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FA CUP ROUND UP: EVERTON SEE OF TOTTENHAM IN NINE GOAL THRILLER, LEICESTER, CITY, SHEFFIELD PROGRESS

Bernard’s extra-time strike saw Everton reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup after a thrilling nine-goal encounter against Tottenham.

The Toffees are in the hat for the sixth round as they got the better of Jose Mourinho’s Spurs – eventually progressing 5-4 after extra-time.

England captain Harry Kane was named on the bench for the visitors at Goodison Park but came on to head Tottenham level and take the game into an additional half an hour.

Earlier, a rare Davinson Sanchez goal had put Spurs in front only for Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison to strike inside three minutes to turn the tables.

Everton would go two goals ahead as Gylfi Sigurdsson converted a penalty against his former club after Calvert-Lewin had been fouled by Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, only for Erik Lamela to reduce the arrears in first-half stoppage time.

There was plenty of drama still to come as Richarlison’s second of the night restored a two-goal margin, with Sanchez and Kane then heading home to level at 4-4.

Bernard was on hand to settle the contest with a fine finish in the first period of extra-time – Tottenham unable to fight back and slipping to defeat.

Manchester City advanced into the last eight with victory at Swansea – Pep Guardiola’s side entering the record books as they did so.

The 3-1 victory in south Wales means City have set a new record for the number of successive domestic wins by a top-flight club in England.

That run of wins extended to 15 courtesy of goals from Kyle Walker, Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus as Swansea debutant Morgan Whittaker pulled back a late consolation.

Kelechi Iheanacho’s last-gasp winner saw Leicester progress at the expense of Brighton.

In a game of few chances, both sides saw second-half strikes ruled out for offside only for Iheanacho to head home a quickly-taken corner in the dying stages to secure a 1-0 victory for the Foxes.

Sheffield United made the quarter-finals for the second successive season as Billy Sharp’s penalty was enough to see off 10-man Bristol City.

Referee Robert Jones dismissed Alfie Mawson after viewing replays on the pitchside monitor, with the defender blocking a David McGoldrick effort with his hand.

Sharp tucked away the resulting spot-kick to give the Blades a 1-0 win over their Sky Bet Championship visitors.

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FORMER WALES AND SWANSEA GOALKEEPER DAI DAVIES DIES AT 72.

Former Wales goalkeeper Dai Davies has died at the age of 72, former club Swansea have announced.

Davies’ career included spells with Everton, Wrexham and Tranmere as well as the Swans.

He earned 52 caps for Wales.

A tweet from Swansea read: “Rest in peace, Dai Davies. Everyone at Swansea City send their deepest condolences to the family and friends of former Swans goalkeeper, Dai Davies, who sadly passed away following his battle with cancer. Once a Jack, always a Jack.”

Davies, who was born in the Welsh mining village of Glanamman, began his career at Swansea before joining then league champions Everton in 1970. He made 82 appearances over seven seasons for the Toffees before moving to Wrexham in 1977.

He later returned to Swansea and had a spell as player-manager at Tranmere before retiring.

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COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS PREVENT KLOPP FROM ATTENDING MOTHER’S FUNERAL.

Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp was unable to go to Germany for the funeral of his mother on Tuesday because of the current travel restrictions in place amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Klopp paid an emotional tribute to Elisabeth after her death, aged 81, but it is understood he could not attend the funeral in-person in his native Germany due to fears of spreading Covid-19 strains from high-risk countries.

“She meant everything to me. She was a real mum in the best sense of the word,” Klopp told German newspaper Schwarzwaelder Bote.

“As a devout Christian, I know she is in a better place now.

“The fact that I can’t be at the funeral is due to the terrible times, but as soon as the circumstances allow, we will hold a wonderful commemoration that is appropriate to it.”

On Wednesday, Liverpool tweeted a message of support for their manager which read: “You’ll never walk alone, Jurgen.”

A reply from the Premier League’s official account said: “The thoughts and condolences of everyone at the Premier League are with Jurgen, his family and his friends at such a difficult time.”

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UCL: CHELSEA’S AWAY GAME AGAINST ATLETICO MADRID MOVED TO BUCHAREST

Chelsea’s away Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid will now take place in Bucharest due to coronavirus travel concerns.

The UK is implementing strict Covid-19 quarantine rules around people returning from Spain, meaning the first leg of the last-16 tie will be staged at the Arena Nationala in the Romanian capital.

“UEFA has confirmed that Chelsea’s Champions League round-of-16 first-leg match away against Atletico Madrid will now be played at the Arena Nationala in Bucharest in Romania,” a Chelsea statement read.

“The date of the match, Tuesday, February 23, and the kick-off (8pm UK time) will remain the same.

“The second leg at Stamford Bridge is on Wednesday, March 17 at 8pm.”

Spain is on a ‘red list’ of countries drawn up by the UK Government.

The first legs of Liverpool and Manchester City’s Champions League ties against RB Leipzig and Borussia Monchengladbach have been moved to Budapest, while Arsenal and Manchester United have seen the first legs of their Europa League last-32 clashes moved to Rome and Turin, respectively.

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MAN UNITED, ARSENAL EUROPA LEAGUE TIES CHANGED TO NEUTRAL VENUES

Manchester United and Arsenal’s Europa League last-32 first legs next week will be played at neutral grounds due to coronavirus restrictions.

United were due to travel to Spain to face Real Sociedad next Thursday, while Portugal was the venue for the Gunners’ clash with Benfica on the same night.

But UEFA has announced that United will now take on Sociedad at Juventus’ Allianz Stadium in Turin following Spanish government restrictions on travellers entering the country from England.

A statement read: “UEFA would like to thank Real Sociedad de Futbol and Manchester United FC for their close co-operation and assistance in finding a solution to the issue at hand, as well as the Italian Football Federation and Juventus for their support and agreeing to host the match in question.”

The PA news agency understands Arsenal will play Benfica in Rome as the UK implements strict coronavirus quarantine rules around people returning from Portugal.

The second leg of United’s tie will take place at Old Trafford as planned the following week, but Arsenal’s home game will have the same issue as their away trip, with Benfica barred from entering the country. No decision has yet been taken on a venue for that match.

The developments come after Liverpool and Manchester City also had Champions League ties due to be played in Germany moved to Budapest.

Liverpool’s clash with Leipzig on February 16th and City’s encounter with Borussia Monchengladbach on February 24th will now both take place at the Puskas Arena in the Hungarian capital on their respective scheduled dates.

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MC TOMINAY NETS WINNER AGAINST HAMMERS TO TAKE UNITED TO FA CUP QUARTER FINAL.

Scott McTominay fired Manchester United into the FA Cup quarter-finals as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men edged past West Ham in extra time.

The Red Devils reached the final four last season – one of four successive semi-final cup competition exits – and progressed from a tough fifth-round clash on Tuesday evening.

Ex-United boss David Moyes’ West Ham side made life difficult on a bitterly cold night at Old Trafford, where substitute McTominay struck home Marcus Rashford’s lovely 97th-minute lay-off to seal a 1-0 extra-time win.

Solskjaer will be relieved his team made it through to the last eight on a night in which Lukasz Fabianski tipped a deflected Victor Lindelof header onto the post in a first half that they edged.

West Ham had already been hit by an injury to Angelo Ogbonna at that point and his replacement Issa Diop became the first concussion substitute in English football when withdrawn at half-time.

Andriy Yarmolenko was then forced off in a goalless second half as the match went to extra time, with McTominay firing in his seventh goal of the season to seal progress.

West Ham were able to call on Tomas Soucek after his red card against Fulham was rescinded, while United made six changes from Saturday’s frustrating 3-3 draw with Everton.

Two of those introductions combined well for the first chance of the evening as Alex Telles slipped through Anthony Martial to get away an 11th-minute effort.

Ogbonna got in the way of the shot but could not continue afterwards, having been sandwiched between the forward’s boot and oncoming goalkeeper Fabianski.

The defender had several minutes of treatment before being replaced by Diop, with Aaron Cresswell throwing himself in front of a Mason Greenwood strike at a time when the Hammers were temporarily down to 10 men.

Nemanja Matic lashed over as United penned the visitors back, with Fabianski reacting superbly to push a Lindelof header onto the post after taking a deflection off Craig Dawson.

Donny Van De Beek saw a shot deflected over towards the end of a first half in which Diop and Martial required treatment after a nasty clash of heads.

The defender continued for the remainder of the opening period but came off at half-time, with the Hammers confirming on their match blog that he was “replaced as a concussion substitute”.

Ryan Fredericks came on for him and Ben Johnson replaced Jarrod Bowen as the visitors went to a back five, with Yarmolenko soon limping off injured to be replaced by former United youth prospect Mipo Odubeko.

There were more substitutions to report on than clear-cut shots, with Fabianski doing well to thwart Rashford’s close-range shot in a drab second period.

West Ham were showing a little more intent at the other end, but Aaron Wan-Bissaka was the first person to force Dean Henderson into action after horribly mis-hitting a clearance.

Bruno Fernandes and McTominay were brought on in the 73rd minute, with the former seeing a strike deflect over before Edinson Cavani came on to add extra bite.

Both sides struggled to stamp their authority on the game and Dawson wasted a chance to snatch victory in stoppage time, failing to get clean contact on a corner as Wan-Bissaka cleared his header.

The match went into extra time as a result, with Brandon Williams and Luke Shaw introduced by United.

The latter quickly made an important contribution, winning the ball after Declan Rice’s heavy touch to start the match-winning move. West Ham failed to effectively deal with a cross and Rashford teed up McTominay delightfully to rifle home in the 97th minute.

Said Benrahma looked lively as West Ham pushed to draw parity, with the substitute glancing a header straight at Henderson in the second half of extra time.

Martial wasted the chance to add gloss at the death but victory was already assured.

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FA CUP: BOURNEMOUTH BOOK LAST EIGHT SPOT AFTER VICTORY OVER BURNLEY

Bournemouth booked a spot in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for only the second time in their history as Sam Surridge’s tap-in and a Junior Stanislas penalty secured a 2-0 win at a much-changed Burnley.

Surridge had a simple finish midway through the first half before he was upended late on, with Stanislas converting the resulting spot-kick, as the Cherries reached the sixth round for the first time since the 1956-57 campaign.

Jay Rodriguez spurned a gilt-edged chance to level in the second half, missing the target from six yards, on a bitterly cold night at Turf Moor, where Burnley almost blundered by initially putting Erik Pieters in their starting line-up before he was withdrawn after they were apparently notified of his suspension for this game.

Pieters’ withdrawal meant there were eight changes to the side that drew against Brighton in the Premier League, and they were outshone by a Bournemouth outfit who have now won both games under caretaker manager Jonathan Woodgate.

There was no Jack Wilshere for the Sky Bet Championship side, but they still had enough quality to see off Burnley, whose wait for a last-eight appearance in this competition stands at 18 years.

Only wingers Johann Berg Gudmundsson and Dwight McNeil and forward Matej Vydra kept their spots for Burnley, who announced shortly before kick-off an “administrative error” had led to Pieters being removed from the line-up.

It transpired Pieters was suspended for this fixture, having earned yellow cards in their wins over MK Dons and Fulham in the previous rounds, with Burnley seemingly made aware of the fact after the teams had been released.

The Dutch full-back’s place went to 21-year-old Anthony Driscoll-Glennon, who was caught out by Jack Stacey midway through the first half as Bournemouth, who made six changes to their line-up, went ahead.

Defences were on top early on but a swift attack down Burnley’s left-hand side led to David Brooks passing to the overlapping Stacey and his square ball left Surridge with a simple tap-in into an empty net.

Burnley’s appeals for offside were in vain while the hosts were fortunate not to fall further behind, with goalkeeper Bailey Peacock-Farrell making an excellent save after Dale Stephens unknowingly directed a header towards goal from a corner.

Philip Billing went down in the area under Kevin Long’s challenge but was told to get to his feet towards the end of a half where chances were at a premium, with Burnley unable to muster a shot on target in the first 45 minutes.

That was quickly remedied shortly after half-time as Vydra’s shot from a narrow angle forced Asmir Begovic to save at his near post, while the visiting goalkeeper pushed away McNeil’s 25-yard effort despite being unsighted.

Burnley should have levelled just before the hour when the adventurous Long’s cross was misdirected by Vydra into the path of Rodriguez, who blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

Phil Bardsley shot through a cluster of players and just wide of Begovic’s post as Burnley’s spell of pressure continued to go unrewarded on a night punctuated by gentle snowfall.

Bournemouth made the game safe two minutes from time when Long tripped the onrushing Surridge in the area, with Stanislas confidently dispatching the penalty.

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LUIS SUAREZ HITS BRACE IN ATLETICO 2-2 DRAW AGAINST CELTA VIGO

Atletico Madrid slipped up in La Liga for the first time in nine games on Monday as Celta Vigo snatched a late equaliser to deliver a ray of hope to Barcelona and Real Madrid. Luis Suarez scored twice at the Wanda Metropolitano to overturn Santi Mina’s opener for Celta, with Atletico on course to restore their 10-point lead at the top of the table.

But Facundo Ferreyra slid in to score in the 89th minute to earn a deserved 2-2 draw for the visitors, meaning Atletico’s advantage at the end of the weekend is reduced to eight, still with a game in hand.

“We played quite well but they had a strong finish and a draw was probably fair,” said Diego Simeone.

Atletico still have a considerable cushion but after Real Madrid and Barca beat Huesca and Real Betis respectively, there is at least room for encouragement for the chasing pack. Real Madrid can cut the gap to five points if they win at home to Getafe on Tuesday.

Suarez shows no sign of letting up, the Uruguayan now with 11 goals in his last nine games and 16 for the season.

Those 16 goals in 17 games played for Atletico make him the fastest player to score that many for a La Liga club in the 21st century, one game faster than Cristiano Ronaldo after he joined Real Madrid.

Atletico have been hit hard by coronavirus in recent months, the club confirming another two positive cases on Monday afternoon.

Thomas Lemar and Hector Herrera join Mario Hermoso, Joao Felix and Moussa Dembele on the list of those currently out after contracting the illness.

“We have to make the best of it,” said Simeone. “We have footballers who can take advantage of the opportunities and we hope that the boys recover.”

Celta, who stay 10th, were the better side in the first half, dominating possession and taking a deserved lead after 13 minutes when Hugo Mallo curled in a cross from the right for Mina to head in.

Atletico rarely troubled Celta but managed to go in level, Suarez scoring with their first shot on target. Marcos Llorente’s driven cross evaded four sets of Celta toes and found him at the back post.

Lucas Torreira came on at half-time for Felipe — Atletico reverting to a back four — and within five minutes they were ahead.

Geoffrey Kondogbia floated a ball out to the left and Renan Lodi volleyed it across goal, where the sliding Suarez arrived on his knees to finish.

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Celta almost had a second when Iago Aspas bundled through but Kondogbia darted back to make a superb tackle, just as the striker was about to shoot.

Atletico were moments away but caved with one minute left, a brilliant through ball by Aspas freeing Augusto Solari, whose cross found Ferreyra two metres out

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NIGERIAN FOOTBALLER CHARGED WITH MONEY LAUNDERING IN ROMANCE FRAUD

One of Malta’s most prolific Nigerian footballing imports, Sunday Eboh, has been charged with four others in a romance fraud case.

Eboh, Maltese national Alexandra Pace, Nigerian nationals Collins Eguavoen, Marvis Iyeke and Tony Ogbonna were arrested late Monday night to be charged with money laundering.

Police said that an elderly Maltese woman fell victim to the fraud after engaging in an online relationship with who she thought was an American soldier deployed in Afghanistan. The soldier was supposedly returning to Malta once his deployment ended.

Despite never meeting with the soldier, the woman took the relationship seriously, and transferred €58,000 to the person who allegedly asked her to pay for his expenses.

Investigations by the police revealed the alleged fraud was being carried out in the country by a group of people who were seeing that the money was being deposited in a number of local bank accounts. The money was being transacted in small amounts and laundered.

The police were able to identify who was behind the scam and arrested five individuals aged between 28 to 58 years of age.

Police suspect Ogbonna is the mastermind in the operation, although no account was traced back to him.

Eboh has played for a host of Maltese teams, namely Marsa, Birkirkara, Victoria Hotspurs, Marsaxlokk, Floriana, Naxxar Lions, Birzebbugia, and Pembroke. He also played for Greek side Apollon Smyrnis.

Magistrate Doreen Clarke refused bail after the prosecution raised fears that the accused could tamper with evidence or approach the vulnerable victim.

This is the first case which will see people being charged for online fraud through a virtual relationship.

The prosecution was led by lawyers Dr Karl Muscat, Dr Sean Xerri de Caro and Dr Abigail Caruana Vella from the office of the attorney general. They will be assisted by Inspector Sarah Zerafa from the Paola district and Inspector Claire Borg from the Economic Crimes Squad.

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HARRISON, BAMFORD ON TARGET AS LEEDS BEAT CRYSTAL PALACE 2-0

Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford scored in either half as Leeds beat Crystal Palace 2-0 to climb into the Premier League’s top 10.

Harrison’s deflected shot gave Leeds a flying start and Bamford tucked home a rebound for his 12th league goal of the season early in the second period.

Leeds secured their 10th top-flight win of the season and gained sweet revenge for a 4-1 defeat at Selhurst Park in November.

They should have won by a bigger margin after spurning several chances, but registered a first clean sheet in seven matches this year.

Palace, who arrived in freezing West Yorkshire on the back of two straight league wins, were a clear second best for most of the match.

Eberechi Eze’s individual brilliance was too fleeting to halt a Leeds onslaught, while the Londoners lacked a cutting edge in the absence of injured top scorer Wilfried Zaha.

Leeds were quick to punish Palace for allowing them too much space on the edge of the penalty area when Harrison’s well-struck shot deflected off Gary Cahill to give the home side a third-minute lead.

Vicente Guaita was forced into a sprawling low save soon after to turn away Bamford’s excellent header from Ezgjan Alioski’s cross.

Bamford should have extended Leeds’ advantage in the 22nd minute after out-witting the Palace defence on the halfway line.

But after spinning Cahill for a free run on goal, the Leeds striker ballooned his shot tamely off target.

Palace began to pose more of a threat as the first period progressed, with Eze’s individual brilliance keeping Leeds’ rearguard on their toes.

Jordan Ayew fired the Londoners’ first shot on target low into Illan Meslier’s hands in the 36th minute.

Leeds defender Pascal Struijk headed Raphinha’s free-kick over the crossbar and somehow headed well wide from in front of goal after diving on to Kalvin Phillips’ cross.

Palace’s appeals for a penalty just before half-time when Ayling eased Ayew off Jairo Riedewald’s throughball were waved away by referee Andre Marriner.

Leeds made another fast start to the second period, extending their lead in the 52nd minute.

Raphinha’s thumping shot was well saved by Guaita and Bamford followed up to turn home the rebound from eight yards.

Eze could have hauled Palace back into it in the 67th minute but he blazed substitute Michy Batshuayi’s cutback over the crossbar.

Stuart Dallas’s fizzing low drive then forced a great save from Guaita and Harrison’s angled effort struck the crossbar as Leeds chased a third goal.