natalie pirks was watching.wn league in spain might have gone into lockdown but anfield was still open to atletico fans, for now. more behind closed door matches are surely looming in england but supporters are sticking with their keep calm and carry on approach. it does not matter what they will throw at us, we'll be here. football is nothing without supporters. cannot play games behind closed doors. unmoved they may be, but it is a different story under the lights. liverpool bossjurgen klopp had never lost a champions league match here and as usual the fabled atmosphere was spurring them on. wave after wave of liverpool attack though was met with stubborn defending. but spanish resistance is nothing in the face of dutch courage. jorginho wine belgium for liverpool in the champions league again! liverpool were now level in a tie and as the rain poured down, the reds poured forward. atletico were under intense pressure yet in the dying minutes, it was anfield's turn to hold its breath. saved by the flag, extra t

natalie pirks is there for us this evening. lot of talk about the fa ct there was a lot of talk about the fact that this was very much manchester city's for the taking, but villa did put up a fight, didn't they? they really did, and there is a sense from the fans who are streaming away towards the tube that they were in this game for the first 19 minutes, they really took the game to city, and they have almost set upa game to city, and they have almost set up a permanent home here, their 16th visit in ten seasons, going for the hat—trick of consecutive wins in this trophy, but villa really were in the game, and a diving header in the second minute from our ghazi almost gave them a perfect start. but it was sergio aguero, a defence splitting pass landed to phil foden, knocked down to aguero, and he really is aston villa's nemesis. his tenth goal against them in six starts. and then just ten minutes later, it was really quite poor, soft defending, really, from a corner that meant rodrigo got ahead. dean smith was furious, the vil

natalie pirks reports.sight at the start of every match but tomorrow all players will simply greet each other verbally without the gentleman's handshake. both the premier league and the football league confirmed they have taken the precaution on medical advice as everton‘s finance officer admitted games behind closed doors can't be far off. 0vernight, danish side brondby quarantined 13 people after shaking hands with former denmark international thomas kahlenberg. he's been diagnosed with coronavirus after visiting amsterdam. and it's now a real problem for sporting chiefs across the world. just how do you cope with large gatherings of people in one place? there's always noise going on. it's a different sort of noise at the moment but all we can do is to make sure that our players know what their most importantjob is and their most importantjob is to prepare well to play against wales. twickenham, a late comer to the six nations... yes, england play wales at twickenham tomorrow afternoon in the six nations

natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley.with the domestic trophy he most wanted likely heading to liverpool. the... the thing is. we always have believed the domestic league is the most important to win because it means. . . most important to win because it means... i think we are enough consistence... two games in the premier league today and a contraversial draw at goodison park between everton and manchester united. it had been an entertaining game from the off after a david de gea blunder gifted everton an early lead. united equalized but everton thought they'd won it in injury time only to have it ruled out for offside by var, a decision not appreciated by the everton manager carlo ancelotti who was sent off for remonstrating with the referee. rauljimenez struck the winner for wolves as they twice came from behind to beat tottenham 3—2 in north london. the win sends wolves sixth in the table and three points behind fourth—placed chelsea. celtic have moved a step closer to successfully defending their scottish cup title.

our sports correspondent natalie pirks was there.r sun, villa fans both, older, younger and royal were hoping their side wouldn't freeze. but it had been 2a years since they last won this trophy and city were going for the hat trick of consecutive wins. a defence—splitting cross was about to send them on their way. foden with the knock down to... who else? aguero! lose him at your peril! sergio aguero once again villa's nemesis. it was about to get worse. soft defending from a corner doubled their pain. put in by rodri. dean smith was furious that it should have been a goal kick. in truth, his team's defending was the bigger issue. but, just when a sense of inevitability crept in, it was city's turn to slip. stones with the stumble, samatta with the strength. samatta! game on! villa were hanging on in there and with time trickling away, bjorn engels came millimetres from achieving a legendary status. so, the final whistle brought heartbreak for plucky villa. business as usual for guardiola. such is city's dominance at wembley, they m

our correspondent natalie pirks was watching at wembley.se hands leaving wembley tonight, because they really took the came to city, no one give them a prayer, they had one this particular trophy for 2h years, they we re particular trophy for 2h years, they were coming into this match after losing three premier league match is on the spin, fighting the relegation battle, so, of course, manchester city, this was their 16 time at wembley in the last ten seasons, they pretty much set up camp in the home dressing room, but didn't start that way. villa, very much the better side, almost scored in the second minute, and the better side of the first 20 minutes, then of course, city are always going to dominate possession, and they began to dominate. aguero with the first call, who else? because that was his tenth goal against a villa in the six starts, then just ten minutes later, city doubled their lead, some poor defending from a corner, for aston villa, and it was a contentious issue, because dean smith from aston villa's manager believe the ba

we'll speak to our correspondent natalie pirks at anfield in just a moment for a game that does go aheadgainst atletico madrid in the champions league, but let's speak to our reporter adam wild with an update on how football especially has been affected. adam, we had the first game called off in the uk today, a highly significant moment you feel. tonight's premier league match between manchester city and arsenal. that was due to kick off in just a few minutes' time and it is the first premier league game to be postponed because of precaution about coronavirus, the first game in united kingdom. it is a particularly convoluted and complex story, the events leading up to this. this began when arsenal played olympiakos a fortnight ago. the olympiakos owner, he subsequently tested positive for coronavirus. as a result, if you arsenal players who had result, if you arsenal players who ha d co nta ct result, if you arsenal players who had contact with him during that match were put into isolation, as we re match were put into isolation, as were some of the backroom staff who sat in the vicinity

and our sports correspondent natalie pirks is there for us. o win today. it would be a huge shock but a beautiful day for it. let me tell you, the aston villa fans are in very good voice. interesting because both teams come into this in very different circumstances. there are ina different circumstances. there are in a relegation battle, they have lost their last three premier league matches on the spend. city coming ahead of a fantastic win in the champions league against real madrid. they have won this trophy for micro times in the last six seasons and this is their 16th visit to wembley in the last few seasons. —— this trophy for macro times. liverpool are running away with the league. they are going to take city's crown, they are 22 points ahead of them. now it is a matter of when and not if. city had just been charged by uefa for alleged breaches of financialfair charged by uefa for alleged breaches of financial fair play. they have been banned from the champions league for the next two seasons. they have launched an appeal for the court o

natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley.chester city yesterday features heavily. there's a picture of city lifting the trophy in the guardian with manager pep guardiola saying his sides run of trophies may never be bettered. similar theme in the mail with the headline second to none. and the mirror has the headline a true greight. staying with football and the celebrities were out in force as david beckham's inter miami side made their debut against los angeles. wife victoria not surprisingly was there to support him saying "i'm so excited". son romeo posted a picture which the club tagged "first day at school". and gordon ramsay was also there to see miami's first game. unfortunately, things didn't go to plan on the pitch with la winning1—0. some breaking rugby union news this morning and former england winger chris ashton has left sale after reaching an agreement to terminate his contract early. the ex—saracens and northampton player winger joined sale nearly two years after a spell with toulon in france. ashton has scored

natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley.ge at league one side blackpool. critchley has taken charge of two first—team games this season including the fa cup win against shrewsbury last month at anfield. he also oversaw the league cup defeat to aston villa in december while most of the senior squad were in qatar. coronavirus continues to have an impact on sport around the the world. the opening motogp race in qatar has been cancelled, while football in italy remains seriously affected. juventus have now confirmed that the coppa italia match this week against ac milan will go ahead. fans will be able to attend, unless they have a membership address affected by the outbreak. lecce against atalanta was one of only five serie a games to take place over the weekend. visiting fans from the northern based team were tested for symptoms of the coronavirus on their way in to the ground. meanwhle organisers of the six nations will meet later today to discuss plans for the remainder of the tournament. ireland's match against italy in dub

ours corrrespondent natalie pirks reports from wembley.ese days. in the winter sun, aston villa fans, both young, older and royal were hoping their side would not freeze but it had been 2a yea rs would not freeze but it had been 2a years since they last won this trophy and city were going for the hat—trick of consecutive victories. a defence splitting cross was about to send them on their way, phil foden with the to who else? sergio aguero. lucy mature pedal, once again aguero was the nemesis for aston villa. soft defending from a corner kick doubled their pain. headedin corner kick doubled their pain. headed in by rodri. dean smith was furious that it should have been a goal kick. entreaties team's defending was the bigger issue. just when a sense of inevitability kept thenit when a sense of inevitability kept then it was city's turn to slip up. john stones with the sum —— with the stumble, samatta with the strike. came on. aston villa were hanging in there and with time ticking away bjorn engels came within millimetres of achieving legen

natalie pirks reports.hes are surely looming in england but supporters are sticking with their keep on and carry on approach. doesn't matter whatever they throw at us, we'll be here. football is nothing without supporters, you can't play games behind closed doors. unmoved they may be but it's a different story under the lights. liverpool boss jurgen different story under the lights. liverpool bossjurgen klopp had never lost a champions league match here, but wave after wave of liverpool attack was being met with stubborn defending. spanish resista nce stubborn defending. spanish resistance is nothing, though, in the face of dutch courage. commentator: gyorgy wijnaldum for liverpool in the champions league ain! atletico were under intense pressure but in the dying minutes it was anfied's turn to hold its breath. saved by the flag. extra time loomed. firmino hadn't scored at anfield all season, he picked the perfect time. yet reserve goalkeeper adrian then unpicked all their good work. llorente. .. and the sh

natalie pirks, bbc news, wembley.inic calvert—lewin scored early on for everton after a david de gea error, but bruno fernandes equalised. england keeperjordan pickford probably should have done better. but the real drama came in injury time when calvert—lewin's goal was ruled out as gylfri sigurdsson was offside and disrupting play. carlos ancelotti was sent off after the final whistle for his protests. elsewhere, wolves beat spurs in a five—goal thriller. rauljimenez was the man with the winner, sending wolves up to sixth in the league. celtic have continued their pursuit of a fourth consecutive domestic treble, after beating stjohnstone in the scottish cup quarter—finals. a late ryan christie free kick was enough to send celtic through to the semi—finals where they will face aberdeen. the other semi—final will be an edinburgh derby between hearts and hibernian. the organisers of the six nations are meeting later today, to discuss plans for the remainder of the tournament as more sporting events have fallen victim t