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MANCITY AGREE DEAL TO SELL FERRAN TORRES TO BARCELONA FOR €55 MILLION

Manchester City have agreed a £46.7million (€55 million) fee with Barcelona for the sale of Ferran Torres, the PA news agency understands.

The 21-year-old Spain forward is now set to move to the Nou Camp when the transfer window formally opens in January.

The deal, which is subject to the agreement of personal terms, could also be worth a further £8.5million to City in add-ons.

With £5.9million of that contained in clauses likely to be activated, the Premier League champions feel the transfer represents good business for a player they signed for £20.9million last year.

City were not looking to sell, and nor is Torres thought to be unhappy at the Etihad Stadium, but he became keen on the move after learning of the Catalan giants’ interest.

Torres has scored 16 goals – including a hat-trick at Newcastle last season – in 43 appearances in all competitions for City since joining from Valencia in the summer of 2020.

He was signed primarily as a winger but has also impressed as a makeshift centre-forward in Pep Guardiola’s side.

He was part of the side that won the Premier League last season but has played just seven times this season after breaking a metatarsal while on international duty in October. He is expected to be sidelined until the new year.

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Reds battle back from the brink

Liverpool are through to the Carabao Cup semi-finals after edging Leicester 5-4 in a penalty shootout having overturned a two-goal deficit in a gripping 3-3 draw.

Caoimhin Kelleher saved two Leicester penalties before Diogo Jota – a key figure off the bench – converted the crucial kick to send Jurgen Klopp’s much-changed Reds through.

A Vardy brace had initially put the visitors 2-0 up early on at Anfield, and although Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain got Liverpool on the scoreboard, a spectacular Maddison strike had Leicester cruising at the break.

But half-time substitute Jota reduced the deficit again after the hour and Takumi Minamino equalised deep into stoppage time to force a shootout.

Minamino was the sole Red to miss his kick, but it mattered not as Kelleher denied Luke Thomas and Ryan Bertrand to allow Jota to wrap things up.

It had all looked so promising for Leicester when Vardy had them two up in the 13th minute, finishing off incisive passes from Maddison and then Patson Daka.

The Reds quickly pulled one back, Oxlade-Chamberlain slamming home from 18 yards after being teed up by Roberto Firmino.

But Maddison soon restored Leicester’s two-goal cushion, blasting past Kelleher from distance as the ball sat up kindly.

Vardy then hit the post in a one-on-one situation.

A seemingly perturbed Klopp made three changes at the break, and one of them paid dividends as Jota fired beyond Kasper Schmeichel, setting up a tense final 20 minutes.

Minamino struck a dramatic equaliser right at the end and would have sealed the win had he not hit the crossbar with his effort in the following shootout, but Kelleher and then Jota spared his blushes to send Liverpool through.

Liverpool’s record in this competition has not been great in recent years, but they overcame that with a real show of character here.

Their semi-final tussle with Arsenal early next year will be their first appearance in the last four of the EFL Cup since 2016-17 and boosts their hopes of winning silverware before the end of the season.

Granted, Liverpool will have their sights on loftier prizes, but it is always good to be in the conversation for trophies.

Vardy was on fire in the first half, but Jota’s introduction at the break for Liverpool proved inspirational. 

Not only did he get the goal that provided a spark of hope, but he went close with another effort and then held his nerve for the crucial penalty. 

Klopp gave him a huge embrace at full-time, highlighting just how important the Portugal forward was.

Young centre-back Billy Koumetio was making his first start for the senior side but he endured a difficult 45 minutes before being withdrawn. 

The Reds’ backline was not helped by a lack of midfield protection, but Koumetio routinely struggled to get close enough to Daka and Vardy, who ran riot before half-time.

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Chelsea scrape into semi-finals with late double

Chelsea scraped past Brentford 2-0 in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals after Pontus Jansson scored an own goal and Jorginho converted a penalty in the final 10 minutes. 

Just as they did in the Premier League meeting between these sides back in October, Chelsea dominated possession but struggled to create any decent openings. 

Kepa Arrizabalaga did well to keep out Yoane Wissa and Mathias Jensen in the first half, with Thomas Tuchel forced to call upon senior players as he chased the game in the second period. 

The contest looked destined for penalties until Jansson put through his own net in the 80th minute and Jorginho put the result beyond doubt when he slotted home a spot-kick. 

Kepa produced a fantastic save to stop Wissa finding the back of the net with a free header from six yards out inside 12 minutes, though he may well have been deemed offside had VAR got involved. 

Jensen warmed the gloves of Kepa and Xavier Simons – one of three debutants for the Blues alongside Harvey Vale and Jude Soonsup-Bell – had Chelsea’s first shot on target in the 39th minute, but he allowed Rico Henry to surge in behind him seconds later and needed his keeper to bail him out. 

Vale failed to make the most of a glorious delivery from Cesar Azpilicueta before the break and Tuchel introduced Christian Pulisic and Jorginho for the second half. 

Henry almost scoring an own goal in the 53rd minute was as close as Chelsea went to breaking the deadlock, so Mason Mount and Reece James were sent on after the hour mark. 

It proved key as N’Golo Kante – who made his return from a knee injury as the final sub – released James, whose low delivery to the near post was sent into the top-right corner by Jansson. 

The game was put to bed after Alvaro Fernandez felled Pulisic in the box and Jorginho confidently dispatched the 85th-minute spot-kick to put Chelsea in the semi-final draw. 

The Blues had required a shoot-out to advance in their previous two Carabao Cup matches this season – and six of their past seven in total – and looked set to be heading for penalties once more. 

However, their late double saw them edge another fortunate result against Brentford, who missed out on making the final four for the second season running having failed to do so once in their first 60 campaigns in the competition. 

He may not have been able to replicate left wing-back Ben Chilwell’s winner at this ground back in October, but Marcos Alonso was a real bright spark for Chelsea. 

His driving runs were a consistent source of danger as he drew three fouls and supplied two key passes. 

As the only senior player in the three-man attack named by Tuchel, the onus was on Barkley to lead by example. 

However, he struggled to really make a mark on the game and none of his five attempts on goal were very convincing. 

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CARABAO CUP:EDDIE NKETIAH NETS HAT-TRICK AS ARSENAL THRASH SUNDERLAND 5-1 TO REACH SEMI-FINALS

A first senior hat-trick for Eddie Nketiah guided Arsenal to a comfortable victory over Sunderland and into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.

The back-up striker has reportedly turned down a new deal at the Emirates Stadium and is out of contract in the summer but shone in a 5-1 win which also saw Charlie Patino score on his first-team debut.

Nketiah opened the scoring before Nicolas Pepe doubled the lead, while the in-form Nathan Broadhead scored his sixth goal in six games to pull one back for the Black Cats before the break.

Any threat of a shock was extinguished within 13 minutes of the second half as Nketiah provided two smart finishes and Patino came off the bench to add the gloss with a late fifth.

Mikel Arteta’s side sit fourth in the Premier League and showed nine changes from Saturday’s win at Leeds as only Ben White and Martin Odegaard kept their places

Sunderland wanted a early penalty as Ross Stewart went down in the box under close attention from Mohamed Elneny – but there appeared to be no contact and the claims were waved away.

A stroke of luck almost put the hosts ahead as a Nuno Tavares cross was turned against his own crossbar by Eddie Embleton with Arsenal starting to knock at the door.

The deadlock would be broken soon after, Rob Holding’s header well-saved by Lee Burge, only for Nketiah to knee home the rebound from close range.

Pepe, the club-record signing given a rare start by Arteta, doubled the lead as he exchanged passes with Cedric Soares before seeing his strike deflected past the helpless Burge.

But if Arsenal thought they were coasting into the semi-finals, they were wrong.

Sunderland would hit them on the break, Broadhead coolly finishing a quick-fire counter from the visitors to half the arrears.

Bernd Leno was then forced into a low save to keep Arsenal ahead as the Sky Bet League One side ended the half on top – although they did lose Broadhead to injury before the interval.

Sunderland boss Lee Johnson had joked about wanting to face Arsenal in the quarter-final after seeing off QPR in the previous round – saying facing the Gunners or their north London rivals Tottenham would let them face “the really big guns” in a two-legged semi-final.

He dismissed the comment as “dad banter” on the eve of the tie but Arsenal showed – in the minutes following half-time – that even their much-changed side were more than enough to see off Johnson’s spirited visitors.

Two flicked finishes from Nketiah would settle the contest, the first from a Tavares cross and the second after some superb work from Pepe – who impressed on his return.

Embleton had hit the post in between but Sunderland were out of the tie as their vociferous following sang throughout.

Arteta was able to hand a first-team debut to highly-rated midfielder Patino for the final 10 minutes, the England Under-19 international replacing fellow academy graduate Emile Smith Rowe and sliding in to convert another Pepe assist to put the cherry on top of the cake for Arsenal.

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Ancelotti not too disheartened despite freak draw with lowly Cadiz

Carlo Ancelotti insisted nobody should be blamed after Real Madrid’s disappointing 0-0 draw at home to struggling Cadiz, applauding the performance even if the outcome was not as expected.

Madrid had been hoping to extend their winning run to eight league matches but failed to convert their superiority into goals at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Los Blancos’ 36 shots amounted to 10 more than any other team have had in a single LaLiga match this season and the most since Madrid themselves had 37 attempts against Levante in April 2013.

Those shots equated to 2.8 expected goals (xG), meaning it was only the fourth time in the past decade that Madrid have failed to score in a LaLiga game despite registering at least 2.8 xG.

Cadiz defended valiantly, their 14 blocks being the most any team has recorded in a game since Opta began collecting this data (2005-06), somehow managing to leave the Santiago Bernabeu with at least a point for the second season in a row.

Yet, as frustrating as it would have been for his team to fail to beat 19th-placed Cadiz, Ancelotti looked on the bright side.

Speaking to Movistar, Ancelotti said: “I think we’ve tried in every way, but it has not turned out well.

“It didn’t work, but we tried, and therefore I don’t have to blame [anyone]. There are many positive things, the only thing that wasn’t positive was not having won the three points, but this is football.

“There are times you don’t deserve it and you win, and others you deserve it and you don’t win. They have played us with a set-up that always challenges us, but that’s the way it is.

“In the first half what we didn’t do well was breaking their back line, the intensity wasn’t very high. The second half was different, we created a lot of opportunities.

“The ball didn’t go in, but, personally, I’m happy. We tried, I don’t know what more we could do. We could have had more quality in the final metres, but I am not going to ask my team for more.”

Numerous Madrid players caught the eye but one of the most notable – even if he was not necessarily the standout star – was Eden Hazard.

The Belgian has been a massive disappointment since joining Madrid from Chelsea, with injuries playing a major role in disrupting him, but he looked bright at times on what was his first LaLiga start since September.

Hazard had three shots, his match-high 0.77 xG showing he was a threat, while he also played five key passes, the second most he has tallied in a league game for Madrid.

Ancelotti added: “It was difficult for him to get into the game, but in the second half he did very well with better combinations with the forwards.

“It is clear that Hazard can be one more weapon for us in the second half of the season.”

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Raiola opens door for Barcelona but striker could stay at Dortmund

Erling Haaland could still stay at Borussia Dortmund but “can wait for anybody” amid demand from Europe’s top clubs, including Barcelona, according to the player’s agent Mino Raiola.

Haaland signed for Dortmund from Salzburg after the Bundesliga side met his €20million release clause in December 2019 and has dominated the German top flight since his arrival.

The Norway international became the quickest player to 50 goals in the Bundesliga when he reached the milestone in his 50th appearance, and the youngest to do so at just 21, while only Robert Lewandowski (58) has scored more goals than Haaland (43) across all competitions in Europe’s top-five leagues in 2021.

Haaland has also scored 30 Bundesliga goals this calendar year – a new Dortmund record, surpassing Lothar Emmerich (29 goals in 1966) and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (29 goals in 2015).

The 21-year-old is reported to have a €75million buy-out clause that will kick in at the end of the season, putting Europe’s elite on high alert.

Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke expressed his belief on Sunday that Haaland should stay and Raiola has refused to rule that possibility out, though he did speculate on a potential move to Barcelona, whose financial issues may well mean a move has to be delayed.

“Could Haaland wait for Barcelona? He can wait for anybody,” Raiola said to NOS. “We don’t have a pre-agreement with any club.

“We’ll look for the best option for him and I can’t rule out another year at Dortmund. Theoretically, that’s still possible.”

Barca are undergoing a difficult period under new head coach Xavi. They sit seventh in LaLiga and are already out of the Champions League, after the departure of Blaugrana legend Lionel Messi following the club’s well-publicised financial difficulties.

Raiola, however, believes Barca will soon be back.

“Barcelona will always be one of the world’s biggest clubs,” Raiola added. “Even despite their current situation.

“In a year or two they’ll be back. They have the power to find great economic agreements. They’ll only need a year or two to get back.”

Haaland has 13 goals in 11 Bundesliga appearances this term, while his tally increases to 19 across all competitions.

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TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR OUT OF EUROPE AFTER UEFA AWARD RENNES VICTORY

Tottenham Hotspur’s European campaign for this season is over after UEFA awarded Rennes a 3-0 victory in their final Europa Conference League group match on Monday. Spurs were unable to fulfil the December 9 fixture due to a swathe of Covid-19 cases in the squad. As a result they finish third in the group behind group winners Rennes who progress directly to the last 16 and Dutch side Vitesse who now face Rapid Vienna in a knockout play-off.

“The Uefa Appeals Body took the following decision: to declare the 2021/22 UEFA Europa Conference League group stage match between Tottenham Hotspur FC and Stade Rennais FC, that was initially scheduled to be played on 9 December 2021, as forfeited by Tottenham Hotspur FC, who is therefore deemed to have lost the match 0-3,” read the UEFA statement.

The match in London had to be called off when Spurs manager Antonio Conte announced on the eve of the game eight of his players and five members of staff had tested positive for Covid-19.

Spurs have been one of the hardest hit English clubs by the resurgence of Covid-19 — largely due to the Omicron variant — having had to postpone league games against Brighton and Leicester as well.

However, unlike many of their domestic rivals, they were able to fulfil their fixture at the weekend — a 2-2 draw with Liverpool.

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CHELSEA LOSE GROUND WITH WOLVES DRAW

Chelsea lost ground on leaders Manchester City following a goalless draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.

Wolves were on top in the first half but could not find a breakthrough goal.

Daniel Podence tapped in at the far post on 16 minutes but the goal was ruled out as Raul Jimenez was offside. Edouard Mendy then saved Leander Dendoncker’s close-range header before half-time.

Chelsea controlled possession for most of the second half but were left frustrated by the hosts.

Mason Mount was unable to stretch his scoring run to five matches as his shot from distance was blocked.

Jose Sa produced a big save to deny Christian Pulisic late on, getting a strong hand to thwart the American.

Consecutive draws mean Chelsea stay in third but they are now six points behind Man City. Wolves stay eighth with 25 points, three behind West Ham United in fifth.

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MARTINELLI AT THE DOUBLE AS ARSENAL BEAT LEEDS

Gabriel Martinelli scored his first Premier League brace as Arsenal eased to a 4-1 victory at Leeds United.

The Brazilian opened the scoring on 16 minutes at Elland Road, firing past Illan Meslier after Alexandre Lacazette had dispossessed Adam Forshaw in the area.

Martinelli then dinked the ball over Leeds’ advancing goalkeeper to double his and Arsenal’s tally in the 28th minute, before Bukayo Saka made it three with the help of a deflection three minutes before half-time.

An injury-hit Leeds, who lost Stuart Dallas during the first half, improved after the break and Raphinha gave a glimmer of hope to the home fans with a penalty after Ben White had fouled Joe Gelhardt.

However, substitute Emile Smith Rowe latched on to Martin Odegaard’s exquisite through-ball to finish and confirm Arsenal’s third straight league victory six minutes from time.

Arsenal stay fourth on 32 points, four ahead of West Ham United. Leeds, who had 15-year-old Archie Gray on the bench, are five points above the relegation zone in 16th.

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SON EARNS SPURS A THRILLING DRAW WITH LIVERPOOL

Son Heung-min gave Tottenham Hotspur a 2-2 draw in an enthralling match with Liverpool, who were reduced to 10 men in the second half.

Harry Kane slotted Spurs ahead on 13 minutes, his first home goal of the season, after Tanguy Ndombele had played him in.

Spurs had chances to increase their lead, the best of which coming when Alisson denied Dele Alli.

Liverpool levelled on 35 minutes, when Diogo Jota headed in Andrew Robertson’s cross.

Alisson made an incredible close-range stop to deny Kane before Liverpool went ahead on 69 minutes when Robertson nodded in Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross.

However, Spurs levelled five minutes later when Alisson’s mistake allowed Son to roll the ball into an empty net.

Liverpool had to protect their point after Robertson was sent off with 13 minutes left to play for a reckless challenge on Emerson Royal.

Spurs extend their unbeaten run to five matches and stay seventh with 26 points, six behind Arsenal in fourth with three fixtures in hand.

Liverpool remain second but are three points behind leaders Manchester City.