Tuesday’s briefing: Sesko strikes again and Gyokeres backs Gunners mentality

Manchester United had Benjamin Sesko to thank once again as they dispatched Everton to climb into the top four.

Viktor Gyokeres believes Arsenal have shown they can hold their nerve in the Premier League title race.

Elsewhere, Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni has been given a provisional one-match ban by UEFA.

Sesko strikes again in Man Utd win

Benjamin Sesko came to Michael Carrick’s rescue for the third time in four matches after arriving from the bench to score the only goal in Manchester United’s 1-0 Premier League victory at Everton.

The Slovenia international striker has yet to start in the interim head coach’s six matches in charge, but has now scored two winners and snatched a late equalizer to maintain Carrick’s unbeaten start.

He was forced to wait until just before the hour mark to replace Amad Diallo, but made an impact within 13 minutes by getting on the end of a direct counter-attack in a rare moment of incisiveness from the visitors.

It was enough to secure a fifth win in six matches and move United into fourth, only three points behind Aston Villa.

Sesko has now scored six in his last seven appearances, making it difficult for Carrick to ignore his contribution to the team’s resurgence, which has only strengthened the head coach’s own credentials after he replaced Ruben Amorim in January.

Viktor Gyokeres hails “perfect way to respond” to Wolves setback

Viktor Gyokeres believes Arsenal’s statement derby win against Tottenham was the “perfect way” to silence the club’s critics.

Gyokeres and Eberechi Eze both scored twice to secure a 4-1 triumph over Spurs, just four days after Arsenal were rocked by a 2-2 draw at Wolves.

The dropped points at Molineux led to questions about Arsenal’s title mentality. However, their performance against Tottenham – which took them five points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League – went some way to silencing the doubters.

Gyokeres, who extended his league tally to the season for 10, said: “It’s always going to be difficult when you get a result like we had at Wolves, but it’s how you handle that, and how you respond to it, and we showed that it in a good way.

“To get this result and this performance, it was the perfect way to respond. So, it’s a good sign.”

Gianluca Prestianni provisionally banned

Benfica’s Gianluca Prestianni has been provisionally suspended for Wednesday’s Champions League return leg against Real Madrid by UEFA following the Vinicius Junior racism incident last week.

Vinicius Junior alleged he was the subject of racist abuse by a Benfica player – later named by Real as Prestianni – during the first leg between the clubs last Tuesday.

On Monday, UEFA announced a provisional one-match ban for Prestianni following the appointment of a UEFA ethics and disciplinary inspector (EDI) to investigate the incident.

UEFA said further punishment could be handed out once the investigation is completed.

Vinicius made the allegation during Real’s 1-0 win in Lisbon. The Brazilian left the field and refused to return resulting in a stoppage in play that lasted 10 minutes.

What’s on today?

Newcastle are in action in the Champions League knockout round play-off when they host Azerbaijan Premier League outfit Qarabag, with a 6-1 victory in the first leg already in the bank.

Dundee United and Aberdeen meet in the William Hill Scottish Premiership while in the Championship, Middlesbrough will be looking to keep up the pressure on leaders Coventry when they host Leicester.