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MESSI SCORES RECORD BARCA GOAL BUT THE SPANISH GIANTS FALTER AGAINST CADIZ

Lionel Messi marked his latest Barcelona milestone with a goal against Cadiz as he surpassed club legend Xavi in the Camp Nou history books, but the Argentine was left frustrated by a late equaliser.

Messi fired in a 32nd-minute penalty to give Barca the lead in the home fixture against Cadiz on Sunday – converting calmly from 12 yards after Pedri was fouled in the box.

Cadiz scored a late penalty of their own through Alex Fernandez to earn a 1-1 draw, but Messi’s 21st goal of the season still capped a history-making occasion that saw him move ahead of Xavi as the player with the most La Liga appearances in the history of the club.

Messi has now appeared in 506 games in the Spanish top flight for the Blaugrana, one more than Xavi, who left Camp Nou back in 2015.

The six-time Ballon d’Or winner is also now closing in on his former team-mate’s all-time mark across all competitions of 767, with his latest outing against Cadiz taking him up to a grand total of 761.

Messi will almost certainly move ahead of Xavi before the season reaches its conclusion, which will only serve to cement his standing as Barca’s greatest ever player.

The 33-year-old is already the club’s all-time scorer with 654 goals to his name, and he has also won more trophies than any other player to have ever been on the books at Camp Nou (34).

Messi began his career at Barca way back in 2005, and has remained loyal to the club ever since despite attracting attention from just about every top club in Europe.

However, the Argentina international’s resolve has been tested in recent seasons amid the team’s inconsistent form, with an 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League proving to be the final straw.

Messi handed in a transfer request after that result, and although he ended up staying put for another season amid pressure from Barca and La Liga officials, his future remains very much up in the air.

Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City have been touted as possible next destinations for the Blaugrana captain, but he could also still decide to extend his stay at Camp Nou.

Messi’s contract is due to expire at the end of June, and he has publicly insisted he won’t make a final decision on his next move until the season ends.

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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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ADEMOLA LOOKMAN NETS WINNER AS FULHAM BEAT SHEFFIELD UNITED TO CUT GAP TO 17TH

Fulham’s first home Premier League victory since November took them within three points of 17th-placed Newcastle as they held on to win 1-0 against rock-bottom Sheffield United.

Ademola Lookman broke the deadlock for the Cottagers in the 61st minute, with the home side going on to secure only their fourth win of the season.

Scott Parker’s men went into the game six points adrift of Newcastle but have closed the gap to just three, ahead of the Magpies’ trip to Manchester United on Sunday

Sheffield United, rooted to the foot of the table, struggled to really trouble in-form Fulham.

The game started quickly from both sides, with the noise from the dugouts adding to the tension of what seemed a must-win game

The Blades looked more dangerous from set-pieces, but Fulham, as has been the case on many occasions this season, struggled to really test Aaron Ramsdale in the United goal.

Chris Wilder’s men were penned back into their own half for much of the opening 45 minutes, but defended resolutely, with a number of well-timed trips in the midfield preventing Fulham from building up momentum.

Fulham’s stand-in captain in the long-term absence of Tom Cairney, Joachim Andersen was a commanding presence at the back, not only in organising the defence but with his well-weighted long balls to the front players.

Harrison Reed had a shot from distance straight at Ramsdale, with the goalkeeper also in the right place to deny Lookman.

United went into the half-time break without a touch or attempt in the Fulham box but were doing a good job of defending their own, and got men behind the ball to break up the home side’s attacks.

At the start of the second half, Ruben Loftus-Cheek came close to giving the home side the lead when he weaved his way through the United defence before his goal-bound shot hit Ramsdale’s outstretched leg and was cleared off the line by George Baldock.

Lookman put the hosts ahead just after the hour mark with his fourth goal of the season, and his second against the Blades.

The 23-year-old worked his way into the area from the left-hand side before firing a low drive past Ramsdale and into the back of the net.

Less than five minutes later, the visitors had their first shot on target, with Alphonse Areola just denying Enda Stevens with his legs in a one-on-one situation.

United had a penalty shout in the final minutes of the game, when Areola dived out to deny Jayden Bogle. The goalkeeper put his body on the line and just managed to get a touch on the ball before the collision.

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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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FIFA INSTITUTES EAST AFRICA REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT OFFICE IN KIGALI

The federation of international football association, FIFA has set a Regional Development Office in Kigali, Rwanda in their bid to boost their long-term development of football in the East African region.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino oversaw the opening ceremony in Rwanda’s capital in the company of Vincent Biruta who is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Rwanda, Sports Minister Aurore Mimosa Munyangaju, and Jean-Damascene Sekamana who is the president of the Rwanda Football Association (Ferwafa).

“I would like to thank President Paul Kagame and the Rwandan government for facilitating the opening of this office, as it sets the scene for us at Fifa level to be able to help all the associations at the regional level to develop football,” Infantino said in part of his speech

“Infrastructure, competitions, development and education, these are the key areas which Fifa is focused on, and the task of this office will be to implement the Fifa Forward programme in the region.

“This means to support the development, to coordinate the programme, to help organise competitions for boys and girls, to foster women’s football, to ensure that the investment that Fifa is making is channelled in the right place, and to make sure that east African football will shine on the international stage. The talent is here.

“The passion is here. And together with the federations and the governments in this part of the world, we are creating the conditions for a better future.”

The Regional Development Offices are meant to help member associations around the world have better services and access to their needs.

In Africa, the offices have already been set up in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Dakar in Senegal. Plans are also set to have another one in Congo Brazzaville.

Ferwafa president Sekamana believes the initiative has further proved Fifa’s intentions of ensuring the game is developed on the continent.

“The Rwandan [Federation] is grateful for the establishment of this office in the region, which proves the extent of Fifa’s commitment to the development of football in Africa, and we are profoundly grateful that Kigali has been chosen to be the home of this Fifa Regional Development Office,” the administrator said.

“We are extremely thankful for the Government of Rwanda and Fifa for reaching an agreement to host the regional office in Rwanda. By approving this agreement, the Government of Rwanda demonstrated its visionary leadership and its objective to gradually achieve an acceptable living standard for society through all sectors, including football and sports, in general.”

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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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JACK GREALISH EYEING TOP FOUR FINISH FOR VILLA

Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish has targeted at least a top-10 finish in the Premier League this season.

Villa, who play at home against Leicester on Sunday, are currently eighth and Grealish admits that is more than he had hoped for after last season’s relegation scare.

“It’s been a better season than we expected. In our heads, we’re all looking at finishing as high as possible,” the England midfielder told Villa’s official website.

“Whether that be 10th, ninth, eighth, seventh – that’s where we should be aiming now in my opinion.

“We’re in a good place, we still have a few games in hand, but we have a few sticky games coming up now, which will obviously be tough.”

Following Sunday’s clash with Leicester, Villa head to Leeds and then take on Wolves at Villa Park.

“Leicester are one of the most in-form teams in the league at the moment and they’ve got great players all over the pitch,” Grealish said.

“We know how much of a tough game that will be, but we just need to take it one game at a time.”

Villa narrowly avoided an instant return to the Sky Bet Championship last season, finishing one place and a point above the bottom three.

But they made a flying start to the current campaign, winning their first four top-flight fixtures and have rarely been outside the top 10.

Grealish, who has scored six goals and made 12 assists, has been instrumental in Villa’s progress under boss Dean Smith and he wishes a full house at Villa Park on matchday had been there to see it.

“With us having one of the best seasons we’ve had for a while, it would have been lovely if the fans were here this season,” he added.

“There are plenty of players that are playing week-in-week-out and have never played at Villa Park with it half full, never mind when it’s packed out.

“I’ve told them all a fair bit about what it’s like, saying ‘wait and see what it’s like when it’s fully packed out’. Hopefully that can happen soon.”

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EUROPA LEAGUE: UNITED THRASH REAL SOCIEDAD, GARETH BALE STARS IN TOTTENHAM WIN

Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United romped to a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad in their Europa League last-32 first leg on Thursday, while Gareth Bale impressed for Tottenham in a 4-1 thrashing of Austrian side Wolfsberg. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s United are all but into the last 16, with four ‘away’ goals to take into the return game in a week’s time, after the first leg was played in Turin due to coronavirus travel restrictions. “We know 4-0 is a good result but we have to be aware of what they can do,” Fernandes told BT Sport. “My target is to score the most goals I can, that is my position. The only target is to win trophies.”

The Premier League outfit grabbed the lead in the 27th minute when Fernandes pounced on a defensive mix-up to slot in from Marcus Rashford’s clipped pass.

Solskjaer’s men doubled their advantage 12 minutes into the second period as Fernandes stroked home his 21st goal of the season.

The effort was initially ruled out for offside before the linesman’s decision was overruled by VAR.

United continued to play at a pace Sociedad could not deal with and Rashford finally got his goal in the 65th minute following a blistering counter-attack started by goalkeeper Dean Henderson.

The tie was surely put to bed in the final minute of normal time as Daniel James raced clear and fired into the bottom corner.

BALE STARS
Bale’s agent Jonathan Barnett had said on Wednesday the Wales winger was “towards the end of his career”, after Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had questioned the player’s Instagram post suggesting he was in good health despite being unavailable for Spurs’ FA Cup defeat at Everton last week.

But Bale notched his first Tottenham assist since April 2013 to tee up Son Heung-min for the opening goal in Budapest against Wolfsberg, before drilling in the second before the half-hour mark.

A wonderful individual strike from Lucas Moura extended Spurs’ first-half lead, and although Michael Liendl pulled one back for the Austrians with a second-half penalty, the English club have one foot in the next round after Carlos Vinicius’ 88th-minute goal.

“I have a really close relationship with him (Bale),” said Son. “I’m very happy he’s getting game time and scored a goal and got an assist. I really enjoy playing with him.”

Mourinho has never lost a knockout tie in the competition, which he won with Porto in 2003 and Man United in 2017.

AC MILAN, ARSENAL HELD

AC Milan, who have not reached the quarter-finals of any European competition since the 2011-12 Champions League, had to settle for a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade.

Milan, who face Inter in a top-of-the-table Serie A derby on Sunday, were pegged back as Milan Pavkov netted a dramatic 93rd-minute leveller for Red Star, who played the closing stages with 10 men.

Arsenal youngster Bukayo Saka continued his excellent season as his sixth goal of the campaign cancelled out Pizzi’s penalty in a 1-1 draw against Benfica at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

“I feel like I’m improving every game. I’m trying to impress, trying to learn,” said Saka. “I just want to keep progressing.”

Ligue 1 leaders Lille conceded twice in the final three minutes to lose 2-1 at home to Ajax.

Timothy Weah, son of former Ballon d’Or winner George, put the French team ahead with 18 minutes to play, but Dusan Tadic’s penalty and a goal from teenager Brian Brobbey put the Dutch champions on top after the first leg.

“It’s good that I scored but I’m not happy because we didn’t win,” Weah told RMC Sport.

Leicester, sitting third in the Premier League, were held to a goalless draw at Slavia Prague, but there was plenty of excitement elsewhere.

Bayer Leverkusen fought back from three goals down only to lose 4-3 to Young Boys in Bern, while Olympiakos beat PSV Eindhoven 4-2 in Piraeus

Borna Barisic netted two penalties, including the winning goal in the last minute, as Steven Gerrard’s Rangers snatched a thrilling 4-3 victory at Royal Antwerp.

Molde came back from 3-1 down to draw with Hoffenheim, while Edin Dzeko’s early goal helped Roma to a 2-0 win at 10-man Braga and Napoli lost 2-0 to Granada.

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WILFRED ZAHA TO STOP BENDING THE KNEE BEFORE CRYSTAL PALACE GAMES, SAYS MESSAGE HAS BEEN LOST.

Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha says he will stop taking a knee before Premier League matches as part of English football’s anti-racism campaign because he believes the meaning of the ‘degrading’ gesture has been lost.

Players have been taking a knee since July, initially in support of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement before the Premier League and English Football League linked the gesture to their own anti-racism campaigns.

“I feel like taking a knee is degrading. Growing up, my parents let me know that I should just be proud to be Black, no matter what. I just think we should stand tall,” Zaha told the Financial Times’ Business of Football summit on Thursday.

“Taking the knee now… The meaning behind the whole thing is becoming something that we just do now. That’s not enough, I’m not going to take the knee.

“I’m not going to wear ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the back of my shirt, because it feels like it’s a target. We’re trying to say we are equal but these things are not working anyway.”

Last week, Championship side Brentford said their players would no longer take a knee before matches and will find other ways to support racial equality, but would back other clubs that continue to kneel before games.

“Now I don’t really tend to speak on racism aspects because I’m not here just to tick boxes,” Zaha added. “Unless there’s change, don’t ask me about it. Unless action is going to happen I don’t want to hear about it.”

Premier League players have also been racially abused online, prompting English football bodies to put pressure on social media companies to tackle the problem.

Manchester United’s Axel Tuanzebe, Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial, Chelsea’s Reece James, Arsenal’s Eddie Nketiah, West Bromwich Albion’s Romaine Sawyers and Southampton’s Alex Jankewitz have all been victims in recent weeks.

“Increasingly this type of abuse towards Black players is becoming normalised,” Arsenal chief executive Vinai Venkatesham said at the summit, adding that the London club provides support to their players and reports abuse to the police.

“We can’t do this alone. How do you explain to a Black footballer that pirated content is taken down in minutes but not racist abuse?”

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LACK OF ANFIELD FANS HURTING LIVERPOOL BAD – DJIBRIL CISSE

Djibril Cisse believes the lack of fans in the stadium is hurting Liverpool during their current struggles as they prepare for a Merseyside derby behind closed doors.

Liverpool have slipped to sixth in the Premier League and go into Saturday’s match against Everton desperate to avoid a fourth-consecutive Anfield defeat – unthinkable during a 68-game unbeaten home run that was ended by Burnley last month.

Empty stands have certainly played a role but former Liverpool striker Cisse believes the absence of fans will be felt most keenly on derby day.

“As a professional player, you have to take it as seriously as if the crowd was there,” Cisse told the PA news agency. “But as a human it takes something off because sometimes if you have bad momentum you need the crowd to cheer you up.

“I have played in empty stadiums and it is not the same. In a derby, you need the fire of the fans.”

Cisse experienced some of the biggest rivalries in Europe during his career – a Rome derby with Lazio, playing for Panathinaikos against Olympiakos, and facing Paris St Germain with Marseille – but said the Merseyside derby has a unique character.

“It is special because the two stadiums are so close, but what makes it even more special is because in the same family you will have some Liverpool fans and some Everton fans,” the Frenchman said.

“When you hear the word ‘derby’ you think of hate. Two clubs that hate each other, but that is not really the case. For us as players we still knew the importance of the game but it’s not the same as PSG-Marseille or Panathinaikos-Olympiakos.”

But a ‘friendly’ derby did not mean a less intense one.

“You can feel the difference during the whole week,” said Cisse, who scored a decisive third against Everton at Goodison Park in December 2005.

“The fans in the city make sure you know the game is really important for them.

“As a foreigner, when I arrived in Liverpool (in 2004) I heard about the derby but didn’t really know the meaning of the derby for the people.

“I was quite close to Stevie (Gerrard) and he told me about how important the game is so I was ready to give 100 per cent to make sure Liverpool was the team of the city.”

Cisse – part of Liverpool’s Champions League-winning squad of 2005 – is remembered by Liverpool fans as an exuberant character with a series of wild haircuts, the accidental lord of the manor who bought a house with a title in Cheshire, and a joker in the dressing room.

“It was a relaxed atmosphere,” he said of Rafael Benitez’s regime. “But we knew when it was game time, when it was training time. We knew the limit.

“Even in derby week it was really relaxed and friendly but we knew when we have to go to war, we go to war. We knew what we had to do.”

Cisse’s time on Merseyside was also marked by a broken leg which cost him five and a half months of his first season.

With injuries taking their toll on Liverpool again this year, Cisse said the impact was always felt well beyond the pitch.

“When it’s a leader of your defence – I’m thinking of Virgil Van Dijk – you can be a little worried,” he said. “Even if you trust all of the squad and the players going to replace him, it is still a big loss so you are worried.

“But you don’t really have time to think about it. You have to be ready and focused, and to help the new players who are going to replace them. They are under a lot of pressure because they have to perform and do as well, and it is not easy.”