Jose Mourinho hailed a win of huge importance after Tottenham overcame Brentford 2-0 to reach the EFL Cup final.

Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min were on target to see Spurs past their Championship opponents, who finished with 10 men after Josh Dasilva was dismissed for a challenge that left Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg with a gashed shin.

Tottenham have not won a piece of major silverware since lifting this trophy back in 2008 and it is a competition Mourinho has won four times.

The last of those came with Manchester United in 2017, with his former club taking on holders Manchester City in Wednesday's semi-final.

"It's a game that takes us to a final. Probably, I hope not, but probably an empty Wembley final but a Wembley final," Mourinho told Sky Sports, casting doubt on the EFL's ambitions to have a crowd at its rearranged April showpiece.

"I'm very, very happy with that. Of course we had matches this year against the biggest clubs in the country, we had London derbies, but this one is one that got us in a final

"I would consider that a very important match for us. Now we have this final in the pocket for a few months.

"We have to forget it and focus on what we have to play in the FA Cup, the Premier League and Europa League."

Brentford fell foul of a marginal VAR offside call when Ivan Toney thought he had equalised after the hour and Mourinho conceded it was not a vintage Tottenham display.

"Solid enough to win," he said. "The game was way under control. They had an offside goal and one penetration on the right-hand side.

"We did not play brilliantly with the ball. Sometimes the wrong decision, sometimes one more touch and not that soft control that allows you to play fast.

"But the game was always under control against a team who are probably coming here next year to play in the Premier League."

The Jamaica Football Federation has lauded the late Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart, who died on Monday night in the United States from an undisclosed illness.

Manchester City will seek to reassert themselves against Manchester United in Wednesday's EFL Cup semi-final, with their status as the leading team in the rivalry for much of the past decade a source of pride to Pep Guardiola.

City have not finished below their neighbours in the Premier League since United's most recent Premier League title success in 2012-13, winning three subsequent top-flight crowns themselves.

Two of those came under Guardiola, United finishing a distant second in 2017-18 as City racked up a record-breaking 100-point haul.

The sides also met at the same stage of the EFL Cup last season, as City prevailed en route to a third consecutive Wembley success in the competition, although there have been signs that the local argument is starting to turn of late.

“United has always been a big club," Guardiola said. "When I faced them with Barcelona, Bayern Munich and here, it was always important.

"It is a rivalry in the city and for many decades United was above Manchester City. For us, we are incredibly proud and it is an honour for the last decade to be there with them and sometimes win, most of the times, and sometimes lose."

A 3-1 first-leg triumph in last season's semi-final is City's only victory in the most recent five Manchester derbies.

United restored pride and caused nerves to jangle with a 1-0 win at the Etihad Stadium as Nemanja Matic scored and was sent off in the return game, while also completing a Premier League double in 2019-20 either side of those matches.

Both teams have hit more impressive form since December's turgid 0-0 draw at Old Trafford in their most recent encounter, although it is United who sit level on points with champions Liverpool at the summit and have a chance to go top if they avoid defeat in their game in hand against Burnley next week.

"They have always been contenders," Guardiola said. "Every year, when we start the season, United is a contender.

"If it didn’t happen in the last few seasons, it is a question for them. It is no different facing United or other contenders."

City turned in a majestic performance as they dispatched Chelsea 3-1 at the weekend - a performance that was all the more impressive after a coronavirus outbreak robbed them of six first-team players.

Kyle Walker and Gabriel Jesus have now completed 10 days of self-isolation after having positive tests confirmed on Christmas Day, but Ederson, Ferran Torres, Eric Garcia and Tommy Doyle will remain unavailable at Old Trafford for a one-off encounter - the EFL having ditched its usual two-legged format to ease fixture congestion.

“We don’t have many players. To play one or two games is okay but if this sustains for a long time and I can only use 14 or 15 players it will be more difficult," Guardiola explained.

"Like everyone in the world, we adapt, you have to adjust our lives and our professions as much as possible and we don’t have an alternative.

"The most important thing is that the guys who have COVID can recover well and the guys handle it well and try to avoid it as much as possible."

City will be in action for the first time since the death of club great Colin Bell, who passed away after a short illness, aged 74.

Players past and present lined up to pay tribute to Bell on Tuesday, with former City captain Vincent Kompany tweeting: "So very sad to hear [of] Colin Bell's passing. Heard all about The King!

"A true Manchester City legend. This man was on another level, if only I could have seen him play. Incredibly kind and humble when I met him."

Tottenham booked a place in the EFL Cup final as Moussa Sissoko and Son Heung-min got the goals in a 2-0 victory over Brentford.

Thomas Frank's Championship promotion-chasers headed into the match bolstered by a 16-match unbeaten run and victories over four other Premier League sides in this season's competition, but Sissoko's 12th-minute header punctured any early enthusiasm.

The visitors posed enough questions of Spurs in their usual eloquent style and Ivan Toney had a 63rd-minute header disallowed for offside.

Son then streaked clear of their defence to hammer home his 16th goal of the season and grant Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho his latest shot at silverware.

Brentford finshed with 10 men after Josh Dasilva's ugly lunge caught Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg.

They had given themselves an uphill task by allowing Sissoko far too much room to glance home Sergio Reguilon's left-wing cross in a first half of few chances.

Toney outmuscled Davinson Sanchez to get on the end of Bryan Mbeumo's floated 34th-minute delivery, although Hugo Lloris was equal to a looping header.

The Brentford striker arguably caused his own goalkeeper more discomfort when Lucas Moura's header from Son's corner spun off Toney, with David Raya saving superbly as he tumbled backwards to his left.

Serge Aurier made a vital last-ditch challenge to thwart Toney after Mbeumo got the better of Sanchez five minutes into the second half.

Aurier and Son spurned presentable chances and Toney thought he had equalised for Brentford, only for a VAR review to show he was fractionally offside.

That close shave roused Spurs from their second-half torpor and Harry Kane combined with Tanguy Ndombele for the latter to slide Son through for an emphatic finish.

A spirited Brentford were sapped by that strike and needed another impressive intervention from Raya to prevent Kane from adding further gloss to the scoreline.

Dasilva was deservedly dismissed six minutes from time after leaving Hojbjerg with an ugly gash on his shin.

What does it mean? Mourinho's League Cup love affair continues

Mourinho has lifted the three-handled trophy on four occasions and it was his first honour in English football with Chelsea back in 2005. It was also the last major prize Spurs were able to collect, back in 2008. Victory over either of the other semi-final combatants - his former club Manchester United or Pep Guardiola and holders Manchester City - would surely by richly enjoyed by Mourinho if he and his players can complete the job at Wembley in April.

What's next?

Both sides turn their attention towards the FA Cup this weekend, with Brentford hosting Championship counterparts Middlesbrough and Spurs travelling to non-league Marine in the most intriguing tie of the third round.

CONCACAF has announced the cancellation of both its Under-17 and Under-20 youth championships in light of FIFA’s recent announcement to shutter the FIFA U-17 and U-20 Men’s World Cups, scheduled to take place in Peru and Indonesia later this year.

The U-20 tournament was originally scheduled to be held in Honduras between 20 June and 5 July 2020.  However, following the onslaught of the COVID-19 pandemic the tournament was initially pushed forward to later this year.  The U-17 competition suffered a similar fate.

With the spread of the virus continuing to affect safety concerns and travelling ability, FIFA announced the decision to cancel both tournaments last week.  With the CONCACAF tournaments serving as qualifiers for the World Cups, the confederation decided to follow suit. As part of the decision, FIFA announced the next editions will be held in 2023 at the venues that were to host the 2021 editions of the tournaments.

 Jamaica (1999, 2011), Trinidad and Tobago (2001, 2007) and Haiti (2007, 2019), and Cuba (1989, 1991) are the Caribbean teams to have qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup editions.  At the Under-20 level Trinidad and Tobago (1991, 2009) Jamaica (2001), and Cuba (2013) have qualified to the finals.

Barcelona have given midfielder Carles Alena permission to leave the club this month, with the player expected to move on loan.

The 23-year-old La Masia product has struggled to establish himself under Ronald Koeman this season, with only one of his five appearances across LaLiga and the Champions League coming in the starting XI.

Alena spent the second half of last season on loan at Real Betis and Getafe have been linked with his services on a deal that will likely run until the end of the season.

"Alena has permission from the club to seek his exit," Koeman told a news conference ahead of Wednesday's trip to Athletic Bilbao.

"When everything is done, I will be able to give an opinion, but there are players who can decide to stay or not. He has decided to seek his exit."

Barca's preparations for their visit to San Mames were hit by two positive coronavirus cases among the club staff on Monday.

That forced pre-match training and media duties to be postponed until later on Tuesday, when Koeman's squad were confirmed to have a clean bill of health in terms of COVID-19.

"There are things in life that cannot be controlled," the former Netherlands boss said.

"We have followed the protocol by suspending the training this morning and repeating the PCR tests.

"We could only hope that there were no more positives. Thank goodness that everyone has come out negative and we were able to prepare for tomorrow's game. "

Barcelona head into the match in fifth, 10 points behind leaders Atletico Madrid having played a game more.

Despite a hectic fixture schedule this month, Koeman has not ruled out bringing in reinforcements to bolster an ailing title challenge.

"Any team looks at how the squad can be improved in January," he added.

"I make my plans on seeing the casualties we may have and what players [we need] to bring.

"But if it is not possible, I will have the same players."

Barcelona were boosted on Tuesday as Ronald Koeman's squad received the COVID-19 all-clear in the wake of two members of staff testing positive.

A morning training session was called off as players underwent tests to determine whether the virus may have spread among the group.

But there were no positives detected and that meant Koeman's charges could train in the evening, ahead of playing Wednesday's match against Athletic Bilbao.

A club statement read: "In accordance with LaLiga protocol, the FC Barcelona first-team squad undertook PCR tests on Tuesday morning. All tests came back negative."

The Camp Nou giants said on Monday that two members of the first-team staff had returned positives for coronavirus, and sports and health authorities were informed about those results.

Koeman's team sit fifth in LaLiga ahead of their trip to the Basque Country to play Athletic, who are ninth.

Barcelona, who are 10 points off the top of LaLiga, have won the previous two matches on their travels after going four away league games without a win.

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone welcomed Kieran Trippier back to training after his 10-week suspension for betting offences was put on hold by FIFA.

The 30-year-old defender was issued with the ban and a fine of £70,000 on December 23 after the Football Association (FA) found him guilty of four of seven alleged breaches of rule E8(1)(b).

Atletico appealed against the punishment to FIFA, and world football's governing body has cleared Trippier to play while its appeal committee considers the matter.

In the written reasons explaining its independent regulatory commission's decision, which the FA published on Tuesday, it was revealed Trippier told a friend, "Lump on if you want mate" in one of a series messages on a WhatsApp group discussing the progress of his €22million transfer to Atleti in July 2019.

Trippier's claim that the messages were "banter" did not pass muster with the commission and it was discovered one of his friends, Oliver Hawley, placed 10 separate bets between £20 and £65 on the right-back joining Atletico.

Matthew Brady, who asked Trippier, "Shall I lump on you going there?" and two other friends placed further bets ranging from £20 and £300.

"It [the ban] is on hold. We have Trippier back with us," Simeone said.

"I gave him a hug and they will tell me more in the coming days."

However, the former Tottenham player might have to wait for his return to action and will not feature in Wednesday's Copa del Rey tie at Cornella.

"He is training away from the group. Tomorrow, he will not take part in the game," Simeone confirmed.

As part of its investigation, the FA took into account witness statements on Trippier's behalf from England manager Gareth Southgate and Three Lions captain Harry Kane.

So far this season, he has played 19 matches in all competitions for Atletico.

Juventus wide player Juan Cuadrado has tested positive for coronavirus and will miss the clash with Serie A leaders Milan on Wednesday.

The Colombia international is asymptomatic but has begun a period of self-isolation, the Italian champions confirmed.

The news comes just a day after left-back Alex Sandro was ruled out after returning a positive test for the virus.

It means head coach Andrea Pirlo will be without two of his first-choice full-backs for the game at San Siro against Stefano Pioli's side, who are the only unbeaten team in Europe's top five leagues in the 2020-21 season.

The club said in a statement: "Juventus Football Club announces that, during the checks provided for by the protocol in force, Juan Cuadrado has emerged positive with COVID-19. The player has already been placed in solitary confinement and is asymptomatic."

Cuadrado, 32, has made 13 appearances in Serie A this term, scoring once.

Juve head into the Milan contest with a 10-point deficit to the league leaders, albeit with a game in hand.

While they have lost only once in 14 matches, Juve have won just seven times, leaving them in fifth place with 27 points.

They are hoping to avoid losing back-to-back league games against the Rossoneri for the first time since 2010, having been beaten 4-2 in the previous meeting last July.

The last time they faced Milan when behind them in the table was in November 2015, when a Paulo Dybala goal secured a 1-0 victory.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out of the Serie A clash between Milan and Juventus on Wednesday.

The 39-year-old striker has been sidelined since being substituted in the 3-1 win at Napoli on November 22.

The former Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain star has missed seven league games for the Serie A leaders, although the Rossoneri have fared well in his absence, winning five and drawing two of those matches.

Stefano Pioli's side are alone in Europe's top five leagues in that they have not lost a top-flight match since the 2019-20 season was initially shut down from last March.

They head into the match with champions Juve at San Siro knowing a win would move them 13 points clear of the Bianconeri, who are fifth with a game in hand.

Ibrahimovic had offered hope he could be fit to face his former club after recent injury trouble, posting training footage to social media on Monday with the caption "Tick tock tick tock".

Head coach Pioli, though, says the player is not fully fit and admitted to scolding him for causing a stir two days before the game.

"I told him off because, after that footage, I was peppered with phone calls," Pioli told reporters.

"He is better and he's working well, but he won't be in the game tomorrow."

Rafael Leao has performed well in Ibrahimovic's absence, scoring in the 2-1 win at Sassuolo and the 2-0 victory at Benevento in the past two and a half weeks, becoming the second-youngest foreign player to reach 10 Serie A goals for the club, behind only Alexandre Pato.

Pioli believes the 21-year-old's development is a sign of the way Milan have improved in the past year. The Rossoneri have taken 37 points from their first 15 league matches this term, the first time they have done so in the history of the competition in the three-points-per-win era.

“He’s growing a lot, he has characteristics that we must try to enhance in the right way," said Pioli. "The important thing is to see the will to grow and improve on a daily basis.

"All matches are opportunities to prove our worth. We have to concentrate on the game and raise our level because they are strong opponents, with experience, and they have been winning for years.

"We're showing we can play for it and we'll therefore play to win. We have scored 17 points more than last year. This is the right path, but we can't speak of a decisive match after 15 rounds."

Mauricio Pochettino's first news conference as Paris Saint-Germain coach was dominated by questions about a player every club in the world dreams of having.

But Pochettino was not interested in discussions about Lionel Messi, the Barcelona star who is out of contract at the end of the season and free to talk to other clubs this month.

Instead, he is solely focused on the task in front of him, getting the best out of one of the elite squads in European football after receiving a late Christmas present of a return to a club he once graced as a player.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's meeting with Saint-Etienne, Pochettino - who officially replaced Thomas Tuchel on Saturday - said: "Father Christmas has already given me a gift, this fantastic club.

"It is incredible for us and it is the chance for me to fulfil a dream by rejoining the club where I played 20 years ago. We are very aware that it is a huge challenge and there are huge demands at PSG."

The former Tottenham boss batted off several questions about Messi, with transfer talk not high on the agenda as he looks to make a winning start to his reign at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard.

"We have been trying to adapt to a new club and we have had to prepare for tomorrow's game, which is the principal objective of winning tomorrow," he added. 

"We have time to talk like that in the future. Any big player in the world, I think, will always be welcome at Paris Saint-Germain."

Messi has been consistently linked with a move to the Parc des Princes, with speculation further fuelled by PSG star Neymar expressing his desire to reunite with his former Barca team-mate.

For Pochettino, though, his immediate task is to get the best out of both Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, France's World Cup-winning hero the top scorer in Ligue 1 this season with 12 goals.

"Over time, as I work with the squad, we will find the position where he can perform at his best," Pochettino said of Neymar.

"The big player like Kylian can play in different spaces on the pitch. The most important is how he is going to feel on the pitch and how he is going to attack the space.

"Our aim and our challenge is to put them in the best position and in the best situation where they can be decisive. That is the most important challenge for us and for our coaching staff."

Saint-Etienne will aim to stop one of the most feared forward lines in the world hitting the ground running under Pochettino, with Les Verts boss Claude Puel a familiar face to Pochettino.

Former Southampton and Leicester City manager Puel has faced Pochettino six times, with the Argentinian victorious in all but one encounter.

Still, Pochettino expects a testing start to his reign, saying: "We have faced each other in England so it will be a tough game. We are very excited to get our time in France under way."

Cristiano Ronaldo's performance will be decisive when Juventus meet Milan in a huge Serie A clash on Wednesday, says Andrea Pirlo.

The Juve forward has racked up 14 goals in 11 Serie A games this season, netting a double and adding an assist in Sunday's 4-1 thumping of Udinese.

Pirlo will take charge of a match against Milan, with whom he spent a decade as a player and won the Champions League twice, for the first time.

Despite Ronaldo's form, Juve sit 10 points adrift of impressive leaders Milan, albeit the Bianconeri have a game in hand. 

"From the beginning we have tried to exploit Cristiano for his characteristics, clarity and incisiveness in the final third," said Juve boss Pirlo ahead of the San Siro battle.

"Is he decisive? Of course, as he was everywhere. 

"But it is normal to depend on him when you have such a champion in your team."

With the pressure on for a crucial clash, Pirlo feels it is Milan and not defending champions Juve who are currently the team to beat.

"Milan have not lost in a long time, they are first in the standings and they are the team to beat," he said.

"I see a great spirit in Milan, which leads them to win games. They come into the game off the back of excellent results, they fight and run together and they don't want to lose.

"The table always reflects the values of the championship. We play game after game to move up the standings, looking only at ourselves. We will see in April where we will be.

"We will try to impose our game at San Siro, without fear: these are the good matches to be involved in."

He added: "It will be a special evening for me, having experienced many memories with Milan. It was wonderful as a player, I think it will be the same as a coach.

"We know the importance of the match. We will play our game and do our best. It will be very important, but not decisive.

"We will need to be good at making few mistakes and to play well, technically, in order to not give space to Milan's breakaways, which is one of their strengths.

"In the Italian league you can't give up, not even for a second - every match must be faced with the same concentration. I want to see a Juve convinced of their strength, who play the game we have in mind."

Pirlo was asked for an update on available players after Alex Sandro tested positive for coronavirus.

"After Alex Sandro tested positive, we will have the results of the team's tests in the afternoon - until then we wait," he said.

"[Paulo] Dybala is doing pretty well, he is better after his fever so should be available for the game.

"[Alvaro] Morata is recovering and doing physiotherapy, [Giorgio] Chiellini and [Merih] Demiral are doing quite well, while Arthur and [Adrien] Rabiot have both recovered. 

"On Wednesday, we will evaluate who we will have available to bring to Milan. There will be no excuse for the game - the squad is competitive in all sectors. Other teams have had the same problems."

Milan won 4-2 against Juve in July, so they are looking for back-to-back wins against Juventus in Serie A for the first time since 2010, when Pirlo was playing at San Siro under Leonardo.

Jurgen Klopp was, predictably, none too pleased after Liverpool lost 1-0 at Southampton on Monday.

Not only did the Premier League champions see a 12-game unbeaten run end, but they also gifted Manchester United the chance to go top of the table if the Red Devils win their game in hand.

Liverpool only managed one shot on target against Ralph Hasenhuttl's Saints after conceding a Danny Ings goal in the second minute, when a free-kick eluded Trent Alexander-Arnold and gave the former Reds striker the chance to score a fine lob.

Klopp admitted they should have done better with that set-piece, but he was further irritated in the second half when two penalty appeals were turned down, first for a tangle between Sadio Mane and Kyle Walker-Peters and then for a Georginio Wijnaldum shot that struck the arm of Jack Stephens.

"[The handball] looked like a clear penalty," Klopp said. "I turned to the fourth official, he said: 'We checked already, no penalty.'

"What [referee] Andre Marriner did with Sadio Mane tonight, I'm not sure that's okay, to be honest.

"I hear now that Manchester United had more penalties in two years than I had in five and a half years. I've no idea if that's my fault, or how that can happen."

It's quite the claim – but is it true?

PEN STATE

Under Klopp, Liverpool have been awarded 46 penalties in all competitions, including 30 in the Premier League (they've scored 39 of them, for good measure). In that same time frame, and under three different managers, United have won 67 and scored 54 penalties in all competitions.

What about the past two years? Well, 42 of those United penalties have come since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer became manager in December 2018, with 27 in the league. Liverpool have had just 19 spot-kicks in that time. Klopp, then, has a point.

If you combine the past two Premier League seasons, no team has had as many penalties as the Red Devils, who have won 20 and scored 15 of them. Next on the list is Leicester City (17 won, 13 scored) and then Manchester City (14 won, eight scored). Liverpool have won 10 in that time and scored every one.

Having half the number of their bitter rivals will doubtless be a source of frustration, but they should consider the feelings of Everton fans. The Toffees have had just three penalties in the past two seasons, the lowest of any side to be in the division across both campaigns.

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE

In 2019-20 in the Premier League, United won more penalties than anyone else (14 – three above nearest rivals Man City). That number was a record for a single season in the Premier League era. Liverpool won five.

The balance actually seems to be shifting a little in 2020-21, though. United are joint-second for Premier League penalties (six, level with Brighton and Hove Albion), but four behind Leicester, who won 10 spot-kicks in their first 16 games, a competition record.

Liverpool, for their part, are only one behind United on five. Had the Southampton game taken place in the first few weeks of the season, they may well have caught up with them through the Stephens incident: the earlier implementation of the handball rule led to seven such penalties being awarded in the first five matchdays of 2020-21.

Only five have been given since, and none since December 13 – when Fulham's Aboubakar Kamara was penalised against Liverpool.

Andriy Shevchenko is in the conversation to take over as Chelsea manager if the Blues decide to part ways with manager Frank Lampard.

With Chelsea languishing in ninth place in the Premier League table, Le10sport reports the Ukrainian's name is on the Blues list of possible replacements.

Shevchenko played for the club between 2006 and 2008 and has since forged a managerial career with the Ukraine national team, moving through the under-19 and under-21 teams to the senior dugout.

TOP STORY – SHEVCHENKO BEING CONSIDERED AS NEXT CHELSEA MANAGER

Chelsea are studying their options to replace Lampard and his former Blues team-mate Shevchenko is part of the shortlist, reports Le10sports.

The 44-year-old led Ukraine through an undefeated Euro 2020 qualifying campaign to reach the finals, drawing 0-0 in Portugal and beating the European champions 2-1, in Kiev.

Shevchenko remains close to the club as his 14-year-old son, Kristian, plays in the Blues academy and is well liked by club owner Roman Abramovich, say Le10sports sources.

Barcelona have called off their scheduled Tuesday training session after two members of first team staff tested positive for coronavirus.

Ronald Koeman’s side were due to be preparing for their LaLiga match against Athletic Bilbao at Sam Mames Stadium on Wednesday.

The Catalan club informed sports and health authorities after Monday's test results.

A club statement read: "The whole squad will undergo further PCR testing on Tuesday morning local time in line with La Liga protocol.

"As a result the training session planned for tomorrow Tuesday at 11.00am CET has been postponed.

"The new time for training and the subsequent press conference ahead of Athletic Club v FC Barcelona will be announced tomorrow [Tuesday]." 

Koeman’s team are fifth in the table ahead of their trip to the Basque region to play Athletic, who are eighth.

Barca, who are 10 points off the top of LaLiga, have won their previous two on their travels after going four away league games without a win.