Scott Murray's Blog, page 112

The Fiver | Nowt for Ajax fans to do other than smoke tabs and snorkel Purple Tin

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Ajax fans could be forgiven for having something of an ambivalent attitude towards old London town. For example, their heroes won their very first Big Cup here, beating Ferenc Puskas’ Panathinaikos in the 1971 final at the old Wembley. But they were also spanked 3-0 by Arsenal at Highbury in the semi-finals of Euro Vase in 1970. Then last year, they rocked up and walloped Spurs 1-0, a performance of such dominant swagger it initially appeared to be the epochal statement of champions in waiting, only to be rendered meaningless a week later when they touched collective cloth back in Amsterdam at the mere sight of Lucas Moura. Oh nee! Onze broek!

Related: Jorginho and Kovacic embodying Frank Lampard’s Chelsea revolution

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Watford 1-2 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

A rampant Chelsea were somehow restricted to two goals by Ben Foster ... who nearly salvaged an unlikely draw for Watford with a desperate last-gasp header!

7.43pm GMT

Anyway, that’s your lot. Jacob Steinberg was our man at Vicarage Road, and here’s his take on a fine Chelsea attacking show. Thanks for reading the MBM!

Related: Tammy Abraham and Christian Pulisic help Chelsea see off winless Watford

7.41pm GMT

Frank Lampard holds a post-match debrief with Sky. He’s very happy with his team, save a “sloppy” period just before half-time. He’s particularly pleased with his midfield engine room of Mateo Kovacic and Jorginho. Also the manner in which his defenders played out from the back ... though he admits they might have got “over-confident” just before conceding the penalty. But it’s been a good day for him on balance, with Arsenal drawing at home to Wolves and Manchester United going down at Bournemouth.

7.27pm GMT

Wow, Chelsea made a meal of that. They could, and arguably should, have been streets ahead. But they missed a fair few chances, while Watford keeper Ben Foster pulled off a series of heroic saves. Gerard Deulofeu’s cheaply purchased late penalty gave Watford a sniff of an unlikely point, and they nearly salvaged a draw at the death. Foster hugs Kepa as the whistle blows on a tale of two keepers. What marvellous entertainment!

7.24pm GMT

Foster comes up ... and nearly sends a diving header into the bottom right! But Kepa turns it away, the last touch of the match! Chelsea hang on for their seventh away win in a row ... and Watford remain rooted to the bottom of the table.

7.22pm GMT

90 min +6: Or is it?! Doucoure drives down the left and is clipped by Mount, who is booked for then kicking the ball away. A free kick. Watford load the box!

7.21pm GMT

90 min +5: Willian is replaced by James. Mariappa flings a long throw into the Chelsea mixer, but Dawson can’t get his head on it. Then Masina flashes one harmlessly wide, and that will surely be that.

7.20pm GMT

90 min +4: Willian is down, so Chelsea are effectively seeing this out with ten men. And there’s a game of head tennis in their area, Doucoure unable to meet Deulofeu’s right-wing cross flush. Yet again, Chelsea clear, though they’re in a big panic now.

7.19pm GMT

90 min +3: Deulofeu dances down the right, pushing Chelsea back towards their own box. But he can’t find anyone in yellow and black with his cross. Chelsea clear their lines again.

7.18pm GMT

90 min +2: Deulofeu and Hughes work hard down the right wing, but can’t prise Chelsea open. The visitors hold their shape with ease.

7.17pm GMT

90 min +1: ... and yet they’re now hanging on, the crowd having been energised by the announcement of five added minutes. Doucoure has a dig from distance, but his effort is blocked. How on earth have Chelsea got themselves into this position?!

7.16pm GMT

90 min: Batshuayi spins Mariappa and romps clear. He should score, but hesitates and allows Masina to come across and block. It’s really not clear how Chelsea have only scored two goals this evening. They should have had a hatful.

7.15pm GMT

89 min: Jorginho is booked for taking an age over a free kick out on the right. He’ll miss the upcoming game against Crystal Palace as a result.

7.14pm GMT

88 min: Batshuayi comes on for Abraham.

7.14pm GMT

87 min: Deulofeu and the gloriously chippy Jorginho lock horns over something or other. VAR has a quick look but it’s deemed a lot of noise over nothing, grown men and all.

7.12pm GMT

86 min: Willian drives down the right. His low cross is nearly hooked goalwards by Hudson-Odoi, but the hosts clear.

7.11pm GMT

84 min: Masina attempts a shot from distance that’s at the very upper end of ambitious. And the ball nestles in the very upper end of the stand behind the goal. What a waste of good territory. Also a chance for Chelsea to take their sweet time to restart.

7.09pm GMT

83 min: Pulisic is replaced by Hudson-Odoi. A rare old atmosphere at Vicarage Road now, and we have ourselves a denouement!

7.09pm GMT

82 min: Dawson comes sliding in on Emerson. You’ve seen red cards given for challenges like that, his studs showing. But it’s just a yellow, and VAR’s not of a mind to overturn it. Well, well.

7.08pm GMT

81 min: Watford could easily have been on the end of a Southampton-sized humiliation, were it not for Foster’s heroics. But now the game’s suddenly in the balance! Football, huh.

7.06pm GMT

Deulofeu slams the penalty into the bottom left. Kepa with no chance!

7.05pm GMT

79 min: After an age, VAR gives a penalty to Watford! There was contact, even if Deulofeu went down in instalments. He’ll take the spot kick himself!

7.04pm GMT

78 min: Now the crowd are belting out the modern classic Fuck VAR. Preach on, everyone.

7.03pm GMT

77 min: Deulofeu goes down in the box after being tapped on the ankle by Jorginho. This one’s going to VAR. It’s a theatrical tumble, and a delayed reaction, though that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll not get the decision.

7.02pm GMT

75 min: Janmaat is replaced by Kiko. It’s not a popular decision, and the Watford faithful launch into a rendition of You Don’t Know What You’re Doing. Po’ Quique. His second honeymoon period at the club hasn’t lasted too long, has it.

6.59pm GMT

73 min: Mount exchanges quick passes with Jorginho and has a dig from the edge of the box. He doesn’t quite catch it ... but Foster does. Chelsea look like scoring every time they go forward.

6.58pm GMT

71 min: Some space for Janmaat down the right. He reaches the byline and stands one up for Hughes in the centre. Hughes is free, ten yards out, but his attempt to connect head to bouncing ball is both strange and not very good.

6.57pm GMT

70 min: Nothing comes of the set piece, though Jorginho comes together with Hughes on the edge of the box, and he’s after a penalty. He’s not getting it. There is some official action soon after, though, as Janmaat is booked for a silly slide on Pulisic.

6.56pm GMT

69 min: Chelsea play their way out of a tight spot at the back. Mount should spring Pulisic clear, but overhits the pass. No matter, because the visitors are soon coming back at their hosts. The increasingly influential Kovacic twists down the middle and dinks forward for Abraham, who turns on a sixpence and nearly gets a shot on target. Instead, the ball’s deflected away for a corner.

6.53pm GMT

67 min: Hughes comes on for Chalobah.

6.53pm GMT

66 min: Chelsea ping it around, and their fans enjoy every kick.

6.51pm GMT

64 min: Willian causes more bother down the right. He cuts back for Kovacic, who shoots towards the bottom left. The ball flies wide, though Abraham isn’t far away from turning the poor effort into a successful cross, an inch or so shy of poking home from six yards. Goal kick. This isn’t going to end 0-2, surely not. More goals to come.

6.49pm GMT

62 min: Willian slips Azpilicueta clear on the overlap down the right. The Chelsea captain stands one up. It’s half cleared, but drops to Kovacic on the edge of the box. The resulting shot whistles straight down Foster’s throat. Sure, Watford might not be the toughest opponents ... but even so, Chelsea are really good to watch in full flight.

6.47pm GMT

60 min: That’s Foster’s fifth fine save of the evening. You couldn’t really fault him had he let all those chances past. This could have been a very embarrassing scoreline. It still might be, because Chelsea don’t look in the mood to stop piling forward.

6.46pm GMT

58 min: Willian has the wind in his sail. He goes on a blistering run down the right, but can’t quite find Pulisic with a diagonal pass. Then Kovacic drives down the middle ... and he does find Pulisic, sending him into the area down the left. Pulisic’s low shot across Foster is heading into the bottom right. But the keeper sticks out a leg to divert.

6.43pm GMT

57 min: That will have been a sickener for Watford, who had attacked with positivity since the restart. It’s an uphill task now, though. Another week spent rock bottom looks likely.

6.42pm GMT

Willian drives forward down the centre. He slips a ball to his right for Abraham, who squares it across goal. Pulisic arrives to slam home from six yards. Easy as that. Four in two for the young American!

6.39pm GMT

53 min: In an attempt to win a 50-50 challenge in midfield, Dawson spins Abraham around in a headlock. Free kick, though he’s pretty fortunate to escape a booking.

6.38pm GMT

52 min: Willian is down complaining after being legitimately whacked by a hard-tackling Chalobah. He should be OK to continue, though.

6.36pm GMT

50 min: Watford deal with Pulisic’s corner easily. Foster has been immense tonight. Watford would be getting spanked without him.

6.35pm GMT

49 min: A stunning pitch-long move by Chelsea, started by Pulisic near his own left-hand corner flag. Willian scampers towards the Watford box and feeds Mount to his left. Mount pearls a shot goalwards, but it’s parried well by Foster. It’s a corner.

6.34pm GMT

47 min: Emerson takes a fresh-air kick and allows Deulofeu to make good towards the Chelsea box down the right. Deulofeu slips the ball across to Gray, who looks like having a free crack from the penalty spot ... but out of nowhere comes Zouma, sliding across to block at the very last second! That was Watford’s best move of the match, but what sensational defending by Zouma to deny them an equaliser.

6.32pm GMT

46 min: Emerson and Pulisic combine neatly in the middle. The former bursts into a lot of space, and is cynically clipped by Kabasele, who is booked for his trouble.

6.31pm GMT

Watford get the second half underway. There have been no half-time changes.

6.19pm GMT

Half-time reading. Here’s how the two teams currently above Chelsea did earlier this afternoon. Plenty of late drama just a click away!

Related: Sadio Mané’s last-gasp heroics seal Liverpool’s dramatic win at Aston Villa

Related: Manchester City’s Sergio Agüero and Kyle Walker sink brave Southampton

6.16pm GMT

After going behind early doors to Tammy Abraham’s fine goal, Watford have done well to stay in this game. Having said that, without Ben Foster, they’d be four goals down. As things stand, Chelsea will rise to third place this evening.

6.15pm GMT

45 min: A free kick for Watford out on the right. They load the box. Deulofeu whips it in, but Mariappa can’t get a decent connection on his header. There will be one added minute.

6.14pm GMT

43 min: Mount dribbles sensationally around a couple of challenges on the left, real ball-glued-to-boot stuff in a tight spot. He then launches an equally wonderful shot towards the top right from 25 yards. Foster gets a fingernail to it, and diverts it from the corner onto the underside of the bar and out! That was top-drawer football all round. What a save (pt.III in a continuing series)! But what a talent Mount is.

6.11pm GMT

41 min: Watford are beginning to create proper chances now. Deulofeu’s cute flick down the right allows Doucoure to make his way towards the Chelsea box. His shot isn’t all that, and easily deflected away from danger. This is a brave effort by Watford after their dreadfully slow start.

6.10pm GMT

39 min: Deulofeu wins a corner down the right. Chelsea half clear the set piece, but Deulofeu is able to come straight back at Chelsea, dribbling at pace down the same flank, cutting inside, and lashing a low diagonal shot inches wide of the left-hand post. A decent effort, although he’ll be annoyed not to have hit the target at the very least.

6.08pm GMT

38 min: Pulisic attempts to release Abraham down the middle with a basic hoof, and nearly succeeds, but Dawson battles hard and Foster is able to deal with the situation.

6.07pm GMT

36 min: Pereyra feeds Doucoure down the right. Doucoure’s low cross, intended for Gray in the middle, is blocked by Emerson. Watford are at least finding some good areas now, even if they’re yet to seriously work Kepa.

6.05pm GMT

35 min: ... nothing happens. They faff about with a short corner, and suddenly the ball’s shuttled all the way back to Kepa! What total nonsense.

6.04pm GMT

34 min: Pulisic slides a pass down the inside left for Mount, who reaches the byline and cuts back, hoping to find Willian. Watford bundle the ball out for a corner on the left. From which ...

6.03pm GMT

32 min: Watford are working their way into this now. Pereyra nearly releases Deulofeu with a long rake down the right, but his team-mate can’t bring the ball down. Then Gray is sent scampering along the left. He doesn’t back himself against Zouma and turns tail. But the crowd are a little happier now, as Watford spend a bit of quality time in the Chelsea half at last.

6.00pm GMT

30 min: Willian dribbles down the right and cuts inside. He’s afforded a preposterous amount of time to shoot, but his attempt to curl a shot into the bottom corner is weak and easily gathered by Foster.

5.59pm GMT

28 min: Chalobah has a crack from the best part of 30 yards. The ball is blocked the second it leaves his boot. Watford have suddenly stepped it up, harassing Chelsea into a couple of loose passes. Small acorns, and all that.

5.57pm GMT

26 min: Zouma dawdles and allows Pereyra to strip him of the ball. But as Pereyra advances towards the box, he’s quickly swarmed and Chelsea clear their lines. This is all too easy for the visitors at the minute.

5.56pm GMT

25 min: Doucoure tries to inject some zest into Watford’s game, barging through the middle of the park. But he doesn’t have any options. Possession’s given up soon enough.

5.53pm GMT

23 min: Willian sends Azpilicueta into space down the right. The Chelsea captain whistles a low diagonal ball through the box. Watford are forced to concede a corner, and deal with the subsequent set piece easily enough. But Chelsea look like scoring every time they pile forward.

5.52pm GMT

21 min: Masina makes his way down the right and crosses into the Chelsea box. Doucoure competes but can’t connect. A little better from the hosts.

5.51pm GMT

20 min: Cathcart can’t continue. He makes way for Mariappa.

5.51pm GMT

19 min: And from the set piece, another stunning save by Foster! Willian’s corner from the right is met by Pulisic at the near post. He sends a looping header across goal, towards the top left. It’s dropping in, but Foster heroically back-pedals and claws it out! He’s just kept Watford in this game ... though for how long is moot, given the way the rest of the team are playing right now.

5.48pm GMT

18 min: Mount tears towards the Watford box. His shot is deflected left, into the path of Abraham, who is clear in the area! His shot is parried brilliantly by Foster. Corner.

5.47pm GMT

17 min: ... though on the whole, Watford are struggling to get a foothold in this game. Chelsea have enjoyed nearly 70 percent possession so far.

5.46pm GMT

15 min: This is better from Watford. Deulofeu causes some bother down the right. The ball ends up clanking around in the Chelsea area. Chalobah imposes a little control, cushioning a pass back to tee up the in-rushing Pereyra, who sidefoots harmlessly into the arms of Kepa. A tame finish, but perhaps that little passage of play will help build some much-needed confidence.

5.45pm GMT

14 min: Space for Willian down the right. He launches a 100mph ball across the face of goal. A toenail to that, and it was flying into the net. But nobody in blue can get there fast enough.

5.43pm GMT

13 min: Cathcart is down, frowning. The medical staff come on and give him the once over. It looks as though he’ll be good to continue, whatever’s up with him.

5.43pm GMT

12 min: Willian tries to lob Foster from the halfway line, pretty much. It’s always floating wide. But there’s confidence for you. It’s coursing through the veins of the Chelsea collective.

5.42pm GMT

11 min: Deulofeu tries to get something going for Watford down the left, but there’s nobody around to help him in his quest. Chelsea are looking very comfortable, Watford already slightly panicky and desperate.

5.40pm GMT

9 min: Mount wastes the good position by ballooning his delivery miles over the bar. A shot that redefined ambition.

5.38pm GMT

8 min: More of the Chelsea passing. Chalobah gets fed up with it and bundles Mount over. A free kick in a dangerous position out on the left. Chelsea load the box.

5.37pm GMT

6 min: Watford look stunned. The crowd, falling quiet, certainly sound it. Willian threatens to break dangerously down the right, but can’t quite stay in control. The Premier League’s bottom side need to get their act together, and quick.

5.36pm GMT

Well this didn’t take long. Kovacic passes infield from the right, on the halfway line. Jorginho plays a delightful long curling pass down the inside-right channel, releasing Abraham, who beats Foster to the ball and sidefoots over the keeper from the edge of the box. What a lovely finish ... and some pass, too.

5.34pm GMT

4 min: See 2 min, though Watford might be getting a little sick of it now.

5.32pm GMT

2 min: It’s all Chelsea possession early doors. Ping, pass, ping, pass. All in the midfield, and Watford don’t seem to mind too much.

5.31pm GMT

And we’re off! Chelsea get the ball rolling. If they win tonight, it’ll be their seventh consecutive away win, and it’d equal a club record set back in the days when they were managed by Bobby Campbell and played in the old Second Division.

5.27pm GMT

The teams are out! Watford are in their trademark yellow and black, arranged in Victorian-era halves, while Chelsea wear 1980s distressed blue. It’s still a miserable evening. We’ll be off soon, after a minute’s quiet reflection ahead of Remembrance Day.

5.18pm GMT

And now it’s a quick word with Quique Sánchez Flores. “We are improving, getting more solid. We will try to take the next step and win. We need more possession in the last third, and we need to relax more making our decisions.”

5.10pm GMT

Frank Lampard talks to Sky. “I’m aware of how the Premier League works, and it’s easy and casual to say what’s expected today because of the league positions. That doesn’t come into my thinking at all. I see a team that were strong last year, have pretty much similar personnel, and have a reason to get a result and get up the table. They’re a more dangerous animal where they are than possibly anywhere else in the league! So we have to be on our game. We’ve been good away from home and we want to continue that.”

5.06pm GMT

Big stakes tonight at Vicarage Road, now all the 3pm matches are done and dusted. Chelsea will move into third place, above Leicester City, should they avoid defeat. Watford can only move off the bottom if they win, though if they manage to pick up their first three-point haul of the season, they’ll leapfrog Norwich City and Southampton into 18th place.

5.00pm GMT

Avant-garde weather report.

4.35pm GMT

Watford make one change to the XI that started the goalless draw with Bournemouth. Tom Cleverley is replaced by Andre Gray.

Chelsea also make one change to the team named for the win against Burnley. Marcos Alonso drops to the bench, to be replaced by Emerson.

4.32pm GMT

Watford: Foster, Dawson, Cathcart, Kabasele, Janmaat, Doucoure, Chalobah, Masina, Deulofeu, Pereyra, Gray.
Subs: Gomes, Mariappa, Hughes, Femenia, Success, Holebas, Foulquier.

Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Azpilicueta, Zouma, Tomori, Emerson Palmieri, Jorginho, Kovacic, Willian, Mount, Pulisic, Abraham.
Subs: Alonso, Caballero, Giroud, Hudson-Odoi, Batshuayi, James, Gilmour.

6.55pm GMT

This is asking for trouble, of course it is. But there could be plenty of goals here this evening. Entertainment a-go-go!

You see, bottom-of-the-league Watford are a shambles right now. They’ve yet to win in the Premier League this season. They’ve already shipped three goals twice at Vicarage Road, against Brighton on the opening day and against West Ham not long after that. They were also absolutely battered by the last top and in-form team they played, shipping eight at Manchester City. Solidity is very much a pipe dream at present.

Continue reading...

Bournemouth 1-0 Manchester United: Premier League – as it happened

Joshua King ended Bournemouth’s goal drought and United’s three-game winning run with a fine finish just before the break.

2.48pm GMT

So that’s your lot. Ben Fisher was on point at Dean Court, and here’s his take on Bournemouth’s victory. Enjoy ... and thanks for reading the MBM!

Related: Bournemouth’s Joshua King brings end to Manchester United’s revival

2.46pm GMT

Ole’s view. “We are disappointed of course, but when you come to places like this, you have to take control of the game. I thought we started really well, but a lack of quality, we couldn’t get a goal. And when the game becomes like it did, the first goal is always going to be important. Every time you concede a goal it’s bad, but it’s a bit of magic that wins the game, you’ve got to say that. Maybe I should have started a few others, who knows, but they started the game well so I don’t think it was that. If you want to be challenging for the top four, and moving up the table, you have to win games like this. But I am sure Bournemouth will say that as well.”

2.35pm GMT

An extremely content Eddie Howe speaks to BT Sport. “I thought it was a really good game. We were solid and competitive, we looked a real threat. We respected our opponents, but we got over the line. Another clean sheet as well. A great goal, and that would have meant a lot to Joshua King. We didn’t start too well, the first ten minutes, but once we settled we were fine in the game. It was always going to be a game of few chances, but we always looked as though we would score. And we looked quite secure. The two centre halves did really well, Ake and Cook are big players for us.”

2.28pm GMT

That’s three clean sheets in a row for Bournemouth, and so Nathan Ake is named man-of-the-match by Steve McManaman on BT Sport. “After ten minutes, we started to play really well,” he says. “We worked very hard for this win, and I think we deserved it. I am very happy with the clean sheet we got.”

The match-winner Joshua King adds: “To get the winning goal is a good feeling. I focused on the goal, lobbed it over with my right foot. I didn’t know whether anyone was there, and hit it cleanly through De Gea’s legs. We know we can score goals, even though there’s been a dry spell.”

2.23pm GMT

United started strongly but lost their way midway through the first half and never got their mojo back. Bournemouth deserved their victory, earned by the one moment of true quality in the match, Joshua King’s flick, spin and shot just before the break. It was a finish Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would have been proud of himself, though doubtless he won’t appreciate it right now.

2.21pm GMT

United’s three-game winning run comes to an end on the south coast. Bournemouth beat them for only the third time in their history ... and move up to sixth in the Premier League as a result! They leapfrog United, who drop to eighth.

2.19pm GMT

90 min +2: Williams races down the left and shifts the ball inside for Lingard, who tries to work space to shoot just outside the Bournemouth box. Lerma closes the door.

2.18pm GMT

90 min +1: Fred has a pop from 20 yards, but it’s straight at Ramsdale.

2.18pm GMT

90 min: Callum Wilson is booked for his brazen attempt to win a free kick on the halfway line. Rightly or wrongly, the referee doesn’t buy it. There will be three minutes of bonus time.

2.17pm GMT

89 min: King and Fraser take turns to dribble upfield, taking the ball as far away from their goal as possible. McTominay tries to return it, but his cross from the right is no good whatsoever. Not too much quality on show right now, but it’s good fun nonetheless. It’s tense at Dean Court!

2.15pm GMT

88 min: A poor defensive header skims off Rico’s head, and that’s a free corner for United out on the right. Maguire meets the set piece, but once again can’t get a header on target. Goal kick to Bournemouth, and they’re not rushing to take it.

2.14pm GMT

86 min: Lindelof crosses from the right. Maguire clanks a header wide left from six yards. His blushes are spared by the offside flag; it wouldn’t have counted anyway. Then Bournemouth make a defensively minded change, replacing Harry Wilson with Lewis Cook.

2.12pm GMT

84 min: Now McTominay bashes a shot into Ramsdale’s arms from distance. United are finally showing some urgency. Should they equalise, Callum Wilson will rue latching onto a long pass that sprung United’s offside trap. He was offside, but dribbled goalwards anyway. Had he left it for King, Bournemouth were in.

2.11pm GMT

83 min: And it nearly pays instant dividend, as Fred swings a ball in from the left. Rico loses it, and it drops to Greenwood, who slams a shot against the right-hand post from close range!

2.10pm GMT

81 min: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes his last throw of the dice. Wan-Bissaka and James are replaced by Williams and Greenwood. Lingard is handed a sheet of paper detailing United’s all-new formation. A furrowed brow. Everyone shifts around.

2.08pm GMT

79 min: Another corner for United, out on the left. Young loops it into the mixer, but Ramsdale punches miles clear with confidence. However the visitors are soon coming back at the hosts, and Young earns himself another corner, which he takes. Billing heads clear, then Callum Wilson purchases a cheap free kick by running into McTominay, who is waving his arms around in the semaphore style.

2.05pm GMT

78 min: Rashford and Lingard nearly one-two their way through the Bournemouth back line, but Cook clears just in time. “If Bournemouth are dressed like AC Milan,” begins fashion’s Peter Oh, “United look like Palermo-lite.”

2.03pm GMT

76 min: From the resulting corner, Callum Wilson heads harmlessly wide from close range. A poor miss, though it wouldn’t have counted anyway, as amid a rumble, McTominay had been illegally impeded.

2.02pm GMT

75 min: Callum Wilson tees up his namesake Harry on the edge of the United box. Harry drops a shoulder, shifts the ball towards the right-hand edge of the D, and fizzes a low shot towards the bottom corner. It’s going in, but fingertipped round the post by De Gea. What a save!

2.01pm GMT

73 min: Fraser has the chance to release King down the left but dawdles and is robbed. Then Fred sends a shot towards Plymouth. Not a high-quality moment.

1.58pm GMT

71 min: Lerma tries to thread a shot into the bottom right from an ambitious distance. It bobbles harmlessly wide, and De Gea had it covered in any case.

1.57pm GMT

70 min: Bournemouth half clear the corner, but United are soon coming back at them. Young tears down the left and hooks into the mixer. Ake heads clear, just in time, with Martial lurking. This is better from United, who have turned it up a notch. They needed to.

1.56pm GMT

69 min: Lindelof channels his inner Beckenbauer and strides forward with great purpose, nearly releasing Martial with a sliderule pass. Smith intervenes and hacks out for a corner on the left.

1.55pm GMT

68 min: Harry Wilson looks to curl one into the top left, but gets it all wrong and it flies towards the top-left corner of the stand behind. Awful. Meanwhile United make their first change, replacing Pereira with Lingard.

1.54pm GMT

66 min: Lerma and Callum Wilson combine nicely down the inside-right channel. Wilson looks to lay off to Smith, rushing into the box to his right. Young tugs Smith back just before he enters the area. Young is booked for his cynicism, and he’ll miss the next match. Meanwhile this is a free kick just to the right of the D, and Harry Wilson really fancies it.

1.52pm GMT

64 min: A hectic moment or two. Billing hoicks a ball into the United box from the right. It drops, via a deflection, to Callum Wilson, but the striker can’t poke the ball past a star-jumping De Gea, who blocks. The ball breaks to Harry Wilson, who can’t steer it into the unguarded net. Pereira goes up the other end and has a whack. That’s blocked too. Then Lindelof is booked for clattering into the back of Harry Wilson in midfield. And breathe.

1.50pm GMT

62 min: Fraser slides into James. He comes in from the side, but with excessive force, and he’s late to boot. Into the book he goes.

1.48pm GMT

61 min: Martial nearly bustles his way past Ake, chasing a pass straight down the middle. Ake does very well to stand firm, just as it looks as though Martial might nip through, and hooks clear. That was a good battle.

1.47pm GMT

59 min: McTominay tries to take a quick free kick, and King cynically gets in the way. The referee’s in a good mood, because he stops short of booking the goalscorer for his sauce. Just a quiet word.

1.46pm GMT

57 min: Pereira has a dig from distance. Ramsdale turns the ball away from the bottom-left corner, a fine save. United then win a corner, which is wasted. A little bit better from the visitors, who haven’t really got going in this second half.

1.44pm GMT

55 min: Cook is booked for a wild slide through Rashford on the halfway line. That was needlessly aggressive, arguably out of control, and the Bournemouth defender can count himself lucky the referee didn’t brandish red. He’s fortunate Rashford had the wit to jump out of the road, because if his feet were planted that could have been very ugly.

1.41pm GMT

54 min: Pereira tries to release Martial down the inside left, but his ball skims off the wet surface and out for a goal kick. Martial had no chance of catching that. “Is this the same Man U that beat my team in Cup?” wonders Paul Sinclair. “Ole needs to stick to a system plus give Rashford and Martital more freedom.”

1.40pm GMT

53 min: Ramsdale shanks the ball out of play under pressure from Martial. United are gifted good field position, but do little with it, McTominay wafting a weak shot goalwards that’s easily charged down by Lerma.

1.39pm GMT

51 min: A better pass down the inside-right channel by Billing for Harry Wilson, and Bournemouth are in. But it’s behind Wilson, and the move putters out. United were light at the back there, and got away with one.

1.37pm GMT

50 min: United, so entertaining when playing at speed last week in Norwich, have slowed down to a crawl. They’re going nowhere. All very sluggish.

1.36pm GMT

49 min: Harry Wilson and Smith triangulate deliciously down the right. Wilson hooks long for Fraser, racing in from the other flank. Fraser leaps, shapes and guides a volley goalwards. It’s straight into De Gea’s midriff. A shame for the purists, because that would have been a picture-book goal.

1.34pm GMT

47 min: King races after a long ball down the left. He nearly gets the better of a leaden Lindelof, but the defender does just enough to guide the ball back to De Gea, who wallops clear.

1.32pm GMT

Bournemouth get the second half underway! No half-time changes ... although the weather’s a lot better. No rain. And everyone in nice new dry kit, too.

1.21pm GMT

Half-time reading. Get ready for the 3pm kick-offs with our match previews.

1.19pm GMT

That’s the end of Bournemouth’s goal drought, then. Appropriately enough, given the conditions. They trot off soaked to the bone, but feeling all warm inside.

1.18pm GMT

... so having said that, a moment of great quality! Smith dinks a cross into the United box from the right. King chests it down on the edge of the six-yard box with his back to goal and Wan-Bissaka right behind him. King dinks the ball over his own head, spins, leans back, and lashes past De Gea! What a fine finish! Although the collective defending by Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof and Maguire, statuesque to a man, wasn’t all that great.

1.15pm GMT

43 min: The wind is playing havoc. Ball control is at a premium right now. They should replace the TV commentary with a symphony for swanee whistle.

1.11pm GMT

41 min: The wind’s swirling about, and so is the ball. It doesn’t make for classic viewing.

1.10pm GMT

39 min: Pereira needlessly bundles Lerma to the ground, and it’s a free kick for Bournemouth out on the right. The free kick finds Harry Wilson on the edge of the box, but his fierce shot is well blocked by one of those ecru shirts.

1.09pm GMT

37 min: It’s all got a bit scrappy. So with nothing much going on, the home crowd give Martial pelters, accusing the forward of diving back there in the hope of winning a penalty. All pantomime stuff.

1.07pm GMT

35 min: It’s not much of a ruck, to be honest. Nobody throws hands. But the pushing and shoving earns both Lerma and Fred a yellow card. That’s earned Lerma a suspension. The resulting corner’s a non-event.

1.05pm GMT

33 min: Rashford and Martial combine neatly down the inside-left channel. Martial tries to break into the box for a shot. Lerma steps across him and flicks the ball out for a corner. Martial wants a penalty, but doesn’t get one. Martial and Lerma lock horns, at which point a melee erupts. Wahey!

1.02pm GMT

31 min: Billing tries to release Fraser down the left, but the pass is overhit and useless. Fraser is repeatedly finding some good positions; it’s a shame for Bournemouth that his teammates can’t find him.

1.01pm GMT

30 min: A tempest rages for a couple of minutes. It dies down, and suddenly the garden-variety driving rain doesn’t seem so bad.

1.00pm GMT

28 min: King nearly finds Fraser again, but the Bournemouth wide man can’t break through Lindelof’s challenge. Had he done so, he’d have been through on goal. This is better from the home side, who haven’t caused United too many problems otherwise.

12.59pm GMT

27 min: Bournemouth take their first shot in anger. A long punt down the right frees King into space. He swivels and finds Fraser, in acres down the inside-left channel. Fraser enters the box, and should do much better than whistling an effort straight into De Gea’s chest.

12.56pm GMT

25 min: Bournemouth string a few passes together. Much better from the home side. Suddenly Fraser turns on the jets down the left, and wins a corner. He then wastes it with an easy-to-read delivery. United clear.

12.54pm GMT

23 min: Young challenges Smith hard from behind. No free kick, which annoys the crowd. Rashford takes off down the other end, and nearly works himself space to shoot on the edge of the box. Not quite. The Bournemouth faithful continue to give it some, while Eddie Howe has a full and frank exchange of views with the fourth official.

12.51pm GMT

21 min: Pereira’s free kick is abysmal. But so is Cook’s clearance. The ball drops to James, to the right of the D. He hits a first-time riser towards the top right ... but it flies inches wide. So close to the opener.

12.51pm GMT

20 min: James purchases a cheap free kick from a clumsy Fraser as he whizzes down the right. A free kick in a dangerous position. Essentially a corner. From which ...

12.49pm GMT

19 min: But James is quickly coming back at Bournemouth, and earns another corner, off Rico. Pereira’s aimless corner is easily cleared.

12.49pm GMT

18 min: Rashford bombs down the left. After performing a couple of cute stepovers, he pulls one back for Fred, who pearls goalwards. His shot is deflected out for a corner, from which nothing occurs.

12.48pm GMT

16 min: United make a meal of clearing the corner. Fraser tries to force his way through a thicket of players, and falls over near Maguire. The crowd want a penalty, chanting “VAR! VAR!” but the ref’s having none of it, and anyway it looked like the Bournemouth man handled as he went over.

12.46pm GMT

15 min: Harry Wilson makes a nuisance of himself down the right. He cuts into the box, one-twoing with Smith, then shoots from a tight angle. The ball’s deflected out, off Lindelof, for a corner on the right.

12.44pm GMT

14 min: Callum Wilson tears down the left. He crosses long for Lerma, who prepares to shoot from the edge of the box. But the ball takes an age to drop, and by the time he’s pelting it goalwards, Maguire is right in his face to block. Harry Wilson tries to keep the move going, but turns out the chance is gone.

12.42pm GMT

12 min: Fred is down, having taken an accidental whack in the face by Billing. Poor Phil. He’s up and about again soon enough.

12.40pm GMT

10 min: You can’t blame them for slipping and sliding all over the shop, mind. It is a thoroughly rank day. The rain is sheeting down.

12.39pm GMT

8 min: For the third time, already, James rips down the right. He loops long for Fred, who makes like Pereira did a few minutes back. If United’s midfielders stop falling over, someone’s going to connect soon and belt one into the net.

12.38pm GMT

7 min: James goes on another unchallenged run down the right. Where’s Rico? James lays off for Pereira, who lashes a high, wild shot over the bar from a tight angle.

12.37pm GMT

6 min: Callum Wilson surges through the middle and tries to release Harry Wilson down the left. His ball down the flank isn’t bad, but it’s anticipated by Wan-Bissaka who intercepts and sets United off on the counter. Martial has a whack from distance, but the shot dribbles into Ramsdale’s arms.

12.36pm GMT

5 min: United look confident. That’s what three away wins on the spin can do. They’re pinging it around nicely. Crisp, speedy and fresh. Bournemouth can’t get a sniff at the minute.

12.34pm GMT

3 min: Martial plays a lovely ball around the corner to set James skittering down the right. James cuts a lovely low ball back for Pereira, who misses his kick from the edge of the box and falls over, aquaplaning across the wet turf. Slapstick stuff, but that was a lovely incisive move by United, performed at breakneck speed.

12.32pm GMT

2 min: All a bit scrappy in the early stages, as both sets of players find their feet and get used to the conditions.

12.32pm GMT

And we’re off! United get the ball rolling. A cracking atmosphere on the south coast, despite the awful weather. It’s teeming down. And the wind’s up too. Not an ideal day for defenders. And immediately a long punt by Ramsdale confuses Maguire. Fortunately for the big man, the flag goes up for offside, Callum Wilson having gone far too early.

12.29pm GMT

The teams are out! Bournemouth wear their stylish Milan-inspired red-and-black stripes, forcing United into a change strip of what looks suspiciously like ecru, a shade made famous by the likes of Robbie Fowler, Stan Collymore and Jason McAteer. I know United’s travails post-Fergie have been compared to Liverpool’s early-to-mid-90s decline, but this is taking things to extremes. Whatever next? Cream suits? What a pretty pass. Anyway, it’s lashing down at Dean Court. We’ll be off in a minute, after a moment’s silent reflection ahead of Remembrance Day.

12.17pm GMT

... and now BT Sport talk to Eddie Howe. “Unlike us, we’ve not been at our best in the attacking third in the last three games. Hopefully that’ll change today while we keep the defensive solidity that’s served us well. We’re going to need everybody to get a result against Manchester United, the crowd, the players. We’ll have to manage the conditions. Starting well is really important. We’re certainly looking forward to the game.”

12.08pm GMT

A pre-match chat with Ole. “It’s not been as bad as everyone thought it has been, and it’s probably not as great as everyone thinks it is now. You just have to be focused and take your chances. At the moment we’re confident. We have loads of running power and pace, we’ll create chances against any team. Bournemouth have top centre forwards and good delivery down either side. We need to defend properly, and we need to start well.”

11.36am GMT

Weather report.

11.34am GMT

Just the one change to the Bournemouth team that served up a goalless draw with Watford last weekend. Harry Wilson comes in for Arnaut Groeneveld.

Manchester United meanwhile are in if-it-ain’t-broke mode. They name the same XI sent out to beat Norwich City 3-1 last Sunday.

11.32am GMT

Bournemouth: Ramsdale, Smith, Steve Cook, Ake, Rico, Fraser, Lerma, Billing, Harry Wilson, Callum Wilson, King.
Subs: Boruc, Francis, Solanke, Danjuma, Lewis Cook, Kelly, Mepham.

Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Young, McTominay, Fred, James, Andreas Pereira, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Mata, Lingard, Rojo, Romero, Greenwood, Garner, Williams.

6.31pm GMT

That was a hell of a seven days for Manchester United. Wins at Partizan Belgrade! Norwich! And Chelsea! Having waited since early March for an away win, that little burst of success registered a perfect ten on the Guardian’s patented London Bus-o-meter™. Not only that, it puts an end to talk of UNITED IN CRISIS! Seeing the last time UNITED were IN CRISIS! was the autumn of 1989, all this suggests UNITED aren’t scheduled to be in CRISIS! again until mid-2049 (English civil wars and global water levels notwithstanding). Phew. Some time and space for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to do his job in peace, then!

Expectation has been revived by this recent form, not least because Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are clicking. United have suddenly remembered how good it feels to score more than one goal in a game. History is also on their side today: they’ve won their last four matches against Bournemouth. United are thus expected to make it four wins on the bounce, and keep climbing back towards their accustomed habitat, the upper echelons of the Premier League table.

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Everton 1-3 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened

Everton made City battle, but Riyad Mahrez’s free kick tipped the balance in favour of the reigning champions.

7.44pm BST

Paul Wilson was our man at Goodison. Here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM!

Related: Raheem Sterling seals hard-fought win for Manchester City at Everton

7.29pm BST

And that’s that! City close the gap at the top to five points, though they had to work hard for the win. Everton sit in 15th spot, just a couple of points above the bottom three. But their much-improved display this evening will surely have bought Marco Silva a little time and goodwill. Won’t it?

7.27pm BST

90 min +4: Pickford races out of his area and is beaten to the ball by Bernardo Silva, who can’t quite steer it into the empty net. Pickford smiles wryly, causing Sky co-commentator Gary Neville to burst a blood vessel. “Why is he laughing?! He should have saved City’s second goal and he’s nearly cost his team a fourth!” Never change, Gary.

7.26pm BST

90 min +3: Everton win a throw deep in City territory down the left. Digne flings it long. It’s easily cleared.

7.25pm BST

90 min +2: Bernardo Silva is sent clear down the left by his namesake David. He tries to float a chip over the stranded Pickford but sends the ball over the bar. Ah, he was offside anyway.

7.24pm BST

90 min +1: Kean does exceptionally well to keep a long ball down the right in play, then earns a corner. Nothing much happens at the set piece, so all that hard work was for nought. Everton’s evening in microcosm.

7.22pm BST

90 min: There will be a minimum of four added minutes.

7.22pm BST

89 min: A bit of space for Sigurdsson, 25 yards out. But he can’t control and the ball squirms through to Ederson. The keeper, so often a virtual spectator, has really had to do his bit today.

7.20pm BST

88 min: What character City have displayed today. They’ve not been at their best, giving up a tranche of chances, but they’ve dug in and this is going to be a huge three points. That rare thing: a win they’ve had to fight for.

7.18pm BST

86 min: Sterling departs a hero. He’s replaced by David Silva.

7.18pm BST

Mahrez dribbles with great purpose down the right. Aguero takes over near the byline and crosses. Pickford kicks away, but only to Sterling, six yards out, Sterling nearly misses, leaning back and blootering the ball off the underside of the post. But itbounces down and over the line. Game over!

7.15pm BST

83 min: Mina once again rises highest, but sends a tame header straight at Ederson, who looks fine after that injury scare.

7.15pm BST

82 min: Some neat work by Kean out on the right. He flicks Coleman away. Coleman reaches the area, but pauses and allows Sterling to get back at him, and block his attempted cross out for a corner.

7.14pm BST

81 min: Schneiderlin is replaced by Tom Davies, who has form against City.

7.13pm BST

80 min: Bernardo Silva comes on for De Bruyne. Before the match restarts, Ederson needs some treatment, having hurt his hand making that save, though he looks fit to continue.

7.12pm BST

79 min: ... Mina so nearly scores. He rises highest in the box and heads down towards the bottom left. Ederson gets a strong hand to the ball and pushes it out right. What a save! Calvert-Lewin, from an offside position and a tight angle, shanks the ball out for a goal kick.

7.11pm BST

78 min: This match is still being played at 101 miles per hour. A lot of scrappy challenges going in. It’s a bit of a mess again, but that might suit Everton, not least because it’s got the crowd going again. Kean barges down the right and wins a corner. From which ...

7.09pm BST

76 min: Nearly! Nearly! Sigurdsson clips a pass down the inside-left channel to release Calvert-Lewin into the area. Calvert-Lewin looks to clip over the advancing Ederson and into the net, but the keeper spreads and deflects the ball away with his thigh. The resulting corner is a whole load of nothing.

7.08pm BST

75 min: Iwobi is replaced by Kean. The substitute substituted, though he was on so early that surely doesn’t count as the usual embarrassment. Can Everton come back a second time?

7.07pm BST

74 min: And all of a sudden, City look much calmer and happier within themselves. Aguero skitters in from the left wing and launches a heatseeker towards the top right. It’s inches away from planting itself in the corner. That would have been one hell of a goal.

7.05pm BST

73 min: City exploded in collective joy after that free kick. Seems silly to say when September’s not even out, but that could prove a big goal in their title defence.

7.04pm BST

Mina is booked for a fairly basic clatter into De Bruyne. He can have no complaints. It’s a free kick just to the right of the D. Mahrez takes and curls one into the bottom left! It’s perfectly placed, though Pickford should at least have got a hand on it.

7.02pm BST

69 min: Walker, deep on the right, crosses for Sterling, who times his run to get clear of the Everton back line. But in attempting to chest down, he only cushions the ball back to Pickford. Sterling might have been offside anyway, but the miss caused him much angst.

7.01pm BST

68 min: Aguero drops deep and fizzes a pass down the left for Sterling, who exchanges passes with Gundogan and cuts infield. But Everton hold their shape. City probe again, and a cross is half-cleared to Sterling on the edge of the box. For a second it looks as though there’s time to get a shot away, but he’s quickly submerged in a sea of royal blue. Everton block and clear.

6.58pm BST

66 min: Gundogan goes tearing towards the Everton defence and slips Jesus free with a pass down the inside right. But Jesus went too soon, needlessly so, and the flag goes up. It’s Jesus’ last act of the evening, as he’s replaced by Sergio Aguero.

6.56pm BST

64 min: City win a corner down the left. The set piece is worked this way and that, and eventually leads to Mahrez ballooning a cross into the stand behind the goal. On the touchline, Pep throws semaphore shapes of great discontent.

6.55pm BST

62 min: Zinchenko clumsily bundles Richarlison to the ground. Gundogan is on hand to clear the resulting free kick. Then Coleman nearly sells Pickford short with a hospital backpass, but the keeper gets there just in time, ahead of Jesus, and hoicks clear. This match is a shapeless mess, and great entertainment as a result. Pep, that lover of control, must be doing his nut.

6.54pm BST

60 min: Mahrez, quarterbacking 35 yards out, slips Sterling clean free into the box with a lovely sliderule pass down the middle. Sterling pokes past the outrushing Pickford ... but well wide right! What a miss. Goodness. This match is quite something. Good luck predicting how it ends.

6.52pm BST

59 min: Schneiderlin scythes through De Bruyne, who was jinking elegantly down the left. That’s an appalling act of cynicism, and the Everton player is correctly booked. De Bruyne is livid, though, wagging his finger in Schneiderlin’s face. Schneiderlin slaps his hand away a couple of times. For a second, it looks like it’s about to kick off bigstyle, but the referee calms it down.

6.50pm BST

58 min: This is a great match. Both teams are really going for it, both teams are backing themselves. So it’s a glorious end-to-end affair. This surely can’t end 1-1.

6.49pm BST

56 min: The resulting corner sees City tear away en masse on the break. The move breaks down, and Everton counter the counter. Richarlison chases a ball down the right and is kicked in the face by a falling Fernandinho. An accident, though Fernandinho was definitely making sure he got his body in the way of the Everton striker, so there was a level of cynicism in the challenge. Luckily for City, the referee sees nothing in it. We play on.

6.47pm BST

54 min: Zinchenko shoulders Richarlison in the back, and out of play on the right. He’s fortunate to escape a booking. But this is a set piece in a dangerous position. Digne whips it in viciously. Mina should score, free, from six yards, but he heads down and allows Ederson to tip over. What an opportunity. A fine reactive save, but he should never have been allowed to make it.

6.45pm BST

53 min: Both teams are snapping into the tackles right now. This match hasn’t been bad tempered, the Sterling-Mina rumpus apart. But it might not take too much to ignite the atmosphere.

6.43pm BST

51 min: Otamendi is booked for a cynical check on Calvert-Lewin, who was making good down the right. A free kick and a chance for Everton to load the box. Sigurdsson whips it in. Richarlison meets it, ten yards out, but can’t keep his header down. The ball flies harmlessly over the crossbar.

6.42pm BST

49 min: City have come out with renewed vigour. Mahrez slips De Bruyne into the box on the right. Digne dives in rashly. De Bruyne could easily have instigated contact and gone over, but instead of looking for a cheap penalty, he stays on his feet and hammers a shot ... into the side netting. Lucky Digne. And credit to De Bruyne for his sporting approach to life.

6.40pm BST

47 min: City hog the ball in the early exchanges of this second half. Pass, pass, passity, pass. Then suddenly De Bruyne fires a crossfield ball to Sterling out on the left. Sterling finds Gundogan in the box, and for a split second, there’s a route to goal. He opens his body and sidefoots towards the top right, but Keane closes the door at the last second and Everton clear. That would have been a quite lovely goal.

6.37pm BST

Here we go, then. Everton get the second half underway. No half-time changes.

6.25pm BST

Half-time entertainment.

Related: Pep Guardiola meets Johnny Marr: ‘When we lose, it’s as if we’ve killed someone’

6.23pm BST

Football’s a game of two halves, and that was a half of three thirds. City dominated at the start and at the end. In the middle, their defence allowed Everton back into the game. You’d still have City as favourites to grab the win in the second half, but Everton will fancy their chances of an upset as well. Poised nicely for the second half, in other words.

6.21pm BST

45 min +5: Mahrez crosses deep from the right. Sterling wins a header at the far post, but he’d been tugging away at Coleman’s shirt. Everton have done so well to get back into this game, but they need to hear the half-time whistle because City are beginning to build up a head of steam again.

6.19pm BST

45 min +4: Sterling whistles a low cross through Everton’s box from the left. There’s nobody there in Fruit Salad. The ball’s recycled from the right wing, then Rodri tees up Gundogan, who shoots towards the top right. Pickford is in the right place to gather.

6.17pm BST

45 min +2: Sterling curls one in from the left. Mina does just about enough to put off Jesus, who was looking for a second headed goal. Pickford claims.

6.16pm BST

45 min: There will be six additional minutes, a legacy of Walcott’s early injury.

6.16pm BST

44 min: So having said attacking wasn’t so easy for City now, they put together a lovely move. Mahrez and De Bruyne work the ball right to left. Mahrez slips Jesus in, down the flank. Jesus blazes the ball over the bar with only Pickford to beat. Wild. In the centre, Sterling and Mina tangle, before exchanging views sharply. It all calms down quickly enough.

6.13pm BST

43 min: Sterling probes down the left, but all of a sudden attacking isn’t quite so easy for City as it had been during the opening 25 minutes or so. He’s turned back up the flank and away from danger.

6.12pm BST

41 min: Everton suddenly look a different team - and City are giving up chances. Iwobi, making his presence felt in the middle of the park, floats a simple ball forward, and suddenly it’s dropping towards Sigurdsson, scampering through the huge hole between Fernandinho and Otamendi! He should probably attempt to head over the onrushing Ederson, but opts for a swivel and scissor kick instead, and that allows the keeper to sort the situation out.

6.09pm BST

39 min: Rodri is booked for bundling Calvert-Lewin to the ground in the midfield. He took one for the team there, because Everton were on the rampage, a move started by a fine burst from Richarlison down the right. The resulting free kick leads to nothing.

6.08pm BST

37 min: Credit to Everton, who responded so positively to the opening goal. They’re giving City a game now ... and the crowd are getting into this. A magic atmosphere at Goodison.

6.06pm BST

35 min: City could easily have been three or four up. But now look! City’s soft centre has been exposed again. Coleman’s dink would have gone in anyway, but a striker’s a striker’s a striker, and you wouldn’t have expected Calvert-Lewin to do anything else.

6.05pm BST

Sigurdsson crosses from the right. Fernandinho slices his clearance straight to Iwobi, who bustles on the penalty spot. The ball is shoved right to Coleman, who from a tight angle draws Ederson and chips delicately over the keeper! Calvert-Lewin makes sure by Keith Houchen-ing the ball into the net, just before it crosses the line. Well, well!

6.03pm BST

32 min: Pickford flaps at De Bruyne’s right-wing cross. Sterling picks up the pieces and tees up Mahrez on the edge of the area. Mahrez should do better than send a pea-roller into the hands of the grateful keeper.

6.02pm BST

31 min: Keane tries to release Coleman down the right with a pass along the channel. He thunks it straight out of play for a goal kick. The crowd groan, and groan loud.

6.00pm BST

29 min: To be fair to Everton, they’re asking City some questions up the other end of the park. Sigurdsson plays a high ball into the box from the right, forcing Ederson to punch clear in a slightly panicked fashion. But then City go up the other end and nearly score a second, Sterling slipping a pass to Mahrez down the right, Mahrez shooting low and hard, Pickford getting in the road and turning the ball away.

5.58pm BST

27 min: Fernandinho is dictating the game from the back. He sprays a delightful pass towards De Bruyne on the left wing. De Bruyne takes his eye off the ball and it slips under his foot and out of play. Had he been concentrating, he’d have been in an awful lot of space. Everton need to take care here, because they could be on the end of a hiding if they’re not careful.

5.56pm BST

26 min: Everton try to hit back immediately, Sigurdsson launching a low fizzer towards the bottom left from 20 yards. It stings Ederson’s hands, and the keeper spills, but Iwobi can’t get to the loose ball before the keeper reclaims.

5.55pm BST

Mahrez knocks the ball past Digne on the right and tears after it. He lays off to De Bruyne, who wedges gracefully towards the far post, where Jesus gets ahead of Keane and Mina and heads simply past a sprawling Pickford from six yards. It had been coming.

5.54pm BST

23 min: Digne crosses from the left. Sigurdsson tries to sidefoot into the bottom right, but his effort is instantly blocked by Otamendi. City’s defence nearly exposed.

5.53pm BST

22 min: Mahrez looks in the mood today. Fernandinho hits long. Out on the right touchline, he kung-fu kicks a first-time pass towards De Bruyne in the PlayStation style, and very nearly releases his team-mate. Nearly. Not quite. So nearly something very special.

5.51pm BST

20 min: Walker is sent wheeching down the right by Mahrez, and earns himself a corner off Mina. Everton have conceded 20 goals from set pieces since the start of last season, the worst record in the division. They don’t embellish that here, the resulting corner a bit of a non-event. But the sense that it’s just a matter of time before City open the scoring is palpable.

5.49pm BST

19 min: City have been coming at Everton in a manner most relentless. So there’s a bit of relief for the home side as De Bruyne uncharacteristically sends a long pass, intended for Sterling on the left, out of play for a goal kick. And breathe.

5.48pm BST

17 min: Sterling isn’t so shabby on the other wing, mind. He was quite sensational against Preston in the League Cup, and now he’s tormenting Coleman on the left wing. He reaches the byline and fires a low ball across the face of goal. Mina, facing the wrong way, does extremely well to swivel and clear off the line. Especially when you consider that earlier shank.

5.47pm BST

16 min: Fernandinho picks out Mahrez down the right with an exquisite long pass. Digne does just enough to stop him racing into the box and achieving goodness knows what. Everton are all over the place down this flank. Mahrez and De Bruyne are having a lot of joy.

5.45pm BST

14 min: Richarlison dribbles in from the right and reaches the box. He’s ushered back out of it by Fernandinho, though too strongly; he’s nudged to the ground the second he’s out of the area. A free kick in a very dangerous position. Digne blasts it witlessly into the stand.

5.43pm BST

12 min: De Bruyne comes at Everton down the right. They’re enjoying so much space down this flank. He lashes hard and low towards the near post. Pickford hacks away with his feet.

5.42pm BST

11 min: A surreal passage of play begins as Mahrez crosses from the right. The ball should be cleared easily by Mina, but the defender shanks it straight back to Mahrez, who crosses again. It’s a sensational cross that finds Gundogan free at the far post, six yards out. Gundogan has to score, but he leans back and sidefoots the ball off the crossbar! How on earth did he manage to miss that?!

5.40pm BST

10 min: Everton launch their first meaningful attack down the right. Some neat work by Sigurdsson and Calvert-Lewin sets Coleman scampering towards the byline, but the full-back’s cutback isn’t any good. City clear their lines.

5.39pm BST

9 min: The game restarts, and De Bruyne drives down the right. Delph does extremely well to ensure his former City team-mate can’t get a cross or shot away upon reaching the box.

5.38pm BST

7 min: Iwobi comes on in Walcott’s place.

5.37pm BST

6 min: That looked so innocuous at first, but the ball - whipped in with great pace by Sterling - caught Walcott flush on the back of his head as he turned. A terrible whack. No blame at all on Sterling, of course. Just awful luck. A warm round of sympathetic applause from all corners of the stadium as he’s carried to the nearest ambulance.

5.35pm BST

4 min: Walcott is really groggy. He’s struggling to sit upright, and won’t be able to continue. The ambulance crew are taking care as they load him onto the stretcher.

5.33pm BST

2 min: An early problem for Walcott, who is flat on his back in his own penalty area, having taken a whack to the head. Sterling whipped in a cross, and it smacked him on the back of the head from close range. He sits up, but looks extremely groggy as a result.

5.31pm BST

City get the ball rolling! They’re kicking towards the Gwladys Street end in this first half. And within 45 seconds, Mahrez screams in from the right and curls low and hard towards the bottom left. Pickford gets down to parry clear. An early shot across Everton’s bows.

5.28pm BST

The teams are out! Everton are in their famous royal blue, while Manchester City sport their third-choice Barratt’s Fruit Salad homage. Z Cars has been blasted out of the PA, the crowd are giving it plenty, and we’ll be off in a minute!

5.17pm BST

Pep talks. “We have made four changes, and the next one will be changes again. I try for everybody to be involved. Eight points is a big gap already. We face a team [Liverpool] that lost one game last season, so I don’t see them dropping too many with the quality they have. And when they don’t play to a high level they always win. But we are in September so there are a lot of games left.”

5.10pm BST

Marco Silva is in bullish mood. “Strikers need goals for confidence, so now is the moment for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He can play a key part in the game. We started that game against Sheffield United after six wins in a row at home; that means what we were doing at home was really good. Of course we had a bad game. But it is up to us to show a reaction. Goodison will be with a fantastic atmosphere, and the fans will expect a good performance. We have the desire to achieve a good result, while of course respecting our opponent.”

5.05pm BST

The earlier results add a little more spice to this match. Manchester City are now eight points behind Liverpool, who won narrowly at Sheffield United. They could very much do with winning this game in hand. Everton meanwhile have slipped to 15th place, but victory tonight would launch them into the top half, tenth to be precise.

4.42pm BST

Marco Silva makes two changes to Everton’s last Premier League selection. Theo Walcott and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the latter having scored twice in the League Cup during the week, replace Moise Kean and Bernard.

Pep Guardiola makes four changes to the side that routed Watford in the league last week. Ilkay Gundogan, Raheem Sterling, Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko come in for Bernardo Silva, David Silva, Sergio Aguero and Benjamin Mendy.

4.32pm BST

Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne, Schneiderlin, Delph, Walcott, Sigurdsson, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Holgate, Tosun, Iwobi, Davies, Kean, Lossl, Sidibe.

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Otamendi, Fernandinho, Zinchenko, Rodri, Gundogan, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling, Gabriel Jesus.
Subs: Bravo, Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Silva, Mendy, Joao Cancelo, Foden.

11.22am BST

Manchester City have scored 24 goals in the Premier League already this season. That’s taken six matches. At a rate of four goals a game. Everton are hereby permitted to take one hard, loud, long, theatrical gulp.

Not least because their last two performances in the league have been poor. A quiet capitulation at Bournemouth, a miserable struggle against Sheffield United at home. A midweek cakewalk at Sheffield Wednesday in the League Cup has given under-fire Marco Silva some breathing room, though few expect his team, very much a work in progress, to beat the champions tonight. They’re 9-1 against, on their own turf.

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Sheffield United 0-1 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

Dean Henderson’s mistake gifted Liverpool three points.

2.48pm BST

Louise Taylor’s report has landed. And here it is! Enjoy, enjoy. Thanks for reading this MBM; hope to see you later for the Everton v Manchester City match. In the meantime, Rob Smyth is Mr Clockwatch, covering the 3pm kick-offs. He’ll miss you dreadfully if you don’t say hello.

Related: Henderson howler hands Liverpool narrow win at spirited Sheffield United

2.46pm BST

And now Chris Wilder gives his take. Was he proud of his team? “I’m not bothered about the pride bit, I’m bothered about the result. We need to pick points up! Liverpool had an off-day and I feel we’ve missed an opportunity to get a big result today. The shape of the team was good, it was never going to be a game of basketball. Their chances came from our mistakes. We’ve had big moments. When Liverpool are off, we’ve got to jump all over it. Norwich did it to Man City, they jumped on it. Clinical, three shots, three goals. We’ve had enough to get something from this game.”

2.40pm BST

Jurgen Klopp’s verdict. “We had unbelievably big chances. We scored from a situation that was obviously unlucky for Sheffield United, that’s clear. The goalie played an incredible game, but he was involved in that situation. If you win a lot of games, they are not all beauties, and we had to work really hard for that. We could have done better, but you have to respect the opponent, and they defend in a way that is really difficult. We didn’t take risks because they were always there, it was really impressive. All respect for Sheffield United, it is a tough place to come. If it was 0-0 we could not moan.”

2.31pm BST

“We have to give them credit. They played in a good way with a clear plan. It was a great atmosphere, and they made it tough for us.” Virgil van Dijk’s post-match analysis, there. It was a strange game. Sheffield United were superb, knocking Liverpool out of their rhythm, a rare mistake from Dean Henderson the only difference between a newly promoted team and the European champions. A draw wouldn’t have flattered them. And yet Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah both blew glorious one-on-one chances, while Mane also hit the post. So Liverpool can also legitimately argue that they were ultimately worth their win on the balance of play, even if it took a large slice of luck to happen. Anyway, they’re now top with 21 points, eight clear of Manchester City, who play Everton later this evening. Meanwhile Sheffield United stay in tenth spot for now, on eight points, and can console themselves with the fact that there is surely no way they’ll be going down. They’re simply too good.

2.22pm BST

And that’s it. Dean Henderson’s error has gifted Liverpool a precious victory. Liverpool go eight points clear at the top, at least for a couple of hours, and maintain their 100 percent record. Sheffield United were magnificent, though.

2.21pm BST

90 min +4: Oxlade-Chamberlain replaces Mane.

2.21pm BST

90 min +3: The busy Fleck hooks high into the Liverpool box from the left. Adrian claims under intense pressure from McBurnie. Then the striker blocks Alexander-Arnold’s clearance, the ball pinging out for a goal kick. He’s been excellent as well. Just about everyone in a Sheffield United shirt has.

2.19pm BST

90 min +2: Liverpool are sitting deep. They’re paying Sheffield United the highest respect.

2.18pm BST

90 min +1: Mane dribbles slowly down the left, and purchases a cheap free kick from Baldock. The crowd aren’t happy about that at all.

2.17pm BST

90 min: There will be a minimum of four added minutes.

2.17pm BST

89 min: Salah dances in from the right and makes just enough space for a shot on the edge of the box. But O’Connell blocks well, the second it leaves his boot.

2.15pm BST

88 min: Origi twists down the left, cuts inside and slams a low shot into the side netting. He’s done well since coming on.

2.15pm BST

87 min: Milner comes on for Firmino, who has been poor by his lofty standards.

2.14pm BST

86 min: Ah, Clarke would probably have been given offside by VAR. He was about an inch ahead of Robertson before the pass was played. But it’s a moot point seeing he missed, and in any case, to hell with VAR.

2.13pm BST

85 min: United should be level. Some space for Fleck out on the left touchline. He fires a low diagonal pass towards Clarke, who gets in between Robertson and Adrian ... but leans back and from six yards balloons over!

2.12pm BST

84 min: Liverpool still aren’t on it at all. Fabinho has an opportunity to send Alexander-Arnold into acres of space down the right, but seriously overhits the pass. Throw to United.

2.11pm BST

83 min: Shades of Stamford Bridge, as Adrian is booked for taking his own sweet time over a goal kick. Liverpool nearly came a cropper against Chelsea with these cynical tactics; they’d better watch themselves here.

2.10pm BST

82 min: And then suddenly Liverpool are on the break again! But with Salah about to rip into the United half, with team-mates in support, Stevens gets in the road, spots a heavy touch, and nips the ball away with a cute turn. He’s been sensational today.

2.09pm BST

81 min: Now it’s United’s turn to win a corner, out on the left, thanks to the presence of the irrepressible McBurnie. Origi whacks it clear.

2.07pm BST

79 min: Nothing comes of the corner. For all their poor play, Liverpool have still had three gilt-edged chances to put this game way out of Sheffield United’s reach. But it’s still in the balance. A big ten minutes in the title race coming up!

2.06pm BST

78 min: Redemption for Henderson! Salah is sent clear after Lundstram misplaces a pass. He’s got to score ... but slaps his shot straight at the keeper, who stands firm and deflects the ball out for a corner! A dreadful miss, but a wonderful save. What moxie the keeper showed there, after the horror of the goal.

2.05pm BST

77 min: United send on the cavalry ... in the shape of Leon Clarke, who is making his Premier League debut at the age of 34. He replaces Norwood.

2.04pm BST

76 min: Corner for Liverpool down the left. It’s fired into the mixer, but blasted clear by McBurnie. Bramall Lane is still to recover from the blow of that goal. A pensive mood. But there’s still plenty of time.

2.02pm BST

74 min: Poor Henderson. He was already thinking about collecting that shot in his arms and redistributing it. A fatal lack of concentration. The blood drains from the young man’s face, as he shakes his head sadly.

2.00pm BST

72 min: Poor Henderson, who holds his head in both hands. Salah, perhaps sniffing blood, tests him with another long-range shot. Henderson holds on this time.

1.59pm BST

Oh dear. Sheffield United have been excellent this afternoon, but they’ve just been undone by a dreadful mistake from Henderson in goal. Origi works away on the left wing. The ball drops to Wijnaldum, just to the right of the D. He volleys straight at Henderson, who should gather ... but lets the ball squeak through his legs. It rolls apologetically over the line. Oh my.

1.57pm BST

69 min: Mousset fouls Wijnaldum, 30 yards out. A free kick. But it only leads to McBurnie tearing clear down the left. Alexander-Arnold does extremely well to get back and put a stop to his gallop.

1.56pm BST

67 min: United ping the ball in pretty triangles down the left. Suddenly Fleck is clear! He enters the area, drops a shoulder to see off a challenge from Fabinho, prepares to shoot and ... has his effort blocked by Robertson, arriving from nowhere! Then the ball drops to Lundstram, on the penalty spot, and his shot is stopped by Van Dijk! So close to breaking the deadlock.

1.53pm BST

65 min: The corner’s a bit of a non-event. But the home fans continue to give it plenty. They sense there’s something in this for their heroes.

1.52pm BST

64 min: Origi’s in the thick of the action immediately, tearing down the left and cutting back for Salah, who takes a fresh-air kick. United go straight up the other end, Norwood sending a daisycutter towards the bottom left. Adrian is forced to tip around the post.

1.51pm BST

63 min: O’Connell is booked for kicking the ball away. Meanwhile Liverpool make their first change, hooking Henderson and sending on Divock Origi.

1.50pm BST

62 min: Liverpool ping it around the middle, but United are snapping at their heels. No space in which to work. The ball ends up back with Van Dijk. The home side are all over this right now.

1.48pm BST

60 min: The free kick’s eventually taken. Henderson shifts it to Alexander-Arnold, who blooters wild and high into the stand under pressure from Robinson. It’s Robinson’s last act of the afternoon; he’s replaced by Lys Mousset, who did for Everton last weekend. Can he make it a Merseyside double?

1.46pm BST

58 min: Salah twists and turns down the inside-right channel and is shoved over by Basham. Free kick, just outside the box. Ah, but there’s been another foul just before, a tug on Wijnaldum’s shirt, so the set piece will be taken a good 30 yards out. Henderson and Alexander-Arnold have a very long debate about what to do.

1.44pm BST

56 min: Lundstram and Mane come together in the United box, the former sliding near the latter. There’s a little contact, and Lundstram doesn’t get the ball. Mane goes down but doesn’t really claim. Neither referee nor VAR is interested.

1.42pm BST

54 min: Robertson and Alexander-Arnold are patrolling their regular beats again. Liverpool’s search to crack the United code goes on.

1.41pm BST

53 min: The corner finds McBurnie, six yards out. His header flies over. The ball takes a little nick off Fabinho, but United don’t get this decision. One each, then, in that respect.

1.40pm BST

52 min: Before the set piece can be taken, Henderson needs some treatment, as he’s just clattered into Matip. He’s up and about quickly enough, but won’t be around to help defend the corner.

1.39pm BST

51 min: Fleck and Robinson combine well down the left and earn a throw deep in Liverpool territory. From the throw, Fleck drives a low cross into the box, hoping to find Robinson in the middle. Van Dijk is forced to hook clear for another throw. He wants an offside flag, and he should see one, but United get away with it. From the next throw, the hosts force a corner.

1.37pm BST

49 min: Alexander-Arnold and Robertson have switched flanks. Liverpool searching for a fresh idea.

1.35pm BST

47 min: The corner comes to nothing. “Can I suggest that Klopp doesn’t know a great deal about serial killers if he thinks the are shouty?” writes Andy Tuohy. “Most, if not all, tend to be pretty calm and premeditated. I’ve been watching ‘Mindhunter’ so I’m a bit of and expert now.” I’m not 100 percent sure we should go too much further with this line of patter.

1.34pm BST

46 min: Liverpool are immediately on the attack. Salah makes a nuisance of himself and the ball drops to Fabinho, whose low-flying volley is blocked well. United go up the other end, Fleck nearly burning Van Dijk for pace down the left. But the defender refuses to budge and blocks the ball out for a corner. A bright start to the half, this!

1.32pm BST

Sheffield United get the second half underway! Neither manager has made a change at the break.

1.18pm BST

Half-time analysis, courtesy of Gary Naylor. “I was amazed last week at Goodison by Sheffield United’s clarity of conception and discipline of execution - and it looks like they’re doing another number today. Ironically, it’s only the lack of a cutting edge that stops the Blades becoming real top-half contenders.”

1.18pm BST

The half-time whistle goes. A fine 45 minutes for United, who have asked Liverpool some serious questions. They’ve been magnificent. The league leaders by contrast will no doubt be on the end of a severe talking-to at half-time ... and yet despite it all, Sadio Mane really should have two goals to his name. Funny old game, as a wise man once said. It promises to be a belter of a second half!

1.16pm BST

45 min: And now it’s United’s turn to go close! Robinson crosses deep from the left. Lundstram rises highest at the far post, heading across goal. McBurnie rises, forcing Matip to head over his own crossbar. The corner comes to nothing.

1.15pm BST

43 min: What an escape for United! Liverpool break quickly and are three on one, with only Basham between their famous front line and goal. Firmino, in a central position, tees up Mane to his left. Mane has to score - again - but batters his low shot against the left-hand post! The ball’s bundled out for a corner, and nothing comes from the set piece. And so Liverpool still haven’t had a shot on target!

1.12pm BST

42 min: Baldock crosses low from the right. Basham tries a fancy backheel but misses. McBurnie has a swing but can only send the ball out for a goal kick, miles wide right of the target. He wants a corner off Van Dijk, but he’s not getting one. He’s furious.

1.10pm BST

40 min: Norwood gifts Robertson the ball in the midfield. Robertson tries to release Mane down the left but overhits the pass. Goal kick. This is pretty scrappy right now.

1.08pm BST

38 min: Wijnaldum takes up possession, just to the left of the United D, and curls a shot into the top corner of ... the stand behind the goal. Liverpool still haven’t got a shot on target. Very poor.

1.07pm BST

37 min: Stevens crosses deep from the left. Robinson wins an aerial battle with Matip, six yards out, but mistimes his header, the ball skimming off the top of his neep and out for a goal kick.

1.06pm BST

36 min: Salah wins a footrace with O’Connell down the inside right, spins and pulls the ball back for Alexander-Arnold, who crosses for Robertson. The resulting shot, across the face of the United goal, flies wide right. Still not great, but at least better from Liverpool.

1.05pm BST

34 min: Liverpool finally carve out a chance ... and it was so simple. Van Dijk creams a long pass down the middle, a huge gap in the United defence. Mane is clear! He’s got to score, but severely shanks his shot from just inside the box, the ball harmlessly squirting wide right. What a chance gone begging! Henderson still hasn’t been forced to make a save.

1.03pm BST

32 min: The rain has stopped. Sun streams across Bramall Lane. One of those lovely autumn days.

1.02pm BST

30 min: Henderson and O’Connell run into each other. Henderson falls over then springs up with a face on. They have a brief exchange of views. Then Salah goes over, fouled by Stevens, and Fleck follows up with an accidental toe-poke to his opponent’s arm. Salah winces in pain, he’s not happy either. The temperature has suddenly gone up a notch or two.

12.59pm BST

28 min: United are right on top of their game here. Lundstram has a lash from the right of the Liverpool D. Robertson is forced into a dramatic sliding block. The crowd turn it up another notch; they sense there’s something in this for the Blades!

12.57pm BST

26 min: Salah nicks the ball off Stevens and glides in from the right, curling a low shot across Henderson and out for a goal kick. It’s the best Liverpool have managed so far. It wasn’t much.

12.56pm BST

25 min: Alexander-Arnold hoicks a wild right-wing cross out of play for a goal kick. A sign that Liverpool are already getting a little bit frustrated at United’s stubbornness? Perhaps; on the touchline, Klopp is screaming in the serial-killer (his words) style.

12.54pm BST

23 min: Slapstick stylings in the midfield, as Egan slips on the wet turf. Firmino looks to prod the ball past him; he’d be free, albeit with half of the pitch still to cover. But Firmino’s first touch hits the stricken Egan smack on the top of his noggin, an inadvertent block that stops Liverpool in their tracks. I’d like to see the pair of them try that again.

12.52pm BST

21 min: Norwood splits the midfield with a pass through the middle for Fleck, who turns and slides the ball down the inside-right channel for Robinson. The striker reaches the edge of the box and rasps a shot across Adrian and well wide left. He should have done better, with Liverpool extremely light at the back. The hosts ripped the league leaders apart there.

12.50pm BST

19 min: Some quite sensational play from Stevens out on the left wing. He brings down a high ball, turns, and sashays his way past a couple of Liverpool challenges. His flick left, intended to release Robinson, doesn’t come off, but that was a lovely run, and he gets the warm applause he deserves.

12.48pm BST

17 min: Van Dijk tries to win a header from the corner. No joy. Mane attempts an overhead kick, and the ball brushes McBurnie’s arm, but the striker was standing right next to him and his arms were in a natural position. No movement. Liverpool make no claim. VAR doesn’t have the brass neck to poke its neb in. We play on.

12.46pm BST

16 min: Liverpool get into the United area for the first time. A little bit of pinball ends with Wijnaldum taking a shot from the edge of the box. It’s deflected wide right for Liverpool’s first corner of the match.

12.46pm BST

15 min: Fabinho plays a cute first-time ball down the right to nearly release Salah. But Egan comes across quickly to block. A fine challenge, because for a second there, it looked as though Salah would get there first and tear clear on goal.

12.44pm BST

14 min: Liverpool have

enjoyed
had 76% of possession so far. They’re struggling to do anything with it. Sheffield United are on point.

12.43pm BST

13 min: Norwood hits the corner long. Baldock meets it at the far post, but can only eyebrow harmlessly out for a goal kick. United are well up for this.

12.42pm BST

12 min: That very early flurry aside, Liverpool haven’t got going yet. Alexander-Arnold sprays a right-to-left diagonal pass straight into touch. United fly straight up the other end, Stevens winning the first corner of the match out on the left.

12.40pm BST

10 min: A slack Alexander-Arnold pass in the midfield allows Robinson to tear upfield. He makes up for his mistake by heading clear when Baldock crosses from the right. This is a really impressive start by the newly promoted Blades. Liverpool don’t look comfortable at all right now, and Jurgen Klopp is already up on the touchline, arms folded, brow furrowed.

12.39pm BST

8 min: Another long ball down the United left nearly releases McBurnie. Liverpool are leaving a lot of space wide open on this flank. McBurnie runs immediately into trouble this time, but he might get some joy here today.

12.37pm BST

7 min: United are knocking it around with confidence too, mind. O’Connell showcases the home team’s ambition by pressing Fabinho near Liverpool’s left-hand corner flag. The visitors clear, but they had to work hard to do so.

12.35pm BST

5 min: The crowd going even more, that is. Plenty of bedlam here. An old-school football atmosphere is such a beautiful noise. Meanwhile Liverpool stroke it around the middle in the sterile style.

12.34pm BST

3 min: But it’s United who get the first shot away! Stevens sends McBurnie away down the left. The big striker cuts inside, past Alexander-Arnold and Matip, and tries to curl one into the top right. It’s straight at Adrian, who gets his hands warmed. That’s got the crowd going!

12.32pm BST

2 min: Liverpool press and apply some early pressure. Henderson, Firmino, Mane, Alexander-Arnold and Robertson pinging it around nicely. But the hosts hold firm on the edge of their box.

12.30pm BST

And we’re off! The late-summer rain falling heavier now. The sun still shining through. Liverpool get the ball rolling as the home faithful belt out the Greasy Chip Butty song. Everyone giving it plenty.

12.25pm BST

The teams are out! A banging atmosphere at a bulging Bramall Lane as the Blades and the European champions take to the field of play. The drizzle can’t dampen it. We’ll be off in a minute!

12.23pm BST

Chris Wilder talks! To his team, but not BT Sport. Work to do.

12.11pm BST

Jurgen Klopp speaks, and he’s very complimentary about his hosts. “They have had good results, they’re playing good football, they’re playing their football. It is important for teams to find a way and they have found it and it makes life uncomfortable. But when we are on our absolute top, it’s difficult to find a team like us with desire and intensity. Most of our team has had a week off to prepare, so hopefully we will see that. It’s a big one for Sheffield United, but it’s a big one for us as well.”

12.01pm BST

Some breaking news this morning ... in case you missed it.

Related: Liverpool hopeful of avoiding Carabao Cup expulsion over ineligible player

11.55am BST

Fair’s fair, the kitman’s tidied up. And got the bevvies in too.

11.50am BST

Chaotic scenes in the Liverpool dressing room. These pre-match glimpses into the inner sanctum usually showcase clubs at their professional best, crisp kits freshly laundered, neatly folded or hung, always presented to the highest standard. Is someone recovering from a big night out? Hey, we all have off days. Anyway, from this disorder we can deduce that Liverpool will be playing in third-choice black, hosts Sheffield United the redmen today.

11.34am BST

If It Ain’t Broke dept. It’s an unchanged side for Sheffield United, Chris Wilder naming the same XI that did for Everton last weekend. And it’s an unchanged side for Liverpool, too. It’s the same XI sent out at Stamford Bridge last Sunday. We’ve ignored the midweek League Cup line-ups, but y’know.

11.33am BST

Sheffield United: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, McBurnie, Robinson.
Subs: Luke Freeman, Jagielka, Mousset, Osborn, Clarke, Moore, Besic.

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Lovren, Milner, Gomez, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Lallana, Origi, Kelleher.

1.55pm BST

Sheffield United’s best work so far this season has been on the road. A commendable opening-day draw at Bournemouth; a magnificent two-goal comeback at Chelsea to salvage a draw; a win at Everton achieved easily, despite (according to their manager) not even playing that well. By contrast, the Blades have lost their last two league matches at Bramall Lane. This afternoon presents a fine chance to snap that run.

Against the 100 percent league leaders and reigning champions of Europe? OK, if you put it like that, it’s going to be a heck of a test for Chris Wilder’s newly promoted side. But history has to count for something, and Liverpool haven’t won at Bramall Lane since the opening day of the 1990-91 season, when second-half goals from John Barnes, Ray Houghton and Ian Rush secured a 3-1 victory. (For the completist: Brian Deane scored for Dave Bassett’s side.) It’s a six-game undefeated run for United, who have a 50 percent win rate over the stretch.

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Tottenham crash out of Carabao Cup to Colchester on penalties – as it happened

Colchester dumped Spurs out of the Carabao Cup after some shootout drama, while Crawley saw off Stoke and Southampton eviscerated arch-rivals Portsmouth

10.16pm BST

Anyway, that’s your lot, as an evening of high drama comes to an end. Thanks for reading Clockwatch!

Related: Tottenham crash out of Carabao Cup to Colchester on penalties

10.07pm BST

Nick Ames was at the Emirates to see Gabriel Martinelli introduce himself in style.

Related: Arsenal ease past Nottingham Forest with double from Gabriel Martinelli

10.03pm BST

Everton eased past Sheffield Wednesday, to keep their dream of a first trophy since 1995 alive. Liz Byrnes was on hand to witness a good evening for Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Related: Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s early double sees Everton past Sheffield Wednesday

10.01pm BST

More on that south-coast derby, courtesy of Ben Fisher at Fratton Park.

Related: Danny Ings double sends Saints towards rampant victory at Portsmouth

10.00pm BST

Paul Wilson was at Deepdale to see Raheem Sterling run riot.

Related: Raheem Sterling leads Manchester City’s safe passage at Preston

9.59pm BST

A word on the south-coast derby from Danny Ings (who supported Southampton as a kid) and James Ward-Prowse (a Portsmouth fan as a lad). “It’s a derby that I have always wanted to play in,” says Ings. “I’ve been very fortunate to play in other derbies but this one tops it off for me. Obviously a great night, great for the fans and a fantastic win.” Ward-Prowse adds: “It was a special occasion, great for the area. I think both sets of fans have been looking forward to this. These are the games as players you want to play in. We knew what we had to do and we did a fantastic job. We came here to do a job and we are in the hat for the next round, that’s what we will be celebrating on the way home.”

9.57pm BST

All the full-time scores.

Arsenal 5-0 Nottingham Forest
Colchester United 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur (Colchester win 4-3 on pens)
Crawley Town 1-1 Stoke City (Crawley win 5-3 on pens)
Luton Town 0-4 Leicester City
Portsmouth 0-4 Southampton
Preston North End 0-3 Manchester City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Everton
Watford 2-1 Swansea City

9.54pm BST

Quite a contrast in emotions in north London tonight.

9.53pm BST

For the second successive round, Crawley have seen off a Championship side! Stoke follow Leeds, and it’s officially crisis time in the Potteries.

9.52pm BST

Martinelli has announced himself tonight. He’s already got one. Now he’s curled a vicious shot into the top right from 25 yards. This is now a rout.

9.50pm BST

We could have another shock on our hands! Sam Vokes has missed Stoke’s first penalty in the shootout with Crawley. After a couple of spot-kicks each, it’s 2-1 to the League Two club ... and the pressure is on struggling Stoke City!

9.48pm BST

As if Tottenham’s night wasn’t bad enough.

9.47pm BST

Lapslie slams home ... and the 2008 winners are out! The Champions League finalists have been knocked out by a side from League Two! Fans flood onto the pitch in celebration! Spurs have gone the same way as Crystal Palace, who were defeated on penalties in the second round. It’s Mauricio Pochettino’s first defeat as Spurs boss to a club from the lower leagues!

9.45pm BST

And now it’s 3-3 after four spot kicks each. Lucas Moura, the hero of the Champions League semi final against Ajax, stutters his run-up and clips Tottenham’s fifth penalty off the top of the crossbar. Tom Lapslie will have a penalty to win it for Colchester!

9.44pm BST

... it’s level between Spurs and Colchester after three penalties each. It’s 2-2. Christian Eriksen missed the first one for Spurs. Then Jevani Brown tried a Panenka. It was such a weak effort, Paulo Gazzaniga, having dived, was able to spring back up and punch the ball away, livid at his opponent’s cheek! What drama!

9.41pm BST

A second match is going to penalties. Speaking of which ...

9.41pm BST

Southampton’s first win in a south-coast derby since 2005. And it’s a big one.

9.40pm BST

The perfect way to bounce back from an eight-goal defeat.

9.40pm BST

Much relief for Marco Silva. Wednesday can’t avenge defeat in the 1966 FA Cup final.

9.39pm BST

The three-time winners breeze through, and Leicester’s fine start to the season continues apace.

9.38pm BST

Joe Willock makes it certain for the Gunners. Another corner, a bit of pinball, and Willock slots it home from eight yards.

9.37pm BST

Another memorable performance from Raheem Sterling, and the holders are into the fourth round.

9.35pm BST

The League Two side have taken last year’s Champions League finalists to penalties!

9.34pm BST

Kelechi Iheanacho is sent clear down the left and chips the keeper. A delightful - and rare - goal for the Foxes striker.

9.33pm BST

Corner. A simple header from close range for Rob Holding. The four-time winners Forest are heading out.

9.31pm BST

Pompey gave as good as they got in the first half, but they’ve eventually been outclassed. And Nathan Redmond has scored the goal of the game, whizzing down the left, drifting inside, and launching a sweet shot into the bottom left. A night to forget for Pompey ... though of course Saints fans will remind them of this scoreline at every possible opportunity.

9.27pm BST

Gerard Deulofeu scampers down the left, draws a few Swansea defenders, then slips a ball across the face of goal, allowing Roberto Pereyra to clip home from close range.

9.25pm BST

It’s all over at Kenilworth Road as well. Kelechi Iheanacho should score upon barging clear, but stumbles as he tries to round the keeper. No matter! He at least keeps the move going, and the ball’s looped to the left for Youri Tielemans, who races into the box and whistles a volley home.

9.21pm BST

Cedric has won the derby for Saints. Well, he’s the scorer, though it’s Danny Ings who has really done the business. Ings has already scored two; now he’s scampered down the left and reached the byline, the ball breaking back for Cedric, who slams home. This will be Southampton’s first win over the old enemy since 2005.

9.19pm BST

Goals please. Please. Aw come on. A reminder that any games drawn after 90 minutes go straight to penalties. With this in mind, Spurs - no trophy since winning this competition in 2008, remember - throw on Erik Lamela as well. Not so long to grind out the win against League Two Colchester.

9.14pm BST

The irrepressible Raheem Sterling nearly sets up another goal for Manchester City at Deepdale. He skates down the middle of the park and flicks the ball to Phil Foden on his right. Foden bashes a shot off the crossbar. But still no second-half goal in any of these third-round games. Sterling, though. What a star.

9.11pm BST

Collins comes sliding straight through the back of AN Opponent at high speed. It’s comically reckless, utterly needless, and struggling Stoke are up against it now. Dear me. What pointless hoodlummery.

9.07pm BST

Tottenham are still looking to crack the Colchester code. Last season’s Champions League runners-up are frustrated enough against the League Two side to have just brought on Christian Eriksen and Son Heung-min.

9.05pm BST

Goals, please. Please.

9.03pm BST

Preston hit the post against champions Manchester City! Josh Harrop sashays in from the right, leans back, and whips a low shot off the bottom of the right-hand post. On another night, the former Manchester United player could have had a couple of goals for the hosts. The slim margins between a thriller and a thrashing.

9.01pm BST

Some more close misses. Sam Surridge fails to bundle a high ball across the line for Swansea at Watford; it’s quite astonishing that he didn’t connect. Meanwhile Kyle Walker-Peters nearly opens the scoring for Spurs at Colchester, lashing in a cross from the right that evades everyone and comes off the left-hand upright! But no second-half goals to report yet.

8.58pm BST

It’s end to end at Crawley. Ollie Palmer should have given the hosts the lead over Stoke, sent clear by a poor defensive backflick. But he didn’t have the pace to reach the area, then went over too easily looking for a penalty. He didn’t get it. Then Stoke went up the other end, Jordan Cousins slamming home from close range ... but from an offside position.

8.50pm BST

We’re into the second half in seven League Cup matches around the country. Meanwhile it’s just gone half-time at the Emirates, where Arsenal go in 1-0 ahead of Forest.

8.40pm BST

Half-time entertainment.

Related: Football quiz: absolute hammerings

8.38pm BST

Colchester 0-0 Tottenham
Crawley 1-1 Stoke
Luton 0-2 Leicester
Portsmouth 0-2 Southampton
Preston 0-3 Manchester City
Sheffield Wednesday 0-2 Everton
Watford 1-1 Swansea

They’re still playing at the Emirates, where the game kicked off at 8pm. It’s currently 1-0 to the Gunners against Forest.

8.36pm BST

This is a peach of a goal, a PlayStation special. Reiss Nelson sprays a pass wide right to Calum Chambers, who volleys a first-time cross towards Martinelli at the near post. Martinelli twists in mid air to slam home.

8.34pm BST

Portsmouth were pressing again. And again they’re caught on the break. Danny Ings is sent scampering clear down the middle and he dinks a gorgeous chip over the keeper and into the net. Saints in control at the break.

8.32pm BST

James Justin scores against his old club, gliding in from the right to meet a dropping diagonal pass and slamming home elegantly. He doesn’t celebrate, and his old fans sportingly applaud their former player.

8.30pm BST

Sterling just can’t stop it. Now he’s barrelling down the left, slipping a perfectly weighted pass into the box for David Silva, whose shot from a tight angle on the left is deflected past the keeper by Ryan Ledson. “The Man City kit looks like a few Barça away kits have run together in the wash,” opines Gerard Nugent. Pep’s influence runs deep.

8.27pm BST

Misery descends on Stoke again. Nathan Ferguson fails to connect with a cute backheel, a low ball flying into the Stoke box from the right. But no matter! The ball sits up for him anyway, and he’s able to whip it home.

8.26pm BST

This is hardly breaking news, but Raheem Sterling is such a fine player. Now he’s setting them up, slipping in Gabriel Jesus after causing all manner of hassle down the inside-left channel. Sterling is simply unplayable in this mood.

8.24pm BST

Watford’s respite didn’t last long. Sam Surridge, on loan from Bournemouth, levels it up at Vicarage Road, sliding in to meet Nathan Dyer’s right-wing cross. It’s his fourth goal of the season.

8.20pm BST

A cute corner from Marc Albrighton, clipped to the near post and flicked back to Demarai Gray, who bundles a shot into the bottom left. Luton were caught snoozing. One straight out of Brendan Rodgers playbook. The manager will be well chuffed with that.

8.16pm BST

On the subject of much needed respite, here’s some for injury-plagued Danny Welbeck and recently-shellacked Watford. The striker plants a header home at a corner, and it’s his first goal since last October.

8.14pm BST

Bagatelle at a corner, and Sam Vokes slams home from close range. Some much needed respite for under-pressure Supremes earworm Nathan Jones.

8.11pm BST

Against the run of play, Saints have taken the lead at Fratton. Danny Ings shoots from the edge of the box, and the Premier League club take the lead. He very nearly makes it 2-0 a few seconds after, but can’t quite chip MacGillivray in the Pompey goal.

8.09pm BST

Sweet baby Moses, have you seen what Manchester City are wearing this evening? They’re decked out like a packet of sweets from the 1970s. Hey, does anybody remember sweets that wouldn’t pass EU regulations these days, etc. A proper envelope-pushing comedian could get a whole bit out of that. Anyway, their psychedelic gear has got Preston spinning, because Raheem Sterling has just run at them with great pace and skill, swerving this way and that before banging a shot home from just inside the box. What a run that is!

8.02pm BST

League One Portsmouth are giving a good account of themselves against Premier League Southampton. John Marquis has just barged his way down the right and thumped a long-range effort off the outside of the right-hand post. Not at all sure Alex McCarthy would have got to that, had it been on target. McCarthy does get his fingers to Brett Pittman’s rising screamer a few minutes later, though. Great save. Pompey on top.

7.58pm BST

What a start for under-fire Marco Silva ... and for Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He’s just poked in Alex Iwobi’s left-wing cross. Wednesday will take heart that they were 2-0 up in the 1966 FA Cup final against Everton, only to end up losing 3-2. Er, sort of. Spectacular cup turnarounds between these two sides have historical precedent, is all we’re saying.

7.55pm BST

This is a fine goal, and it’s come against the early run of play. Wednesday had been on the front foot, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin was picked out down the inside-left channel, he romped into the area, and thumped an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net!

7.53pm BST

No early goals. Though there was very nearly a shock start at Deepdale, where Josh Harrop - formerly of Manchester United - couldn’t quite get a close-range header on target for Preston. Now that would have put the cat among the treble-winning pigeons.

7.48pm BST

All the matches, save the one at the Emirates, have just kicked off. Here’s the weather at Fratton Park, incidentally. Summer’s gone. Autumn’s here!

7.35pm BST

Arsenal versus Nottingham Forest has been delayed by 15 minutes due to the entire country’s transport infrastructure being totally jiggered. Re-nationalise the railways! Vote Labour! We paraphrase of course. The official club line is “travel issues for supporters”. However you spin it, that match will now kick off at 8pm.

7.29pm BST

Crawley Town: Luyambula, Sesay, Tunnicliffe, Dallison, Doherty, Bulman, Grego-Cox, Camara, Ferguson, Beryly Lubala, Palmer.
Subs: Morris, Young, Payne, Nathaniel-George, Enigbokan-Bloomfield, Allarakhia, Sendles-White.
Stoke City: Federici, Collins, Batth, Lindsay, Smith, Cousins, Woods, Ward, Hogan, Vokes, Campbell.
Subs: Etebo, Carter-Vickers, Davies, Powell, Duffy, Sorensen, McJannaett.

7.27pm BST

Preston North End: Ripley, Fisher, Storey, Davies, Rafferty, Ledson, Browne, Potts, Johnson, Harrop, Barkhuizen.
Subs: Rudd, Bayliss, Ginnelly, Green, Stockley, Huntington, Nugent.
Manchester City: Bravo, Joao Cancelo, Garcia, Harwood-Bellis, Jose Angelino, Foden, Gundogan, Silva, Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus, Sterling.
Subs: Rodri, Mendy, Mahrez, Otamendi, Carson, Bernabe, Dionkou.

The defending champions Manchester City try out an all-new teenage centre-back pairing of Eric Garcia and Taylor Harwood-Bellis. Claudio Bravo, Joao Cancelo and Angelino complete a totally refurbished defence. Phil Foden also comes into midfield. Preston, third in the Championship, made six changes from the side that won at Birmingham last weekend.

7.24pm BST

Colchester United: Gerken, Jackson, Eastman, Prosser, Bramall, Lapslie, Comley, Senior, Stevenson, Gambin, Nouble.
Subs: Sowunmi, Norris, Jevani Brown, Cowan-Hall, Clampin, Chilvers, Ross.
Tottenham Hotspur: Gazzaniga, Tanganga, Dier, Sanchez, Walker-Peters, Wanyama, Skipp, Davies, Lucas Moura, Alli, Parrott.
Subs: Lloris, Vertonghen, Son, Lamela, Sissoko, Foyth, Eriksen.

Tottenham give debuts to 17-year-old striker Troy Parrott and centre-back Japhet Tanganga. Eric Dier returns and is awarded the captain’s armband; Dele Alli is also back. Colchester hand starts to returning duo Tom Lapslie and Luke Gambin.

7.21pm BST

Watford: Gomes, Janmaat, Prodl, Kabasele, Masina, Doucoure, Chalobah, Pereyra, Quina, Welbeck, Gray.
Subs: Dawson, Deulofeu, Cleverley, Sarr, Dele-Bashiru, Bachmann, Foulquier.
Swansea City: Nordfeldt, Roberts, van der Hoorn, Cabango, John, Byers, Grimes, Dyer, Dhanda, Peterson, Surridge.
Subs: McKay, Borja Baston, Carroll, Routledge, Mulder, Cooper, Garrick.

Quique Sanchez Flores reacts to Watford’s latest humiliation at the hands of Manchester City by making ten changes. Abdoulaye Doucoure is the only man still standing. Danny Welbeck leads the attack alongside Andre Gray. Meanwhile Swansea make just the eight changes to their starting XI, with on-loan Bournemouth striker Sam Surridge getting his opportunity.

7.16pm BST

Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson, Odubajo, Iorfa, Thorniley, Fox, Murphy, Pelupessy, Luongo, Reach, Winnall, Nuhiu.
Subs: Palmer, Lee, Rhodes, Harris, Fletcher, Bannan, Jones.
Everton: Pickford, Sidibe, Holgate, Mina, Digne, Davies, Delph, Richarlison, Iwobi, Bernard, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Keane, Sigurdsson, Walcott, Schneiderlin, Coleman, Kean, Lossl.

Everton make five changes to the side that lost at home to Sheffield United. Mason Holgate, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Alex Iwobi, Djibril Sidibe and Tom Davies get their chance. Wednesday make eight changes. Atdhe Nuhiu, who rescued a point late on against Fulham at the weekend, is rewarded with a start.

7.08pm BST

Luton Town: Shea, Bolton, Sheehan, Jones, Potts, Berry, Mpanzu, Moncur, Butterfield, McManaman, Lee.
Subs: Tunnicliffe, Pearson, Sluga, Cornick, Brown, LuaLua, Bree.
Leicester City: Ward, Justin, Morgan, Evans, Fuchs, Ndidi, Gray, Tielemans, Praet, Albrighton, Perez.
Subs: Schmeichel, Vardy, Iheanacho, Barnes, Amartey, Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira.

Leicester make seven changes, with only Jonny Evans, Wilfred Ndidi, Youri Tielemans and Ayoze Perez keeping their places from the 2-1 win over Tottenham. Full-back James Justin debuts against the club he left in the close season. The hosts also ring the changes. Ten of them! Only Luke Bolton retains his shirt from the side which went down 3-0 at home to Hull on Saturday.

7.05pm BST

Portsmouth: MacGillivray, Bolton, Hawkins, Burgess, Haunstrup, Naylor, Close, Williams, Brett Pitman, Curtis, Marquis.
Subs: Walkes, Downing, Cannon, McCrorie, Evans, Maloney, Bass.
Southampton: McCarthy, Cedric, Bednarek, Yoshida, Bertrand, Hojbjerg, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Ings, Obafemi, Adams.
Subs: Stephens, Long, Armstrong, Boufal, Redmond, Gunn, Valery.

Ryan Bertrand returns at left-back for Southampton, while boyhood Pompey supporter James Ward-Prowse also starts. For the home side, Tom Naylor has passed a fitness test.

7.01pm BST

Arsenal: Martinez, Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Tierney, Torreira, Willock, Nelson, Ozil, Smith Rowe, Martinelli.
Subs: Macey, Bellerin, Ceballos, Balogun, Bola, Burton, Saka.
Nottingham Forest: Muric, Cash, Figueiredo, Robinson, Chema, Ribeiro, Silva, Carvalho, Johnson, Lolley, Adomah.
Subs: Smith, Milosevic, Grabban, Ameobi, Sow, Gabriel, Mighten

Former Celtic full-back Kieran Tierney and 18-year-old Brazilian striker Martinelli make their Arsenal debuts. Spanish defender Chema Rodriquez pulls on a Forest shirt for the first time.

5.18pm BST

Welcome to our Carabao Cup Clockwatch. Or for purists, our League Cup Clockwatch. English football’s secondary knockout competition has reached the third round, the last 32, when all the big clubs playing European competition rock up. The fixture list has been split in two, with eight matches being played tonight, and the remaining eight tomorrow. Here’s what’ll be happening this eve:

Arsenal v Nottingham Forest
Colchester United v Tottenham Hotspur
Crawley Town v Stoke City
Luton Town v Leicester City
Portsmouth v Southampton
Preston North End v Manchester City
Sheffield Wednesday v Everton
Watford v Swansea City

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The Fiver | The one in which Nasty Leeds get officially rebranded by Fifa

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A lot of hard slaps were dished out at La Scala in Milan on Monday night. But that makes it sound like some dreadful, unseemly rumble in which a lot of right-handers were thrown, when in actuality it was a most refined affair. You see, there was a lot of backslapping going on. An awful lot. Close your eyes, and you could be forgiven for assuming the ghosts of Buddy Rich, Jaki Liebezeit and Keith Moon had turned up to record a cover version of Antmusic. Or that a load of pundits, presenters and journalists had just logged on to Social Media Disgrace Twitter for their nightly org1astic conflab. Ow! Give it a rest, will you, The Fiver’s developing tinnitus over here. But no. It was actual backslapping, good old hearty hard backslapping, at a Fifa awards ceremony that has nothing to do with the Ballon d’Or, or maybe it once did, we can’t keep up to tell the truth.

Related: Megan Rapinoe: the world's best player in every sense of the word

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The Fiver | The feat of being Manchester United's youngest ever scorer in Europe

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In the queue waiting on the Enough’s Enough, You’ve All Had Your Fun But This Is Getting Beyond A Joke Now rank, there are quite a few big clubs ahead of Manchester United. Nasty Leeds, for example, who have been out of the top division for 15 years. Or Nottingham Forest, two-time European champions who haven’t seen the sunny uplands since the turn of the millennium. Or Newcastle United, without a domestic trophy since the Harold Macmillan years. Or seventies European powerhouses Borussia Mönchengladbach, who have just lost 4-0 at home in Big Vase to a team called RZ Pellets, named after a company that produces industrial quantities of pellets, though not as many as Borussia Mönchengladbach did on Thursday night by the looks of it.

Related: Mason Greenwood’s first Manchester United goal earns win over Astana

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Football transfer rumours: James Maddison to Manchester United?

Today’s fluff is chasing its tail

All’s good at Manchester United again. The club have unearthed a new superstar in 17-year-old Mason Greenwood, the team have embarked on a two-in-a-row winning run, and … well, that’s it, but at least things are heading in the right direction. James Maddison could add another dash of positivity if he joins in an £80m deal, with the Leicester boss, Brendan Rodgers, talking up the move. “It may be too hard for him to turn down, I get it,” he says, propping up his midfielder in the shop window and mentioning his old club Liverpool too, in the hope of sparking a bidding war.

Related: Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

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Europa League: Man Utd, Arsenal and Rangers win, Wolves lose – as it happened

Mason Greenwood announces himself at Old Trafford, while Ibrox pays its respect to former captain Fernando RicksenEintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal | Rennes 1-1 Celtic

10.44pm BST

Related: Sheyi Ojo gives Rangers win against Feyenoord on emotional night

10.14pm BST

Paul Doyle was our man at Molineux. This is how he saw it.

Related: Wolves make poor start to group stage as Braga exploit sloppy defending

10.14pm BST

Paul Wilson was at Old Trafford. Here’s his take.

Related: Mason Greenwood’s goal gives Manchester United win over Astana

10.13pm BST

That’s your lot, then. A disappointing night for Wolves. An encouraging one for Manchester United, and those who think Mason Greenwood could be the real deal. And a cathartic one for Rangers at Ibrox, who get their Europa League campaign off to a flyer after the heartbreaking loss of Fernando Ricksen. Thanks for reading this Clockwatch blog. Nighty night, wherever you are.

10.04pm BST

The full times.

Group G: Porto 2-1 Young Boys; Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord
Group H: Espanyol 1-1 Ferencvarosi; Ludogorets 5-1 CSKA Moscow
Group I: Gent 3-2 St Etienne; Wolfsburg 3-1 Oleksandriya
Group J: Borussia Moenchengladbach 0-4 Wolfsberger / RZ Pellets; Roma 4-0 Istanbul Basaksehir
Group K: Slovan Bratislava 4-2 Besiktas; Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-0 Braga
Group L: Manchester United 1-0 Astana; Partizan Belgrade 2-2 AZ

9.58pm BST

All the full times to come, but while we wait for every whistle to blow, here’s the latest edition of Carry On Karius.

Oh no Loris Karius!

The former Liverpool keeper makes a huge blunder to gift Slovan Bratislava the lead against Besiktas pic.twitter.com/t3dUFbQndA

9.56pm BST

FULL TIME: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Braga. Wolves very nearly snatch something at the death, Joao Moutinho’s late, late free kick flashing across the face of goal, right to left. But nobody can prod home, and that’s an opening defeat for Wolves on their long-awaited return to European competition proper.

9.54pm BST

A couple of late goals elsewhere. Justin Kluivert makes it 4-0 for Roma against Istanbul Basaksehir on 90 minutes. And there’s a late winner for Slovan Bratislava, Marin Ljubicic making it 3-2 against Besiktas on the 90.

9.52pm BST

FULL TIME: Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord. Rangers open their Europa League campaign with a precious three points. No more than Sheyi Ojo’s wonderful long-range strike deserved! A huge roar at Ibrox. You’d hope Fernando Ricksen is looking down from somewhere, smiling broadly.

9.49pm BST

FULL TIME: Manchester United 1-0 Astana. It’s three points for United. Not the finest performance, but then that’s not really the point. A winning start to their Europa League campaign. Some precious experience for quite a few of the kids. And what a goal by 17-year-old Mason Greenwood! It’s his first for the club ... it’s not going to be his last, is it?

9.45pm BST

A late chance for United to make it two, as Greenwood tears towards the Astana box and lays off to Lingard on his left. Lingard’s effort is weak; his young team-mate was entitled to have a shot of his own there.

9.39pm BST

Manchester United are looking a little bit more confident since Ole rang the changes. One of the subs, Lingard, has just seen a long-range shot deflected onto a post; Diogo Dalot should have scored his first United goal by following in the rebound, but sent it over the bar.

9.38pm BST

While those big goals were going in, nets were bulging elsewhere with great regularity. Wolfsberger / RZ Pellets are now 4-0 up at Borussia Moenchengladbach, Mario Leitgeb with the latest on 68 minutes. Myron Boadu has equalised for AZ at Partizan Belgrade; it’s 2-2 after 67 minutes. Nicolo Zaniolo makes it 3-0 for Roma against Istanbul Basaksehir. A Thomas Kaminski own goal on 74 minutes has reduced St Etienne’s deficit at Gent; it’s now just 3-2. And two goals in five minutes for Claudiu Keseru of Ludogorets, the second of those a penalty, make it 5-1 against CSKA Moscow. That’s a hat-trick for Keseru, and quite a turnaround in that match. A textboook Game of Two Halves.

9.33pm BST

GOAL! Wolves 0-1 Braga (Ricardo Horta 71). The deadlock’s finally broken at Molineux. The hosts lose the ball on the halfway line. The visitors counter three on two. The ball’s shuttled left to right, and Ricardo Horta is released into acres of space. He reaches the box and slams an unstoppable shot into the bottom right past Rui Patricio. Wolves’ cold start to the season continues.

9.31pm BST

GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Astana (Greenwood 73). United have been collectively stodgy tonight, but the same can’t be said of young Mason Greenwood! He drops a shoulder down the right to burn off Dorin Rotariu, then bashes a fine shot under keeper Nenad Eric at the near post! You could question the keeper I guess, but that was as smooth as you like from the 17-year-old prodigy!

9.28pm BST

A bit of clear space between Gent and St Etienne: a Loic Perrin own goal on 65 minutes makes it 3-1 to the home team. Meanwhile Oleksandriya pull a goal back at Wolfsburg (Yevhen Banada 66) only for Josip Brekalo to re-establish the hosts’ lead less than a minute later.

9.25pm BST

Manchester United have been labouring a little. So Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes a couple of changes. Whether he’d have preferred to keep his big names in reserve for the Premier League is a moot point, but on they come: Jesse Lingard and Juan Mata, replacing Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong.

9.21pm BST

Espanyol equalise against Ferencvaros. Matias Vargas your man, arriving on the hour. It’s 1-1. And as the clock ticks round to 61 minutes, Partizan Belgrade take the lead against AZ, Bebras Natcho making it 2-1.

9.18pm BST

It’s all good and well showcasing the rabonas up top. Now Marcos Rojo has some defending to do, and he’s not really up to the job, letting Marin Tomasov twist him out of shape on the right wing. Tomasov crosses deep, and Dorin Rotariu isn’t took far away from shocking Old Trafford at the far post.

9.17pm BST

Edin Dzeko has given Roma a two-goal lead against Istanbul Basaksehir. It’s now 2-0, an hour just gone. Meanwhile Slovan Bratislava’s Andraz Sporar has made it 2-2 against Besiktas on 58 minutes.

9.16pm BST

Turn away from Ludogorets versus CSKA Moscow for a few seconds, and look what happens! The home side were trailing at the break, but three goals in five minutes - Farias Wanderson (47), Jody Lukoki (50) and Claudiu Keseru (52) - have changed the match utterly. It’s still goalless at Molineux and Old Trafford.

9.11pm BST

Manchester United nearly take the lead against Astana with a farcical goal, a couple of visiting defenders taking fresh-air swipes at a ball slowly rolling through their six-yard box, Mason Greenwood letting them off the hook with a scuff of his own from close range. Then another wave of attack sees Marcos Rojo lose the run of himself completely, attempting a rabona when a simple cross would have sufficed. To be fair it’s not a total miscue, but it doesn’t beat the first man, a couple of yards away, so as tricks go it was of limited use.

9.07pm BST

Up at Ibrox, Rangers’ slim lead dangles by a thread. Eric Botteghin flings himself at a right-wing cross in the hope of recreating Keith Houchen’s famous 1987 FA Cup final goal for Coventry City. He doesn’t really connect properly and the ball flies off to the left. Full marks for effort and ambition, though.

9.04pm BST

A lively start to the second half by Manchester United. Marcos Rojo channels his inner George Best, twisting and turning down the left and firing a shot-cum-cross through the six-yard box. Not entirely sure how Tahith Chong didn’t bundle that in at the far post. But he couldn’t quite connect.

9.02pm BST

Now I’ll be the first to admit this Clockwatch has been lacking in a little detail so far. Unless you’re in the market for environmentally friendly wood pellets and briquettes from Austria, that is, in which case go to RZ Pellets, for all your pellet needs (other pellet manufacturers are available). Worry no more! Because here’s our man Paul Doyle with a splash of colour - old gold, naturally - regarding events at Molineux.

Wolves and Braga are both in the bottom three of their domestic leagues but you wouldn’t know that from the first half at Molineux, even if there have been no goals. Braga have some dinky technicians, especially the winger Galeno, who could have been given a penalty after going down in the box under a challenge by Conor Coady; it was not exactly a heinous foul - Coady put his arm across the player after being outskilled - but spotkicks have been given for less. Other than that, Wolves have been defensively better than in their last two Premier League games, and have created some promising moments. Patrick Cutrone has done a lot of good work up front but his finishing has been sadly deficient. He’s missed three decent good chances, one of which he created brilliantly for himself. Still, there’s been enough from both teams to suggest this won’t end goalless or, at least, that there’ll be more chances to squander in the second half.

8.55pm BST

The half-time scores.

Group G: Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord; Porto 2-1 Young Boys
Group H: Ludogorets 0-1 CZKA Moscow, Espanyol 0-1 Ferencvarosi
Group I: Wolfsburg 2-0 Oleksandria; Gent 2-1 Saint-Etienne
Group J: Roma 1-0 Istanbul Basaksehir; Borussia Moenchengladbach 0-3 Wolfsberger / RZ Pellets
Group K: Slovan Bratislava 1-2 Besiktas; Wolves 0-0 Braga
Group L: Manchester United 0-0 Astana, Partizan 1-1 AZ

8.51pm BST

Jonathan David has regained the lead for Gent against St Etienne: it’s 2-1. Partizan Belgrade have levelled it up against AZ with a 42-minute Bebras Natcho penalty. And Besiktas have completed a turnaround at Slovan Bratislava, a Vasil Bozhikov own-goal just before the break making it 2-1 to the Turks.

8.48pm BST

More goals! Roma have taken the lead just before half-time against Istanbul Basaksehir. It’s 1-0 to the Italian giants, courtesy of a Uilson Junior Caicara own goal. Meanwhile Marcel Ritzmaier has made it 3-0 to Wolfsberger at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Wolfsberger, from the Austrian town of Wolfsberg, are currently known as RZ Pellets WAC for sponsorship purposes. It’s not Wolsberger producing the pellets in this match, though, is it. It’s the Foals who are doing that. Three heavy sacks of them.

8.41pm BST

St Etienne have equalised against Gent. It’s 1-1 in Belgium, Wahbi Khazri putting the French visitors on terms after 38 minutes. Meanwhile Jonas Svensson of AZ has been sent packing at Partizan Belgrade. Foul play in the professional style.

8.38pm BST

A warning against complacency for Manchester United, as Astana make a royal balls of a two-on-one break. Even so, Roman Murtazayev should have worked Sergio Romero in the United goal, but his eventual shot from the edge of the area barely qualified as a backpass. On the bench, Ole smacks his lips and furrows his brow.

8.37pm BST

It’s all happening, to quote the great entertainer Danny Boon. Porto 2 have retaken the lead against Young Boys, Francisco Tiquinho Soares putting them 2-1 up on 29 minutes. Slovan Bratislava have been pegged back by Besiktas, Adem Ljajic’s penalty just before the half hour making it 1-1. And Borussia Moenchengladbach are now 0-2 down at home to Wolfsberger, Mario Leitgeb with the second on 31 minutes.

8.34pm BST

Manchester United have lost a little bit of their early momentum against Astana. They’re enjoying the lion’s share of possession but doing precious little with it right now. The home crowd amuse themselves by working out a new song for Harry Maguire, currently sitting on the bench. “Harry Maguire, Harry Maguire, Harry Maguire, Harry Maguire,” it goes. Give them time, he’s only been there a few weeks.

8.30pm BST

Another goal meantime for Wolfsburg. Admir Mehmedi makes it 2-0 after 24 minutes against Oleksandriya.

8.28pm BST

GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Feyenoord. (Ojo 24) Don’t be looking for consistency, you’ll get none here tonight. But Rangers have been attacking in waves at Ibrox, and finally the breakthrough comes, courtesy of a Sheyi Ojo thriker, whistled into the top corner from distance. The grand old place is bouncing!

8.27pm BST

Nick Ames was in Frankfurt tonight to witness Arsenal run riot. Sort of. Here’s his report, fresh out of the oven. Dig in! Enjoy!

Related: Bukayo Saka inspires Arsenal to thrilling win at Eintracht Frankfurt

8.25pm BST

Wolfsburg have gone a goal up against Oleksandriya. Maximilian Arnold with the 20th-minute opener. As for sort-of-near-namesakes Wolverhampton? Patrick Cutrone has very nearly opened the scoring against Braga at Molineux, twisting and turning, a shot finally blootered inches over the bar on the turn from a tight angle on the left. The legendary Stan Cullis would have approved of the mix of skill and old-school directness on the European stage.

8.22pm BST

Young Boys have equalised against FC Porto. Jean Pierre Nsame with a penalty on 15 minutes. You’ll notice I’ve already given up on the GOAL! formatting. This is quicker. Think of me as a modern-day Ceefax P303, only without the pixelated charm.

8.20pm BST

In Manchester United’s group, Partizan Belgrade have fallen behind at home to AZ. Calvin Stengs with the opener on 12 minutes. As for United themselves? Their best move so far culminated in Greenwood swanning in from the right flank and nearly bending a very lovely shot into the far corner. Not far away at all, and this lad looks the real deal, just as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer insists. And why wouldn’t you take his word? There’s a fair chance the man knows what he’s talking about.

8.17pm BST

GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! GOAL! Four of them have gone in, all across the continent. Look see:
Espanyol 0-1 Ferencvaros (Lopez og 10)
Ludogorets 0-1 CSKA Moscow (Diveev 11)
Borussia M’gladbach 0-1 Wolfsberger (Weissman 13)
Slovan Bratislava 1-0 Besiktas (Sporar 14)

8.14pm BST

MISSED PENALTY! Rangers captain James Tavernier has the opportunity to give Steven Gerrard’s side the perfect start against Feyenoord, but clips the outside of the right-hand post with his daisycutter.

8.11pm BST

GOAL! Porto 1-0 Young Boys. (Francisco Tiquinho Soares 8) The 2003 and 2011 winners Porto take the lead against Young Boys of Bern.

8.09pm BST

GOAL! Gent 1-0 St Etienne. (David 2) The first goal of the late kick-offs is scored by Gent. Belle and Sebastian earworm Jonathan David scores it, putting his side 1-0 up against St Etienne in what appears to be some sort of 1990s indie-band derby.

8.04pm BST

Over to Old Trafford, and it’s nearly a fast start for the hosts. The kids are alright, but Fred, 26, is even better. He launches a long shot towards the top-right corner from the best part of 30 yards. He beats the Astana keeper, but the ball pings off the top of the crossbar. So close.

8.02pm BST

Silence descends on Ibrox. A minute in heartbreaking honour of former Rangers captain Fernando Ricksen, who lost his brave battle with Motor Neurone disease yesterday. Immaculately observed. Gone too young. RIP.

Related: Fernando Ricksen: ‘I like living too much, I’m not ready to go’

7.59pm BST

7.56pm BST

Thanks Simon. So let’s just remind ourselves of the line-ups in the three big 8pm kick-offs. Other fixtures are available, and we’ll be keeping abreast of them, sort of. But these are the biggies.

Manchester United: Romero, Dalot, Jones, Tuanzebe, Rojo, Fred, Matic, Gomes, Rashford, Greenwood, Chong.
Subs: Maguire, Mata, Grant, Lingard, Young, Garner, McTominay.
Astana: Eric, Rukavina, Evgeni Postnikov, Tomasevic, Shomko, Tomasov, Maewski, Simunovic, Sigurjonsson, Rotariu, Murtazaev.
Subs: Muzhikov, Beysebekov, Mubele, Logvinenko, Pertsukh, Janga, Mokin.

7.53pm BST

Right, time for Scott Murray to take over for the late games. Bye!

7.51pm BST

The early games are over, and this is how they ended:

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal
Standard Liège 2-0 Vitória Guimarães
Basel 5-0 Krasnodar
Getafe 1-0 Trabzonspor
PSV 3-2 Sporting
LASK 1-0 Rosenborg
Rennes 1-1 Celtic
CFR Cluj 2-1 Lazio
APOEL 3-4 F91 Dudelange
Qarabağ 0-3 Sevilla
Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 Malmö
København 1-0 Lugano

7.49pm BST

Final score: Rennes 1-1 Celtic! A penalty and in due course a point apiece in Group E.

7.48pm BST

Final score: Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal! A frankly bonkers game in which either side could have scored any number of goals, but it ended with the Gunners three goals and one man up.

7.47pm BST

GOAL! Standard Liege 2-0 Guimaraes! Paul-Jose M’Poku, once of Tottenham’s academy, has made the game safe in Liege.

7.45pm BST

Red card! Celtic go down to 10! Vakoun Bayo has copped a second yellow, and is on his way to a (fractionally) early bath, a couple of minutes into five minutes of stoppage time. It’s still Rennes 1-1 Celtic.

7.42pm BST

Also three goals to the good are Sevilla, Oliver Torres having given them a 3-0 lead over Qarabag in the 85th minute.

7.42pm BST

GOAL! Eintracht Frankfurt 0-3 Arsenal! They’re not missing now! Saka nicks the ball in midfield and suddenly Arsenal have a three-on-one! He passes to Aubameyang, who dummies and then passes into the corner of the net. Saka has been dangerous all game, and suddenly has a goal and two assists!

7.40pm BST

GOAL! Apoel Nicosia 3-4 Dudelange! What a game! Danel Sinani puts the visitors back into the lead in the 82nd minute!

7.39pm BST

GOAL! Eintracht Frankfurt 0-2 Arsenal! And the Gunners have won it! Arsenal break through Xhaka who finds Pepe on the right. The Ivorian runs towards the box and passes inside to Saka, who checks onto his left foot and curls a lovely shot inside the far post!

7.38pm BST

GOAL! Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 Malmo! Vitaliy Buyalsky puts the home side ahead in the 84th minute!

7.37pm BST

Arsenal miss another sitter! The sittiest sitter of the entire evening! The ball is lifted into the area from the left, Chambers volleys it back across goal and Aubameyang has most of an empty net to tap into - but he taps wide of it!

7.33pm BST

Red card! Eintracht Frankfurt go down to 10 men! Dominik Kohr gets his marching orders after picking up a second booking for tripping Saka!

7.31pm BST

GOAL! Cluj 2-1 Lazio! Bilel Omrani puts Cluj ahead, heading in the rebound after his own shot had hit the bar.

7.29pm BST

For the second successive game Arsenal have had a player booked for timewasting. Kolasinac attracted the referee’s ire for dallying over a throw-in.

7.27pm BST

GOAL! Standard Liege 1-0 Guimaraes! The French left-back Florent Hanin has scored an own goal in Belgium!

66' : GOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL: 1-0

Vojvoda centre et Hanin marque contre son camp ! ⚽

Vojvoda zet voor en Hanin werkt de bal in eigen doel ! ⚽#STAVSC #COYR pic.twitter.com/ldu8qD4HT8

7.25pm BST

Scratch that! Dominik Stolz has made it Apoel 3-3 Dudelange! That goal ended a 14-minute goal drought, which must have been extremely testing for all concerned.

7.23pm BST

Four goals in seven minutes in Nicosia! In the 51st minute Antoine Bernier put Dudelange 2-0 up, and the away side probably thought they had victory in the bag. In the 58th minute Andrija Pavlović made it 3-2 to Apoel with his second goal in four minutes, and Tomás De Vincenti managed to squeeze a penalty between them!

7.21pm BST

Willock is denied by the goalkeeper’s legs! This game is not going to feature in any defensive coaching manuals, except as some kind of worst-case scenario disaster-planning exercise.

7.19pm BST

GOAL! Qarabag 0-1 Sevilla! Javier Hernandez has put Sevilla a goal up at Qarabag. The home side are yet to have a shot on target.

7.17pm BST

Wolves v Braga teams!

Wolverhampton: Rui Patricio, Bennett, Coady, Boly, Doherty, Dendoncker, Neves, Gibbs-White, Jonny, Jimenez, Cutrone. Subs: Pedro Neto, Jota, Ruddy, Saiss, Joao Moutinho, Ruben Vinagre, Traore.
Braga: Matheus Magalhaes, Ricardo Esgaio, Bruno Viana, Pablo Santos, Nuno Sequeira, Fransergio, Joao Palhinha, Andre Horta, Ricardo Horta, Paulinho, Galeno. Subs: Claudemir, Kouka, Diogo Viana, Joao Novais, Murilo Souza, Trincao, Eduardo.
Referee: Jakob Kehlet (Denmark).

7.16pm BST

Team news from Ibrox!

An emotional night as Ibrox mourns the passing of Fernando Ricksen. On the pitch, Steven Gerrard makes four changes to the side that beat Livingston at the weekend. Nikola Katic, Andy Halliday, Joe Aribo and the injured Ryan Kent are replaced by Filip Helander, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara and Ryan Jack.

7.14pm BST

Here’s Manchester United’s starting XI. And Astana’s, for that matter:

Solskjaer’s Sprogs get a run-out for United tonight. Angel Gomes and Tahith Chong make their first starts for the club, while 17-year-old Mason Greenwood is also named up front. Only Nemanja Matic and Marcus Rashford retain their starting spots from the win over Leicester. Plus: the lesser-spotted Fred!

7.13pm BST

Another Frankfurt miss! This time André Silva spears over with his left foot when picked out by a low cross! How the home side haven’t scored in this game is beyond me.

7.11pm BST

GOAL! Rennes 1-1 Celtic Ryan Christie rattles the penalty home! The keeper goes the right way, but can’t even touch it!

7.10pm BST

Celtic have a penalty! Forrest tricks Da Silva inside the area and goes down, and the referee blows instantly!

7.09pm BST

Arsenal hit the bar with a free-kick from the right, surely intended as a cross.

7.09pm BST

GOAL! Basel 4-0 Krasnodar! Two goals in three minutes for the Swiss side, Luca Zuffi with the first before Tonny Vilhena turned a cross into his own net!

7.07pm BST

GOAL! PSV 3-1 Sporting! Timo Baumgartl has restored the home side’s two-goal advantage in Holland, converting a corner.

7.04pm BST

And now a chance for Aubameyang! It’s a lovely run and pass from Willock, and Aubameyang would surely have scored but for Hinteregger’s sliding challenge! This game is ludicrously open!

7.03pm BST

And again! Kohr passes to André Silva, who shoots over!

7.01pm BST

Frankfurt come close! A cross from the left, and though it’s just too high for Dost (which means it was very high indeed) it would have been just right for André Silva had the Dutchman left it alone.

6.57pm BST

Back under way! The second half kicks off in Rennes, while in Frankfurt the players are poised.

6.54pm BST

I don’t know what Raúl Jiménez’s boots normally look like, so can’t really judge how interesting this is. They are quite smart boots, to be fair.

Special boots for @Raul_Jimenez9 tonight...

pic.twitter.com/CoB354lIwm

6.49pm BST

The goals you don’t know about: Sebastián Coates scored an own goal to give PSV a 2-0 lead over Sporting, but Bruno Fernandes has pulled one back from the spot. Also in Group D, James Holland scored in the third minute of first-half stoppage time to give LASK the advantage against Rosenborg. Finally, Kevin Bua’s smart finish has doubled Basel’s lead over Krasnodar, the 26-year-old scoring both of the goals.

6.46pm BST

The half-time scores in full:

Eintracht Frankfurt 0-1 Arsenal
Standard Liège 0-0 Vitória Guimarães
Basel 2-0 Krasnodar
Getafe 1-0 Trabzonspor
PSV 2-1 Sporting
LASK 1-0 Rosenborg
Rennes 1-0 Celtic
CFR Cluj 1-1 Lazio
APOEL 0-1 F91 Dudelange
Qarabağ 0-0 Sevilla
Dynamo Kyiv 0-0 Malmö
København 0-0 Lugano

6.44pm BST

It’s half-time everywhere, and I have a couple of goals to tell you about: Ciprian Deac has equalised from the penalty spot for Cluj against Lazio, while Danel Sinani has put Dudelange ahead at APOEL.

6.41pm BST

Into stoppage time in Frankfurt, and the home side come close again! André Silva this time shoots from the right of goal, and Martinez gets down smartly and pushes it away with his right glove!

6.36pm BST

Nathan Brown emails. “A match is 90 minutes long,” he writes. “So it could perhaps be made up of 6 matches of 15 minutes. Therefore 12 matches of 15 minutes is the equivalent of 2 full matches. My point is - you’re right, Arsenal have missed a fair few chances already.” They have now stopped missing, but you’re right, that was terrible elementary mathematics.

6.35pm BST

GOAL! Frankfurt 0-1 Arsenal! They’ve only gone and scored! Inevitably, it took a deflection and a lucky bounce. Willock it was, running down the left, cutting onto his right foot and then shooting into a defender’s leg, then into the turf, then over the keeper, then in off the underside of the bar!

A GOAL FROM HALE END!@BukayoSaka87 assists @JoeWillock for the opening goal as two @ArsenalAcademy boys combine!

⚫️ 0-1 (39)

#UEL pic.twitter.com/0ygRYRo67F

6.34pm BST

GOAL! Rennes 1-0 Celtic! Niang slams the penalty home, after sending Forster the wrong way!

6.33pm BST

Rennes have a penalty! Ajer doing the most ridiculous amount of shirt-pulling in the box there.

6.32pm BST

Saka’s low cross towards Aubameyang is well cleared by Sow, another heart-in-mouth moment for the home side. Somehow Arsenal have only had five shots; Frankfurt have had 12.

6.30pm BST

Arsenal miss another one! This time Smith-Rowe roars through on goal, but Trapp wins the one-on-one!

6.28pm BST

GOAL! Cluj 0-1 Lazio! A goal has been scored at Cluj. I can’t tell you anthing about it. Sorry.

25' | #ClujLazio 0-1

⚽️ GOOOOOOOOL!!!!!! GOOOOOOL!!!!!
LA SBLOCCA @quissanga91!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/HVvTvl7Uib

6.26pm BST

Now Willock misses an absolute sitter for Arsenal! How has he spooned that one? Aubameyang cuts the ball back from the byline, Willock times his run to perfection, he gets to the ball and sidefoots it wide! And probably also high!

6.22pm BST

Donyell Malen, PSV’s scorer, is a graduate of Arsenal’s academy, so the Gunners kind of scored in Europe tonight.

6.20pm BST

Eintracht keep threatening! Now Kostic is played in, on the left side of the penalty area, and his excellent low shot across goal is very well saved!

6.19pm BST

The goals are flying in now! Donyell Malen makes it PSV 1-0 Sporting

6.18pm BST

Meanwhile in Rennes Celtic tghreaten twice, one left-wing cross zipping across the edge of the six-yard box but evading everybody and then Edouard bursting into the box before deciding to dive rather than shoot.

6.17pm BST

Arsenal wobble again! How is this still 0-0? This time, after a left-wing cross causes panic, Bas Dost shoots high on the spin.

6.16pm BST

Another goal! Ángel has put Getafe ahead at home to Trabzonspor with a thumping header.

18' | ¡¡¡¡GOOOOOOOOL del @GetafeCF!!!!, marca Ángel el primero del partido.@GetafeCF 1-0 @Trabzonspor #VamosGeta pic.twitter.com/r9bgJtde8z

6.14pm BST

Now Eintracht should score! But Kostic, who could have squared the ball or just scored himself, blasts a left-footed shot wide of the near post!

6.12pm BST

Arsenal threaten again, but Trapp comes out quickly to reach the ball just before Torreira, who might have injured his ankle in hurdling the onrushing keeper.

6.11pm BST

Twelve games are being played, each now 15 minutes old. That’s the equivalent of four* full matches played, and only one goal has been scored.

* [Later edit] This is not true. It is the equivalent of two full matches. I did bad maths.

6.10pm BST

Meanwhile in Rennes, Grenier heads wide when he might have put the home side ahead against Celtic.

6.09pm BST

Arsenal fluff another excellent chance. This time Sow gives the ball to Saka, but he fails to release Aubameyang when all it would have taken was a straightforward pass, and the opportunity disappears in a puff of disappointment.

6.08pm BST

There has only been one Europa League goal so far, and it has been scored by Kevin Bua, whose 10th-minute goal has put Basel ahead against Krasnodar.

6.06pm BST

When they do get the ball into the box, Kamada falls over backwards in a ludicrous and unsuccessful attempt to win a penalty.

6.05pm BST

Frankfurt have dominated since that chance, but without threatening Arsenal’s penalty area.

6.02pm BST

What a chance for Arsenal! In the fifth minute, Saka lifts the ball to the far post where Torreira runs onto it, totally ignored by the defence. He meets it on the half-volley, eight yards out, and blasts it miles high!

5.56pm BST

Peeeeeep! We’re off!

5.56pm BST

In case you’re wondering what Tony Yeboah looks like these days:

5.53pm BST

And out they come! Behind the home goal, all hell breaks loose.

5.51pm BST

The players are on their way out! I’m watching events at Frankfurt, where the players’ tunnel looks like a conference centre.

5.40pm BST

The away dressing-room at Eintracht Frankfurt looks pleasingly old-school:

5.26pm BST

Arsenal have arrived for their game at Frankfurt, and don’t they look excited?

Arsenal arrive at Frankfurt Stadion ️#UEL pic.twitter.com/sHnlvDzhAr

5.17pm BST

Here are the starting line-ups from the Philips Stadion:

PSV: Zoet, Dumfries, Baumgartl, Viergever, Boscagli, Hendrix, Rosario, Ihattaren, Bergwijn, Malen, Bruma. Subs: Schwaab, Mitroglou, Gakpo, Ruiter, Doan, Sadilek, Teze.
Sporting: Ribeiro, Rosier, Coates, Neto, Acuna, Bolasie, Doumbia, Wendel, Luis, Vietto, Bruno Fernandes. Subs: Tiago Ilori, Eduardo Henrique, Camacho, Borja, Pedro Mendes, Cabral, Maximiano.
Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (Slovakia).

5.00pm BST

Rennes: Mendy; Traoré, Da Silva, Gnagnon, Morel; Bourigeaud, Jonas Martin, Grenier; Raphinha, Niang, Tait. Subs: Salin, Siebatcheu, Lea Siliki, Camavinga, Del Castillo, Hunou, Gelin.
Celtic: Forster; Elhamed, Ajer, Jullien, Bolingoli; Brown, McGregor; Forrest, Christie, Elyounoussi; Edouard. Subs: Gordon, Bayo, Bauer, Hayes, Morgan, Rogic, Ntcham.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon named an unchanged team for their Europa League group opener in Rennes.

That meant no place in the starting line-up for French midfielder Olivier Ntcham, with Norway winger Mohamed Elyounoussi keeping his place after his debut at Hamilton.

⭐️ @EuropaLeague Team News ⭐️

Our side to face @staderennais in the #UEL #RENCEL pic.twitter.com/1gH4O1FBSQ

4.54pm BST

Here’s PA Media’s take on the Arsenal line-up:

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery made seven changes for the Europa League Group F opener at Eintracht Frankfurt.

The Gunners boss kept Sead Kolasinac, Granit Xhaka, David Luiz and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his side from the weekend Premier League draw at Watford.

4.44pm BST

A load of changes for Arsenal, including Bukayo Saka making his second first-team start:

Eintracht Frankfurt: Trapp, Abraham, Hasebe, Hinteregger, Kohr, Da Costa, Sow, Kamada, Kostic, Dost, Andre Silva. Subs: Ndicka, Falette, Fernandes, Joveljic, Chandler, Ronnow, Paciencia.
Arsenal: Martinez, Chambers, Mustafi, Luiz, Kolasinac, Torreira, Xhaka, Smith-Rowe, Willock, Saka, Aubameyang. Subs: Leno, Ceballos, Maitland-Niles, Pepe, Nelson, Guendouzi, Martinelli.
Referee: Davide Massa (Italy).

4.42pm BST

We have some team news trickling in. Hold on to your hats ...

1.28pm BST

Welcome to another bumper evening of European football, in which 24 games will be played in two batches over five hours - and we’ll be here for the lot of it.

In the early games Celtic head to Rennes, where they should keep an eye out for the outrageously gifted 16-year-old defensive midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, who has played every minute of the French side’s season so far, while Arsenal visit Eintracht Frankfurt without Sokratis Papastathopoulos or Mesut Ozil, both dropped after flopping at Vicarage Road at the weekend. “Usually Eintracht are doing high pressing,” says Unai Emery worryingly, as we saw at Watford on Sunday that their defence can spontaneously self-combust when pressed. “Some mistakes we made on Sunday we need to improve. Today is another challenge to show how we can improve. Last year Frankfurt played in the same semi-final as Chelsea. To start tomorrow with them is a tough match.” There’s also PSV v Sporting, which looks like a Champions League fixture that has simply got lost somewhere though in fact the teams have played twice in the Europa League since they last met in the continent’s premier competition back in 1998. True fact: there has only been one away win in 11 meetings since 1975.

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