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EVERTON GRANTED PLANNING PERMIT FOR NEW STADIUM AT BRAMLEY-MOORE DECK

Everton have been granted planning permission by Liverpool City Council for a new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock.

Due to the scale of the development, the detailed application for the 52,888-capacity ground now passes to Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick’s office for consideration.

If there is no objection at that level, and the proposals do not get “called in” for scrutiny higher up in Government, then the club would look to start work this spring or early summer.

There is a 150-week build plan in place which will potentially see the Toffees start the 2024-25 season in their new riverside stadium.

After a number of false starts over several years, Everton considered 52 locations to move to from Goodison Park and Bramley-Moore Dock was deemed the only viable option.

The project has gained widespread public support although objections were raised by heritage body ICOMOS, acting on behalf of UNESCO, as well as the Victorian Society and Historic England – with the latter having had input on the design.

But the council’s report concluded the plans – which integrate a number of historic features – could actually deliver “heritage benefits” by “enhancing degraded on-site heritage assets, improving access to the World Heritage Site and unlocking access to the history”.

Everton believe the new stadium can play a key role in Liverpool’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, with the stadium and a multi-purpose redevelopment of Goodison Park generating a £1.3billion boost to the local economy.

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Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea taking shape after whirlwind start to his reign

Now it’s time for the toughest test by far of Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea tenure — a last-16 matchup in the UEFA Champions League against La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.

It has been a whirlwind first month for Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.

Seven games. Five wins. Two goals conceded. Zero losses. One public dressing-down of a player.

Oh, and thousands upon thousands of passes.

The net result is a widespread acceptance that Chelsea achieved an upgrade by firing club great Frank Lampard and replacing him with more of an experienced tactician in Tuchel, who has already put his own stamp on the team as he transitions to life in English soccer.

The schedule has been kind to the German coach so far, though, with Premier League matches against out-of-form teams (Wolves, Tottenham and Southampton) or relegation contenders (Newcastle, Burnley and Sheffield United) flanking an FA Cup game at second-division club Barnsley.

Now it’s time for the toughest test by far of Tuchel’s Chelsea tenure — a last-16 matchup in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, the Spanish league leader, and its coach of nearly 10 years, Diego Simeone.

“This is exactly what we want, the biggest test,” Tuchel said Monday. “Because hopefully it brings out the best in us. It’s clear when play against Atletico what you get — you get hard fighting, an experienced team, a lot of mentality.

“We will do it in our way, and they will do it in their way.”

So what has been Chelsea’s “way” since the arrival of Tuchel on Jan. 26, a day after Lampard’s firing and a day before Tuchel took charge of his first match?

In a clear change of game plan, Tuchel immediately switched formation from Lampard’s 4-2-3-1 to a three-man defense with high wing backs and two sitting midfielders to protect the back line.

Further forward, Tuchel has looked to get more out of offseason signing Timo Werner by deploying him as an inside forward, positioned on the left and just off the main striker, which has alternated between Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham.

The slate has been wiped clean in the squad, with a number of players brought back in, including left wing back Marcos Alonso — who hadn’t played since September under Lampard — center back Antonio Rudiger and Callum Hudson-Odoi, a winger who is occasionally operating as a right wing back under Tuchel.

Cesar Azpilicueta, the dependable club captain, has been a regular in the team as a right-sided center half. His days had appeared numbered under Lampard.

Then there’s been the clear change in playing style, with Chelsea dominating the ball and having at least 70% possession in four of the seven matches. Against Wolverhampton Wanderers, Chelsea had 79% possession and completed 820 passes — more than any other team in a Premier League game this season.

Still, some old habits die hard. Chelsea continues to struggle to convert its dominance of matches and territorial pressure into goals, like in the 1-1 draw at Southampton on Saturday when Tuchel bemoaned his team’s “lack of precision.”

“I didn’t feel in the last 20 meters that we would kill the game,” he said.

Expect chances to be few and far between against Atletico’s experienced and famously rugged defense as Tuchel takes charge of a second different team in this season’s Champions League, having led 2019-20 runner-up Paris Saint-Germain in the group stage before getting fired in December.

Tuchel said Chelsea would have to “over-perform” to get past Atletico.

“This is only possible if you feel a bond between the players as a coach, and I feel these things,” he said.

Tuchel said Hudson-Odoi was in contention to start the first leg on Tuesday, having withdrawn the 20-year-old England international barely 30 minutes after bringing him on as a halftime substitute against Southampton — saying his “attitude” wasn’t right.

It was Tuchel’s first open spat with a player since arriving, underlining his reputation as a single-minded coach who is not afraid to speak his mind.

Tuchel said Monday he had spoken to Hudson-Odoi in front of the squad in training and that the matter was over.

“Sometimes you reflect, ‘Should I have done that?’” Tuchel said, “because the media, the outside, the family makes it bigger than it is meant. Still, I did it and I had the reaction I wanted.

“I said after the game this is the decision for today, this is the lesson to learn for him. For me, also.”

Indeed, Tuchel still has plenty to learn about his squad, underscoring the size of his task against Atletico as he looks to outwit a coach in Simeone who has been in his post since 2011.

“You know that you arrive at the highest level when you play Atletico in the first round of the knockouts,” Tuchel said. “We feel confident. We feel excited.”

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England plans return of fans in time for Premier League finale in May

The Football Association hope two showpiece games at Wembley Stadium — the League Cup final on April 25 and the FA Cup final on May 15 — could be test events for the return of spectators.

Plans to ease England’s lockdown restrictions will see up to 10,000 supporters being allowed back into Premier League stadiums for the final day of the season in May ahead of Wembley hosting European Championship games.

Some sports in England could see fans return even earlier in April, the government said on Monday, as part of pilots involving coronavirus testing to assess how events can take place without any social distancing from later in the year.

English football authorities hope two showpiece games at Wembley — the League Cup final on April 25 and the FA Cup final on May 15 — could be test events for the return of spectators.

The government’s roadmap out of England’s third lockdown has earmarked May 17 as the earliest day for the implementation of stage three that would see the widescale reopening of sports venues to spectators. The Premier League ends on May 23.

Stadiums with more than 40,000 seats, including the home of Premier League leader Manchester City, will be allowed up to 10,000 fans spaced out. Smaller major venues will be permitted a quarter capacity.

The release of plans for the reopening of sports to fans is a boost to England’s role in staging seven games at the rescheduled Euro 2020 across June and July, including the semifinals and final.

“The turnstiles of our sports stadia will once again rotate, subject in all cases to capacity limits depending on the size of the venue,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. “And we will pilot larger events using enhanced testing, with the ambition of further easing of restrictions in the next step.”

The final stage of the government plan, in which all legal limits on social conduct are removed after 15 months of closure, is set for June 21. That is a week before the scheduled start of Wimbledon, which was canceled last year due to the pandemic.

Other leading European countries, including France, Germany, Italy and Spain, are yet to announce plans for the return of spectators to sports stadiums.

Britain has had Europe’s deadliest coronavirus outbreak, with more than 120,000 deaths, and the government said the dates for the easing of lockdown could be postponed if infections rise.

But Britain has had Europe’s fastest inoculation campaign with more than 17.5 million people, a third of the country’s adult population, already given the first of two doses of vaccine. The government aim is to give every adult a shot of vaccine by July 31.

All venues were closed to spectators as sports shut down at the start of the pandemic in March 2020. While it took three months for events to resume, it took longer for stands to be even partly filled.

Up to 2,000 fans were allowed back into some Premier League stadiums in England in December but all venues were shut again as coronavirus restrictions were tightened later in the month due to the spread of new variants of COVID-19.

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RAHEEM STERLING EARLY STRIKE KEEPS CITY WINNING RUN

Raheem Sterling struck in the second minute to give leaders Manchester City a 1-0 win at Arsenal, their 13th consecutive Premier League victory.

Sterling leapt high to nod in Riyad Mahrez’s right-wing cross and it proved to be decisive as Man City opened up a 10-point lead over Leicester City at the top of the table.

Sterling could have scored twice more in the first five minutes while Ilkay Gundogan was denied by Bernd Leno, who tipped away his 56th-minute shot.

At the other end, Mohamed Elneny drove wide after some hesitancy in the City defence with 17 minutes left.

City are now unbeaten in 17 Premier League matches and move on to 59 points. Arsenal stay 10th on 34 points.

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MADDISON, BARNES ON TARGET AS LEICESTER BEAT ASTON VILLA TO CLIMB UP TO SECOND

First-half goals from James Maddison and Harvey Barnes helped Leicester City move to within seven points of leaders Manchester City with a 2-1 win at Aston Villa.

Leicester took the lead on 19 minutes when Barnes teed up Maddison on the edge of the penalty area and his sweeping low finish was beyond the reach of goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

Barnes added a second only four minutes later, lashing the ball into the roof of the net after Martinez spilled Jamie Vardy’s shot into his path.

Bertrand Traore gave Villa hope of a second-half comeback with a close-range finish from Matt Targett’s cross on 48 minutes.

Morgan Sanson went close to conjuring an equaliser for Villa with seven minutes remaining but he fired narrowly wide from distance.

Leicester’s third victory in four matches takes them up to second, one place and three points clear of Manchester United, who face Newcastle United on Sunday.

Villa stay in eighth place, level with Tottenham Hotspur on 36 points but ahead of them on goal difference.

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ANTONIO, LINGARD STAR AS WESTHAM BEAT SPURS 2-1

Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard scored a goal in each half as West Ham United survived a late fightback to rise to fourth with a 2-1 derby win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Antonio fired West Ham ahead on five minutes, tapping in after Hugo Lloris had parried his initial flick-on from Jarrod Bowen’s cross.

Lingard doubled the lead just after half-time. His rifled effort was confirmed as a goal after a VAR review overturned an offside in the build-up.

Lucas Moura halved the deficit with a near-post header from substitute Gareth Bale’s 64th-minute corner.

Kane then dragged inches wide before Bale and Son Heung-min both struck the woodwork as a Spurs side who had 68 per cent possession and 16 more shots in total were unable to salvage a point.

David Moyes’s first win over Jose Mourinho lifts West Ham above Chelsea on 45 points, two ahead of the Blues.

Spurs remain ninth, nine points behind but with a match in hand.

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EVERTON END 22 YEAR WAIT DERBY JOY AT ANFIELD

Everton ended their 22-year wait for a Merseyside derby win at Anfield with a 2-0 victory which consigned Liverpool to their worst home league run in almost a century.

There were echoes of Kevin Campbell’s early goal in 1999 when Richarlison scored in just the third minute and if there is one thing Italian manager Carlo Ancelotti knows what to do well it is setting up sides to hold onto leads.

Despite coming under mounting pressure the visitors held out and hit their hosts with an 83rd-minute sucker punch via Gylfi Sigurdsson’s penalty.

Victory, their first in 23 derbies, saw Everton draw level on 40 points with their seventh-placed hosts but with a match in hand.

The last time Liverpool lost four in a row at home was 1923 and just when they thought their season could not get any worse with defeat to their neighbours for the first time this millennium, they lost yet another centre-back option as Jordan Henderson became the fifth no longer fit for duty.

October’s derby was the start of their defensive problems when Virgil Van Dijk was ruled out for the season with an ACL injury after a reckless tackle by Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford but there was no such controversy this time.

Henderson’s problem appeared to be a groin injury as he pulled up running the ball out of defence in the first half, leaving his side with an 18th different – and most inexperienced – pairing of Ozan Kabak and substitute Nat Phillips.

But by then the damage had already been done as Everton had made their intent clear as, straight from kick-off, the ball was lumped forward and under no pressure Kabak conceded a corner after six seconds.

The on-loan Schalke defender, in only his third appearance, was immediately targeted by Richarlison as the Brazil international attached himself to the 20-year-old.

It paid off after just three minutes as two weak headers, one from Thiago Alcantara and another from Kabak on his Anfield debut, saw the ball fall to James Rodriguez and he slipped in a pass behind the new boy for Richarlison to run onto and fire an angled drive across Alisson Becker.

The Brazilian is only the third Everton player to score in back-to-back Premier League appearances at Anfield after Tim Cahill (2006) and Campbell (2000)

He also gave the visitors their first lead in a derby since October 2010, the date of their last victory which came at Goodison Park.

Kabak’s edgy nerves were not eased when he allowed a Pickford clearance to drop over his head straight to the feet of Richarlison, before moments later clattering Rodriguez after a mistimed challenge and he finished the half with a booking – for the third successive match – to cap a poor 45 minutes.

His confidence would also not have been helped by the loss of Henderson just before the half-hour, with the 23-year-old Phillips arriving off the bench as the senior partner despite making just his eighth appearance for the club.

At least Alisson, responsible for three errors in his last two league matches, was back on form with a good save to deny a diving Seamus Coleman header from Lucas Digne’s cross.

Pickford, too, brought his A game as having palmed away an early Sadio Mane cross he flew to his right to tip Henderson’s swerving volley around the post before the Liverpool captain’s exit.

The England number one was in action again catching a Mane header early in the second half, with Mason Holgate also cutting out a dangerous Trent Alexander-Arnold cross and Michael Keane producing a brilliant goal-saving tackle on Mane, who had moved more centrally.

Pickford dived at the feet of Mohamed Salah as Liverpool turned up the pressure without really laying siege to the Everton goal.

Holes began to open up in Liverpool’s defence and from a counter-attack substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin, deemed not fit enough to start after missing two matches with a hamstring problem, was adjudged to have been brought down inside the box by Alexander-Arnold.

Referee Chris Kavanagh was asked by VAR to look at the pitchside monitor but the official took barely a few seconds to decide he had made the right decision and another substitute Sigurdsson stroked home the penalty to spark wild celebrations.

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MINAMINO HELP SAINTS END LOSING RUN IN CHELSEA 1-1 DRAW

Southampton ended a run of six defeats as they held in-form Chelsea to a 1-1 draw at St Mary’s Stadium.

Chelsea, on a run of four successive wins, dominated the first half, recording 72.5 per cent possession, but only had Marcos Alonso’s first-time shot in the sixth minute as their best chance.

Southampton went ahead on 33 minutes against the run of play with a cool finish from Takumi Minamino. The on-loan midfielder took Nathan Redmond’s through-ball before dummying Edouard Mendy and Cesar Azpilicueta to stroke in the ball.

The visitors equalised nine minutes after half-time through Mason Mount’s penalty, awarded for a foul on the midfielder by Danny Ings.

Southampton almost led again when Jannik Vestergaard’s header clipped the bar on 71 minutes.

Chelsea continued to dominate but could not find a winner, with Reece James blazing over their best opportunity.

Southampton stay 13th on 30 points, while a sixth match unbeaten under Thomas Tuchel keeps Chelsea in fourth, on 43 points, one ahead of West Ham United having played a match more.

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EPL: GOAL KEEPER ILLAN MESLIER’S OWN GOAL HANDS WOLVES WIN OVER LEEDS

Wolves made it three wins in four Premier League matches as an own goal from Leeds keeper Illan Meslier handed the hosts a 1-0 victory on Friday.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side took the points in the second half at Molineux when Adama Traore’s shot hit the bar and bounced into the net off Meslier.

Leeds pushed hard for an equaliser but Mateusz Klich hit a post and Patrick Bamford had a goal ruled out for offside.

Wolves moved above Leeds into 11th place after extending their recent upturn in form, while Leeds have lost three of their last four league games.

“Players like Adama, when they have the ball and start running, are really dangerous. It was a beautiful strike,” Nuno said. “It is a hard moment for their keeper.

“We still have some issues to assess but the approach that we have during these tough moments, always believing, always committing.

“You can’t say anything about the attitude of the players. We chase the high standards we have and let’s keep on doing that.”

The tone for an entertaining encounter was set when Raphinha slipped in Klich and the midfielder’s low effort ricocheted off the near post.

Pascal Struijk’s follow-up was saved by Rui Patricio and Raphinha eventually fired wide.

Wolves responded and Meslier had to parry Nelson Semedo’s angled effort.

Meslier needed to be alert to deny Semedo again just before the break.

Wolves forward Pedro Neto seized on Jack Harrison’s loose pass to fire over early in the second half.

Raphinha’s whipped delivery was met by Liam Cooper and his header was parried by Patricio, with Bamford’s follow up smuggled away.

That save proved crucial as Wolves instantly regrouped to snatch their fortuitous 64th minute winner.

Traore collected the ball on the left and shrug off Luke Ayling as he surged towards the Leeds area.

The winger’s 25-yard drive rattled the underside of the bar and the ball bounced out, hit Meslier on the back and rolled across the line.

Patricio saved from Cooper as Leeds sought a quick response and Bamford had an emphatic finish ruled out for offside.

Yet a leveler never came thanks to two smart stoppage-time saves from Patricio, who denied Helder Costa and turned away Raphinha’s header.

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TOP FOUR STILL ACHIEVABLE FOR SPURS – JOSE MOURINHO

Tottenham boss Jose Mourinho still believes his side can finish in the top four of the Premier League and says the current table does not mean anything.

A poor run of just three wins in the last 12 games has seen Spurs slip from the top of the table down to ninth and they are now outsiders to secure Champions League qualification.

Sunday’s visit to West Ham seems pivotal as they are six points behind the Hammers, with a game in hand and a victory will reignite their top-four hopes.

In a see-saw season, where teams have all played different amounts of games, Mourinho says anything is still possible.

“In the same way you lose three matches and you go to a bad position, you win three matches and go to a much better position,” the Portuguese said. “So like happened last season, let’s go until the end and see what the table gives us. In the end, the table always gives you what you deserve.

“It’s very premature to think about the table. People still have matches in hand. In our case, we played already two matches against Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester City. There are other teams that didn’t even play a second game against one of the top teams.

“We have one match in hand. I know already that because Southampton has to play the semi-finals of the FA Cup in the same week as we should play them, we’re not going to play that match.

“When are we going to play Aston Villa I don’t know. Maybe April 24, one day before the (Carabao Cup) final. Who knows? It’s very complicated.

“So we have to fight and we have to wait until the last match to see what happens. Anything can happen. We can finish top four, top six or outside the top six. We have to make sure the best possible thing is going to happen.”

Mourinho probably still has nightmares about the reverse fixture against West Ham as Spurs blew a 3-0 lead by conceding three goals in the final 10 minutes.

That draw had long-lasting consequences as Mourinho adopted a more pragmatic approach in order to ensure it did not happen again.

And the Portuguese says that match is a microcosm of their season.

“The first game against West Ham is a little bit of the reflection of our season and the reflection of some of our problems,” he said.

“If we win that game you would all say we played amazingly well, which we did, we had an incredible first half, lots of quality, lots of dominance, we played really well but we didn’t win it and this is a reflection of many of our matches.

“We played well, we should win but the final result is not a victory and the perception, which becomes the reality, you didn’t win, the result is not good, people can say the team didn’t play well.

“I think the team played so well but made mistakes and because of that we didn’t win. But my first match at West Ham when I arrived, it was a match that was not very different.

“We started very well, we dominated the game for 75 minutes, we were winning 3-0 and we conceded two goals and we finished the game looking like we were in trouble. This team many many times plays well but doesn’t get results by different reasons we don’t get it.

Mourinho should have Harry Kane available at the London Stadium after he asked to be rested for the Europa League win over Wolfsberger.