL Awards on Sunday and also awarded the goal of the geason for his stunning strike against Oxford United.

"I have no doubt he's one of the best left-backs in the league, if not the best, and I'm really happy for him," said Matos.

The win over QPR moved the Swans into the Championship top 10 for the first time since September, and Tymon has played a pivotal role in the club's resurgence since Matos' arrival in November.

Tymon has featured in every Championship game this season, starting all but one of those matches.

He has recorded 10 goal contributions this campaign, surpassing his combined total of nine goals and assists from last season.

However, Matos believes his influence goes far beyond the statistics.

"When we talk about [striker Zan] Vipotnik and those kind of guys, sometimes someone like Tymon doesn't always get the time," Matos said.

"He has always been massive for us - the commitment, the intensity, the consistency, always available in a really [good] amount of games."

While Tymon's consistency has been a defining feature of his season, his only goal of the campaign proved unforgettable, as he netted a sensational volley in the home win over Oxford in December.

"I'm really happy to have him (Tymon)," Matos added.

"So, until you guys start asking if he's going to have a transfer - there we go."

Tymon was named in the team of the season alongside Championship top scorer Vipotnik, who took his season tally to 22 league goals as Swansea triumphed on Tuesday night.

"The consistency of both players over the period I've been here, and even before, is amazing, it's really well deserved," Matos said.

Both Tymon and Vipotnik will look to continue their strong form when Swansea go in search of a third straight away win at Norwich City on Saturday (15:00 BST).

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Vitor Matos insisted once again that he is unconcerned about the Championship table despite seeing Swansea City climb into the top 10 courtesy of Tuesday's 2-1 victory at Queens Park Rangers.

Swansea deservedly triumphed after an impressive performance at Loftus Road, though their success was contentious given that Zan Vipotnik scored the winner from a penalty Matos said should not have been awarded.

The Swans went in front early on through Ronald and eventually stretched their advantage when Vipotnik swept home after Tylon Smith's challenge on Eom Jisung.

While there was no question that Smith had fouled Eom, the contact appeared to occur just outside the Rangers area.

The stroke of luck proved key for Swansea given that Rhys Norrington-Davies pulled a goal back for Rangers in the final minute of normal time.

Victory means Matos' men are up to 10th, their highest league position since September, and have the chance to improve on last year's 11th-place finish with two games remaining in 2025-26.

But as he has done since taking charge last November, Matos brushed off talk of the table.

"I have been saying and I will say again, we will try to squeeze everything out of the season," the Swansea head coach said.

"The most important thing is what we want to build, the mentality, the values, the culture. That's massive for us and I think we are proving that in the last few games.

"Now we have a really tough game at Norwich [on Saturday], a really big travel, then one more game [at home to Charlton] and we'll see where we finish.

"The most important thing is to build the performances, to grow and understand the games and show more flexibility, more ways to control and dominate the game. We just keep pushing."

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Vitor Matos says Sam Parker has shown he is a player Swansea City can rely on after breaking back into the club's first team.

Academy product Parker made his senior debut as a 17-year-old in 2023.

But after only three appearances, the Wales Under-21 international suffered a hamstring injury which kept him out for a year.

Having returned to fitness, Parker managed seven substitute appearances in the second half of last season but the right-sided player has spent the majority of this campaign on the fringes of the first-team squad.

However, with Josh Key and Ethan Galbraith injured, the 19-year-old has started Swansea's past three league games – and has produced three encouraging performances.

"I am really happy with Sam," said Swansea boss Matos.

"Clearly he is someone who everyone relies on now, which is really good for a 19-year-old who made his debut and then had a massive injury and took a proper knock.

"We are all really happy for him - everyone likes him a lot. I think he is taking steps and steps, really good steps. Hopefully he will have a brilliant career with us."

Matos says Parker, who could start again when Swansea go to Queens Park Rangers on Tuesday (19:45 BST), has thrived during a "tough run of games".

"Against Middlesbrough - a really good team - even though they don't play with wingers, he needed to control a lot of space around him and he grew into the game," Matos said.

"Then against Leicester, [there were] two really good wingers and he coped and again [against Southampton's Leo] Scienza. His confidence is growing, he is feeling much more comfortable.

"Defending it was one of his best games, and of course he offers a lot when he drives forward, he is quick and he delivers good crosses."

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Neither can go up, neither can go down, but there's more than pride at stake as QPR host Swansea on Tuesday night (19:45 BST).

Just one point separates seven teams in the middle of the Championship pack and a victory for the Hoops would end a three-match winless streak and could take Julien Stephan's side into the top-10.

Swansea are four places below Rangers, but just a point back, and could also jump into the top-10 with a victory, depending on results elsewhere.

• Following their 1-0 win in October, QPR are looking to complete the league double over Swansea for the first time since 1979-80.

• Swansea are unbeaten in their past six away league games against QPR (W3 D3), winning this fixture 2-1 last season.

• QPR are unbeaten in their past three home league games (W2 D1), though have failed to score in three of their previous five on home soil, as many times as in their prior 24 matches.

• Swansea, who won 1-0 at Leicester in their last away league game, are looking to win successive league matches on their travels for the first time since April last season, beating Sunderland and QPR on that occasion.

• Swansea's Zan Vipotnik has scored in each of his past two away league games; he's yet to score in three successive away league matches for the Swans.