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SPURS VS FULHAM GAME POSTPONED DUE TO RISING COVID-19 CASES AT FULHAM.

The match between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham, due to be played at 18:00 GMT this evening, has been postponed following a Premier League Board meeting this afternoon.

Fulham lodged a request with the Premier League Board to rearrange the fixture following a significant rise in positive COVID-19 cases, as well as a number of players showing symptoms today.

The Premier League Board has consulted its medical advisors and the decision to postpone the game has been taken as a precaution and with the health of players and staff as the priority. The group will now be retested immediately.

With low numbers of positive tests across the overwhelming majority of clubs, the Premier League continues to have full confidence in its COVID-19 protocols and being able to continue to play our fixtures as scheduled.

The League wishes those with COVID-19 a safe and speedy recovery and will rearrange the postponed fixture between Tottenham Hotspur and Fulham in due course.

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DIEGO COSTA TERMINATES CONTRACT WITH ATLETICO MADRID, BECOMES FREE AGENT FOR SUMMER WINDOW.

Diego Costa has left Atletico Madrid after the striker’s contract was terminated by mutual consent.

The club announced on Tuesday that Costa’s deal — which only had six months left to run, until June 2021 — had been rescinded.

It means Costa will be able to join a new club on a free transfer, while Atletico significantly reduce their wage bill, allowing them to reinforce the squad during the January window.

“Atletico de Madrid and Diego Costa have reached an agreement for the termination of the striker’s contract, which was to end on June 30, 2021,” a club statement read.

“The striker asked to leave the club for personal reasons a few days ago and on Tuesday signed the termination of his contract.

“The club thanks Diego Costa for his dedication during these years and wishes him well in the next stage of his professional career.”

Atletico manager Diego Simeone said Costa had given “everything” to the club.

“He has given us a lot and we have given him a lot,” Simeone told a news conference on Tuesday.

“He needs new challenges because he feels good, strong, in good form. I can only imagine that wherever he goes he will do well because he is a fighter.

“Diego has always given us everything, in a sporting and human sense. Let’s hope he finds the right path and we can see each other again and give each other a hug.”

Costa, 32, re-joined Atletico from Chelsea in January 2018 for €66 million after spending three-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge.

His first spell in Madrid was a success, culminating in winning La Liga in 2013-14 and reaching the Champions League final that same season.

Costa scored 27 league goals that term as Diego Simeone’s team claimed the club’s first La Liga title in 18 years.

His return to the club was somewhat of a disappointment, with his form disrupted by a series of injuries that meant he was only able to score a total of 12 league goals over three years.

Last season, a herniated disc saw Costa absent for three months, from November 2019 until February 2020.

He began this campaign by testing positive for the coronavirus in September, returned to face a month-long absence with a hamstring injury in October, and was diagnosed with deep-vein thrombosis in November.

Costa returned to action, earlier than expected, to score a penalty in Atletico’s 3-1 La Liga win over Elche earlier this month, which will now be his last goal for the club.

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LATE RASHFORD STRIKE FIRES UNITED UP TO SECOND ON THE LOG.

Marcus Rashford struck in second-half stoppage-time to earn Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers and move them to second in the table.

Romain Saiss twice came close to scoring for Wolves in the first half, hitting the crossbar with a header before seeing his near-post flick palmed away by David De Gea.

Those efforts came either side of Man Utd’s best first-half chance, when Rui Patricio denied Bruno Fernandes from close range on 34 minutes.

Saiss forced another save from De Gea before Rashford won the match in the final moments. After Fernandes’ long pass, his strike beat Patricio with the help of a deflection.

Having extended their unbeaten league run to nine matches Man Utd are now just two points behind league leaders Liverpool.

Wolves drop to 12th with 21 points.

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SUPER SUB, LACAZETTE SCORE RARE WINNER AS GUNNERS EARN SECOND CONSECUTIVE REDEMPTION WIN.

Alexandre Lacazette scored 29 seconds after coming on as a substitute to earn Arsenal a 1-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion.

The decisive moment came in the 66th minute, with Bukayo Saka turning on the halfway line before setting up Lacazette, who took a touch before curling in a low shot into the bottom-right corner.

The best chances of the match came after half-time, with Brighton’s Bernardo twice going close before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s close-range effort for Arsenal was saved by goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Gabriel Martinelli whipped a shot just over the crossbar before going off to be replaced by Lacazette, whose impact was instant.

Back-to-back victories move Arsenal up to 13th with 20 points.

Brighton have dropped to 17th, on 13 points, after extending their winless run to seven matches.

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WBA 0-5 LEEDS: THE WHITES SCORE FIVE TO MATCH THEIR BIGGEST AWAY WIN RECORD.

Leeds United equalled their biggest-ever Premier League away win as they earned a 5-0 victory at West Bromwich Albion.

A Romaine Sawyers own goal broke the deadlock in the ninth minute, and Ezgjan Alioski’s powerful strike off the right post doubled their advantage just after the half-hour mark.

Jack Harrison then exchanged passes with Patrick Bamford before brilliantly finding the top-left corner of the net for Leeds’ third.

Rodrigo’s deflected effort from the edge of penalty area made it 4-0 with five first-half minutes to play.

After the break, Raphina added Leeds’ fifth with a curling effort to the top-left corner from outside the box.

The win moves Leeds up to 11th on 23 points.

West Brom stay 19th on eight points, five from safety.

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MESSI WATCH FROM THE STANDS AS BARCELONA FAIL TO SHINE AGAIN IN EIBAR DRAW.

Barcelona were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw with Eibar in La Liga on Tuesday as Lionel Messi watched from the stands at the Camp Nou.

Ronald Koeman’s side went into the game without the services of Messi, who was granted an extended holiday break by the Dutch manager earlier in the week to deal with an ankle issue.

Barca had the chance to take the lead inside of 15 minutes after VAR awarded them a penalty, but Martin Braithwaite skewed his spot kick wide of the goal and match remained scoreless.

The hosts dominated possession, but it was Eibar that had the better of the chances as Barcelona keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made two solid saves to keep the scoreline at 0-0 going into half-time.

Barcelona came firing out of the gates in the second half, with an enlivened attack leading to a pair of near misses from Ousmane Dembele and Miralem Pjanic in the opening five minutes after the restart.

Despite the strong start, it was Eibar who would score first when Kike dispossessed Ronald Araujo and calmly slotted past Ter Stegen to stake the visitors to the lead just before the hour mark.

Dembele made amends for an earlier miss to draw Barca level when he chipped Eibar’s Marko Dmitrovic from a fine run and assist by Junior Firpo.

Koeman said: “We deserved to win, we did enough. They had one shot on target. We made chances, but we didn’t score the penalty and then we make a mistake in defence.

“We did well, we worked hard and did enough to win but this is happening to us a lot. In the first half, we had problems bringing the ball out from the back, we didn’t fine players between the lines.

“Maybe it was the fear of taking the risk. But once again, a game where we create a lot but don’t take our chances.”

Philippe Coutinho limped off in the closing minutes with an apparent injury as Barca pushed for the winner, but none came as Eibar picked up their first point at the Camp Nou in the seven matches they’ve played there.

Following the match, the 21-year-old Araujo took full responsibility for his costly error.

It’s a mistake from me, one I can’t afford to make,” Araujo told reporters. “It was a lack of concentration from me and these are mistakes we cannot afford to make.

“Today it was my personal mistake, I’m old enough to know how big a responsibility it is to play for Barcelona.

“It’s a shame for us we weren’t able to get the three points as we needed and wanted them.”

The draw means Barca have dropped nine out of 27 possible points at home this season and are now in sixth in the standings on 25 points from 15 games, seven behind Liga leaders Atletico Madrid who have two games in hand.

And Koeman admitted after the match, winning La Liga would be a massive challenge.

“If I am realistic, winning the league is really complicated,” Koeman said. “Nothing is impossible, but we have to recognise the distance between us and the leaders. Atletico look really good to me, strong, not conceding many goals”

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CHE 1-1 AVL: EL-GHAZI EXTENDS ASTON VILLA UNBEATEN RUN.

Anwar El Ghazi’s second-half goal earned Aston Villa a 1-1 draw at Chelsea to extend their unbeaten league run to five matches.

Chelsea made a strong start with Christian Pulisic twice coming close to scoring, firing into the side-netting and then hooking over from close range.

Olivier Giroud broke the deadlock for Chelsea with 11 first-half minutes remaining.

The Frenchman met Ben Chilwell’s cross with a diving header to stretch his run of scoring against Villa to seven straight league matches.

But Villa struck back through El Ghazi, who met Matty Cash’s cross six yards out to score his fifth goal in five matches.

Both teams pushed for a winner without success, John McGinn thumping the crossbar from range and Chilwell volleying a fraction wide in second-half stoppage time.

The result takes Villa to fifth with 26 points, one fewer than fourth-placed Manchester United.

Chelsea are just behind them on goal difference, having played two matches more.

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EVERTON V MANCITY MATCH POSTPONED DUE TO MASSIVE BREAKOUT OF COVID-19.

Manchester City’s fixture at Everton, due to be played at 8pm this evening, has been postponed following a Premier League Board meeting.

Manchester City lodged a request with the Premier League today to rearrange the match following an increase in positive COVID-19 test results received by the club this morning, on top of the cases reported on Christmas Day.

This rise has created uncertainty and the Premier League Board received medical advice that the match should be postponed.

The Board agreed to rearrange the game as a precaution, and further testing will now take place tomorrow.

The decision has been taken with the health of players and staff the priority.

The Premier League continues to have full confidence in its protocols and rules, and the way in which all clubs are implementing them.

The League wishes those with COVID-19 a safe and speedy recovery and will rearrange the postponed fixture against Everton in due course.

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CRY 1-1 LEI: HARVEY BARNES LATE STRIKE EARNS A POINT FOR THE FOXES.

Harvey Barnes scored for the second match in a row as Leicester City grabbed another late draw against Crystal Palace to move three points behind leaders Liverpool.

Having struck an 85th-minute equaliser in Saturday’s 2-2 draw against Manchester United, Leicester had a golden opportunity to take the lead at Selhurst Park.

James Tomkins brought down Luke Thomas and a 19th-minute penalty was awarded. But, with Jamie Vardy resting on the bench, Kelechi Iheanacho’s spot-kick was saved by Vicente Guaita.

Instead it was Palace who took the lead just before the hour-mark, with Wilfried Zaha leading a counter-attack and then arriving at the back post to volley in from Andros Townsend’s cross.

But Barnes levelled on 83 minutes, evading Palace’s defenders on the edge of the box and firing into the bottom-right corner.

Palace, who are without a clean sheet in 15 Premier League matches, climb to 13th place with 19 points.

Leicester move up to second above Everton, whose fixture against Manchester City this evening has been postponed.

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WOL 1-1 TOT: LATE SAISS HEADER CANCEL OUT EARLY SPURS LEAD.

Romain Saiss headed in an 86th-minute equaliser to deny Tottenham Hotspur a first win in four matches as they were held by Wolverhampton Wanderers in a 1-1 draw at Molineux.

Spurs stunned their hosts when Tanguy Ndombele rifled in from 25 yards after just 57 seconds.

Wolves recovered and Daniel Podence twice went close but was denied each time by Hugo Lloris, while Fabio Silva shot narrowly wide.

Silva was thwarted again by Lloris on 60 minutes, who then smothered a Ruben Neves shot as the match entered the final 10 minutes.

But just as Spurs looked to have claimed a victory that would send them third, Pedro Neto swung the ball back in from a corner for Saiss to flick past Lloris.

Spurs rise to fifth on 26 points, six off leaders Liverpool. Wolves remain 11th with 21 points.