Blackpool boss Neil Critchley hailed his side’s determination after a 3-0 win against struggling Forest Green Rovers set up a third-round FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest.

The Seasiders were without several players in the rescheduled fixture, with Kylian Kouassi and Shayne Lavery among those sidelined through injury.

Thanks to goals from Owen Dale in the first half and Jordan Gabriel and Marvin Ekpiteta in the second, Blackpool cruised to victory at Bloomfield Road.

Critchley hoped for better injury fortune over the festive period as his side prepare to face Bristol Rovers.

He said: “We had to work hard for it until the last 15 minutes. I always felt we were the dominant team, we were comfortable.

“But whilst it’s 1-0, you’re always mindful of them getting a breakaway or set-piece or something.

“Until we got the second goal, although we were pretty dominant, you’re never quite sure that you’re going to win the game.

“Hopefully we have a clean bill of health and we can move on to Bristol Rovers on Saturday now.

“You look across the team, some players haven’t played for a bit so it’s not going to be easy. There was an element of risk doing that – a calculated one but the players equipped themselves well and we’re into the next round.”

The Seasiders dominated for much of the game against their League Two opponents, as David Horseman’s second-half triple substitution did little to trouble Blackpool’s defence.

Horseman admitted goalkeeper Luke Daniels’ 18th-minute error made it an “uphill battle” after Dale pounced on a loose ball to tap home for the first.

He insisted 3-0 was a flattering scoreline for Blackpool and rued soft goals that led to their second-round exit.

He said: “They were bigger, quicker and stronger all over the pitch and won every duel.

“We were OK and organised. Luke hasn’t had many saves to make, but to give the first goal away makes it an uphill challenge.

“The second one is a 60-yard ball diagonal from the wide man that splits two players and goes through and at the end it’s a free header. We gave away three really soft goals.

“It’s a marker we need to do much better.

“The goals were really bad individual errors. We knew when we made the changes and bring the boys on, we give the second goal away.

“The three goals were really, really bad. The 3-0 I think flatters them, they deserved to win but it flatters them. It leaves a really bad taste.”

Boss Michael Carrick has urged Middlesbrough to seize their chance after reaching the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

Jonny Howson, Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks eased them into the last four with a 3-0 win at Port Vale.

The Championship side reached a major domestic semi-final for the first time in 17 years, since losing to West Ham in the last four of the FA Cup in 2006.

An injury-hit Boro made light work of their League One hosts to avoid an upset and are the only EFL team left in the last four.

Carrick said: “Sometimes in your career there are times and you have to make the most of the opportunity when it comes your way.

“When the door opens you have to run through it and the boys certainly sprinted through it.

“We’re not stupid. We know whoever’s left in the draw probably wants to play us and see it as a chance to get to Wembley.

“It’s a hell of an opportunity. It’s about us and what we can achieve. You’re in a semi-final and it’s motivation and inspiration itself.

“It was a fantastic attitude and mentality. We’re decimated in terms of numbers in the squad but it’s part of the journey and we’re enjoying it.

“We’re in the semi-final and who would have thought it, it’s a great thing to look forward to. Who knows what will happen next, we’ll see who we get.”

Howson opened the scoring after 11 minutes when his 25-yard strike clipped Jason Lowe and looped in over Connor Ripley.

Vale, who demonstrated plenty of endeavour, tried to recover but fell further behind after 23 minutes when Sam Silvera crossed for Rogers to find the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Gavin Massey lifted Vale’s best chance over from close range and Crooks wrapped up the victory eight minutes into the second half, bullying his way through and finding the bottom corner.

The hosts lost Oliver Arblaster to a serious leg injury and boss Andy Crosby admitted they were second best.

He said: “We are trying to play in a way in our own league, with control and counter pressing but as soon as there was space on the transition you could see the difference between the players.

“They executed the finishes well, maybe got a bit of luck with the first which took a deflection over Connor but they deserved to win the game and hopefully they can progress in the semi-final.

“Ollie has a really bad gash around his knee, it’s gone right through to the bone and he’s gone to hospital. He has been so good for us and he’s our number one concern.”

Serie A champions Napoli were dumped out of the Coppa Italia following a shock 4-0 defeat to Frosinone at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Napoli had been the favourites to reach the quarter-final stage, but second-half strikes from Enzo Barrenechea, Giuseppe Caso, a Walid Cheddira penalty and Abdou Harroui saw Frosinone record a famous victory.

Walter Mazzarri’s side have endured a turbulent defence of the Serie A championship they secured after a 33-year wait, falling 14 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan with just 16 matches played.

But after ending a three-game losing run to secure their place in the knockout stages of the Champions League place with a 2-0 win against Braga, and then recording a 2-1 victory against Cagliari in the league, Napoli will have expected to take a third win on the bounce against a Frosinone side who were making their debut in the round of 16.

Mazzari made nine changes to the side which beat Cagliari last weekend, while Frosinone boss Eusebio Di Francesco retained only three players from the side that lost at Lecce.

Giovanni Simeone appeared to have given Napoli the lead nine minutes before the interval only to see his goal disallowed by VAR after Jesper Lindstrom was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up.

After the interval, Napoli continued to probe for the opener – with Mario Rui’s free-kick striking the woodwork – but the Italian champions were suddenly on the back foot when Barrenechea headed home a corner shortly after the hour mark.

Frosinone then doubled their lead when Giovanni Di Lorenzo’s misplaced pass was intercepted by Caso, who made no mistake in slotting past Napoli goalkeeper Pierluigi Gollini with 70 minutes gone.

The home supporters were left stunned as the six-time winners were suddenly facing up to another early exit from the Coppa Italia after their defeat at this stage of the competition by Cremonese last season.

And it would only get worse for Mazzarri’s men when Matias Soule was fouled by Di Lorenzo in the area with Cheddira, on loan from Napoli, scoring Frosinone’s third of the night from the penalty spot before Harroui netted a fourth deep into stoppage time.

It sealed Frosinone’s first ever win against Napoli, and a quarter-final against either Juventus or Salernitana.

Chelsea booked their passage to the semi-final of the Carabao Cup on penalties after Mykhailo Mudryk’s stoppage-time equaliser rescued a 1-1 draw against Newcastle at Stamford Bridge.

Mudryk slotted home after a mistake from Kieran Trippier just as Eddie Howe’s side looked to have done enough to ease past the hosts, who struggled to create for much of the game.

Earlier, Callum Wilson had given the visitors a first-half lead on the counter-attack.

But as the game went to spot-kicks, Trippier again was culpable, firing wide from 12 yards before Matt Ritchie saw the critical kick saved by goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to see Chelsea through.

Fulham captain Tosin Adarabioyo scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Everton which put the club into their first Carabao Cup semi-final.

The Toffees’ hero from their second-round comeback win at Doncaster, Beto came off the bench to score a late equaliser after Michael Keane’s own goal but in sudden death in the spot-kicks, Idrissa Gana Gueye hit the post and Adarabioyo scored to send the Cottagers through 7-6.

It was the fourth time in the last six seasons Everton had exited the competition on penalties and brought to end a four-match winning run as their hopes of a first semi-final appearance in seven years were dashed.

Owen Dale, Jordan Gabriel and Marvin Ekpiteta were on target in a 3-0 win for Blackpool against Forest Green to set up a third-round FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest.

It was Blackpool who drew first blood after 18 minutes when Dale charged down a loose ball and beat keeper Luke Daniels in a 50-50 challenge before tapping into an empty net.

Dom Thompson and Matty Virtue both missed chances to extend the lead before half-time.

Kyle Joseph then had another opportunity to put the game beyond Forest Green but could not find the net.

Rovers manager David Horseman made a triple substitution midway through the second half in search of a route back into the game, including the introduction of player-coach Troy Deeney.

It had little impact as Blackpool continued to dominate, and Gabriel smashed home a second 15 minutes from time.

Ekpiteta put the game beyond doubt when he headed Karamoko Dembele’s free-kick into the net to round off a good night’s work.

Pep Guardiola urged his Manchester City players to seize a potential “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity after reaching the Club World Cup final.

The Champions League winners set up a clash with Brazilian side Fluminense in Friday’s showpiece in Jeddah with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese outfit Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.

City needed an own goal in first-half stoppage time to get their campaign up and running in Saudi Arabia, but strikes from Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva after the break secured a straightforward victory.

City manager Guardiola told reporters at a press conference said: “We didn’t win it (before) – it’s the first time Manchester City are here.

“This is the last step – a title the club doesn’t have, so we’ll go for it.

“To play this final you have to have done incredible things – mainly to win the Champions League.

“Once we are here, maybe it is a trophy we play for once in a lifetime.

“It’s against Fluminense, a South American team, experienced, a lot of quality. I saw yesterday how good they are.

“But we are there. Tomorrow we will start to see Fluminense and try to do a good performance and win the title.”

City were without Erling Haaland for a fourth successive game due to a foot injury but were still far too strong for the Asian Champions League winners.

They had already created numerous chances before defender Marius Hoibraten turned into his own net to give City the lead.

Reds boss Maciej Skorza said: “They are the best team in the world in my opinion, but our plan didn’t work in the perfect way.

“We expected that possession would be huge in favour of Manchester City. We had our plan for counter-attacks, but this didn’t happen.

“Maybe this is the big difference in the physical aspect between the two teams and lack of experience of playing teams like City.”

Middlesbrough cruised into the Carabao Cup semi-finals after breezing past Port Vale 3-0.

Jonny Howson, Morgan Rogers and Matt Crooks fired the 2004 winners in to the last four with a comfortable win at Vale Park.

Boro had not made a major domestic semi-final since losing to West Ham in the last four of the FA Cup in 2006.

Vale’s big night – their first League Cup quarter-final – was ruined by the incisive and efficient visitors within 23 minutes.

Gavin Massey missed the hosts’ best chance but Boro boss Michael Carrick, a two-time winner with Manchester United, ultimately navigated a tricky tie with ease given their injury problems.

So depleted were the visitors that Carrick named four substitutes without a senior appearance, including 17-year-old Law McCabe, but it was the experienced Howson who fired them ahead after 11 minutes.

Boro had threatened through the middle and the midfielder was able to easily find space. With defenders giving him time, the 35-year-old needed no second invitation and his 25-yard shot clipped Jason Lowe to loop over Connor Ripley.

Missing 10 players due to injury and resting Rav van den Berg, with an eye on their bid to stay in touch with the Championship’s play-off pack, the visitors had a platform.

Ethan Chislett curled an early free kick over and plucky Vale – 15th in League One – had nothing to lose, only for a second Boro goal after 23 minutes to seal the game.

Again, it was a simple build up with Sam Silvera winning the ball on the right and he kept his composure to pick out Rogers on the edge of the box.

The former Manchester City forward was left completely unmarked to stroke a fine low finish into the corner – his fourth goal of the competition.

Yet, far from shrinking, Vale kept going and should have pulled a goal back three minutes later only for a stretching Massey to lift over from close range.

Boro should have been out of sight just before the break when Crooks shot over but it was just a warning as the midfielder struck eight minutes into the second half when he barged his way through and drilled into the bottom corner.

Worse was to follow for the hosts when Oliver Arblaster was carried off with a serious leg injury just before the hour.

It sucked the life out Vale and, from then, Boro were happy to see the game out and Ripley denied Calum Kavanagh a debut goal when the visitors threatened a late fourth.

Chelsea boss Emma Hayes believes her side need to use their Women’s Champions League experience to get a result in their Group D clash at BK Hacken.

The Blues will go to the top of the group if they can beat the Swedish team on Wednesday night.

They were held to a goalless draw by the same opposition at Stamford Bridge last week but will have to face a lively atmosphere in the reverse fixture.

“Every game is a must-win game for us,” Hayes said on the club’s official website. “That is our mentality. We were disappointed with our performance last week. We worked on that, trained really well, played well at the weekend. This place will be rocking tomorrow night. This is going to be a difficult place to play.

“We are playing an opponent who are very confident in what they’re doing. They’ve had an amazing year, especially in the Champions League, and we have to deal with all of those challenges. But we have to be ready to perform.

“We’re experienced in Europe. We understand it’s a different surface, a little bit colder than London, a different type of opponent.

“I think it’ll be a much different game than Stamford Bridge, particularly because of the crowd. We have experience and it’s important for us to use it.

“The message I’ll give to the players is we have been in this competition long enough, we’ve gone deep in this competition and while it hasn’t been perfect in the group stages, we have a dressing room that is capable of winning.”

Chelsea do have some injury problems for the game in Scandinavia.

“Melanie (Leupolz) hasn’t recovered, she’s had a setback,” explained the Chelsea manager. “She tried to come in on Monday, but she is not well.

“Maren (Mjelde) has made it back with the squad so she is part of that. Kadeisha (Buchanan) had an issue with a back spasm at the weekend and she’s back in the squad.

“Jelena (Cankovic) is still out with her calf and obviously, the long-term one is Catarina (Macario). Ann-Katrin (Berger) is back; she had a slight ankle knock.”

Manchester City eased into the final of the Club World Cup with a comfortable 3-0 win over Japanese side Urawa Red Diamonds on Tuesday.

Without Erling Haaland, the Champions League winners needed an own goal to launch their campaign in Saudi Arabia but second-half strikes from Mateo Kovavic and Bernardo Silva saw them stroll to victory.

Having already added the European Super Cup to last season’s treble, City will now have the chance to claim a fifth trophy of the calendar year when they face Brazil’s Fluminese in Friday’s final in Jeddah.

With Urawa showing limited ambition against City’s formidable line-up, the only surprise was the game remained goalless until first-half stoppage time.

City may have been without a recognised centre forward in Haaland’s continued absence due to a foot injury, but the Reds defence was given little respite and goalkeeper Shusaku Nishikawa had a busy night.

Rodri had City’s first attempt on goal when he fired wide after eight minutes and he had another effort deflected past the post after Silva shot over.

Nishikawa did well to turn over from Matheus Nunes on the half-hour and he denied both the Portugal international again and Phil Foden from distance.

City finally claimed the breakthrough their play deserved just before the interval, although they did benefit from a stroke of luck.

Nunes broke down the right and exchanged passes with Silva before driving the ball low towards goal, where it was turned into his own net by Norwegian defender Marius Hoibraten.

With their lead established, City tightened their grip after the break.

Kyle Walker played Kovacic into space for the Croatia midfielder to lift the ball over Nishikawa for the second after 52 minutes.

Nunes should have added another moments later but headed wide from a Jack Grealish cross.

The third came just before the hour after Nishikawa pushed away another Nunes effort and Silva drove in the rebound with the aid of a deflection.

Guardiola began to make changes in the latter stages as he looked ahead to the final.

One of the substitutes, Julian Alvarez, was denied by Nishikawa at point-blank range and Grealish squandered another chance by delaying his shot.

Urawa had a couple of late chances as City eased up but John Stones cleared after Bryan Linssen seized on a poor backpass and Ederson denied Shoya Nakajima with his feet.

Barcelona midfielder Pedri faces a short spell on the sidelines after suffering a muscle injury in training.

The 21-year-old Spain international, who has started eight LaLiga games this season, will definitely miss the champions’ clash with bottom side Almeria on Wednesday.

An update from the club read: “First-team player Pedri got a knock in training and has a slight muscle injury. He is ruled out of selection and his recovery will determine his return.”

Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez is confident his side can close the gap on LaLiga’s leaders but will need to cut out the errors.

Last season’s champions are nine points off the top after winning just one of their last four games in the competition.

Barca are currently third, trailing second-placed Real Madrid by seven points with Girona – who beat their Catalan rivals earlier this month – leading the way.

Xavi told reporters at a press conference: “The conviction in both areas is marking our season a little and that is what needs to be fixed and improved to be competitive in all competitions.

“Yes, I see it as recoverable but, of course, we have to be competitive rather than fail ourselves. In the end, what is costing us is our mistakes.”

Barca were held to a 1-1 draw at Valencia in their last outing but will be expected to get back to winning ways as they host bottom side Almeria – who are yet to win a game – on Wednesday.

Xavi said: “It is a very important game for us. We need a victory for the feelings of confidence, three points and to continue believing.

“There is still the league. There are still mathematical possibilities to win it. It has become difficult for us, but we have to go step by step and tomorrow is an important step.

“We have been playing good football but we need to win games. We need the fans and need to play that complete game that we have been missing until now.”

Xavi also gave his thoughts on his side being drawn against Serie A winners Napoli in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Like Barca, Napoli are finding defending their crown tough going.

“We are playing against the current Italian champions and I think it’ll be difficult,” said Xavi. “I think we have a 50 per cent chance because they are in a similar situation to our own.”

Despite their predicament, Almeria, who are eight points from safety, are hoping to make life difficult for the champions.

Head coach Gaizka Garitano, whose team claimed a goalless draw with Mallorca in their last outing, said: “We’ve competed on pitches where it’s very difficult to win.

“We’re going to go all out to obtain a good result with courage and desire to compete but, if we don’t give 100 per cent, they can hurt us.”

Philippe Clement believes sacrificing the personal for the collective can help Rangers to an “amazing” season.

The Belgian boss is still basking in the glory of the 1-0 Viaplay Cup final win over Aberdeen at Hampden Park on Sunday, his first trophy since taking over from Michael Beale in October.

Coincidentally, Beale’s departure came after a 3-1 home defeat to the Dons in the cinch Premiership which provided a body blow to the Gers’ title hopes.

However, Clement has also rekindled those aspirations amid his 14-game unbeaten run since arriving in Glasgow, while guiding the Light Blues into the last-16 of the Europa League with a stunning 3-2 win over Real Betis in Spain last week.

Ahead of the visit of St Johnstone to Ibrox on Wednesday night, where a win will take Rangers to within two points of leaders Celtic having played a game fewer, former Genk, Club Brugge and Belgium defender Clement said: “I think it’s logical, when I came into the club the confidence was not there but I saw what I saw in the games and the first days in training.

“Every experience makes you stronger. The strongest teams I played in were teams that were together for two or three years and those were teams that had a lot of experience together.

“Good but also bad because you not only become stronger out of good experiences but also out of bad experiences if you take the right conclusions together.

“Every experience with this group will make it stronger and winning in Seville, winning a cup and winning the first silverware, proving a lot of things that had been said not so long ago about these players, that it was wrong.

“They need to continue doing that and keeping this hunger. If they keep the hunger, if they also keep the collectivity and this solidarity that it’s not important to start or not to start, and it’s not about them but about the team then we’re going to make an amazing season. I’m confident about that.

“The moment players start to think about themselves and to take themselves out of the collective, it will be more difficult.

“Then we will speak with them. It’s going to happen, I’m not naive and I know if there is success there are also people around the players who are influential or who try to become more influential.

“We have to make it clear it’s about the collective and if the collective is good then the individual is also good because it works like that in a team sport.”

Nottingham Forest have sacked boss Steve Cooper and are in talks to appoint former Wolves and Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo as his replacement, the PA news agency understands.

The 44-year-old has paid the price for a run of just one win in 13 Premier League games, which has seen Forest plummet to just five points above the drop zone.

The Portuguese is the preferred candidate to take over at the City Ground and has met with club officials ahead of a possible appointment.

Nuno has been out of work since leaving Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad in November. He appears set for a return to the Premier League two years after his sacking from an ill-fated four-month stay at Spurs.

Cooper has had the support of the Forest fans after taking them from the bottom of the Championship to Premier League survival last season.

It was fan power that saved him from the sack last term, but with another summer of heavy investment from owner Evangelos Marinakis, the Greek businessman has lost patience.

Forest host Bournemouth in a crucial Premier League clash on Saturday before festive fixtures against Newcastle and Manchester United.

Marinakis was eyeing a top-half finish this season after spending north of £100million in the summer, but, after a solid start to the campaign, results have not followed and they have won just once since beating Chelsea at the start of September.

Cooper has kept his dignity in tact following speculation surrounding his position and leaves the City Ground a hero after becoming the man to end Forest’s 23-year exile from the top flight when he guided them to promotion in the summer of 2022.

A difficult first year in the Premier League followed, where Cooper’s job was under continual threat before a late-season rally saw them finish 16th.

Expectations of a push towards the top 10 came after a heavy spending spree in the summer, but results have been disappointing and Cooper has paid the price.