When top-flight football in England was suspended last month due to the spread of Covid-19, Liverpool were 25 points clear of second-placed Manchester City with nine games remaining.

CHRIS WHEELER: The coronavirus crisis stirred something very close to home for Marcus Rashford. He thought of vulnerable children, much like himself at school, who may go hungry or suffer.

MERSEY BEAT — DOMINIC KING: Can you play football by numbers? This is an era when statistics have become king and a player’s importance is measured by the digits they produce.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: With each passing minute, he gets closer to the door. The relentless pursuit, the speculation and the astronomical bid.

MERSEY BEAT: In the giddy aftermath of the game of the season, one dejected man stood out. Head bowed, brow furrowed, Simon Mignolet scuttled out of Anfield without stopping to speak.

DOMINIC KING'S MERSEY BEAT: Even after Liverpool beat Crystal Palace on Monday, the focus after the game was about the obduracy of Jurgen Klopp’s defence and the impact of Alisson.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: Jordan Henderson was approaching the final 12 months of his contract and with Liverpool dallying, some of their rivals began to take notice.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: It is three years to the day since Liverpool sacked Brendan Rodgers. We must start with that fact in an attempt to apply some context about the club's situation.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: Liverpool look like they need an individual to spring forward and take things by the scruff of the neck. Jurgen Klopp will hope Naby Keita steps forward.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: It is difficult to know what to get most angry about: the man who made the idea, the potential recipient or some clubs for contemplating it.

DOMINIC KING - MERSEY BEAT: Towards the end of 2020, Liverpool will have a new £50million complex. The renovation of their Academy at Kirkby is well underway.

The DVLA has released the list details of the personalised plate options it has removed from the market for being insulting, with the likes of M20 RON, A20 RSE and BS20 TRD all being pulled from sale.

Some 4.7million drivers are stuck with insurance policies that automatically renewed, with many now asking legal steps to be taken to stop the practice, according to Go Compare Car Insurance.

From whether you can apply for Universal Credit if you're self-employed to whether you should apply for benefits or sick pay, Citizens Advice answers six of the most common benefits questions.

Key workers who provide lifts to colleagues who have no other means of travelling to their jobs can car share with a 'minimum number of people at any one time' during the coronavirus lockdown.

Housing Minister Christopher Pincher will host a video conference call with the trade body for estate agents to discuss how people can safely begin buying, selling and moving home again.

Tim Foster is co-founder of The Yummy Pub company. He saw his business change overnight because of lockdown - but he has never been busier.

With fuel pumps being handled throughout the pandemic, there are concerns amongst the motoring community about the safety of return to petrol stations in the aftermath of lockdown.

If his recovery goes to plan, Tiger Roll will return to action in the Boyne Hurdle at Navan in February - a race he won last year - before bidding for a fifth Cheltenham Festival victory.

Jockey Robbie Power made all the running on the Colin Tizzard-trained gelding to draw eight lengths clear of runner-up Ribble Valley. Master Debonair has shown improved form.

Irish trainer Willie Mullins says Benie Des Dieux might be the best mare he has trained after she romped home in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park.

Henderson committed Shishkin to the Supreme Novices' Hurdle on the opening day of next month's Cheltenham Festival after he brushed aside proven performers on Thursday.

The chances of Tiger Roll attempting to win an historic third consecutive Randox Health Grand National at Aintree in April continued to hang in the balance on Tuesday night.

Nigel Twiston-Davies hopes Ballyandy can continue his revival by getting the victory former stable star The New One could not manage in his attempts at the Unibet Champion Hurdle.

Relegate will bid to earn both herself and trainer Colm Murphy a return to the Cheltenham Festival winner's enclosure when she lines up for the Pertemps Final next week.

EXCLUSIVE BY MATT HUGHES: ITV are in danger of losing the live rights to televise horse racing as the broadcaster are refusing to guarantee will be shown on their main channel.

Peter and Autumn Phillips, who announced their split last month, appeared sombre as they arrived for the start of the four-day meet at Cheltenham Racecourse today.

The wait is over. The 2020 Cheltenham Festival has arrived and what a four days we have in store. Follow all the live action from the Gloucestershire track with Sportsmail's KATE McGREAVY.

The second day of the Cheltenham Festival - Ladies Day - is set to be another thrilling one with Tiger Roll trying to secure a fifth win at the course. Follow all the live action with Sportsmail right here.

The third day of the Cheltenham Festival - St Patrick's Day - is set to be another thrilling one with the mighty Paisley Park in the feature race. Follow the action as it happens right here with Sportsmail.

Milan Native claimed a length-and-three-quarter success in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Amateur Riders' Handicap Chase to provide Elliott with a treble on the day.

Glamorous women turned heads in vibrant colours and standout coats as they arrived at Cheltenham Racecourse this morning.

The final day of the 2020 Cheltenham Festival - Gold Cup Day - is here. What a week it's been on the track so far. Follow all the live action from the seven races with Sportsmail.

The racing event came under criticism at the time for allowing thousands of racegoers to huddle together, risking a spread of the virus. Over 250,000 people attended the Cheltenham Festival.

Retired champion jockey Sir AP McCoy said horse racing had followed UK government advice to go ahead last month with the Cheltenham Festival that saw 250,000 people gather over four days.

The sport has held discussions with figures in the Government about resuming action, and BHA chief Nick Rust has claimed racing is 'ready to go' whenever they are given the green light.

I was sent an e-ticket and when I printed it out, I realised my flights had been pushed back by 17 hours but KLM won't give me any compensation. What can I do to get my money back?

A wave of people in the old Labour heartlands of the North have taken a huge psychological and emotional step by voting Tory for the first time in their lives. They have not done it lightly.

So what's in store for 2020? It always takes a while for seismic political shifts to feed through into our daily lives, and so it is with the scale of the Tory victory last month.

I ordered a pair of £170 trainers from JD Sports to be delivered by Hermes. I hadn't received them so I contacted Hermes which said they had lost the shoes but I still haven't got them. What can I do?

I checked my bill from O2 and found a charge for £1,710 which was taken for 285MB worth of data usage while in Saudi Arabia. But it won't tell me what it was used on.

The UK stock market alone has fallen in value by 30 per cent since the start of the year. But if you hold these trusts for troubled times then things should look better.

Jan Moir picked out a selection of retro British puddings, after BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour presenter Jane Garvey, was forced to apologise for claiming that Arctic Roll is a 'low-level pudding'.

The BBC was attacked by viewers on Twitter for the second time this week on Thursday night, as it hosted its second telethon for charity.

The Live Lounge recording to support people impacted by Covid-19 sees more than 20 performers cover the Foo Fighters song Times Like These, and was played on the BBC Radio 1 this morning.

Postman Darrell Gilmour, 56, from Sheffield, was baffled at first when he saw the vague address along with a rambling description of the intended recipient, David Easson.

Germany's foreign minister Andreas Michaelis has revealed that the country has 40,000 intensive care beds, 30,000 of which could be used with ventilators.

As part of the revised plans to mark the 75th VE Day anniversary during the coronavirus lockdown announced today, Her Majesty's words will be broadcast on May 8 on BBC One at 9pm.

Strictly Come Dancing may go ahead this autumn without its usual studio audience cheering on the performers.

Mr Dowden urged director-general Tony Hall to 'uphold the highest standards in relation to integrity and impartiality' in the wake of the Panorama programme which featured five left-wing activists.