Thomas Tuchel praised the performance of the returning Romelu Lukaku after Chelsea's EFL Cup win over Tottenham.

The Blues took a huge step towards reaching the final after claiming a 2-0 victory in the first leg of the last-four tie at Stamford Bridge.

Lukaku was restored to the starting line-up after he was left out of the squad for Sunday's Premier League clash with Liverpool due to comments made in the Italian media.

The former Inter striker was quoted as saying he was "not very happy with the situation" he finds himself in, while expressing a desire to return to the Nerazzurri one day.

However, the Belgium international subsequently apologised to Tuchel, as well as the fans on the club's official website.

He played the full 90 minutes against Spurs – recording game-high tallies of three shots on goal and two on target – and the head coach was pleased with his contribution under difficult circumstances.

Asked what he made of Lukaku's performance, he told Sky Sports: "Good, absolutely happy. I was pretty sure he was not affected. 

"I see him on a daily basis. Even the last days, he seemed relaxed, fine with the situation and mentally moved on. 

"Romelu can handle pressure and adversity. It was a good performance; he contributed a lot to our defensive setup and had chances."

Tuchel also praised the focus and commitment of his players, although he believes they could have increased their margin of victory.

"It seems like a deserved win, an excellent result because it reflects the game," he added. "We could have scored more, but it is hard to score against Tottenham.

"We did create a lot – some huge chances – it could have been possible to score more.

"We never lost the focus; [we] never lost the commitment."

Carlo Ancelotti believes Eden Hazard will recover his best form soon after Real Madrid battled past Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey.

Hazard started just his ninth game of 2021-22 in Wednesday's 3-1 victory against the third-tier outfit, who famously beat Madrid in this competition a year ago.

Dani Vega's excellent run and finish cancelled out Eder Militao's opener for Madrid, who were without several first-team regulars including Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.

Substitutes Marco Asensio and Isco eventually secured a hard-fought win, the former scoring via a deflected effort following Hazard's lay-off before Isco diverted the ball in off goalkeeper Jose Juan.

Hazard, Rodrygo and Mariano Diaz struggled to combine effectively in the Madrid attack, although the Belgium international ended the match with four chances created, at least twice as many as any other player.

Ancelotti felt the game was ill-suited to creative players but remains convinced Hazard can become a key player for Los Blancos despite an underwhelming two and a half years in Spain.

"Players of quality suffered more than the others," Ancelotti said. "He tried, then as a number nine, like Isco, who scored when he came on, and I'm happy for him.

"Hazard, Rodrygo and these players with more quality suffered more than others.

"He needs to have more confidence in one-v-ones, dribbling, shooting, because he has the quality to do that.

"His physical condition is better than a few months ago, and hopefully we'll see him back at his best level soon."

Ancelotti praised his players for surviving a battle at El Collao against a side who eliminated LaLiga strugglers Levante on penalties in the last round after a 3-3 draw.

"We played the game we had to," he said.

"Of course, we suffered [at 1-1]. They levelled the game through a really good individual action, one of quality.

"Afterwards, we didn't lose our heads and we kept playing the game. We couldn't play another game – this is the one we'd prepared.

"We finished them today. It's not our type of game because delivering quality in these types of games isn't possible.

"We stood up to a team who usually play with quality and today they put that aside and they fought. It's what they had to do. I repeat: if you don't fight here, you lose, like we did last year."

Antonio Conte pulled no punches in his assessment of Tottenham after losing 2-0 to Chelsea in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-final, acknowledging "there's no comparison" between the two teams.

Spurs were well beaten at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, with two defensively poor goals allowing Chelsea to build up what proved to be an unassailable lead before half-time.

Japhet Tanganga first saw his pass cut out by Marcos Alonso, who fed Kai Havertz to open the scoring five minutes in.

Tanganga then saw his unchallenged headed clearance strike Ben Davies and go into his own goal, with Spurs failing to even muster a single shot before the break.

Conte altered his system at half-time, changing to a back four and bringing on Tanguy Ndombele in midfield – Spurs were better, but their five shots was still only a little over half of Chelsea's nine in the second period.

According to Spurs' expected goals (xG) of 0.37, they would have been extremely fortunate if they had managed to breach Kepa Arrizabalaga's goal, while Chelsea's 2.2 accentuated just how much more threatening – and clinical – they were.

For Conte, it was a brutal reminder of how far Spurs still have to go to be able to consider themselves competitive rivals of the likes of Chelsea, whom he was facing at Stamford Bridge for the first time since leaving them in July 2018.

"It was a difficult game, difficult from the start," Conte told Sky Sports. "Chelsea showed to be much better than us.

"The first half, we struggled a lot from the start but we know that we are talking about one of the best teams in Europe, in the world.

"Last season they won the Champions League. If you compare the two teams, there is not a comparison.

"We are talking about a team ready to win – we have seen the difference between the two teams.

"It is not easy to play at Stamford Bridge, the way they were very concentrated, they won the ball every time and then we conceded also a goal [that was] unlucky.

"When you start the game and after a few minutes they score, for sure the game becomes very difficult, but I know the situation, it's very clear in this moment there is an important gap [between Spurs and the best teams].

"We have to try to fight to stay in the league in a good position, but if we think we are close, I think we are not in the right way."

The defeat and Conte's scathingly honest appraisal of Spurs' situation might be hard to stomach for some, but the Italian reiterated the need for patience and highlighted the importance of not sugarcoating anything for his team.

"There is a lot of jobs to do," he continued. "In this moment, it is very difficult to understand which part you take to improve because there is a lot of situations to improve.

"We need time, and patience. Everyone has to have patience, because Tottenham in the last years the level has dropped a lot and now we have to fight to win every game.

"I started my experience with Tottenham and every game we have fought, and now we struggle to win the game, it wasn't a game you could say it was easy.

"We have to be humble, to understand the situation at the moment and continue to work to improve our players, then we will see. It is not simple to say go in the transfer market, in January it won't be easy and now the most important thing is to be focused and work to improve.

"The results in the league were good, we reached the semi-final in the EFL Cup and for Tottenham at this moment that is a good target.

"I am always very honest with my players, we have to clap the performance of Chelsea. I like to tell the truth and with a good lie you don't go anywhere. They showed to be a really good team, much better than us.

"We have to try to change this situation, slowly, slowly. It is impossible to change the situation in one or two transfer windows.

"There is a lot of jobs to do in Tottenham and we need a lot of time. It is important for patience and for me also to have patience."

Aaron Rodgers hit back at an NFL MVP voter who said he would not cast his ballot for the Green Bay Packers quarterback, calling the reporter in question "a bum".

Rodgers has experienced a superb but controversial campaign, leading the Packers to the number one seed in the NFC but attracting significant criticism for appearing to mislead reporters regarding his vaccination status.

He tested positive for coronavirus and was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in November for 10 days, as league rules dictate for unvaccinated players, forcing him to miss the Packers' Week 9 defeat to the Kansas City Chiefs. Rodgers had said back in August that he was "immunised".

Rodgers clarified that his immunisation comments referred to a homeopathic treatment he received. He applied for an exemption from the rules for unvaccinated players but saw his request rejected by the NFL and NFLPA.

The three-time MVP subsequently criticised the league's coronavirus protocols and has courted controversy with his comments regarding vaccines.

In an interview on Tuesday, MVP voter Hub Arkush told 670 The Score: "I don't think you can be the biggest jerk in the league and punish your team, and your organisation and your fanbase the way he did and be the Most Valuable Player.

"Has he been the most valuable on the field? Yeah, you could make that argument, but I don't think he is clearly that much more valuable than Jonathan Taylor or Cooper Kupp or maybe even Tom Brady. So from where I sit, the rest of it is why he's not gonna be my choice."

Responding in a media conference on Wednesday, Rodgers said of Arkush: "I think he's a bum. I think he's an absolute bum. He doesn't know me. I don't know who he is. No one knew who he was, probably, until yesterday's comments. And I listened to the comments.

"But to say he had his mind made up in the summertime, in the offseason that I had zero chance of winning MVP – in my opinion, that should exclude [him from] future votes.

"His problem isn't with me being a 'bad guy' or 'the biggest jerk in the league' – because he doesn't know me. He doesn't know anything about me. I've never met him. I've never had lunch with him. I've never had an interview with him.

"His problem is I'm not vaccinated. So if he wants to go on a crusade and collude and come up with an extra letter to put on the award just for this season and make it the 'Most Valuable Vaccinated Player,' then he should do that.

"But he's a bum. And I'm not going to waste any time worrying about that stuff. He has no idea who I am. He's never talked to me in his life. But it's unfortunate that those sentiments – it's surprising that he would even say that, to be honest. But I knew this was possible."

Derrick Henry returned to practice on Wednesday, boosting hopes he could feature for the Tennessee Titans in the playoffs.

Henry was earlier designated to return from injured reserve, opening his 21-day window to be placed back on the active roster.

The star running back suffered a fractured foot in the Titans' overtime win against the Indianapolis Colts back on October 31.

Henry, who won the rushing title in 2019 and 2020, has 937 yards on 219 attempts with 10 touchdowns in the 2021 season.

Despite his return to practice, it appears unlikely he will be ready to feature in the Titans' regular-season finale against the Houston Texans, in which they could clinch the number one seed in the AFC.

However, should Tennessee indeed secure top spot in the conference, it will give the Titans a first-round bye and Henry extra time to recover for a home game in the Divisional Round.

Even with Henry missing half the season, the Titans still rank third in rush yards per game with 142.5 and will hope his return to their ground attack can help propel them to a second Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

Lionel Messi is set to return to Paris Saint-Germain after testing negative for COVID-19.

The Ligue 1 leaders announced on Sunday that the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had returned a positive test while back home in Argentina.

Messi subsequently missed the commanding 4-0 win over Vannes in the Coupe de France on Monday, with Kylian Mbappe scoring a hat-trick at Stade de la Rabine.

But the club has revealed the Argentina international tested negative on Wednesday and could be available for this weekend’s trip to Lyon.

Mauricio Pochettino will be without Layvin Kurzawa, who returned a positive test and has been placed in isolation.

Messi has struggled to find his feet in Ligue 1 since making his sensational switch from Barcelona in August.

While he has been directly involved in 10 goals (six goals, four assists) from 16 appearances across all competitions, the 34-year-old has only found the net once in 11 games in the French top flight. 

Substitutes Marco Asensio and Isco ensured Real Madrid avoided more Copa del Rey embarrassment against Alcoyano as ​the LaLiga leaders battled to a 3-1 victory in the round-of-32 tie.

Madrid were on the end of one of the greatest shocks in Spanish football history 12 months ago when losing to the same third-tier opponents at Estadio El Collao.

Eder Militao gave Madrid the lead late in the first half of Wednesday's clash, just like he did in last year's meeting, only for Dani Vega to hit back in style for the hosts.

But Carlo Ancelotti's side, who were without Karim Benzema, Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric and Vinicius Junior, regained the lead through Asensio's heavily deflected strike 14 minutes from time before Isco's poked effort went in off goalkeeper Jose Juan to seal progression.

Alcoyano eliminated LaLiga's bottom side Levante in the last round and started strongly against Madrid, with Dani Vega testing stand-in keeper Andriy Lunin early on.

Eduardo Camavinga blocked a goal-bound shot soon after and the lively Vega had a penalty appeal turned down after being sent to the ground by Militao.

The game soon settled down and Madrid edged in front from their first attempt on target, Militao getting in front of Jose Juan to head in Rodrygo's corner.

Madrid never looked truly settled and Vega levelled up the game after driving into the box, cutting back inside past the chasing Casemiro and curling a shot away from Lunin.

But the visitors, whose 15-match unbeaten run was ended by Getafe last weekend, soon woke up and were back in front when Asensio's shot from the edge of the area, set up by Eden Hazard, took a big deflection and left Jose Juan wrong-footed.

Fellow substitute Isco thought he had himself got on the scoresheet two minutes later, but it went down as an own goal as the last touch from his prodded effort came off the veteran keeper.

Dani Alves described playing for Barcelona again as "too special a gift" after making his second debut in the Copa del Rey win over Linares Deportivo.

The veteran defender played the full 90 minutes as Xavi's side came from behind at Linarejos, with goals from Ousmane Dembele and Ferran Jutgla sealing a 2-1 win over the third-tier club.

The 38-year-old was officially registered on Monday after re-joining the club on a free transfer in November following his departure from Sao Paulo.

Alves was making his 248th appearance – and first since May 2016 – for the Blaugrana, with whom he won 23 trophies during his first spell.

And he praised the mental strength of his team-mates to recover after Hugo Diaz's header put them on the back foot.

In quotes reported by AS, Alves said: "For me, it is a special day to wear the Barca shirt again.

"To play again in official competition with Barca is too special a gift. 

"I just want to play with my team-mates, help them, and improve them. 

"It is a competition with many surprises. We knew it was difficult, but we were mentally strong.

"You have to learn to compete and fight to the end. Only those who know how to suffer, raise trophies. Today, we have succeeded."

Meanwhile, head coach Xavi was pleased with the response of his players after half-time but acknowledged that they can perform a lot better.

"It was a matter of faith. It was a matter of calm and breathing and choosing the last pass," he said. "The triumph has been important. 

"We had a hard time understanding the superiority and the last pass. We were better in the second half because they were more tired. 

"There are phases in which we have played well, but it was logical."

Chelsea put one foot in the EFL Cup final thanks to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Tottenham in Wednesday's semi-final first leg on a chastening return to Stamford Bridge for Antonio Conte.

Thomas Tuchel, seemingly eager to put recent indiscretions to one side after an apology, reinstated Romelu Lukaku to his starting XI, though Chelsea's victory arguably said more about Spurs' defence than the hosts' attack.

The Blues were ahead inside five minutes as Kai Havertz punished a Japhet Tanganga error at the back, and a comical Ben Davies own goal had Chelsea cruising at the interval.

Spurs improved somewhat in the second 45 minutes but were fortunate not to concede more goals, with Timo Werner spurning a couple of excellent opportunities, perhaps giving Conte's men a lifeline for the return leg.

Lukaku should have made a swift impact when released into the box in the first minute, only to bizarrely opt for a cut-back that went to no one.

Spurs gifted them another chance soon after, though, and Chelsea took it – Marcos Alonso cut out Tanganga's dreadful pass and fed Havertz, who found the net despite Davinson Sanchez's best efforts.

The dominant home side made it 2-0 just past the half-hour mark, Tanganga's unchallenged headed clearance bouncing back off Davies and going in.

Spurs, who introduced Tanguy Ndombele at half-time, were brighter early in the second period, with Harry Kane testing Kepa Arrizabalaga via a 20-yard free-kick.

Still, the best chances went the way of Chelsea and Werner, who first shot agonisingly wide and then saw Hugo Lloris just about reach his lobbed effort after an exquisite pass from Hakim Ziyech.

A late Ndombele effort from Bryan Gil's pull-back was then well saved by Kepa as the Blues kept their clean sheet intact.

What does it mean? Chelsea in control of the tie

The last trophy Spurs won was via this competition in 2008 – on the evidence of this first leg, they will not be ending that drought in next month's final.

Sure, there was undoubtedly an improvement from Spurs in the second half here, but they could not really have gotten any worse – they failed to register a single shot in the first 45 minutes. Even then, Chelsea were still on another level after the break.

Conte has received a lot of praise for the impact he has had on Spurs in just a couple of months at the helm, but this was a reminder of how far they still have to go.

Fruitful from the flanks

Alonso and Ziyech were both impressive out wide for the Blues. The Spaniard was deployed as a left-back rather than wing-back but still got forward to great effect, making the interception and playing the pass for the first goal – that was one of three key passes. The only player to register more (four) was Ziyech on the right, whose use of the ball was often excellent in the final third.

You've been Tangangoed!

This was a day to forget for Tanganga. It was his poor pass to Emerson Royal that was intercepted in the build-up to the first goal, and then his header went in off Davies for the second when he was under virtually no pressure.

What's next?

These two will resume hostilities next Wednesday in the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but before that, both teams are in FA Cup action. Chelsea host Chesterfield on Saturday, while Spurs welcome Morecambe to north London the following day.

Los Angeles Chargers coach Brandon Staley will not countenance a "complicit" tie should such a result benefit both his team and the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday.

The AFC playoff picture is an intriguing one heading into Week 18 and a favourable result at Allegiant Stadium could take both teams into the postseason.

If the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Baltimore Ravens, and the Jacksonville Jaguars – fresh from a 50-10 blowout defeat to the New England Patriots – upset the 9-7 Indianapolis Colts, the scenario in Nevada becomes straightforward.

Should those results fall into place, a tie between the Raiders and Chargers would send both to the playoffs at the expense of the other remaining challengers.

However, Staley is not prepared to engage in any such approach regardless of the bigger picture come kickoff.

"That's a pretty loaded scenario," he told The Rich Eisen Show. "That is an all-time coffee shop scenario. I feel like I'm with my buddies at the University of Dayton.

"I think we all respect the game and the NFL shield and the integrity of this game far too much to be complicit in something like that. This game matters too much to too many people, and we want to play our best and be proud of the result one way or another.

"We're going to do everything we can to go win this game, and play the way we're capable of playing. I hope all the fans and everybody who loves the NFL will be proud of the game on Sunday.

"What makes it so special is the competition and the level of integrity and respect that it stands for."

The Chargers and Raiders head into the contest evenly matched, both standing at 9-7 with Las Vegas on a three-game winning streak.