AC Milan beat Roma 3-1 at San Siro to secure a third successive Serie A victory.

Milan went ahead through Yacine Adli’s low strike before Olivier Giroud doubled their lead with a header in the second half.

Roma threatened a comeback when Leandro Paredes pulled one back from the penalty spot but Theo Hernandez’s powerful effort made the game safe in the 84th minute.

Victory sees Milan remain third in the Serie A table, four points off second-placed Juventus, while Roma drop into ninth.

Although Roma started brightly, it was the hosts who took the lead 11 minutes in when Tijjani Reijnders flicked the ball to Adli on the edge of the box and the midfielder switched it onto his left foot to fire low into the bottom corner.

Milan took control of the game following their opener and dominated possession, but their next real shot did not come until the 28th minute when a quick run from Christian Pulisic was followed by an effort which was held by Mile Svilar.

They tested the visiting defence again minutes later when Hernandez burst down the left flank and his attempted cross rolled off the crossbar and behind.

Roma then had a chance on the half-hour mark as Bryan Cristante tapped the ball through to Mehmet Zeki Celik, who fired the ball towards the far post, forcing Mike Maignan into a fingertip save to turn the ball behind.

A brilliant cross from Rafael Leao on the left picked out Pulisic, who headed just wide, before Maignan made a good low save from Leonardo Spinazzola’s effort.

Milan started the second-half well and they had a great chance from Hernandez’s free-kick, but Matteo Gabbia’s header flew well wide.

They eventually doubled their lead in the 56th minute when a cross floated into Simon Kjaer on the right and he headed across into the six-yard box, where Giroud was lurking at the back post to nod home for his 10th league goal this season.

Milan had another chance when a curling low crossfield pass from Leao found Pulisic on the right but the American sliced his shot wide and Davide Calabria had a crack from distance fly past the post.

Roma were awarded a penalty when Lorenzo Pellegrini was fouled in the box and Paredes smashed the ball from the spot to pull one back in the 69th minute.

After their goal, the visitors began to get a grip on the game and continued to push moments later when Giroud headed away Pellegrini’s free-kick before the Roma midfielder had a powerful effort saved by Maignan.

However, Milan wrapped up victory in the 84th minute when a brilliant backheel from Giroud found Hernandez who hammered the ball over Svilar and into the roof of the net.

They nearly had another in the closing stages when Yunus Musah went on a curling crossfield run and hit the post.

Vinicius Junior’s first-half treble helped Real Madrid storm to Spanish Super Cup glory following a comprehensive 4-1 victory over 10-man Barcelona in the Riyadh final.

The Brazilian twice exploited Barcelona’s lackadaisical high line to put Real 2-0 up within the first 10 minutes before Robert Lewandowski halved the deficit just after the half hour mark.

But Vinicius completed his hat-trick from the spot in the 39th minute, having been hauled down in the area by Ronald Araujo, before Rodrygo completed a one-sided win after the interval.

To compound a miserable evening in the Saudi capital for Barcelona, Araujo was dismissed in the 71st minute for another foul on Vinicius.

Real, who trailed 3-2 with just five minutes remaining against Atletico Madrid in the semi-final on Wednesday before triumphing 5-3 after extra-time, continued their recent dominance over their rivals.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side prevailed in October’s El Clasico meeting and are seven points ahead of Barcelona at the halfway point of the LaLiga campaign.

This latest encounter marked a chance for Barcelona to land a blow of their own but Xavi’s decision to employ a risky high defensive line backfired spectacularly as Real hit the front after seven minutes.

Jude Bellingham – who at the final whistle celebrated winning his first trophy with Real – split the defence with a sublime pass that allowed Vinicius to round Inaki Pena and slot into an empty net.

Real and Vinicius capitalised again on plenty of space being left in behind as the 23-year-old slid in to convert Rodrygo’s cross.

Barcelona responded well to the double blow as Ferran Torres’ snapshot cannoned against the bar before both he and Lewandowski forced Andriy Lunin into important saves to keep Real two ahead.

Lewandowski’s thunderous volley from the edge of the area after 33 minutes dragged Barcelona back into the contest but the Catalans were the architects of their own downfall moments later.

Araujo paid the price for having his arm around the neck of Vinicius, who went down which saw a penalty awarded and the Barcelona defender booked.

Vinicius made no mistake from 12 yards to re-establish Real’s two-goal lead at half-time.

Xavi made a triple substitution as Joao Felix, Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal were introduced just after the hour mark but it did not have the required impact as Real went further ahead in the 64th minute.

Vinicius was involved again as his poor cross was tamely cut out by Jules Kounde straight into the path of Rodrygo, who drilled beyond Pena from inside the area.

Matters worsened for Barcelona as Araujo missed an attempted clearance and instead brought down Vinicius, with the Uruguayan having to trudge off the pitch for a second bookable offence.

Ancelotti was able to withdraw Vinicius and Bellingham in the closing stages with the job done and attention fast turning to Wednesday’s Copa del Rey showdown against Atletico.

Palestine suffered a 4-1 defeat to Iran in their opening game at the Asian Cup on Sunday, with a moment of silence observed before the match to commemorate the victims of the Israel-Hamas war.

As the war reached the 100-day mark, both teams lined up in the centre of the Education City Stadium pitch as an announcement asked for silence "in memory of the lives tragically lost as a result of the ongoing conflict in Palestine".

A hush fell across the stadium in the city of Al-Rayyan before shouts of "free Palestine" were heard from members of the crowd.

Once the game began, three-time champions Iran never looked back after Karim Ansarifard struck within two minutes, with Shoja Khalilzadeh adding a second goal 10 minutes later.

Mehdi Ghayedi made it 3-0 with 38 minutes on the clock, but the loudest cheers came when Palestine's Tamer Seyam pulled a goal back in first-half stoppage time.

Sardar Azmoun scored a fourth for Iran 10 minutes after the break as Amir Ghalenoei's team made a winning start to their Group C campaign.

Elsewhere, Takumi Minamino scored twice as Japan came from behind to beat Vietnam 4-2 in Group D.

The tournament favourites trailed 2-1 in the first half despite Monaco attacker Minamino opening the scoring after 11 minutes.

Nguyen Dinh Bac levelled things up at Al Thumama Stadium five minutes later and Vietnam, ranked 94th in the world by FIFA, went ahead through Pham Tuan Hai's goal in the 33rd minute.

Record four-time Asian Cup winners Japan, who have been heavily tipped to reclaim the trophy they last won in 2011, recovered from that setback as former Liverpool forward Minamino equalised in the 45th minute.

Keito Nakamura then made it 3-2 in first-half stoppage time and substitute Ayase Ueda made the points safe five minutes from full-time.

Finally, Hong Kong's Philip Chan Siu Kwan scored the 1,000th goal in the history of the Asian Cup, but his team still fell to a 3-1 defeat against the United Arab Emirates.

Chan briefly levelled the Group C match four minutes into the second half after Sultan Adil had given UAE the lead from the penalty spot 11 minutes before the break. However, it took just three further minutes for UAE to regain their advantage through Zayed Sultan.

Substitute Yahya Al Ghassani then struck deep into stoppage time to clinch victory against the lowest ranked team at the tournament, with Hong Kong sitting 150th in the FIFA World Rankings.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag wants to see Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford kick on after both strikers scored in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Tottenham at Old Trafford.

As Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended his first game since agreeing a partial takeover of the club, United were twice pegged back by goals from Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur in a frustrating afternoon for Ten Hag, with Scott McTominay missing a glorious chance to win it late on.

But there was encouragement in seeing summer signing Hojlund make it two goals in as many Premier League matches after a long wait to break his league duck, and then for Rashford to score only his fourth of the campaign.

“I hope they keep going, there is progress,” Ten Hag said. “They are coming up with some routines and that is what you need, especially in the front line where a quick decision has to be made and in a split second you need the right decision so you need intuition.”

This was only the sixth game in 24 domestic fixtures in which at least one of United’s forwards has found the net.

“When your forwards are not scoring it is going through the whole team,” he said. “It makes everyone insecure, starting with the front players when they are not scoring. (Alejandro) Garnacho, Hojlund, and Rashford must be a threat.”

Ten Hag claimed United should have had a penalty when Garnacho tumbled in the box but although Destiny Udogie had hold of the forward, there appeared to be little in the incident.

“Yes,” Ten Hag said when asked if it should have been a spot-kick. “But what can you do? But I am used to it, all season that is the case.

“(Away at) Spurs was similar, a clear handball from (Cristian) Romero and I can list more. In some point in the season I think it will turn to our side. Let’s hope for that.”

While Ten Hag was delighted by two “great goals” for his side, he called Tottenham’s equalisers “soft”, with Richarlison heading in from a corner and   Bentancur allowed to stride through the United box as Tottenham caught them cold at the start of the second half.

“The equaliser is no good but I have seen some good spells,” he said. “Two goals and we created other chances. We played well and that pleased me most but you are still disappointed when you get this result.”

Spurs counterpart Ange Postecoglou was proud of his side having travelled north without several players through injury and illness.

Tottenham bossed possession and had 16 attempts at goal to United’s nine, but allowed the hosts to score with their only two shots on target.

“I thought it was an outstanding performance, considering the team out there today,” said Postecoglou, whose team remain fifth in the Premier League, eight points above seventh-placed United .

“It’s a difficult place to come and play. A win today would give United some kind of momentum.

“Every time these players have to deal with adversity, they do it. It was an outstanding performance, I thought they were unlucky not to win.”

Romero and Bentancur returned ahead of schedule while Micky van de Ven played almost the entire match before suffering with cramp in his first appearance since early November.

And Postecoglou said their desire to play and help a short-handed team even when not fully fit spoke of the spirit in the Tottenham camp.

“We are not (where we are) because everything is running our way,” he said. “Anyone doing an objective commentary on our season would say we have not had it easy. These guys are giving me everything. They just give everything.

“It is not always smooth but there is no manager on this planet who wouldn’t feel they are not in the right place when they put in this effort.”

Mohamed Salah scored a stoppage-time penalty as Egypt salvaged a 2-2 draw with Mozambique in their opening Africa Cup of Nations game.

The seven-time AFCON champions took an early lead through Mostafa Mohamed, only for Mozambique to turn the game on its head with two goals in four second-half minutes through Witi and Clesio.

But Mozambique’s hopes of an historic win were crushed seven minutes into added time when Salah converted from the spot after a VAR check ruled there had been a foul on Mohamed.

Egypt were straight out of the blocks and went ahead just two minutes in. A cross found Salah and the Liverpool forward’s mis-hit his shot allowed Mohamed to pounce on the ball, neatly turning around Edmilson Dove and firing low into the bottom corner.

They nearly doubled their lead when Salah broke from a Mozambique attack and threaded the ball to Mohamed, but his effort was straight at the goalkeeper.

Witi went close when he sliced his shot wide before Egypt had another great chance to extend advantage lead as Mahmoud Trezeguet smashed the ball off the post.

Mohamed El Shenawy had to react following a poor attempted clearance from Mohamed Hamdy, the Pharaohs goalkeeper clawing the ball over the bar to maintain his side’s lead.

Mozambique continued to push in the second half, though, and got their reward in the 55th minute when Domingos Macandza’s cross picked out Witi, who headed into the bottom corner, with El Shenawy getting a hand to the ball but unable to keep it out.

The Mambas then took the lead three minutes later when, after a good team move, Clesio evaded Ahmed Hegazi’s tackle and burst through the middle before coolly slotting past El Shenawy.

Zizo blasted wide for Egypt from outside the box and they continued to push for the equaliser, Hamdy Fathy flicking the ball past the post before an unmarked Salah sliced wide.

And Mozambique’s hopes of a famous triumph were finally dashed deep into stopage time, when Egypt were awarded a late penalty following a VAR check for a foul on Mohamed and Salah fired home from the spot.

Rigobert Song believes the Africa Cup of Nations returning to Ivory Coast could be a harbinger of good fortune for Cameroon ahead of their opening fixture against Guinea.

The only previous occasion the Ivorians had staged the tournament in 1984 was when Cameroon went all the way, coming from behind to beat Nigeria 3-1 in the final in Abidjan.

It was their first taste of success in the competition and – while they have lifted the trophy on four more occasions since then – Song sees the symbolism attached to their return to Ivory Coast.

The Cameroon head coach said in quotes on the tournament’s official website: “Why not repeat history and repeat the feat of 1984? We did not come just to participate.

“There is a history between Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire. We were heroes in 1984 and I think we should not forget the history.

“We are a family. We won our first title in here and that’s why we visited the grave of the first president of Cote d’Ivoire when we came here.”

Cameroon will be without captain and star striker Vincent Aboubakar, who suffered a thigh injury on Friday that places a question mark over his availability for the rest of the campaign.

Speaking ahead of Cameroon’s Group C opener, Song said: “The absence of Aboubakar is a loss because he is a leader and has shown his ability for years. The other players are ready.”

Cameroon, who settled for a third-place finish in 2021, will take on defending champions Senegal after Guinea but Song was wary of looking too far ahead.

Song added: “The first matches in such competitions are very important, we will be ready. All teams that will participate in the competition come with certain goals.

“Guinea is a good team and we also know who we are going to face and we will give everything we have.”

Tottenham twice pegged back Manchester United to deny Erik ten Hag’s men victory as Sir Jim Ratcliffe attended his first match since agreeing a partial takeover of the club.

The billionaire’s agreement to buy a 25 per cent stake and take control of football operations has brought some hope to a club that has fallen off the top of the English game under owners the Glazers.

But it is a long way back and fans will continue to protest the Americans’ involvement, no matter how diminished, with Ratcliffe getting a first-hand look at the challenge he is taking on in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Spurs.

The 71-year-old, who grew up supporting United, sat next to Sir Alex Ferguson in the directors’ box at Old Trafford and only had to wait three minutes to celebrate as summer signing Rasmus Hojlund hammered home.

Richarlison headed in an equaliser from a corner – his sixth goal in as many Premier League matches – but Marcus Rashford smartly put the hosts back ahead in the 40th minute.

Cristian Romero rattled the United crossbar in stoppage time and 49 seconds into the second half Rodrigo Bentancur slammed Spurs level, capitalising on some lax home defending.

Ange Postecoglou’s visitors looked most likely to win it but United avoided a 10th Premier League loss of the season in front of Ratcliffe and his INEOS team.

Things had got off to an ideal start from a United perspective.

Andre Onana – playing his final match before heading off to the Africa Cup of Nations – collected a cross and threw wide to Alejandro Garnacho, who played onto Bruno Fernandes.

The skipper put Rashford behind to drive forward and then cut inside, with Destiny Udogie’s eventual challenge taking the ball into Hojlund’s path rather than halting the counter.

The 20-year-old Dane moved the ball away from Spurs defenders, steadied himself with another touch before thundering a left-footed drive into the roof of the net.

Rashford tried to add a second when meeting a deep Christian Eriksen corner with an unorthodox volley across goal, but Spurs soon awoke from their slumber.

Pedro Porro’s pot shot may have been easily held but Jonny Evans had to be alert to stop a looping header from Spurs debutant Timo Werner causing problems.

Diogo Dalot cleared Bentancur’s header from the resulting set-piece off the line, but another corner would prove United’s undoing in the 19th minute.

Porro swung in from the left and Richarlison showed strength in a congested six-yard box to glance home, extending Spurs scoring run in the league to a club-record 33rd game.

Play settled for a while, only for United to kick on towards the break.

Garnacho’s penalty appeals against Udogie fell on deaf ears but the Spurs left-back was soon breathing a sigh of relief after heading a Rashford cross onto his own post.

United’s pressure continued and brought about a 40th-minute goal.

Rashford played a one-two with Hojlund around the edge of the 18-yard box, then followed a touch with a low snapshot into the bottom corner.

The England forward made a talking gesture with his hand as he celebrated – seemingly a message for those questioning him.

Rashford was blocked out as he attempted to add another but Spurs went close in stoppage time, with Romero launching himself to meet a corner and sending a header crashing off the bar.

Postecoglou’s side were not discouraged by that near miss and drew level moments into the second half.

Werner held the ball up on the left and played across to Bentancur, who drove into the box, past Evans and continued to slam Spurs level.

It was a gut punch Tottenham were determined to add to.

Richarlison forced a low save out of Onana and Werner hooked over as the visitors looked most likely to score, but they could not capitalise on their boatload of set-pieces.

Ten Hag made a pair of changes in quick succession to change the dynamics.

The first, Scott McTominay, drove narrowly wide from 20 yards after replacing Eriksen, before Lisandro Martinez came on for his first appearance since September.

Spurs introduced January arrival Radu Dragusin as the match wound down, with McTominay heading over at the end of five minutes stoppage time.

Chelsea were given a major scare before booking a spot in the FA Cup fifth round as the defending champions came from behind to seal a 3-1 victory over West Ham after extra time.

Viviane Asseyi gave the Hammers a shock lead after 18 minutes and Rehanne Skinner’s side, who have won just once in the Women’s Super League this season, looked unflustered for large spells at Kingsmeadow.

An early exit looked to be beckoning for the Blues, but Mia Fishel drew the hosts level with 20 minutes remaining to keep alive their hopes of winning the competition for the fourth year in a row.

Erin Cuthbert and Sjoeke Nusken netted in the first half of extra time as Chelsea avoided an upset but their struggles in Sam Kerr’s injury-enforced absence will not have gone unnoticed by their rivals.

There was no such drama for Manchester United as last season’s beaten finalists routed Newcastle 5-0 at Leigh, where Nikita Parris struck in either half to subdue a sizeable travelling contingent.

Third-tier Newcastle headed into this fixture on the back of a 30-game unbeaten streak – their last loss was in December 2022 – but the Red Devils’ class told as Ella Toone opened the scoring.

Parris then bagged a brace before substitutes Rachel Williams and Melvine Malard added gloss to the scoreline to emphasise the gulf in quality between these two teams.

Arsenal were similarly untroubled as goals from Alessia Russo, Lia Walti and Stina Blackstenius put them on the path to a 5-1 victory over Watford.

Seventeen-year-old Michelle Agyemang, who joined Watford on a dual-sign agreement from Arsenal last year, pulled one back, but Amanda Ilestedt and Frida Maanum wrapped up a comfortable win for the Gunners.

Their only concern centred on Beth Mead needing treatment on her right leg at full-time but the England forward was able to walk off the field.

Manchester City brushed aside Durham 4-0 thanks to a double from Jill Roord after Laura Coombs had broken the deadlock early on, with Mary Fowler completing the scoring in the closing stages.

WSL side Tottenham fought from 2-0 down to beat Championship outfit Sheffield United 3-2, with Rosella Ayane scoring the winner in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Liverpool left it late to beat WSL basement team Bristol City as Gemma Bonner struck five minutes from time to secure a 1-0 win, with the Reds down to 10 for the final half hour as Ceri Holland was dismissed.

Karoline Olesen’s opener and Katja Snoeijs’ double helped Everton to a 3-0 victory over fellow WSL opponents Aston Villa.

Fifth-tier Luton were the lowest-ranked team to reach this stage but were unceremoniously dumped out after a 6-0 thumping by top-flight Brighton, who scored four times in the final half-hour.

Crystal Palace scored three times in the final quarter of an hour to come from behind and defeat Blackburn 3-1, Southampton won 2-0 at Sunderland and Nottingham Forest thrashed Plymouth 6-1.

Charlton came from a goal down to thump Ipswich 4-1, Birmingham won 3-1 at Burnley after extra time and Wolves edged Reading 2-1.

Leicester and London City Lionesses made sure of their spots in Monday night’s fifth-round draw with 4-0 wins over Derby and Moneyfields respectively.

Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery admits their goalless draw at Everton was a disappointment as they seek to keep pace with the top-flight’s big hitters.

Villa had a chance to move level on points with leaders Liverpool with a win but Emery’s first Premier League 0-0 in his 97th match kept them in third, behind Manchester City on goal difference.

As a result it was viewed as a missed opportunity against a team struggling for goals and seeking to avoid a fourth successive league defeat.

“It is not enough for us the point we achieved today,” said Emery.

“We conceded a few chances but we controlled the game and we created chances to win.

“In the last 20 minutes, even in added time, we never lost our mind and kept our game-plan in our mind.

“Now we have 41 points and are keeping more or less the the same position for the next couple of weeks (Villa do not play again until January 26) but we have to be focused on each match but also to improve what we can.”

Both goalkeepers were on top form, Jordan Pickford making good saves from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, while Emiliano Martinez denied Dominic Calvert-Lewin in a one-on-one and also kept out James Garner.

Calvert-Lewin’s goalless run is now at 13 matches, dating back to October, but Sean Dyche insists it is only a matter of time before he ends his drought.

“I keep reminding him the further away it gets the closer it gets. One will go in,” said the Toffees boss.

“He did everything right, hit it hard and low and the keeper makes a good save.

“I hope he’s not worried about it. He’s working hard all the time, that’s what we want. We want clarity in the players’ thoughts.”

The match saw captain Seamus Coleman become the club’s leading Premier League appearance-maker with his 355th game and Dyche paid tribute, saying: “A fantastic servant, what he is and what he’s given to the side.

“It was a big day for him – deservedly so – and I’m pleased for him we got some kind of result as it would not have been an enjoyable moment for him.”

Dyche claims not to know anything about suggestions Everton could learn on Monday whether they will face any charges regarding profit and sustainability breaches relating to accounts submitted last month.

“Nothing at the moment, just waiting on the news. The last time (when they were deducted 10 points earlier in the season) the news came out of the blue.

“You don’t know until you know. I’ll explain further if and when the news comes through.”

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse insists his side are embracing the pressure of defending their Africa Cup of Nations title.

Senegal lifted the trophy for the first time in Cameroon two years ago, beating Egypt on penalties in the final after the game had finished 0-0.

The Teranga Lions are among the favourites to triumph in the Ivory Coast this year and get their campaign under way against Gambia in Group C on Monday.

“The pressure that exists is a positive pressure which motivates us to win, but I have a lot of experience because I will have my fourth experience with Senegal as coach during the Africa Cup of Nations,” Cisse told a pre-match press conference.

“There are many candidates for the continental title and Senegal is not the only favourite to win the title.

“We now have a new challenge. Yesterday has passed, which was the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and today there is the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.”

Gambia, who reached the quarter-finals on their debut in the competition two years ago before losing to hosts Cameroon, suffered a frightening start to their campaign when their initial flight to the Ivory Coast had to be aborted last week, just minutes after leaving Banjul.

Head coach Tom Saintfiet believes a lack of oxygen prompted many of his players to fall asleep and praised the pilot for quickly realising there was a problem.

Saintfiet told BBC Sport Africa: “The local crew said there was a problem with the air conditioning before we took off but that it would be all fine when we took off.

“After a few minutes it was very hot in the plane. We all fell asleep because there was a lack of oxygen – some of the players couldn’t be woken up. The pilot noticed and we had to return.

“People got headaches and, if the flight had gone on for another 30 minutes, the whole team would have died.

“The strange thing is that the oxygen masks didn’t come out – it’s good that the pilot realised that this was a deadly situation and so turned back. But we are still in shock.”

Nigeria were held to a 1-1 draw by Equatorial Guinea in their Africa Cup of Nations Group A opening encounter in Abidjan.

Three-time AFCON champions Nigeria threatened early, but it was Equatorial Guinea who took a surprise lead through Iban Salvador in the 36th minute.

Napoli striker Victor Osimhen issued a near-instant reply when he headed home Ademola Lookman’s cross less than two minutes later to ensure the sides were square at the break.

Osimhen squandered the best opportunity of the second half, when heavy favourites Nigeria were forced to settle while their underdog opposition walked away with a valuable point.

Fulham midfielder Alex Iwobi tested Equatorial Guinea keeper Jesus Owono within the first 20 seconds, the start of a sustained spell of attack for Jose Peseiro’s side.

The Super Eagles nearly found their opener after 10 minutes when Alhassan Yusuf delivered a fine cross to Zaidu Sanusi at the back post, but the Porto left-back directed his effort over the crossbar.

Nigeria looked likelier to break the deadlock, but it was Juan Micha’s men who found themselves ahead just after the half-hour mark.

After some patient build-up, Monza’s Jose Machin squared to Salvador, who sent Nigeria keeper Stanley Nwabali went the wrong way with a low finish to the bottom left.

However, celebrations were cut short when, just over a minute later, African Footballer of the Year Osimhen connected with Lookman’s cross and headed home.

Sanusi wasted a chance after the break and Owono came out to deny Osimhen soon after as Nigeria continued to apply pressure, and there was bad news for the Super Eagles when Yusuf was carried off on a stretcher after 69 minutes.

Ola Aina had forced Owono into another save seconds before, and Osimhen, again wearing a protective face mask, missed a huge chance when he found himself through on goal but fired wide from the edge of the six-yard box.

Nwabali was called into a rare test in second-half stoppage time, when his side staging a frenzied late surge but came up short of a winner.

Goalkeepers Jordan Pickford and Emiliano Martinez contributed significantly to Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery’s first goalless draw in 97 Premier League matches.

The point meant Villa could not leapfrog Manchester City to go level on points with leaders Liverpool and while it did little for Everton, who are only one ahead of 18th-placed Luton – who have a match in hand – it did at least end a run of three successive league defeats.

A large part of that was down to Pickford, who made good saves from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, while Martinez made his presence felt by denying Dominic Calvert-Lewin clean through on goal and also James Garner in quick succession.

However, while the two goalkeepers were on the top of their game at Goodison Park, the men leading their respective attacks were less so.

Calvert-Lewin has not scored for 13 matches and after failing to convert Everton’s best chance he was replaced just past the hour mark having failed to end a run dating back to October.

Watkins’ battle with James Tarkowski was more compelling but ultimately as fruitless as Villa’s 15 shots failed to produce a goal.

This was the 212nd league meeting between the pair – a record in English domestic history – and in the later stages that familiarity bred some contempt as players squared up to each other on several occasions.

Everton captain Seamus Coleman was making his 355th Premier League appearance, a new club record, and while the £60,000 signing from Sligo in 2009 will have enjoyed the clean sheet there was little else to celebrate about his landmark game.

Arnaut Danjuma woefully miscued an early volley from Jack Harrison’s cross and while the return of Abdoulaye Doucoure after five matches made a huge difference it was Villa who looked more constructive in the final third.

Watkins’ angled shot was blocked by Pickford’s knee and although the goalkeeper was beaten by Alex Moreno’s 20-yard strike a lengthy VAR check ruled Bailey, who played the final pass, was offside in the build-up from a short corner.

Pickford’s quick reactions tipped Bailey’s shot around his near post before Martinez proved he could match the England number one in the save stakes.

Danjuma’s through-ball with the outside of his right foot was the perfect invitation for Calvert-Lewin to race through but he never appeared confident, perhaps understandably considering his drought.

The striker – given a reprieve earlier this week when his red card at Crystal Palace was rescinded – was not afforded the same leniency by the Argentinian World Cup winner, who stuck out a foot to block the low shot when anything lifted off the turf would almost certainly have beaten him.

Martinez then made a similarly good stop from Garner low down to his left as he was moving to his right in the breakdown from the Calvert-Lewin attack.

Goalmouth incidents were less frequent in an increasingly fractious second half as referee David Coote struggled to get a handle on a number of strong challenges, several from a pumped-up Tarkowski.

When Danjuma stabbed wide after Harrison’s run down the right it was his – and Calvert-Lewin’s – last involvement.

A flurry of late activity saw Vitalii Mykolenko’s diving block smother a shot from Matty Cash, whose cross was then diverted just wide by the sliding Jhon Duran, before Doucoure raced clear to beat Martinez at his near post only to be denied by an offside flag.

Reading’s Sky Bet League One match with Port Vale was abandoned after home fans invaded the pitch to protest against owner Dai Yongge.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the key questions following the events of Saturday afternoon.

What happened?

With 16 minutes on the clock, approximately 1,000 Reading supporters entered the field at the Select Car Leasing Stadium. The match was halted, with around 40 people still refusing to leave the pitch some 68 minutes later. Fans stood in the centre circle surrounded by stewards before the announcement to call the game off was made at 4.25pm. Supporters chanted anti-Yongge slogans and unveiled a banner in the centre circle which read ‘Football has an ownership problem’.

Why did it happen?

Many Reading fans want Yongge to sell up. There has been an increasing amount of of fear and concern among supporters about the club’s direction under his stewardship. Sell Before We Dai, a fan group calling for a change of ownership, released a statement on Saturday evening entitled: ‘Desperate situation, desperate fans, desperate measures’. In the 242-word statement, members said they were “scared for the future” of the club and that “the threat could not be more real”.

What was the background to the protest?

Reading have had three points deductions – totalling 16 points – for various financial breaches in the past three years. Last season, a six-point deduction caused the Royals to be relegated from the Championship. This season, they have lost four points, punishment which has left them in the relegation zone. They have also been placed under transfer embargoes, while manager Ruben Selles has reportedly been unaware of transfer discussions for some of his players. Other, less disruptive, fan protests have previously been staged.

Who is Dai Yongge?

The Chinese businessman and his sister Dai Xiu Li became the majority shareholders of Reading in May 2017. The takeover was announced shortly after the Royals booked their place in the Championship play-off final, which they lost on penalties to Huddersfield. The 55-year-old Yongge was previously involved with Chinese club Beijing Renhe and Belgian side KSV Roeselare, both of which were dissolved. In 2016, he launched a failed bid to buy Hull. The English Football League was recently unsuccessful in a proposal to have Yongge disqualified from all football activity for 12 months following a financial misconduct charge.

What happens next?

Sell Before We Dai warned Saturday’s events were the start of an “elevated protest action”. The group plan to pressure the EFL in a bid to resolve the situation and may do so in collaboration with fans of other clubs which have experienced ownership issues. Further spontaneous match-day protests from fans are also a possibility. The EFL plans to “discuss the implications” of Saturday’s events with both clubs, with Reading likely to be sanctioned. Yongge placed the club up for sale in October and many Royals fans will hope a takeover is imminent.

Sir Jim Ratcliffe says his involvement with Manchester United is the most exciting thing he has done and expects his partial takeover to be ratified by mid-February.

The 71-year-old billionaire was at Old Trafford on Sunday to attend his first United match since agreeing to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League outfit.

And ahead of kick-off for the visit of Tottenham, Ratcliffe spoke publicly for the first time since the Christmas Eve announcement of his deal.

“It’s the first match for me since we sort of got there, if you like,” he said, introducing himself to members of the media in the press conference room.

“I am very excited to be here, but I can’t answer any questions, really, because that would be inappropriate, honestly.

“It’s a big match… we normally do well against Spurs!”

Asked if his deal to come in at United is as exciting as anything he has ever done, Ratcliffe smiled and said: “Correct. Yes.

“I have done a few exciting things, but this caps it all. There’s no question about that.”

Ratcliffe said this was his first match at Old Trafford for two to three years, mentioning Paul Scholes and Eric Cantona when asked about his favourite players.

The 71-year-old thinks he was around 10 when he first watched United, where his INEOS group are preparing to take responsibility for footballing operations.

Ratcliffe plans to come “quite a lot” moving forwards and expects ratification to arrive in the next month.

“I think it’s three or four weeks,” he said. “Early Feb.”

A colleague interjected saying “early to mid Feb”, before Ratcliffe added with a laugh “we hope they don’t find anything dodgy in our CV!”

Ratcliffe was unable to answer questions on specifics until the deal gets the final sign off, saying it would not be appropriate to say what his first impressions were.

The INEOS chief also said he “can’t comment” when asked about his influence on the January transfer window and declined to answer what the biggest challenge was.

It was a brief conversation that is expected to be followed by a more in-depth media appearance when ratification is approved.

Quizzed on how long he has had ambitions to be involved, he said: “A few years.

“It’s taken a few turns, as you know, along the road, but these things quite often do. It all turned out well in the end.”

Girona moved top of the LaLiga table but failed to fully capitalise after being held to a frustrating goalless draw at rock -bottom Almeria.

With Real Madrid and Barcelona in Saudi Arabia for Sunday evening’s Spanish Super Cup final, Michel Sanchez’s in-form side had a major opportunity to put pressure on their title rivals.

Yet they climbed only a point above Real after failing to break down struggling opposition without a league win all season.

A disappointing afternoon for the high-flying visitors at Power Horse Stadium was compounded by midfielder Aleix Garcia being sent off 10 minutes from time for a last-man challenge on Gonzalo Melero.

The result could have been worse as struggling Almeria, who are 10 points from safety after taking only six points from 20 games this term, had the better of the limited chances.

Brazilian forward Leo Baptistao forced a fine save out of Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga before Garcia’s dismissal left the away side holding on in the final stages.