IWOBI'S 99TH-MINUTE GOAL GIVES EVERTON HOPE WITH VICTORY OVER NEWCASTLE UNITED

 A dramatic 99th-minute winner from Alex Iwobi gave 10-man Newcastle a 1-0 win after Allan was controversially sent off.

The home side found chances difficult to come by and could only get one shot on target, seeing just over 40% of possession.

After both sides spent heavily with new managers in the January transfer window in an attempt to secure Premier League survival for at least one more season, it was Newcastle who were more impressive, but they too could not break down the opposition.

However there was late controversy as Everton were denied a penalty as Seamus Coleman appealed, and on 83 minutes Allan was sent off for a lunge after a VAR review, with his challenge on Allan Saint-Maximin ruled to be sufficiently dangerous to warrant a red.

Then, on 99 minutes Iwobi popped up to grab all three points for Everton.

The point sees Newcastle on 31 points in 14th, and likely safe. Everton though remain in 17th, now three points clear of Watford, and with two games in hand on the Hornets.

KARL-ANTHONY TOWNS SCORES NBA SEASON-HIGH 60 POINTS

 On a day that saw MVP favourites Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic go head-to-head, it was fellow center Karl-Anthony Towns who stole the headlines.

Towns scored a career-high 60 points in the Minnesota Timberwolves' 149-139 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

It is the most points scored by any player in a single game this season, ahead of Trae Young and LeBron
James, who both scored 56.

After reaching half-time with 24 points, Towns exploded into life after the break, scoring 32 of his side's 46 third-quarter points on his way to final shooting figures of 19-31 from the field, 7-11 from three and 15-16 from the line.

Towns, who is the first center to hit 60 points in a single NBA game since Shaquille O'Neal in March 2000, also grabbed a personal season-high of 17 rebounds, while on the other side Dejounte Murray was no slouch with 30 points and 12 assists, though it was not enough for the Spurs.

MANCHESTER CITY FAIL TO RESTORE SIX-POINT ADVANTAGE AT SUMMIT

Manchester City failed to restore their six-point lead at the Premier League summit as they were held to a goalless draw at Crystal Palace on Monday.

Palace had been looking to complete a first league double over City since 1987-88 but settled simply for frustrating Pep Guardiola's side, who went the closest to opening the scoring in the first half when Joao Cancelo rattled the woodwork.

Kevin De Bruyne was also denied by the frame of the goal after the interval, with no late winner forthcoming at Selhurst Park.

The stalemate meant City moved just four points clear of second-placed Liverpool, who have a game in hand and are yet to play the champions at the Etihad Stadium.

Michael Olise poked narrowly wide in the opening stages, while Bernardo Silva spurned a glorious chance after Vicente Guaita had spilled a De Bruyne strike at the other end.

De Bruyne then tested Guaita's reactions with an audacious volley, before Cancelo cannoned against the left post with a thunderous long-range effort, with Aymeric Laporte squandering the inviting rebound inside the area.

Riyad Mahrez almost found the top-left corner with a left-footed curler, then De Bruyne struck the right post after the break with his low drive. 

Guaita tipped over from Mahrez on the follow-up but a belated offside flag meant a breakthrough goal would not have stood.

Silva wasted another gilt-edged chance to nudge City ahead when he touched wide from Jack Grealish's cross, while Laporte failed to make clean contact with a close-range header late on.

Conor Gallagher could even have stolen victory as his shot from a tight angle rose over Ederson's goal in stoppage time.

What does it mean? City hand incentive to chasers Liverpool

With Liverpool playing Arsenal in their game in hand on Wednesday and then involved in the early kick-off when the league season resumes at the start of April, City could be second by the time they play again.

The crunch clash between the past two champions follows on April 10, with the coming month set to be pivotal in this title race. 

City, who had 18 attempts without scoring on Monday, must be more clinical in these key fixtures.

BENZEMA'S DOUBLE SENDS REAL MADRID 10 POINTS CLEAR AT TOP OF LA LIGA

Real Madrid have strengthened their grip on top spot in La Liga with a hard-fought 3-0 win against Mallorca.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side arrived at Son Moix seven points clear at the summit and in intimidating form, having won their last three league fixtures on the bounce and pulled off a momentous comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League last week.

Given that they had beaten Mallorca 6-1 in the reverse fixture at the Bernabeu in September – their biggest win of the season to date – all the omens pointed to a straightforward win.

While Real menaced through Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo on the flanks, with Karim Benzema dropping deep to orchestrate play, they had only mustered up two shots on target come half time.

The first came from Benzema early on and was well saved by Sergio Rico, while the second fell for Vinicius but was blocked superbly by Mallorca right-back Pablo Maffeo.

Maffeo had the best chance of the first half when, following an excellent tackle from Nacho on Angel, the ball broke for him in the box and he took a first-time shot which brushed the outside of the post. Mallorca were by far the happier side at the break, but it wasn’t to last.

Real went ahead with 55 minutes on the clock when Iddrisu Baba lost possession to Federico Valverde on the edge of his own area. Benzema swooped on the ball and stroked it to Vinicius, who was ice cold as he slotted low beneath Rico from a tight angle.

The game was over as a contest when, with a little over 10 minutes to go, Benzema and Vinicius combined beautifully before the latter was shoved over by Brian Olivan in the box. Benzema stepped up to score from the spot, sending Rico the wrong way with a flourish.

The 34-year-old made it 3-0 five minutes later, looping a header into the top corner after a sweeping cross from substitute Marcelo.

Real are now 10 points ahead of second-placed Sevilla and seemingly cruising towards the 35th league title in the club’s history.

CHALOBAH, MOUNT AND HAVERTZ ON SCORE SHEET AS CHELSEA SEES OFF NORWICH AFTER CHAOTIC DAY

Chelsea players have ignored the uncertainty surrounding the club and serious allegations against its chairman, in a 3-1 away defeat against Norwich City.

Chelsea's third place in the Epl table was further cemented thanks to goals from Trevoh Chalobah, Mason Mount and Kai Havertz; with Norwich remaining rooted in the relegation zone.

The Blues dominated possession from the kickoff, playing with tempo and imagination, and on three minutes Chalobah headed the opener from Mount’s corner. Thereafter, Havertz, on 14 minutes, found Mount, who finished superbly, high into the net.

Norwich did well to go in at half-time just 2-nil down but they were much quicker to the ball after the break, while Chelsea stepped off, and the penalty that halved the deficit was not a total surprise, with foul in the box by Chalobah, and Teemu Pukki despatched the penalty emphatically. 

In the final minutes Havertz added the third after being played in by substitute N'Golo Kante.

ALEXANDER ZVEREV OUTBURST: RAFAEL NADAL SEEKS STIFFER PENALTIES FOR ABUSE OF TENNIS OFFICIALS

 Rafael Nadal has called for stiffer penalties to be imposed upon tennis stars who abuse officials following Alexander Zverev controversial sentence suspension after outburst in Acapulco.

The German Olympic gold medallist was kicked out of the singles draw at the ATP 500 tournament last month when he smashed his racquet on an umpire’s chair following a doubles defeat.

Zverev has since been given a one-year probation with no immediate punishment and Nadal feels it’s time to clamp down on what he believes to be a growing trend of dissent.

Nadal was speaking with newsmen recently ahead of his first involvement at the Indian Wells Masters 1000 tournament on Saturday.

The Spaniard is a three-time champion in the desert and arrives on the back of a stunning 15-match winning streak that has seen him kick off 2022 with three titles, including a record 21st Grand Slam triumph at the Australian Open.

CHELSEA SALE HALTED: UK GOVERNMENT SANCTIONS ABRAMOVICH

The sale of Chelsea has been halted as the UK government sanctioned Roman Abramovich.

Abramovich alongside six other individuals – is the subject of a full asset freeze and travel ban, preventing the Russian international from selling Chelsea on his terms.

Reports by newsmen has it that the club could still be sold if Abramovich handed over the process to the UK Government, however, he would not receive proceeds from the sale.

The reason for the government's action is detailed on a document entitled consolidated list of financial sanctions targets in the UK.

A statement by the UK gocernment has it that Abramovich had been sanctioned alongside six others.

Below is the list of those sanctioned:

Roman Abramovich owner of Chelsea FC and has stakes in steel giant Evraz and Norilsk Nickel

Oleg Deripaska has stakes in En+ Group

Igor Sechin is the Chief Executive of Rosneft

Andrey Kostin is Chairman of VTB bank

Alexei Miller is CEO of energy company Gazprom

Nikolai Tokarev is president of the Russia state-owned pipeline company Transneft

Dmitri Lebedev is Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bank Rossiya"