Michael Keane's sensational stoppage-time strike salvaged a 1-1 draw for Everton as Cristian Stellini was denied three points in his first match since stepping into Antonio Conte's void.

The defender scored a 25-yard screamer to snatch a point for the Toffees at Goodison Park against a Spurs side who had otherwise looked set for a win that would have lifted them up to third.

Harry Kane had earlier scored from the penalty spot to give Spurs the lead shortly after he had been involved in an altercation that saw Abdoulaye Doucoure sent off.

Lucas Moura's was given his marching orders as well, and then Keane intervened to spark raucous scenes for Sean Dyche's men.

 

Hugo Gaston fought back from a set down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff at the Grand Prix Hassan II.

Gaston rallied after dropping serve twice in the opening set, prevailing 3-6 6-4 7-5 to become the first player to book their spot in the last-16.

Jaume Munar followed suit with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Elliot Benchetrit.

Elsewhere, at the Estoril Open, victories for Pedro Cachin and Sebastian Baez set up a potential hat-trick of wins for Argentine players.

Cachin beat Tseng Chun-hsin 6-4 6-4 and Baez overcame Radu Albot 7-5 7-6 (7-3) but seventh seed Diego Schwartzman could not follow up with a win of his own, losing 6-3 7-6 (10-8) to Marco Cecchinato.

Fabio Fognini also booked his spot in the last 16 by beating compatriot Alessandro Giannessi in straight sets.

Moeen Ali's four-wicket haul held off the charge of the Lucknow Super Giants as the Chennai Super Kings secured a 12-run Indian Premier League victory on Monday.

KL Rahul, Kyle Mayers, Krunal Pandya and Marcus Stoinis were all dispatched by Moeen (4-26), who dismissed all but one of the Super Giants' first five batsmen.

Ruturaj Gaikwad (57) and Devon Conway (47) opened for the Super Kings in a strong start with a 110-run stand, before the pair were eventually sent packing by Ravi Bishnoi (3-28) and Mark Wood (3-49).

The Super Kings then lost momentum, with their next seven batters accumulating just 117 additional runs to set the Super Giants a target of 217.

Rahul (20) and Mayers (53) gave the Super Giants' chase a promising start, but Deepak Hooda (2) and Pandya (9) failed to reach double figures as the visitors began to wane.

Krishnappa Gowtham (17) and Ayush Badoni (23) got the Super Giants close with 18 runs on a single Deepak Chahar (0-55) over.

But superb bowling from Tushar Deshpande (2-45) limited Lucknow to just seven runs in the 18th over, then just about defending a lead of 28 on the last to seal a Super Kings victory.

 

Ali in his groove

A fine bowling display from Moeen saw him register his best IPL bowling figures in the competition's victory.

He became just the fifth spinner to take a four-wicket haul at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in the IPL.

Dhoni's landmark

Hitting two sixes off three balls, MS Dhoni took his overall run tally in the IPL to 5,004, becoming just the seventh player overall and fifth Indian to score over 5,000 runs in the competition's history.

Graham Potter's Chelsea dismissal was "harsh" but ultimately the price of failing to meet expectations, according to Blues great Gus Poyet.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager was appointed to replace Thomas Tuchel last September as new co-owner Todd Boehly began to make his presence known at Stamford Bridge.

But after slipping to 11th in the Premier League with defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, Potter was sacked just over six months into the job.

Poyet, a Chelsea cult hero and former Brighton boss himself, feels the decision to fire the 47-year-old was a tough one but ultimately unsurprising given their slide down the table.

"I think it was a difficult period," he told Stats Perform. "They had a few good results, especially in the Champions League, and it looked [like] a new beginning.

"But football nowadays, it depends on so many things. We don't analyse performances anymore, only a result. I think for Graham in particular, it's harsh.

"Brighton to Chelsea is a big change. That is a learning process, but at the same time, it's Chelsea. When you are in a team like Chelsea, with the money spent, you definitely cannot be 11th."

Having dismissed Champions League-winning coach Tuchel in order to install Potter, Poyet feels Boehly will be cautious when it comes to his next pick.

"He's learned that at Chelsea, it's important to win," Poyet added. "If Chelsea don't win, the fans are not going to be happy because the Chelsea fans are winners and they feel the need to win. 

"I think personality is very important. I think it's very important when a coach in the situation that Chelsea are now can start winning games, but at the same time they will develop young players.

"I don't know how many managers will walk into a club in the quarter-final of the Champions League. It's a dream job. But I think Chelsea first need to be clear what are the characteristics of the manager [they want]."

Graham Potter's Chelsea dismissal was "harsh" but ultimately the price of failing to meet expectations, according to Blues great Gus Poyet.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion manager was appointed to replace Thomas Tuchel last September as new co-owner Todd Boehly began to make his presence known at Stamford Bridge.

But after slipping to 11th in the Premier League with defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, Potter was sacked just over six months into the job.

Poyet, a Chelsea cult hero and former Brighton boss himself, feels the decision to fire the 47-year-old was a tough one but ultimately unsurprising given their slide down the table.

"I think it was a difficult period," he told Stats Perform. "They had a few good results, especially in the Champions League, and it looked [like] a new beginning.

"But football nowadays, it depends on so many things. We don't analyse performances anymore, only a result. I think for Graham in particular, it's harsh.

"Brighton to Chelsea is a big change. That is a learning process, but at the same time, it's Chelsea. When you are in a team like Chelsea, with the money spent, you definitely cannot be 11th."

Having dismissed Champions League-winning coach Tuchel in order to install Potter, Poyet feels Boehly will be cautious when it comes to his next pick.

"He's learned that at Chelsea, it's important to win," Poyet added. "If Chelsea don't win, the fans are not going to be happy because the Chelsea fans are winners and they feel the need to win. 

"I think personality is very important. I think it's very important when a coach in the situation that Chelsea are now can start winning games, but at the same time they will develop young players.

"I don't know how many managers will walk into a club in the quarter-final of the Champions League. It's a dream job. But I think Chelsea first need to be clear what are the characteristics of the manager [they want]."

Oleksandr Usyk has been ordered to fight mandatory challenger Daniel Dubois, the WBA confirmed.

The Ukrainian defended his trio of heavyweight belts in a rematch with Anthony Joshua in August, then entering negotiations with Tyson Fury for a unification bout.

However, Usyk was unable to secure terms with Fury for a fight that would have crowned the first unified heavyweight champion since 2000, with the expectation being that Dubois would therefore be his next opponent.

On Monday, the WBA wrote on Twitter: "The WBA Championships Committee ordered the bout between Heavyweight Super Champion Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois.

"The organisation sent the communication to the parties today with a 30-day negotiation period starting on April 4 and ending on May 2."

Usyk is the holder of the WBA, WBO and IBF titles and, with the rotational agreement between the government bodies, Dubois is the first in line for his shot.

The Brit secured his position last year against Trevor Bryan, claiming the WBA 'regular' title, and successfully defended it against Kevin Lerena.

Brighton and Hove Albion boss Roberto De Zerbi was "very sorry" about predecessor Graham Potter's sacking by Chelsea but lauded his Seagulls legacy.

Potter left Brighton to take the reins at Stamford Bridge last September following the Blues' decision to dismiss Thomas Tuchel.

But the Englishman was shown the door just over six months into the job, with Chelsea mired in mid-table and saddled with a slew of expensive signings.

De Zerbi, who filled the void at Brighton, has sympathy for the man he replaced, thanking him for the squad he was able to inherit.

"I am very sorry [to see him go]," he said. "It is bad news for the coaches. I think you give too much importance to the coaches.

"The players are always the most important and I don't like when coaches are sacked because the responsibility is not only with them.

"The players, the club, it's not very good news. I want to say thanks to Graham Potter. I have a team with a very good attitude and mentality.

"It is difficult when you don't know the situation or another dressing room. I don't like speaking about other teams and coaches. I am sorry because when there are these situations, they are sad."

Having maintained Potter's promising start to the season to keep Brighton in the thick of a surprise European race, De Zerbi has already been linked with replacing him again at Chelsea.

The Italian is focused squarely on the Seagulls, however, adding: "We are playing very well at the moment, but if we want to reach our target, we have to improve.

"Our target is to play in Europe. Which competition? We will see. We want to play three times a week next year."

Barcelona called for the resignation of LaLiga president Javier Tebas after it was alleged he provided false evidence against them.

La Vanguardia reported on Monday that Tebas gave documents to prosecutors that attempted to incriminate the club and two former presidents as part of the ongoing Negreira case.

It has been claimed Barcelona made payments in excess of €7million to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira's company – DASNIL 95 SL – for written reports and DVD assessments of referees for the club prior to games. The payments were allegedly made between 2001 and 2018, when Negreira was vice-president of Spanish football's refereeing committee.

According to the report, the documents issued by Tebas were part of another case, not linked to either of Barcelona's former presidents and were decades old, something the LaLiga chief called "false" on social media.

However, Barca are keen for a deeper explanation from Tebas and want him to issue his resignation.

"Barcelona, as president Joan Laporta has said in recent weeks, feel the victim of a media lynching based on events that have never occurred: Barca have never bought referees," a statement read.

"It is not the first time the president of LaLiga has used his media machinery to attack Barcelona but, aside from his usual nonsense, we could never have imagined he would have hoped to incriminate our club with false evidence.

"The news published by La Vanguardia is of such severity that it should alert all LaLiga clubs, as they are practices that should have no place in the functions attributed to the president of LaLiga. For this reason alone, but also out of dignity and respect for the presidency of LaLiga, Mr. Tebas should resign from his position.

"However, knowing his obsession with persecuting Barcelona and constantly showing his aversion and antipathy towards our club, we understand that he will persist in his behaviour of continuing to harm our club."

Barcelona called for the resignation of LaLiga president Javier Tebas after it was alleged he provided false evidence against them.

La Vanguardia reported on Monday that Tebas gave documents to prosecutors that attempted to incriminate the club and two former presidents as part of the ongoing Negreira case.

It has been claimed Barcelona made payments in excess of €7million to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira's company – DASNIL 95 SL – for written reports and DVD assessments of referees for the club prior to games. The payments were allegedly made between 2001 and 2018, when Negreira was vice-president of Spanish football's refereeing committee.

According to the report, the documents issued by Tebas were part of another case, not linked to either of Barcelona's former presidents and were decades old, something the LaLiga chief called "false" on social media.

However, Barca are keen for a deeper explanation from Tebas and want him to issue his resignation.

"Barcelona, as president Joan Laporta has said in recent weeks, feel the victim of a media lynching based on events that have never occurred: Barca have never bought referees," a statement read.

"It is not the first time the president of LaLiga has used his media machinery to attack Barcelona but, aside from his usual nonsense, we could never have imagined he would have hoped to incriminate our club with false evidence.

"The news published by La Vanguardia is of such severity that it should alert all LaLiga clubs, as they are practices that should have no place in the functions attributed to the president of LaLiga. For this reason alone, but also out of dignity and respect for the presidency of LaLiga, Mr. Tebas should resign from his position.

"However, knowing his obsession with persecuting Barcelona and constantly showing his aversion and antipathy towards our club, we understand that he will persist in his behaviour of continuing to harm our club."

Massimiliano Allegri insists Juventus will not underestimate Inter despite the Nerazzurri being in free fall.

The two teams meet on Tuesday in the first leg of the Coppa Italia semi-finals, less than three weeks since they last met in Serie A.

On that occasion, a Filip Kostic goal helped Juventus to a 1-0 victory in an ill-tempered encounter that saw both sides end with 10 men on the pitch.

That result contributed to a four-game winless streak for Inter, but despite their troubles, Allegri still sees Simone Inzaghi's side as a serious threat.

"It's a different competition, but it's always Juventus [versus] Inter," he said. "We must create the conditions in order to qualify.

"It's not an easy game. Inter remain a strong side, regardless of the moment [they are in]. Actually, it is in these moments that we have to keep our attention.

"Too much praise for Juventus could lead us to lose touch with reality. We face a strong team, physically and technically. They have lost a few games, [but] we need to pay attention."

On the under-fire Inzaghi, who has led both Lazio and Inter to Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana success as a coach, Allegri believes his record speaks for itself.

"I think Inzaghi is doing a great job," he added. "Inter are a strong team regardless of their moment. It's dangerous to meet these teams now. We need to be fully focused."

Allegri confirmed the availability of Federico Chiesa and offered a positive update on Paul Pogba's ongoing recovery.

"[Chiesa] is available. He had his knee checked in Austria. He has this tendon inflammation, but he's feeling better and he'll improve. He is available and he’ll go on the bench.

"Paul Pogba has partially trained with the team. From Wednesday, he will stay with the team more and work to improve his shape."

Chelsea are regrouping again after their second coaching departure of the season, with Bruno Saltor tasked with taking on Liverpool on Tuesday.

Former Brighton and Hove Albion defender Bruno arrived at Stamford Bridge along with Graham Potter when he was appointed in place of Thomas Tuchel in September.

But Potter has also now been sacked, leaving Bruno in interim charge for a daunting first fixture at home to Liverpool.

It is at least a game that has relatively little riding on it for Chelsea, who are 11th in the Premier League with little chance of recovering Champions League qualification.

Still, Bruno knows there is always pressure for his players and has been taking preparation for the match seriously.

"[We are] seeing it as an opportunity for the players," he said. "We are representing Chelsea, a club with an amazing history.

"It is about winning, it is about dominating, and what we need to do is prepare for the game.

"Preparation helps a lot for performance, and that is what the players need to focus on."

Despite the disruption, Bruno suggested his Chelsea team would "keep as close as we can" to the side that lost to Aston Villa on Saturday, having believed the Blues "dominated".

Meanwhile, Liverpool's preparations have been a little more routine, although Jurgen Klopp's side have had little opportunity to get over Saturday's 4-1 defeat at Manchester City.

 

"We cannot work on the pitch, that's it," Klopp said on Monday. "Games like [City] have an impact. We might lose more confidence, but the desire to show a reaction is there as well. The boys are still good people.

"The short turnaround is a problem; at this moment, I have no clue who I can line up. We have to give the boys time to recover.

"There will be changes, definitely – 48 hours, then you travel, wait in London for the kick-off, it's all here [in the mind]. That's what we are working on."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Chelsea – Kai Havertz

Chelsea need to rediscover their scoring touch, having failed to net in five home games this season, including four since the turn of the year.

Meanwhile, their shot conversion rate of 8.2 per cent is their lowest since records began in 1997-98. But Havertz had looked to be finding form before the Villa defeat, scoring in three consecutive games in all competitions.

Liverpool – Mohamed Salah

Chelsea let Salah go, and he has taken great enjoyment from punishing them ever since. He has four goals in 11 Premier League games against the Blues, with only Kevin De Bruyne (five) netting more goals against Chelsea among former players.

Salah was the last ex-Blue to score a league goal at Stamford Bridge, back in January 2022.

 

MATCH PREDICTION – DRAW

Liverpool are unbeaten in their past four Premier League away games against Chelsea, although they have never gone five league matches without defeat at Stamford Bridge.

There have been two Reds wins across those four games, but the past five meetings between Chelsea and Liverpool in all competitions have ended as draws. In fact, their past three encounters have finished goalless.

Chelsea will kick off in 11th, their lowest position this late in a season since their penultimate game in 1995-96, when they were also 11th when playing Tottenham. That game was also drawn.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Chelsea - 31.1 per cent

Liverpool - 40.2 per cent

Draw - 28.7 per cent

England will wear blue shorts instead of traditional white when the Lionesses take part in the World Cup after players expressed concerns over periods.

The new home strip, which will be debuted in Thursday's Finalissima against Brazil at Wembley, maintains the white shirt, with the away kit all in blue.

A change for Sarina Wiegman's team comes following feedback from players including Beth Mead and Georgia Stanway during Euro 2022.

Following the Lionesses' victorious campaign, the Football Association said discussions with players would be considered, and it has now acted to make alterations.

The strip, designed by Nike, follows moves by several domestic teams to change shorts over period concerns, and is the latest in a wave of new kits ahead of the tournament.

England's latest effort comes with a leak-protection liner, which Jordana Katcher, vice-president of Nike women's global sport apparel, lauded as a major step forward for design.

"We are thrilled to offer this new innovation to all athletes playing for Nike-sponsored federations this summer," she said.

"Professional footballers play two 45-minute halves without breaks. Many told us they can spend several minutes on-pitch concerned that they may experience leakage from their period.

"When we showed them this innovation, they told us how grateful they were to have this short to help provide confidence when they can't leave the pitch."

Following their clash with Brazil, the Lionesses will play a friendly with World Cup hosts Australia a week on Tuesday.

They then start their tournament campaign on July 22 against Haiti, before further group matches against Denmark and China.

UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin dubbed the refereeing scandal involving Barcelona as one of the "most serious" situations he has ever seen.

The LaLiga leaders are subject to a UEFA investigation regarding alleged payments made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of the refereeing committee in Spain.

It has been claimed the total payments from Barcelona exceeded €7million, dating from 2001 to 2018, with newspaper El Pais reporting Negreira's company – DASNIL 95 SL – produced written reports and DVD assessments of referees for the club prior to games.

Barcelona maintain their innocence as prosecutors pursue charges against the Catalan side for alleged corruption, though LaLiga president Javier Tebas admitted the league is unable to sanction the club due to a statute of limitations in place.

However, Ceferin confirmed no such restrictions exist for UEFA and spoke about the significance of the allegations.

"The situation is extremely serious. It is so serious that, in my opinion, it is one of the most serious [situations] in football that I have ever seen," he told Slovenian newspaper Ekipa.

"I cannot comment directly on this for two reasons. Firstly, because we have an independent disciplinary committee in charge of this. And secondly, because I have not dealt with this matter in detail.

"At the level of [LaLiga], of course, the matter is time-barred and can have no competitive consequences, but the proceedings are ongoing at the level of prosecutors. But as far as UEFA is concerned, there is nothing time-barred."

Thomas Tuchel feels Chelsea are a vastly different club now to the one where he loved to work, after he was asked if he could recommend the job to Julian Nagelsmann.

Chelsea sacked Graham Potter on Sunday, with the Blues 11th in the Premier League following a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa.

Potter replaced Tuchel in September, with the latter having been dismissed by co-controlling owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali less than 18 months on from leading Chelsea to Champions League glory.

Whether Tuchel would be on speaking terms with Nagelsmann after replacing his compatriot at Bayern in March was not an issue that was raised when the former Paris Saint-Germain coach was asked by reporters if he would tell his predecessor, who is one of the favourites to succeed Potter, to take the Chelsea job.

"He's not going to ask me! He doesn't need my advice, that won't happen," Tuchel said in a press conference ahead of Bayern's DFB-Pokal meeting with Freiburg.

"I saw the news, in the end it was pretty tough timing, as it was right after I took over here and now the next coaching position is vacant at Chelsea.

"I needed quite a bit of time to distance myself from Chelsea, because I really liked to work there and there were friendships for life that I managed to build.

"It was a very intense time but the club changed massively. That helped me to find some distance. That's why this didn't bring out huge emotions in me.

"That's why I don't have to give any advice, because the club is different to the one I worked for."

Tuchel's first game in charge of Bayern could hardly have gone better, with the Bundesliga champions beating his former side Borussia Dortmund 4-2 to move top of the table.

Thomas Muller scored twice after Gregor Kobel's calamitous own goal had put Bayern ahead, with Kingsley Coman making it 4-0 before Emre Can and Donyell Malen grabbing consolations for Dortmund.

Sadio Mane came on as a second-half substitute as he continues his recovery from injury, though he only managed 12 touches and did not get a shot off.

Tuchel, though, is convinced Mane will return to his best form.

"I know him personally from England," Tuchel said of Mane. "He's one of the top players, he's scored in double digits, felt like 20 goals every year for Liverpool in the toughest league in the world.

"He plays at an extraordinary level, won all the trophies and titles for Liverpool. His importance is clear.

"Even with his age and experience, a change of clubs is still a change, it can lead to needing a bit of time to bed in a bit, to feel at home 1,000 per cent.

"Small things, like getting to the stadium, that were so easy in the past, have to be found out, and this takes time. Then it's done and dusted but then an injury occurs, and he could lose a bit of trust and form.

"I don't doubt his qualities, the things he can bring to us. It's about trust, a bit of patience in order to get back to the flow. A goal helps, no matter how, to get his joy back. We're working on it.

"With the strikers, those situations will occur all the time when they lose a bit of rhythm due to an injury."

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