The Times-010424

the times | Monday April 1 2024 1GG 7 thegame Roberto de Zerbi has said his future as the Brighton & Hove Albion head coach will be determined by the ambition the club outlines for next season. De Zerbi insisted he has not already “decided to leave” the Amex in the summer amid links with Liverpool, Manchester United and Bayern Munich, but added that he wants to know what “target” owner Tony Bloom is striving to achieve. The Italian, whose injury-hit side lost 2-1 after leading at Anfield yesterday, said the concerns he had at the start of the campaign had not properly been addressed by the south coast club and tensions in his relationship with Bloom have emerged. “I would like to play in Anfield against Liverpool without seven injured players,” said De Zerbi. “I have to accept that we have to keep the focus on the last nine games, but we didn’t improve in the part I had doubts about in the beginning of the season. “What is the target we are playing for? The other points I have already spoken about with Tony and, in the future, we are going to speak again about the next plan, the next season, and then we find the solution. “But we both have to be happy — the club and myself.” De Zerbi’s present contract runs until 2026 and he indicated that talks on extending that have ended. “I have another two years of contract,” said De Zerbi. “To work next season at Brighton I don’t need to extend another year, or another two years. “I can stay and work in Brighton with or without the extension. Nothing has changed. At the moment we finished the discussion about the contract but not because I have decided yet to leave. No, no. “My focus is on Brighton this season, the next season. But before starting the next season I would like to listen to the plan of the team. I think it is a serious thing.” Show me your plan, De Zerbi tells Brighton PAUL JOYCE from Klopp playbook Salah had won a header before the striker capped an influential display by claiming the winner with a cool finish that sent his side to the top of the Premier League ANDREW POWELL/LIVERPOOL FC/GETTY IMAGES HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE Alexis Mac Allister’s touches against Brighton 90 touches Attacking direction £89m loss caused second breach of financial rules Beto believes that he can prove the solution to Everton’s goalscoring conundrum after scoring his second goal in three games. The 26-year-old Portuguese striker had been sent on as a 79th-minute substitute by Sean Dyche and delivered what appeared to be a precious equaliser eight minutes later, before his team-mate Séamus Coleman contrived a bizarre chested own goal in stoppage time to give Bournemouth the three points. Beto has been used surprisingly sparingly as a starting option by Dyche, the Everton manager, since the forward’s £26 million move from the Italian club Udinese last summer. Seven starts this season appears a modest expression of faith, given that Everton have scored just eight goals Bournemouth Saolanke 64, Coleman (og) 90+1 2 Everton Beto 87 1 GRAHAM THOMAS Beto, usually a substitute, has three league goals Beto: I can cure Everton’s scoring woes penalty. But for all his neat touches and energy, Calvert-Lewin has scored only three goals this season in 28 league appearances. How Dyche must wish he had a striker with the poise and calm efficiency of Solanke. The former Liverpool forward scored with a powerful header and now has 16 league goals this season, already as many as Josh King’s record mark for Bournemouth in the Premier League in 2017. Bournemouth, astutely managed by Andoni Iraola after a winless February, also have quality in the centre of their defence in the shape of Illia Zabarnyi. The 21-year-old Ukrainian enjoyed a successful week after helping his country qualify for the Euro 2024 finals with a 2-1 play-off victory over Iceland. “It doesn’t matter who we play, we think we can get maximum points against them,” he said. in a 12-game winless sequence that equals their worst run in the top flight 30 years ago. “We are not scoring goals,” said Beto after he had cancelled out the impressive Dominic Solanke’s opening goal for Bournemouth. “We create chances but we are not scoring. “I feel like I am developing with every single session and every single game. Whether I play 90 minutes or only 45, I feel like I am developing well. I just want to get in and play as a starter, score goals, and help the team to win games.” Dominic Calvert-Lewin — the striker Dyche appears to have more faith in — had two efforts saved by Neto, the Bournemouth goalkeeper, and was brought down in the penalty area by an ankle tap that some VAR officials would have considered a picture. Up to last June, £449 million had been spent on the 52,888 allseater stadium which is due to be finished in December. Turnover was down by £9 million to £172.2 million, wages fell from £162 million to £159 million (but stood at 92 per cent of the club’s turnover), operating costs were £213.1 million and capital costs £211 million. Included in the loss is just over £10 million in exceptional operating costs, relating to pay-offs to former manager Frank Lampard and his coaching staff, who were sacked in January 2023, and also several departing directors, including former chief executive Denise BarrettBaxendale, who resigned last June. She has not given evidence at either of the two profit and sustainability hearings, despite the financial excesses that resulted in a six-point penalty, down from ten on appeal, taking place on her watch. A verdict from the second case is due this week. Everton have announced a loss of £89.1 million in their latest financial accounts, despite making a profit from player trading of £47.5 million. The figures cover the year up to the end of June 2023 and resulted in the second breach of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules — which led to the club attending a three-day hearing before an independent commission last week. The accounts contain a warning about the “material uncertainty” over the club’s ability to trade as a going concern, although the same wording accompanied last year’s results. Other notable figures in the accounts reveal Everton’s net debt stood at £330.6 million, a huge increase from £141.7 million, and shows how construction of the club’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock continues to dominate the financial PAUL JOYCE the times | Monday April 1 2024 7

Phillips flicks a finger at a fan who abused him after the match-turning penalty he conceded for fouling Gordon Just gone midday and a short walk from Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s diehards are putting the world to rights over a pint around a table. In the past fortnight civil war has broken out between Chelsea’s supporters’ organisations, shining a light on the disgruntlement and frustration about things broader and deeper than the mediocrity on the pitch — even before the draw against ten-man, lowly Burnley on Saturday. In the Cock Tavern on North End Road, a popular local pub for Chelsea fans, Ray Billinghurst, 76, who has travelled on a supporters’ coach from the West Country, is sitting alongside Colin Lee, the club’s former midfielder. He has been watching his team since the 1950s and is loosely aware of the row sparked when the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust (CST) warned that the club was sliding towards “irreversible toxicity” in the stands — and in turn was accused of No communication, no Chelsea Palmer 44 (pen), 78 2 Burnley Cullen 47, O’Shea 81 2 causing “chaos and division” by the club’s fan advisory board. For Billinghurst and others at the table, their unhappiness stems from a lack of connection with the owners, the Clearlake Capital consortium led by Todd Boehly. “They don’t communicate with us,” Billinghurst says. “They have been in for nearly two years, we don’t know the longterm policy and we don’t want Conor Gallagher, a local boy, to be sold.” For the odd person grumbling about Mauricio Pochettino, the head coach, far more have been wondering about the club’s strategy, the silence over a new stadium, possible increased ticket prices and tourist fans diluting the atmosphere. At another table near the front window, Eddie Richards, 61, and Mark Gillespie, 63, have been chatting about recruitment. Richards first came to Stamford Bridge in 1976, has been a season ticket holder since the late 1990s and has a realistic view. “Pochettino needs time,” Richards says. “His biggest skill is developing youngsters. If he is sacked, who would replace him? Football goes in cycles and the young generation have never known anything apart from success. What worries me is that we don’t GARY JACOB A video starts on the vast indoor pitch at St George’s Park. It is the final day of August, 2021. “Hi guys, Declan Rice here,” says a smiling Declan Rice. “As you can see, Kalvin Phillips is behind me. He is England’s player of the year and it’s fully deserved. Top boy. Top player.” Life seemed easy then for Phillips, who had started every game of England’s run to the Euro 2020 final. He was loved at Leeds United and loved by Gareth Southgate. “Debut last September, would you have expected that in a year or not?” Rice asks. “I wasn’t even expecting to play to be honest!” Phillips says. Three years on, underneath the Milburn Stand at St James’ Park on Saturday night, there were no smiles. When a supporter waiting next to the West Ham United bus called Phillips “useless” as he climbed the stairs, the 28-year-old midfielder instinctively flipped the middle finger of his left hand. His face then was contorted with anger and frustration. Football moves quickly. Phillips’s England place has gone. Southgate, in a rare expression of criticism, admitted as he announced his squad for the international friendlies with Brazil and Belgium that the midfielder’s form is simply not good enough. A loan move from Manchester City to West Ham has improved nothing other than his minutes on the pitch. There have been penalties given away, mistakes and on Saturday he was the unsuspecting catalyst for Newcastle United’s dramatic comeback from 3-1 down to 4-3 up. David Moyes would not offer public criticism of a player who gave away another penalty and was then twice culpable for slow defending, but he did concede his attempts to shore up a game had failed. “I’m not going to say anything about any player,” he replied when asked directly about Phillips. “I wouldn’t do that, it would be wrong. “I actually thought when we went 3-1 up Newcastle were the better team. I thought [bringing on Phillips in the 69th minute] would give us more control in the middle of the pitch at that time. Obviously it didn’t work.” A full review of Phillips’ part in West Ham’s collapse shows a player playing at the wrong speed, so out of time, and unrecognisable from the England star from a few years ago. West Ham were still winning 3-1 and Phillips had been on the field for five minutes when the ball was played to Anthony Gordon, deep and wide on the Newcastle right. Phillips’ reaction was slow and by the time he made an attempt at a block, the ball had been crossed. He then stood still on the byline and watched as the next passage played out, a right-footed shot Newcastle United Isak 6 (pen), 77 (pen), Barnes 83, 90 4 West Ham United Antonio 21, Kudus 45+10, Bowen 48 3 MARTIN HARDY Phillips must go where he is loved to save his career from Harvey Barnes that was saved by the feet of Lukasz Fabianski. Tomas Soucek and James WardProwse were fighting on the edge of the West Ham six-yard area to clear as Phillips ambled across. He was still on the wrong side of the six-yard area. The ball looked like it was in Fabianski’s hands but the goalkeeper, under pressure from Sean Longstaff, flicked it into the path of the former England man, who by then was around eight yards from goal. There were 16 players in the West Ham penalty area (nine of whom were in the six-yard box, four floored). It was a scene of chaos and the ball needed clearing in haste. Phillips instead took a touch, looked up and in that movement Gordon got his own foot in front of the clearing foot of the West Ham man. The attempted clearance became a challenge to the back of Gordon’s leg and the Newcastle forward was floored. When Rob Jones, the referee, signalled a penalty after being instructed to look at a pitchside monitor, Phillips threw both arms into the air. Moyes would suggest that Gordon played for the penalty, but there was also a different way to view the incident: that Phillips has become a player so out of rhythm that he failed to anticipate danger and in doing so gave Newcastle a lifeline back into the game. For Newcastle’s equalising goal, Phillips was the most defensive midfielder near Alexander Isak but still not within two metres of the forward, who slipped the ball through to Barnes. For Newcastle’s winning goal, Phillips finally seemed to have secured a good position on the edge of the West Ham penalty area. All momentum was with Newcastle by that stage, in the 90th minute, but when Gordon, on the Newcastle left, played the ball inside to Barnes, Phillips’ decision-making was so poor that he jumped into a weak challenge and then desperately tried to grab the Newcastle man with outstretched arms as he slipped through his fingers. Then he stopped completely as Barnes shot for glory from 20 yards out. Phillips was still walking slowly towards the West Ham penalty area as Barnes slid on his knees during wild celebrations inside St James’ Park. Then came the walk to the bus. Then came the finger. The 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo is now ahead of him for England. He is behind Edson Álvarez and WardProwse for a place in the West Ham midfield. His Manchester City career has ended before it even started, having joined the champions from Leeds in 2022 for £42 million. In the summer he will be linked with Leeds, his hometown club, where he was loved. He should jump at the move if it can be done. Phillips is a player who wants to be loved, not loathed, as his thoughtless gesture on the West Ham bus proved. KALVIN PHILLIPS’ PASS MAP Attacking direction Premier League 2023-24 Newcastle Utd 4-3 West Ham Successful 4 Unsuccessful 5 Source: Opta 9 44% Passes Accuracy thegame Saturday Rewind Phillips’s career hit the heights with Leeds Lascelles out for up to nine months with ruptured ACL Jamaal Lascelles has suffered a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and will undergo surgery this week (Martin Hardy writes). Newcastle have confirmed that their club captain, who suffered the injury during the club’s 4-3 win against West Ham on Saturday, will be out for between six and nine months once he undergoes surgery. Lascelles injured his knee in a collision with Michail Antonio early in the game. He received treatment and came back on to the field before being substituted in the 17th minute when clearly still troubled by the injury. Team-mate and fellow central defender Sven Botman has also just undergone surgery for a ruptured ACL and will miss the next six to nine months. 8 Monday April 1 2024 | the times

think Chelsea should be looking at Brighton & Hove Albion’s model as the way forward. [We should] look at Liverpool.” When the name of the former manager José Mourinho was sung at some recent matches, the fans seemed to be reminding the new owners about the club’s recent era of trophies. “We are not used to not winning,” Gillespie said. “The owners idea – Chelsea fans slam owners were like kids in a sweet shop. I’d text Eddie and ask, ‘Who is he?’ when we signed another foreign young player. We needed decent older ones.” There is a brief silence, then Rob Walker, 75, says: “The biggest problem is the stadium. If we redevelop Stamford Bridge we will be years away [from it].” Moving home or doing work on Chelsea’s present site will need the backing of the Chelsea Pitch Owners (CPO), who own the freehold of Stamford Bridge. Charles Rose is a former CPO chairman and a fan for more than 50 years. “The profligacy of the new regime combined with the indifferent performances on the field are a toxic mix,” he says. “Any experience within the club has been dismissed or allowed to go, and as such many feel that the club has drifted away from the supporters.” Closer to the stadium and opposite the underground station, Tim Rolls, 66, is standing by a stand selling books about Chelsea. He has attended matches since 1976 and writes for the cfcuk fanzine. “A feeling of disconnect with the ownership is growing and there is growing resentment towards what many see as their inexperience, incompetence and arrogance,” Rolls says. “There is also a feeling that ‘legacy’ supporters are unwelcome. If they can be driven out and replaced by people happy to pay high prices and spend on merchandise, then so much the better.” While waiting an hour after the game to funnel into the annual meeting of the CST in a room at the stadium, Clint Steele says: “We are not happy. The running of the club has been appalling. Where is the club going? We wasted £1 billion on players — apart from Cole Palmer and Malo Gusto. Do they want to sell the stadium? It’s many things. I’ve been coming here since 1967, was here when we were rubbish and will be here when we are rubbish again.” Some CST members question why the club’s fan advisory board sits in secret and whether it is a buffer between the club and the fans. A younger set of fans who do not remember a time without trophies chanted Roman Abramovich’s name inside The Butchers Hook pub opposite the ground. “If they communicate their vision, fans might accept the pain before we challenge for trophies,” James, 29, says. “But we don’t see a way forward, and what it is we are trying to achieve, as it stands.” Chelsea’s supporters feel that their club has drifted away from them Mason Mount — who came on in the 80th minute and took his first goal for the club beautifully, after a lovely first touch — has been involved more seldom than anyone at the club would have hoped when they paid £55 million to prise him from Chelsea. Onana on the other hand, United’s outstanding performer in this match, has been involved more than anyone could ever have expected. Four saves here took Onana to 108 for the season, more than Ederson and David Raya combined, and fewer only than Luton Town’s Thomas Kaminski (114) and West Ham United’s Alphonse Areola (113). After a shaky start to the season, especially in the Champions League, he has settled into a level of consistent performance which has eluded most of his team-mates. Across the Premier League season, his shotstopping has been worth six “goals prevented”, according to Opta, and he has almost certainly won United more points than he has cost them, as I analysed in The Times football newsletter a few weeks ago. This was another game where Onana’s goalkeeping earned United the point they ultimately took, and the opportunity to grab all three. “We had a great goalkeeper, he was brilliant tonight,” Erik ten Hag said. His best moment of the match came ten minutes after half-time: a superb double save which saw him plunge low to his right to stop Yegor Yarmolyuk’s corner-bound drive with a firm hand, then get up quickly to block Keane Lewis-Potter’s rebound at point-blank range. If you’re running the football side of United, in which unenviable position Ineos finds itself, there’s not a lot to feel positive about. But if there’s one crumb of comfort, it’s that United’s squad has several good young players. Onana turns 28 tomorrow, but he’s younger than Raya, Ederson or Alisson and can be United’s goalkeeper in the long term. The rebuild need not start at square one, and that, at least, is something. “Knowing Ivan, he won’t sleep tonight,” Thomas Frank said after this thrilling match, dominated by Brentford. “The chances dropped for him . . . he will blame himself that he didn’t score one.” Sure enough, interviewed on Sky Sports, Toney was hard on himself. “The chances I’ve missed . . . it all means nothing when you draw the game,” he said. “We just weren’t clinical enough in front of goal, myself included.” And yes, Toney did miss some good chances in this game: a volley lashed over the top, a one-on-one where he sent the ball on to the inside of the post, and a dipping cross which he guided brilliantly past André Onana, only for the effort to be disallowed because he had fractionally mistimed his run — “I just switched off for half a second,” he said. But overall, this was an excellent performance by the Brentford striker, replete with strength, technical ability and that kind of magnetic centre-forward play around which a team can build its entire attacking platform. Brentford had an extraordinary 85 touches in the Manchester United box, the third most by any team in any Premier League game: Toney, inset, only had 14 of them, but his ability to receive the ball was key to allowing Brentford to establish and maintain pressure in and around the penalty area. He received 39 passes in the match, the most of any Brentford player, demonstrating again and again the ability to take a long, airborne, diagonal pass and bring it under his command with a clever touch, that almost alchemical knack of turning flighty, uncontrolled possession into patient, grounded play. His assist, in the ninth minute of stoppage time, was the best example of this capability. He cushioned Saman Ghoddos’s swirling pass with a gossamer touch, used his body to shield the ball from Casemiro, drove past Lisandro Martínez before cutting the ball back hard and true for Kristoffer Ajer. Toney is not necessarily a player whose qualities show up on the stats sheet — indeed, this was only his ninth Premier League assist, in his third season — but his best work has that beguiling mix of physicality, technique, composure and game intelligence. The consensus after the recent international break seemed to be that Toney had done more to advance his case for a place in England’s European Championship squad than Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins, his likely rival. It’s a tight call, but Toney’s adhesive hold-up abilities could add a very useful dimension, and his elite penalty-taking record (he has scored 30 out of 32 across his career) adds weight to his case. As for United, this was a dire performance, partially redeemed only by two of their summer signings. Brentford Ajer 90+9 1 Manchester Utd Mount 90+6 1 JAMES GHEERBRANT Toney draws blank but shows why he deserves Euros slot MOST SHOTS FACED BY MANCHESTER UNITED Liverpool (L3-1), 16 Dec, 2018 36 Liverpool (D0-0), 17 Dec, 2023 34 Arsenal (W3-1), 2 Dec, 2017 33 Brentford (D1-1), 30 Mar, 2024 31 Man City (L3-1), 3 Mar, 2024 27 Everton (D3-3), 11 Sep, 2010 26 Man City (W1-0), 20 Mar, 2016 26 Arsenal (L3-2), 22 Jan, 2023 25 Tottenham (D1-1), 20 Jan, 2013 25 Chelsea (D1-1), 21 Sep, 2008 25 Chelsea (W1-0), 6 Nov, 2005 25 Under Ten Hag ROBBIE JAY BARRATT/AMA/GETTY IMAGES Saturday Rewind thegame the times | Monday April 1 2024 9

thegame Saturday Rewind Wood hopes the goals flow after Nuno’s show of faith After a turbulent couple of weeks Nottingham Forest’s Premier League survival hopes are back in their hands after their draw against Crystal Palace. And with goal difference the only thing keeping them out of the relegation zone their top-flight status could be in the hands of the in-form striker Chris Wood. The centre forward’s instinctive, looped header, which took his total to ten league goals for the season, earned them a vital point at the City Ground on Saturday but it was an afternoon that showed they are going to need more than his finishing to earn themselves breathing space in the battle for survival. “It’s all about fighting and making sure everybody stays positive. We know as players it’s going to go down to the last games,” Wood said. “We don’t want it to but we know it probably will do and you don’t have to get out of the relegation zone in the first two or three games.” So consistency is key. Half a job done against Palace and now the focus turns to Fulham at home tomorrow night in another potentially season-defining game. Fulham may be 12th but are a side who conceded three against Sheffield United on Saturday, the league’s lowest scorers who had managed only 24 goals in their previous 28 games. But being clinical is something Forest have struggled with in recent games. On Saturday they had 12 shots, with five on target, but it wasn’t until a Callum Hudson-Odoi effort in the 52nd minute that Dean Henderson was called into action. There was plenty of attacking talent on the pitch — Wood was playing as a lone striker supported by HudsonOdoi, Divock Origi and Morgan Gibbs-White — yet despite their dominance at times they were lacking. “Of course I want us to improve,” Nuno Espírito Santo, the Forest head coach, said. “We reach the area of the pitch that requires more clinical finishing and delivery but I believe that we are going to do that, the difficult part is to get there.” In their past five league games they have managed only four goals and Nuno knows there needs to be a better level of finishing, achieved by repetition on the training ground and breeding confidence within his squad. Luckily for Nuno he has cultivated a confidence within Wood that was perhaps lacking before and could be the key to a crucial final eight games of the campaign. “He’s a manager that has shown a lot of belief in me. And that’s big for an attacking player, if you’ve got love from your manager and things like that, not that it didn’t happen under Steve [Cooper],” Wood said. “But sometimes when you know you’re going to be playing it gives you the licence to do what you’re good at. Hopefully it continues.” With survival on the line Wood will not be the only one in the Forest camp who hopes his form in front of goal continues. Nott’m Forest Wood 61 1 Crystal Palace Mateta 11 1 CHARLOTTE DUNCKER So despite Wolves’ promising approach play, they created only one chance of note between the restart and their second goal: Mario Lemina’s 55th-minute header. And when Nicolò Zaniolo and Lucas Digne came on in the 63rd minute, Villa developed a foothold and ruthlessly exploited it. They had soaked up Wolves’ pressure, and counterpunched with precision and power to secure the result. Villa may not be firing on all cylinders at the moment, but they have begun to develop a feel for how to manage matches that are not going to plan. Even when missing key players, there is a maturity to their play. Teams finding a way to win when playing poorly is often regarded — falsely — as a marker of a good side. Playing with maturity when under pressure is a far better measure of quality — and Emery’s Villa appear to be developing just that. has shaped the mentality of his team and developed an instinct in them to manage games, weather attacks and seize moments to strike. They have dropped the fewest points from winning positions this season (three). Both goals — Diaby’s opener in the first half and Konsa’s in the second — came after periods of dominance by Wolves. In the second half in particular Wolves were in control: they had a majority of possession, were restricting Villa’s opportunities to progress upfield and were probing around the Villa penalty area, albeit without the incisiveness to convert that control into a goal. Their smart combination of manto-man and zonal pressing when Villa had goal kicks kept the home side limited inside their own half. But rather than panic, Villa identified they could keep Wolves’ at arm’s length, allow them to tire, and then break upon them. A touch over 25 minutes into the match, Aston Villa had not taken a single shot while Wolverhampton Wanderers had produced six — including, arguably, the miss of the weekend by Rayan Aït-Nouri. Over the course of Saturday’s game, Wolves accumulated more expected goals (xG — a measure of chance quality), more shots, and held a larger share of possession. This was not by Unai Emery’s design — Villa’s Spanish manager was displeased with his team’s “soft” start to the match, which enabled Wolves, who were missing some of their best players including Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Hwang Heechan, to look comfortable. Consequently, for the first two thirds of the match, Villa did not have convincing answers to the tactical questions Gary O’Neil’s team posed. While Villa sit in fourth place, performances in recent weeks have not been particularly reassuring, nor have their underlying statistics. This was Villa’s first clean sheet at home in seven Premier League games; they have not kept an opponent to less than 1.0 xG since playing Sheffield United in December; over the past ten matches the number and quality of shots Villa are facing has not been higher at any point this season (12.44 shots per match, an average 0.155 xG per shot); and over the same period, Villa’s expected goal difference has turned negative. They are giving up better quality chances than those they create. With only eight league matches remaining, Villa’s defensive form has taken a turn for the worse — news that is never greeted warmly, but is especially unwelcome given Emery’s side play Manchester City next, and Arsenal two games after that. Some of this form is explained away by injuries: Villa are much more porous in transition and have a settled defence without Boubacar Kamara, and John McGinn’s ban has forced Emery’s hand — he played four forwards for the second consecutive match, and used both Douglas Luiz and Youri Tielemans, neither of whom are natural defensive midfielders, to screen the defence and cover the midfield. But on Saturday the Villa head coach made a few more tactical tweaks: he used Moussa Diaby alongside Leon Bailey (only the fifthtime they have started together); pushed Alex Moreno further upfield and kept Ezri Konsa deeper, so the team had width but were not vulnerable on the counter; allowed Luiz to break beyond the forward line; and utilised Morgan Rogers’ natural instinct to run with ball at his feet to break onto Wolves and turn defensive moments into attacking ones. Yet this win was one that Emery masterminded not through tactical superiority, rather because of how he Aston Villa Diaby 36, Konsa 65 2 Wolves 0 HAMZAH KHALIQUE-LOONAT Diaby, right, celebrates with Bailey after scoring the opener on Saturday, Villa having weathered a fine start from Wolves first half and, of those six, the fourth in which they came out for the second period with a deficit. Tottenham have played worse in those first halves too. Across the six games, they scored 12 in the second halves. They had 27 shots in the first half and 58 in the second. They created fewer big chances (seven to 15) and had fewer touches in the opponent’s box (102 to 135). Brennan Johnson already knew he was not in the Tottenham Hotspur starting line-up when Son Heung-min pulled him aside for some words of encouragement. At the end of a miserable week for Johnson, after he was taken off during Wales’ Euro 2024 play-off penalty shoot-out defeat by Poland, he was on the bench against Luton Town. “I told him, ‘You will change the game, just make sure you are ready’,” Son said. It was typical of Son that in the afterglow of a game he decided with his 86th-minute winner, he was telling a story that deflected credit onto his 22-year-old team-mate. Not many pictured Son as a future Spurs captain when he joined from Bayer Leverkusen back in 2015 but these are the little things that make a difference. Son is as good a captain as Tottenham have had in years. If he was the match-winner, Tottenham Kaboré (og) 51, Son 86 2 Luton Town Chong 3 1 TOM ALLNUTT Spurs still struggling to hit the ground running Johnson was the game-changer, his two assists after coming on at halftime turning what would have been a hugely damaging defeat for Spurs into a scruffy but much-needed victory in the tussle for the top four. Johnson’s cross tempted Issa Kaboré to find his own net and then his clever lay-off teed up Son. In recent weeks, Johnson has been instrumental for Tottenham against Brentford, Brighton & Hove Albion, Crystal Palace and now Luton. That Tottenham keep needing Johnson and Son to deliver is also down to their recurring need to chase games. Spurs keep failing to show up before half-time. They were sluggish in the opening minutes against Luton, who punished them with a brilliant counterattack as Andros Townsend flew up the right wing and Tahith Chong drove into the corner. Tottenham would have equalised sooner were it not for Timo Werner scuffing wide and then a quick-fire trio of misses, as Son’s shot cannoned off both posts before Werner and Pape Matar Sarr let fly but both hit scrambling Luton bodies in the box. It was the sixth consecutive game Tottenham had failed to score in the Is it complacency? Spurs gave their worst performance of the season at Fulham after arguably their best at Aston Villa, but the margins for the top four are so fine, there was no excuse for underestimating Luton. Is Postecoglou not saying the right things before kick-off? The Australian is renowned for his team talks, with Dejan Kulusevski even admitting he pinched some of Postecoglou’s material while giving a speech on international duty last week. Postecoglou said last month Spurs are top of the league in key running metrics and Son believes their intensity means the team hits its peak when the opposition tires. “The way we play, with a lot of intensity, the spaces open up,” he said. “We want to start fast but sometimes there is also an opponent you know?” Son’s past three goals have come in the 88th, 90th and 86th minutes. Luton are ten without a win but were resolute at the back and slick on the counter, which could serve them well at Arsenal on Wednesday. “We’re disappointed. We’ve had a few o1f those against big teams,” Chong said. “We performed well enough to get something.” THE FIGHT FOR FOURTH Aston Villa 4th, Played 30, Pts 59 Wednesday Manchester City (a) Saturday Brentford (h) April 14 Arsenal (a) April 21 Bournemouth (h) April 27 Chelsea (h) May 4 Brighton (a) May 11 Liverpool (h) May 19 Crystal Palace (a) Tottenham 5th, Played 29, Pts 56 Tuesday West Ham (a) Sunday Nottingham Forest (h) April 13 Newcastle United (a) April 28 Arsenal (h) May 4 Liverpool (a) May 11 Burnley (h) May 19 Sheffield United (a) tbc Chelsea (a), Manchester City (h) Villa have winner’s mentality NEVILLE WILLIAMS/ASTON VILLA FC/GETTY IMAGES 10 Monday April 1 2024 | the times

the times | Monday April 1 2024 1GG 11 thegame JAMES WHITEHEAD/PPAUK/REX; ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES This summer will mark 18 years since the 2006 World Cup final. Even today, there are still many fans who remember it as the night when Zinédine Zidane, only minutes away from closing out a brilliant career, spoilt his own final by headbutting Marco Materazzi after the two got into an argument in extra time between Italy and France. An unforgettable image which the Italian, so long afterwards, still reviews with some bitterness. “I don’t like it. It doesn’t do justice to what my career was,” he tells The Times. “That episode should never have happened. In the tension of that final in Berlin, amidst the bickering and insults, Zidane offered me his shirt, and I said no, that I preferred his sister. Then he turned around and reacted as everyone remembers. I never saw Zinédine again.” Materazzi hates the notoriety arising from Zidane’s headbutt CONTINENTAL CUP FINAL KIT SHEPARD Emma Hayes is not exiting quietly. After Arsenal ended her pursuit of the Quadruple in the Continental Cup final, the Chelsea manager accused her opposite number, Jonas Eidevall, of “male aggression on the touchline”. Eidevall responded by implying that Hayes was a bad loser in an astonishing war of words after Hayes fury at Eidevall ‘aggression’ Arsenal’s 1-0 victory in extra time. Stina Blackstenius got the winner in the 116th minute before Hayes barged into Eidevall as the pair shook hands. Their spat was a reassuring sign that trivial matters such as football suddenly felt important again, unlike during the horrible conclusion to regulation time. With extra time looming, Frida Maanum collapsed off the ball and play was delayed for nine minutes while the Arsenal midfielder received oxygen. Thankfully, Arsenal announced during extra time that the 24-year-old Norway international was conscious, talking and in a stable condition. This harrowing episode did not prevent a frosty finale. As Chelsea chased an equaliser, Eidevall squared up to the Chelsea captain Erin Cuthbert amid a dispute over a throw-in. According to Hayes, this incident highlighted Eidevall using his gender to intimidate. “I’m not down for male aggression on the touchline,” she said. “And fronting up to players, for me, that’s unacceptable. I was disappointed and I told Jonas that. I don’t think it’s OK to behave like that. He got a yellow card and in fact he probably should have been sent off.” Eidevall, 41, emphatically dismissed Hayes’s claims of male aggression. “I think that’s a very irresponsible way of labelling the behaviour,” he said. “I don’t feel comfortable with that label, I don’t think it’s the truth.” Eidevall did not quite call Hayes a bad loser, but his message was thinly veiled. “There is a way you behave after the game,” he said. “Being a good winner, but you also need to be a good loser and you need to be responsible in both those situations. “I’m happy with the way I conduct myself and others need to look in the mirror and see if they’re happy with themselves.” Hayes also referenced Eidevall’s past behaviour on the touchline. This season he was accused of “bullying” by the Manchester City manager Gareth Taylor, while Eidevall squared up to Manchester United’s Martha Thomas in 2022. The interactions between Hayes and Eidevall have often been tense since the Swede joined Arsenal in 2021. “The way he fronted up to Erin I didn’t think was acceptable,” Hayes said. “It’s not the first time he’s been told about his behaviour on the touchline.” This squabbling contrasted with the anxiety and fear that engulfed Molineux as Maanum lay motionless after collapsing. The game resuming was a positive sign, as was the news from Eidevall that she will travel back home with the team. The stunning climax meant that Leah Williamson being replaced at half-time was merely a footnote. She lifted the trophy with strapping around her left knee (her recent ACL injury was on her right knee) and Eidevall said that keeping her on amid a “medical situation” would have been too risky. Nonetheless, her participation in England’s upcoming Euro 2025 qualifiers is now in doubt. Blackstenius’s goal, fired home after good work by Caitlin Foord down the left, saved Arsenal from enduring a trophyless season, while ensuring a third straight Continental Cup final defeat for Chelsea. Materazzi: I’ve not seen Zidane since World Cup headbutt At 50, Materazzi still retains the privileged physique of his Inter days. He now compensates for his desire to compete by playing occasional friendlies with his former Inter teammates. On March 7, Sports Orient organised an exhibition between Inter legends and Georgian players in Batumi, Georgia. “Sharing the pitch again with people like Julio Cesar, Maicon, Zanetti, Lucio, Sneijder, Cambiasso, Figo or Diego Milito is a mixture of happiness and nostalgia. What I miss most, more than competing, is the dressing room. That feeling of having a family outside your own, people you live with every day and with whom you share absolutely everything.” That is Materazzi’s second-best memory after a decade as a player at Inter. The first, the treble he won under José Mourinho in 2010. Despite his reduced role on the pitch, the former centre back remembers the man from Setubal as the best manager he had in his career. “He was, without a doubt. And despite everything, it wasn’t easy to accept my initial situation. I was used to being important, to being the captain, but with Mourinho I started to lose prominence. However, he was honest with me from the very first moment, when he told me that I was going to be less involved. It was a pity we didn’t meet earlier,” he recalls. In an era dominated by Guardiola’s Barcelona, Inter managed to ruin the Catalan club’s hopes of reaching the Champions League final at the Bernabéu. Mourinho’s defensive strategy was able to overcome Messi’s genius and Inter ended up winning the Champions League against Bayern. After winning the title, another of the great images is the embrace between Mourinho and Materazzi. “Sometimes words are superfluous and a simple hug explains everything,” he says. “We cried. That moment was tremendously emotional. I asked him why he was leaving. Why was he leaving me alone? I didn’t have a good relationship with the coach who was coming, Rafa Benítez. I was convinced that with Mourinho we could continue to win. Maybe not another Champions League, but other titles. But he had already made his decision to leave for Real Madrid.” It was the culmination of a career that also included a spell in England. “It was only ten months,” he says, recalling his brief stint with Everton. “At that time the Premier League was different, nothing like it is now. Italy was much better. Back then, if you played in another country, it was almost impossible to get a call-up from the national team coach. You almost didn’t exist. It happened to players like Zola or Vialli. They went to England and lost their status.” That’s why, after a year in England, he decided to return to Italy, where he conquered everything. Although when Materazzi is asked which has a greater place in his heart, the World Cup he won in 2006 or the Champions League in 2010, his says: “Do you prefer mum or dad? I can’t choose one over the other. They were without doubt the two best nights of my career.” DANI GIL Hayes, right, accused Eidevall of “male aggression on the touchline” and pushed him The Arsenal forward Maanum is taken off on a stretcher after collapsing just before full-time in the Conti Cup final, which Arsenal won 1-0 after extra time, right, thanks to Blackstenius’s 116th-minute strike 1Blackstenius 116 RATINGS Arsenal (4-4-2): M Zinsberger 7 — E Fox 7, L Williamson 6 (L Codina 46min, 6), L WubbenMoy 6, K McCabe 7 (K Cooney-Cross 105) — B Mead 6 (S Catley 84, 6), K Little 6, V Pelova 6, C Lacasse 7 (C Foord 72, 7) — S Blackstenius 8, F Maanum 6 (A Russo 90+13, 6). Chelsea (4-2-3-1): H Hampton 7 — È Périsset 7, J Carter 6, K Buchanan 7, N Charles 7 — E Cuthbert 6, M Leupolz 7 — J Rytting-Kaneryd 6, S Nüsken 6 (C Macário 96, 6), L James 7 (A Beever-Jones 119) — M Ramírez 7 (G Reiten 76, 6). Booked James, Cuthbert. Referee C Foster. Attendance 21,462. Arsenal Chelsea 0 After extra time the times | Monday April 1 2024 11

the times | Monday April 1 2024 1GG 13 thegame times are to be savoured. The local BAE Systems shipyard has recently benefited from orders to build Royal Navy submarines for the next 30 years, boosting the town’s employment prospects. “I think Barrow as a town is on the way up at the moment,” Richard Ingham, of the Bluebirds Trust supporters’ group, said. “The community stuff the players are doing is great, we’ve got loads of kids coming in to watch. It feels like the beginnings of a bit of a boom.” Do the supporters mind the team training 100 miles away? “There’s a few old-timers who say now we’re back in the league we should be training in Barrow,” Ingham said. “But you’d have to ask where?” The Bluebirds Trust owns 10 per cent of the club, the remainder made up by a consortium of three local businessmen, Paul Hornby, Kristian Wilkes and Tony Shearer, who bought the club in 2018. After promotion back from the National League in 2020, they finished 21st and 22nd in League Two, and then brought in Wood as sporting director. From his years as an agent, he had a realistic understanding of the realities of lower-league finances, and an understanding of the need to run a tight ship. He also spotted that second washing machine on Facebook marketplace. Wood had been Chris Wilder’s agent in his rise through the lower leagues to manage Sheffield United, and saw familiar qualities in Wild. “Pete’s very much like Chris, a more diluted version,” Wood said. “He’s still got plenty to learn, but a lot of clubs would have Pete as manager now.” Last season, the first at Barrow for Wood and Wild, they finished ninth, and this season the progress has continued, as they now lock horns in a promotion race with vastly wealthier rivals such as Wrexham and Stockport County. And those rising crowds show that their remote location can become a positive factor. Geographical isolation has always been seen as Barrow’s problem, but once the team starts winning, it can be turned to their advantage, as Elliot Newby understands. The 28- year-old midfielder is the one Barrow boy in the squad. He stood on the terraces at Holker Street as a boy and began his career at Barrow before beginning the inevitable journeyman’s odyssey around lower-league clubs of the north. “When I was a young lad, it was a good day if we got 1,000 through the gate,” he said. “I went into my old school recently and the kids were Barrow-mad. The great thing is that now we’re winning, everyone in the town knows about it. Because Barrow’s cut off from everywhere, if you want to go and watch a football game on a Saturday, you can’t really go anywhere else.” level of football, but you’ve always got to treat players as people, and not just as players,” he said. “When you work in a pub, people come in for a pint to tell you their problems. You have to be a good listener, you have to be understanding. If you treat people well, and you’re honest with them, you generally get more out of them.” Part of the attraction of taking charge at Barrow was that, even though they were training 100 miles away, Wild recognised a blue-collar town similar to Oldham with which he could comfortably connect. “I knew I’d get on well with the people,” he said. “Both [Barrow and Oldham] are industrial towns, people work hard all week and then pay their money to watch players working hard on a Saturday. I knew they’d want industrious players, who’ll put their bodies on the line, so those are the type of characters we’ve looked to bring in. But they have to be good lads as well. We’re away together every weekend, we get to know each other pretty well. So we ask first if he’s a good lad, then if he’s a good player.” The connection that has been forged between Wild and his players is evident at Holker Street on matchday. The capacity is 6,500 and a crowd of 4,024 were in buoyant mood on Friday. On the terraces, they have endured more than their fair share of gloom in the snakes and ladders world of lower-league football, so the good on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. “It’s been a big step forward being based here,” Wild said. “It’s amazing how much players buy in when they’ve got that regular structure.” On his managerial journey so far, Wild has been accustomed to working with whatever resources are at hand. Starting out as a football development officer for the FA, he managed England’s amputee teams, then coached in the academy at Oldham Athletic, working his way up to spend brief spells in charge of the first team before the move to Halifax in 2019. The skills he employs as a manager, he believes, dealing with players who typically only spend two or three seasons at one club, were learnt working in the pubs that his mother and father ran in Oldham. “It’s a short-term industry at this AN UNUSUAL SET-UP Barrow AFC’s home ground Morecambe MANCHESTER 10 miles Blackpool Fleetwood Town Preston North End Broadhurst Park, where they train Nearest rivals Meet club who train 100 miles from home but have promotion in sights It is only a short journey to drive from one end of the spectrum of professional football to the other. Turn left out of the Etihad Stadium, scene of Manchester City’s meeting with Arsenal yesterday, then right on to Oldham Road for a couple of miles, left again and you will find Broadhurst Park, the training ground where Barrow AFC, challengers for promotion from League Two, are based. A short drive, maybe, but a world away from City’s home in terms of the facilities. You will struggle to spot Barrow’s actual headquarters, a small prefab building in the car park containing three main rooms, where space is so tight that the toilet doubles up as a boot room. Off the side of the players’ mess room, an ad hoc kit room has been created, which now boasts the relative luxury of a second washing machine, purchased for £25 from Facebook marketplace. Quite apart from the gulf in facilities, Barrow’s home is also a long way from Barrow. More than 100 miles, in fact, but this corner of northeast Manchester is where they are based. To enhance their ability to attract players, for most of the past two decades Barrow have lived an itinerant existence around the Manchester area, rather than their home town of 55,000 people on the tip of the Furness peninsula. Even in the short-term world of lower-league football, asking players to relocate to a town situated 35 miles from the nearest motorway, more than an hour from any other Football League club, had been a particularly tricky task. It would, inevitably, result in the club paying over the odds to persuade players to sign when there are so many other options in the North West. “We’d effectively have to pay a Barrow tax,” Iain Wood, the sporting director, said. “Around Manchester, it’s a hotbed. Players come over from Yorkshire, from Merseyside. It just makes sense.” The day before a game, the squad travel up to Barrow. Some will undertake community work, in local schools and businesses, the rest will arrive by 9pm and all stay together in the team hotel. The next morning, they are encouraged to walk around town, to drink coffee in the local cafes and chat to the locals. “We do just as much community work as any other club now,” Pete Wild, the manager, said. “We’ve built that connection with the fans and the fact we train 100 miles away is irrelevant.” It seems to be working, too. Average attendances at their Holker Street home are up this season about 15 per cent this season to just under 4,000, attracted by a team whose 3-1 victory over Grimsby Town on Friday lifted them to fifth place in the table, further raising hopes of promotion to League One, heights they last scaled in 1970. This afternoon they have an eagerly awaited trip away to face tenth-placed Morecambe, a local derby for which the Barrow fans have a mere 70-minute drive. The location of Barrow’s weekday base also suits their manager, who is Oldham born and bred, and has only a five-mile drive in to work in the mornings. Wild, 39, has been at the club since the summer of 2022, recruited by Wood after a successful three-year stint at Halifax Town, taking them to the National League play-offs. His efforts with Halifax prompted offers from higher up the pyramid, but he chose Barrow. “I had some pretty big offers, but I wanted to make an incremental rise,” he said. “Some managers in their infancy shoot right up and come a cropper, I didn’t want to do that.” The extent of the challenge was clear from the start, because Barrow did not have a regular training ground, using pitches at four different venues across Manchester. Wood, recruited as sporting director after 16 years as an agent, first struck a deal for them to train last season at De La Salle sports club in Salford. Last summer, a share of the facilities at Broadhurst Park, the 4,700-capacity home of FC United of Manchester, became available. Barrow could move into that prefab building in the car park, train on the artificial pitch during the day and use the stadium’s changing rooms and kitchen, which FC United only used LUKE REYNOLDS/BARROW AFC THE TOP OF LEAGUE TWO P W D L F A GD Pts Stockport 39 21 11 7 78 40 38 74 Mansfield 40 20 13 7 79 39 40 73 Wrexham 40 21 10 9 72 48 24 73 MK Dons 41 21 7 13 68 54 14 70 Barrow 39 18 13 8 56 41 15 67 Crewe 40 18 12 10 67 55 12 66 Gillingham 41 17 9 15 39 47 -8 60 Cole Stockton celebrates scoring against Grimsby on Friday with Ben Whitfield in a victory that lifted Barrow into fifth place John Westerby on how Barrow have forged strong bond within the squad the times | Monday April 1 2024 13

14 1GG Monday April 1 2024 | the times thegame Results Premier League HOME AWAY P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts Y 1 Liverpool.....................................29 12 3 0 40 13 8 4 2 27 14 40 67 Z 2 Arsenal.........................................29 11 2 1 36 13 9 3 3 34 11 46 65 W 3 Manchester City........................29 10 5 0 34 12 9 2 3 29 16 35 64 W 4 Aston Villa...................................30 11 1 3 37 19 7 4 4 25 23 20 59 W 5 Tottenham Hotspur.................29 11 0 4 31 20 6 5 3 30 23 18 56 W 6 Manchester United..................29 8 1 5 21 20 7 2 6 19 20 0 48 W 7 West Ham United.....................30 6 6 3 25 22 6 2 7 24 32 -5 44 Y 8 Newcastle United.....................29 10 2 3 38 19 3 2 9 25 32 12 43 Z 9 Brighton.......................................29 7 6 1 28 16 4 3 8 23 30 5 42 Z 10 Wolves..........................................29 7 3 4 22 21 5 2 8 20 25 -4 41 W 11 Chelsea.........................................28 6 4 4 25 22 5 3 6 24 25 2 40 W 12 Fulham.........................................30 9 1 5 29 15 2 5 8 17 32 -1 39 W 13 Bournemouth............................29 5 5 5 20 24 5 3 6 23 29 -10 38 W 14 Crystal Palace............................29 4 4 6 19 20 3 5 7 15 29 -15 30 W 15 Brentford.....................................30 4 5 6 25 30 3 1 11 17 25 -13 27 W 16 Everton*.......................................29 3 4 7 15 18 5 3 7 15 23 -11 25 W 17 Nottingham Forest**...............30 4 4 7 20 22 2 4 9 16 30 -16 22 W 18 Luton Town................................30 3 3 9 22 26 2 4 9 21 36 -19 22 W 19 Burnley.........................................30 2 2 11 15 35 2 4 9 16 30 -34 18 W 20 Sheffield United........................29 2 3 10 15 45 1 3 10 12 32 -50 15 Sky Bet Championship HOME AWAY P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts Y 1 Ipswich Town.............................39 14 4 1 53 29 11 5 4 28 20 32 84 Z 2 Leeds United..............................39 15 4 0 41 12 10 4 6 31 18 42 83 Z 3 Leicester......................................38 13 1 4 35 13 13 3 4 39 21 40 82 W 4 Southampton.............................37 12 3 4 46 25 10 5 3 28 23 26 74 W 5 West Bromwich Albion..........39 13 3 3 31 14 6 7 7 29 23 23 67 W 6 Norwich City...............................39 14 2 4 39 19 5 5 9 32 36 16 64 Y 7 Coventry City.............................38 8 8 2 29 17 8 4 8 33 27 18 60 Y 8 Preston North End...................38 10 4 6 31 31 7 4 7 21 23 -2 59 Z 9 Hull City.......................................38 7 7 6 27 22 9 3 6 26 26 5 58 W 10 Middlesbrough..........................39 7 4 8 20 21 9 3 8 34 32 1 55 W 11 Cardiff City..................................39 9 3 8 23 24 7 2 10 20 29 -10 53 W 12 Sunderland.................................39 10 1 8 29 22 5 5 10 21 23 5 51 Y 13 Bristol City...................................39 9 3 8 23 20 5 5 9 20 25 -2 50 Z 14 Watford........................................39 5 7 8 31 28 7 6 6 24 25 2 49 W 15 Swansea City..............................39 6 5 8 22 26 6 6 8 27 33 -10 47 W 16 Millwall.........................................39 6 5 9 17 28 5 6 8 20 23 -14 44 Y 17 Stoke City....................................39 6 4 9 14 24 6 4 10 23 29 -16 44 Y 18 QPR................................................39 5 6 9 23 30 6 4 9 15 21 -13 43 Z 19 Blackburn Rovers.....................39 6 5 9 26 31 5 4 10 25 34 -14 42 Z 20 Plymouth Argyle......................39 8 4 7 38 33 2 7 11 17 31 -9 41 W 21 Birmingham City.......................39 7 6 6 26 24 3 3 14 17 37 -18 39 W 22 Huddersfield Town..................39 5 7 8 24 31 3 8 8 19 33 -21 39 W 23 Sheffield Wednesday..............39 7 5 8 21 24 4 1 14 10 38 -31 39 W 24 Rotherham United...................39 3 7 9 17 24 0 4 16 13 56 -50 20 Sky Bet League One HOME AWAY P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts W 1 Portsmouth................................40 13 4 2 34 20 12 7 2 32 13 33 86 W 2 Derby County.............................41 13 4 4 36 18 12 2 6 34 17 35 81 W 3 Bolton Wanderers...................40 13 3 3 42 22 9 6 6 29 21 28 75 W 4 Peterborough............................39 11 4 5 45 24 10 4 5 30 25 26 71 W 5 Barnsley.......................................39 9 5 7 35 30 11 6 1 35 20 20 71 Y 6 Lincoln City................................40 10 7 4 35 13 7 6 6 22 20 24 64 Z 7 Oxford United...........................40 9 6 4 34 22 9 4 8 29 31 10 64 Z 8 Stevenage...................................40 8 8 4 22 15 9 4 7 29 25 11 63 W 9 Blackpool....................................40 11 5 3 38 17 6 4 11 19 26 14 60 W 10 Leyton Orient............................40 8 4 7 20 25 8 6 7 24 20 -1 58 W 11 Northampton..............................41 9 5 6 26 21 6 3 12 25 40 -10 53 W 12 Wigan Athletic*.........................40 12 3 6 28 18 5 5 9 26 31 5 51 W 13 Wycombe....................................39 8 6 7 30 28 5 5 8 21 24 -1 50 W 14 Bristol Rovers............................39 7 5 6 26 23 7 3 11 22 36 -11 50 W 15 Exeter City..................................40 6 8 7 15 20 7 1 11 19 33 -19 48 W 16 Charlton Athletic......................40 7 5 7 32 27 3 11 7 26 32 -1 46 Y 17 Reading**....................................40 11 4 6 35 21 3 5 11 21 36 -1 45 Z 18 Shrewsbury................................40 8 3 10 18 26 5 3 11 12 30 -26 45 Y 19 Cambridge United....................39 7 5 7 17 20 4 4 12 17 35 -21 42 Z 20 Burton Albion............................40 6 4 9 17 22 4 6 11 15 30 -20 40 W 21 Port Vale......................................39 6 3 11 24 28 4 6 9 14 33 -23 39 W 22 Cheltenham Town....................38 6 4 8 19 26 4 4 12 13 25 -19 38 W 23 Fleetwood Town......................40 4 5 12 21 33 3 8 8 21 30 -21 34 W 24 Carlisle United...........................40 3 6 11 19 35 3 3 14 19 35 -32 27 *Deducted 8pts; **deducted 6pts Sky Bet League Two HOME AWAY P W D L F A W D L F A GD Pts Y 1 Stockport County.....................39 12 5 3 41 15 9 6 4 37 25 38 74 Z 2 Mansfield Town........................40 10 7 2 37 16 10 6 5 42 23 40 73 W 3 Wrexham....................................40 14 3 3 50 23 7 7 6 22 25 24 73 W 4 MK Dons.......................................41 14 4 3 43 19 7 3 10 25 35 14 70 Y 5 Barrow..........................................39 11 7 2 26 14 7 6 6 30 27 15 67 Z 6 Crewe...........................................40 11 5 4 35 26 7 7 6 32 29 12 66 Y 7 Gillingham....................................41 8 8 5 20 21 9 1 10 19 26 -8 60 Y 8 AFC Wimbledon.........................41 9 6 6 35 24 6 8 6 19 19 11 59 Z 9 Crawley Town............................39 10 2 8 32 26 8 3 8 25 30 1 59 Y 10 Morecambe................................40 7 7 5 26 22 9 2 10 35 47 -8 57 Z 11 Walsall..........................................39 10 6 3 28 17 5 5 10 29 40 0 56 Z 12 Newport County.......................40 9 6 4 35 27 7 1 13 24 34 -2 55 W 13 Harrogate Town.......................40 7 2 10 24 29 8 8 5 23 27 -9 55 Y 14 Bradford......................................40 7 8 6 24 27 7 3 9 24 26 -5 53 Y 15 Doncaster Rovers.....................39 10 2 7 27 27 5 5 10 26 35 -9 52 Z 16 Notts County.............................40 10 1 8 42 34 5 5 11 35 42 1 51 Z 17 Tranmere.....................................41 11 2 7 39 26 4 3 14 20 33 0 50 Z 18 Accrington Stanley..................40 9 4 8 30 26 5 4 10 23 33 -6 50 Y 19 Swindon Town..........................40 10 4 7 39 29 2 7 10 28 42 -4 47 Z 20 Salford City..................................41 5 7 9 34 42 7 4 9 27 33 -14 47 W 21 Grimsby Town...........................39 7 4 9 30 40 1 11 7 20 28 -18 39 W 22 Colchester...................................38 5 6 7 28 32 4 4 12 21 35 -18 37 W 23 Sutton United.............................41 4 8 8 27 28 4 4 13 20 44 -25 36 W 24 Forest Green Rovers...............40 4 4 13 18 36 4 5 10 20 32 -30 33 Peterborough 1 Carlisle 3 Randall 61 Mellish 27, 49, 58 Port Vale 2 Bristol Rovers 0 Garrity 42 Dipepa 52 6,637 Reading 1 Northampton 0 Ehibhatiomhan 65 15,451 Shrewsbury 1 Oxford United 1 Price 82 7,340 Bodin 53 Stevenage 0 Bolton 0 Wigan 1 Burton Albion 1 Hughes (og) 43 11,426 Brayford 54 Wycombe 1 Portsmouth 3 Butcher 7 6,793 Bishop 3, 28 Saydee 67 League Two AFC Wimbledon 1 Harrogate Town 1 Curtis 58 Sent off: Curtis 61 8,080 Daly 8 Accrington 1 Morecambe 2 Shipley 89 3,420 Khumbeni 55 Stokes 62 Barrow 3 Grimsby 1 Stockton 11, 22 Gotts 82 Obikwu 89 4,024 Bradford 2 Tranmere 0 Kavanagh 64 Pointon 69 Colchester 2 Newport County 1 Iandolo 75 Mingi 90+2 Zanzala 42 4,308 Crawley Town 0 Doncaster 2 Adelakun 57 Biamou 90+8 Sent off: Anderson 66 Forest Green Rovers 0 Stockport 3 3,145 Camps 19 Richards 28 Lemonheigh-Evans 51 Premier League Aston Villa 2 Wolves 0 Diaby 36 Konsa 65 Bournemouth 2 Everton 1 Solanke 64 Coleman (og) 90+1 Beto 87 11,207 Brentford 1 Manchester United 1 Ajer 90+9 17,138 Mount 90+6 Chelsea 2 Burnley 2 Palmer 44 (pen), 78 39,535 Cullen 47 O’Shea 81 Sent off: Assignon 40 Liverpool 2 Brighton 1 Diaz 27 Salah 65 Welbeck 2 60,061 Manchester City 0 Arsenal 0 Newcastle 4 West Ham 3 Isak 6 (pen), 77 (pen) Barnes 83, 90 Sent off: Gordon 90+4 52,199 Antonio 21 Kudus 45+9 Bowen 48 Nott’m Forest 1 Crystal Palace 1 Wood 61 29,520 Mateta 11 Sheffield United 3 Fulham (0) 3 Brereton Diaz 58, 70 McBurnie 68 30,010 Palhinha 62 De Cordova-Reid 86 Muniz Carvalho 90+3 Tottenham 2 Luton 1 Kaboré (og) 51 Son 86 Chong 3 61,534 Sky Bet Championship Blackburn 0 Ipswich 1 18,235 Chaplin 9 Bristol City 1 Leicester 0 Mehmeti 73 25,857 Cardiff 0 Sunderland 2 22,141 Aouchiche 12 (pen) Bellingham 27 Huddersfield 1 Coventry 3 Healey 79 20,530 Simms 16, 22 Wright 90+4 Hull 0 Stoke 2 24,601 Laurent 69 Hoever 90+3 Millwall 1 West Brom 1 Watmore 21 Swift 67 (pen) Norwich 2 Plymouth 1 Sargent 67 Phillips 74 (og) Whittaker 10 26,622 Preston 3 Rotherham 0 Holmes 22 Riis 37, 42 15,470 QPR 2 Birmingham 1 Cook 65 Dunne 90+2 Bacuna 62 17,170 Sheff Wed 1 Swansea 1 Cadamarteri 41 28,301 Lowe 76 Southampton 1 Middlesbrough 1 A Armstrong 12 30,470 Latte Lath 90 Watford 2 Leeds 2 Bayo 31 Dennis 44 20,236 Summerville 37 Joseph 85 League One Barnsley 0 Cambridge Utd 2 13,363 De Gevigney (og) 13 Ahadme 72 Derby 1 Blackpool 0 Adams 40 30,089 Exeter 1 Charlton 1 Purrington 6 8,088 Diabate (og) 87 Fleetwood 1 Cheltenham 2 Graydon 79 3,642 Sercombe 30 Keena 82 Lincoln City 1 Leyton Orient 0 Makama 90 9,922 unlikely title challenge in 1975 by drawing away to West Ham United and Arsenal, before winning at home to Liverpool. Bob Latchford enjoyed a memorable Easter with Everton in 1978, scoring in wins over Newcastle United on Friday, Leeds United on Saturday and Manchester United on Monday as his team consolidated second place. Moving away very slightly from the four-day Easter holiday, Arsenal were the last team to play three fixtures in four days in the top division at any A three-game schedule was once the norm in the league over Easter, but no teams have played three times over the four-day weekend in the top division since 1979 and none have done so in the lower divisions since the next season. The last cases of clubs playing even twice from Friday to Monday in the top flight were back in 2012: the old cliché that league titles can be won or lost over Easter is rarely aired these days. The first league match on Easter Sunday occurred in 1981 in the fourth tier (more of which later), just as the Friday-Saturday-Monday sequence was being consigned to history, but it was not a sign of things to come. Although the odd Premier League match is put back 24 hours from the Saturday for television, Easter Sunday continues to be seen as a non-footballing day: only one lowerdivision game has been played on that day in the subsequent 43 years. Here is the sometimes chaotic story of Easter football. By 1979 most top-flight clubs were choosing to play their fixture earmarked for Good Friday elsewhere, often earlier in the week. The calculation was whether any increase in attendance — and thus match-day income — for fixtures staged on a public holiday would compensate for the fatigue suffered by players forced to endure games in consecutive days. Norwich City and Southampton were the two exceptions in 1979, each playing on the Friday, Saturday and Monday. Norwich drew away to Queens Park Rangers but then lost at home to big rivals Ipswich Town and away to Wolverhampton Wanderers; Southampton won away to relegation-bound Chelsea either side of home draws against West Bromwich Albion and Tottenham Hotspur. In 1980 three second-tier clubs, Burnley, Luton Town and Wrexham, along with eight teams in the third tier and three in the fourth, all played on Friday, Saturday and Monday — and there ended three-day Easter programmes. In fact, there was no individual season where every club in the top division played three matches over the long Easter weekend. The closest instance was in 1953, when the 22 teams were all in action on the Saturday and Monday after 20 of them had played on the Friday. There were also several cases in the 1950s of 18 sides playing a trio of fixtures. In 1957 Manchester United beat Burnley, Sunderland and Burnley again, in that order, the second of those clinching the league title. Stoke City maintained their strong and BILL EDGAR’S DEEP DIVE INTO EASTER GAMES Three-game weekends and Good Friday thrashings. Our football statistician looks at the history of Easter games. Top goalscorers Premier League 18 E Haaland (Man City) 16 D Solanke (B’mouth) 16 O Watkins (A Villa) 16 M Salah (Liverpool) Championship 21 S Szmodics (Blackburn) 19 A Armstrong (Soton) 19 M Whittaker (Plymouth) 16 C Summerville (Leeds) League One 21 A May (Charlton) 18 C Bishop (Portsmouth) 17 D Cole (Barnsley) 17 J Reid (Stevenage) League Two 24 M Langstaff (Notts Co) 23 M Smith (Salford City) 20 W Evans (Newport C) Latchford scores for Everton against *Deducted 6pts; **deducted 4pts 14 Monday April 1 2024 | the times

the times | Monday April 1 2024 1GG 15 thegame Gillingham 0 Crewe 0 7,112 MK Dons 5 Walsall 0 Tezgel 28, Gilbey 62 Tomlinson 74 Dean 59 (pen), 78 8,121 Salford City 1 Sutton United 2 Watson 50 2,983 Sanderson 45+2, 63 Swindon 2 Notts County 1 Drinan 19 Glatzel 73 Jatta 90+2 8,339 Wrexham 2 Mansfield Town 0 Mullin 32, 67 (pen) 12,494 National League P W D L F A GD Pts Chesterfield.......42 30 5 7 101 57 44 95 Barnet...................41 23 6 12 79 55 24 75 Bromley...............41 20 13 8 64 44 20 73 Gateshead...........41 20 9 12 83 57 26 69 Altrincham.........42 19 10 13 80 59 21 67 Solihull Moors...42 18 13 11 66 59 7 67 Aldershot............41 19 7 15 69 74 -5 64 FC Halifax..........40 17 11 12 50 45 5 62 Oldham................41 15 15 11 58 53 5 60 Southend............42 18 12 12 61 40 21 56 Rochdale.............41 15 10 16 64 60 4 55 Dag & Red..........42 14 11 17 62 55 7 53 AFC Fylde...........42 14 10 18 71 75 -4 52 Hartlepool...........41 15 7 19 61 74 -13 52 Eastleigh..............41 13 11 17 68 81 -13 50 York......................42 11 16 15 52 66 -14 49 Woking................42 13 9 20 42 50 -8 48 Maidenhead United41 12 12 17 48 58 -10 48 Ebbsfleet United40 13 9 18 56 67 -11 48 Wealdstone.......39 12 11 16 51 60 -9 47 Boreham Wood.41 10 14 17 50 69 -19 44 Kiddrmnstr........42 10 13 19 36 51 -15 43 Dorking Wanderers41 12 6 23 47 75 -28 42 Oxford City........42 8 8 26 52 87 -35 32 Boreham Wood 1 Dagenham and Redbridge 4 Tshimanga 45+2 Rees 6, 24 Hill 33, Effiong 45 Dorking Wanderers 0 Bromley 2 2,875 Cheek 14 Reynolds 73 Ebbsfleet United 1 Southend 1 Poleon 76 4,019 Cardwell 21 Gateshead 1 Rochdale 0 Brown 26 Hartlepool 1 FC Halifax Town 0 Dieseruvwe 72 (pen) 4,444 Kidderminster 1 Altrincham 3 Brown 19 3,688 Linney 23 Conn-Clarke 51, 73 Maidenhead Utd 4 Aldershot 0 Clerima 3, 6 Adams 72 (pen), 78 (pen) Sent off: Kadji 71, Maghoma 78 Oldham 1 AFC Fylde 3 Gardner 45 Sent off: Fondop-Talum 60 Haughton 9 Long 18, Mitchell 33 Oxford City 1 Wealdstone 0 Parker 24 Solihull Moors 2 Barnet 2 Clarke 9 Warburton 88 Kabamba 40 Thompson 45+1 Woking 0 Eastleigh 1 Nwabuokei 28 York City 2 Chesterfield 1 Kouhyar 53 Akinyemi 71 Quigley 7 7,571 National League South P W D L F A GD Pts Yeovil....................41 26 8 7 72 40 32 86 Chelmsford City42 23 10 9 71 40 31 79 Braintree.............41 20 11 10 57 38 19 71 Maidstone United40 20 10 10 61 47 14 70 Worthing.............41 21 6 14 89 66 23 69 Hampton & Richmond40 19 11 10 58 47 11 68 Aveley..................42 19 9 14 62 57 5 66 Bath City.............40 17 12 11 64 48 16 63 St Albans City....41 19 6 16 70 58 12 63 Farnborough.....41 17 12 12 69 62 7 63 Chippenham ....40 15 12 13 58 53 5 57 Slough Town....40 15 11 14 70 63 7 56 Tonbridge Angels 42 15 11 16 61 58 3 56 Weymouth........40 12 15 13 56 59 -3 51 Weston-super-Mare 39 15 6 18 56 62 -6 51 Welling.................41 11 14 16 53 69 -16 47 Truro City...........36 13 6 17 51 57 -6 45 Hemel Hempstead 41 12 9 20 50 65 -15 45 Torquay..............40 16 6 18 61 69 -8 44 Dartford...............41 10 10 21 50 66 -16 40 Taunton Town..37 9 13 15 41 60 -19 40 Eastbourne Borough 40 10 8 22 43 71 -28 38 H & Waterlooville 41 9 6 26 48 82 -34 33 Dover Athletic...41 3 14 24 37 71 -34 23 Bath City 1 Weymouth 1; Chelmsford City 4 Dartford 1; Eastbourne Borough 1 Maidstone United 5; Farnborough P Chippenham Town P; Hampton & Richmond 0 Tonbridge Angels 0; Havant & Waterlooville 1 Worthing 5; Hemel Hempstead Town 3 Aveley 4; St Albans City 0 Braintree Town 1; Truro City 3 Slough Town 2; Welling United 1 Dover Athletic 0; Weston-super-Mare 4 Taunton Town 0; Yeovil Town 3 Torquay United 0 National League North P W D L F A GD Pts Tamworth..........42 27 8 7 67 23 44 89 Scunthorpe........42 22 10 10 72 35 37 76 Chorley................41 22 8 11 72 45 27 74 Brackley Town.42 21 10 11 52 34 18 73 Boston United....41 19 11 11 64 43 21 68 South Shields....42 20 8 14 67 48 19 68 Alfreton Town...41 19 10 12 68 49 19 67 Curzon Ashton.42 19 10 13 56 48 8 67 Chester FC..........42 17 14 11 51 31 20 65 Spennymoor Town41 19 7 15 61 56 5 64 Warrington Town42 17 11 14 61 54 7 62 Hereford FC........41 18 8 15 55 56 -1 62 Scarborough Athletic42 17 8 17 48 50 -2 59 Buxton.................42 15 10 17 63 58 5 55 Southport...........42 15 8 19 51 69 -18 53 Kings Lynn Town41 12 15 14 49 57 -8 51 Blyth Spartans..42 13 11 18 63 68 -5 50 Peterborough Sports41 13 10 18 51 61 -10 49 Farsley Celtic.....41 11 14 16 35 52 -17 47 Darlington..........42 13 7 22 44 70 -26 46 Rushall Olympic 41 12 8 21 54 69 -15 44 Banbury United 39 10 7 22 33 68 -35 37 Gloucester City.41 9 9 23 46 73 -27 36 Bishop’s Stortford41 5 2 34 32 98 -66 17 Alfreton Town 1 Rushall Olympic 0; Banbury United P Hereford FC P; Blyth Spartans 2 Curzon Ashton 3; Boston United 2 Peterborough Sports 1; Buxton 1 Chester FC 4; Darlington 0 Chorley 3; Farsley Celtic 0 Southport 0; Gloucester City 1 Brackley Town 1; Scarborough Athletic 2 Warrington Town 2; Scunthorpe United 0 Kings Lynn Town 0; South Shields 2 Spennymoor Town 0; Tamworth 3 Bishop’s Stortford 0. Scottish Premiership P W D L F A GD Pts Celtic.....................31 23 5 3 74 23 51 74 Rangers..............30 24 1 5 67 17 50 73 Hearts...................31 17 5 9 40 31 9 56 Kilmarnock.........31 11 12 8 40 34 6 45 St. Mirren.............31 12 7 12 37 38 -1 43 Dundee...............30 10 9 11 42 51 -9 39 Hibernian.............31 9 11 11 42 48 -6 38 Motherwell.........31 7 12 12 42 48 -6 33 Aberdeen.............31 8 9 14 35 49 -14 33 St. Johnstone.....31 6 10 15 22 43 -21 28 Ross County.......31 6 9 16 29 53 -24 27 Livingston...........31 3 8 20 20 55 -35 17 Aberdeen 2 Ross County 1 Miovski 5 McGrath 78 Murray 26 17,616 Heart of Midlothian 1 Kilmarnock 1 Vargas 10 18,799 Watkins 67 Livingston 0 Celtic 3 8,396 Brandon (og) 49 Gonçalves Bernardo 72 O’Riley 82 Motherwell 1 St. Mirren 1 Bair 74 5,492 Fraser 18 Rangers 3 Hibernian 1 Tavernier 26 Dessers 45+7 Matondo 85 Maolida 45+2 50,304 St. Johnstone 1 Dundee 2 Sidibeh 60 Cameron 6 Bakayoko 80 Scottish Championship P W D L F A GD Pts Dundee United..31 18 8 5 59 21 38 62 Raith Rovers.....30 17 7 6 49 38 11 58 Partick Thistle....31 13 10 8 57 49 8 49 Dunfermline Ath 31 11 8 12 37 41 -4 41 Greenock M.......30 11 7 12 37 34 3 40 Airdrieonians....29 11 6 12 34 34 0 39 Ayr United.........30 11 5 14 43 54 -11 38 Queen’s Park......31 9 9 13 43 50 -7 36 Inverness C T.....31 7 11 13 34 36 -2 32 Arbroath.............30 6 5 19 32 68 -36 23 Arbroath 2 Dunfermline Athletic 3 Stewart 54, 64 Otoo 24 Allan 32 Kane 45 Dundee United 2 Raith Rovers 0 Watt 7 Moult 75 (pen) 10,336 Greenock Morton 2 Queen’s Park 0 Broadfoot 68 Muirhead 72 1,841 Today 3pm unless stated Championship Leicester v Norwich (12.30); Birmingham v Preston; Coventry v Cardiff ; Middlesbrough v Sheffield Wednesday; Plymouth v Bristol City; Rotherham v Millwall; Stoke v Huddersfield; Sunderland v Blackburn; Swansea City v QPR; West Brom v Watford; Ipswich Town v Southampton (5.30); Leeds United v Hull City (8.0). League One Blackpool v Wycombe; Bolton v Reading; Bristol Rovers v Shrewsbury Town; Burton Albion v Barnsley; Cambridge v Wigan; Carlisle United v Lincoln City; Charlton v Stevenage; Cheltenham v Exeter City; Leyton Orient v Peterborough Utd; Northampton v Port Vale; Oxford v Fleetwood . League Two Grimsby v Bradford (1.0); Crewe v Forest Green Rovers; Harrogate v Gillingham; Mansfield v Accrington Stanley; Morecambe v Barrow; Newport v Crawley; Notts County v MK Dons; Stockport v AFC Wimbledon; Sutton v Swindon Town; Tranmere Rovers v Colchester United; Walsall v Salford City. National League AFC Fylde v Gateshead; Aldershot Town v Dorking Wanderers; Altrincham v Oldham Athletic; Barnet v Oxford City; Bromley v Woking; Chesterfield v Kidderminster; Dagenham & Redbridge v Ebbsfleet United; Eastleigh v Maidenhead United; FC Halifax Town v York City; Rochdale v Hartlepool United; Southend United v Boreham Wood; Wealdstone v Solihull Moors. National League North Bishop’s Stortford v Banbury Utd; Brackley Town v Tamworth; Chester v Alfreton Town; Chorley v Blyth Spartans; Curzon Ashton v South Shields; Hereford v Buxton; King’s Lynn v Scarborough Athletic; Peterborough Sports v Gloucester City; Rushall Olympic v Boston United; Southport v Scunthorpe United; Spennymoor Town v Farsley Celtic; Warrington Town v Darlington. National League South Weymouth v Yeovil Town (1.0); Aveley v Havant & Waterlooville; Braintree Town v Hemel Hempstead; Chippenham v Truro City; Dartford v Eastbourne Borough; Dover Athletic v Chelmsford City; Maidstone United v Welling United; Slough Town v St Albans City; Taunton Town v Bath City; Tonbridge Angels v Farnborough; Torquay United v Weston-super-Mare; Worthing v Hampton & Richmond. Partick Thistle 1 Inverness Cal This 0 Robinson 41 Sent off: Kerr 66 3,371 Scottish League One P W D L F A GD Pts Falkirk...................31 25 6 0 82 20 62 81 Hamilton Ac........31 18 8 5 63 23 40 62 Alloa Athletic.....31 14 6 11 50 49 1 48 Cove Rangers....31 13 7 11 50 48 2 46 Montrose.............31 13 7 11 52 52 0 46 Kelty Hearts.......31 10 7 14 42 54 -12 37 Queen of the South 31 9 7 15 39 48 -9 34 Stirling Albion....31 9 7 15 34 50 -16 34 Annan Athletic..31 7 10 14 44 58 -14 31 Edinburgh City..31 2 5 24 34 88 -54 5 Alloa Athletic 1 Annan Athletic 1; Cove Rangers 4 Stirling Albion 2; Hamilton Academical 0 Queen of the South 0; Kelty Hearts 3 Edinburgh City 1; Montrose 1 Falkirk 7 Scottish League Two P W D L F A GD Pts Stenhousemuir..31 18 10 3 46 25 21 64 Peterhead............31 14 9 8 49 32 17 51 Dumbarton.........31 14 7 10 50 40 10 49 The Spartans......31 13 10 8 46 38 8 49 East Fife...............31 11 10 10 43 38 5 43 Forfar Athletic...31 7 15 9 33 36 -3 36 Elgin City.............31 10 6 15 29 50 -21 36 Bonnyrigg Rose 31 7 10 14 36 43 -7 31 Stranraer.............31 8 7 16 36 50 -14 31 Clyde.....................31 6 10 15 39 55 -16 28 Dumbarton 0 Stenhousemuir 0; East Fife 2 Elgin City 0; Peterhead 4 Clyde 1; Stranraer 1 Bonnyrigg Ro.se 1; The Spartans 1 Forfar Athletic 0 Women’s Super League Aston Villa 2 Leicester 2; Liverpool 1 Manchester City 4; Man Utd 4 Everton 1; West Ham 0 Brighton 0. P W D L F A GD Pts Man City 18 15 1 2 49 12 37 46 Chelsea 17 14 1 2 50 14 36 43 Arsenal 17 12 1 4 37 18 19 37 Man Utd 18 9 4 5 39 23 16 31 Liverpool 18 8 5 5 26 25 1 29 Tottenham 17 7 4 6 23 29 -6 25 Aston Villa 18 6 2 10 24 37 -13 20 Brighton 18 5 3 10 24 39 -15 18 Leicester 18 4 5 9 25 36 -11 17 Everton 18 4 3 11 15 33 -18 15 West Ham 18 3 4 11 17 35 -18 13 Bristol City 17 1 3 13 20 48 -28 6 Fixtures attendances. Bradford City, who had demonstrated a fondness for Sunday play, grabbed the chance to become the first league club to stage a match on Easter Sunday, with Hartlepool United the visitors on April 19, 1981. It was, however, an underwhelming occasion. Only 1,614 watched the game, the lowest league attendance of the season to that point at Valley Parade, and the matchday programme did not even mention the fixture’s historic nature. Bradford won 2-0, with Dave Staniforth scoring the first Easter Sunday goal. The only league match outside the top flight played on Easter Sunday since then took place in 1993, when West Ham won 3-0 at home to Leicester in the second tier. This was during a season when ITV, having lost the rights to broadcast topdivision fixtures, began screening lower-divisions matches live on a Sunday on a regional basis. The first Easter Sunday match in the top flight was Tottenham’s 2-1 defeat at home by Liverpool on March 26, 1989. Spurs had hosted the first Sunday televised fixture six years earlier, coming from behind to beat Nottingham Forest 2-1, but here the reverse happened in a match that was also on TV: Terry Fenwick put the home side ahead with a penalty soon after half-time but Liverpool responded with a John Aldridge penalty and a winner by Peter Beardsley. Easter Sunday football did not return to the top division until 2000, since when there have tended to be one or two games each year. One FA Cup final has been played on the Easter weekend, Blackburn Rovers beating Queen’s Park on the Saturday in 1885. Semi-finals took place at Easter in 1880, 1901 and 1910, but they were then kept away from the Easter weekend until 2022, when Liverpool beat Manchester City on the Saturday and Chelsea then defeated Crystal Palace the following afternoon — the only cup game ever played by English league clubs on Easter Sunday. No teams have even played twice in the Premier League from Good Friday to Easter Monday since 2012, although in 2013 Chelsea and Manchester United played in the league on the Saturday and then met in an FA Cup quarter-final replay on the Monday. Another case is worth noting: Tottenham were given the tough task of facing Chelsea away at lunchtime on Easter Saturday in 2007 having played on the Thursday night in Spain away to Sevilla (they lost both games). time in a season, doing so, in fact, on the Saturday, Monday and Tuesday around Easter Sunday in 1986. Those matches were notable in many ways: they were the first three overseen by Steve Burtenshaw as caretaker manager after the departure of Don Howe; they were all lost; and, after Arsenal had faced Tottenham away on the Saturday, they played Watford at home and away on the Monday and Tuesday respectively — the most recent top-flight case of reverse fixtures on successive days. campaign in a row without a topflight game on the Monday. Leicester City and Arsenal produced the only 6-6 draw in topflight history on Easter Monday of 1930 at Filbert Street. Arsenal’s Dave Halliday scored four goals as his team recovered from 3-1 down at half time; five days later they beat Huddersfield Town in the FA Cup final. Luton defeated Bristol Rovers 12-0 on Easter Monday in 1936, with Joe Payne scoring what remains a record ten goals in a league match, yet the teams had drawn 2-2 on Good Friday, when Payne had not been playing. A tradition of pairs of clubs meeting each other home and away on Good Friday and Easter Monday lasted until the 1960s. In 1938 Wolves won 10-1 at home to Leicester on the Friday, but the teams drew 1-1 three days later. On Good Friday in 1963 Liverpool beat Tottenham 5-2 at Anfield but on the Monday they lost 7-2 at White Hart Lane, with Jimmy Greaves scoring four goals. Sunday football had first been allowed in the league in 1974 during the energy crisis and the Football League permitted it for a second time in 1981 in an attempt to halt falling However, playing two fixtures over Easter remains standard in the EFL, which began to schedule full rounds of matches on Good Friday and Easter Monday regularly from 2014-15 across its three divisions. The top flight’s first Good Friday games were staged in 1892, with the only case of every team playing on that day happening in 1948. The last instance of a majority of sides playing was in 1968, when six games were held. Merseyside derbies took place on six Good Fridays out of seven from 1903, producing four draws and two Everton wins of 5-2 in 1904 and 5-0 in 1909. Only a handful of matches have taken place on Good Friday in the Premier League era, but several of those have been memorable. Bradford City drew 4-4 with Derby County in 2000, Newcastle beat Everton 6-2 in 2002 and a Thierry Henry hat-trick helped Arsenal defeat Liverpool 4-2 at Highbury in 2004. The last Good Friday game in the top flight was in 2012, a 2-0 victory for Newcastle away to Swansea City. The league’s first Easter Saturday game, Accrington versus Stoke, took place on April 20, 1889 — ten weeks after champions Preston North End had finished their own league campaign: the league season’s conclusion had been delayed while the FA Cup was played. On four occasions there have been no topdivision matches on the Saturday (or indeed elsewhere on the four-day weekend in those years): 1997, 2005 and 2016, which all fell during an international break, and 2020, during the pause that was enforced by the Covid pandemic. The first top-division games on Easter Monday occurred in 1892. The most recent year when all top-flight teams were in action on that day was 1996 and the last set of Premier League fixtures based around Easter Monday was in 2012: five were actually played on the Monday, with the rest spread over the following two days. This season is the third JOHN DAVIDSON/MIRRORPIX BILL EDGAR'S EASTER XI (4-2-4) Jesús Navas Man City Tomas Holy Ipswich Andy Thorn Wimbledon Bert Eggo The Wednesday Garry Church Bradford PA Bunny Bell Tranmere David Cross West Ham Roger Hunt Liverpool Jermaine Easter Wycombe Chic Charnley Bolton Sunday Oliseh Ajax Manager Paul Lamb-ert Home ground Vicarage Road Leeds on Easter Saturday 1978, also netting on Good Friday and Easter Monday the times | Monday April 1 2024 15

Girona maintained their unlikely challenge for a Champions League place yesterday when Cristhian Stuani came off the bench to score in stoppage time, securing a 3-2 home victory over Real Betis in La Liga. Third-placed Girona are now two points behind Barcelona, although the leaders, Real Madrid, who beat Athletic Bilbao 2-0 last night, are a further eight points ahead. Girona have their eyes on Europe’s premier club competition next season and Stuani, who stuck with the club when they were relegated to the second division, said: “Until it is mathematically guaranteed, we will continue working and preparing for games as if they were our last. “We are living an historic year and we want to finish it in the best way. To be able to play in the Champions League with this team is a dream.” Girona’s top scorer this season, Artem Dovbyk, gave his side the lead from the penalty spot in the 36th minute. Real Betis were gifted an equaliser just before half-time when Willian José intercepted David Lopez’s pass and lobbed Paulo Gazzaniga from outside the box. Dovbyk restored Girona’s lead in the 65th minute before Betis hit back again ten minutes later with José scoring his second of the game, capitalising on another error from Lopez. Girona kept fighting and were rewarded in stoppage time when Stuani met Miguel Gutiérrez’s cross. The substitute’s first attempt was well Stuani late goal keeps dream alive for Girona DOMINIC AKIBOYE IAN HAWKEY European Football 16 2GG Monday April 1 2024 | the times to say I am proud of every pore of me that is gitano,” Quique said after the game. “But it is one thing to be gitano and another to use it as a racist insult. I find it disgusting.” Later that day, it happened in Sestao, near Bilbao, where the third-tier fixture between Sestao River and Rayo Majadahonda was abandoned because Rayo’s players told the referee, Francisco García Riesgo, that, after play had been paused six minutes from full-time with the goalkeeper Cheikh Sarr drawing attention to racist chants and gestures from behind his goal, they would not continue. Sarr had by then been sent off, inset, having stepped across the low barrier separating fans from the pitch to confront his abusers. The Real Madrid winger Vinícius Júnior, who before Spain v Brazil spoke tearfully of his direct experience of racism in Spanish stadiums, posted: “Three despicable cases this Saturday. Let Sarr and Rayo Majadahonda’s courage inspire others. We’ll only have justice when the racists go straight from stadiums to prison.” So much for any lasting impact from the Match for Equality, as last week’s Spain-Brazil friendly at the Bernabéu called itself. Only four days later, a top-division match was interrupted because of racist chanting and a lower-league fixture was suspended after the Rayo Majadahonda goalkeeper, citing sustained racist insults, confronted fans of the home team, Sestao River. At the Getafe-Sevilla match, the referee, Javier Iglesias Villanueva, stopped play after 68 minutes, after being alerted to chants of “monkey” aimed at the Sevilla and Argentina full back Marcos Acuña. Villanueva was satisfied the chants ceased after a public-address announcement had been made and the game resumed. After the final whistle, it became clear that the abuse had extended beyond insults directed at Acuña. Quique Sánchez Flores, the Sevilla head coach, formerly of Watford and — over three stints — of Getafe, described an afternoon in which he had been repeatedly called “gitano” — “‘gypsy” — from the grandstand behind his bench. “First of all, I want Up in the VIP seats, Hans-Joachim Watzke, the chief executive of Borussia Dortmund, lit a cigarette, simultaneously inhaling the sight of his players cavorting in front of the noisy, yellow bank of travelling fans. There are things you aren’t supposed to do in Bayern Munich’s Allianz Arena, and smoking, especially on live television, is one. But this was a day for transgressions. Dortmund had already broken an unwritten Bavarian by-law: they had won away to Bayern. They hadn’t done that in the Bundesliga for almost ten years. The players posed for commemorative pictures, among them a pair of former Bayern men who had spent their Saturday evening showing that not all the beneficial traffic flows north to south in the unbalanced relationship between the two biggest clubs in Germany. Karim Adeyemi, formerly a Bayern junior, scored the first of the two unanswered Dortmund goals, a textbook demonstration of the speed on the counterattack Bayern liked in him as a schoolboy. Mats Hummels, his career a zig-zag between Bayern and Dortmund, who last reclaimed him aged 30, provided a masterclass in defensive nous and no little athleticism for a veteran of 35. Hummels proved the nemesis of Harry Kane, for whom a goalless 90 minutes at the Allianz has come to feel like a serious transgression in itself. Kane played the whole Klassiker but started it with his radar a little askew. He misdirected headers he would normally have buried, in between being thwarted by Hummels. He knew, once his 89th-minute bullseye had been ruled out for offside, all prospect of a career-first domestic trophy was extinguished, at least for this season. Thomas Tuchel, the Bayern head coach, spelt it out, conceding that, at 13 points behind Bayer Leverkusen with seven games left, his club will for the first time since 2012 cease to be Germany’s champions. Any wind in their sails had wheezed barely an hour before kick-off, with the news that Xabi Alonso’s stubbornly unbeaten league leaders had, with two very late goals, defeated Hoffenheim 2-1. “Congratulations to Leverkusen,” Tuchel said. “There is no more hope for us, none at all.” Congratulations will soon head Leverkusen’s way from Watzke, and they will be bittersweet, not least if Leverkusen, as is possible, seal the title away to Dortmund in three weekends’ time. The breaking of Bayern’s grip on the Bundesliga Shield may be a welcome spur for much of the rest of Germany’s top division, but the fact that it is Leverkusen who play Pied Piper points a damning finger at Dortmund, now utterly usurped as challengers-in-chief to the longestrunning title monopoly in Europe’s elite leagues. If there was ever to be a putsch against Bayern, it used to stand to reason, it must come from Dortmund. They were champions twice on the trot immediately before Bayern began their 11-year title sequence in 2012-13; they have been runners-up seven times since; last season they finished second only on goal difference. But if Bayern have failed in 2023-24, despite Kane’s harvest of 31 goals, Dortmund have wilted. They trail Leverkusen by 20 points, their chief battle now to secure fourth place and with that a guarantee of Champions League football. So, between drags on his naughty cigarette, Watzke was obliged to reflect that, for all the relief in finally achieving a Klassiker KO in Munich, this was a temporary high, its satisfactions in the details, the bits of business paying off while the world was watching: the zippy finish of Adeyemi; the evergreen command of Hummels. And yes, that it was Dortmund, not Bayern, who had the most effective Englishman on the pitch, the returning loanee Jadon Sancho — master of his duels against Alphonso Davies, involved in the lead-up to the second goal, mindful in his defensive responsibilities — outperforming Kane. And yes, it’s a rarity indeed that one of the great showpieces of the continental calendar, featuring a quartet of English footballers — Bayern’s Eric Dier and Dortmund’s Jamie BynoeGittens, a late substitute, the others — can look suddenly so relevant to England. Just a shame it happened on the day Der Klassiker lost all its relevance to the destiny of the Bundesliga title. Sancho outshines Kane as Bayern’s title hopes are ended by Dortmund Racist abuse at two Spanish games ALEXANDER HASSENSTEIN/GETTY IMAGES Sancho beats Kane in a victory that prompted Watzke, the Dortmund CEO, to light up a cigarette, inset Stuani came off the bench against Betis to lift Girona’s hopes of a Champions League place kept out by Rui Silva but Stuani reacted quickly to the rebound and forced the ball over the goalline. Undav saves point for Stuttgart In the Bundesliga, Deniz Undav earned Stuttgart a point in the eighth minute of stoppage time, securing a 3-3 home draw against the ten men of Heidenheim. Stuttgart had looked to be on track for a routine win, going 2-0 up in the 60th minute thanks to goals from Serhou Guirassy and Angelo Stiller. But things became nervy for the home side when Alexander Nubel, the Stuttgart goalkeeper, dropped the ball into his own net. Tim Kleindienst then scored two goals in two minutes, in the 84th and 85th, to flip the game on its head and give Heidenheim the lead. Their hopes of hanging on to all three points took a blow when Nikola Dovedan was shown a red card in the sixth minute of stoppage time and Undav — on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion — then grabbed the late equaliser. Stuttgart are third in the table, only three points behind second-placed Bayern Munich after their 2-0 home defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Saturday.