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RAFAEL BENITEZ PROMISES TO FIGHT FOR EVERTON AS HE CLARIFIES ‘SMALL CLUB’ JIBE

New manager Rafael Benitez has pledged to show the same fighting spirit for Everton as he did for Liverpool when he made his “small club” comments.

The Spaniard’s appointment on a three-year contract, becoming only the second man to manage both Merseyside clubs and the first ex-Reds boss to do so, is a controversial one by owner Farhad Moshiri.

He antagonised fans with his “small club” jibe after a 2007 Merseyside derby and although in subsequent years he has sought to clarify he was referring to them having the mentality of a small team in their approach to the game, it has not been forgiven or forgotten in some quarters.

But Benitez, who won the Champions League and FA Cup with Liverpool in 2005 and 2006 before leaving in 2010, insists he was only doing what he believed was right for his club at the time.

“I have been in Madrid, Naples, Valencia, Tenerife, Extremadura and Liverpool,” he told evertontv.

“Every single club I was there, I was fighting for them. If you analyse things in the context, what you are expecting from your manager is to fight for your club, and I will do that.

“I am here, I will fight for my club, I will try to win every single game, and it doesn’t matter who the opponents are, or the rivals. It is something you have to do, it is your nature, that you have to try to do your best.

“And why a lot of fans in a lot of these cities love me is because I was giving everything for them.

“If you analyse this in the context, then it is very clear I will do the same for Everton.”

Such has been Moshiri’s desire to get the right man after the departure of Carlo Ancelotti four weeks ago he has ignored the loud opposition, which has seen offensive messages hung outside Goodison Park and a ‘We know where you live. Don’t sign’ banner hung over a garden wall near Benitez’s home in Caldy on the Wirral.

Benitez is the fifth manager the Everton owner has appointed in five years after sacking the current Belgium boss Roberto Martinez in May 2016. However, he is only the second to cross Merseyside, following in the footsteps of William Edward Barclay, who made the move in the opposite direction in the 1890s to become Liverpool’s first manager after the Toffees left Anfield for their purpose-built home at Goodison Park and a new club was formed in their place.

Moshiri is confident he represents their best choice for getting the club into Champions League contention after seven seasons finishing outside the top six, with Ancelotti managing only 12th and 10th in one-and-a-half disappointing campaigns.

“You can see the ambition is there. This club is growing. For me, it is about bringing the winning mentality, being competitive, so everything is in place on the pitch and off the pitch,” added Benitez.

“I love the passion of the people behind the club. I know the city, I know Scousers, I know what it means for every fan here to compete and to have the chance to win. To come to Everton is something that means a lot, for sure.

“I like to compete. I like to win and I have come to Everton because I liked the idea to be competitive again – and to have the chance to compete in every game, to compete against anyone.”

Benitez insists, despite his desire for full control and clashes with similar figures in the past, he is looking forward to working with director of football Marcel Brands as well as Ancelotti’s assistant manager Duncan Ferguson and goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly, who are to remain on the staff with further backroom appointments expected in the coming days.

“I worked in Spain for years with a director of football. Marcel is a professional. I am a professional,” he said.

“We will work together, we will keep talking, having meetings to talk about the club’s idea, what we have to do in the future, about players.

“The communication between us has to be fluent and we will be talking with each other all the time. I am really pleased with that (structure).

“I have already been in contact with him. I have the plan (for Everton’s summer transfer business).”

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NOVAK DJOKOVIC EASES INTO THIRD ROUND AT WIMBLEDON

Novak Djokovic looked in ominous form during a second-round victory over Kevin Anderson to stay on course for a third straight Wimbledon title.

The world number one produced a scintillating display against the South African in what was a repeat of the 2018 final at the All England Club.

A straight-sets victory proved enough for Djokovic to claim the Championship three years ago and he again made light work of the big-serving Anderson to progress into round three with a 6-3 6-3 6-3 win.

The Serbian, who is looking to draw level with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on 20 grand slams, experienced some difficulties on the slippery Centre Court surface but a standing ovation at the end provided a clear indicator of who came out on top.

Denis Shapovalov, the 10th seed, joined the top seed in the third round with a walkover after Pablo Andujar had to withdraw with a rib injury.

Elsewhere in SW19, the wet weather during the first two days saw a number of first round ties still to be completed and there were several notable results.

Queen’s Club winner Matteo Berrettini backed up his exploits from earlier in the month with victory over Guido Pella on Court Three.

The Italian seventh seed was pegged back in the second set before he was able to progress with a 6-4 3-6 6-4 6-0 win.

Nick Kyrgios edged a thriller against the 21st seed Ugo Humbert after he clinched the decider 9-7 with their match suspended at 11pm on Tuesday night. A fall briefly threatened to derail the Australian’s hopes but he was quickly back on his feet to finish the job.

Home favourite Cameron Norrie, who finished runner-up at Queen’s Club, won his first-round tie with Lucas Pouille 6-7 (6) 7-5 6-2 7-5.

The Great Britain ace resumed after he had lost the opening set on Tuesday night and quickly got into his stride to continue his good recent run on grass.

Sam Querrey, who reached the semi-finals four years ago, claimed the scalp of Pablo Carreno Busta – the 11th seed – in straight-sets and 12th seed Casper Ruud was also dumped out after he lost in five to Jordan Thompson.

Another decider was required between Gael Monfils, seeded 13th, and Christopher O’Connell and it was the former who prevailed 4-6 6-2 7-6 (5) 4-6 6-4.

The 18th seed Grigor Dimitrov had less trouble against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco on his way to a 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 success and Lorenzo Sonego, seeded 23 at the Championships, also progressed with relative ease.

It was not the case for Aslan Karatsev (20) and John Isner (28), who saw their Wimbledon challenges end in the first round, but Marin Cilic and Taylor Fritz – the 32nd and 31st seeds respectively – made it through following straight-set wins.

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the 16th seed, enjoyed his SW19 return and also progressed against Thiago Monteiro.

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WIMBLEDON: ANDY MURRAY BATTLES BACK TO DEFEAT GERMAN, OSCAR OTTE TO REACH THIRD ROUND

Andy Murray created more moments to savour on a raucous Centre Court as he battled from two sets to one down to defeat Oscar Otte and reach the third round of a grand slam for the first time in four years.

Not since the 34-year-old limped through to the quarter-finals here in 2017, before his two hip operations and what he thought would be the end of his career, had Murray won two matches at a slam.

And it did not look likely to happen here either when, labouring and frustrated, he saw a lead erased and then reversed by German qualifier Otte, making his Wimbledon debut.

But Murray has come back from worse situations on the lawns of SW19 and, after a break for the roof to be closed, he found some of the old magic to win 6-3 4-6 4-6 6-4 6-2 and set up a third-round clash with 10th seed Denis Shapovalov.

Murray has spent much of the past four years rehabbing from a succession of injury issues, and he said: “A lot of what I’m doing now is harder than a lot of the stuff I was doing when I was in my mid-20s in many ways because of the physical issues that I have had and stuff.

“It’s tough obviously going out and playing matches of that length when you know you have not had many matches, not had loads of preparation. And not played a whole lot of grass-court tennis in four years.

“So it’s been tough. But that’s one of the reasons why I’m still playing is because of moments like that. Why would you want to give that up? The atmosphere, it was good the whole match, but especially the last hour and a half was brilliant. I still enjoy that.”

The two-time champion had awoken memories of times past against Nikoloz Basilashvili on Monday, salvaging a four-set victory under the roof after blowing a seemingly insurmountable lead in the third.

The big question was how well he had recovered physically and, although he began a little gingerly, he settled into the match well, making few errors and showing Otte the way around a grass court.

Murray broke the big-serving 27-year-old twice and seemed to be well on his way to round three when he moved 3-1 ahead in the second.

But a loose service game, coupled with a more aggressive approach from his opponent, turned the match completely on its head.

Otte, who led Alexander Zverev by two sets to love in the first round of the French Open, won four games in a row before serving out the second set, and it was a weary-looking Murray who was broken in the seventh game of the third.

The 34-year-old’s movement lacked sharpness and too often his shots did not have sufficient weight behind them to put Otte under any real pressure.

There was a worrying moment for Murray and his many fans inside Centre Court when he became the latest player to slip in the second game of the fourth set, letting out a cry and clutching his groin.

But there did not appear to be any lasting damage and two games later the match was paused so the roof could be closed.

Against Basilashvili, the closing of the roof had helped Murray turn the match back in his favour and there were positive signs on the resumption as the Scot found a bit more pop on his shots and in his legs and broke for 4-2.

The cheers turned to groans when Murray was unable to serve it out at 5-3 but he showed once again that his competitive desire knows no bounds by breaking again to force a decider.

There may not be many more opportunities for the Scot to experience such moments and he drank it all in as he broke to lead 3-0 then survived several long service games before clinching victory with a trademark lob.

Speaking to the crowd, Murray said with a slightly rueful smile: “I enjoyed the end, the middle part not so much. I had to do something differently.

“I started going for my shots more, started dictating more of the points. I think I played the right way the last couple of sets.

“I’m obviously tired. I fell over a couple of times, pretty slick courts. Considering everything, I feel all right. Hopefully I come out on Friday and play in another atmosphere like this and hopefully perform well.”

Murray engaged with several vocal fans during the match, and he said afterwards: “I hope the fans like it and don’t think that it’s a bit weird that I’m sort of staring at them and screaming at them for like an hour, but they seem to enjoy it as well.”

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NUNO ESPIRITO SANTO BECOMES NEW TOTTENHAM MANAGER

Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed the appointment of Nuno Espirito Santo as their new head coach on a two-year deal.

The 47-year-old arrives at Spurs after a successful four-year spell at Wolverhampton Wanderers.

“When you have a squad with quality and talent, we want to make the fans proud and enjoy,” Nuno told Spurs’ official website.

“It’s an enormous pleasure and honour [to be here], there’s joy and I’m happy and looking forward to starting work. We don’t have any days to lose and we must start working immediately as pre-season starts in a few days.”

Nuno led Wolves to the Championship title in his first season in charge, before recording back-to-back seventh-placed finishes in the Premier League, the highest the club have achieved in the competition.

He oversaw Wolves’ first European campaign for 39 years, taking them to the quarter-finals of the 2019/20 UEFA Europa League, where they lost 1-0 to eventual winners Sevilla.

He has been named the Barclays Manager of the Month on three occasions.

Nuno’s first match in the dugout will be a home fixture against Manchester City on Sunday 15 August.

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MANCHESTER UNITED AGREE DEAL TO SIGN JADON SANCHO FROM DORTMUND

Manchester United have agreed a deal in principle to sign England winger Jadon Sancho from Borussia Dortmund for 85million euros (£72.9m), reports say

United have been heavily linked for several months with a big-money move for Sancho, who has been given the go-ahead by Dortmund to agree personal terms and complete a medical before joining Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side.

Sancho, a Manchester City academy product, left the north west to sign for Dortmund in August 2017 and has made 137 appearances in all competitions for the German club, scoring 50 goals.

It is understood the agreement between the clubs includes no add-ons for the 21-year-old attacker, currently on duty with England at Euro 2020, where he has been restricted to one substitute appearance so far.

Speculation was rife last summer that United would bring Sancho to Old Trafford but the club and Dortmund seemed to be far apart in the valuation of the player, reportedly then priced by the Bundesliga club at 120m euros (£106m).

However, a transfer has taken a major step forward and the pacey Sancho’s arrival would add a cutting edge to a side that lacked a spark in the attacking third in their Europa League final defeat against Villarreal in May.

United settled for second spot in the Premier League last season – their joint-best finish in the top-flight since 2012-13 – albeit they were 12 points adrift of champions City.

Sancho, capped 20 times by Gareth Southgate’s side, with three goals, would become the second most expensive Englishman if he completes his switch to United, who signed Harry Maguire two years ago from Leicester for £80m.