Port Vale

Port Vale's impressive EFL Cup run has come to an end after they were beaten 3-0 by Middlesbrough in the quarter-finals.

However, right-back Jesse Debrah says the atmosphere at Vale Park gave him goosebumps.

"It's a difficult one to take but we knew it was going to be difficult. They're a very good side and deserved to win," he told BBC Radio Stoke.

"The two early goals killed us but Middlesbrough were the better side.

"It was still a great occasion for the club, seeing so many people here.

"I love playing home games anyway but I had goosebumps going out there and seeing the stadium packed."

Middlesbrough

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Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick praised the way his side managed the game as they beat Port Vale 3-0 to progress to the Carabao Cup semi-finals.

"Key moments in matches change momentum. It's one of the unfathomable vagaries of the game we love. And we're in the semi-finals now. Who would have thought that?" he told BBC Radio Tees.

"It's about managing the energy in the stadium. But we defended well when we had to defend and the boys were terrific.

"It felt comfortable with 10 or 15 minutes to go, which is nice, but you've got to play well to earn that in the first place and we did."

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Middlesbrough booked their place in the Carabao Cup semi-finals for the first time since they won the trophy in 2004 as they comfortably saw off Port Vale in freezing cold Burslem.

Michael Carrick's men made light of being drawn away for a fifth straight round as they eased to victory.

Jonny Howson's deflected shot and Morgan Rogers' strike put Boro 2-0 up inside 23 minutes.

Matt Crooks then wrapped up an easy quarter-final triumph on 53 minutes.

Read more here.

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It's certainly been a season of highs and lows for Newcastle full-back Kieran Trippier, according to our friends at Opta.

No player in the Premier League has made more errors leading to goals than Trippier's three - and no one has made more mistakes leading to opposition shots than the Newcastle full-back's four slip-ups.

However, on the plus side, only Bukayo Saka and James Ward-Prowse have more assists than Trippier's eight.

And he's also in the top four across the whole division for chances created (53) behind just Bruno Fernandes, Saka and Julian Alvarez.

Image source, BBC Sport

John Murray
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live

It was entertaining and dramatic - and it was entertaining because it meant such a great deal to Chelsea and Newcastle, it just had that extra edge.

For Newcastle, they have just to take a series of blows now - Paris in the Champions League, that disputed and controversial penalty they conceded with virtually the last kick of the match, then ended up getting knocked out of Europe altogether last week.

And now just as it seemed they were going to get through to the semi-finals, like they did last season, that happens right at the end - and for Kieran Trippier to be culpable, another in a recent spate of errors which presented the ball to Mudryk.

Then for Trippier to have the character to say 'I want to take one of the penalties' and to miss it. We deal with Kieran a lot with England and he is such a good guy and an excellent footballer - but he is just having a really tough time at the moment.

BBC Sounds

Former Chelsea full back Mario Melchiot on Chelsea's performance: "When you watch your team or go to the stadium, you want to see the best that came out of it.

"Watching them [Chelsea] play, they got into the game and in the first half, [Conor] Gallagher hit the crossbar, that's when they woke up a bit, they tried to control the game, regardless of if they conceded a goal, they were always pushing and trying to get themselves back into the game.

"For me it was funny that [Kieran] Trippier made a mistake, because I like him as a player. He's a very good right-sided player. I don't know what's happening now, a couple of games in a row, you understand the Everton game, Spurs game now Chelsea, he slipped up a little bit."

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Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer

Chelsea and Mauricio Pochettino have been searching for a spark to ignite their season and it may just have come in the closing seconds of a dramatic Carabao Cup quarter-final against Newcastle United at Stamford Bridge.

Newcastle were protecting a 1-0 lead with fierce determination until an error by captain Kieran Trippier offered a gift substitute Mykhailo Mudryk was only too grateful to accept midway through four minutes of added time.

The subsequent win on penalties that secured a semi-final place sparked an outbreak of sheer elation not yet seen since Pochettino arrived and offered up the prospect of a place in a major final after the upheaval and disappointment of Chelsea's past 18 months.

Pocettino undoubtedly has talented players at his disposal but maybe it will take a moment of good fortune, a mistake from an opponent, to get this latest version of Chelsea going.

The relief and joy was clear to see on the Argentine’s face as he celebrated with his staff and players. Now it is up to Chelsea to use this victory as a building block.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport

Whilst many outside observers are sympathetic to the sacking of Steve Cooper, the schism with owner Evangelos Marinakis meant the decision had been coming, it was just a question of timing.

Nuno's appointment could be good news for Scott McKenna and Joe Worrall though.

The pair were sidelined by Cooper in the latter days of his reign. It will be interesting to see if they are brought back into the fold for Saturday's home game against Bournemouth.

BBC Sport has a dedicated Forest page packed with news, analysis and fan views - get it here

Nottingham Forest

More from former Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan on the BBC Nottingham Forest podcast Shut Up and Show More Football:

"It's going to be tough [for Nuno]. This is a bit of a unique situation in terms of the connection [Cooper had with fans].

"The new manager has to hit the ground running, not only in terms of results for the football club, but also to get the fans on board and get the fans onside.

"Because a lot of that fanbase will be gutted and very upset."

Nottingham Forest

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This will be Nuno Espirito Santo's third managerial stint in Premier League after hugely contrasting spells at Wolves and Tottenham.

He was in charge at Molineux from 2017 to 2021, leading Wolves to promotion in his first season at the club and then taking them to seventh-place finishes in the top-flight in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

In total, he managed them in 114 Premier League games, winning 43, drawing 32 and losing 39. That equates to 1.41 points per game with a win percentage of 37.7.

Wolves also reached the Europa League quarter-finals under Nuno in 19-20.

It was a different story at Tottenham as the Portuguese lasted only 10 league games. He won half of them but lost the other five before he was sacked on 1 November 2021 with the club sitting ninth in the table.

Spurs scored only nine goals in that time and conceded 16.

Nottingham Forest

Former Forest midfielder Lewis McGugan on the BBC Nottingham Forest podcast Shut Up and Show More Football:

"In management, and Steve Cooper will know this, sadly at some point it will always come to an end.

"All you hope when you go into a football club as a manager is that you leave it in a better state than you found it - and he has 100% done that.

"He will leave on the best terms possible and if you look at the fans' reactions, it goes without saying.

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be in this situation, back in the Premier League, that's for sure."

Listen to and bookmark BBC Sport's Forest podcasts here

Nottingham Forest

Sacked Forest boss Steve Cooper is likely to be in demand from clubs in the Premier League and Championship, with Crystal Palace known to be long-term admirers.

Rich Ferraro from 1865: The Nottingham Forest Podcast told BBC Radio 5 Live that Cooper's stock has risen throughout his career and the club may end up with "seller's remorse".

"It's like the end of a relationship," said Ferraro. "We've got to be sad that Coops has gone, but we also have to remember the good times.

"I've lived through those 23 years [outside the Premier League], I've seen Forest get relegated many times. It could be a lot worse, but at the same time, once you go up, expectations go up and ultimately that's what leads to managers getting the sack.

"One of the most painful things about it is knowing that Steve Cooper has been a manager whose star has been going upwards for his entire career.

"Getting into the Premier League and keeping us in the Premier League was one thing, making us competitive after that - and especially with the turnover of players - is a different ball game.

"A few of us have been saying that the most painful thing will be when you see Cooper being successful with another club and thinking 'have we got seller's remorse?'"

Simon Stone
BBC Sport

The tricky bit for Nuno will be to navigate the strength of support for Cooper and mould it into something resembling what he had at Wolves.

In much the same way as Cooper did at the City Ground, Nuno created a special bond with the supporters at Molineux, who revelled in the way in which the Portuguese also took their club from Championship mediocrity into the Premier League and then into Europe.

That run was based around a specific recruitment plan that allied Nuno with a largely Portuguese squad that had the heavy hand of Jorge Mendes over it. He also used a trusted three-man defence, with wing backs, and relied mainly on a counter-attacking style.

Given how much Evangelos Marinakis has invested in players over the past three transfer windows, it will be fascinating to see what reshaping Nuno is allowed to execute next month.

At least he has time to work with his squad though.

After the home game with Manchester United on 30 December, Forest have a single Premier League game - at Brentford - before the encounter with Arsenal at the City Ground on 30 January.

Nottingham Forest

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Nottingham Forest's sacking of manager Steve Cooper "almost feels like they couldn't wait to get rid of him", the club's former striker Glenn Murray has said.

Cooper was sacked on Tuesday after overseeing five defeats in their past six games and just one win in 13.

The 44-year-old was revered by the Forest fans after ending their 23-year absence from the top flight.

"I feel he was going to keep Nottingham Forest safe for another year," said Murray, who spent one season with Forest at the end of his career, on BBC Radio 5 Live.

"It almost feels like they could not wait to get rid of him in some way and bring someone else in.

"He has had a dressing room full of players in his first year in the Premier League. He has done extraordinarily well to gel them together, to get them playing together, and to keep them in the Premier League."