Premier League

Everton's Premier League match against Newcastle has had to be halted after a fan ties himself to one of the goalposts at Goodison Park.

It's time to act like it's an emergency. Image credit: Getty Images The shirt featured a link which led to a short video message.

The 2021-22 European season is winding down and while some leagues are snoozing to the finish line, here are 10 races worth watching until the end.

Ajax has spent much of 2021-22 playing like one of the best teams in Europe, winning their six Champions League group stage matches by a combined 20-5 and outscoring opponents 70-5 in their first 23 Eredivisie matches. For much of the season, bitter rivals Marseille and Nice have been jockeying for second, but after a dreadful winter stretch -- they pulled just nine points from nine league matches from Dec. 1 through Feb. 11 -- Bruno Genesio's Rennes have found their form. In their last six matches, however, they've lost 2-1 at Go Ahead Eagles, survived 3-2 wins over inferior RKC Waalwijk and SC Cambuur squads and suffered an upset at the hands of Benfica in the Champions League knockout stage. Their 4-2 win over Lyon on Sunday was their fourth straight in league play, and it bumped them back to fourth place, within a point of Marseille and Nice. Strasbourg is only three points back as well. QPR bounced between the first and second divisions early in the 2010s, but have otherwise lived a second-division existence for most of 30 years. This is a great position to be in, obviously, but they'll still have to survive the championship playoff in which the top four teams see their point totals cut in half (and rounded up) and everyone plays a six-game round robin. They finished a distant third behind Chelsea and Manchester City, and they had to hold off a rising Manchester United just to secure third place and a spot in the Champions League qualifiers. With the money involved in playing in the Premier League, this is always one of the tenser and more dread-heavy relegation battles in the sport. Huddersfield briefly earned promotion in 2017 for the first time in nearly a half-century, but they were back down within two years. They rank first (City) and second (Liverpool) in the overall SPI ratings, with Liverpool creeping ahead of a previously indomitable Bayern Munich. But they've leaked a lot of points lately and they find themselves four points behind Milan, one back of Napoli and only three up on Juventus with a game in hand. RB Leipzig have solved a lot of their disastrous transition issues in recent weeks, and while neither Freiburg nor Hoffenheim defend very well (even by Bundesliga standards) they boast major attacking firepower and have proven they can take points from the league's best teams.

An ecological protester forced a stoppage in play and took center stage during a Premier League soccer match on Thursday night.

The “ Just Stop Oil” Facebook page documented McKechnie’s ploy. The campaign will mobilize “people from all walks of life to oppose the plans for new UK Oil fields” in 2022, according to the “Just Stop Oil” website. He stood with a zip-tie around his neck as officials rushed the area.

Everton's crunch Premier League clash with Newcastle on Thursday was held up for six minutes when a protester tied himself to one of the goalposts.

The match had to be stopped while security attempted to remove him. Just Stop Oil were quick to claim responsibility for the stunt, issuing a statement via Facebook which read: “This evening, Louis, a 21-year-old supporter of Just Stop Oil, locked on to the goalpost at Goodison Park wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt, causing the referee to briefly stop play.” The environmental group’s statement went on to criticise the Government’s policy on North Sea oil.

Mark Lawrenson takes on LIFE frontman and Liverpool fan Mez Green to predict the results for this weekend's FA Cup quarter-finals and Premier League ...

Nine straight wins the Premier League have given Liverpool the needed momentum to overtake Manchester City. As for Arsenal, steps are still needed.

There is no doubt that Arsenal are miles behind Liverpool, but their race is all about fourth spot and qualifying for the Champions League. If that happens, they then have a platform upon which to build towards competing with Liverpool and City in the years ahead. Liverpool look unstoppable, and they could yet do the quadruple, and City know that too. The reality of this Arsenal team is that it now has an identity and a clear pathway in front of it. The goal was made by Andy Robertson, who dispossessed Bukayo Saka on the left before breaking the touchline and pulling back for Firmino to flick past Ramsdale. At 2-0, it was game over -- Liverpool were firmly in control and Arsenal's recent revival was over. Facing Mikel Arteta's resurgent team at the Emirates was undoubtedly a tougher challenge for Klopp's players, with the Gunners climbing into fourth on the back of five straight league wins and unbeaten run in the Premier League stretching back to Jan 1. Manchester City don't have it and that's why, after Liverpool's 2-0 victory at Arsenal on Wednesday, Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions will be worrying that they may be about to finish second in what had seemed, not too long ago, like a one-horse race.