Barcelona are through to the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey after a 1-0 win against 10-man Real Sociedad at Camp Nou.
The hosts were unable to find the breakthrough in the first half despite dominating, but were handed an advantage when Brais Mendez was sent off in the 40th minute.
Ousmane Dembele gave the Blaugrana the lead early in the second half after being played through by Jules Kounde, finishing powerfully past Alex Remiro.
The contest between LaLiga's first and third-placed teams was rarely as close as the scoreline suggested until a late push from Sociedad, and Xavi's men march on looking to add another trophy to their recent Supercopa de Espana success.
Barca started brightly and had the ball in the net in the 11th minute, but Robert Lewandowski's goal-bound strike deflected off the offside Frenkie de Jong on its way in.
The dangerous Dembele threatened shortly after when a determined run ended with a curled effort just wide of the left-hand post, while Takefusa Kubo struck the crossbar just before the half-hour with the visitors' first attempt.
There were borderline ironic cheers before half-time from the home fans as referee Gil Manzano, who sent off Lewandowski earlier in the season, handed a red card to La Real's Mendez when a VAR review showed the midfielder had caught Sergio Busquets on the ankle with his studs.
Dembele opened the scoring in the 52nd minute when he raced onto a pass down the right channel from Kounde, before firing his shot past Remiro at his near post.
La Real should have been level on the hour when Alexander Sorloth somehow turned Kubo's cross over the bar from close range, while Gavi hit the woodwork at the other end.
One goal was enough to seal Barca's passage to the final four, though, thanks to late Marc-Andre ter Stegen saves to deny Roberto Navarro and then Jon Ander Olasagasti.
Brendan Rodgers expects Michael Beale to bounce back after Rangers exit
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has backed Michael Beale to learn from his Rangers experience and be a success in his next job.
Beale was sacked on Sunday after 307 days in the post with Rangers seven points adrift of Celtic in the cinch Premiership following their third league defeat of the season against Aberdeen 24 hours earlier.
Rodgers and Beale were both on the Chelsea coaching staff at the same time and the former Rangers boss was Liverpool Under-21s head coach when the Celtic manager was in charge at Anfield.
“I’m always saddened when any manager loses their job, no matter what club they work at,” said Rodgers when asked for his reaction ahead of Celtic’s Champions League clash with Lazio.
“When you manage Celtic or Rangers, they are big-pressure jobs. I am sure Michael will go away and reflect on his time here and no doubt he will he come back in again, he is an outstanding young coach and manager.
“He will go away and reflect on the pressure he was under and the expectation and the stress that this job can bring, and he will learn from it and go on and get another job and make a success of it, I am pretty sure.
“Whatever club, whoever it is, it’s not nice when someone loses their role and position.
“I hope for him the best for the future, of course.”
Kevin Muscat, Frank Lampard and Pascal Jansen are among the bookmakers’ favourites to succeed Beale.
Former Rangers player Muscat led Yokohama F Marinos to the J-League title last season, following in the footsteps of his coaching mentor Ange Postecoglou, who clinched the treble for Celtic last term with the help of two Hampden wins over Beale’s side.
Lampard is available following underwhelming spells in charge of both Everton and Chelsea last season while Jansen’s AZ Alkmaar side sit second in the Eredivisie after making the semi-finals of the Europa Conference League last season.
T&T's Defence Force, Dom Rep's Moca to lock horns in do-or-die battle for semi-final berth
An epic showdown awaits in Group A of the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, as Trinidad and Tobago's Defence Force hosts Moca of the Dominican Republic in a winner-takes-all affair on at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, on Wednesday.
Moca go into the contest with the slight advantage, as they sit second in the group with six points, a single point ahead of Defence Force. The visitors from the Dominican Republic only require a draw to secure a semifinals berth, but a full three points could be enough to see them leap into first place, should currently leaders Cavalier falter in their visit to Golden Lion.
For Defence Force, the mission is straightforward; win and they are in. A full three points would guarantee a semifinals spot and could possibly be enough to win the group as well.
Moca have wins over Port of Spain (1-0) and Golden Lion (3-0) to put themselves in this position to advance, while Defence Force played to draws with Cavalier (1-1) and Port of Spain (1-1) and earned a victory over Golden Lion (1-0).
Defence Force will be turning to the likes of Reon Moore, Jamali Garcia and Christopher Biggette to get the job done. In the tournament, Moore has a pair of goals and an assist, while Garcia has been a tireless worker in midfield with 152 passes completed and eight ball recoveries.
Biggette has been solid in net, making 13 saves, 10 clearances and recording a clean sheet.
Moca will be out to have a strong start to nail down a positive result and the duo of Gustavo Ascona and Victor Sanchez can help get them there. Ascona has a goal from six shots taken, while Sanchez is coming off a brace against Golden Lion.
No doubt an exciting contest awaits between two sides with everything on the line.
Cameron Carter-Vickers may make early return to boost Celtic against Lazio
Cameron Carter-Vickers could be in line for a surprise recall when Celtic host Lazio in the Champions League on Wednesday.
The centre-back has not played since suffering a hamstring injury against Aberdeen on August 13.
With Gustaf Lagerbielke missing through suspension following his red card in the Group E opener against Feyenoord, and Maik Nawrocki and Stephen Welsh still out through injury, Rodgers has limited options in central defence.
Liam Scales is set to continue in the team following his impressive recent form, while on-loan Liverpool Nat Phillips is available after coming off the bench at Motherwell on Saturday to make his first appearance since suffering an ankle injury on his debut against Dundee on September 16.
Manager Brendan Rodgers said: “In terms of Nat, he came through fine so he will be available.
“Cam, we wouldn’t take a risk unless he was fit. He has come through really, really well. He is further down the road than we thought.
“He has had a real good week of training and he’s been doing lots of other work out on the field before that.
“I said before that it (his return) might have been after the international break but he’s made great progress, so we will just assess that to see if he can be in for the squad (on Wednesday) and if he is, then obviously it would be great news for us.”
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