the times | Friday March 6 2020 2GM 69
Sport
“We feel it is quite likely it may
happen in the coming weeks,” Ryazant-
sev, speaking at the FT Business of
Football Summit in London, said: “If it
were to happen, it’s not about the
money but looking after our support-
ers.
“I believe they would understand
that. I believe it will have a negative
financial impact on the club and foot-
ball but a temporary one rather than a
lasting impact.”
Although the Premier League will
continue to be led by government
policy on health, talks are continuing to
ensure the season can be completed.
“It would be a forced decision rather
than one we would proactively engage
in,” he said.
“But the whole situation goes far
beyond the world of sport. Of course
nobody wants to play behind closed
doors and I don’t think it’s inevitable at
the moment that it will happen.”Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted part
of him wished that Wayne Rooney’s
late free kick had sneaked past Sergio
Romero to give the Derby County
captain a consolation goal on his latest
appearance against his former
employers.
Rooney, Manchester United’s
all-time top scorer, would have got on
the scoresheet towards the end of
Derby’s FA Cup fifth-round 3-0 defeat
at Pride Park had Romero not tipped
his superb curling effort over the bar.
“We’re hungry for clean sheets, it was
a fantastic save to be fair,” Solskjaer, the
United manager, said.
“Sergio didn’t read the script. It was
one of those where you almost hope he
hits it in from there.”
Rooney, who played for United for 13
years, played down the significance of
his third meeting with his former club
since he left in 2017.
Solskjaer said he had to be
ruthless with his squadWakefield Trinity v Hull; Warrington
Wolves v Castleford Tigers.
Rugby union
Gallagher Premiership Worcester
Warriors v Northampton Saints (7.45);
Sale Sharks v London Irish (8.0).
Guinness Pro14 Dragons v Benetton
(7.35).C Dragons 3 2 0 1 82 79 4
Hull 5 2 0 3 114 112 4
Wakefield 4 2 0 2 67 82 4
Warrington 5 2 0 3 69 92 4
Salford 5 1 0 4 62 120 2
Hull KR 5 1 0 4 68 139 2
Toronto 6 0 0 6 70 214 0
Tennis
WTA Mexican Open
Monterrey: Second round J Konta
(GB) bt T Maria (Ger) 7-6 (7-4), 6-3;
L Fernandez (Can) bt S Stephens
(US) 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3; A Potapova
(Russ) bt T Zidansek (Slovenia) 1-6,
7-6 (7-3), 6-1.Rugby league
Betfred Super League
Leeds 66 Toronto 12
Leeds: Tries Dwyer, Myler, Gale 2, Lui
2, Handley, Smith, Oledzki, Cuthbert-
son, Hurrell. Goals Martin 11. Toronto:
Tries McCrone, Wells. Goals O’Brien 2.
How they stand
P W D L F A Pts
Leeds 5 4 0 1 180 60 8
Wigan 5 4 0 1 128 58 8
Castleford 5 4 0 1 122 81 8
St Helens 4 3 0 1 112 45 6
Hudd’sfield 4 3017668 6Football
Sky Bet Championship Nottingham
Forest v Millwall (7.45).Rugby league
Betfred Super League (7.45): St
Helens v Huddersfield Giants;Solskjaer: I almost wish Wayne scored
“He gets chances
every game. Today he
could’ve had another
couple but I am delighted
with him.”
Ighalo raised eyebrows after
his move to Old Trafford but the
30-year-old is happy to keep
proving his doubters wrong.
“I don’t care what anyone says,”
he said. “I am happy to be around
this great team and great
manager.”
Solskjaer cast doubt on whether
Harry Maguire, the United captain,
will be fit for Sunday’s derby.
The England centre back missed
last night’s game, with Solskjaer
claiming that the 27-year-old was
struggling with an ankle problem.
“He rolled his ankle in training
so he had to stay at home,”
Solskjaer said.
“Hopefully he’ll be OK for
the weekend but I’m not sure.”“It wasn’t particularly emotional
really,” he said. “It was the same
as normal. They were the better
team on the night.
“I think Sergio was not in a
kind mood today. He could
have let that one in. It would
have been nice but we have
to move on.”
United head into
Sunday’s Manchester derby
at Old Trafford without a
defeat in nine matches.
Odion Ighalo, the loan sign-
ing from Shanghai Shenhua, did
his chances of starting Sunday’s
game no harm by scoring his
second and third goals for the club
on only his second start.
“He’s a different type of striker and
scores some good goals,” Solskjaer
said.Closed-doors games ‘likely’
Cricket
Women’s T20 World Cup
Semi-finals: Sydney, SCG Australia
134-5 (N de Klerk 3 for 19); South
Africa 92-5. Australia won by five
runs (D/L/S method). Abandoned
England v India.
Golf
US PGA Arnold Palmer Invitational
Orlando, Florida: Early leading first-
round scores (United States unless
stated): 65 M Every. 66 R McIlroy
(N Ire). 67 T Gooch, S Scheffler.
68 S Burns, C Bezuidenhout (SA),
T Hatton (Eng), B Todd, K Mitchell,
G McDowell (N Ire). 69 S Brown, Sung
Kang (S Kor), A Long, M Wallace
(Eng), R Oppenheim, H English,
H Matsuyama (Japan), I Poulter
(Eng), P Reed.
European Tour Qatar Masters
Doha: Leading first-round scores:
64 N Hojgaard (Den). 65 J Luiten
(Neth). 66 A Sullivan (Eng),
J Winther (Den), J Campillo (Sp),
C Pigem (Sp), L Gagli (It), T Pieters
(Bel).Results
Fixtures
Dominic Calvert-Lewin is ready to sign
a long-term contract that will keep him
at Everton until 2025.
The deal, which comes days after
defender Mason Holgate signed a five-
year contract, should be official in the
next few days and will be a boost as the
club look to push for a European place.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side are 11th in the
Premier League but only five points off
fifth place.
The progress of Calvert-Lewin has
caught the eye of Gareth Southgate, the
England manager who is considering
selecting the 22-year-old forward for
the friendly matches at Wembley
against Italy and Denmark this month.
Southgate was at Goodison Park last
Sunday and saw Calvert-Lewin score
his 15th league goal of the season in the
1-1 draw with Manchester United.
Despite that goal owing a lot to fortune
after he charged down David De Gea’s
clearance, his good form has coincided
with him playing up front alongside
Richarlison, who has 12 league goals.
After the departure of Marco Silva,
Duncan Ferguson chose to play
Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison in
tandem in his first match in temporary
charge and the former Sheffield United
player, who moved to Everton for a fee
of £1.5 million in 2016, repaid him with
two goals. He has kicked on under new
manager Ancelotti with eight goals inCalvert-Lewin close
to new Everton deal
Paul Joyce
Northern Football Correspondentmedical advice. Coronavirus is spread
via droplets from the nose and mouth
and can be transmitted on to the hands
and passed on via a handshake.”
Premier League matches are “quite
likely” to be played behind closed doors
because of the coronavirus, Everton’s
finance chief has warned.
In Britain, the football authorities
have been discussing contingency
plans to ensure that this season’s fix-
tures are completed should mass gath-
erings be banned in this country. It
follows Italy’s government ordering all
sporting fixtures in the country, includ-
ing Serie A games, to be played behind
closed doors until April 3 in an effort to
contain the virus.
Sasha Ryazantsev, Everton’s chief
finance officer, said there was an expec-
tation at his club that they will be asked
to play in empty stadiums.ten league appearances since the
Italian’s arrival in late December.
Ancelotti was quick to recognise
Calvert-Lewin’s potential and advised
him to play centrally. That has paid
dividends for a team light on goals,
particularly with £25 million summer
signing Moise Kean having got off to a
slow start. The next highest goalscorer
in the league after Richarlison and
Calvert-Lewin is Bernard with three.
Calvert-Lewin has also studied
videos of Thierry Henry, Didier
Drogba, Diego Costa, Sergio Agüeroand Harry Kane in an attempt to im-
prove his scoring prowess.
Ancelotti will be on the touchline
against Chelsea, his former club, on
Sunday after escaping a ban from the
FA for confronting referee Chris
Kavanagh after the game against
United. The 60-year-old was angry
when VAR disallowed a last-minute
Everton goal. He accepted a miscon-
duct charge and was fined £8,000.
Everton will offer Leighton Baines,
the 35-year-old left back, a new
contract. His present deal is due to
expire at the end of the season.continued from back
Calvert-Lewin has
scored eight goals
in his past ten
league games2015
Odion Ighalo last scored a
brace in English football in
December 2015 when he
found the net twice for
Watford in a 3-0 win
over LiverpoolCARL RECINE/ACTION IMAGES/REUTERSIghalo scored two goals
at Pride Park in his first
FA Cup game for UnitedPaul Hirst