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POLICE LAUNCH INVESTIGATION INTO CRISTIANO RONALDO INCIDENT AT EVERTON

Merseyside Police have launched an investigation following an incident in which Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo appeared to knock a mobile phone out of a supporter’s hand at Everton.

The force is appealing for witnesses after footage on social media emerged which appeared to show the Portuguese smashing a phone out of a Toffees fan’s hand and onto the ground as he limped off towards the tunnel following United’s 1-0 loss at Goodison Park.

Ronaldo later issued an apology for his “outburst” via social media and invited the supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford “as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship”.

A spokesperson for Merseyside Police said: “We can confirm that we are liaising with Manchester United Football Club and Everton FC following reports of an alleged assault at the Everton v Manchester United football match at Goodison.

“As players were leaving the pitch at 2.30pm, it was reported that a boy was assaulted by one of the away team as they left the pitch.

“Inquiries are under way and officers are currently working with Everton Football Club to review CCTV footage and are carrying out extensive witness enquiries to establish if an offence has taken place.

“Anyone with information on this incident is asked to contact Merseyside Police social media desk via Twitter @MerPolCC or Facebook Merseyside Police Contact centre quoting reference number 228 of 9 April 2022.”

The 37-year-old Ronaldo later took to his Instagram account to apologise.

He said: “It’s never easy to deal with emotions in difficult moments such as the one we are facing.

“Nevertheless, we always have to be respectful, patient and set the example for all the youngsters who love the beautiful game.

“I would like to apologise for my outburst and, if possible, I would like to invite this supporter to watch a game at Old Trafford as a sign of fair-play and sportsmanship.”

Manchester United confirmed they were aware of the matter.

A club spokesperson said in a statement: “We are aware of an alleged incident after today’s game at Everton and the club will co-operate with any police inquiries.”

Anthony Gordon’s deflected shot handed Everton a priceless victory in their bid to avoid relegation while at the same time denting United’s hopes of a top-four finish.

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CHRIS WOOD PENALTY HELP NEWCASTLE SEES OFF WOLVES TO BOOST SURVIVAL HOPES

Chris Wood blasted home a 72nd-minute penalty to hand Newcastle a precious victory over Wolves which lifted them to the brink of Premier League safety.

The £25 million January signing’s second goal in a black and white shirt secured a 1-0 win which left the Magpies 10 points clear of the relegation zone and piled the pressure on the teams below them.

Wood, who became New Zealand’s record scorer during last month’s international break, had seen a first-half strike ruled out by VAR, but his decisive intervention ended his side’s three-game losing streak, to the delight of the majority of a crowd of 52,164 at St James’ Park.

It was little more than Eddie Howe’s side – prompted throughout by the excellent Bruno Guimaraes – deserved on a night when Wolves rarely looked like claiming the three points they needed to climb into the top six, until a late flurry.

The Newcastle boss was forced to make a change with just 12 minutes gone when Ryan Fraser, who had earlier undergone treatment on the pitch, was unable to continue and Miguel Almiron was asked to take his place.

Time and space were at a premium with both teams attempting to press out of possession and it took a ball over the top from Jonjo Shelvey to hand Almiron a half-chance with 21 minutes gone, but although the Paraguay international’s controlling touch was good, his shot did not match it.

Newcastle thought they had taken a 24th-minute lead when a prone Wood fired home after Wolves had failed to clear Guimaraes’ cross – after he and Almiron had cleverly exchanged passes – but although there was no offside flag, it was decided there should have been following a VAR review.

Jonny blazed over from distance two minutes later as Wolves fleetingly responded, but they were largely content to attempt to contain the Magpies during a first half of little real incident with Joelinton glancing a Matt Targett free-kick well wide two minutes before the break.

With wing-back Marcal much further advanced after the break, Wanderers looked significantly more threatening, although goalkeeper Jose Sa had to pluck Dan Burn’s shot out of the air after he had run on to Wood’s 52nd-minute flick-on.

Hwang Hee-chan saw his attempt blocked at close range after he had carved his way into the Newcastle box three minutes later and Joao Moutinho drilled a cross across the face of goal with the game opening up.

An out-of-sorts Allan Saint-Maximin was enduring a frustrating evening and skied a 64th-minute well over from Guimaraes’ cross before failing to pick out Wood at the far post seconds later.

But the former Burnley striker finally got his chance with 18 minutes remaining when, after he had been upended by Sa as he ran on to Joelinton’s pass, he sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot to open the scoring.

Guimaraes might have made it 2-0, but saw his scuffed hit trickle just wide, but the lead was desperately fragile with Fabio Silva heading wastefully wide before being denied by a fine save from Martin Dubravka as time ran down.

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EVERTON BOOST THEIR SURVIVAL HOPES WITH VICTORY OVER MANCHESTER UNITED

Anthony Gordon immeasurably boosted Everton’s hopes of Premier League survival as his first-half strike proved the difference in a scrappy affair against Manchester United.

Gordon’s deflected effort before the half hour alleviated the pressure on Frank Lampard after a 3-2 midweek defeat at relegation rivals Burnley had left Everton just a solitary point above the drop zone.

This was far from a vintage display from either side but a 1-0 win for the Toffees puts daylight between themselves and the bottom three as United’s top-four ambitions suffered another untimely dent.

Ralf Rangnick made half a dozen changes from the side that drew 1-1 against Leicester last week – Lampard himself made four – as Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcus Rashford were restored to the starting XI.

The bustling Rashford was thwarted twice early on by Jordan Pickford but Ronaldo was largely subdued as United remain cut adrift from the Champions League places after being downed by Gordon’s shot, which thudded into visiting captain Harry Maguire and left goalkeeper David De Gea stranded.

Everton, up until that point, were lacking in inspiration but they noticeably grew in stature after going ahead, when the mood around Goodison Park dramatically changed, although they were given relatively few scares by a United side that have won just one of their last five top-flight fixtures.

Given both teams are low on confidence, it was perhaps little surprise that it was a cagey opening few minutes, complete with stray passes and the sides loose in possession, although Everton were particularly hesitant, with United getting on top and having two early sights at goal through Rashford.

The hitherto out-of-form forward was lively on the left and had a snap shot parried away by the outstretched Pickford, who moments later excellently got down low to deny a header from the England forward as Gordon snuffed out any danger on the rebound.

Everton appeared listless and lethargic, with their fans growing restless, but the atmosphere and momentum changed as they took a 27th-minute lead following some sluggishness at the back from United.

Richarlison’s attempted cutback to Alex Iwobi broke just outside the area for Gordon, who prioritised placement over power and was grateful for a wicked deflection off Maguire, wrongfooting De Gea, as the ball sailed into the net.

The goal galvanised Everton, with Michael Keane heading over shortly afterwards while another deflected effort, this time from Richarlison, had to be tipped over by De Gea.

United were forced into a change before the break, with Fred seemingly nursing an injury and withdrawn for Paul Pogba, whose first meaningful contribution saw him upend Gordon on halfway to go into the referee’s book after the interval.

Moments earlier Rashford had ghosted in behind the Everton defence and while he was unable to make contact with Bruno Fernandes’ pass, the ball only just trickled wide with Pickford out of position.

It was to be Rashford’s last involvement as he and Nemanja Matic were hooked for Anthony Elanga and Juan Mata, with Ralf Rangnick using all three of his substitutes within 64 minutes.

United gradually started to exert pressure in the closing stages, with Everton throwing bodies in the way when the ball was worked into the box, although Pogba forced a smart save from Pickford late on.

Pickford was again called upon in time added on to deny Ronaldo on the half-volley after being teed up by Maguire before the referee’s whistle for full-time was greeted by an eruption of noise.

Lampard pumped his fist on the touchline, and no doubt breathed a sigh of relief, following a momentous win – just the third in his tenure in the league in 10 attempts.

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SENSATIONAL HEUNG-MIN SON HAT-TRICK SENDS SPURS THREE POINTS CLEAR IN FOURTH

Son Heung-min fired a sensational hat-trick as Tottenham took control of the race for a Premier League top-four spot with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.

After Manchester United and Arsenal both lost earlier in the day, Son’s treble and a fine Dejan Kulusevski strike sent Spurs three points in clear in fourth.

It was a fourth win in a row, a seventh from the last nine and makes it difficult to look past them in the battle for Champions League qualification following Antonio Conte’s transformation of this team.

Their deadly front three, with Harry Kane creating two of the goals, sealed the victory, but Spurs also have skipper Hugo Lloris to thank just as much.

After Son’s early opener they were on the rack for most of the first half, with the Frenchman’s heroics keeping a rampant Villa at bay.

Their lethal quality on the break in the second half saw them run away with it and inflict a fourth straight defeat on Steven Gerrard’s side.

Tottenham would have enjoyed watching the results from earlier in the day come in, providing them with a real opportunity to take control of their top-four hopes.

And they could not have dreamed of a better start as they went ahead in just the third minute through Son.

Kane’s drilled shot hit Matty Cash in the midriff and fell perfectly to the South Korean, who fizzed a fine first-time effort into the bottom corner.

But Villa’s response was admirable and Spurs needed their captain Lloris to step up with three big saves.

First he palmed away a low Cash effort, then somehow clawed away Jacob Ramsey’s effort at the near post after the Villa man had weaved into the area before also stopping John McGinn’s swerving shot from distance.

The hosts were all over Spurs like a rash, not letting their visitors breathe, and the chances kept on coming.

Danny Ings shot straight at Lloris from a well-worked free-kick, Ollie Watkins headed over from Phillipe Coutinho’s cross and then saw the Spurs stopper make another save.

The Frenchman was the busiest player on the pitch and had to keep out a Coutinho free-kick at the near post as he ended the first half with seven saves to his name.

Gerrard will have been scratching his head as to how his side were not comfortably in front by the interval, so he probably knew what was coming in the second half.

Just five minutes after the restart Spurs doubled their lead with a moment of real quality.

Kane flicked on Lloris’ long ball into the path of Kulusevski and the Swede did brilliantly to fire a low shot across goal and into the far corner.

Villa had run out of steam and Spurs landed a killer blow in the 66th minute as the Kane-Son partnership delivered again.

It was Kane’s brilliant awareness that set Son clear, knowing exactly where to direct his headed flick, and the South Korean coolly converted past Emi Martinez.

Son completed his hat-trick five minutes later, putting the finishing touches to a brilliant team move.

Kane and Son combined to play Kulusevski in down the right and after a mazy run he cut back to Son, who swept home in style to claim the matchball.

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Torres rescues draw for Xavi’s men

Ferran Torres rescued a 1-1 draw for Barcelona in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Eintracht Frankfurt, who finished with 10 men.

After a goalless first half at Deutsche Bank Park on Thursday, Ansgar Knauff sent the home fans into raptures with a wonderful finish from 20 yards out. 

Xavi sent Frenkie de Jong and Ousmane Dembele on in response and the pair started a lovely move that ended with Torres slotting an equaliser into the bottom-left corner. 

And although Tuta was shown a second yellow card with just over 10 minutes remaining, Barca were unable to complete a dramatic late turnaround to snatch the victory.

Kevin Trapp’s fingertip save kept Torres at bay in the third minute and Djibril Sow failed to hit the target from a great opening at the other end. 

Barca dominated possession but Trapp denied Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and they lost Gerard Pique to an apparent groin injury – Clement Lenglet replacing him in the 23rd minute. 

Eintracht were awarded a penalty shortly before half-time but upon reviewing video footage, referee Srdjan Jovanovic deemed Sergio Busquets had won the ball in his challenge on Rafael Borre. 

The hosts took the lead just three minutes after the restart, though, as Knauff curled a great strike into the top-right corner from the edge of the box following a corner. 

Jesper Lindstrom missed a brilliant chance to double Eintracht’s lead 90 seconds later and it proved costly when De Jong – who had only been on the pitch for four minutes – teed up Torres to finish off a slick move. 

Tuta was shown a yellow card for a lunge on Pedri in the 78th minute but Barca were unable to make their numerical advantage count in the closing stages. 

After overcoming Inter en route to the semi-finals in 2018-19, knocking out another of Europe’s most prestigious clubs remains a distinct possibility for Eintracht this season. 

Although they were unable to become the first German team other than Bayern Munich to beat Barca in a European game since Bayer Leverkusen in September 2001 – the Blaugrana are now undefeated in 22 such matches they will still fancy their chances at Camp Nou. 

He may have missed a great chance early in the second half, but Lindstrom was a real thorn in the side of Barca with his electric pace. He supplied four key passes – more than any other player on the pitch – before being replaced in the 73rd minute. 

He has made a strong start to life at Barca but Aubameyang was far from his best in Germany. 

He only had one attempt on goal across the 90 minutes and completed fewer than half of his passes. 

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WEST HAM BATTLE TO LYON DRAW AFTER LOSING AARON CRESSWELL TO FIRST-HALF RED CARD .

Jarrod Bowen was on target as West Ham battled to a 1-1 Europa League quarter-final first-leg draw against Lyon after Aaron Cresswell was controversially sent off.

The Hammers, playing in the latter stages of a major European competition for the first time in 41 years, were up against it after Cresswell was harshly dismissed for a foul on Moussa Dembele before half-time.

The decision could have left West Ham with a mountain to climb ahead of the second leg in the French city overlooked by the Alps next week.

But Bowen’s second goal in as many matches, after a month out injured, put the 10 men 1-0 up before Tottenham loanee Tanguy Ndombele hauled Lyon level.

Nevertheless, a draw keeps West Ham’s dream of a place in the semi-finals, against either Barcelona or Eintracht Frankfurt, well and truly alive.

It promises to be a spicy return leg in the culinary capital of France after tempers occasionally boiled over, while Dembele’s Cristiano Ronaldo-style wink after Cresswell’s red card will not have gone unnoticed among the Hammers ranks.

Lyon may be having an erratic season domestically – they currently lie ninth in Ligue 1 – but they are unbeaten in this competition and knocked out Porto in the last 16.

They are also seasoned European campaigners and quickly began to showcase their repertoire of the darker arts, infuriating West Ham when Jerome Boateng and Ndombele both stayed down after no foul had been given.

German referee Felix Zwayer seemed taken in by their antics, stopping play each time with West Ham looking to attack.

Then, in first-half stoppage time and with West Ham frustration growing, Cresswell suddenly found himself chasing down Dembele and pulled him back on the edge of the box.

Kurt Zouma was also on the scene as cover but Zwayer decided Cresswell was the last man and pulled out a straight red card, to the obvious delight of the winking Dembele and the dismay of David Moyes.

The Hammers manager’s grasp of German is not known, but he evidently made his feelings clear enough as Zwayer booked him as he stormed down the tunnel.

But West Ham’s sense of injustice fuelled them into taking the lead seven minutes into the second half.

Michail Antonio’s burst forward caused havoc in the Lyon defence and Pablo Fornals tried to slip in Bowen.

Boateng made a mess of his attempt to control the ball and it rolled behind Bowen, but the winger managed to retrieve it, turn and clip the ball over Lyon keeper Anthony Lopes via a deflection off the sliding Boateng.

However, Lyon grabbed a 66th-minute equaliser when Ndombele got in the box to fire home from six yards after a cross from substitute Tete hit Ryan Fredericks.

There was a sour note to the match after a pitch invader – the second of the game – jumped out of the home end and actually stopped a promising Hammers attack before he was escorted off.

Dembele put a header over as West Ham saw out eight nervy minutes of stoppage time to give themselves a fighting chance in seven days.

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LEICESTER HELD TO FRUSTRATING DRAW BY PSV IN FIRST LEG OF QUARTER FINAL

Leicester missed the chance to take control of their Europa Conference League quarter-final after drawing 0-0 with PSV.

The Foxes head to Eindhoven next week without a precious advantage following an even and competitive first leg at the King Power Stadium.

Harvey Barnes hit the bar and Kelechi Iheanacho missed a golden first-half chance to give Leicester crucial breathing space.

Ultimately the Foxes were left frustrated in a combative encounter, although they needed Kasper Schmeichel to bail them out early when he saved from Mario Gozte.

Leicester’s last European quarter-final was their 2017 Champions League tie with Atletico Madrid. Then, they gallantly bowed out 2-1 on aggregate after two gutsy performances and this time they go to Eindhoven with the tie delicately poised.

Five years ago they were defiant in the face of the footballing elite and, after a disappointing early exit from the Europa League in December, the Foxes are three games away from their first European final.

They face a team second in the Eredivisie, but outgoing PSV boss Roger Schmidt, who will be replaced by Ruud Van Nistelrooy in the summer, insisted pre-match his side could not match Leicester’s individual talent.

He argued they needed to use their collective ability and the visitors nearly stunned the hosts after just two minutes.

The Foxes were caught napping at a throughball and Gotze had just Schmeichel to beat, but the goalkeeper – one of only two survivors from the starting line up against Atletico – saved well.

Initially Leicester failed to settle, with the lively Noni Madueke central to PSV’s early threat, but they gradually began to see more of the ball and wrestled a degree of control.

And they should have gone ahead after 20 minutes, only for Iheanacho to blow his chance.

Joey Veerman was closed down by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and he blocked his pass to send Iheanacho clear after outpacing Andre Ramalho.

The striker was left with just Yvon Mvogo to beat, but he dinked the ball wide.

It at least proved the openings were there for Leicester and Timothy Castagne was the next to threaten, but he failed to trouble Mvogo.

The Foxes were finding the space needed and they were millimetres away from going into the break ahead.

Again, Dewsbury-Hall was the instigator as he charged down the left and cut the ball back for Barnes to swap passes with Iheanacho and crash an angled drive off the underside of the bar from 12 yards.

The Foxes were the aggressors and PSV had lacked the imagination to unlock Leicester since Schmeichel’s early duel with Gotze.

The visitors did, however, make appeals for a penalty early in the second half when Ricardo Pereira slipped and appeared to foul Cody Gakpo, but referee Ivan Kruzliak was unmoved and there was no VAR to review.

Iheanacho drilled wide just after the hour and, as the game wore on, PSV were clearly happy to take the draw back to the Philips Stadium.

They took the sting out of the game and now Leicester must do things the hard way in Holland.

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BENZEMA HAT-TRICK LEAVES CHELSEA’S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE HOPES IN TATTERS

Karim Benzema bullied Chelsea to the brink of relinquishing their Champions League crown with a stunning hat-trick in Real Madrid’s 3-1 triumph at Stamford Bridge.

The prolific striker moved his competition goal return to 11 in just eight matches after hitting back-to-back trebles as Madrid overwhelmed the Blues in Wednesday’s quarter-final first-leg.

Benzema took his season’s tally to 37 goals in 36 matches for Real, handing his side a major chance of making the semi-finals in their bid to land a 14th Champions League title.

The 34-year-old stalked the beleaguered Andreas Christensen like a heavyweight prize fighter closing off the ring to a frenzied and frazzled foe.

Kai Havertz dragged Chelsea back into the contest from nowhere before half-time, but the luckless Edouard Mendy gifted Benzema his hat-trick goal with an undersold pass.

Chelsea will now need a performance to trump perhaps all others from Thomas Tuchel’s highly-decorated reign to overturn this deficit in Madrid’s intimidating Bernabeu Stadium.

The Blues, who dazzled Europe by toppling Manchester City 1-0 to swipe the Champions League trophy in May last year, will head out for the return leg on Tuesday, where a generational showing for this talented squad could well be required to keep their title defence alive.

Madrid meanwhile will head home in total control of this tie, with former Chelsea manager and figurehead Carlo Ancelotti particularly buoyed.

The urbane Italian coach almost did not make it to his old Stamford Bridge stomping ground due to Covid, but returned a negative test in time to link up with his players on the morning of the match.

April showers left the 60-year-old’s coiffured locks requiring a towelling-off, before he donned a beanie hat to ward off the weather.

Benzema’s three-minute, one-two punch left Chelsea flailing on the canvas.

The France striker must have thought the Blues were out for the count after delivering two thumping headers.

First he nodded home by racing onto Vinicius’ cross, then the Real talisman showed the other side of his aerial prowess, hanging in the air to dispatch Modric’s delivery.

A dazed and confused Chelsea found themselves staggering around the Stamford Bridge pitch. None more so than the hapless Christensen, who wound up continually exposed by Chelsea’s first-half system.

The Denmark defender could not decide whether to tuck in tight on the inside-right, or pull out to the right-back area.

James’ advanced right-sided role left Christensen with too much ground to cover, but the Dane should still have avoided the comprehensive work-over he received for his troubles.

Vinicius and Benzema doubled up on Christensen, with Ancelotti clearly identifying the Denmark centre-back as the weak link in Tuchel’s system on the night.

Benzema should have completed his hat-trick before half-time too, only to drive a low shot wide of the goal.

That let-off seemed to clear Chelsea’s punch-drunk haze and in a flash the Blues were on the scoreboard and back from the dead.

Jorginho’s sumptuous lofted ball bisected the Real defence, allowing Havertz to steal in at the far post and nod home.

Hakim Ziyech and Mateo Kovacic replaced Christensen and N’Golo Kante at half-time, with Tuchel well aware the shape had to change.

The Blues went to a flat-back four, but had not even settled when disaster struck.

Mendy underhit a pass to Toni Rudiger when out of his area and Benzema pounced, rolling the ball home to complete his devastating treble.

Proactive boss Tuchel emptied the bench in a bid to claw another foothold, but £98million striker Romelu Lukaku could in no way follow Benzema’s lead.

Where the Real marksman had proved unerring, instead Lukaku could only nod wide from a glorious chance.

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DANJUMA GIVES VILLARREAL FIRST LEG ADVANTAGE OVER BAYERN MUNICH

Arnaut Danjuma’s early goal secured Villarreal a deserved 1-0 win against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.

Former Bournemouth winger Danjuma gave the Spaniards a slender advantage going into the return leg by scoring the only goal early in the first half at Estadio de la Ceramica.

But it could have been worse for Bayern, who produced a disappointing display, as Villarreal had another effort ruled out for offside before they struck a post through Gerard Moreno.

The home side, backed by a vociferous crowd, made an excellent start and took an eighth-minute lead through Danjuma.

On-loan Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso cut the ball back into the area before Danjuma diverted Daniel Parejo’s shot into the bottom corner.

Spain defender Raul Albiol’s well-timed challenge on the edge of the box denied Serge Gnabry a scoring chance as Bayern looked to get a foothold in the game.

But the German champions were relieved to see Pau Torres fail to connect with a flick-on from Parejo’s free-kick as Villarreal threatened again.

And the stadium erupted just before the break when the Spaniards thought they had taken a deserved two-goal lead.

Francis Coquelin’s attempted cross flew into the net, but referee Anthony Taylor was told the French midfielder had been offside after a VAR check and Bayern breathed again.

The visitors, who had failed to register a shot on target, had it all to do at half-time.

Thomas Muller was inches away from diverting in a cross for an equaliser early in the second period, but there was no respite for Bayern, who were spared by the woodwork when Moreno’s shot hit a post in the 53rd minute.

Bayern sent on Leroy Sane and Leon Goretzka for Gnabry and Muller and in the 66th minute Alphonso Davies fired straight at Villarreal goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli. It was Bayern’s first effort on target.

The Bundesliga side pressed in the final 15 minutes, but still found chances hard to come by and Alfonso Pedraza fired a golden chance wide for Villarreal in the 87th minute.

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RUSSIAN FOOTBALL UNION WITHDRAWS APPEAL AGAINST FIFA BAN

The Russian Football Union has withdrawn its appeal against FIFA’s decision to throw Russia out of the World Cup following the country’s invasion of Ukraine.

Russian clubs and national teams are currently suspended by the world governing body, as well as European body UEFA, meaning Russia were not allowed to play their World Cup play-off semi-final against Poland last month.

Poland, along with Sweden and the Czech Republic, who contested the other semi-final in the same qualification path, had all refused to play against Russia. A number of other countries, including England, had also said they would boycott matches against Russia.

Poland were given a bye to the play-off final, where they beat Sweden to book their place in Qatar later this year.

The RFU took its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, but CAS said on Tuesday that the appeal against the ban was withdrawn on March 30.

“This procedure will be terminated shortly,” CAS added in a statement.

However, the RFU is standing by its appeal against the ban on Russian teams in UEFA competitions.

Spartak Moscow were thrown out of the Europa League, while the country’s under-21s side have been expelled from competition and their women’s team are banned from Euro 2022 this summer.

A date for the appeal has yet to be set, with a panel of arbitrators currently being put together.