Everton have been plunged deep into Premier League relegation trouble after being docked another two points for a second breach of spending rules.
The Toffees now sit just two points clear of the bottom three with seven fixtures remaining, although they have a game in hand on each of the three sides below them – Nottingham Forest, Luton and Burnley – and are 11 points better off than bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at their plight.
What has happened?
An independent commission has deducted two points from Everton’s tally after the club admitted a breach of the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR) over the three-year cycle to 2022-23, leaving them on 27 from 31 games.
Haven’t we be…
Ernesto Valverde, not Marcelo Bielsa, is set to become Athletic Bilbao s next coach after Jon Uriarte won the club s presidential election on Friday.
Valverde has coached Athletic on two previous occasions, from 2003 to 2005 and 2013 to 2017. No coach has overseen more games for the club than his tally of 306.
He enjoyed success with Athletic during his second spell, leading the team to Europe in each campaign and winning the Supercopa de Espana in 2015-16, beating Barcelona 5-1.
In 2017, Valverde was appointed Barca coach. He won LaLiga in his two full seasons at Camp Nou, and a Copa del Rey title in 2018, but failure in the Champions League placed him on thin ice and he was dismissed in late 2019.
The 58-year-old has since been out of work but earlier…
Wayne Rooney believes Harry Kane deserves to be viewed as the greatest forward in England s history after the captain became his country s all-time leading goalscorer.
Kane scored his 54th international goal as England began their Euro 2024 qualification campaign with a 2-1 win over Italy on Thursday, the penalty taking him past Rooney s total of 53.
The total for Kane includes a record 12 England goals at major tournaments (World Cup/European Championship), while he overtook Jimmy Greaves to become Tottenham s all-time leading scorer last month.
Writing in The Times on Friday, DC United manager Rooney backed Kane to set a difficult target for future England strikers to reach, comparing his hunger for goals to that of Robert Lewandowski.
When I broke the…
Juventus suffered a second successive Serie A defeat as Gregoire Defrel s fine finish saw Sassuolo win 1-0 on Sunday.
Three days on from beating Sporting CP 1-0 in the Europa League, Juve turned in a tired display at Mapei Stadium, as Sassuolo dented the Bianconeri s Champions League qualification hopes.
Defrel s 64th-minute goal had been coming, with Massimiliano Allegri s team having lived a charmed life at the back while offering little going forward.
Juve found some spark late on, with Adrien Rabiot denied by Andrea Consigli and Angel Di Maria squandering a golden chance, but Sassuolo held firm to beat Juve at home in the league for the first time since October 2015.
Sassuolo carved out the only chance of a muted first half, but Nedim Bajrami failed t…
Lucas Moura is confident Tottenham can fight for the Premier League title this season under Antonio Conte, claiming this is the year to mount a challenge.
Spurs stand unbeaten in the first seven Premier League matches of the season and can move top of the standings on Saturday if they beat rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
The north London duo, alongside defending champions Manchester City, have led the charge in the early months of the campaign, with the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United encountering issues.
City stand as the favourites in the eyes of many, with Spurs and the Gunners credentials still being debated, but Moura is insistent his side will be in the running this year.
To be quite honest, of all the seasons I ve been he…
Uruguay failed to progress to the World Cup round of 16 despite a 2-0 win over Ghana, who were left to rue Andre Ayew s early penalty miss.
La Celeste looked set to claim second spot in Group H, but South Korea s late winner against Portugal saw them advance by virtue of scoring more goals than Diego Alonso s side.
In their first meeting since a controversial World Cup quarter-final in 2010, which saw Asamoah Gyan miss a penalty after Luis Suarez had been sent off for a handball on the goal-line, Ghana once again paid the price for a squandered spot-kick – this time Ayew failing to find the back of the net.
Giorgian de Arrascaeta scored twice soon after that to seal the victory for Uruguay, but it was not enough to see them to avoid an early exit along with Gha…
Crystal Palace have confirmed captain Luka Milivojevic and midfielder James McArthur will leave at the end of the season.
The duo are two of the most experienced members of the Eagles’ squad with McArthur joining the club in 2014 while Milivojevic signed during the 2016-17 campaign.
Former Serbia international Milivojevic has played 198 times for Palace and scored 28 goals, which puts him third in the club’s all-time Premier League goal-scorer standings.
Chairman Steve Parish told the official club website: “We have been lucky to have a professional like Luka at the club for so long.
“He has contributed an immense amount to the team both on and off the pitch and is a crucial figure in our long stay in the Premier League.”
Milivojevic add…
Wolves head coach Gary O Neil has confirmed Pedro Neto is set to complete a big-money move to Chelsea, describing the winger as irreplaceable .
Neto has become a fan favourite throughout five years at Molineux, and a return of nine assists in just 20 Premier League outings made 2023-24 his finest season to date, despite two hamstring injuries limiting him to just 1,518 minutes.
Of the 11 players to better Neto s nine assists in the Premier League last term, only Manchester City s Kevin De Bruyne – who recorded 10 assists in just 1,227 minutes – spent less time on the pitch than Neto.
Wolves are set to receive €60million (£51.4m) plus add-ons for Neto, but O Neil does not believe it is possible for them to source a direct replacement.
Instead, after…
Women´s Euros: ´We could have been one or two nil up after 20 minutes´ – Sweden´s Eriksson frustrate
Sweden s Magdalena Eriksson has bemoaned her side s early missed chances after they were thumped 4-0 by England in their women s Euros semi-final.
Sofia Jakobsson could have put the Swedes ahead after just 30 seconds, while Stina Blackstenius also hit the bar early on.
And they then fell behind after 34 minutes when Beth Mead smashed home from inside the box, before second-half goals from Lucy Bronze, Alessia Russo and Fran Kirby finished things off.
It means that it will be England who will play either Germany or France at Wembley Stadium on Sunday as they bid to win their first European Championship, after losing in the final in 1984 and 2009.
4 4-0 win tonight is the biggest ever margin of victory in a semi final at the UEFA Women’s European Champ…
Juventus reached the Europa League semi-finals as a 1-1 draw against Sporting CP at Estadio Jose Alvalade sealed a 2-1 aggregate triumph.
Buoyed by learning prior to Thursday s second leg that their 15-point deduction in Serie A for financial breaches had been suspended, Adrien Rabiot struck early on to double Juve s lead in the tie after Federico Gatti had given them a slender advantage in last week s reverse fixture at Allianz Stadium.
Marcus Edwards quickly pulled one back for Sporting from the penalty spot after Rabiot s foul on Manuel Ugarte, but resilient defending saw the Bianconeri through.
Juve will feature in a European semi-final for the first time since the 2016-17 campaign and will do battle with Sevilla for a place in the final after they knocked Ma…