Barcelona manager Xavi has announced he will leave the club at the end of the season.

Xavi’s position has been under the spotlight as the LaLiga champions have fallen behind Real Madrid and Girona at the top of the table.

Following Saturday’s 5-3 home defeat by Villarreal, Xavi posted a message on the club’s social media account confirming his departure.

“I want to announce that on June 30 I will no longer continue as the coach at Barca,” Xavi said.

“I think the situation needs to change course, and as a culer (Barca fan), I cannot allow the current situation.”

With Trinidad and Tobago’s Copa America playoff against Canada fast approaching and their opponents for the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign revealed, Head coach Angus Eve is cautiously optimistic about the way forward.

This, as he believes his senior Soca Warriors are in a much better place ahead of this year’s campaign compared to last year when they had a fairly successful run, which included an historic victory over United States in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals.

Should they secure an upset victory over Canada in the upcoming March 23 fixture, Trinidad and Tobago would qualify for the prestigious Copa America tournament to contest Group A alongside Argentina, Peru and Chile.

The Soca Warriors are also set to contest Group B in the second round of the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers alongside Costa Rica, St Kitts and Nevis, Grenada and Bahamas.

Eve, who views the ongoing T&T Premier Football League, as well as pre-season football for his foreign-based charges in North America as an additional boost, pointed out that they have already started plotting the way forward.

“We had a strategy meeting where we planned our way forward. We have been speaking individually with everybody in their individual roles. This is what the collective meeting (was about), to bring back in all the data and plan the way going forward,” Eve told TTFA in a recent interview.

The tactician credited T&T Premier Football League’s tier one and tier two competitions for improving his talent pool to some extent.

“It has been tremendous and refreshing for us because every (national training) camp that we would have gone in previously the locally based players weren’t playing (regularly), and we had to do a lot of work to bring (them) up to match fitness,” Eve reasoned.

“Now they are playing, the league is going well. I think it’s very competitive so we can see that the players are playing much sharper. I thought that this (second) season the boys would be playing a lot faster, and they are. So, it’s good for us and we want to bring them in,” he added.

That said, Eve welcomed the fact that surging young talents Tyrese Spicer of Toronto FC and Colorado Rapids’ Wayne Frederick II, are now among the potentials for a national call-up.

“We have some new boys who will get the opportunity to come in the camp and work with us in that environment. We have seen a lot of nice young players coming through the league.

"The players in Canada, the players in the US are already in pre-season with their clubs so they will get a lot of pre-season matches under their belt. It’s a lot more game time and also that we have the few players in Europe, they are still in action and playing,” Eve noted.

“(So) I think we’re in a better place going into this round of matches because soon after, we’ll have the World Cup campaign to start,” he ended.

Newcastle showed signs of being back to their best as they knocked Fulham out of the FA Cup with a 2-0 win at Craven Cottage.

Sean Longstaff scored in the first half before Dan Burn dealt the final blow to Marco Silva’s men in the fourth-round tie.

Newcastle, who last played on January 13 and are without a league win in four, looked fresh as they inflicted more cup misery on Fulham, ending their hopes of silverware following their Carabao Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool earlier this week.

The west Londoners were sloppy in possession and after Marek Rodak bailed his team-mates out with a quick-thinking stop to deny Kieran Trippier’s cross-shot, Anthony Gordon’s long-range effort missed the target, whistling past the Fulham goalkeeper’s left-hand post.

Rodrigo Muniz was given a rare start and the Brazil forward was taking his opportunity, forcing a fingertip save from Martin Dubravka before his turn of pace saw Fabian Schar give away a yellow card on the break after 21 minutes.

Fulham lacked cohesion after manager Silva made seven changes from the XI that played in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup exit.

A great chance went begging for Newcastle when Alexander Isak rounded the keeper but failed to pull the trigger in time as the ball trickled out for a goal-kick.

But Newcastle breached Fulham’s defence as the hosts’ frailties continued into the 39th minute.

Trippier tested the waters with another inswinging cross which seemed routine for Fulham to deal with.

Kenny Tete and Bobby De Cordova-Reid ran into each other instead of clearing their lines before the ball fell to Longstaff, who powered home from inside the area.

Silva turned to the bench in the form of the experienced Willian and the Brazilian swung the momentum in the Cottagers’ favour.

After the winger’s long-range goal was chalked off for offside, he enjoyed neat touches and exchanges around the Newcastle area as Silva’s side searched for an equaliser.

But it was the Magpies who punished the home side after they failed to clear their lines once again in the 61st minute.

Trippier’s corner found Sven Botman, whose header had too much power for Rodak keep hold of the ball.

The Cottagers’ back-up keeper parried the ball into the path of Burn, who finished first-time from inside the six-yard area.

Real Madrid returned to the LaLiga summit as Carlo Ancelotti’s men came from behind to win 2-1 at Las Palmas.

Having fallen behind to Javier Munoz’s 53rd-minute goal, Real – without the suspended Jude Bellingham – hit back with Vinicius Junior equalising before Aurelien Tchouameni notched the winner with six minutes of normal time remaining.

A fifth successive league win for Los Blancos sees them move two points above Girona, who play at Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Third-placed Barcelona are 10 points off the top after two stoppage-time Villarreal goals saw the champions beaten 5-3 in a thrilling contest at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Trailing 2-0 via efforts either side of the break from Gerard Moreno and Ilias Akhomach, Barca suddenly turned things around with strikes from Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri and an Eric Bailly own goal in quick succession.

Villarreal then brought the score back level through Goncalo Guedes’ 84th-minute finish, before Alexander Sorloth and Jose Luis Morales added goals deep into stoppage time to complete a stunning comeback from the visitors and make it it back-to-back defeats for Xavi’s men, beaten 4-2 after extra time at Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.

Bayern Munich are two points behind Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen having won 3-2 at Augsburg.

Teenager Aleksandar Pavlovic, with his first Bayern goal, and Alphonso Davies put the visitors in command at the interval.

Harry Kane’s 23rd Bundesliga goal, sandwiched between a Ermedin Demirovic double, eventually proved the difference.

Leverkusen subsequently dropped points as they were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Borussia Monchengladbach.

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano has challenged his side to put their Supercoppa Italiana disappointment behind them by giving Inter Milan plenty to think about when they return to Serie A action.

I Viola were beaten 3-0 by Napoli in the semi-finals of the new four-team tournament held in Saudi Arabia last week, which Inter went on to win.

Italiano feels his squad can regroup to kick-start their domestic campaign as they look to maintain a challenge to finish in the top four.

“We won’t hide the fact that we’re disappointed by what we could have achieved, even if the team did what they had to do, apart from the unrepresentative result,” Italiano said.

“Now we have to project ourselves into the league with the desire, the anger and the determination to have an important journey, where we want to score points and do well, this is the objective.”

Italiano told Fiorentina club media: “What we did in the first half (of the campaign), no one can take that away from us – but the second half is always a different season.

“We need to continue to have fuel and push, facing the matches with determination because the objectives become decisive for everyone.

“We want to continue this important path in the second half also because we are in an important spot in the table and we want to stay there.”

Inter will be out to move back to the top of the table and capitalise on Juventus’ surprise 1-1 draw at home to struggling Empoli after seeing Arkadiusz Milik receive an early red card.

Italiano, though, feels Fiorentina can cause problems for Simone Inzaghi’s side at the Stadio Artemio Franchi.

“It is an important match for us, it will be difficult because Inter are doing good from all points of view,” he said.

“But we are playing at home and we had the opportunity to work throughout the week on our playing principles and think of something useful to put Inter in difficulty.

“I hope it was useful for tomorrow and we will be be ready to do battle against one of the strongest teams.”

Inter have a doubt over Alessandro Bastoni ahead of Sunday’s return to Serie A action.

The defender was left on the bench for the Supercoppa Italiana final against Napoli because of a muscle problem.

Inter midfielders Nicolo Barella and Hakan Calhanoglu will be unavailable through suspension, so Davide Frattesi and Kristjan Asllani are expected to be involved.

Midfielder Marwan Attia insists Egypt can cope with the “great loss” of Mohamed Salah as they gear up for their Africa Cup of Nations last-16 clash with DR Congo in San Pedro.

Salah is back at Liverpool for treatment on the hamstring injury he picked up in the second group game, with the hope he might be able to rejoin the national team should they reach the latter stages of the tournament.

Egypt squeezed into the knockout round following three successive 2-2 draws and will next face a DR Congo side who are also unbeaten but yet to record a victory.

Attia said at a press conference: “The absence of a Mohamed Salah is a great loss for the team, but it will not deter us from achieving our goal.

“No match is easy, but we are ready to rise to the challenge and beat Congo.

“Tomorrow’s match will be difficult, but we will give it our all to win and move on in the tournament.

“We are confident in ourselves and our abilities and we will fight to the end to win.”

Egypt are also without first-choice goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy, who suffered a dislocated shoulder in their final group game against Cape Verde.

Boss Rui Vitoria feels his team are being dogged by misfortune, telling the press conference: “We have been suffering from strange injuries since the first day. Even our equipment manager was injured. We always play to win, but bad luck seems to be following us.”

The winner of the game will play either Equatorial Guinea or Guinea in the quarter-finals.

Barcelona suffered a second defeat in four days as two Villarreal goals in stoppage time saw Xavi’s men beaten 5-3 in a thrilling contest at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Trailing 2-0 via efforts either side of the break from Gerard Moreno and Ilias Akhomach, Barca suddenly turned things around with strikes from Ilkay Gundogan, Pedri and an Eric Bailly own goal in quick succession.

Villarreal then brought things back level through Goncalo Guedes’ 84th-minute finish, before Alexander Sorloth and Jose Luis Morales added goals deep into stoppage time to complete a stunning comeback from the visitors.

Making it back-to-back defeats after Wednesday’s 4-2 extra-time Copa del Rey loss at Athletic Bilbao, the result leaves LaLiga champions Barcelona 10 points behind leaders Real Madrid, who won 2-1 at Las Palmas earlier on Saturday.

An early attack by Villarreal saw them put the ball in the net in the third minute, but Alex Baena’s effort was disallowed for offside.

Their goalkeeper Filip Jorgensen was then called into action to save a Lamine Yamal effort and, in some style, tip over Joao Felix’s strike before the visitors again had a goal chalked off midway through the first half.

This time Moreno was the scorer, with offside given – following a VAR review – against Sorloth, who did not touch the ball but was adjudged to have been interfering with play.

The breakthrough then came for Villarreal in the 41st minute with the front pair combining, Sorloth laying a pass from the left and Moreno firing past Inaki Pena.

After Xavi made three substitutions at the break, replacing Hector Fort, Andreas Christensen and Oriel Romeu with Joao Cancelo, Pau Cubarsi and Pedri, things got even worse for Barca nine minutes into the second half as Villarreal doubled their advantage.

Ex-Barca man Akhomach punished his former employers as he seized upon Cancelo’s failed attempt to clear, going around Pena and slotting in.

Barca swiftly reduced the deficit, Gundogan sweeping the ball into the corner on the hour mark having been teed up Robert Lewandowski’s backheel.

They were then back on level terms eight minutes later, with Gundogan providing an assist as Pedri lashed past Jorgensen.

And the emphatic response continued, with Barca taking the lead another three minutes on from that, with Gundogan again involved as his free-kick was inadvertently headed into his own net by Bailly.

It was some turnaround – and there was still more drama to come, first with Villarreal bouncing back to make things all square again thanks to substitute Guedes’ powerful finish past Pena.

As the game entered stoppage time the ball struck Villarreal’s Santi Comesana in the box and a VAR check for handball ensued, but the decision was no penalty, much to Xavi’s dismay.

A further twist then came in the ninth minute of added time as Sorloth’s finish put the away side back in front, and a remarkable end to a breathtaking game then saw Morales, another substitute, make it 5-3 with 102 minutes on the clock.

Ten-man Juventus were held to a 1-1 draw at home to struggling Empoli after losing Arkadiusz Milik to an early red card.

The Serie A leaders were a man down before the midway point of the first half when Milik, who had hit a hat-trick on his last start in a 4-0 Coppa Italia win over Frosinone two weeks ago, was sent off following a VAR review for a late studs-up challenge.

Dusan Vlahovic fired Juventus in front with his fifth goal in three games at the start of the second half, but Tommaso Baldanzi equalised for Empoli as the hosts’ seven-match winning run in all competitions came to an end.

Juventus went close after only six minutes as Vlahovic, who had scored a brace in each of his side’s last two games, forced Elia Caprile to tip his free-kick around a post.

But they were stunned after 18 minutes when his fellow striker Milik was sent off.

The Poland international was initially booked after appearing to catch Alberto Cerri high on the ankle with his studs when he slid in for a challenge, but the yellow was upgraded to red following a review.

Juventus were happy to sit back now they were a man down and Nicolo Cambiaghi saw a deflected effort saved by Wojciech Szczesny, who also comfortably dealt with Emmanuel Gyasi’s header.

The hosts had a golden chance to take a lead just before the break when Gyasi gifted the ball to Fabio Miretti, who burst through on goal but failed to hit the target.

However, they struck five minutes after the break.

Empoli failed to deal with a corner swung over from the right and the ball dropped for Vlahovic, who spun and slammed home a left-foot volley from close range.

The hosts threatened again when Vlahovic sent a pass into Andrea Cambiaso, who slipped when he looked set to run through on goal.

But second-bottom Empoli, the lowest scorers in the division, levelled in the 70th minute when substitute Baldanzi fired a long-range effort into the bottom corner.

The equaliser gave the visitors renewed belief and they pressed for a winner, with Szczesny forced to push away Cambiaghi’s effort.

But neither side could find one as Juventus had to settle for a two-point lead at the top of the table, although closest rivals Inter Milan have two games in hand.

Angola beat Namibia 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations after both sides finished with 10 men in Bouake.

The Black Antelopes, who won Group D, looked to have made the worst possible start when goalkeeper Neblu was shown a red card for handball outside the area in the 17th minute.

Angola, though, took the lead in the 38th minute through Gelson Dala.

Namibia, through to the knockout stages for the first time after finishing among the best third-placed teams, then found themselves also down to 10 men when defender Lubeni Haukongo was sent off for a second caution five minutes before half-time.

Dala nodded in a second for Angola ahead of the break, with Al Ittihad forward Mabululu scoring a third in the 66th minute to secure a place in the last eight.

Namibia’s hopes of further progress in the tournament appeared to have been lifted earlier when Bethuel Muzeu raced clear and tried to lob the advancing goalkeeper, who palmed the ball away clearly outside his area.

Despite the setback of Neblu’s red card – Signori Antonio came on in goal, replacing midfielder Estrela – it was Angola who got themselves in front when Dala tucked home a cross from Fredy.

Namibia defender Haukongo then collected a second caution for a foul on Mabululu as he broke clear.

Angola struck again just a couple of minutes after as Dala headed in a second from Fredy’s free-kick.

Early in the second half, Brave Warriors captain Peter Shalulile fired over before Angola scored a third in the 66th minute following a swift counter-attack.

Fredy picked up a loose pass on the edge of Angola’s area and the ball eventually found its way through to Mabululu, who cut back on to his right foot and curled a shot into the far corner.

Shalulile saw a header drop just wide before Angola substitute Zito Luvumbo hit the crossbar during stoppage time as Pedro Goncalves’ side progressed to the last eight.

Leeds boss Daniel Farke admitted his side does things “the hard way” after being held to a 1-1 draw by Plymouth at Elland Road in the FA Cup.

Jaidon Anthony’s brilliant solo effort gave Leeds a half-time lead, but they failed to cash in on long spells of dominance and face a fourth-round replay at Home Park after Adam Randell’s equaliser.

Farke, whose side are challenging for automatic promotion in the Sky Bet Championship, said: “This league is relentless. We play so many games, one more game won’t kill us. I don’t think it will have a major effect.

“It’s a bit annoying because we could have done with a proper weekend off after the Bristol (City) game (next weekend) – the players would have deserved it.

“But we are Leeds United and we never go the easy way, we go the hard way. If you want to celebrate something in the league or cup, it never comes easy like a gift and we have to accept it.”

Anthony celebrated his stunning opener by paying tribute to his mother Donna, who died last week, by lifting his shirt to reveal the words ‘Rest in Perfect Peace Mum’ on his vest.

Farke said of the winger, who joined Leeds on loan from Bournemouth in September: “Obviously a big moment for him and I’m delighted for him because it was a goal full of quality.

“He’s shown what he’s all about as a player. Good technique, great finish, especially when he cuts inside, he’s so dangerous.

“It meant so much to him. You could feel it in the stadium. It’s not been the easiest few days for him and not for us as a group.

“It would have been even better if it was the decisive goal and he would be more in the spotlight, but nevertheless he was there with a crucial and top-class goal and an all-round good performance.”

Plymouth are unbeaten in four games under boss Ian Foster, who replaced Steven Schumacher at the start of this month, and have lost only once in their last 10 matches in all competitions.

Foster said: “We’re in the hat. Home Park is a difficult place to come for anybody and if we play like we did in the second half, we’ll fancy our chances.

“We know we’re rubbing shoulders with clubs like Leeds United, but we’re doing that on merit and we’ll make it as difficult for them as possible when they come down.”

Foster, whose side had three chances on target, added: “The positives of the first half were we dug in when it was very difficult, but the transition from first half to second-half performance was really pleasing.”

Enzo Maresca conceded Leicester rode their luck en route to booking their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win against Birmingham.

Birmingham spurned a number of first-half chances before Foxes striker Jamie Vardy opened the scoring after 47 minutes with his first goal in over two months from Marc Albrighton’s cross.

Yunus Akgun smashed his first Leicester goal into the top-left corner from the edge of the penalty area after 72 minutes before Dennis Praet sealed the win two minutes from time with a confident finish from substitute Tom Cannon’s cutback.

Maresca said: “We were lucky in the first half, they had many chances. The second half was much better, we controlled the game and made some tactical adjustments.

“A big part of the final result is down to Jakub (Stolarczyk’s) saves in the first half, that gave us the opportunity to still be in the game in the second half.

“(The first goal) was like 2016, it was fantastic, I’m happy for Jamie because it’s always important for a striker to score goals and also happy for Marc for the assist.

“I’m especially happy for the seven or eight players young players we had in the squad from the academy, I think it’s something historic.

“We expected to struggle a little bit because of the changes and playing many young players but we struggled because we were not playing in the way we like to play with the ball.

“I was very calm (at half-time), I was ready for the first half, it’s normal that we struggled with 10 new players in the team.”

Blues manager Tony Mowbray could not believe his team were not in front at the break after a number of good chances went begging as he suffered a first defeat as Birmingham boss.

Mowbray said: “We could have been four-nil up, maybe five, at half-time, we squandered some pretty good chances, in the end their quality showed.

“We’re trying to create an identity, there were plenty of positives in the first half, the changes we made didn’t help us.

“It felt as if we were making changes and becoming less effective and they were making changes and becoming more effective.

“The second goal was a real killer for us, the game ran away from us.

“The players have seen the identity and how hard they have to work, if they don’t bring it they won’t be playing, they either want to come on the journey or they don’t.

“Who can criticise anybody for the first-half performance? Everybody did their job and a bit of somebody else’s job and the rewards were there for all to see.

“It was difficult to comprehend that we didn’t come in winning the game at half-time but we had to accept it and try and repeat it but we couldn’t.”

Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique has expressed his admiration for Sunday’s opponents Brest, saying it is “no coincidence” they are currently third in Ligue 1.

Having finished 14th last term, Eric Roy’s side have been a surprise package this term and take on the champions at the Parc des Princes having won six of their last seven league games.

The reverse meeting between the sides in October saw PSG edge it 3-2 thanks to a late Kylian Mbappe winner.

Enrique told a press conference: “I think Brest will stick with their system, with a four-man defence. It will depend on us and how we manage the ball. They will play to win.

“Brest have an exceptional record, both home and away, and they concede very few goals. It’s no coincidence that they’re third in the table.

“They deserve it. Their statistics are impressive. Brest will play this game to win it.”

The Spaniard added: “My aim is to give our opponents as few options as possible. At the start of the match, we’re fresher.

“We have to be strong from the start, but scoring quickly isn’t necessarily an objective. If you do, that’s great, but it’s a process.

“The important thing is to have a high tempo from the start, to have possession of the ball, and for the opposition to lose it quickly.

“The opposition’s level can drop in the second half of a match. We often open the scoring, but it’s not a question of strategy whether you want to score from the start or not. You have to wear your opponent down right from the start.”

PSG go into the game five points clear of second-placed Nice, with Brest a further four points back, after Francesco Farioli’s men beat Metz 1-0 on Saturday.

Suffering their only defeat of the top-flight campaign to date back in September, the leaders are currently on a 13-match unbeaten run in the league.

Mbappe has 19 Ligue 1 goals to his name so far this term, and took his tally to 10 goals in his last six appearances in all competitions with a brace in last weekend’s 4-1 Coupe de France victory at Orleans.

Roberto De Zerbi believes there is more to come from hat-trick hero Joao Pedro after he fired Brighton into the fifth round of the FA Cup.

Pedro scored his first career treble to earn the Seagulls a 5-2 win at Sheffield United, with Facundo Buonanotte’s brilliant goal and Danny Welbeck’s late effort supplementing an impressive performance at Bramall Lane.

The Brazilian striker, a £30million summer signing from Watford, took his tally to 18 for the season in all competitions but De Zerbi wants more.

“I consider Joao Pedro a big potential player and my expectations for Joao are bigger than he is showing,” the Italian said.

“He is playing very well and he is scoring a lot of goals but I think he can reach another higher level and I push for it because I am working for Brighton but I am working for my players to improve them and for them to be better.”

Brighton made the semi-finals of this competition last season and are dreaming of another run, but have a gruelling schedule coming up with midweek Premier League and cup games before their Europa League campaign resumes.

“We try to play every competition in the best way,” he said. “I don’t know the future, in my head there is only one thing, the Luton game on Tuesday evening.

“We have to think game-by-game and competition-by-competition.”

The Blades rallied from 2-0 down in the first half to draw level thanks to goals from Gus Hamer and Will Osula, but they were outplayed at Bramall Lane.

They were also beaten semi-finalists in last season’s competition but can now focus on their relegation battle in the Premier League, which starts with a midweek trip to Crystal Palace.

Boss Chris Wilder said: “You don’t say it before but when the draw comes out it is a real difficult one to deal with, especially at home with the way they play.

“If we’d have limited them in terms of the decisions we made defensively and made better decisions at the top end of the pitch and had more quality it might have been a tighter game and we could have got a result.

“You just get punished, you can’t give away two penalties at home and try and win a game of football. I am quite happy in the terms of how we played.”

Substitute Myziane Maolida scored a late equaliser as Hibernian came back from two goals down to draw 2-2 with 10-man Kilmarnock in an entertaining Scottish Premiership match at Rugby Park.

The hosts took a first-half lead when striker Dylan Vente inadvertently headed Danny Armstrong’s cross into his own goal and Killie extended their advantage early in the second period as another Armstrong inswinger was steered in by Matty Kennedy.

Joe Newell’s spectacular volley reduced the deficit before Corrie Ndaba saw red for the hosts with 20 minutes remaining after catching Jair Tavares on the ankle.

And the home side were unable to hold on, as Maolida latched on to a long ball before firing home to salvage a point for Hibs in a game in which they were second best for long periods.

After a three-minute delay owing to VAR connection issues, the game began in an open fashion, with David Watson whistling a fierce drive over in the opening minute and Vente firing a low shot narrowly wide moments later.

The hosts took the lead in the 25th minute after Hibs failed to clear their lines from a corner. Armstrong collected the ball before curling in an inswinging cross from the right that Vente could only divert past his own goalkeeper.

It should have been 2-0 moments later as Kennedy was released one-on-one with David Marshall but the winger prodded a tame effort wide of the right post.

Hibernian had been poor but they almost grabbed a leveller on the stroke of half-time as home goalkeeper Kieran O’Hara was forced to palm away a Emiliano Marcondes effort from eight yards.

The visitors also spurned another golden chance just a minute into the second period when Tavares was released by Vente’s flicked header but the Portuguese winger took too long, allowing Stuart Findlay to make a crucial last-ditch sliding tackle.

Hibs were soon made to pay for those missed opportunities as Kilmarnock extended their lead in the 54th minute. Armstrong was the architect again, delivering another inch-perfect cross that Kennedy expertly slid past Marshall.

The hosts looked to get back into the game and Killie keeper O’Hara made a brilliant one-handed stop in the 58th minute to deny Tavares.

O’Hara was helpless minutes later, however, as the away side got themselves back into the game. It was their best move of the match, with Marcondes and Dylan Levitt combining in midfield to release Rory Whittaker, whose deflected cross was steered wonderfully into the top corner by Newell from the edge of the box.

Hibs were almost level just seconds later as the ball was cut back to Marcondes but O’Hara again saved well, with his feet this time.

Ndaba was then given his marching orders in the 71st minute, with referee Grant Irvine giving the red card after being recommended by VAR to consult the pitchside monitor.

And Hibs’ numerical advantage told when Maolida controlled Levitt’s hopeful long ball before firing through bodies past O’Hara with nine minutes remaining.

It could have got even better for the visitors but Christian Doidge’s late header landed just wide as an entertaining game ended in a draw.

Luis Palma twice missed a penalty as Celtic relied on Alistair Johnston’s deflected first-minute strike to beat Ross County 1-0 in the Premiership.

Johnston’s first goal of the season looked set to open the floodgates but County responded well and on-loan Fulham goalkeeper George Wickens kept them in the game by denying Palma a second time from the spot following a retake.

The visitors hit the crossbar through Will Nightingale and the Celtic Park crowd endured a nervy finale as County finished strongly.

It was job done for Celtic in the end as they restored their five-point lead in the cinch Premiership following Rangers’ lunchtime win over St Mirren, but the final whistle was met with a mixture of cheers, jeers and relief after County twice came close in stoppage-time.

Callum McGregor returned from his extended winter break to make his 450th Celtic appearance, while Cameron Carter-Vickers was back from a hamstring injury to replace Maik Nawrocki.

A calf injury for Greg Taylor paved the way for Alexandro Bernabei to make his first start and only fifth appearance under Brendan Rodgers.

The left-back made his mark in the opening minute as his low cross found Liel Abada. The Israel international’s shot was blocked before falling for Johnston 18 yards out. The right-back’s strike appeared to take a deflection off Nightingale before spinning over the line.

Without a win in their previous five games and on the back of a 3-0 cup defeat by Partick Thistle – which elicited another interview from manager Derek Adams which was unlikely to help team morale – the visitors might have been expected to fold.

But they responded with a decent spell of pressure of their own, although they should have been two down when Wickens’ parry from Matt O’Riley’s strike fell for Paulo Barnardo 12 yards out, although the Portuguese midfielder shot over the empty net.

Celtic had another glorious chance after Simon Murray tripped McGregor inside the box.

Palma delayed the run-up to his first penalty attempt and Wickens dived low to his right to stop.

After a lengthy delay, referee Euan Anderson signalled a retake, given the video assistant had spotted three County players encroaching inside the box. Palma delivered almost the exact same spot-kick – minus the delay – and Wickens saved again.

Celtic almost paid the price when Joe Hart completely missed Yan Dhanda’s corner but Nightingale headed off the crossbar from close range.

Wickens produced two more saves from Palma just before the interval to leave the game in the balance.

Celtic were more in control after the break but a two-goal cushion proved elusive.

O’Riley twice came close from long range and Wickens made a good stop from a header from Carter-Vickers, who made way for Nawrocki in the 64th minute as Rodgers looks to ensure his return is lasting.

Nicolas Kuhn replaced Palma at the same time to make his debut and the former Rapid Vienna winger showed flashes of skill and direct running.

However, County were encouraged by the narrow scoreline and put Celtic under pressure in the closing stages.

Josh Sims embarked on a lengthy run and squared for fellow substitute Jordan White, whose effort was held at the second attempt by Hart following an initial parry at full stretch.

The home support showed their frustration as Celtic failed to manage the game and Sims also came close when he hooked the ball over from six yards.