Gary Neville admits his “bottle jobs” jibe at Chelsea was harsh but stands by his claim the Blues froze in the Carabao Cup final.

Sky Sports pundit Neville branded Mauricio Pochettino’s side “blue billion-pound bottle jobs” during Sunday’s 1-0 extra-time defeat to injury-hit Liverpool.

Pochettino has overseen a disappointing campaign since arriving at Stamford Bridge last summer and his expensively-assembled squad were beaten by Virgil van Dijk’s late header.

Former Manchester United defender Neville explained the thinking behind his comment when speaking on Sky Bet’s Stick to Football podcast, saying: “I got progressively angrier during extra time with Chelsea… then I thought, should I say it, is it too strong?

“I was thinking that as I said it, and sometimes when you think that you might think that it’s a reason not to say it, but I felt as though it needed to be said, it’s a harsh line.

“I said that they froze in extra time, there is no doubt that they were playing with fear and froze.

“Bottle doesn’t mean cowardness, they just froze on the day, we froze in games sometimes, in Champions League semi-finals.

“Sometimes you do freeze – Manchester United, the year before they won the Premier League title against Leeds, they bottled the run-in.

“We bottled the run-in, when we were without Roy (Keane) in 1998, against Arsenal – we’ve all bottled run-ins.”

Pochettino reiterated his rejection of Neville’s dig after Chelsea’s battling 3-2 FA Cup win over Leeds on Wednesday night.

“I cannot be angry about that,” he said. “With all my love to Gary, it’s not fair to use this type of word for a team that is so brave, a club that always fights for big things.

“We know that we are brave and that we are working really hard. For us, it’s not an important comment.”

Conor Gallagher wanted to give Chelsea fans something to celebrate after their 3-2 victory over Leeds in the FA Cup fifth round at Stamford Bridge.

The Blues bounced back from Sunday’s Carabao Cup defeat to Liverpool thanks to goals from Nicolas Jackson, Mykhailo Mudryk and Gallagher.

Gallagher, who scored a 90th-minute winner with a tidy finish in the box past Illan Meslier, dedicated the victory Chelsea’s supporters.

“Sunday was a big disappointment and we wanted to bounce back and give the fans something to celebrate,” Gallagher told Chelsea’s official website. “Thankfully we did that last night.

“It was a great atmosphere. Leeds fans are always very passionate and loud, but I think our fans were great as well, especially considering the disappointment the other day.

“So I have to say thank you to them and hopefully we gave them something to celebrate.”

Virgil van Dijk scored the only goal in the 118th minute at Wembley as Mauricio Pochettino’s side sustained a big blow to their campaign.

Gallagher admitted it has been difficult to overcome the defeat following the short turnaround between the two games, with the FA Cup representing the only chance of silverware for the club this season.

He added: “It was really tough for the players to bounce back. Obviously everyone has been down over the last few days, but we had to make sure we were right for this match because it was such an important game.

“Physically, it was fine for me coming off the bench, but the lads who played the full game against Leeds after playing 120 minutes the other day were fantastic and we’ve got to give a lot of credit to them.

“It was a big shift and a good performance. I thought we dug deep and thankfully we got the win in the end.”

The midfielder’s strike rounded off a spirited Chelsea performance and took his tally for the season to four in all competitions.

“It’s nice. I obviously like to score goals and I struggled to do that before the goals started to come, so hopefully I can continue to get more,” Gallagher said.

“It was a great pass from Enzo (Fernandez) and a good goal. We were really happy to get one right at the end because obviously it meant we didn’t have to go into extra time, and I think we were looking a bit tired.”

What the papers say

Wolves’ Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 23, and Crystal Palace’s England international Eberechi Eze, 25, are among Tottenham’s main summer targets, according to The Independent. The club have put a wide-playing forward at the top of their shopping list.

Mason Greenwood’s future at Manchester United will be decided by the end of May. The Sun reports the club will make a decision on the 22-year-old English forward, who is on loan at Getafe.

Dele Alli could be handed a fresh start to his time at Everton. The Daily Express, via The Athletic, reports the club are looking to give the former England midfielder, 27, a new deal.

Liverpool are interested in Brentford’s Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, 24, according to the Daily Express.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jorginho: Arsenal’s Italy midfielder, 32, could return to Serie A in the summer, reports Goal.

Diant Ramaj: Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are looking at Ajax’s German goalkeeper, 22, according to German outlet Bild.

LeBron James scored 19 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers erased a 21-point deficit in the final 12 minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers rallied for a 116-112 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday.

James hit five of his season-high seven 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and outscored the Clippers by himself (19-16). He either scored or assisted on 11 of the Lakers’ 13 baskets in the final period.

The Clippers held a 98-77 lead in the opening minute of the final quarter, but James led a 29-8 run over the next 7:34. Anthony Davis’ free throws tied it at 106 with four minutes left, and Jamesd found Rui Hachimura for a go-ahead 3 moments later.

Kawhi Leonard missed a 12-footer with five seconds to go and the Clippers down two before James threw a long pass to Cam Reddish for a dunk that punctuated a stunning win for the Lakers.

Davis finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds, D’Angelo Russell added 18 points and Hachimura had 17.

Leonard scored 26 points and James Harden added 23 with nine assists for the Clippers, who have lost consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 21 and 23.

Doncic has triple-double on birthday

Luka Dončić celebrated his 25th birthday with 30 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds for his 11th triple-double of the season in the Dallas Mavericks’ 136-125 win over the Toronto Raptors.

Doncic was 11 for 23 from the field and missed 7 of 8 from 3-point range in his 67th career triple-double.

He is the first player in NBA history to record a 30-point triple-double on his birthday.

Kyrie Irving scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and P.J. Washington Jr. added 23 points for Dallas, which avoided a third straight loss.

Scottie Barnes had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Immanuel Quickley scored a season-high 28 points as Toronto said goodbye to a season-best three-game winning streak.

Doncic scored 11 points in the third quarter and added six assists to help the Mavs take a 106-92 lead into the fourth.

Jokic extends triple-double streak in win

Nikola Jokić notched his fourth straight triple-double in three quarters and Jamal Murray scored 32 points as the Denver Nuggets won their fourth in a row, 117-96 over the Sacramento Kings.

Jokic had 14 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for his 19th triple-double this season, two behind Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis for the league lead.

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 16 points and Aaron Gordon added 15 for Denver, which avoided a four-game season sweep to the Kings.

Keegan Murray had 21 points and Chris Duarte contributed 18 off the bench as Sacramento had a three-game winning streak snapped.

Cameron Green hit a defiant unbeaten 103 as Australia were restricted to 279 for nine on the opening day of the first Test in New Zealand.

Matt Henry claimed four wickets as the home side’s seam attack took full advantage of a green wicket in Wellington.

Henry claimed the wickets of openers Steve Smith for 31 and Usman Khawaja for 33 as Australia limped to 85 for four, the struggling Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head both managing just a single.

Mitchell Marsh provided some support to Green, handed the pivotal number four spot after Smith’s elevation to open following the retirement of David Warner, before Henry had him caught behind for 40.

Green hit 16 boundaries, accelerating through the second half of the day with wickets falling regularly at the other end with variable bounce and seam movement making batting difficult.

Nathan Lyon was the last to go when he was caught behind to give Henry his fourth wicket just before stumps.

There was still time for Green to reach his second Test century, moving through the 90s with three boundaries in the day’s final over.

Middlesbrough secured their first ever major trophy and a place in Europe with victory in the League Cup final on this day 20 years ago.

A 2-1 triumph over Bolton at the Millennium Stadium saw Steve McClaren underline his emerging credentials as a potential long-term successor to England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson, becoming the first English manager in eight years to win one of the nation’s three main prizes.

With the first half a comedy of defensive errors, this final may have been more slapstick farce than stylish drama but it was hugely entertaining nonetheless.

Joseph-Desire Job gave Boro the lead after just two minutes and on-loan Boudewijn Zenden then converted a mis-hit penalty.

Bolton gamely battled back, with Mark Schwarzer’s careless mistake enabling Kevin Davies, who sat in the stands for Southampton’s FA Cup final defeat the season before, to pull a goal back after 21 minutes.

However, while Per Frandsen struck the post in that frantic first half, McClaren’s side, who were inspired by captain Gareth Southgate in defence and Gaizka Mendieta in midfield, steadied their resolve in a far more formulaic second half.

McClaren, who became England manager in 2006 after leading Boro to the UEFA Cup final, highlighted the performance of Southgate, saying: “You need heroes in a cup final and we had 11, 12 or 13 out there, and in the second half Mendieta was magnificent, but if there’s one player I’d single out it’s Gareth Southgate.

“He has been the talisman of this football club since I came. I made him my first signing and told him the ambitions and we’ve had many ups and downs since then but I’m delighted for him because he deserves it.

“We wanted to bring a trophy to Middlesbrough after 128 years. That was my ambition when I sat down with the chairman. Personally it’s fantastic but the fans were magnificent.”

Connor McDavid scored with 26 seconds left in overtime to end a 10-game goal drought as the Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.

Zach Hyman scored twice - his 39th and 40th goals of the season - in regulation for the Oilers, who have won two straight after dropping three in a row.

McDavid assisted on both of Hyman’s goals for his sixth straight multi-assist game and has one goal and 22 assists during a nine-game point streak.

The 10-game stretch without a goal matched the longest of his career.

Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich scored first-period goals for the Blues, who have lost three straight and five of six.

Rangers beat Blue Jackets to move atop East

Artemi Panarin had a goal and two assists and Igor Shesterkin made 30 saves to lift the New York Rangers to a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Adam Fox and Chris Kreider also scored for the Rangers, who rebounded from Sunday’s loss at Columbus to win their sixth straight at home and 11th in 12 games overall.

New York is the first team this season to reach 40 wins and has moved ahead of Boston and Florida into the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers’ 40 wins through 60 games equals the 1972-73 team for fewest to reach the 40-win mark in franchise history.

Cole Sillinger had the lone goal for the last-place Blue Jackets, who haven’t won consecutive games since Nov. 22 and 24.

Team principal Christian Horner is expected to be on Red Bull’s pit wall for practice in Bahrain on Thursday after he was cleared of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female colleague.

Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH announced on February 5 that Horner was under investigation following an accusation made against him by a female colleague.

Horner emphatically denied the claim and the 50-year-old – who arrived in Bahrain on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s opening race of the season – has been cleared of wrongdoing.

Red Bull GmbH said it was confident the investigation had been “fair, rigorous and impartial”, but added that the report – understood to stretch to 150 pages – is “confidential”.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had called for the investigation to be conducted with transparency but no details of the allegations against Horner were reported.

Horner has made no public comment. The complainant also has a right to appeal against the verdict.

A statement from Red Bull GmbH read: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.

“The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.

“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

Horner, who has protested his innocence throughout, was questioned by a lawyer for eight hours earlier this month at a secret London location.

During the internal probe, he continued to be present for official Red Bull activities – including a car launch in Milton Keynes earlier this month, where he insisted it was “business as usual”, and pre-season testing in Bahrain last week.

Horner flew back to England as he awaited his fate before heading back to the Gulf kingdom on a private jet on Wednesday.

Horner has been Red Bull team principal since they entered F1 19 years ago and is the longest-serving boss on the grid.

He has overseen seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

Red Bull have dominated the sport in recent seasons and last year won 21 of the 22 races with Dutch driver Max Verstappen setting a new record for 10 consecutive victories as he wrapped up his third title.

Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was awarded a CBE for his services to motorsport in the New Year Honours.

Team principal Christian Horner was with his Red Bull team in Bahrain on Thursday morning after he was cleared of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female colleague.

Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH announced on February 5 that Horner was under investigation following an accusation made against him by a female colleague.

Horner emphatically denied the claim and the 50-year-old – who arrived in Bahrain on Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s opening race of the season – has been cleared of wrongdoing.

Red Bull GmbH said it was confident the investigation had been “fair, rigorous and impartial”, but added that the report – understood to stretch to 150 pages – is “confidential”.

Mercedes boss Toto Wolff had called for the investigation to be conducted with transparency but no details of the allegations against Horner were reported.

Horner has made no public comment. The complainant also has a right to appeal against the verdict.

A statement from Red Bull GmbH read: “The independent investigation into the allegations made against Mr Horner is complete and Red Bull can confirm that the grievance has been dismissed.

“The complainant has a right of appeal. Red Bull is confident that the investigation has been fair, rigorous and impartial.

“The investigation report is confidential and contains the private information of the parties and third parties who assisted in the investigation, and therefore we will not be commenting further out of respect for all concerned. Red Bull will continue striving to meet the highest workplace standards.”

Horner, who has protested his innocence throughout, was questioned by a lawyer for eight hours earlier this month at a secret London location.

During the internal probe, he continued to be present for official Red Bull activities – including a car launch in Milton Keynes earlier this month, where he insisted it was “business as usual”, and pre-season testing in Bahrain last week.

Horner flew back to England as he awaited his fate before heading back to the Gulf kingdom on a private jet on Wednesday.

Horner has been Red Bull team principal since they entered F1 19 years ago and is the longest-serving boss on the grid.

He has overseen seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

Red Bull have dominated the sport in recent seasons and last year won 21 of the 22 races with Dutch driver Max Verstappen setting a new record for 10 consecutive victories as he wrapped up his third title.

Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was awarded a CBE for his services to motorsport in the New Year Honours.

Jack Draper needed little more than an hour to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco.

The 22-year-old, who beat seventh seed Tommy Paul in the previous round, proved too strong for Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, winning 6-3 6-0 in 68 minutes.

The British number three started strongly, breaking the world number 82 in his opening scoring game and threatening as he opened a 3-0 lead.

Games went on serve as Nishioka fought to stay in touch at 5-3, but Draper served out to win the opening set in 42 minutes.

He was barely troubled after that, again breaking Nishioka to start the second set.

He broke twice more and stayed firm on his own serve to book a place in the last eight.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp likened the instant impact of his academy players to that of darts player Luke Littler last month – but then asked for the youngsters to be given time to find their feet.

Jayden Danns scored his first two goals in only his third appearance after fellow 18-year-old Lewis Koumas had opened the scoring on debut as Southampton were beaten 3-0 to set up an FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United.

As sons of former Premier League players Neil Danns, the ex-Crystal Palace midfielder, and Jason Koumas, who played for West Brom, the pair will have a lot of experience to call on but Klopp said they should be allowed to do that out of the spotlight.

Referencing Littler, who reached the World Darts Championship final at the age of 16, the German asked for perspective despite the youngsters’ key roles in a depleted side.

“It is little bit like the new darts sensation, it is fine for tonight. Tomorrow, leave the boys in the corner,” Klopp said.

“Everyone who is with us, we should have our moments, they will have more moments than we expect.

“All of it was obviously incredibly important. Against a Southampton team we would have had problems with anyway but in our situation we tried to give as much information as possible to them and we had to improve during the game.

“The first 15 minutes we were all over the place; we tried to press but the timing was horrendous and Southampton used that.

“We found a way into the game and the goal we scored was in a nearly perfect moment, it felt like a momentum change and then an exceptional finish from Lewis.

“We now had the momentum rather than Southampton and won a lot of high balls and scored, the play was special, the way we won the balls was special and something like that, as impossible as it seems, can happen.

“Maybe the people (fans) don’t forget it when the transfer window opens, don’t close the door (on young players) with 12 signings.”

On Danns, who came off the bench to score twice in 15 minutes to earn the man-of-the-match award, Klopp added: “Exceptional talent. Of course it is not natural that a boy 18, is as calm as you like. The second goal calm as you like.”

Saints boss Russell Martin was left to rue several missed chances in the opening 30 minutes in particular.

“I don’t think 3-0 is a fair reflection of the game as we should have been one or two up before they got close to a goal,” he said.

“The difference in the game is the quality of the finishing and their goalkeeper making some brilliant saves.

“If we are ever going to lose, then let’s do it being the team we want to be and I can’t ask any more from them tonight.

“I really enjoyed watching my team but I am really hurt for them and the result as I didn’t think we deserved that.”

Steven Naismith condemned the “idiots” who threw objects at Lawrence Shankland as he waited to take Hearts’ penalty in their 1-1 draw at home to Hibernian.

The Jambos top scorer had to hold his nerve before he equalised from the spot just before half-time after a range of items rained down on him from the stand behind the goal housing Hibs fans.

Shankland was struck by more objects when defending a corner later in the game, while Hibs goal-scorer Emiliano Marcondes was also hit by something thrown from the Hearts end.

Hearts boss Naismith said: “I think it was everything that was in everyone’s pockets, whether it be coins, vapes or whatever. All the stuff getting launched on, it’s just not acceptable.

“If that then gets looked at, what’s going to happen is they are just going to reduce the amount of fans that can go into that stand and that’s going to impact what I think is a good atmosphere, a good derby which has a fierce rivalry.

“It’s just idiots that are going to spoil the party for everybody. It’s just not good enough, end of.”

Shankland’s penalty – contentiously awarded after Hearts forward Kenneth Vargas went down while trying to get away from Will Fish – just before the break cancelled out Marcondes’ 27th-minute opener for Hibs.

“It was end to end at times, both teams had chances and, ultimately, that bit of quality was the thing that was missing in the game,” added Naismith.

Hibs boss Nick Montgomery was adamant his team deserved to win the game and felt referee Kevin Clancy made an error by sticking with his decision to award the penalty to Hearts even though he was advised by VAR to review the incident on the pitchside monitor.

“The VAR is there to call the referee over so he doesn’t make a mistake and when he called him over, I looked at it on the monitor and my opinion is no way it’s a penalty – and I don’t think anybody else probably thought it was,” said Montgomery.

“And then, lo and behold, he’s got a clear view of it, he can slow it down, he can watch it. Yeah, he gives a penalty. I’m just really disappointed that we don’t take three points. It cost us two points.

“Maybe we’ll get another apology this week like we did after Aberdeen. Maybe we won’t. But at the end of the day, what we won’t get back is any points.”

Asked about the objects being thrown from the stands, Montgomery said: “I don’t condone it, Steven doesn’t condone it. Neither do the clubs. Unfortunately there were a few things.

“Emi Marcondes had it in the first half as well when we had serious pressure on them.”

Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell was thrilled his players responded to his half-time criticism after watching them come from behind to beat Livingston.

The visitors trailed at the break to Tete Yengi’s third-minute strike but improved in the second 45 minutes after scoring through Sam Nicholson, Blair Spittal and substitute Jack Vale.

The win moves the Steelmen to within three points of the cinch Premiership top six, while Livingston are now seven points adrift at the bottom.

Kettlewell said: “It showed great character coming here. You can see their team was up after the first goal, which was really poor and I was really annoyed at half-time.

“It wasn’t how we passed the ball, it was the fact we all had eyes for the ball. It was a great reaction, the guys got some stick at half-time and the goals were of sheer quality.

“But once we get that organisation behind the ball it worked for us.”

Asked if his team now had their sights on top six, Kettlewell, whose team face Rangers at the weekend, added: “We have to, we won’t get carried away because it’s one victory, one win but we have to set the bar high.

“Simply from my side it’s about the performance, especially the second half. If we can piece together that first half against Celtic then we can put on a real show.

“It needs to be bigger picture. We’ve had so many strong performances since the turn of the year and games we should have won.

“We’ve conceded cheap and soft goals which happened tonight but play like we did in the second half then I think we can compete with most teams.

“That creative flair we have, the ruthless edge to score.

“We’re maybe third or fourth top scorers in the division and that speaks volumes for replacing someone like Kevin van Veen.

“We’ll need that to continue and that can set the bar for where we want to be and where we want to go.”

Livingston made the perfect start but ended the game looking like a team that were heading for relegation.

Manager Davie Martindale admits his side looked vulnerable after Motherwell equalised in the 49th minute through Nicholson.

He said: “Of course it’s confidence. That group at the start went to Easter Road (against Hibs), good value, shape and discipline.

“Now we look a million miles away from that and it’s down to belief.

“First half we gave up a wee bit of territory but that was part of the game plan.

“It probably gave them a wee bit more than I’d hoped. I thought we looked a threat on the counter.

“Shamal George didn’t have a lot to do then we go out and lose an early goal, a cheap goal.

“The game became very difficult for the players, position, form, eats into that.”