EVERTON

Manchester City seems to win every competition it enters these days except the English League Cup.

Manchester United has bounced back from conceding two goals in the opening four minutes to beat Nottingham Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford in the English Premier League.

Arsenal wingers Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka have lit up the opening Saturday of the Premier League season with an audacious assist and a curling long-range strike that helped the team start the campaign with a 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest.

It’s job done for Roy Hodgson.

Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and British billionaire Jim Ratcliffe are still hoping to take control of Manchester United after a third round of bidding.

Frank Lampard is returning to Chelsea as interim manager until the end of the season while the club searches for a fulltime replacement for Graham Potter.

Arsenal extended its lead in the Premier League to five points by beating Everton 4-0 with Gabriel Martinelli scoring two of the goals in one of his team’s biggest wins of the season.

The first cracks are appearing in Arsenal’s English Premier League title bid, right before the team’s biggest match of the season.

Harry Kane broke Tottenham’s all-time scoring record with his 267th goal for the club that will have been celebrated almost as jubilantly by the other team in north London.

After sleeping in late Marcus Rashford has helped Manchester United to come awake in the Premier League.

It might be time for Liverpool to start worrying about its slow start to the English Premier League.

Staying in the slipstream of Manchester City in the Premier League title race wasn’t Liverpool’s only cause for celebration following victory in another frantic Merseyside derby.

North London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal are neck and neck in the fight for Champions League qualification in the English Premier League.

A week of unprecedented turmoil for Chelsea ended with a moment of joy.

Russia has been banned from international gymnastics and curling events in response to its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian athletes have been restricted from competing in more sporting events around the world but the Paralympics made an exception.

Premier League clubs have decided against pausing the season despite 10 fixtures being postponed in the previous week due to widespread coronavirus outbreaks across squads.

Cristiano Ronaldo was grumbling to himself and shaking his head as he went straight toward the tunnel at the final whistle of Manchester United’s latest slip-up at Old Trafford.

Civic leaders in Liverpool are expressing outrage after the English port city was stripped of its World Heritage status by the United Nations’ culture organization.

There will be no goal clips or even title celebrations.

Several hundred Arsenal fans are protesting outside Emirates Stadium before the team’s English Premier League match against Everton.

Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan, right, celebrates after scoring his side's opening goal during the English FA Cup sixth round soccer match between Everton and Manchester City at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Saturday, March 20, 2021. (AP Photo/Jon Super, Pool)With an unprecedented quadruple still a possibility for Manchester City, the pressure on Pep Guardiola is intensifying heading into the final two months of the season. I will not watch games.”Few would begrudge him the break, with an intense 34-match, four-month stretch -- featuring games every three or four days -- concluding with a 2-0 win over Everton in the FA Cup quarterfinals on Saturday. AdIndeed, Guardiola’s players are sweeping all before them this season, having also reached the final of the English League Cup, the quarterfinals of the Champions League and forged a 14-point lead in the Premier League. "I’m looking forward to everyone coming back safe.”Southampton is the other team through to the FA Cup semifinals after beating second-tier Bournemouth 3-0 earlier Saturday.

(Adam Davy/Pool via AP)LONDON – Manchester City only needs to win five of its remaining eight games to secure the Premier League trophy. Sergio Aguero then fired the ball into the corner of the goal for his first Premier League goal in 14 months. "We want to still fight for the position in Europe.”TUCHEL UNBEATENChelsea extended its unbeaten start under Thomas Tuchel to 10 Premier League games with the draw at Leeds. ZAHA STANCEWilfried Zaha became the first Premier League player not to take a knee before his Crystal Palace team beat West Bromwich Albion 1-0. Zaha had already indicated that he thought taking a knee has lost meaning after being brought in by the Premier League in June as an anti-racism message when football resumed.

Chelsea's Christian Pulisic, right, is challenged by Everton's Allan during the English Premier League soccer match between Chelsea and Everton at the Stamford Bridge stadium in London, Monday, March 8, 2021. Yes, so this is my job, and his job is to be ready — to be ready like everybody else. Pulisic’s lone Premier League goal this season came on Dec. 5 against Leeds in a 3-1 victory. Pulisic has missed one game to injury and another for family reasons under Tuchel and his only recent start came on Feb. 11 in an FA Cup match against Barnsley. “When you sign and play for Chelsea, it is part of the job description as a player to be impatient and patient at the same time,” Tuchel said.

Everton's Richarlison, second left celebrates with teammates after scoring the opening goal of the game during the English Premier League soccer match between Liverpool and Everton at Anfield in Liverpool, England, Saturday, Feb. 20, 2021. The worst form for Liverpool at home in the league since 1923 after a fourth straight loss. Even worse for Liverpool was losing yet another center back option as Jordan Henderson was forced off injured in the first half. Pickford dived at the feet of striker Mohamed Salah as Liverpool turned up the pressure without really laying siege to the Everton goal. While Southampton ended a six-game losing run in the league, the point stopped Chelsea recording a sixth straight win in all competitions.

After his team’s stirring comeback in a 3-1 win at Everton in the Premier League, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer didn’t hold back, either. Edinson Cavani capped the fightback with his first goal for United deep in stoppage time. ZIYECH STARSLike United, Chelsea also fought back from conceding an early goal and ultimately swept aside Sheffield United in a 4-1 win. And like United, Chelsea had a creative playmaker pulling the strings as the catalyst for the recovery. “We played against him in the Champions League last year,” Chelsea manager Frank Lampard said of Ziyech.

Tottenham's Gareth Bale, right, celebrates with teammate Eric Dier following the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. (John Walton/Pool via AP)LONDON – Gareth Bale soared into the air, connected with the ball and powered it into the net. It's taken more than seven years but Bale was Tottenham's match-winner again. And it had only required three minutes on the field for the substitute to clinch a 2-1 victory over Brighton on Sunday. “A bit of relief and a lot of happiness,” Bale said after being set up by Sergio Reguilon, who also switched from Real Madrid in September.

Manchester City's Sam Mewis celebrates after scoring her side's first goal during the Women's FA Cup final soccer match between Everton and Manchester City at Wembley stadium in London, Sunday, Nov. 1, 2020. (Adam Davy/Pool via AP)LONDON – Sam Mewis emulated fellow American Carli Lloyd by scoring in an FA Cup final for Manchester City as the defending champions beat Everton 3-1 after extra time on Sunday. Mewis, whose goal in the semifinal secured the trip to Wembley Stadium, headed in the opener in the 40th minute of the 50th Women's FA Cup final. It sealed City's third Women's FA Cup triumph in four seasons — a winning streak that began with Lloyd netting in the 2017 victory over Birmingham. Mewis wasn't the first American to score in a pandemic-delayed FA Cup final at Wembley in 2020.

Everton was the last side to relinquish its undefeated record in this most unpredictable of seasons, though the 2-0 loss at Southampton didn’t knock Carlo Ancelotti’s side off the top of the standings on Sunday. Playmaker James Rodriguez was quiet and striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin failed to score in a league game for the first time this season. Aston Villa was the other unbeaten team coming into this round but was outclassed in a 3-0 defeat by Leeds on Friday. The win over Everton came on the one-year anniversary of Southampton's 9-0 loss to Leicester. By stooping to head home a cross from fellow substitute Cengiz Under following a rapid counter-attack in the 80th minute, Vardy scored his 11th Premier League goal against Arsenal.

Early in what proved to be a painful Merseyside derby for Liverpool, Van Dijk was the subject of a reckless lunge by Jordan Pickford that saw the Everton goalkeeper clatter into the extended right leg of the Netherlands defender. Van Dijk roared in agony and, tellingly, stayed down. There was no official word from Liverpool on the potential length of his absence, but Van Dijk reportedly left hospital on crutches in the evening. Van Dijk might have been marking Keane and Calvert-Lewin for both of those Everton chances. For Southampton’s second goal, Kurt Zouma underhit a back pass before goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga made two errors in a matter of seconds to allow Che Adams to score.

LIVERPOOL – After remodelling his midfield to great effect, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti made a signing to bolster its defense on the final day of the transfer window by bringing in Ben Godfrey from second-tier Norwich for a reported 25 million pounds ($32 million) on Monday. The 22-year-old Godfrey was part of the Norwich team that was relegated from the Premier League last season, but is regarded as a top prospect and was captain of England's under-21 side last year. With Mason Holgate and Jarrad Branthwaite injured, Ancelotti currently has no back-up to center backs Yerry Mina and Michael Keane as Everton looks to maintain its brilliant start to the season that has left the team first in the Premier League after opening with four wins. “The manager’s past speaks for itself," Godfrey said of Ancelotti, a three-time Champions League-winning coach. Everton has won all seven of its games — including three in the English League Cup — and scored 24 goals in the process.

Manchester City's head coach Pep Guardiola, left, talks with Leeds United's head coach Marcelo Bielsa at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Leeds United and Manchester City at Elland Road in Leeds, England, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2020. What to make of seeing his Manchester City side held 1-1 by Bielsa's Leeds on Saturday? While Leeds had seven shots on target, Raheem Sterling's 16th-minute strike low shot inside the far post was one of only two for City. We must do more and better.”Especially with City already eight points behind Everton, which is the early leader after beating Brighton 4-2 to make it four wins out of four. Fifth-place Leeds, which like Everton has played a game more than City, is still three points ahead of Guardiola's side.

“I didn’t like my team," the Tottenham manager said after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s second-half header gave Everton a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Sunday. For all that Everton was dynamic — with James Rodriguez and Allan controlling the midfield on their debuts — Tottenham was ineffective going forward. “The struggle started in the way we pressed — or the way we didn’t press," Mourinho said. But it was the perfect start for Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti, who took charge midseason last year like Mourinho. “He defended well, attacked and ... he will run all day and looks to get in the box," Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers said.

James Rodriguez joined Premier League club Everton on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020 in an attempt to revive a career that faltered at Real Madrid. Now, they are both at Everton, a team without a trophy since 1995 and living in the shadow of neighbour Liverpool, the recently crowned Premier League champion. KAI HAVERTZ (Chelsea)The most expensive signing of the offseason at a fee rising to $92 million, Havertz might also be the most interesting. Havertz is the youngest player to reach 100 Bundesliga appearances and scored 36 goals in four seasons with Bayer Leverkusen in the German league. With Timo Werner, Christian Pulisic and Hakim Ziyech making up Chelsea's likely attack, Havertz won't be short of quality around him.

(AP photo/Jon Super, Pool)The first full round of games of the Premier League restart has almost been completed, with just one team yet to play. Seven of the 11 games so far have had goalless first halves. Less than half of the teams have chosen to take up that opportunity in the Premier League. Across the 11 games, 10 of the 22 teams chose to make all five subs. According to the Premier Injuries website that tracks injuries sustained in Englands top division, there have been seven confirmed in-play injuries since the restart and only one James Milner (left hamstring) has been a muscular problem.

Everton fans are displayed on a large screen as the watch remotely the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Sunday, June 21, 2020. (Peter Powell/Pool via AP)LIVERPOOL No win for Liverpool on the longest day of the year, and an even longer wait maybe to clinch the title. When you've been waiting 30 years and then had the coronation delayed by three months because of a pandemic patience is expected. The quietest of the 236 Merseyside derbies, with fans denied access to Goodison Park, produced no goals as Everton held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw on Sunday. The only football that fans could see at Goodison Park was a family kickabout against one of the stands before kickoff.

Everton's Seamus Coleman, left, challenges Liverpool's Sadio Mane during the English Premier League soccer match between Everton and Liverpool at Goodison Park in Liverpool, England, Sunday, June 21, 2020. Liverpool can become champions with a win if Burnley does not lose at second-place defending champion Manchester City on Monday. Liverpool lost to Watford in the penultimate Premier League match before the unexpected break in the league. Well try to improve every time.That has been the message since the week before the football shutdown in March when Liverpool was also knocked out of the Champions League and FA Cup. A 3-0 win over 10-man Sheffield United lifted Newcastle 11 points clear of the relegation zone with eight games remaining.

Manchester City's Pauline Bremer, right, celebrates scoring against Everton during the Women's Super League match at the Academy Stadium, Manchester, England, Saturday Jan. 11, 2020. (Anthony Devlin/PA via AP)LONDON The top womens soccer league in England was canceled with immediate effect Monday because of the coronavirus outbreak, with no decision reached on which teams have won the title and been relegated. The decision was taken to end the Womens Super League following overwhelming feedback from the clubs, the Football Association said, and to give them the chance to prepare and focus on next season.Manchester City was leading the league by a point from Chelsea, which had seven games still to play one more than City. If the league was decided on average points per game, Chelsea would win the title. That includes which two teams should represent England in the Womens Champions League next season.