LONDON - West Ham United claimed fourth spot in the Premier League as goals early in each half by Michail Antonio and Jesse Lingard earned them a nervy 2-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Their seventh win in their last nine league games moved West Ham two points above Chelsea in their mounting challenge for a Champions League spot while Tottenham have slumped to ninth.
LIVERPOOL, England — Everton enjoyed their first Premier League win at Liverpool since 1999 with a 2-0 victory at Anfield condemning Juergen Klopp's fading champions to a fourth straight home defeat.
The win moved seventh-placed Everton, who had not won in 20 attempts in the league against their Merseyside rivals, level with Liverpool on 40 points.
While the victory boosts Everton's hopes of making a push for a top four Champions League place, it continues the stunning collapse in form for last season's champions.
BUDAPEST - Gareth Bale scored one goal and created another as Tottenham Hotspur enjoyed a 4-1 win in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash with Austrian side Wolfsberg on Thursday.
The Welshman, whose starts have mainly been limited to the Europa League since returning to Spurs on loan from Real Madrid in October, set up Son Heung-min for his side's opener.
Wolverhampton Wanderers striker Raúl Jiménez has returned to training after his recovery from an operation on his fractured skull but his return to the team will not be rushed, manager Nuno Espírito Santo said on Thursday.
Jiménez was taken to hospital after a clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz during a match in November and the club were initially not optimistic about the Mexican's return to action this season.
“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get rid of it. … Why should there be hunger and privation in any land, in any city, at any table, when man has the resources and the scientific know‐how to provide all mankind with the basic necessities of life? … There is no deficit in human resources, the deficit is in human will.”
Referee Darren Drysdale has been charged with improper conduct by the Football Association (FA) after confronting an Ipswich Town player during Tuesday's 0-0 League One draw with Northampton Town.
Drysdale, 49, locked heads with Ipswich midfielder Alan Judge after the Ireland international's appeal for a penalty had been turned down.
Christian Pulisic is better than Landon Donovan. That’s not my opinion — that’s Landon Donovan’s. At the age of 22, Pulisic has established himself at Chelsea. Donovan, at 22, was experiencing one of his least productive MLS seasons with an average San Jose Earthquakes team.
Arsenal's Bernd Leno has opened up about his experiences with online abuse and says being told to copy compatriot and former Germany goalkeeper Robert Enke, who committed suicide in 2009, drove him away from social media.
Former Barcelona, Benfica and Hannover 96 goalkeeper Enke took his own life by jumping in front of an express train after spending several years battling against depression.
"I had a very bad game and then one guy on social media said to me 'do it like Enke'," goalkeeper Leno, 28, told Sky Sports.
James Rodríguez is injured again and once again there is anguish in Everton and in the Colombia national team. When it's not his calves, which afflict him often, it's the consequences of the fouls he receives, kicks, some of which seems to have become recurrent.
On Sunday, he received one of those, and it was so relentless (straight to the left ankle) that he was immediately taken out of the match against Fulham.
While the Premier League is ascribed to be the most talented league in the world, the EFL Championship might be as difficult, if not more so, than the English top flight.
In terms of talent, the Championship is just a small step below the Premier League and there is little disparity between the top and bottom of the table. 23rd place Birmingham has beaten second place Brentford and fifth place Reading this season, while Derby County beat Norwich then went winless for two months and dropped to the bottom of the table.