Christophe Galtier guided Nice past the minnows of Versailles and into the Coupe de France final, before declaring: "I can't wait to see the Stade de France in red and black."

A first appearance in the competition's final for 25 years awaits Nice now, with Nantes and Monaco going head to head on Wednesday for the right to join them in Paris on May 8.

Nice are owned now by British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe and have big ambitions they are moving towards fulfilling. A trophy is now in their sights, while they sit third in Ligue 1, which meant they began as overwhelming favourites against fourth-tier Versailles.

Goals in the second half from Amine Gouiri and Kasper Dolberg did the job, earning a 2-0 win for the home side as an initially nervy Nice stepped up the pace once they edged ahead.

"There was a lot of pressure before this match," head coach Galtier said. "People wanted to see the amateurs beat the pros. The joy was not the same with us as it was after the successes against PSG or Marseille. It was more relief and satisfaction."

PSG and Marseille were beaten by Nice in the previous two rounds, and it will be the Parisians who are next to come to the Allianz Riviera on Saturday for a Ligue 1 assignment.

"We have to recover quickly to play a big match against Paris," Galtier said. "But there is a lot of joy and relief. I can't wait to see the Stade de France in red and black."

More joy for Galtier could come at the national stadium, as the man who won the Coupe de la Ligue with Saint-Etienne nine years ago and the Ligue 1 title with Lille last season attempts to complete the set of French football's major trophies.

"It would be great as a treble with three different clubs," Galtier said. "I've already won the Coupe de France as an assistant with Alain Perrin at Sochaux and Lyon, but as a head coach it would be extraordinary. However, we are a long way from that."

Goalkeeper Marcin Bulka said Nice were good value for their place in the trophy match.

Bulka told Nice's official website: "There are thousands of teams who take part in this competition, and we have qualified for the final! We are very happy with this qualification. It's well deserved, because we eliminated strong teams like Paris and Marseille.

"It is no accident, no coincidence that we are here. The team deserves this victory and those before and to be in the final. Now we have one last step. We want to win and I hope we will achieve our goal."

Tottenham need to discover some "stability" within their performances, says Antonio Conte, but he is staying patient.

Spurs' inconsistency came to the fore again on Tuesday, as Conte's team suffered an FA Cup exit at the hands of Middlesbrough, losing 1-0 to the Championship side after extra time.

It was Middlesbrough's first FA Cup win over Tottenham, in their seventh such meeting, while it was a historic defeat to Spurs – never before had they been eliminated from a domestic cup match after losing in extra time against a side from a lower division.

Since the turn of the year, Tottenham have lost seven of their 13 matches. Among Premier League sides, only Brentford (eight) have lost more games in all competitions in that timeframe.

It is a frustrating issue for Conte, whose team thrashed Leeds United 4-0 on Saturday and beat Manchester City the week before, yet those victories were wedged alongside defeats to Burnley, Southampton and Wolves.

"We need to make this team more stable than it has been in the past. This is still the big problem," Conte told a news conference.

"I'm the coach of this team and when you're the coach of this team your players are the best in the world.

"Then for sure I can consider my players the best in the world but we can work and we can improve for the future and also reflect on this defeat. This defeat has to hurt me, my players and everyone one that works in Tottenham."

Conte has been in a fiery mood in recent media conferences, especially after defeats. In fact, after the loss at Turf Moor, he seemed to cast his own future into doubt. 

This time, he was more reserved, even when asked what it would be like to end the season without a trophy.

"In this moment I'm the last person, I don't think about myself," he answered. "When I speak with my players, we have to think about 'us', not 'me'.

"For me there is no problem and for me there is the desire, the will, the patience to try to continue to work very hard to improve, to make this team more stable than the past, because I think this is the key that can change the situation."

Conte revealed he has been taking a "carrot and stick" approach so far at Spurs.

"Sometimes it's important for the coach, when you have the media conference, there also has to be a strategy," he added.

"Sometimes it has to be strong, sometimes it has to be light.

"My old coaches in Italy, they taught me that the coach sometimes has to use the carrot, sometimes they have to use the stick.

"I have to use the right way. After Burnley [I used the] stick and then we won. After Leeds, [I use] the carrot, [now] we lost! The coach has to be clear in his instruction. I know there is a lot of space for improvement."

Spurs' focus will now switch fully to their bid for Champions League qualification. They host struggling Everton in the Premier League on Monday.

The 2022 MLB season will not start on time after owners and players failed to reach an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement.

A deadline of 17:00 eastern time on Tuesday had been set by management, yet no deal was stuck.

Commissioner Rob Manfred announced that the first two series of the season were cancelled as the players remain locked out in an ongoing and bitter labour dispute.

"I had hoped against hope I wouldn't have to have this press conference where I am going to cancel some regular-season games," Manfred said on Tuesday.

"We worked hard to avoid an outcome that's bad for our fans, bad for our players and bad for our clubs.”

The MLB Players' Association issued a statement less than an hour after Manfred spoke, saying that players and fans worldwide are "disgusted, but sadly not surprised."

"What Rob Manfred characterized as a 'defensive lockout' is, in fact, the culmination of a decades-long attempt by owners to break our Player fraternity," the statement said.

"As in the past, this effort will fail."

The sides did make some progress, however, negotiating for over 16 hours on Monday before management made its "best and final offer" on Tuesday, the ninth straight day of meetings.

The players' union rejected that offer, and the owners followed through on their threat to cancel games.

Only the first week of games have been officially cancelled, so MLB could salvage a 156-game season starting on April 8 if a deal is made in the coming days, but the two sides remain divided with no imminent resolution in sight.

The players have yet to accept any cancellation and could try to negotiate for the unlikely result of rescheduled games. Manfred explained that the league will not compensate players for any cancelled games.

Among the key monetary issues still being discussed are the scale of a Competitive Balance Tax, minimum salaries and bonus pool money for pre-arbitration players.

Player salaries have dropped four per cent since 2015, when Manfred became commissioner.

Manfred – along with players' union leader Tony Clark – are likely to receive the ire of fans as baseball will have a shortened season for the second time in three years. The 2020 campaign was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Players stand to lose $20.5million in salary for every day of the season that is cancelled.

Pep Guardiola welcomed the show of support for Oleksandr Zinchenko as the Ukrainian defender captained Manchester City in their FA Cup win at Peterborough United.

With his country experiencing a Russian military invasion, Zinchenko stepped up to assume leadership on the football pitch after being handed the armband by Fernandinho.

It was a move designed to show solidarity with the 25-year-old as he waits for news from what Guardiola described as "this nightmare" in Zinchenko's homeland.

"It's not an easy period for Oleks," Guardiola told a news conference. "His family, his country, but playing football is the best for him at the moment."

In a separate BBC interview, Guardiola said of the left-back: "Unfortunately his citizens in Ukraine are living in a terrible and crazy and insane situation. All the people here at Peterborough, not just our fans, showed him warmth.

"Hopefully this nightmare can finish as soon as possible."

Goals from Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish in the second half carried City through to the quarter-finals.

Both were set up by Phil Foden, whose pass to Grealish for City's clincher particularly caught the eye.

Grealish later revealed it was inspired by watching clips of Guardiola's former Barcelona charge Lionel Messi in action.

"The pass from Phil was excellent. It was quite similar to the pass from Phil that he did to Joao [Cancelo] in Brugge in the Champions League, and the control was excellent from Jack," Guardiola said.

The City boss added: "They were brilliant goals. The quality for Riyad and the second goal the same. It was good.

"We created chances. All of them were brilliant. Riyad always had this quality in the final third – he is the best player in the final third that we have. He scored a fantastic goal. I'm so proud for the game he played."

There was cause for slight concern ahead of Sunday's derby against Manchester United, with Guardiola substituting starting centre-backs Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake at half-time due to what he hopes are only minor knocks. Aymeric Laporte and John Stones proved capable replacements.

The City manager said Dias was "not feeling good in his leg", while Ake suffered a blow when committing a first-half foul.

"That's why, for caution and to be alert, we made the substitutions," Guardiola said. "It was not planned. I would say it was a medical decision."

What do Dusan Vlahovic, Dodi Lukebakio and Gaetan Laborde all have in common?

As of this moment, not much – aside from having been touted as the next Newcastle United signing. But if Vlahovic gets a goal for Juventus against Fiorentina on Wednesday, he will join Wolfsburg's Lukebakio (who joined on loan from Hertha Berlin) and Rennes' Laborde (who signed from Montpellier) as the only players in Europe's top five leagues to score for and against the same team this season.

Vlahovic said his feelings were "a bit mixed" as he contemplated facing the Viola at the Artemio Franchi, where he spent four years after joining as an 18-year-old from Partizan. "It's a bit strange," he told DAZN, to prepare for a game against the team for whom he scored 33 times in Serie A in 2021, equalling the competition's calendar-year record set by Cristiano Ronaldo – the man he was bought to replace in Turin.

The sentiment among Fiorentina's faithful will be a bit more, well, partisan. Vlahovic's January transfer, completed on his 22nd birthday for an initial fee of €70million, sparked levels of fury among the fan base arguably not seen since the Roberto Baggio riots of the early 1990s. Fiorentina ultras vented their anger not just at the player, but at the club itself, lambasting president Rocco Commisso for doing deals with "the ultimate evil" after previously promising never to sell their best players to the hated Bianconeri.

Meanwhile, Vlahovic has got on with the day job of scoring goals, and with three in his past two games, Juve are beginning to hope of a surprise late challenge for the Champions League and Serie A titles. Before then comes the small matter of a Coppa Italia semi-final in Florence, and the chance for Vlahovic to take a step closer to a first trophy outside Serbia by knocking out his old employers.

And he wouldn't be the first Juve player to return to haunt Fiorentina...

Roberto Baggio

Baggio isn't the sole reason Fiorentina don't like Juventus, but ask someone to explain the rivalry and his name will likely come up pretty quickly.

The pony-tailed posterboy of Italian football developed into a star in his five years in Tuscany even before his rise to global fame at the 1990 World Cup on home soil. It was in that same year that Juve signed him from Fiorentina for an approximate fee of £8million, smashing the world transfer record and sparking furious Fiorentina fans to take to the streets in protest.

Baggio claimed he never really wanted to leave and, when he returned to face them in Bianconeri colours on April 7, he refused to take a penalty ostensibly out of concern that goalkeeper Gianmatteo Mareggini would know where he would put it. Luigi Di Biagio stepped up instead, missed, and Juve lost. Picking up a Fiorentina scarf didn't help Baggio to endear himself to the Juve faithful, either.

Still, over the next five years, Baggio would fire them to Serie A, Coppa Italia and UEFA Cup glory and become the first Italian since Paolo Rossi in 1982 to win the Ballon d'Or (it would be 13 more years before another, Fabio Cannavaro, did the same).

Giorgio Chiellini

If Baggio's transfer sparked a riot, Giorgio Chiellini's permanent move to Juve in 2005 prompted more of a quiet grumble. He spent 2004-05 with the Viola after they and Juve reached a co-ownership deal, so it was always anticipated the suits in Turin might stump up the full amount for his registration rights.

Of course, watching Chiellini win nine Scudetti, five Coppa Italia crowns and Euro 2020 as part of a glittering Azzurri career has left plenty of Fiorentina fans with an unshakeable sense of 'what if'.

In December 2005, Chiellini started against Fiorentina in a frankly unfair back four that also featured Lillian Thuram, Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta, with Juve claiming a 2-1 win thanks to Mauro Camoranesi's 88th-minute goal. 

He's since gone on to face Fiorentina 17 times in Serie A, losing just twice. But, more importantly, Chiellini has become a Juve great – he is just two games away from putting himself third behind Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon on the club's all-time appearances list.

Federico Bernardeschi

Bernardeschi may have moved out of season, but that didn't stop Fiorentina fans venting their anger in response to his €40m switch. They hung a banner outside the stadium that made their displeasure fairly clear. It read: "Who wouldn't like to spit in your face… you s***** hunchback".

His move to the Old Lady came after a something of a breakthrough season as he scored 11 times in Serie A – that was an improvement of nine from the two he'd got the previous campaign.

Unsurprisingly he was jeered and targeted by banners on his first return to Florence in February 2018, though Bernardeschi had the last laugh, curling a free-kick in as Juve won 2-0. It's fair to say he didn't abstain from celebrating, letting out a huge scream.

"I celebrated when I scored because I believe a professional should respect the fans. I've always been grateful to Fiorentina, and always will, for the way they looked after me and helped me develop, but I made a career choice and now I play for another team," he told Sky Sport Italia at the time.

But Bernardeschi's struggled to have the same kind of importance to Juve, rather being used as more of a utility and back-up player, which is reflected by the fact he's scored just eight league goals for the club.

Federico Chiesa

If Fiorentina fans are upset on Wednesday, just wait until next season when Federico Chiesa is fit again and lining up alongside Vlahovic. The pair appeared together 41 times for the Viola before Chiesa's October 2020 departure for Turin.

Chiesa, who is out for the rest of the season following damage to his anterior cruciate ligament, will be a permanent Juve player in 2022-23. For now, remarkably, he is merely on loan from Fiorentina.

Such deals that appear to favour the buying club are not uncommon in Serie A, but Fiorentina supporters could be forgiven for being furious as their club again accommodated the transfer of a star player to their bitter rivals.

Chiesa – the son of former Fiorentina forward Enrico – dazzled in his final full season in Florence, with 11 goals and six assists, and has done likewise for Juve following a slightly tricky start. At the time of his injury – before Vlahovic's arrival – he was the Bianconeri's standout performer.

Inter boss Simone Inzaghi blamed fatigue levels for his team's limp performance against Milan in the Coppa Italia semi-finals, admitting the Nerazzurri are still "licking their wounds" after losing to their rivals in Serie A last month.

Inzaghi's men managed just seven shots at goal and created a disappointing 0.30 expected goals in the 0-0 first-leg stalemate, extending their winless run to five matches in all competitions.

That is their longest such streak since a sequence of 10 without winning in February 2018, and has also seen the reigning champions surrender top spot in Serie A to Napoli.

Inter have also failed to win any of the three Milan derbies played this season, going down to an Olivier Giroud double in league action just last month, and Inzaghi believes their previous loss to the Rossoneri, as well as their recent physical exertions, have taken a heavy toll.

"I think the draw was the right result," Inzaghi told Mediaset. "We are still licking our wounds after losing the Serie A derby 2-1, that looked completely different until the 75th minute [Inter led for the majority of that contest].

"I think this derby was less spectacular compared to the other two, as there was a lot at stake. The two teams were anxious and looking at the 180 minutes.

"We want to reach the Final and win another trophy [but] knowing this was our 36th game of the season, we need to regain sharpness, but we are working on it.

"We're playing a lot. Apart from one error we made playing out from the back and a Handanovic save, I don't remember other Milan chances."

Milan boss Stefano Pioli believes his side deserved to beat rivals Inter in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final clash, but also claimed the goalless draw represented a "good result".

The Milanese giants, who are split by just two points in a fierce Serie A title race, could not be separated at San Siro, with the lively Rafael Leao and Rade Krunic going closest for the more adventurous Rossoneri. 

Milan managed 13 attempts to Inter's seven in a cagey encounter, also creating 0.70 expected goals to the below-par Nerazzurri's 0.30, but were unable to break the deadlock. 

Although Pioli felt his team merited more from the encounter, he also professed himself pleased with the result, with Italy's preservation of the away goals rule perhaps making the Rossoneri slight favourites ahead of April's second leg.

"Milan played well and deserved something more," Pioli told Mediaset. "But if we look at it over the two legs, it is a good result. I still think we deserved a victory.

"It's only a partial result, we know the second [leg] will be very difficult, but I am satisfied with the performance. 

"We've made progress over the last two and a half years, we would like to win something and make this a wonderful season.

"The team was aggressive against an Inter side with a great deal of quality. We didn't allow Inter any real shots on goal and had chances of our own.

"It's disappointing we were unable to win the match and it all goes down to the second leg, [but] I really liked the performance and we should gain even more confidence from it, because we are a team who belong at this level."

Jamie Vardy has now scored 94 Premier League goals since turning 30, surpassing the previous record.

Vardy, who had been ruled out with a hamstring injury since Leicester City's win over Liverpool on December 28, returned to the matchday squad for their trip to Turf Moor on Tuesday.

The 35-year-old came on as a second-half substitute and, after assisting James Maddison's opener, wrapped up a 2-0 win - Leicester's first league victory of 2022 - when he headed home from Harvey Barnes' cross.

He has now surpassed Ian Wright's tally of 93 Premier League goals after hitting the age of 30, and also both scored and assisted after coming on as a substitute for the first time in his top-flight career.

"He's just clever," Brendan Rodgers said, as reported by BBC Sport Leicester. "His game knowledge and idea of the game, the streetwise things, [they] are the things we’ve been missing [in his absence]. 

"His movement was electric, his running brings others into the game."

Since his Premier League debut in August 2014, Vardy has been directly involved in 168 goals in the competition, scoring 128 times and providing 40 assists. His haul is bettered only by his former England team-mate Harry Kane during that time, with the Tottenham man tallying up 207 Premier League goal contributions. 

Tottenham became the second high-profile scalp in as many FA Cup rounds for Middlesbrough as Chris Wilder's men won 1-0 after extra time to secure passage to the quarter-finals.

Boro academy graduate Josh Coburn was the hero, firing home superbly in the second half of the additional 30 minutes after coming on as a substitute. 

Antonio Conte's men were hoping to avoid the fate suffered by Manchester United last month, but Spurs ultimately paid the price for their wastefulness as the hosts claimed a memorable victory.

Flashpoints were few and far between in the first 45 minutes, but the contest did generally improve after the interval, with Harry Kane scoring only to see his tap-in disallowed for a foul.

Both sides were indebted to their goalkeepers as the game went to extra time, and Middlesbrough were rewarded for their greater endeavour as teenager Coburn landed the decisive blow.

A low-quality first half provided very little to get excited about until 40th minute when goalkeeper Joe Lumley was beaten to the ball out wide as he flew out of his area, but Matt Doherty miscued his eventual effort as he shot over the empty net.

It was hardly the precursor to a second-half onslaught, however, with Boro the next to go close in the 53rd minute through a free Matt Crooks header that went over.

Spurs finally tested Lumley just before the hour, the goalkeeper preventing Eric Dier's 30-yard free-kick from finding the top-right corner, and Kane had a goal disallowed from the resulting corner after tugging a defender's shirt.

Chances began to flow for both sides towards the end of regulation time, with Paddy McNair's last-ditch challenge denying Steven Bergwijn, while Lumley and Hugo Lloris made crucial saves from Isaiah Jones and Son Heung-min, respectively.

Extra time beckoned and not only did Boro look sharp at the back, they carved Spurs open with 107 minutes played, Coburn smashing beyond the helpless Lloris.

Tyson Fury has claimed it is "100 per cent" certain that he will retire after his fight with Dillian Whyte in April, casting doubt over whether he will ever face Anthony Joshua.

Fury and Joshua's camps were supposedly close to reaching an agreement for a huge heavyweight bout this year, yet that deal failed to materalise.

Instead, Fury is taking on another of British boxing's big names in the form of Whyte, who he faces at Wembley Stadium on April 23, with the WBC belt on the line.

However, 33-year-old Fury says he has no intention of carrying on his career after facing Whyte, who did not attend the first media conference to preview the fight.

Fury said the fight would "100 per cent" be the last of his career.

"I'm a two-time undisputed world champion," he added.

"This is the final fight of my career, I'm retiring after this, $150million in the bank, nothing to prove to anybody, healthy, young, I'm gonna buy a massive yacht abroad.

"I'm retiring, I'm out, this is my final fight, I'm done."

Fury has won 31 of his 32 professional fights, with the other being a contentious tie in his first of three meetings with Deontay Wilder – he triumphed in the second and third bouts.

Amine Gouiri put Nice in sight of a first Coupe de France triumph for 25 years as Christophe Galtier's team reached the final with a 2-0 win over minnows Versailles.

France Under-21 forward Gouiri eased nerves inside the Allianz Riviera when he drilled Nice ahead with a sharp finish in the 48th minute.

Gouiri had chances to extend the home team's lead, before he laid on the chance for Kasper Dolberg to rattle in the second goal.

Nantes or Nice's neighbours Monaco await in the final, which will be played on May 8 at the Stade de France.

Nice last won this cup in 1997 but have already eliminated Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in this season's competition and fourth-tier Versailles were understandably conservative in their approach.

Khephren Thuram headed inches over the bar after a left-wing corner from Calvin Stengs picked him out at the near post.

Stengs had a shot from 12 yards well blocked after working the chance well with Gouiri on the left, before Diego Michel trickled a low shot wide at the other end.

Thuram had another great chance after Stengs, this time from the right, clipped in a cross that he could headed straight at goalkeeper Dan Delaunay.

Gouiri threatened early in the second half but took a heavy touch and the chance went, yet within a minute he had another opening, controlling Jordan Lotomba's cross right-wing cross and finding the top-right corner from 12 yards.

Gouiri was denied by Delaunay and then saw another shot deflect wide but Nice's insurance goal came in the 73rd minute when substitute Dolberg lashed into the bottom-left corner.

Evann Guessand struck the crossbar amid a late Nice flurry, as they eased into their first Coupe de France final in 25 years.

Amine Gouiri put Nice in sight of a first Coupe de France triumph for 25 years as Christophe Galtier's team reached the final with a 2-0 win over minnows Versailles.

France Under-21 forward Gouiri eased nerves inside the Allianz Riviera when he drilled Nice ahead with a sharp finish in the 48th minute.

Gouiri had chances to extend the home team's lead, before he laid on the chance for Kasper Dolberg to rattle in the second goal.

Nantes or Nice's neighbours Monaco await in the final, which will be played on May 8 at the Stade de France.

Nice last won this cup in 1997 but have already eliminated Paris Saint-Germain and Marseille in this season's competition and fourth-tier Versailles were understandably conservative in their approach.

Khephren Thuram headed inches over the bar after a left-wing corner from Calvin Stengs picked him out at the near post.

Stengs had a shot from 12 yards well blocked after working the chance well with Gouiri on the left, before Diego Michel trickled a low shot wide at the other end.

Thuram had another great chance after Stengs, this time from the right, clipped in a cross that he could headed straight at goalkeeper Dan Delaunay.

Gouiri threatened early in the second half but took a heavy touch and the chance went, yet within a minute he had another opening, controlling Jordan Lotomba's cross right-wing cross and finding the top-right corner from 12 yards.

Gouiri was denied by Delaunay and then saw another shot deflect wide but Nice's insurance goal came in the 73rd minute when substitute Dolberg lashed into the bottom-left corner.

Evann Guessand struck the crossbar amid a late Nice flurry, as they eased into their first Coupe de France final in 25 years.

Neither Milan nor Inter could establish a lead in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie, as the Serie A title contenders played out a goalless draw at San Siro.

Rafeal Leao caused problems for Inter in a match where chances were at a premium, but the Rossoneri were unable to make their superiority count against their out-of-form city rivals.

With Italy's domestic cup not following UEFA's example of removing the away goals rule, however, the stalemate will certainly be more kindly looked upon on the red side of Milan, who are level on points with Napoli at the top and two ahead of Inter in a fierce race for the Scudetto.

Alexis Saelemaekers tested Samir Handanovic during a frantic start after the stadium observed a heartfelt message from Milan's Ukrainian legend Andriy Shevchenko, who scored in their last Coppa Italia final win in 2003.

Milan's Theo Hernandez shot wide after a trademark burst forward, while Alessio Romagnoli denied Inter with a superb defensive header on 20 minutes before limping out of the contest injured.

Stefano Pioli's men enjoyed the better of the first period, with Rade Krunic shooting over from a great position and the lively Leao troubling Inter in an otherwise uninspiring opening 45 minutes.