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Palace delay Liverpool title? How this weekend's sport could have unfolded

Palace delay Liverpool title? How this weekend's sport could have unfolded
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The PA news agency considers what might have happened if this weekend's sporting events had not been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

It was a weekend that could have seen Christian Benteke delay Liverpool's Premier League title party, England's cricketers enjoy success in Sri Lanka and Novak Djokovic lift a record sixth Indian Wells title.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how the weekend could have unfolded had the sporting calendar not been severely disrupted by coronavirus.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool dropped points at Anfield for the first time since January 2019 after suffering a late collapse
Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool dropped points at Anfield for the first time since January 2019 after suffering a late collapse (Adam Davy/PA)

Liverpool's title celebrations were put on hold for at least one more week after Benteke and Roy Hodgson returned to haunt their former club in dramatic fashion.

Substitute Benteke, who was sold to Palace for £27million in 2016, was thrown on by ex-Reds boss Hodgson with seven minutes remaining and claimed a sensational late brace to secure a 2-2 draw at a stunned Anfield.

After Monday's Merseyside derby demolition of Everton, Jurgen Klopp's side had required just one more win to end the club's 30-year wait to become champions and were on course to do so thanks to strikes from Sadio Mane and James Milner.

There was also drama in the FA Cup as holders Manchester City crashed out having seen three goals disallowed by VAR during a shock 1-0 loss at Newcastle.

Nicolas Otamendi was frustrated by VAR
Nicolas Otamendi was frustrated by VAR (Martin Rickett/PA)

Allan Saint-Maximin put the Magpies into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time in 15 years after marginal offside calls twice denied Sergio Aguero and a questionable handball call incensed Nicolas Otamendi.

In the other quarter-final ties, Nicolas Pepe missed a sitter at Bramall Lane as Arsenal were beaten 2-0 by Sheffield United, Jamie Vardy's hat-trick saw Leicester scrape past Chelsea 3-2, and Bruno Fernandes' panenka penalty helped Manchester United thrash Norwich 4-1.

England's cricketers romped to a resounding 111-run win over Sri Lanka on day four of the first Test in Galle.

Half-centuries from Joe Denly (53) and captain Joe Root (61), added to a first-innings 78 from Ben Stokes, put the tourists in control, before Dom Bess' five-wicket haul helped complete the job with a day to spare.

Joe Root's England enjoyed a successful weekend in Sri Lanka
Joe Root's England enjoyed a successful weekend in Sri Lanka (Mike Egerton/PA)

In a repeat of the 2019 race, world champion Lewis Hamilton held off the challenge of Valtteri Bottas to win the Bahrain Grand Prix, finishing almost 27 seconds ahead of his Mercedes team-mate. Red Bull's Max Verstappen completed the podium.

England trio Henry Slade, Luke Cowan-Dickie and Ollie Devoto shrugged off the disappointment of finishing second in the Six Nations by helping Exeter move seven points clear at the top of the Gallagher Premiership with a 27-11 win over Leicester.

Elsewhere, world number one Djokovic lifted the Indian Wells title for a record sixth time after coming from behind to defeat defending champion Dominic Thiem in a three-set thriller, 4-6 7-6 7-6.

Alternatively, the day could have panned out like this:

Liverpool clinched the title with victory over Crystal Palace
Liverpool clinched the title with victory over Crystal Palace (Peter Byrne/PA)

Liverpool are celebrating their first league title in 30 years after an emphatic 4-0 win over Crystal Palace at Anfield.

Two goals from Sadio Mane and one apiece from Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino saw the rampant Reds secure the Premier League crown in style and with a record seven games to spare.

It was Liverpool's 29th victory of a phenomenal campaign and left Jurgen Klopp's side 25 points clear of last season's winners Manchester City.

Newcastle United v Manchester City – Premier League – St James' Park
Newcastle found Kevin De Bruyne (left) too hot to handle (Richard Sellers/PA)

City were in FA Cup action, powering into the semi-finals with a 4-1 win at Newcastle. The inspirational Kevin De Bruyne set up goals for Raheem Sterling, Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva before adding one himself.

Rivals Manchester United joined them in the last four by edging out Norwich 2-1 while Sheffield United stunned Arsenal 1-0. Leicester beat Chelsea 3-2 in the tie of the round thanks to a Jamie Vardy hat-trick.

Back in the Premier League, West Ham remain in relegation trouble after losing 1-0 at Tottenham – Dele Alli securing Spurs' first win in more than a month – but Bournemouth could not take advantage, going down 2-0 at Wolves.

Joe Root's England were beaten in Sri Lanka
Joe Root's England were beaten in Sri Lanka (Tim Goode/PA)

Elsewhere in the world of sport, England slipped to defeat inside four days in the opening Test against Sri Lanka in Galle. Joe Denly ground out a potential Test career-saving century but hundreds from Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Perera in reply put Sri Lanka in command and they went on to win by five wickets.

Charles Leclerc won the Bahrain Grand Prix for Ferrari with world champion Lewis Hamilton third.

Tommy Fleetwood warmed up for next month's US Masters by claiming his maiden PGA Tour title at the Valspar Championship in Florida while Toronto Wolfpack beat Wakefield 24-18 for their first Super League win.

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Tables
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City34264489315882
2Arsenal35256483394481
3Newcastle UnitedNewcastle341811561293265
4Manchester UnitedMan Utd3419694941863
5Liverpool35188967422562
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs35176126457757
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton331671063451855
8Aston Villa35166134643354
9Brentford35121495245750
10Fulham35146155049148
11Chelsea34119143439-542
12Crystal Palace351010153546-1140
13Wolverhampton WanderersWolves35117173050-2040
14Bournemouth35116183767-3039
15West Ham UnitedWest Ham35107183850-1237
16Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3589183465-3133
17Everton35711173253-2132
18Leicester CityLeicester3586214964-1530
19Leeds UnitedLeeds3579194469-2530
20Southampton3566233164-3324

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