Without Neymar and Tadic, the away side might have feared a tough fixture, but they had the better of the opening exchanges and Zapata finished off a patient team move just past the half-hour. Lambert’s men got fully stuck in, picking up a slew of yellow cards as they combated Nilwall’s patented switch to 3-4-3 in times of adversity. Not even the hosts’ high-profile pensioners could turn the tide and, in the depths of stoppage time, Laporte headed home a corner delivered by lively debutant Carrasco to seal a solid victory.

By Lewis Tohighest