Viktoria Plzeň maintain lead in league with win that piles pressure on Sparta boss Chovanec

Viktoria Plzeň have maintained their lead in Czech football’s first division after a 1:0 win over Sparta Prague in the capital on Saturday evening, with the only goal of the game coming from Petr Jiráček on the hour mark. That result follows a defeat for Sparta in the Champions League in mid-week and puts more pressure on manager Jozef Chovanec, who has blamed the title-holders’ poor form on injury problems.