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    Man Utd and Chelsea ‘locked in transfer battle with European giants’ for former Man City star Leroy Sane

    MANCHESTER UNITED and Chelsea are keeping tabs on Bayern Munich star Leroy Sane.Sane, 28, enjoyed four successful years at Manchester City, where he won two Premier League titles and the FA Cup, but returned to Germany in 2020.Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham are eyeing Bayern Munich star Leroy SaneCredit: GettySane is also being targeted by Barcelona ahead of the January transfer windowCredit: RexHowever, the winger’s contract runs out in June and there has been no breakthrough in negotiations with the German giants so far.According to Sport, the standstill between the Germany international and the Munich outfit has led to intense interest from some of Europe’s elite clubs.Among them are United, Chelsea as well as Tottenham ahead of the January transfer window.However, the Premier League trio could face competition from Barcelona, who are very interested in Sane.Read More on FootballBarca need more quality down the wings especially after losing Lamine Yamal to injury.That has led to reports suggesting the Blaugrana are keeping tabs on Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, AC Milan’s Rafael Leao and Athletic Bilbao’s Nico Williams.However, Barcelona’s financial woes are pushing them towards more affordable cases, such as Sane who could become a free agent in the summer.However, the German prefers to stay in the Bundesliga despite the complicated contract talks with his current club.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSBayern would prefer to agree on a new deal with a lower salary, especially considering the options down the wing with Jamal Musiala, Serge Gnabry, Michael Olise and Kingsley Coman available.Sane has scored just five goals and bagged one assist in 19 appearances this season.Leroy Sane shoves Marc Cucurella in Euros clashIn his career at Bayern, he has 53 goals and 51 assists in 194 matches.Sane was once highly thought-of at Man CityCredit: EPA More

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    Tottenham 3 Liverpool 6: Reds tighten grip on top as Salah, Diaz and Co run Spurs ragged in bonkers nine-goal thriller

    NOTHING could save Spurs this time.Not the referee or linesmen inside the stadium or the VAR operator at Stockley Park. Certainly not Tottenham’s absolutely shocking defence.Mo Salah added two more goals to his tally to sink TottenhamCredit: AlamyDominik Szoboszlai had one of his best games in a Liverpool shirtCredit: ReutersTrent Alexander-Arnold was also key to everything the Reds did well including one perfect assistCredit: ReutersLuis Diaz got on the scoresheet twiceCredit: GettyJames Maddison’s goal made it 2-1 before Spurs capitulatedCredit: EPAWhile last season’s meeting between these two provided us with the biggest cock-up in VAR, this was a walk in the park for the officials.Because like everyone else, they were able to just watch in total bemusement at another bonkers game at the Tottenham Stadium.Weirdly, despite the fact they conceded three times, this was one of Liverpool’s easiest wins of the season and they will be four points clear at Christmas with a game in hand.You hate to think what the aggregate scoreline will be when these two teams meet in the Carabao Cup semi-finals.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLIn October 2023, it was Luis Diaz whose goal was incorrectly disallowed for offside after the VAR mistakenly believed the on-field decision had been to award the goal, allowing Spurs to win 2-1.So it was only right that Diaz should start and finish the scoring. After heading the first,Alexis Mac Allister made it 2-0 and while James Maddison pulled one back, shambolic Spurs could not reach half-time without conceding again as Dominik Szoboszlai nodded the third.Mo Salah struck twice for goals no 17 and 18 of the season before Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke both scored – only for Diaz to grab his second.Yet Liverpool could easily have got 10 goals. While Spurs continue to be without keeper Guglielmo Vicario and centre-backs Sergio Romero and Micky van de Ven, this was still embarrassing.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSBefore the game, Spurs fans protested against chairman Daniel Levy and the club ownership. There were only a few hundred disgruntled supporters although a bigger protest is expected and this result will not help their mood.Because still, the performances under Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou will divide opinion and they are clearly not learning from their lessons.Gary Neville tells Jamie Carragher to ‘f off’ after Liverpool legend performs incredible U-turn on ‘selfish’ SalahFor example, after what happened in the second half three days earlier, when he gifted Manchester United two goals, you would have thought Fraser Forster would have been a bit more careful when the ball was at his feet.Yet staggeringly just two minutes into the game, his attempted chip to Djed Spence landed at the grateful feet of Mo Salah who rushed his shot and fired into the side netting.Incredibly, in the first 18 minutes alone, Salah had five good chances which included a shot against the bar.So Tottenham could not argue that Liverpool did not deserve their lead halfway inside the first half. Diaz got between Pedro Porro and Radu Dragusin to score with an excellent header although this was all down to Alexander-Arnold’s stunning cross who then had Diaz pretend to polish his boot.Alexander-Arnold was excellent for Liverpool although he was lucky, at 0-0, to avoid conceding a penalty after shoving over Maddison.Liverpool’s second came when both Spence and Szoboszlai both jumped to meet Andy Robertson’s cross and the ball looped into the air for Mac Allister who used his head to plant an effort past Forster.Mac Allister was then guilty of offering Spurs a route back when he failed to control a pass from Alexander-Arnold under a challenge from Kulusevski. Maddison took a couple of touches before curling his effort into the bottom right corner.Yet at least, you would have thought Tottenham could get to half-time yet this proved too difficult.Alexander-Arnold’s left-footed punt upfield was met with a header by Szoboszlai and Salah ran onto the flick. Just when Spurs thought Salah would release Diaz, he delivered a reverse pass to Szoboszlai who buried a shot through Forster’s legs.After failing to score five goals in that first half, Salah joined the party. In a goalline scramble, Archie Gray delivered blocks from Cody Gakpo and Szoboszlai and Salah had a simple tap-in.Szoboszlai squared brilliantly to give Salah another easy chance for 5-1 and even though Kulusevski pulled one back with a volley and Solanke struck against his former club, there was never going to be a comeback.READ MORE SUN STORIESJust to make sure, Salah delivered an assist for Diaz who stuck the ball in the corner past Fraser Forster.At the end, the final whistle was greeted with jeers but not in the away end who are loving life under Arne Slot. And pretty grateful he did not join Tottenham 18 months ago. More

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    Tottenham ‘given green light to sign goalkeeper’ and could turn to £20million England star in January transfer

    TOTTENHAM have given Ange Postecoglou the green light to sign a goalkeeper from the EFL, according to reports.Spurs have been without No1 Guglielmo Vicario since November when he was ruled out with an ankle injury.Ange Postecoglou has been given the green light to sign a goalkeeperCredit: APJames Trafford is Spurs’ No1 targetCredit: GettyGuglielmo Vicario is out with a broken ankleCredit: ReutersFraser Forster came into the side as his replacement but has made mistakes, including passing the ball to a Manchester United attacker in his own box in the Carabao Cup.Tottenham are ready to bring in another keeper and have identified Burnley stoppe James Trafford as their first choice target, report The Mirror.Postecoglou has reportedly been given the green light to make a move for Trafford, who could cost £20million.Trafford received his first call-up to the England senior squad last month and boasts 19 Under-21 caps.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLHe joined Burnley in the summer of 2023 and made 28 Premier League appearances last season.His performances attracted the attention of Newcastle but they were unable to agree a deal with Liverpool.Vicario is expected to be out injured for a few more months, so Fraser will deputies unless a replacement is found.Spurs have also looked at Sunderland’s young keeper Anthony Patterson as well as Sheffield Wednesday rookie Pierce Charles.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSPostecoglou is happy enough with Forster in the mean time, despite his mistake against United.He said: “He’s disappointed as well, because he was outstanding for us. He didn’t have a lot to do before then. And even the first half, I thought he was really good with his feet.Under-fire Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou says being a football manager is a harder job than prime minister“The first one probably affected his confidence a little bit. He lost a bit of belief, and that second one just compounded it. But he’s a big boy and is another one that’s stood up for us big-time in this period. I can’t speak highly enough of him.” More

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    Man Utd break two more unwanted club records in dismal defeat at home to Bournemouth

    MANCHESTER UNITED broke two unwanted club records following their miserable thrashing at home to Bournemouth to add to their woeful season.United lost 3-0 to the Cherries at Old Trafford to plummet to 13th place in the Premier League table after goals by Dean Huijsen, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo.Manchester United have broken two unwanted records after losing to BournemouthCredit: GettyMan Utd suffered a heavy defeat to Bournemouth at Old TraffordCredit: PAThis marked Man Utd’s heaviest defeat under new manager Ruben Amorim, who took over after the once title favourites endured their worst ever Prem start.And now two more negative records occurred to pile up on the Red Devils’ troubles.The Manchester giants have found themselves in the bottom half of the Premier League table at Christmas for the first time in their history.And excluding penalties, United have conceded 17 goals from set-pieces in the English top flight this year.Read More on Man UtdThat is their most in a single calendar year in the Premier League.Amorim addressed his team’s weakness while defendiong set-pieces during his post-match interview.The Portuguese tactician told Sky Sports: “It’s hard. In this context, it’s hard to push for two or three wins. We’re trying. But this game was hard on us.”Without any situation we suffered again at set-pieces. We were a little bit nervous, the stadium.Most read in Football”We controlled the rest of the first half with some clear chances, and then in the second with the penalty and then another goal is really hard on everyone here.”In this kind of moment, every thing is hard on us. The set-pieces, the penalty, then we want to score again but we are too nervous. We have to fight this.Roy Keane opens up on fight with Man Utd team-mate that was ‘brewing for years’ and admits he left him with black eye”We tried to score but in the end, it was a tough match in a tough situation. We need to move on.”Man Utd ratings vs Bournemouth as Malacia is hooked after horror first halfRUBEN AMORIM suffered his worst defeat of his short reign as Man Utd boss with a shocking 3-0 loss to Bournemouth at Old Trafford.And his flops were easily second best all over the park to Andoni Iraola’s Cherries. SunSport’s Ian Whittell has provided his ratings of the Man United squad…Andre Onana – 5Shaky on ball and his nervousness in holding it too long was transmitted to United supporters.Bad conditions for a keeper but there were also some uncertain moments when he needed two attempts to grasp on to long shots.Noussair Mazraoui – 4Complained bitterly about the penalty he gave away but it was hard to make a case in his defence.Caught out, then panicked and tripped Justin Kluivert from behind to cap what was already an uninspiring display.Harry Maguire – 4All too often was second to the ball or simply failed to get hold of his man, with Evanilson too elusive for the United defender to shackle.Ruben Amorim believes Maguire is perfect for his three-at-the-back formation but the jury is still out on that one.Lisandro Martinez – 5Stood watching as Semenyo swept in Bournemouth’s third goal, the latest in a long line of defensive embarrassments from United.Seems to be struggling, like most of his defensive team mates, with the new system and incapable of doing even the basics.Diogo Dalot – 6Made a couple of good blocks and tried to become involved in attacking moments from wing-back, without having a huge impact.On a day when United’s defence was again found wanting, however, he was not the worst culprit.Manuel UgarteBooked for a cynical foul on Kluivert and too often struggled to cope with Bournemouth runners.Too much of the game passed him by and did not last even the hour as United chased the game.Kobbie Mainoo 6Like most of his team, guilty of some unforced errors but there was no faulting his work rate or drive.Created a great chance when he hounded Dean Huijsen off the ball and set up Bruno Fernandes but gave up the ball for Bournemouth’s third.Tyrell Malacia 3Terrible touch early on drew groans from the home fans, the first of a number of sloppy moments from the fit-again full-back.Predictable that he should give away the free-kick from which the visitors opened the scoring and hooked at half-time.Amad Diallo 7The big winner from the Rashford controversy and could have lit up Old Trafford early on but placed a good chance straight at the keeper.Not a performance on a par with his derby exploits but still looked United’s best hope of carving out a goal.Bruno Fernandes 8Playing higher, and wider, up the field these days and maybe there is a debate over whether that is the best use of his undoubted talents.But in the last five minutes of the first half alone, he had three good chances which might have brought an equaliser.Joshua Zirkzee 5Given the nod ahead of Rasmus Hojlund, a reward for some decent recent performances under his new manager but this was not one of them.Was the closest Red to Dean Huijsen as he headed Bournemouth in front though United’s defending was such a mess, it was not clear whether he was Zirkzee’s responsibility.SubstitutesLeny Yoro (for Malacia, 46) 4Came on as part of a much-needed half-time defensive reshuffle by Amorim but failed to add stability.Alejandro Garnacho (for Ugarte, 54) 5Had a chance when clean through just after Bournemouth’s third but hit it straight at Kepa.Rasmus Hojlund (for Zirkzee, 54) 6Looked like he might have a goal in him and at least forced Kepa into one good stop.Substitutes (not used): Altay Bayindir, Casemiro, Toby Collyer, Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, Antony. 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    ‘Hang your heads in shame’ fumes Michael Owen as he hits out at Aston Villa fans for ‘making my blood boil’

    MICHAEL OWEN told Aston Villa fans to “hang your heads in shame” after booing former star Jack Grealish.The England star was on the receiving end of a 2-1 defeat as he returned to Villa Park with Manchester City on Saturday.Michael Owen has slammed Aston Villa fans for booing Jack GrealishCredit: GettyThe former Villa star saw Man City beaten by his old side 2-1Credit: GettyGrealish used to be a cult hero at Villa after joining them as a six-year old.He clocked up 213 games for the Midlands club and played a key role in their Premier League return five years ago.But it seemed home supporters were yet to forgive Grealish for his £100million switch to City in 2021.The midfielder was routinely booed and jeered every time he touched the ball on Saturday.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLGrealish was also involved in several fiery encounters with Villa stars like Matty Cash and Emi Martinez.And at the end of the game, he flashed three fingers towards irate fans in a jibe over his three Premier League titles at the Etihad.Now, ex-Liverpool and Man United star Owen has come to Grealish’s defence.He believes Villa fans should be ashamed of their behaviour towards their former hero.Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSAnd Owen admits his “blood boiled” hearing the endless taunts and jibes towards a player who arguably made Villa what they are today.He wrote on social media: “I often hear or see things in football that makes my blood boil. Most people will probably feel the same at some point or other. Four Man City stars including Haaland and Grealish ‘miss penalties against NO KEEPER’ in bizarre training live streamGrealish clashed with several Villa stars during the defeatCredit: GettyHe responded to fans with a three-fingered jibeCredit: Getty“I guess that’s quite natural when you care passionately about something, or in my case, when it’s something that has consumed your entire life.”There will always be kind, honest, generous, respectful, caring people in all walks of life just as there will always be nasty, jealous, spiteful, bitter people too. “Your job or where you’re from doesn’t necessarily make you fall into a certain category. But to those Villa fans who booed Jack Grealish yesterday, you fall into the second category and should hang your heads in shame.”Owen continued: “Here is a lad that came through YOUR academy. Supported The Villa all his life and no doubt still does. “He single-handedly dragged YOUR team back into the Premier League when you were bang average at best. “He kept you up and in hindsight, showed you ten times more loyalty than you are now showing him. He was hardly ever injured and delivered Man Of The Match performances on a regular basis. READ MORE SUN STORIES“He cost you nothing, gave you incredible service and made YOUR club over £100m when he left.”In Jack’s case he is and always will be very proud of where he comes from and so it must be heartbreaking for him to have to endure the mindless and pathetic booing that he had to listen to yesterday.” More

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    Leicester 0 Wolves 3: Danny Ward blunders hand Vitor Pereira early Christmas present as new boss gets huge win

    LEICESTER CITY owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha spread some Festive cheer by dishing out cuddly Foxes and City scarves to fans before kick-off.Then watched through his fingers as his team gifted Wolves three slapstick first-half goals to give new boss Vitor Pereira an early Christmas present.Foxes keeper Danny Ward suffered a howler to concede Wolves’ second goal to Rodrigo GomesCredit: AlamyGoncalo Guedes opened the scoring for Wolves with an acrobatic effortCredit: ReutersNew Wolves boss Vitor Pereira was greeted with a hug from Ruud van Nistelrooy before the gameCredit: GettyPereira pocketed three welcome points on his debut while poor Danny Ward suffered in a Winter Blunderland!Foxes fans groaned when they heard his name announced BEFORE kick-off as it became clear first-choice Mads Hermansen had failed to shrug off a groin injury.At 2-0 down they booed their own goalie – then sarcastically cheered him when he safely gathered a bread and butter through ball!By the time Wolves helped themselves to a third the poor guy was in bits and looked as if he had Poppadom wrists as he got both gloves to Matheus Cunha’s shot but couldn’t keep it out!READ MORE IN FOOTBALLAs the goals flowed Vitor Pereira was the calmest man at the King Power.He just stood in his Technical Area, arms folded, before taking more notes in his notepad.Perhaps he was compiling his Christmas shopping list because the Portuguese coach couldn’t have asked for an easier start to life in the Premier League than this walkover.Pereira has now won nine of his 11 debuts as a boss. Most read in FootballFOOTBALL FREE BETS AND SIGN UP DEALSLeicester imploded as they handed out their first gift of the day after 19 minutes to get Wolves off to the perfect start under their new gaffer. New skipper Nelson Semedo swept a long pass out of defence, Jorgen Strand Larsen blocked off Jannick Vestergaard way too easily and the ball ran through to Goncalo Guedes.He reacted way quicker than Conor Coady who allowed him to hook the ball home from the corner of the six yard box, under the gloves of Ward.As the Foxes defence looked around to see who they could blame there didn’t seem to be any shortage of contenders.But they failed to learn their lesson and surrendered an even softer goal nine minutes before the break.Matt Doherty played a raking diagonal ball from right to left.James Justin appeared to have the situation under control until he inexplicably chose to leave the ball.Unless he got a rogue call from Ward, it was a suicidal bit of defending, because lurking off his right shoulder Rodrigo Gomes was waiting to cash in.He took the ball down on his chest then bundled the ball beyond Danny Ward who had already over-committed and actually dived out of the way for Gomes to find the gaping net.There was a VAR check for a potential handball but VAR Michael Salisbury decided the Wolves man had taken the ball down cleanly.It was the 21-year-old’s first goal in English football following his summer arrival from Braga.The look of horror mixed with stunned bewilderment on Ruud van Nistelrooy’s face said it all.But his defenders weren’t done yet because they leaked a third before Wolves headed off for their half-time cuppa.Semedo set the ball rolling again when he picked out Guedes who had run behind Victor Kristiansen who looked as if he was towing a caravan.He fed Cunha who had left Boubakary Soumare for dead and once again Vestergaard was slow to cut out the danger.Cunha simply swept the ball in off Danny Ward’s limp wrists to clock up his ninth goal of the season.RVN sent out an SOS and sent on Wout Faes and Harry Winks for Vestergaard and Skipp at half-time.Hamza Choudhury and Bobby De Cordova-Reid followed them on eight minutes later but the match was already over.Coming hard-on-the-heels of a 4-0 hammering by Newcastle, this is not a good couple of weeks for Leicester.At one point in the second half Soumare actually had the ball at his feet, then trod on it under no pressure at all, to set off another Wolves raid!Yes, Leicester really were that bad.Van Nistelrooy will have his work cut out unless ‘Top’ starts dishing out a few January presents in the shape of a couple of battle-hardened Premier League defenders in January.As always Jamie Vardy did his best up front.The veteran striker almost got the Foxes off to a flier at the start when he raced onto a through ball but his shot was blocked by Jose Sa, who had raced yards outside his box. But the Portuguese keeper somehow managed to keep his hands off the ball and cleared with his chest.Then with the game long gone, Vardy rounded Sa but shot into the side net from a tight angle, before flashing in a header from an Ayew free kick which Sa saved.Meanwhile Wolves fans partied and serenaded their unpopular Chairman Jeff Shi.They sang: “I don’t care about Jeff Shi. He don’t care about me. All I care about is Wolves FC.”Then rubbed salt in Leicester wounds by chanting: “We want our ball back,” after a period of home possession.READ MORE SUN STORIESTellingly, Leicester’s loudest roar of the day came five minutes from the end as Danny Ward held a Joao Gomes shot to a prolonged roar from home fans who had long since lost their Christmas cheer!The visitors gave their new boss the perfect start and piled more misery on the FoxesCredit: PAMatheus Cunha added a third before half-timeCredit: GettyCunha wheels away celebrating as his side secured scoring his side’s third before half-timeCredit: Getty More

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    Fulham 0 Southampton 0: Four-fingered Aaron Ramsdale earns Saints a crucial point in front of new boss Ivan Juric

    AARON RAMSDALE returned from his fractured finger injury to produce a string of heroic saves to bag Southampton a precious point.Ramsdale was back in the line-up for the first time since early November wearing a special glove with two fingers in one extra large alien-like finger slot. Aaron Ramsdale wore a special four-fingered glove after breaking his finger but still kept a crucial clean sheet for relegation-threated SouthamptonCredit: GettyNew Saints boss Ivan Juric could only watch from the stands but his new team battled to a pointCredit: GettyIt did the trick as the ex-Arsenal shot-stopper denied rasping shots from Alex Iwobi and Harry Wilson to squash Fulham’s hopes of soaring into sixth place, above Manchester City. Incoming Saints boss Ivan Juric was sitting in the stands at Craven Cottage since 1pm with a thick black coat on and a cup of tea in hand, knowing there is a lot of work to be done. After all the point was only Saints’ second in eight-matches in what has been a bleak season with former boss Russell Martin sacked last Sunday. Fulham started brightly with Iwobi latching onto a pass from Josh King and curling a shot at goal which took Aaron Ramsdale’s fingertips to keep out. READ MORE IN FOOTBALLFulham 17-year-old midfielder King was making his first Prem start, starting alongside Tom Cairney having walked out at age 11 for the play-off semi-final against Derby with the Fulham skipper. Saints hit back though with Adam Arsmtrong having a shot blocked in the box. Fulham looked stronger but their plan of attack consisted with Robinson running the length of the pitch and sending one into the box. There was the odd pretty passing sequence but no real end product, with Harry Wilson firing a shot over the bar midway through the first-half as only the odd clacker could be heard in the Cottage. Most read in FootballEven Saints’ chants of “you’re support is f***ing s***” was strained before Iwobi livened things up again by cracking a shot just wide of the far post. Fulham emerged from the restart with a fire in their bellies. All Saints fans could do was laugh at yet another dismal performance, chanting “we’ve had a shot, we’ve had a shot” when finally they had their first one on target through Armstrong 55 minutes in.Adama Traore came on an hour in and instantly made a difference, zipping down the right flank and firing an inch-perfect cross to Iwobi who forced Ramsdale into a blinding save. Ramsdale was back again with another jaw-dropping save to keep out a rasping close-range shot from Wilson. Traore almost won the game for Fulham late on but dragged his low shot agonisingly wide of the far post from the edge of the box.Fulham’s Antonee Robinson battles Nathan Wood for the ball during the dull 0-0 at Craven CottageCredit: Reuters More

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    Chelsea ratings vs Everton: Fernandez continues to shine but Jackson costs Blues all three points in dull display

    CHELSEA extended their unbeaten run to nine Premier League games with a performance that will quickly be forgotten.Chances on goal were few and far between although Nicolas Jackson had two opportunities to put the Blues ahead in the first half.Chelsea were left frustrated at Goodison ParkCredit: AlamyNicolas Jackson missed the best two chances of the matchCredit: AlamyChelsea were rarely threatened too but any talk of a title challenge will quickly be put to bed if their attacking quartet have more games like this.Cole Palmer was stifled by Everton’s all consuming midfield but neither Jadon Sancho nor Pedro Neto made use of the extra space they were given.In the end Enzo Maresca appeared happy to settle for the draw as he delayed making changes – Joao Felix even failed to come off the bench.Here is how SunSport’s Kealan Hughes rated the Chelsea display.READ MORE IN FOOTBALLRobert Sanchez – 7Smart stop down to his right to deny Orel Mangala shortly before the break.Pulled off an even better save when Jack Harrison looked certain to score in the second half.Axel Disasi – 6Dealt with the tricky Iliman Ndiaye reasonably well. Lacked an attacking threat which hindered Blues going forward.Tosin Adarabioyo – 8Made a brilliant block 15 minutes from time to stop Ndiaye finding the net with Sanchez beaten.Most read in FootballBEST FREE BET SIGN UP OFFERS FOR UK BOOKMAKERSHe also looked assured on the ball and comfortable doing the nitty-gritty every time he plays. Deserves more game time.Ruben Colwill – 7An accomplished display as he limited Everton’s chances on goal, worked well with Adarabioyo.Enzo Maresca breaks silence on Mykhailo Mudryk’s failed drugs test and gives update on his Chelsea futureMalo Gusto – 5Was caught out a few times by Harrison, who should have scored when he got in behind the left-back.Almost opened the scoring in the first half but Pickford charged down his shot well.Moises Caicedo – 7Protected the defence well and cut out a lot of loose balls to prevent Everton getting near the Chelsea box.Enzo Fernandez – 8Perhaps Chelsea’s best player. Saw a lot of the ball and kept possession nicely.Had one shooting opportunity he aimed straight at the keeper.Cole Palmer – 5Squared well for Jackson’s chance. Failed to influence the match in his usual manner, which is a credit to the Everton defence.Pedro Neto – 5Plenty of effort and endeavour but not really his day. Every time he did threaten he was quickly fouled. Jadon Sancho – 5Some nice touches and passes but rarely posed a threat.READ MORE SUN STORIESNicolas Jackson – 4Missed a big chance first half as Pickford was equal to a close range effort.He then missed an even easier opportunity minutes later as he directed his header onto the post with the goal gaping.SubsChristopher Nkunku (for Jackson, 76mins) – 5Noni Madueke (for Neto, 76mins) – 5 More