Matty Cash’s late winner saw Aston Villa progress to the fourth round of the FA Cup as they beat Middlesbrough 1-0.
Carabao Cup semi-finalists Boro were denied another cup run when Cash’s deflected strike found the bottom corner in the 87th minute.
The Premier League side had threatened from corners in the second half and a set-piece ultimately proved to be Boro’s undoing as Unai Emery’s side prevailed.
The first chance of the contest fell to Villa when Boubacar Kamara flicked the ball to Jhon Duran, who cut in from the left and fired towards the bottom corner but goalkeeper Tom Glover stuck out a leg to turn the ball behind.
The visitors grew into the game and Alex Moreno caused problems with some dangerous crosses, one finding Cash who smashed the ball into the crowded Boro box.
Alex Bangura tried to catch Villa on the break with some good balls through to Josh Coburn and posed a threat after latching on to a great cross-field ball, but Villa were able to clear.
The game suddenly sprung into life in the 32nd minute when Jacob Ramsey’s powerful shot was deflected over the bar and Leander Dendoncker narrowly headed over from the resulting corner.
Duran then forced a great save from Glover and Boro raced up the other end of the pitch as Dan Barlaser threaded the ball to Morgan Rogers, but Emiliano Martinez managed to palm it away for a corner.
The hosts had a great chance just on the cusp of half-time as Bangura fired a dangerous cross across the box, but neither Coburn nor Isaiah Jones could stab home.
A frenetic opening to the second half saw Glover make a fantastic save just four minutes in as a short corner allowed John McGinn to unleash a powerful strike on the edge of the box, but the goalkeeper tipped the ball over the crossbar.
Villa threatened again from corners in the 52nd minute as Ezri Konsa’s header smashed off the inside of the far post and another set-piece one minute later saw Moreno blast the ball over the bar from close range.
They had a penalty shout waved away when Moreno went down in the box and Boro began to threaten at the other end as Clement Lenglet made a fantastic slide to deny Jones’ cross.
The Villa defence were forced to clear a number of balls fired into the box and manager Emery responded with a quadruple change in the 70th minute, bringing on Ollie Watkins, Moussa Diaby, Douglas Luiz and Nicolo Zaniolo.
Emmanuel Latte Lath did well to flick Douglas Luiz’s free-kick behind and the Boro forward was soon involved at the other end of the pitch as Martinez smothered his run from the left.
Diaby had a great chance in the Boro box but scuffed his shot before Martinez was called into action again to hold Rogers’ cross.
Villa struck in the 87th minute as another short corner fell to Cash outside the box and his effort took a deflection off Latte Lath to beat Glover and send Villa through.
Leeds cut gap at the top of the Championship, while Watford hammer Wednesday
Leeds climbed to second in the Championship, three points behind leaders Sunderland, following a 3-0 victory at home to Plymouth.
Daniel Farke's side dominated the opening 30 minutes of the match before three goals in eight minutes put the game to bed inside the first half.
Dan James opened the scoring on the half-hour mark, firing into the top corner from the edge of the area, before Joel Piroe and Brenden Aaronson made it comfortable.
The result marked Plymouth's fourth game without a victory and they dropped into the bottom three on goal difference due to results elsewhere.
Sunderland were held to a goalless draw away to second-bottom QPR, which opened the door for those below to reduce their lead at the top of the table.
While Dan Neil hit the post for the Black Cats in the first half, it was the hosts who were the better team for long periods.
The game turned in the second half when Jobe Bellingham was sent off after 58 minutes for a poor challenge on Zan Celar, but neither side was able to find a winner.
Elsewhere, Watford moved above West Brom into fifth after they hammered Sheffield Wednesday 6-2 at Hillsborough for their second away win of the season.
The result ended a six-game losing run on the road for the Hornets, who were drawing 1-1 at half-time and saw Vakoun Bayo score four goals inside 30 second-half minutes.
Coventry also made it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season with a 3-0 victory away to Middlesbrough that moved them up to 13th.
The hosts had Hayden Hackney sent off after 22 minutes for two yellow cards, which allowed the Sky Blues to ease to three points. As a result, Michael Carrick's side are three points off the play-off positions in 10th.
Barcelona boss Flick calls for LaLiga suspension after Spanish floods
Barcelona are in high spirits ahead of Sunday's derby against Espanyol, though Hansi Flick does not think LaLiga matches should be played this weekend.
Barca thrashed Real Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend to establish a six-point lead in LaLiga but their city rivals Espanyol are 20 points behind and languishing in 17th place, a point above the relegation zone.
Yet Flick feels it is wrong that LaLiga is playing on in the wake of the flash floods that have devastated regions of eastern Spain, with Valencia particularly impacted.
Madrid's game against Valencia was naturally postponed, but most other fixtures in Spain's top tier are going ahead.
"If it were me, I might [suspend LaLiga] because it is an incredible tragedy for Valencia and Spain as a whole," Flick said.
"We have spoken with Ferran [Torres] who is from the area, and it is not easy to decide whether the game should be played or not.
"It is a tragedy. It was something similar in Germany three years ago, it is horrible. We will do everything we can to help. The rest is for LaLiga to decide."
Barca do hold a brilliant record against Espanyol, having not lost in their last 26 encounters with their city rivals.
Flick, though, warned his side against any complacency.
"I know what a Barca-Espanyol derby means. It will be a tough match, for sure. After a fantastic week, it is important to be at 100% tomorrow, with intensity and maximum quality," Flick said.
"We always prepare well for the next game. After the celebrations, we focus on the next game. We work on what we want tomorrow. It's a very long game in the league and we focus on the next game."
Barca have taken 30 points from their first 11 league matches this season, their second-highest tally at this stage of a campaign in the competition, after 31 points in the 2012-13, 2013-14 and 2017-18 seasons.
Simeone: It makes no sense to play after Spanish floods
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is unhappy that most LaLiga matches will go ahead this weekend after catastrophic floods swept the eastern region of Spain.
The deadliest flash floods in Spain's modern history have killed over 200 people and dozens were still unaccounted for, four days after torrential rains swept the region of Valencia.
The tragedy is already Europe's worst flood-related disaster since 1967 when at least 500 people died in Portugal.
Saturday's clash between Valencia and Real Madrid, as well as Villarreal against Rayo Vallecano, are among several games postponed over the weekend after the floods.
"It doesn't make any sense," Simeone told reporters ahead of his side's home game against Las Palmas on Sunday.
"What is happening is very hard; it is very moving to see the people who went out on the streets to help, who with a shovel and their tools are trying to collaborate and that speaks very well of the country, of the people, and we want to help wherever we can.
"There are people having a very hard time, it's very sad and they tell us to continue and here we are, continuing."
Last month, Las Palmas named former Espanyol boss Diego Martinez as their new coach, and while Simeone is not pleased that the game is going ahead, he is prepared for a tough encounter.
"We have a tough game against a team that has improved a lot since the arrival of the coach," Simeone said.
"They are more forceful and I imagine a dangerous game, with a lot of counter-attacking, fast people in attack and we will try to have a game with these situations under control and get it out with the help of our fans, which is always fundamental."
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