Petrescu in 2018 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dan Vasile Petrescu[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1967-12-22)22 December 1967 (age 57) | ||
| Place of birth | Bucharest, Romania | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)[2] | ||
| Position(s) | Full-back,winger | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1977–1986 | Steaua București | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1986–1991 | Steaua București | 95 | (28) |
| 1986–1987 | →Olt Scornicești (loan) | 24 | (0) |
| 1991–1993 | Foggia | 55 | (7) |
| 1993–1994 | Genoa | 24 | (1) |
| 1994–1995 | Sheffield Wednesday | 37 | (3) |
| 1995–2000 | Chelsea | 150 | (17) |
| 2000 | Bradford City | 17 | (1) |
| 2001–2002 | Southampton | 11 | (2) |
| 2002–2003 | Național București | 20 | (0) |
| Total | 433 | (59) | |
| International career | |||
| 1989–2000[3] | Romania | 95 | (12) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2003 | Național București (player/assistant) | ||
| 2003 | Sportul Studențesc | ||
| 2003–2004 | Rapid București | ||
| 2004–2005 | Sportul Studențesc | ||
| 2005–2006 | Wisła Kraków | ||
| 2006–2009 | Unirea Urziceni | ||
| 2009–2012 | Kuban Krasnodar | ||
| 2012–2014 | Dynamo Moscow | ||
| 2014 | Al-Arabi | ||
| 2015 | ASA Târgu Mureș | ||
| 2015–2016 | Jiangsu Suning | ||
| 2016 | Kuban Krasnodar | ||
| 2016–2017 | Al-Nasr | ||
| 2017–2018 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2018–2019 | Guizhou Hengfeng | ||
| 2019–2020 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2021 | Kayserispor | ||
| 2021–2023 | CFR Cluj | ||
| 2023–2024 | Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | ||
| 2024–2025 | CFR Cluj | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dan Vasile Petrescu (Romanian pronunciation:[danvaˈsilepeˈtresku]; born 22 December 1967) is a Romanian professionalfootball manager and formerplayer.
As a player, Petrescu was deployed as afull-back or awinger and began his career atSteaua București, with which he played in the1989 European Cup final. Abroad, he representedSerie A clubsFoggia andGenoa, before moving to thePremier League where he played forSheffield Wednesday,Chelsea,Bradford City, andSouthampton, respectively. With Chelsea, Petrescu won the1998 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup. He earned 95caps for theRomania national team, being selected in twoWorld Cup squads, in1994 and1998, and in twoEuropean Championships, in1996 and2000.
Petrescu became player-assistant manager toWalter Zenga atNațional București towards the end of his playing career,[4] and has since had an extensive career as a head coach in Poland, Russia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, China, Turkey, and South Korea, in addition to his native country. His first job was atSportul Studențesc, which he led toLiga I promotion. Petrescu has won domestic honours withUnirea Urziceni,Kuban Krasnodar,ASA Târgu Mureș,Jiangsu Suning, andCFR Cluj. He is the second-most successful manager in Romania, tied withEmerich Jenei, winning the league on six occasions (five times with CFR Cluj and once with Urziceni),[5] and was also namedRomania Coach of the Year a record five times, tied withMircea Lucescu.
After playing forSteaua București's youth teams, Petrescu was promoted into the first team in 1986 in a match played by Steaua just one month after winning theEuropean Cup. He was loaned toOlt Scornicești for the 1986–87 season, but asked to return to Steaua in 1987.

Petrescu was part of the Steaua squad that reached the European Cup semi-finals (1988) and the final (1989).
In 1991, Petrescu was bought by Italian clubFoggia in a period when the club saw promotion toSerie A. In 1993, he moved toGenoa.
Petrescu signed forSheffield Wednesday in 1994 from Genoa, after a successful1994 World Cup for Romania. After one season atHillsborough, he signed forChelsea and featured prominently there for the next five years. During his term at Chelsea, he was a member of the teams which won theFA Cup in1997 and theLeague Cup andCup Winners' Cup (both in 1998). After falling out with Chelsea managerGianluca Vialli after a defeat toManchester United (a game in which he scored),[6] Petrescu never played for the club again and was not even selected as a substitute for the2000 FA Cup final againstAston Villa.
Turning down a move toSouthampton in August 2000,[2] he instead moved toBradford City for £1 million, scoring one goal, againstWest Ham United.[7]
In January 2001, Petrescu's former Chelsea manager,Glenn Hoddle, eventually persuaded him to join Southampton for a"nominal" fee.[2] He initially settled in well atThe Dell, scoring againstLeicester City[8] andManchester City[9] in his first few matches.[10] In March, Hoddle leftthe Saints to take up the managerial reins atTottenham Hotspur and his replacement,Stuart Gray, dropped Petrescu, replacing him withHassan Kachloul for the remainder of the season.[10] After making only two substitute appearances inthe 2001–02 season, Petrescu was released and returned to Romania.[2]
Petrescu returned to his nativeBucharest for a last season as a footballer, withNațional București. His last match was theCupa României final, on 31 May 2003; Național lost 1–0 toDinamo București, during which Petrescu received much abuse from some of the Dinamo fans as he left the pitch at the end of 90 minutes, even though it was the last game of one of Romania's greatest footballers. Presumably, this was because he used to play for Dinamo's greatest rivals, Steaua.
Petrescu registered 95 caps for the seniorRomania national team. He made his debut in 1989 and played at four major tournaments: the1994 World Cup,UEFA Euro 1996, the1998 World Cup (where the entire Romania squad famously dyed their hair blonde after losing a bet with head coachAnghel Iordănescu), andEuro 2000.
Petrescu missed the1990 World Cup due to injury. In 1994, Petrescu played in his firstWorld Cup, held in the United States. He scored the only goal in a win against theUnited States which saw Romania qualify for the second round as group winners. They were then handed a difficult game againstArgentina which they managed to win, only to lose toSweden on penalties in the quarter-finals, with Petrescu one of two Romanians to miss hisspot-kick.[11] The miss still haunts him today. "It will probably stay with me for the rest of my life", he said. After the World Cup, he flew toSaint Thomas and spent two weeks in the Caribbean region.[12]
Euro 1996 was a disappointment for Romania, as they lost all three group matches and only managed to score one goal.
At the 1998 World Cup in France, Petrescu raced past his Chelsea teammateGraeme Le Saux and scored the winning goal againstEngland, which effectively won them the group and ensured they would not have to face Argentina in the second round. He became the second Romanian player to score in two different World Cups afterȘtefan Dobay. The Romanians, however, lost their second round match toCroatia, 1–0.
Petrescu was an important piece of the Romanian team at Euro 2000, where they survived a group withPortugal,Germany and England. A new victory over the English team was decisive to qualify for quarter-finals. Romania won all the matches where Petrescu scored.
After retiring in 2003, Petrescu pursued a career as a coach. He began his managerial career in July 2003 with second division sideSportul Studențesc, whom he led topromotion before taking over atRapid Bucharest in December, but stepped down in April 2004, after only six games and four months at the helm.[13] He then returned for a second spell at Sportul Studențesc, where he helped the club to a seventh-place finish inDiviza A.
In December 2005, Petrescu agreed to manage2004–05 Ekstraklasa championsWisła Kraków in Poland, replacing caretaker managerTomasz Kulawik. Wisła finished second in the2005–06 championship. He was dismissed as manager of Wisła on 18 September 2006 after unconvincing results to begin the 2006–07 season. Petrescu accused the Wisła players for not wanting to train hard to improve their performances.[14]

About one week after his termination, Petrescu was appointed as manager of RomanianLiga I newly promoted clubUnirea Urziceni, with which he had considerable leading. Under his management, Unirea Urziceni was runner-up in the2007–08 Cupa României and qualified for the2008–09 UEFA Cup. He was considered for the vacant manager's position at his former club Steaua București afterMarius Lăcătuș' resignation in October 2008.Dorinel Munteanu was appointed instead, but Petrescu has not ruled out a future role at the club. In May 2009, Petrescu won the Liga I title with outsiders Unirea Urziceni, the first title for both Petrescu and his club, and consequently achieving qualification to the2009–10 UEFA Champions League, during which he led Unirea to a shock 4–1 victory at Ibrox againstRangers and a win againstSevilla at home, 1–0.
Petrescu resigned as manager of Unirea Urziceni in December 2009.[15]

On 28 December 2009,Russian First Division clubKuban Krasnodar hired Petrescu on a five-year contract.[16] Petrescu managed to gain promotion to theRussian Premier League in his debut season, winning the2010 Russian First Division with a total of 80 points, nine clear of second place. His team conceded only 20 goals in 38 matches.[17]
On 14 August 2012, it was announced that Petrescu had resigned as Kuban Krasnodar manager, citing the need for a new challenge.[citation needed] Kuban later participated in theUEFA Europa League for the first time.

Shortly after his resignation, in August 2012 Petrescu signed a three-year contract reportedly worth €2.5 million per year to joinDynamo Moscow.[18]
On 8 April 2014, his contract was terminated by mutual agreement after a heavy loss to outsidersAnzhi Makhachkala, 0–4.[19] Dynamo Moscow director of sportsGuram Adzhoyev stated, "Last year Dan drew the team from the complicated situation, lifted it to the certain level, but recently we have seen no progress."[20]
In June 2014, Petrescu agreed to coach Qatari sideAl-Arabi.[21] On 1 December 2014, his contract with the club was terminated after a mutual agreement.
On 10 June 2015, Petrescu was announced as the new manager of Liga I runner-upASA Târgu Mureș. His first, and only, match in charge was in theSupercupa României against champions Steaua București ended with Târgu Mureș winning 1–0.[22] He resigned the next day, to take up a lucrative contract with Chinese sideJiangsu Suning.[23]
On 9 July 2015, Petrescu left Târgu Mureș, claiming his decision was due to the club's growing financial problems, though he was immediately hired as manager ofChinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning on a lucrative deal.[23][24] Petrescu said in a statement, "It's very hard to leave the team in this moment. I don't how it'll be in China, I hope it will be like in Russia."[25] In his first season in charge, Petrescu guided the club to victory in the 2015Chinese FA Cup.[26] On 3 June 2016, Suning announced that Petrescu will no longer be the manager of the club.[27]
On 14 June 2016, Petrescu signed a two-year contract with Kuban Krasnodar, after the club was relegated to the second-tierRussian National Football League.[28] On 4 October 2016, with Kuban winning only 3 out of first 15 games and sitting in the 14th spot in the league instead of the expected fight for promotion, he left Kuban by mutual consent, stating that the club had not paid him.[29]
On 29 October 2016, Petrescu was announced as the manager of EmiratesArabian Gulf League sideAl-Nasr until the end of the season. He led the club to the final match of theUAE President's Cup but was defeated byAl-Wahda in his last game in charge. Al-Nasr appointedCesare Prandelli as his replacement.[30]
On 10 June 2017, he was appointed head coach ofLiga I clubCFR Cluj.[31] On 20 May 2018, Cluj were crowned asLiga I champions for the 2017–18 season after a 1–0 victory overViitorul Constanța.[32]
On 7 June 2018, he was announced as the manager of Chinese clubGuizhou Hengfeng to replaceGregorio Manzano.[33]
On 22 March 2019, Petrescu returned as manager of CFR Cluj after the club had experienced a string of poor performances in the league. He managed to win the2018-19 Liga I title, successfully defending the trophy he won one year prior. The next season, CFR Cluj sought to have an ambitious European campaign, with the goal to qualify for the group stages of a European Competition. Petrescu guided his side to the2019-20 Europa League group stage, after a loss in the2019-20 Champions League playoffs againstSlavia Praha, eliminating Scottish giantsCeltic on the way. In the group stages, he faced Italian sideSS Lazio,Stade Rennais and Celtic once again, proving to be an almost impossible challenge for CFR. However, with two wins over Stade Rennais and one win over Lazio and Celtic each, CFR finished second in the group stages and qualified for the knock-out phase of the Europa League. There, Petrescu met the competition's favouritesSevilla and were eliminated after a 1-1 and 0-0 draws. The team's performance in Europe was praised by Romanian media, and Petrescu himself claims it was one of the highlights of his career.
CFR were able to maintain their domestic domination, winning the regular season of the2019-20 Liga I by a comfortable margin. However, the playoffs proved to be a much bigger challenge, as the COVID pandemic allowed Craiova to stabilize and pose a challenge to his side. While Craiova lead the standings for most of the playoff phase, following a win on CFR's ground and CFR's draws against Astra Giurgiu and Gaz Metan Medias, eventually CFR did manage to win the reverse fixture against Craiova on the last matchday, securing their third consecutive title.
On 19 August 2020, CFR started the European campaign against Maltese championsFloriana FC with a 2–0 victory but were eliminated in the second round byDinamo Zagreb on penalties. Eventually, CFR did manage to qualify for the2020-21 Europa League, eliminating Djurgårdens in the 3rd round and KuPS in the playoffs. Sadly, CFR could not repeat the previous season's European performance, as they finished third and were eliminated from the Europa League. Domestically, they lost form, playing unconvincing football and losing against Gaz Metan and UTA Arad at home. Petrescu announced on 30 November that he and the club had agreed to terminate his contract.[34] He would be replaced byEdward Iordanescu, whom Petrescu would eventually replace himself a year or so later.
On 28 August 2021, after a weak European campaign which saw the club fail to qualify for the Europa League, CFR Cluj's owner Nelutu Varga dismissedMarius Sumudica, and after few days of negotiations, Petrescu signed a contract on 31 August for a third stint at CFR Cluj.[35] On 15 May 2022 Petrescu won his 4th league, and CFR's 5th consecutive championship after a 2–1 win overUniversitatea Craiova, establishing the Hegemony of CFR Cluj in Romanian football.
On 9 June 2023, Petrescu was appointed as the head coach ofK League 1 clubJeonbuk Hyundai Motors.[36] On 6 April 2024, he stepped down after a five-game winless start.[37]
On 15 April 2024, Petrescu agreed to return to CFR Cluj on a three-year contract,[38] with an effective start in the summer of 2024, citing desire to rest after his spell in South Korea. However, on 30 April, Petrescu announced his decision to cancel his break, and took charge of the club for the fourth time, replacing interim managerOvidiu Hoban.[39] He made his return to Romanian football on 5 May, leading Cluj to a 3–2 win over Rapid București.
In the 2024–25 season, Petrescu led CFR to his first cup win and 6th overall trophy, winning the2024–25 Cupa României, 3–2 againstFC Hermannstadt, making him the most decorated manager in CFR's history.
On 21 August 2025, following a humiliating 2–7 away loss againstHäcken in the2025–26 UEFA Conference League play-off, his worst ever defeat in his 20-year managerial career, Petrescu resigned as CFR Cluj head coach, citing health reasons and a desire to take a longer break from football.[40]
Petrescu was married to Daniela Carmen from 1992 to 2003, with whom he has two daughters: Rebecca (born 1994) and Beatrice Chelsea (born 1998). He named one of his daughters "Chelsea" in honour of one of his former clubs.[41] In May 2007, he married Adriana Stan, a former athlete. The couple have a daughter together, Jennifer, born in 2008.[42]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Steaua București | 1985–86 | Divizia A | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Divizia A | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | – | 13 | 1 | |||
| 1988–89 | Divizia A | 28 | 5 | 2 | 0 | – | 8[c] | 1 | – | 38 | 6 | |||
| 1989–90 | Divizia A | 23 | 9 | 3 | 1 | – | 4[c] | 1 | – | 30 | 11 | |||
| 1990–91 | Divizia A | 31 | 13 | 3 | 2 | – | 3[d] | 2 | – | 37 | 17 | |||
| Total | 95 | 28 | 9 | 3 | – | 16 | 4 | – | 120 | 35 | ||||
| Olt Scornicești (loan) | 1986–87 | Divizia A | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 25 | 0 | |||
| Foggia | 1991–92 | Serie A | 25 | 4 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 27 | 4 | |||
| 1992–93 | Serie A | 30 | 3 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 34 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 55 | 7 | 6 | 0 | – | – | – | 61 | 7 | |||||
| Genoa | 1993–94 | Serie A | 24 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | – | 25 | 1 | |||
| Sheffield Wednesday | 1994–95 | Premier League | 29 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 33 | 3 | ||
| 1995–96[45] | Premier League | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 8 | 0 | |||
| Total | 37 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 41 | 3 | ||||
| Chelsea | 1995–96[45] | Premier League | 24 | 2 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 31 | 3 | ||
| 1996–97[46] | Premier League | 34 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | – | – | 41 | 4 | |||
| 1997–98[47] | Premier League | 31 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 7[d] | 2 | 1[e] | 0 | 43 | 8 | |
| 1998–99[48] | Premier League | 32 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | – | 45 | 4 | ||
| 1999–2000[49] | Premier League | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15[f] | 1 | – | 47 | 5 | ||
| Total | 150 | 18 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 207 | 24 | ||
| Bradford City | 2000–01[50] | Premier League | 17 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 20 | 1 | ||
| Southampton | 2000–01[50] | Premier League | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 9 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02[51] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | |||
| Total | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 11 | 2 | ||||
| National București | 2002–03 | Divizia A | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | – | 31 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 433 | 60 | 45 | 4 | 12 | 2 | 50 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 541 | 73 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Romania | 1989 | 5 | 0 |
| 1990 | 8 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 5 | 0 | |
| 1992 | 6 | 1 | |
| 1993 | 4 | 0 | |
| 1994 | 15 | 3 | |
| 1995 | 6 | 0 | |
| 1996 | 8 | 3 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 2 | |
| 1998 | 13 | 2 | |
| 1999 | 8 | 0 | |
| 2000 | 9 | 0 | |
| Total | 95 | 12 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 5 December 1990 | Stadionul Naţional,Bucharest, Romania | 6–0 | 6–0 | UEFA Euro 1992 Qualifying | |
| 2 | 4 August 1992 | Stadionul Steaua,Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 3 | 25 May 1994 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 4 | 26 June 1994 | Rose Bowl,Pasadena, United States | 1–0 | 1–0 | World Cup 1994 Group A | |
| 5 | 7 September 1994 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 3–0 | Euro 1996 Qualifying | |
| 6 | 1 June 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | |
| 7 | 31 August 1996 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 3–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 8 | 9 October 1996 | Laugardalsvöllur,Reykjavík, Iceland | 4–0 | 4–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 9 | 29 March 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 5–0 | 8–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 10 | 10 September 1997 | Stadionul Steaua, Bucharest, Romania | 2–0 | 4–0 | World Cup 1998 Qualifying | |
| 11 | 6 June 1998 | Stadionul Ilie Oană,Ploiești, Romania | 2–0 | 5–1 | Friendly | |
| 12 | 22 June 1998 | Stadium Municipal,Toulouse, France | 2–1 | 2–1 | World Cup 1998 Group G |
| Team | Nat | From | To | Record | Ref. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | W | D | L | Win % | |||||
| Sportul Studențesc | 20 July 2003 | 3 December 2003 | 22 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 072.73 | [53] | |
| Rapid București | 8 December 2003 | 14 April 2004 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 042.86 | [54] | |
| Sportul Studențesc | 17 June 2004 | 5 December 2005 | 50 | 21 | 13 | 16 | 042.00 | [55][56] | |
| Wisła Kraków | 7 December 2005 | 18 September 2006 | 23 | 14 | 6 | 3 | 060.87 | [57][58] | |
| Unirea Urziceni | 25 September 2006 | 26 December 2009 | 130 | 64 | 36 | 30 | 049.23 | [59][60][61][62] | |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 28 December 2009 | 14 August 2012 | 88 | 41 | 24 | 23 | 046.59 | [17][63][64] | |
| Dynamo Moscow | 17 August 2012 | 8 April 2014 | 55 | 28 | 14 | 13 | 050.91 | [65][66] | |
| Al-Arabi | 5 June 2014 | 1 December 2014 | 11 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 027.27 | [67] | |
| ASA Târgu Mureș | 10 June 2015 | 9 July 2015 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100.00 | [68] | |
| Jiangsu Suning | 12 July 2015 | 3 June 2016 | 36 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 041.67 | [69] | |
| Kuban Krasnodar | 14 June 2016 | 4 October 2016 | 16 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 018.75 | [70] | |
| Al Nasr | 29 October 2016 | 26 May 2017 | 26 | 13 | 5 | 8 | 050.00 | [71] | |
| CFR Cluj | 10 June 2017 | 4 June 2018 | 37 | 23 | 10 | 4 | 062.16 | [72] | |
| Guizhou Hengfeng | 7 June 2018 | 21 March 2019 | 23 | 7 | 4 | 12 | 030.43 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 22 March 2019 | 30 November 2020 | 90 | 47 | 23 | 20 | 052.22 | ||
| Kayserispor | 11 January 2021 | 23 February 2021 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 025.00 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 31 August 2021 | 8 June 2023 | 103 | 55 | 22 | 26 | 053.40 | ||
| Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors | 9 June 2023 | 5 April 2024 | 38 | 15 | 11 | 12 | 039.47 | ||
| CFR Cluj | 30 April 2024 | 22 August 2025 | 69 | 33 | 23 | 13 | 047.83 | ||
| Total | 833 | 407 | 221 | 205 | 048.86 | — | |||
Player[edit]Steaua București Chelsea
Național București Individual
| Manager[edit]Unirea Urziceni[80]
Kuban Krasnodar[80] ASA Târgu Mureș[22] Jiangsu Suning[80] CFR Cluj[81] Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors
Individual
|
Dan Petrescu made it 3-0 on the night with a neat finish
Dan Petrescu's dismissal late in the game ensured it was an uncomfortable final few minutes