Port Vale boss Andy Crosby urged his squad to stick together after their 1-0 defeat to in-form Derby.

Arsenal loanee Tyreese John-Jules came off the bench and scored with his first touch as the Rams made it four wins on the spin.

For Vale it’s an 11th league game without a win, a run which stretches back to mid-September.

And Crosby said: “It was a game of fine margins. They take advantage of a blocked clearance and it falls perfectly for their wide player, he executes an inch-perfect cross and the forward scores a good finish.

“We walk away being defeated 1-0. I thought we had better spells with the ball.

“The game kicks you doesn’t it. You have to fight and stick together during this difficult period.

“The dressing room and the whole football club. We don’t let the cracks appear because when that happens it just continues.

“We have to look after each other, boost each other and give each other confidence and belief.

“When you have senior players like I have in there and the management staff I have, we know how the players are feeling.

“They crawl off the pitch at the end of the game when you’ve been beaten 1-0 by one of the bigger clubs in the league.

“We’ve pushed them, but unfortunately come off the wrong side of the result.”

Rams’ first-team coach Matt Hamshaw stepped in for Paul Warne’s media duties.

And he said: “It’s a great feeling. It’s a difficult place to come to so to win 1-0 and a clean sheet, we’re really pleased.

“JJ wrote his own script by scoring with his first touch. He’s been disappointed with injuries since coming in so a huge shout out to the medical team for getting him right.

“It was a huge squad effort. It was a really good night. A huge thanks to the fans who stuck with us all season.

“It’s tough for players when they get injured, but I don’t feel that sorry for him, he’s had a good career already being at Arsenal!

“It’s brutal as a player when you’re not playing. You just want to be part of the team. But you feel out of it, no matter what the gaffer does.

“I’m just really pleased for him. He’s a great lad, let’s hope he stays fit because he’s a huge asset for us.”

Barcelona booked their passage to the Champions League last 16 for the first time in three seasons as Joao Felix’s second-half goal secured a 2-1 comeback win at home to Porto.

The former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea forward netted just before the hour mark after being set up by Joao Cancelo to seal the win and ensure it would not be a third consecutive group stage exit for Xavi’s side, despite having been given an early scare by the Portuguese side.

It was former Real Madrid stalwart Pepe who scored the goal for Porto that looked like it would set Barca up for a nervous final matchday in two weeks’ time, at 40 years old breaking his own record as the oldest ever goalscorer in the competition.

The lead lasted barely two minutes and it was ex-Manchester City player Cancelo who levelled in spectacular fashion.

Pedri swept a pass out wide to Cancelo advancing down the left but there was plenty still for the Portugal international to do as he carried the ball into the box and unleashed a superb right-footed effort that flew into the far corner.

Felix then got forward after the break to finish from Cancelo’s pass and secure a priceless win.

Shakhtar Donetsk’s earlier victory against Royal Antwerp had meant that Barca and Porto went into their match locked together on nine points with the Ukrainian champions, but Felix’s winner means Xavi’s side can relax in their final match against Antwerp whilst the other two teams play off for the right to join them in the last 16.

Barca earlier announced that teenage midfielder Gavi had undergone a “successful” operation on his torn anterior cruciate ligament, which is expected to rule him out for the rest of the season and the European Championship next summer.

Parliament will be forced to consider whether to hold a debate on the proposed implementation of betting affordability checks after a petition opposing such measures passed 100,000 signatures.

Racing organisations and officials have expressed fears that the introduction of intrusive financial risk regulations could lead to punters switching to unlicensed bookmakers.

A group of industry leaders have warned that the new regulations could then cost the sport up to £250million over the next five years, threatening racecourses with closure and putting some of the 80,000-plus jobs associated with racing at risk.

The petition states: “We want the Government to abandon the planned implementation of affordability checks for some people who want to place a bet.

“We believe such checks – which could include assessing whether people are ‘at risk of harm’ based on their postcode or job title – are inappropriate and discriminatory.

“The proposed checks could see bettors having to prove they can afford their hobby if they sustain losses as low as £1.37 per day.

“We accept the need to help those with problem gambling but more intrusive checks triggered at a higher threshold risks bettors moving to the black market where there are no consumer protections or safer gambling tools.

“We are concerned there will also be a negative impact on British horseracing’s finances due to a reduction in betting turnover and resulting fall in Levy yield.”

Leading National Hunt trainer Nicky Henderson helped drive the push to reach 100,000 signatures.

In an open letter to Racing TV customers, he wrote: “In recent weeks, I have realised that this very much is my problem. If you are reading this, you are a racing fan, which means it’s your problem as well.

“I have spoken to one or two quite serious punters who are already being impacted by affordability checks and are furious that the gambling white paper is set to make it even harder for them.

“They are adamant they are not going to hand over their personal financial documents. I don’t blame them. Why should they or any punter, big or small, be told whether or not they can afford to have a bet?

“It is completely wrong in principle – and even if you don’t bet, it doesn’t mean this has nothing to do with you. Affordability checks are going to smash a hole in racing’s finances and do untold damage to British racing and rural communities.

“That’s why I’ve been urging people in Lambourn to sign the sport’s petition against affordability checks. This is a massive issue and we must do all we can to make a difference.”

Earlier this month, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport provided a detailed response to the setting up of the affordability checks petition.

It stated: “The government recognises the enormous value of horseracing as both a spectator sport and through its economic contribution.

“The white paper’s estimate was that financial risk checks will reduce online horserace betting yield by 6% to 11%, which would in turn reduce racing’s income by £8.4 to £14.9 million per year (0.5% to 1% of its total income) through a reduction in levy, media rights and sponsorship returns.

“We are working with racing and refining that estimate. We have also commenced a review of the Horserace Betting Levy to ensure a suitable return to the sport for the future.

“The government and Gambling Commission are working with the industry and others to ensure the checks can be implemented in an effective but proportionate way.

“We are also exploring the role of pilots or phased implementation to help ensure this. The Gambling Commission will set out details on its plans in due course.”

Detroit Pistons head coach Monty Williams hit out at his team's lack of fight and said they were failing to honour the franchise's jersey after they slipped to a 14th consecutive defeat on Monday.

The Pistons suffered another heavy loss at Little Caesars Arena as the Washington Wizards claimed a 126-107 win, Kyle Kuzma leading the way with 32 points and 12 rebounds.

While Washington ended their own nine-game losing streak, Detroit now have the worst record in the league after slipping to 2-15, losing three of their last four games by at least 19 points.

In a post-game media appearance lasting just one minute, Williams accused his team of failing to compete while acknowledging he is ultimately responsible for turning things around.

"That wasn't fight on the floor. That wasn't Pistons basketball by any stretch of the imagination," Williams said. 

"That's what this is, we have to have people that honour the organisation and the jersey by competing at a high level every night. I'm not talking about execution, just competing. That wasn't it, and that's on me."

Asked what needs to improve as the Pistons prepare to face LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Wednesday, Williams added: "It's just a level of growing up on this team, maturity, understanding what game-plan discipline is. All the stuff we talk about all the time. It's enough talking."

Guard Cade Cunningham echoed his coach's thoughts, saying the team needed to improve physically. 

"We all want to win really bad," Cunningham said. "Everybody's doing it out of the spirit of that; wanting to win, wanting to do what's best for the team.

"I think we need more aggressive mess-ups. Where we're struggling right now is slip-ups where we're not physical enough or not aggressive enough. That's what we need to lean towards instead of trying not to press.

"We play great stretches, and then we've had crazy bad stretches where we dig ourselves in too deep of a hole. 

"That's it right there, it's just holding each other accountable and when we do feel it start to slip, having the mental stamina to stay together, stay connected."

Celtic crashed out of Europe for the season after a late double by super substitute Ciro Immobile gave Lazio a 2-0 Champions League win in Rome.

The Hoops went into the make-or-break game with one point from four Group E matches but gave as good as they got for most of the game before the home side’s veteran attacker struck in the 82nd and 85th minute to sink the Scottish champions.

To rub salt in the Celtic wounds they were awarded a penalty by Halil Umut Meler in added time for a push on substitute Oh Hyeon-gyu but it was overturned when VAR intervened and sent the referee to the pitchside monitor for another look.

Celtic remain bottom of the section and cannot catch Lazio, Atletico Madrid or Feyenoord.

Brendan Rodgers’ side play the Rotterdam team in their final tie at home next month but that will be their European swansong for another season.

The Hoops travelled to Rome knowing they needed a win to keep hope of progression in Europe alive.

Rodgers had stressed the importance of keeping 11 players on the field after having three players sent off in their two away games – Gustaf Lagerbielke and Odin Thiago Holm in the 2-0 defeat against Feyenoord and Daizen Maeda in the first half of their 6-0 thrashing in Madrid, with the latter and Luis Palma suspended.

Right-back Alistair Johnston, midfielder Paulo Bernardo and veteran winger James Forrest returned against a Lazio side whose coach Maurizio Sarri was under some pressure after defeat to bottom side Salernitana at the weekend saw them drop to 11th in Serie A.

The visitors made a decent fist of the first half without threatening too much, although after just four minutes Lazio keeper Ivan Provedel had to deal with a drive from Hoops striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

However, the best chance of the first half fell to Lazio’s Brazil international Felipe Anderson, who missed the target with a close-range header from a Matteo Guendouzi cross which ought to have tested Hoops keeper Joe Hart.

Furuhashi almost capitalised on some Lazio indecision in the penalty area between Provedel and defender Mario Gila before the Italian side got the ball to safety.

Both sides enjoyed spells of possession but neither keeper was properly tested again before the break.

Lazio started the second half with increased tempo but in the 49th minute Furuhashi flashed a shot across the far post on a Celtic break before Yang Hyun-jun headed a Forrest delivery back across goal trying to find Furuhashi when he might have tried to get it on target.

Meanwhile, Taty Castellanos twice headed over the bar at the other end and Gustav Isaksen squeezed a shot past the far post after a clever break into the Celtic box.

Immobile and Pedro Rodríguez came on for Anderson and Castellanos with Forrest making way for Mikey Johnston with striker Oh soon coming on for Bernardo to support Furuhashi.

The game began to heat up at both ends.

Lazio captain Luis Alberto lofted a shot over the bar with 10 minutes remaining but when Isaken’s drive was deflected into the path of Immobile he gleefully knocked it past Hart.

Minutes later, later, the Italy international outmuscled Liam Scales, turned inside Cameron Carter-Vickers and slotted in from close range again.

There was more drama in the three added minutes when Celtic were awarded a penalty for a Patric push on Oh but after being directed to his monitor, the Turkish official changed his mind and a chance of a consolation was gone.

Now, it is time again for Celtic to reflect on another European disappointment.

Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur is set to be out until February after tearing a ligament in his ankle, the PA news agency understands.

The 26-year-old was injured in a tackle from Aston Villa’s Matty Cash during Sunday’s 2-1 home Premier League defeat, and a scan on Tuesday confirmed the extent of the damage.

The Uruguay international was making his first start since returning from an ACL injury that had kept him out since February.

It represents a further blow for manager Ange Postecoglou, who is already contending with a lengthy list of absentees, with nine first-team players having been unavailable through injury or suspension for the Villa defeat.

That list includes summer signings James Maddison and Micky van de Ven, who were influential in Spurs’ unbeaten start to the season that saw them go top after eight games.

Both went off during the 4-1 defeat to Chelsea earlier in November and are likely to be out until January, while defender Cristian Romero is currently serving a three-game ban after being red-carded against the Blues.

Tottenham are on a run of three straight league defeats that has seen them slip from first to fifth.

Ronnie O’Sullivan reeled off six frames in a row to seal a 6-2 win over Anthony McGill in the first round of the UK Championship in York.

The seven-time champion at the Barbican was back in action after withdrawing from the Champion of Champions event in Bolton a fortnight ago, due to being “mentally drained and stressed”.

McGill took a 2-0 lead, thanks to a 116 break in the opening frame and a shock looked on the cards.

However, O’Sullivan took control, firing five half-centuries on his way to winning six frames in a row.

O’Sullivan, who won his first title in York 30 years ago to the day, told the BBC: “You just get to the point where you think, ‘I’ll just keep going as long as I can’.

“I was at 35 and I was probably done and dusted because that is what happens.

“But I just appreciate every moment now, it feels like I have got a second life. I am a born-again snooker player.”

“I do find the matches hard and long now. If I can win two or three matches in the tournament, you get used to it. I find it harder to concentrate and have the hunger.

“For me, playing in competitions, you have to dig deep and out-battling players, it is hard at my age.

“These tournaments create a bit of a buzz and feel it more.”

O’Sullivan will meet Robert Milkins or Thepchaiya Un-Nooh in the next round.

John Higgins also advanced through – beating Joe O’Connor 6-3 – with the highlight of his performance coming with an eighth-frame 122 clearance.

Mixedwave has become the first winner to be disqualified under the current whip rules after his rider Alex Edwards used his whip 16 times at Market Rasen last week – nine above the permitted level.

Regulations concerning the use of the whip underwent major changes earlier this year, with the numbers of strikes allowed in Flat and jumps races reduced to six and seven respectively.

A tougher penalty structure for those in breach was also introduced, including doubled suspensions for major races and disqualification in the most serious of cases.

The Pam Sly-trained Mixedwave was a 4-1 shot for Market Rasen’s Pertemps Network Handicap Chase on Thursday – and after making virtually all the running, clung on by a short-head from Post Chaise.

However, following the latest meeting of the Whip Review Committee, Edwards was found to have used his whip nine times above the permitted level of seven and “without giving his mount time to respond from approaching the third-last flight.”

Taking into account Edwards had used his whip more than four times above the permitted level, Mixedwave was disqualified, while Edwards will serve a 24-day suspension (December 12-23 and December 26-January 6), with one of these days to be spent receiving specialised coaching.

It is the first such disqualification since the rules were introduced, with 7,903 races staged under the rules as of November 26, according to the British Horseracing Authority.

A BHA spokesperson said: “Disqualification was introduced as the ultimate deterrent for overuse of the whip and there can be no excuse for exceeding the permitted level by nine uses.

“As well as extensive consultation and communication, jockeys were required to undertake online training modules which clearly set out the new rules prior to riding under them.

“The wide-ranging understanding of what may trigger a disqualification, and the steps taken by jockeys to adapt well to the new rules, is demonstrated by the fact that this is the first time in almost 8,000 races that the rule has been invoked following a winning ride.”

John McConnell’s Mahler Mission is reported in fine spirits for the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury on Saturday and is the current favourite with the sponsors.

The seven-year-old made a pleasing return to action in the Colin Parker earlier in the month, finishing second over a trip bound to be insufficient for a proven stayer.

Crucially, his jumping was sound throughout the race, a reassuring sight after he fell two from home on his final start of last season when leading the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

McConnell reports the gelding to have fared well since his Carlisle run and, all being well, expects him to take up his engagement at Newbury – where he is currently the 7-1 favourite with sponsors Coral.

“He came out of Carlisle fine, we were delighted with the run there and this was always the next step for him,” he said.

“It’s just the final checks we’ve got to do, we’ll run a scope on him and if that’s all OK, then we’ll be there.”

Coral’s David Stevens commented: “This year’s Coral Gold Cup betting remains wide open, although punters have at least found a clear favourite for now, with the Irish raider Mahler Mission now a point shorter than Complete Unknown.”

Mikel Arteta admits he still has something to prove as a manager in European competition as he aims to lead Arsenal into the Champions League knockout stages on Wednesday night.

The Gunners host Lens at the Emirates Stadium knowing a point would secure safe passage into the last 16 while victory will seal top spot in Group B.

Arteta led Arsenal back into the Champions League after a seven-year absence but – other than a run to the semi-finals in 2020-21 – he struggled in Europa League knockout games earlier in his tenure.

Asked if he has something to prove in Europe, he replied: “For sure.

“I think it is not that we have to prove, we had to come back into Europe being the club we want to be, have that presence and the results that tell them we are back in a strong way, we haven’t done that yet and it needs to be done.”

While Arsenal are on the verge of qualifying for the latter rounds, Premier League rivals Manchester United and Newcastle are still uncertain if their European campaigns will extend beyond Christmas this season.

“100 per cent not,” Arteta replied when asked if qualification should be taken for granted.

“You have to sweat, dig in a lot and play well in games to deserve to win them. We are playing against really tough opponents.

“PSV have won all of their games in their league, they have only lost against us. Sevilla is a very tough place to go and tomorrow is going to be a really difficult game but hopefully we can be better than them.

“I am enjoying it, is a great feeling. It makes you proud, it makes you feel that it is the level the club should be at and we are competing really well so let’s continue to do so.”

With Arsenal on the cusp of making the knockout rounds, Arteta could be tempted to shuffle his pack against their Ligue 1 opposition.

Kai Havertz will be pushing for a start after coming off the bench to score a late winner at Brentford on Saturday to send Arsenal top of the Premier League.

Others will also be knocking on the door but one player who will definitely not feature is Fabio Vieira.

Arteta revealed the midfielder has gone under the knife to fix a niggling groin issue and could not offer a return date when pressed.

“Yes, we’ve got a problem with him,” he said.

“He’s been having some discomfort. We tried to have some conservative treatment with him.

“It wasn’t improving so we sent him to see a specialist and the advice was to have an operation in his groin. We expect him to be out for weeks now.

“We don’t expect him to (be back before January). Let’s see how he evolves. The job it was done yesterday so we’ll have to wait and see. It will take weeks I think.”

Vieira joins Thomas Partey, Jurrien Timber and Emile Smith Rowe on the sidelines with the potential that the quartet all miss the busy festive schedule.

Tiger Woods has revealed his frustration at the secretive way in which a potential peace deal in golf’s civil war was agreed and insisted: “That won’t happen again”.

Woods will compete for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in April in this week’s Hero World Challenge and believes contesting one tournament a month is a realistic target for 2024.

However, the questions in his pre-tournament press conference in the Bahamas were predominantly about the future shape of men’s professional golf after he took on a major role in those discussions by becoming a player-directory on the PGA Tour’s policy board.

The world of golf was stunned when a framework agreement between the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) was announced on June 6, with a deadline of December 31 for a deal to be finalised.

“Going back to that, I would say that my reaction was surprised as I’m sure a lot of the players were taken back by it, by what happened so quickly without any input or any information about it, it was just thrown out there,” Woods said.

“We were very frustrated with what happened. We were all taken back by it.

“It happened so quickly without any of our involvement. No one knew. That can’t happen again.

“How do we do that is having six player directors so we control the board and we control what we’re going to do.

“I think Jay (Monahan, PGA Tour commissioner) has been a part of the direction, he understands what happened prior to that can’t happen again and won’t happen again, not with the players that are involved and not with the player directors having the role that we have.”

Woods, who said he totally understood why Rory McIlroy had stood down as a player-director earlier this month, is relishing the opportunity to have a “lasting impact” on the future of the PGA Tour as the future of LIV Golf and the players who joined the breakaway are decided.

“I think there is away in which we can all benefit from team golf, it’s just how do we do it? We’re just trying to figure out that process now,” Woods said.

“We’ve been doing it for months, trying to figure out how that all works, what does that landscape even look like and where do we play and what impact does it have on our PGA Tour schedule?

“As far as a pathway (for LIV players), we’re still working on that. There’s so many different scenarios. That’s why I said there’s a lot of sleepless hours trying to figure that out.

“Everyone involved wants a return, that’s just part of doing deals, but we have to protect the integrity of our Tour and what that stands for going forward.”

Woods has become so involved in his new player-director role that he insisted any conversations about becoming Ryder Cup captain in 2025 would have to take a back seat, but the 47-year-old is still targeting more individual glory.

“What drives me is I love to compete,” added Woods, who revealed he always knew he would need his ankle to be fused or replaced, a process accelerated by his aborted comeback last year.

“There will come a point in time, I haven’t come around to it fully yet, that I won’t be able to win again. When that day comes I’m going to walk away.

“I don’t have any of the ankle pain that I had before with the hardware that’s been placed in my foot, that’s all gone. The other parts of my body, my knee hurts, my back. The forces go somewhere else.

“I’m just as curious as all of you with what’s going to happen. I haven’t done this in a while.

“I think that best scenario (for 2024) would be maybe a tournament a month. I think that’s realistic. The biggest events are one per month. It sets itself up for that.

“Now I need to get myself ready for all that. I think this week is a big step in that direction.”

Frost covers have been deployed at both Newcastle and Newbury as course officials do everything within their power to ensure this weekend’s high-profile fixtures beat the impending cold snap.

Newcastle is due to stage the biggest meeting of its jumps season on Saturday, with the brilliant Constitution Hill set to be the star of the show as he bids for back-to-back victories in the BetMGM Fighting Fifth Hurdle.

However, with temperatures in the north east due to dip below freezing every night ahead of raceday, clerk of the course Eloise Quayle appears more hopeful than confident that racing will go ahead.

She said: “We had the black, thick sheets down on the take-offs, landings and crossings yesterday and we’ve covered the rest of the track today.

“Temperatures are forecast to drop below zero every night from tonight now and I suppose the concern at the moment is that while the night temperatures are not massively cold, the day temperatures aren’t coming up overly high and they’re quite slow to rise.

“On Saturday, we’re not looking at getting above zero until around 11am, so we’re obviously going to be reviewing and checking the forecasts and hoping that will improve marginally at least.

“We’ll have to be very slick (on Saturday) because our first race is due off at 11.35am and you don’t want to lift the covers too early because if it is warm enough underneath, you don’t want to lift them and then it starts to freeze.

“It’s all fine margins at the minute and a bit of a balancing act, but I think we’ve done everything we can to keep that residual heat in the ground and there’s a great covering of grass.

“Hopefully, the forecast is forgiving, rather than being as brutal as it might be, but we’ll just have to see and keep our fingers crossed.”

Saturday’s Coral Gold Cup is the centrepiece of a scheduled two-day meeting further south at Newbury.

Conditions were perfectly raceable on Tuesday afternoon – but with frost forecast for the remainder of the week, clerk of the course George Hill is taking precautions.

He said: “We were frost-free this morning and had a nice drop of rain on Monday, but we’re due to get a bit colder heading towards the weekend, so we’ve covered the track for Friday and we’ll cover up again after racing on Friday ahead of Saturday.

“There are sub-zero temperatures forecast for later in the week, and there’s freezing fog around too, so we’re just going to have to wait and see what happens.

“We were over 7C today with a nice bit of sunshine and we’ve got good grass cover, so that’s a positive – as the more grass there is the better when frost is around.

“It’s hard to imagine today that the frost is coming, but that’s what they’re saying, so we’ll be prepared either way.”

Officials at Kelso have called a precautionary inspection for 7.30am ahead of Wednesday’s card due to the threat of overnight snow and frost.