Everton’s manager Ancelotti sees red in Manchester United draw

Raul Jimenez boosted Wolves’ bid to qualify for the Champions League as his late winner capped the visitors’ dramatic fightback in their 3-2 victory at Tottenham on Sunday. Wolves have moved into sixth place in the Premier League. (AFP)
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Updated 02 March 2020
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Everton’s manager Ancelotti sees red in Manchester United draw

  • Goalkeeping errors were central to outcome at Goodison Park

LIVERPOOL: Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti was sent off after approaching the referee as yet more VAR controversy contributed to a fiery finish in a 1-1 draw with Manchester United on Sunday.

Goalkeeping errors by both United’s David De Gea and Everton’s Jordan Pickford were central to the outcome at Goodison Park.
But Everton thought they had won the game in stoppage time when a shot from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who had opened the scoring, deflected off United’s Harry Maguire and into the net.
The goal, however, was ruled out by the video assistant referee with the offside Gylfi Sigurdsson, lying in the path of De Gea, deemed to have obstructed the view of the keeper.
Veteran Italian manager Ancelotti was as unhappy as the home crowd on Merseyside, with the Toffees boss sent off after approaching referee Chris Kavanagh on the field.
The draw saw fifth-placed United miss the chance to cut the gap to Chelsea in fourth to a single point in the Premier League table as Everton stayed in 11th position.
Anthony Martial returned to the United lineup in one of five changes to the side made by manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer following the Europa League victory over Club Brugge in midweek.
Ancelotti made five changes as well, with Andre Gomes starting in midfield for the first time since early November following a severe ankle injury.
It took Everton just three minutes to break the deadlock with a bizarre goal that delighted the Goodison Park faithful.
There seemed little danger as De Gea dwelt on a clearance.
But his eventual kick downfield was blocked by the charging Calvert-Lewin, with the rebound flying into the unguarded United net.
De Gea did make amends in part by denying Calvert-Lewin a second goal by tipping a shot wide while, at the other end of the pitch, Nemanja Matic hit the crossbar as United sought an equalizer.
Another goalkeeping error helped United draw level in the 31st minute when England No. 1  Pickford, with national manager Gareth Southgate watching from the stands, failed to cover Bruno Fernandes’ speculative, if well-struck, effort from long range.
Everton midfielder Sigurdsson went close to making it 2-1 to the Toffees early in the second half.
United’s Victor Lindelof carelessly gave away a free kick on the edge of the box and Sigurdsson saw his curling strike come back off the post, with Richarlison unable to get the rebound on target as he followed up.
Pickford, as De Gea had done earlier in the game, then atoned for a costly mistake to keep his side in the match.
In the closing moments of normal time, he blocked Fernandes’ initial shot and then acrobatically dashed across his goal to keep out Odion Ighalo’s follow-up.


Wehrlein celebrates 100th E-Prix with victory in first Jeddah race of the weekend

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Wehrlein celebrates 100th E-Prix with victory in first Jeddah race of the weekend

  • Porsche Formula E driver takes Round 4 win and tops the drivers' standings

JEDDAH: Pascal Wehrlein marked his 100th Formula E race in style on Friday, securing victory in Round 4 of the Formula World Championship at the first Jeddah E-Prix of the weekend.

The Porsche Formula E Team driver combined precise Pit Boost timing with strategic use of Attack Mode to hold off Mahindra Racing’s Edoardo Mortara and Jaguar TCS Racing’s Mitch Evans.

Starting third on the grid, Wehrlein delayed activating both his 50kW attack mode and Pit Boost executing a strategy that allowed him to pull eight seconds clear of his rivals in the closing stages.

“It was a super, nicely executed race,” Wehrlein said.

“I waited a bit with the Pit Boost but also with the Attack Mode, and I think that was the right strategy.

“Being at the top of the Championship is not too relevant right now. Obviously, I wanted that win really badly — it’s been a while — and it’s great to bounce back like that,” he added.

Mortara, who had slipped from pole to fifth after a wheelspinning start, recovered strongly to finish second.

“The incident at the start must have been nice for the cameras! I lost five places. It got better after,” he said.

“The team has done a tremendous job, especially on the starts, since the beginning of the year. Today’s start wasn’t ideal, but it’s not the end of the world and we still finished P2,” he added.

Evans climbed from the top 10 to secure third, showing the advantage of late Attack Mode activation.

“I’m massively happy,” he said. “It was all about strategy today and the pace was extremely fast from quite early on. Racing against drivers like Jake (Dennis), you can put some faith in him but it was tight. Overall, I’m very happy to get a Third after my win last time out. We’re in good shape for tomorrow and we’ll try to build from here.”

Nico Muller (Porsche) finished fourth, followed by Antonio Felix da Costa (Jaguar TCS Racing) and Nick Cassidy (Citroën Racing), who recovered from 13th on the grid to claim sixth.

Wehrlein’s victory, combined with the fastest lap, delivered 26 points and propelled him to the top of the drivers' standings with 64 points, ahead of Cassidy’s 48.

Porsche now lead the teams’ championship with 109 points, while the Stuttgart marque also tops the manufacturers’ standings on 125 points.

The Formula E World Championship continues on Saturday with Round 5 of the season under the lights at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for the second race of the weekend.