Port Vale hit five past Man City U21s as Blackpool beat Villa in EFL Trophy

Port Vale beat Manchester City's Under-21 side 5-0 and Blackpool recovered to defeat Aston Villa's youngsters 3-2 in Tuesday's EFL Trophy fixtures. The results left Vale leading Northern Group D and Blackpool second in Northern Group B, according to BBC Sport. City's own match report confirmed that their development squad had been eliminated.

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Vale settled the contest with four goals inside the opening 34 minutes. Manchester City's report credited Maleace Asamoah, Aaron McGowan, Max Watters and Lewis Montsma with the first-half goals, before substitute Keyrol Figueroa added a fifth in the 64th minute. City's youngsters were unable to score in reply as their final group match ended in a heavy defeat.

City finished third in their group with three points, the club reported. They had needed a victory at Vale Park to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stage for the first time since 2020. Kylan Midwood went close late on and Finlay Gorman forced a save, but neither could reduce the deficit. Vale finished the night with seven points.

Blackpool's win required a comeback after Fletcher Boyd put Villa ahead in the 29th minute. The Blackpool Gazette reported that Zac Ashworth equalised shortly before half-time, Jerry Yates converted a second-half penalty and Jordan Brown extended the lead. Markie Meade scored for Villa in added time, but the visitors could not prevent Blackpool taking the points at Bloomfield Road.

The Gazette reported that Blackpool needed a win to retain a chance of progressing. Their move into second place did not settle qualification: Crewe Alexandra still needed a point from their final match against group leaders Wigan Athletic to move above them. Fraser Horsfall also returned from the bench, having been out since April, adding another positive for the home side.

Elsewhere, BBC Sport reported that Arsenal's youngsters came from behind to beat AFC Wimbledon 2-1, with Evan Mooney equalising before Emerson Nwaneri's late winner. Shrewsbury Town also won 2-1, overcoming Everton's Under-21s through Jeval Thompson-McKenzie's stoppage-time goal. Arsenal led Southern Group F with six points, while Everton remained without a point in Northern Group E.