SUPER SUB: Mitrovic heroics not quite enough as Paloschi and Dzeko show their worth

Aleksandar Mitrovic was unlucky his star showing off the bench for Newcastle on Saturday could not help the Magpies gain a crucial point in their Premier League relegation battle.

The Serbian striker came on for Vurnon Anita and scored in the 71st and 86th minutes to make it 2-2 at Carrow Road, only for Norwich full-back Martin Olsson to grab an injury-time winner.

The result leaves the Canaries four points above the drop zone, however Rafa Benitez’s side are now six points behind them and in dire need of a win streak to lift them above fierce rivals Sunderland.

Meanwhile, Italian striker Alberto Paloschi proved extremely effective off the bench for Swansea who mounted a stirring second-half comeback to snatch a point at Stoke.

Gylfi Sigurdsson had pulled one goal back on 68 minutes, Paloschi sent on by fellow Italian Francesco Guidolin three minutes later to score the 79th-minute equaliser with a cute swivel and finish.

Dwight Gayle hasn’t seen much game time this season for Crystal Palace, nevertheless he seized his opportunity to claim a point for the visitors after Cheikhou Kouyate’s red card for hosts West Ham.

The 2-2 draw hampers the Hammers in their bid for Champions League football, but it means Palace are now seven points clear of the bottom three with seven games left of the season.

In The Championship, Ola John entered the fray for Reading with half an hour of their match left at Bolton then struck in stoppage time to hand the Royals all three points.

It leaves Reading firmly in mid-table, but puts the Trotters one step closer relegation as they are now 15 points behind Fulham and safety after a tumultuous season on and off the pitch.

Over in League One, Steve Davies managed to nick another goal off the bench for Bradford City against Scunthorpe which leaves them in fifth place and nearer the end-of-season playoffs.

Tyler Walker came on with nine minutes left at Burton Albion to help them eke out a point against Bury, the on-loan forward’s injury-time goal leaving Burton one point off leaders Wigan Athletic.

Gboly Ariyibi helped Chesterfield to pull clear of Port Vale, his 73rd-minute strike making it 3-2 to the home team with both sides set to play out the season in mid-table security.

Down in League Two, substitute Tarique Fosu’s goal saw Accrington Stanley take a point from their home clash with Cambridge United that solidifies their playoff pretensions.

Lloyd James could have gained Leyton Orient a precious point as they bid to sneak a playoff place, the midfielder’s goal 15 minutes from time seeing the draw play out at York City who look doomed.

In the Rome derby at the Stadio Oilmpico, former Manchester City striker Edin Dzeko was the pivotal figure fresh off his goalscoring feats for Bosnia during the international break.

Roma were one goal to the good through Stephan El Shaarawy when Dzeko came on for him after an hour and he quickly added a second with his right foot to settle nerves.

Vitaliy Mandziuk pulled one back for Lazio soon after, Roma eventually scoring two more late on to put the result beyond doubt and move four points behind Napoli who lie second in Serie A.

In the Aviva Premiership, replacement TJ Ioane came off the bench to help Sale to a 30-15 victory over London Irish that leaves them nine points off Leicester in that final playoff slot.

This is a weekly column for Yahoo Sport UK

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