France maul Ireland to kick start Six Nations title defence

Ruthless France inflicted more pain on Ireland as the Six Nations holders opened their title defence with a bonus-point victory at a buoyant Stade de France. Having crushed Ireland’s title hopes in emphatic fashion in Dublin last year, Les Bleus – with returning captain Antoine Dupont pulling the strings – roared into a 22-0 half-time lead following a one-sided first half. Ireland improved in the second but were well and truly outclassed by Les Belus.

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Man City cruise past Newcastle into Carabao Cup final

Manchester City booked a tantalising Carabao Cup final against Premier League leaders Arsenal by hammering holders Newcastle 5-1 on aggregate in a one-sided semi-final. Omar Marmoush scored twice early on before Tijjani Reijnders put the outcome beyond the doubt before the first half was through. Newcastle made a better fist of it after the interval, Anthony Elanga pulling one goal back, but the tie was a lost cause by then.

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Havertz nets late winner as Arsenal dispatch Chelsea to reach final – Carabao Cup

Kai Havertz scored a stoppage-time winner as Arsenal beat Chelsea to secure their place in the Carabao Cup final for the first time in eight years. Arsenal came into this match with a 3-2 lead after the first leg and dominated the opening part of the match – but with Chelsea lining up with a back five, chances in the first hour of the game were hard to come by. Liam Rosenior brought on Estevao and Cole Palmer in an attempt to spark creativity as his side hunted a goal, but Arsenal were able to deal with the Chelsea attack.

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Jimoh-Aloba completes Aston Villa comeback with late winner over Salzburg

Aston Villa fought back from 2-0 down to beat Red Bull Salzburg and finish second in the Europa League league phase, but Ollie Watkins was forced off to compound their injury issues. Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba’s first Villa goal earned a late victory for the hosts, who had already qualified for the last 16, at Villa Park.

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Pedro brace sees Chelsea dump Napoli out of Champions League

Two sublime strikes from Joao Pedro fired Chelsea into the Champions League round of 16 as they finished sixth in the league phase table after a 3-2 win at Napoli. The Blues found themselves behind in Italy but responded well in the second half to dump Napoli out of the competition while avoiding two additional games in the knockout play-offs.

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