Scott Murray's Blog, page 114

Manchester City 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur: Premier League – as it happened

VAR denied City in injury time, just as it did in the Champions League last season.

8.05pm BST

Daniel Taylor was at the Etihad. Here’s his take on a dramatic match that bordered on the surreal. Enjoy his report, and thanks for reading this one. Nighty night!

Related: Lucas Moura earns Spurs draw at Manchester City as VAR history repeats

8.03pm BST

Pep Guardiola reflects on his team’s disappointment with trademark class. “We played incredible against the second best team in Europe, the finalists of the Champions League, so I am so proud. The amount of shots we created was incredible. But the result is all that counts. We would like to win, because the guys deserve it, but football is like this.” As for the dramatic disallowed goal? “Deja vu. It was the same! The last action, we score, and VAR disallows it. So what should I say? The second time, it’s tough, but it is what it is. It’s the new rules.” He then cites a couple of poor decisions in the Super Cup final. “So they have to fix it. VAR is here. The images are not clear, but if they think it’s hands ... now we have to accept it. It wasn’t a penalty in the first half, which I found incredible. But we move forward.”

7.53pm BST

A very content Mauricio Pochettino speaks to Sky Sports. “I am in love with VAR! Sometimes you get the benefits. Today and in the Champions League. You cannot stop the progression of the technology. We need to accept that we are living in a different era. It’s a benefit for us today, but we need to accept it when it’s against us too. It was an amazing feeling, just like it was in the Champions League.” He goes on to say that he’d quite like to go to a Manchester restaurant with Pep, so they can have a long talk about VAR.

7.48pm BST

It’s worth pointing out that the handball law has been revised. So if “the ball goes into the goal after touching an attacking player’s hand/arm”, it’s a free kick “even if accidental”. Manchester City fans may feel VAR has done a number on them tonight - nobody spotted the infringement in real time, and no Spurs player appealed - but it’s technically the correct decision. This is VAR. This is what everyone wanted.

7.42pm BST

Tottenham captain Hugo Lloris speaks to Sky Sports. “To be honest, I thought it was a goal. It’s a bit unlucky for City. Anyone can have a different interpretation. But then I looked at the screen and realised it was a hand ball. But we are very happy with the point. It shows our personality and character. We need to enjoy the moment.”

Lucas Moura adds: “It was crazy. I thought it was finished. But this type of action is hard to see. Only the VAR can see. So thank you for it! But we played very well, and it was a good result for us, because we know how difficult it is to play here.”

7.38pm BST

So here are the stats. City had 30 attempts on goal to Tottenham’s three. I think I’m right in saying one of Tottenham’s efforts was a speculative dig from the halfway line by Harry Kane. Ten of those City efforts were on target; Spurs scored with both of theirs. The expected goals, for those of you who like that sort of thing, has the result as City 3, Spurs 0.22. City took 52 touches in the Tottenham area; Spurs just five in City’s. City had 13 corners; Spurs just two. And the home side enjoyed 56% of possession, which probably is the least lop-sided stat of all. But it ended 2-2.

7.32pm BST

City dominated pretty much from start to finish. Exact stats when we have them, but they created roughly ten times the number of chances made by Spurs. But the visitors were resilient beyond belief. They needed a little luck - VAR was on their side today, not just at the end, but also with the non-award of a penalty in the first half - but they also took it with a superb display of defensive grit. That’s their first away draw in 16 months. If it has to be a stalemate, best make it memorable, eh?

7.29pm BST

Gabriel Jesus, his match-winning goal snatched away from him, engages in a full and frank discussion with referee Michael Oliver. He’s ushered away by Harry Kane before he says something he really regrets. Then his manager comes on to shake the referee’s hand. He doesn’t say much, but his gaze lingers a little longer than it might in less dramatic circumstances. Guardiola races off down the tunnel, his side having somehow dropped a couple of points this evening. That was quite surreal, all told.

7.27pm BST

Sterling has a shot that’s blocked. Then there’s a melee in the Spurs box. And finally the whistle blows. That’s that! How on earth has that ended 2-2?! It’s ended 2-2, though.

7.25pm BST

90 min +5: The dugouts again. Pep is now hugging his opposite number Mauricio Pochettino. More bedlam, but now it’s mixed with the stunned disbelief of the City support.

7.24pm BST

The ball came off Laporte’s arm in the build-up! The goal’s quite correctly chalked off! City have been denied by VAR against Spurs yet again!

7.23pm BST

90 min +3: On the touchline, Pep turns and stares at Aguero on the bench. His decision vindicated. But ...

7.22pm BST

David Silva works his way down the right and earns a corner. De Bruyne hooks it in. Laporte flicks the ball on for Jesus, level with the left-hand post. He takes a touch back inside, and curls the winner into the bottom right! Bedlam!

7.20pm BST

90 min +1: In the first of four additional minutes, Oliver Skipp comes on for Christian Eriksen.

7.19pm BST

90 min: Zinchenko looks to have recovered. He’s patrolling the left flank in the busy fashion. He crosses deep, but Laporte gets overly excited in the box and concedes a foul that takes the pressure off the visitors.

7.18pm BST

89 min: Manchester City have made 29 attempts on goal. Spurs just three. “There is no logical explanation for this match,” says Mary Waltz. “Awesome, isn’t it?”

7.17pm BST

88 min: Eriksen has the chance to release Kane down the right, but dawdles and is stripped of possession. Not entirely sure how we’ve got here, but this really could go either way now.

7.15pm BST

86 min: For a second, it doesn’t look as though Zinchenko will be able to continue. He’s on the touchline feeling his hamstring. But he insists on coming back on. City would be otherwise down to ten men. Presumably it’s just a bad case of cramp, as opposed to a muscle tweak, or this is a bit risky. Anyway, in the meantime, Lamela is replaced for Lo Celso, who comes on to make his Spurs debut at the home of the champions.

7.13pm BST

84 min: Zinchenko is down, feeling his hamstring. He’s shaking his head at the bench. Or is it cramp? The doctors give his leg a good old stretch.

7.12pm BST

82 min: City keep on pressing. But suddenly Moura breaks up the other end. He’s got Lamela to one side, and Kane on the other. He feeds Lamela, who immediately extracts all momentum from the move. A great chance to complete a sensational turnaround is spurned.

7.09pm BST

80 min: Now Bernardo Silva is swapped for Riyad Mahrez. Some bench City have, huh?

7.08pm BST

79 min: This surely can’t end 2-2. There have been so many chances. With further goals in mind, Pep replaces Rodri with David Silva. Then De Bruyne crosses from the right. Jesus sends a header inches left of goal. So close.

7.07pm BST

77 min: Nope. In fact it’s City who nearly score a third, breaking four on two from the Spurs corner. But De Bruyne’s attempt to release Jesus goes wrong when he clanks his pass against his team-mate’s ankle.

7.06pm BST

76 min: Moura tears past a snoozing Zinchenko, reaching the byline out on the right. He whips back for Kane, but Otamendi slides in to divert the ball out for a corner. Are we about to witness one of the all-time smash and grabs?

7.05pm BST

75 min: Zinchenko floats a ball into the Spurs box from the right. Under no pressure whatsoever, Rose heads behind for a corner. Shades of the Champions League final, just before Divock Origi scored Liverpool’s clincher. But nothing so dramatic comes of this one. City are beginning to look a little frustrated.

7.03pm BST

74 min: De Bruyne barrels down the right and whips a low ball into the area. Sanchez does well to cut it out at the near post, with a lot of sky-blue-shirted trouble waiting behind him.

7.01pm BST

72 min: Bernardo Silva crosses into the Spurs mixer from the right. Jesus, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, brings the ball down with his chest, but can’t swivel to get his shot on target. Goal kick.

7.00pm BST

70 min: The corner’s worked from right to left for Sterling, who hooks high into the box. Lloris rises to claim, and is barged in the rugby line-out style by Otamendi. Pressure off, needlessly, once again. The home crowd are getting a little worried, and take it out on the stricken Lloris. Booooo.

6.59pm BST

69 min: Jesus dribbles towards the Spurs box. He one-twos with De Bruyne and enters the crowded area. He drops his shoulder once, twice, three times, in the hope of making space to shoot. Eventually he takes a dig, but Sanchez blocks out for a corner.

6.58pm BST

68 min: Another corner for City. De Bruyne uncharacteristically relieves the pressure on Spurs by hoicking a high and wild cross over everyone’s head from the left.

6.57pm BST

66 min: Sergio Aguero is hooked. Gabriel Jesus replaces him. And then on the touchline Aguero instigates a hard and fast discussion with his manager. For a second, it looks like Pep is about to cuff his player around the lug, but he’s ushered away from the situation. It all calms down quickly enough, anyway. All good pantomime fun, which will no doubt be blown out of all proportion later.

6.54pm BST

64 min: A rare period of play in the centre of the park. “This match is insane,” writes Mary Waltz, who is not wrong.

6.53pm BST

62 min: Yes, this is quite deliciously daft. De Bruyne crosses from the left. Bernardo Silva nearly turns the ball into the net from close range. It’s deflected out for a corner. From the set piece, Aguero and Otamendi take turns to send the ball flying goalwards. Spurs somehow manage to clear. How is the scoreline of this match 2-2?

6.51pm BST

61 min: This is getting daft. Lloris comes out to meet the corner, but flaps. Bernardo Silva flicks over the stranded keeper and towards the empty net. The ball clanks off the crossbar and into the arms of the blushing keeper.

6.50pm BST

60 min: The Spurs fans are giving it plenty. The home crowd can’t quite believe what they’ve just seen. It’s all very strange, because the match had been a rout in all but scoreline. But now everything changes. Rodri tries to restore order by creaming a rising shot from 25 yards straight at Lloris, who tips over for a corner.

6.48pm BST

58 min: Moura had been on the field for 19 seconds! Most of that was running on, then waiting for the corner to be taken. So a couple of seconds of action tops. That’s some introduction.

6.47pm BST

The corner’s swung in from the right. Moura rises highest, and guides a header into the top left, past a sprawling Ederson. What a first touch! What a substitution! What a preposterous scoreline, given the overall balance of the game.

6.45pm BST

55 min: This is better from Spurs. A period of possession in the middle of the park. Lamela then wedges down the middle. Eriksen chests down on the edge of the area. He can’t get a shot away, but is able to force a corner on the right. Before it’s taken, Lucas Moura comes on for Winks, and ...

6.43pm BST

54 min: Now a pass is slipped down the inside-right channel by Sterling, releasing Bernardo Silva into the box. Silva opens up his body and tries to pass the ball into the bottom left. Lloris gathers. That’s City’s 18th attempt at goal. Spurs have so far made one.

6.42pm BST

53 min: Zinchenko to Sterling to Aguero. The ball simply shuttled down the inside-left channel. Aguero strides into the box and lashes a shot over the bar.

6.41pm BST

51 min: City are looking to wrap the three points up in short order. De Bruyne cuts in from the right and fizzes a diagonal shot wide of the left-hand post. Not entirely sure Lloris would have got to that, had it been on target.

6.40pm BST

50 min: Another City corner. This time De Bruyne whips in from the left with extreme violence. Lloris punches clear with confidence. Laporte goes down in the meantime, claiming he was tugged to the floor by Sissoko, but come off it.

6.39pm BST

49 min: ... and City nearly score from it. The ball’s pulled back to Zinchenko, whose low shot through a thicket of players is deflected and heads towards the bottom left. Lloris, initially wrong-footed, saves with a strong hand.

6.38pm BST

48 min: Rose bursts down the left and hoicks a cross into the City box. It’s not aimed at anyone in particular and easily claimed by Ederson. City go straight up the other end, De Bruyne taking a shot from distance. The ball’s deflected out for a corner.

6.36pm BST

46 min: City are almost immediately on the attack, Walker sprinting down the right and whipping low towards the near post. Lloris does extremely well to gather a hard ball without spilling, Aguero lurking nearby.

6.34pm BST

Here we go again! Spurs get the second half underway. No changes yet, though Lucas Moura and new boy Giovani Lo Celso have done plenty of warming up during the break. “We Liverpool faithful won’t believe it’s not the year until it’s statistically impossible,” sighs Roger Wallace, “and even then may hold out for City to be disqualified by some act of God. But I must admit some nerves when City look twice as dominant against Spurs as we do against Southampton.”

6.26pm BST

Half-time entertainment. Our old pal Nick Ames has been to Berlin. Like Bowie, Eno and Fripp before him, he’s been very creative. Enjoy.

Related: ‘Things are quite special here’: Union Berlin prepare for the Bundesliga

6.18pm BST

Bernardo Silva performs some ball-glued-to-boot tricks out on the right. Rose eventually clatters him for his cheek. Then Lloris nearly gifts the ball to De Bruyne, but gets away with a weak pass. And then the whistle goes. It couldn’t come quickly enough for Spurs, who suddenly looked very ragged ... and not a little irritated at chasing shadows. A big half-time coming up for Mauricio Pochettino. Pep by contrast can get a cigar on.

6.15pm BST

45 min: Spurs can’t get out of their final third. They’re desperate to hear the half-time whistle. They’ll need to get through an extra two minutes.

6.14pm BST

43 min: And once again, City nearly punish Spurs after hypnotising them with their metronomic football. The ball’s suddenly slipped down the right for De Bruyne, who from the byline pulls back a pinpoint pass for Gundogan, rushing into the Spurs box. Gundogan meets it first time, and is inches away from passing the ball at speed into the bottom right. That would have been picture pretty.

6.12pm BST

42 min: City continue to stroke it around the middle of the park. Spurs are being made to do a lot of running here.

6.11pm BST

40 min: Lamela slips a long pass down the left, nearly releasing Kane. Ederson comes to the edge of his box to claim. Inches in it, but he gets to the ball ahead of the striker, and still inside his area to boot. Kane doesn’t look happy, claiming for something that presumably makes sense in his imagination. He’s just frustrated. It’s not about Ederson, is it.

6.08pm BST

38 min: Bernardo Silva dances down the right and wedges a cross into a packed box. Easy pickings for Lloris. But the visitors are being run ragged again, after that brief mellow interlude. Such a strange rhythm to this match.

6.07pm BST

36 min: De Bruyne sashays down the inside right, past Sanchez, leaving him spinning like a teenager after three cans of warm Special Brew. He’s clear in the box, with options in the middle. But he’s uncharacteristically foolish, slashing a wild shot high and miles right of the target. Spurs were in all sorts of trouble for a second there.

6.06pm BST

As quick as a flash, City move up a gear. Bernardo Silva slips a ball down the right to release De Bruyne into space. De Bruyne flashes a low cross to the near post, where Aguero gets a yard on Alderweireld and flicks into the bottom right! Clinical. City lulled Spurs into a false sense of security there. Hypnotic.

6.04pm BST

34 min: City try to regain some control. They stroke it around the midfield for a while. Baby steps. Then suddenly ...

6.03pm BST

32 min: It’s all a bit scrappy at the moment. Such a contrast to the first 20 minutes, when City were so slick. Mauricio Pochettino will be delighted with his team’s response to falling behind.

6.02pm BST

30 min: Spurs have certainly woken from their early-match slumber. They’ve enjoyed nearly 60% of possession since City scored the opener. Sometimes teams need a shock to get going. “I don’t want VAR to start giving pens for such pathetic contact as that one, or the Tammy Abraham one in the Super Cup the other night,” opines Chris G. “So if they don’t, bravo I say, whilst conscious of the fact that I would never say ‘bravo’ out loud.” You’ll get no argument here. VAR says it best when it says nothing at all.

5.58pm BST

28 min: Ndombele slides in on De Bruyne and concedes a free kick 35 yards out, in a central position. Danger here. But City don’t make the most of the opportunity, instigating a lame game of head tennis in the Spurs box. Eventually Laporte, of all people, waves a leg at a loose ball and sends it looping towards Lloris.

5.56pm BST

26 min: Nothing comes of the corner. Winks runs off down the right wing on the break, and is cynically tugged back by Sterling, who is booked for his sauce.

5.55pm BST

25 min: Sterling skedaddles down the left and plays a ball through the six-yard box. Sissoko is on hand to slice out for a corner, with Bernardo Silva lurking. Sterling has Walker-Peters on toast.

5.54pm BST

So, obviously, out of nothing, Spurs equalise! In strange super-slow motion as well. Ndombele wins the ball in the centre circle and lays off to Lamela, who is allowed to stride smoothly towards the City box. Lamela takes an early shot, opening his body and passing it past an extended Ederson and into the bottom left! Simple as that! A fine finish, but where on earth did that goal come from? And why were City so passive?

5.52pm BST

22 min: That had been coming. A couple of bursts upfield apart, Spurs have been second best from the get-go. Illustrating their malaise, Harry Kane has only touched the ball on four occasions.

5.51pm BST

This is such a sweet goal, yet so simple. Bernardo Silva dribbles slowly down the right, then checks and rolls a pass back up the wing for De Bruyne, who whips a vicious cross towards the back post. Sterling, rushing in, meets it with a glorious header, flush, sending the ball back across Lloris and into the right-hand portion of the net. What a move, what a finish. They’re not bad, this lot, are they?

5.49pm BST

18 min: Rose takes another age over a throw. This time his stalling is so egregious that referee Michael Oliver is forced to come over and issue beneficial advice. If there’s any more of this, expect the yellow card to come out.

5.47pm BST

16 min: Spurs have another drive at City. Aguero is bullied off the ball deep in Tottenham territory. That allows Kane to zip down the middle at great speed. He slips a pass wide right for Sissoko, who chips to the far stick for Lamela. A header’s sent goalwards, but it’s a harmless looping effort. At least City now know they’re in a game.

5.45pm BST

15 min: Spurs haven’t done much in attack so far. Eriksen tries to address that with a determined dribble down the middle. He nearly successfully plays a wall pass off Lamela; had it come off, he’d have been scampering into the City half with Kane for company. But Lamela can’t quite cushion the ball back to his team-mate. Better from Spurs, though.

5.43pm BST

13 min: In fact, that tangle looks more like a penalty every time they show it. VAR, huh, kids.

5.43pm BST

11 min: One corner leads to another. From the second, Lamela dances with Rodri, who goes down. He’s after a penalty kick. He’s not getting one, even though Lamela’s arm was around Rodri’s neck. You’ve certainly seen them given, but the VAR isn’t interested in overturning it. It would have been soft, but it was probably a spot kick. I guess they’ll be falling back on the “clear and obvious” get-out.

5.40pm BST

10 min: De Bruyne, Gundogan and Sterling wreak havoc down the left. They very nearly open Spurs up with some cute triangles, but the last pass is deflected and a corner will suffice.

5.39pm BST

8 min: City look lively, but then when do they not? Sterling has a shot that’s blocked and deflected out for a corner. Then after a quickly taken set piece, De Bruyne tries to thread one into the bottom right. Lloris claims. Spurs are doing their best to weather the storm, but they surely can’t go on like this.

5.37pm BST

6 min: Zinchenko and Sterling combine again down the left. And once again Sterling is flagged offside. It was close, though. The Spurs back line are playing with fire. “It’s good to hear that Sky are still finding new and exciting new ways to entice me to leave the TV off until kick off,” writes David Flynn. You mean the MBM alone isn’t enough?

5.35pm BST

5 min: Sterling nearly gets past Walker-Peters, as he twinkles down the left. Not quite. But City are coming at Spurs from all angles. The visitors have barely had a touch in these early exchanges.

5.34pm BST

4 min: City continue to pass it around relentlessly. Zinchenko nearly releases Sterling down the left, but the City winger mistimes his run and the flag goes up.

5.33pm BST

2 min: Rose takes a while over a throw, deep in Spurs territory. Clever move. Spurs started in a shaky fashion, they could do with finding their feet. And breathe.

5.32pm BST

City get the big match underway! It’s not long before Bernardo Silva and De Bruyne are working their way down the right, forcing Alderweireld to hack clear. Then Sterling nearly gets onto a long pass down the left, but he’s ushered away from danger just when it looks as though he’ll latch onto the ball. A couple of statements of intent within the first 55 seconds or so.

5.29pm BST

The teams are out! A cracking atmosphere for the first game of the new season at the home of the treble-winning champions. They wear their famous sky-blue shirts, while Spurs

sport their trademark lilywhite
are in second-choice dark blue. Or is that purple? You get the gist. We’ll be off before you know it!

5.23pm BST

Sky Sports have had a chat with both managers. The main takeaway: Pep Guardiola has changed his line-up because he wants to give all his squad a run-out. “I want everyone involved. I want to see the players. We need everybody. If the players don’t play every game it could be two or three weeks without a game. I need to see them.” By contrast, Mauricio Pochettino has opted for his strongest side without any considerations regarding rotation. “It is so important that we pick the best starting XI. City love to dominate the midfield but we are strong there.”

5.18pm BST

This is the second Saturday night match on Sky Sports under the new TV contract. And for some reason they’ve decided to stick with the wholly unnecessary innovation of sending pundit Jamie Redknapp out onto the pitch during the warm-up to take “a closer look” at a couple of the players. Last week it was Tanguy Ndombele, with reference to footage he’d already seen in the studio; this week it’s Rodri, who was busy doing stretches 60 yards away. The long and the short of it, pretty much, is that the speck he sees in the distance is a “big unit”. Yes, well, this segment doesn’t work, does it. Having said that, it’s only a matter of time before poor old Jamie takes a loose one right in the clock, just like his old dad before him. It’s inevitable, and a possible reason why the producers are happy to keep this one going.

4.50pm BST

The champions make four changes to the team named for the 5-0 win at West Ham last Saturday. Sergio Aguero, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gundogan and Nicolas Otamendi come in for John Stones, David Silva, Riyad Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus.

Christian Eriksen returns to the Spurs starting line-up after coming on as substitute to turn around the opening-day fixture against Aston Villa. Lucas Moura makes way, the only change to Mauricio Pochettino’s side.

4.32pm BST

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

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker-Peters, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose, Sissoko, Winks, Ndombele, Lamela, Eriksen, Kane.
Subs: Vertonghen, Dier, Lo Celso, Gazzaniga, Lucas Moura, Skipp, Davies.

10.56am BST

Domestic treble-winners Manchester City versus Champions League runners-up Tottenham Hotspur. It’s fair to say this is a big one. We might only be nine days into the new season, but as both teams have designs on the Premier League title, this qualifies as a proper six-pointer. Sniff if you like, but there it is.

City will be confident of making an early statement in their quest to join Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United as three-peat winners of the English top division. As if sticking five past West Ham at their own gaff wasn’t enough. They’re currently on a 15-game winning streak in the league, and are on a four-match winning run against this evening’s opponents. They’ve beaten Tottenham seven times in their last nine visits. And Spurs have a dismal record against the top clubs of late: just seven points against the other members of the self-styled Big Six last year.

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Arsenal 2-1 Burnley: Premier League – as it happened

Arsenal make it two wins from two thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s second-half strike

2.48pm BST

And that, dear friends, is your lot. Ed Aarons was our man at the Emirates today. His report has landed. Enjoy that one, and thanks for reading this one.

Related: Lacazette and Aubameyang give Arsenal the edge over sturdy Burnley

2.47pm BST

And now it’s Sean Dyche’s turn. He thought his team put in a “good performance” and were “excellent particularly in the first half”. He’s “disappointed” that Ben Mee was penalised for handball in the lead-up to Arsenal’s first goal, and also that the hosts were “falling all over the place” throughout the game. Pointing out that diving is only punishable by a yellow card, he argues: “That means players can cheat once per game.” He’s not totally pleased.

2.42pm BST

Unai Emery is “happy”. It was a “tough match” but he was pleased his team made a connection with the supporters. They “didn’t impose the game plan for 90 minutes”, but did some “good things” nonetheless. His new signings were “very good”.

2.28pm BST

A statement of intent from today’s match-winner Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang: “It’s good to start like this, with two wins, before we go to Liverpool. We feel confident. We feel stronger with players like David Luiz and Nicolas Pepe. We are sure we can fight for the top four.”

2.23pm BST

There’s just enough time for Barnes to be booked, the punishment for tugging back Kolasinac, and that’s that! Arsenal have won their first two Premier League matches of the season for the first time in a decade. Burnley were arguably the better side in the first half; Arsenal were certainly the better side in the second, and deserve the three points. But Burnley made them work and sweat.

2.21pm BST

90 min +4: Arsenal struggle to clear this one, too. But they’re let off the hook as Rodriguez attempts an overly ambitious overhead kick. It’s wild and high. And this match is surely over.

2.21pm BST

90 min +3: Pope’s up for the corner! Some head tennis. Luiz heads over his own crossbar. There’ll be another corner!

2.20pm BST

90 min +2: Pepe has a chance of releasing Aubameyang. They’re two on one with Tarkowski. But the pass is no good. Lennon breaks up the other end and wins a corner. Before it’s taken, Luiz is booked for a check on Barnes.

2.19pm BST

90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. Sokratis is booked for cynical skulduggery on the halfway line.

2.18pm BST

90 min: Willock makes good down the inside right, reaches the byline, and cuts back for Torreira, who lashes a first-time shot towards the bottom right. Pope does very well to parry. A lovely move, and a save to match.

2.16pm BST

88 min: Lowton makes a nuisance of himself on the edge of the Arsenal box. Torreira looks to shepherd the ball back towards Leno, and is shoved by the Burnley man for his trouble. He goes over and lands heavily on his shoulder, but after a worrying bout of rolling and grimacing, he’s up again, no serious harm done.

2.14pm BST

86 min: Aubameyang works his way down the right and wins a corner off Mee. Pepe takes. Barnes heads clear. The clock, a long-time Arsenal icon, ticks on.

2.12pm BST

85 min: Burnley are seeing plenty of the ball in these closing stages. McNeil whips a curler in from the left, but Barnes can’t meet it at the near post. Leno claims.

2.11pm BST

83 min: Ceballos departs to a standing ovation. He’s been magnificent today. He’s replaced by the equally popular Torreira. A feelgood moment at the Arsenal.

2.09pm BST

82 min: Lowton crosses from the right. Rodriguez is lurking, waiting to pounce, but Sokratis does extremely well to negate his threat and guide the ball back to his keeper.

2.08pm BST

80 min: Luiz blocks off Barnes, 35 yards from goal. Westwood wedges the resulting free kick into the area towards Mee, romping in from the left. But Mee can’t quite get a shot away, and Leno claims. The denizens of the Emirates are getting a little nervous now. It’s quiet and tense.

2.06pm BST

78 min: Pepe diddles Mee in the midfield - a nutmeg on the turn! He races towards the Burnley box. He’s eventually bundled off the ball by Tarkowski, but what skill. This chap is going to light up the Premier League.

2.04pm BST

76 min: Arsenal manage to escape, Maitland-Niles working his way down the right and rolling a pass infield for Pepe, who suddenly recognises the opportunity of a goal on his home debut. He strides into space near the Burnley box ... but then sends a dribbler into the arms of Pope.

2.02pm BST

75 min: Westwood sends a free kick into the Arsenal box from the right. Mee wins a header at the far post, but that one goes wide. Goal kick for Arsenal, but the ball’s soon coming straight back at them. Arsenal are struggling to get out of their own half at the minute.

2.01pm BST

74 min: Lowton crosses from the right. Barnes flicks on, but to nobody in particular. The ball sails out for a goal kick. The home fans are getting a little nervous, though, as the visitors start to ask one or two questions again, for the first time in a while.

2.00pm BST

72 min: That’s Gudmundsson’s last act of the afternoon. He’s hooked in favour of Aaron Lennon, who gets the full ex-Tottenham reception as he takes to the field. Meanwhile Lacazette is replaced by Kolasinac.

1.59pm BST

71 min: Lowton hammers a low shot into the Arsenal area from the right. The ball breaks to Gudmundsson, who crosses deep to McNeil, coming in from the left. McNeil wins a header but sends it well over the bar.

1.57pm BST

70 min: A little scrappy.

1.56pm BST

68 min: Luiz is forced to concede a corner on the right, hacking out Lowton’s cross. Leno flaps at the corner, but Arsenal clear their lines eventually. Arsenal have been dominant since the restart, but there’s a reminder that this isn’t over quite yet.

1.54pm BST

67 min: Westwood leans into the influential Ceballos and concedes a free kick out on the left. The set piece comes to nothing, but the 23-year-old Spaniard, on loan from Real Madrid, is making a serious impression here this afternoon.

1.53pm BST

65 min: Burnley try to come back at Arsenal, but Lowton’s cross from the right floats harmlessly into Leno’s arms.

1.52pm BST

What a finish by Aubameyang! Ceballos sends him away down the inside left, having won the ball off Gudmundsson. Aubameyang glides in from the wing, drops a shoulder, and fizzes an unstoppable low shot into the bottom left! Pope had absolutely no chance whatsoever.

1.50pm BST

63 min: Ceballos seems to have more time than everyone else on the pitch. He brings down the ball, almost in slow motion, has a think, and curls a shot towards the top right from the edge of the box. Pope does very well to turn the ball away.

1.49pm BST

61 min: Now it’s Burnley’s turn to throw on their big new signing. Jay Rodriguez comes on for the quiet Chris Wood. McNeil then crosses from the left, Westwood heading over from six yards. Real chances at both ends!

1.48pm BST

60 min: Arsenal stroke it around in the passive style ... then suddenly burst into action, Pepe rolling a quick pass down the inside-right and releasing Aubameyang into the area. Aubameyang takes a touch and blasts straight at Pope, who parries well but really shouldn’t have had a chance.

1.45pm BST

58 min: Corner for Arsenal on the left. Ceballos to take. It’s played short, and worked out to Maitland-Niles, who sends a shot sailing over Highbury & Islington tube. What a waste, having pinned Burnley back.

1.44pm BST

57 min: Barnes gifts Pepe the ball on the halfway line. Pepe tears down the inside right and tries to release Lacazette. Tarkowski makes sure the door stays shut, but this is much better from Arsenal, who have enjoyed 94% possession since the restart!

1.43pm BST

55 min: Pepe spins elegantly down the right, sashaying infield and thinking about a shot. He lays off instead to Ceballos, whose effort is blocked. The crowd are already warming to Pepe. Glimpses of his talent already.

1.40pm BST

53 min: Burnley probe for the first time since the restart, a few neat triangles down the left that result in McNeil lifting a speculative long-range effort well over the bar.

1.39pm BST

51 min: Ceballos and Monreal combine down the inside-left channel and tee up Aubameyang, who fires towards the top right from distance. His diagonal shot is a little too high, but Pope was worried about that one.

1.38pm BST

50 min: Pepe isn’t letting things drop, though, and cranks it up again by combining with Aubameyang down the left. It’s a determined run that leads to nothing, but gets the crowd going again. On the touchline, Emery waves his arms in the agitated fashion. He wants some high-tempo play, immediately if not sooner.

1.37pm BST

49 min: And so Burnley take their sweet time over a throw, irritating the crowd immensely. Unai Emery also seems reasonably unhappy about it, and gives the linesman a piece of his mind. There goes that half-time surge!

1.34pm BST

47 min: The corner’s played short, then worked to Maitland-Niles to the left of the D. Maitland-Niles dribbles down the left and floats a cross into the middle ... and over the crossbar. Harmless. But the home side have clearly had a talking-to. Immediate signs that they’re planning to step up the pace.

1.33pm BST

Arsenal get the second half underway. And on comes their record signing Nicolas Pepe, who replaces Reiss Nelson. He’s immediately into the action, part of a move which results in Monreal winning a corner out on the left.

1.21pm BST

Half-time entertainment. One of the stars of the summer talks to the Guardian!

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1.19pm BST

A couple of boos as the teams leave the field. Burnley gave as good as they got during the first half. They’re deservedly level, having asked Arsenal’s defence a few questions. This is poised deliciously for the second half. Please go nowhere!

1.17pm BST

45 min +1: And now VAR chalks off an Arsenal goal. Aubameyang slips a pass down the left to release Monreal, who pulls one back towards Nelson at the near post. Nelson flashes a fine finish into the top left. But Monreal’s toenails were offside.

1.16pm BST

45 min: There was a check for offside, because VAR has to stick its neb in. Barnes was clearly on. No more than Burnley deserve.

1.15pm BST

Lacazette, on the edge of the Burnley box, considers shooting. He doesn’t get a shot away. Burnley clear and tear up the other end. Wood works his way down the left, then lays off to McNeil, who sends a low diagonal pass towards Barnes on the penalty spot. He’s totally unmarked, and after sorting his feet out, pokes the ball into the bottom left, despite pressure eventually arriving from Luiz, at his back.

1.12pm BST

42 min: The corner leads to nothing.

1.11pm BST

41 min: A little space and time for Guendouzi, just to the right of the Burnley D. He considers his options before shooting low and hard towards the bottom right. Pope does well to extend a leg, diverting the ball out for a corner.

1.10pm BST

40 min: Guendouzi strides upfield and sends a pass wide left for Monreal, who crosses first time at great speed. It’s plucked out of the sky by Pope.

1.08pm BST

38 min: Burnley take a quick free kick, but Aubameyang hasn’t retreated ten yards, and is booked as a result. When the set piece is eventually taken - hoicked into the box, naturally - Barnes sends a weak header into the arms of Leno. Easy for the keeper. Barnes should have done much better.

1.07pm BST

37 min: A free kick for Burnley out on the left. McNeil’s delivery is extremely poor. Arsenal half-clear, but Willock clatters into Pieters and it’ll be another free kick on the same flank.

1.06pm BST

35 min: Nelson drives down the left and belts a rising shot goalwards. Pope makes a meal of parrying it, and is grateful for some help from Tarkowski. Burnley clear.

1.04pm BST

33 min: The toes of Ceballos twinkle again, as he embarks on a mesmeric run down the inside-left channel. He lays off to Willock, just to his left. Willock stands one up, but there’s too much juice on the cross and there’s no chance of Aubameyang meeting the ball.

1.02pm BST

32 min: Gudmundsson finds Lowton on the overlap down the right. The full back wins a corner. Another chance to stick one in the mixer. Leno punches clear at the near post, some much-needed decisive keeping amid a melee.

1.01pm BST

30 min: Ceballos performs a couple of elegant pirouettes in the centre circle. He goes nowhere in particular, but the home crowd appreciate the artistry nonetheless. A warm round of applause.

12.59pm BST

28 min: From the corner, McNeil nearly makes him pay, looking to fire a shot through a penalty-box thicket and into the bottom right. It’s blocked and cleared. But this is spirited stuff from the visitors, who are giving the home defence a thorough pressure test.

12.58pm BST

27 min: Gudmundsson crosses deep from the right. McNeil is able to trap to the left of the goal. He tries to tee up Barnes, but lamely cushions the ball to Maitland-Niles. However the Arsenal defender, toppling backwards, inexplicably hooks out for a corner.

12.56pm BST

25 min: Willock gives up possession cheaply, 30 yards from his own goal. That allows Cork to stride forward and look for the top-right corner. His shot is blocked. Arsenal clear. But Burnley have clearly got the whiff of opportunity in their collective beak. Arsenal don’t look particularly confident at the back.

12.54pm BST

24 min: Arsenal pick it up again. Maitland-Niles bombs down the right and wins a corner. From the set piece, Maitland-Niles, Ceballos and Nelson combine cutely with some crisp passing and very nearly tee up Luiz on the edge of the box. Not quite, but that was pretty play.

12.53pm BST

22 min: Burnley have done enough since conceding to put the crowd on mute. They’re the sharper side at the moment. Arsenal need to pick it up again.

12.51pm BST

20 min: An almighty scramble in the Arsenal six-yard box! Leno comes to claim the corner and flaps. Luiz eventually bashes clear, but that could have dropped to anyone. Right now, a clean sheet for Arsenal this afternoon seems far from certain. They’re a bit of a mess at the back.

12.49pm BST

19 min: Burnley have responded well to falling behind. They’ve enjoyed most of the subsequent possession. A game of head tennis in the Arsenal area, and this will be another corner for the visitors.

12.48pm BST

17 min: Westwood hooks a high cross into the Arsenal box from the right. Luiz and Leno confuse each other at the near post. Luiz is forced to head out for a corner. From the set piece, Tarkowski wins a header, then Barnes flashes one at Leno from six yards. A sensational point-blank save denies the Burnley striker, though it turns out he was offside anyway.

12.45pm BST

15 min: Burnley try to hit back immediately, Barnes latching onto a long ball and sending a diagonal shot wide right from the edge of the Arsenal box. Not a bad effort at all, though Leno had that one covered.

12.44pm BST

The corner’s hit low towards Lacazette on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. He shouldn’t be allowed to turn, but Pieters lets him. He’s falling backwards as he sends a snapshot towards the bottom right. Pope should block, but the ball whistles between his legs and into the net! That’s dismal defending, and the goalkeeping’s not much better. But what work by the striker, who crafted a goal out of next to nothing!

12.42pm BST

12 min: Mee handles a Maitland-Niles throw from the right. The free kick is half-cleared to Sokratis, on the edge of the Burnley box. He loops the ball back into the mixer. Lacazette heads straight at Pope from six yards. The keeper tips over. Corner. From which ...

12.41pm BST

10 min: Ceballos finds Lacazette at the near post. The striker eyebrows the ball across the face of goal, forcing Lawton to concede another corner, this time on the left. Nothing comes of the second corner, but Arsenal are beginning to impose themselves after a quiet start.

12.39pm BST

9 min: Luiz passes long, upfield this time. It’s a glorious ball that nearly releases Aubameyang down the right. Pieters is forced to hack out for a corner. It’ll be taken by Ceballos.

12.38pm BST

7 min: Burnley look pretty comfortable right now. Not so their manager, who is dancing on the touchline issuing beneficial advice to his players. He’s lost all his nine matches against Arsenal, so you can perhaps understand his agitation.

12.37pm BST

5 min: Luiz, to the left of his own goal, fires a low pass across the face of an unguarded net. He hit that at 100mph! It finds Sokratis on the other wing. Had that flown just one degree off line, it was whistling into the goal. A preposterous risk, and one of the many reasons all right-thinking football fans enjoy watching the man play.

12.33pm BST

3 min: A bit of space for Barnes out on the right. His cross is headed clear by Maitland-Niles, but drops to Pieters who has an overly ambitious dig from distance. Nope!

12.32pm BST

2 min: Lacazette swans in from the left and curls a pass towards his strike partner Aubameyang on the other flank. Aubameyang tries to lay the ball across the front of the area for Willock, but it’s easily dealt with by Mee.

12.30pm BST

Burnley, debuting their evergreen kit, kick off. The ball’s launched forward and out of play with barely ten seconds on the clock. Onwards and upwards!

12.27pm BST

Here come the boys. Arsenal are in their 80s-throwback red shirts with white sleeves, while there’s no claret for the Clarets; Burnley sport third-choice green. A bubbling atmosphere at the Emirates. We’ll be off sooner rather than later!

12.18pm BST

Here’s Unai Emery with some squad updates. “David Luiz has been hoping to play, and today he starts his first match with us. Xhaka has a small injury, but hopefully he will be OK. Mesut was sick one day this week, but I am hoping he will be OK next week.”

12.10pm BST

Burnley boss Sean Dyche speaks to BT Sport. “We got off to a really good start. We’ve had a good pre-season. There’s a nice edge to the collective, not just the 11 we played last week. We’ve had a few things go against us [when playing Arsenal] and maybe VAR will clean those things up now. But it’s beyond that, it’s about us performing. It’s a big ask. But we like what we’re doing, the players are up for it, and I like what they’ve delivered so far. So we’ll see how we go today.”

12.05pm BST

Arsenal’s new kit is lovely, isn’t it. Presses all the right buttons for football fans of a certain vintage. Here it is, pictured below, pretty much. Squint and it could almost be Unai Emery throwing an arm around Matteo Guendouzi. Better crest in those days, mind.

11.38am BST

Arsenal welcome David Luiz and Dani Ceballos to the Emirates. Nicolas Pepe is a substitute once again. Sead Kolasinac is back in the wake of those security issues, though there’s still no Mesut Ozil.

Burnley meanwhile are in full if-it-ain’t-broke mode. They name the same starting XI sent out for last weekend’s big win over Southampton.

11.33am BST

Arsenal: Leno, Maitland-Niles, Luiz, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Ceballos, Guendouzi, Nelson, Willock, Aubameyang, Lacazette.
Subs: Mkhitaryan, Torreira, Pepe, Chambers, Martinez, Kolasinac, Gabriel Martinelli.

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Gudmundsson, Cork, Westwood, McNeil, Wood, Barnes.
Subs: Taylor, Hendrick, Gibson, Rodriguez, Hart, Lennon, Bardsley.

10.51am BST

If recent history is any guide, this is as close to a home banker as it’s possible to get. Arsenal have won ten games in a row against Burnley, a run that stretches back to March 2010. The Gunners have beaten the Clarets every single time they’ve played host at the Emirates, to the aggregate tune of 21-4. And Burnley haven’t won away at Arsenal since September 1974, when a goal from converted full-back Peter Noble secured the spoils in front of a Highbury crowd of only 23,586. Arsenal finished just four points above the relegation places that season, with Burnley comfortable in mid-table, but we digress.

Optimism abounds at Arsenal, with the club having splurged in the summer, and the team winning their first game of the new season at Newcastle. They’re a tough proposition at home, having won 14 out of 19 matches last season, a record only beaten by champions Manchester City and Liverpool. However, Burnley are coming off the back of a sensational 3-0 opening-day win over Southampton, so won’t be feeling too bad about themselves either. They’ll also be aware that Arsenal suffer more than most from early-season nerves; they’ve lost their first home game of the campaign in five of the last eight years.

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Tottenham Hotspur 3-1 Aston Villa: Premier League – as it happened

Harry Kane scored twice late on as Spurs came back against a spirited Villa side.

7.32pm BST

Paul MacInnes was our man at the match. Here’s his report, hot off the press. Thanks for reading this MBM.

Related: Harry Kane’s late double takes Spurs past resurgent Aston Villa

7.21pm BST

Villa were probably the better side in the first half. But they sat back after that, and Spurs were definitely the better side in the second. A deserved win in the end, though Spurs had to graft for it. A harsh lesson for the Premier League new boys, who will surely take heart from a brave display once the sting of defeat subsides. Meanwhile Spurs have served notice that they’re determined to come again after last season’s near misses.

7.19pm BST

90 min +2: Skipp comes on for Ndombele, who has made plenty of new friends tonight. McGinn drags a shot wide right, a sorry end to a rare second-half Villa attack.

7.17pm BST

Sissoko bursts past a few static Villa players in the midfield. They are spent. He reaches the edge of the box and slides a pass to Kane on his left. Kane fizzes a shot past Heaton and into the bottom right. What a turnaround!

7.16pm BST

89 min: Moura drives down the right, Villa’s ragged defence backpedalling in panic. He slashes a shot wide of goal.

7.15pm BST

88 min: Nkoudou comes on for Lamela, whose persistence looks to have won all three points for Spurs. He takes his own sweet time to depart, and is booked for his trouble.

7.14pm BST

Grealish dawdles with the ball just outside his own area. He’s robbed by Lamela, nipping in from behind. He tries to nick a clever pass between Mings and Engels. It pinballs off both hapless defenders and lands at the feet of Kane, who lashes home from the penalty spot! It had been coming.

7.12pm BST

85 min: Quite a few Villa players look exhausted. They’re making no effort to chase loose balls, opting instead to keep their shape.

7.10pm BST

84 min: Eriksen is sent scampering down the middle by a cute Moura reverse pass. He slips the ball wide right for Sissoko, whose low shot is deflected out for yet another corner. Villa haven’t had one yet. Anyway, they deal with this one easily enough.

7.09pm BST

82 min: Douglas Luiz, another Villa debutant, comes on for Hourihane.

7.08pm BST

80 min: Another Spurs corner on the right. The ball’s worked to Alderweireld, who shoots from the edge of the box. The ball strikes the arm of Kodjia, who has just come on for Wesley. Too close for a penalty to be given, even after a pernickety VAR check.

7.06pm BST

79 min: Ndombele juggles the ball down the left and hooks into the mixer. Sanchez goes for a spectacular overhead with Moura better placed. Villa are hanging on now.

7.04pm BST

78 min: Eriksen whips the free kick between McGinn and Hourihane in the Villa wall, and towards the top left. Heaton adds another glorious save to his portfolio, tipping round the post at full stretch.

7.03pm BST

77 min: Rose tries to work a little space on the edge of the Villa D. He’s clumsily clattered by Jota, and this is a free kick in extremely dangerous territory. Eriksen’s eyes are shimmering right now.

7.02pm BST

75 min: Poor Heaton, who had made such a fine save. But what a goal by Ndombele ... who was about to be hooked! He’s not getting subbed now.

7.01pm BST

A sensational strike by Tottenham’s new man! The corner’s worked to Eriksen on the right wing. He crosses. Sanchez flashes the ball goalwards from six yards. Heaton saves spectacularly in the Pele-Banks style. But it’s all for nothing, as the ball is recycled, and laid off to Ndombele, who curls an unstoppable shot into the bottom right from 25 yards! Unstoppable!

6.59pm BST

72 min: Wesley looks tired. He cheaply presents the ball to Sissoko, 30 yards from his own goal. Sissoko bursts down the right and earns Tottenham’s tenth corner of the evening. From which ...

6.57pm BST

71 min: Eriksen sashays down the left and stands one up into the middle. Lamela can’t get a head on the cross, and Heaton claims. This is a staunch defensive display by Villa, who have been stuck in their final third for most of this second half.

6.55pm BST

69 min: Kane again bustles towards the Villa back line, this time down the left. The ball’s pulled back for Eriksen, who rushes in and snatches at his shot, which flies harmlessly wide left by some distance.

6.55pm BST

67 min: Spurs are turning up the pressure, though. A long ball down the middle. Kane is lurking, but Heaton races from his area to head clear. Problem is, the ball flies straight to Lamela, who looks to return it into the empty net from 40 yards. His shot is on target, but weak, and easily blocked by the covering Mings.

6.53pm BST

66 min: Kane bombs in from the left and shoots low. His effort is deflected wide left. Eriksen’s corner isn’t all that. Grealish romps off with the ball and is tugged back by Rose. No free kick, much to Grealish’s annoyance. Lamela fizzes in a cross from the wing that’s snaffled by Heaton. Probably just as well the keeper got that one.

6.51pm BST

64 min: Walker-Peters shoots from distance. Deflected. Corner. Before it can be taken, Eriksen comes on for Winks. Then Lamela’s corner is flicked over the bar by Alderweireld, stealing in at the near post and heading just off target. As close as Spurs have come.

6.50pm BST

63 min: A bit scrappy, all of a sudden. Villa won’t mind this at all, the scoreline being as it is. On the touchline, Christian Eriksen, warming up, is called back to the dugout.

6.48pm BST

61 min: McGinn and Walker-Peters tangle in the midfield. Walker-Peters sits on the ball. McGinn tries to toe-poke it clear. It inevitably ends in a shoving match, one that Walker-Peters is much more willing to entertain than McGinn, who can’t be bothered. The ref comes across to calm everyone down. A quick check with VAR, because that’s what happens these days, reveals nothing. We play on.

6.45pm BST

59 min: Jota, formerly of Birmingham City, comes on for his Villa debut. He replaces Trezeguet.

6.44pm BST

58 min: Ndombele has a whack from the best part of 30 yards. Nope.

6.44pm BST

57 min: Kane works some space out on the right, and sends a low cross into the mixer. Engels, with his back to goal, spins in midair to acrobatically hook clear. That’s fine defending.

6.41pm BST

55 min: Kane comes again, barrelling down the inside-left channel and taking a shot that’s deflected out for a corner. One corner leads to another, and the second’s cleared by Engels.

6.41pm BST

53 min: Winks dinks into the Villa box from the right. Kane meets the ball with a weak header. Villa clear their lines easily.

6.40pm BST

52 min: McGinn nicks the ball off Winks and bursts into the Spurs box down the right. Sanchez comes over to cover. McGinn loses the run of his feet and stumbles to the ground. There are cries for a penalty - and VAR is checked - but McGinn makes no claim. He quite clearly tells Winks that he fell under his own steam. Which is honest of him, because he did get a clank in the back from Sanchez, who was busy falling over himself. Other players might have argued the toss, because you’ve seen them given.

6.37pm BST

50 min: Oh my goodness, Spurs should be level. Lamela crosses from the left. It’s deep. Ndombele might get a gentle flick on, he might not. Either way, his presence attracts all of Villa’s defenders, and the ball drops to Sissoko, in acres just to the right of the six-yard box. He sends the ball fizzing across the face of goal. Neither a shot nor a cross. What a waste.

6.36pm BST

48 min: Sissoko earns a corner on the right. Lamela loops it in, and Mings bashes a header clear. Spurs have clearly had a talking-to at half-time. They’re a little sharper into their challenges.

6.34pm BST

47 min: Villa definitely need to work on those kick-offs.

6.34pm BST

Spurs get the second half underway. And for the second time today, Villa nearly concede straight from kick-off! Alderweireld launches a pass down the inside-left channel that releases Lamela into the box. He chests down but can’t get a shot away. Nor can he find Kane in the middle. Sissoko tries to keep the move going, but Engels hoicks clear with Lamela trying to make good.

6.20pm BST

Half-time entertainment.

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6.19pm BST

Spurs have had the lion’s share of possession, but so blunt up front. Villa could easily have scored three or four. They’ve been blistering on the counter. This is poised deliciously. It’s been good fun, this. “Spurs are flashy on the approach but can’t convert,” argues Mary Waltz. “Villa have had multiple chances to double their lead and if Spurs don’t tighten up their back line a massive upset is coming down the road.”

6.17pm BST

45 min +1: Lamela sends Kane clear with a defence-splitter down the middle! Kane reaches the edge of the Villa box, draws Heaton and ... pulls his shot wide right. Another glorious opportunity given up by Tottenham’s talisman.

6.16pm BST

45 min: Walker-Peters drives down the right yet again. He pulls the ball back for Ndombele, who chips delicately towards Kane, rising six yards from goal. It’s a lovely ball, and Kane surely has to score. But he sends his header inches over the bar. That’s a poor miss.

6.14pm BST

43 min: El Ghazi has a speculative effort from a good distance out on the left. It’s on target, heading towards the bottom left, but Lloris would have been a miserable figure had he let that trickler in. France’s World Cup winning captain claims.

6.12pm BST

41 min: Walker-Peters has been doing his bit out on the right. He wins yet another corner. But his team-mates aren’t backing him up. Lamela’s poor delivery is latched onto by Grealish, who sprays a ball wide left, setting Trezeguet off on the charge. Fortunately for Spurs, Winks was alive to the danger of the quick-break, and slides in to claim the ball. A quite brilliant challenge from Tottenham’s best player in the Champions League final.

6.10pm BST

39 min: Winks has a shot from 25 yards. He drags the ball across the face of goal, left to right, and harmlessly out for a goal kick. In the dugout, Mauricio Pochettino is a picture of frustration, sitting back in his chair and grumbling quite a lot.

6.08pm BST

38 min: Sissoko tries to dribble his way past Taylor, just inside the Villa box with the away team pinned back. He’s got options in the middle, but Taylor wins the duel. Another groan from the home fans. It’s the travelling faithful making all the noise right now.

6.07pm BST

36 min: McGinn earns a free kick out on the right. With Spurs expecting direct action, the ball’s sent out to Trezeguet on the other flank. The winger crosses and Wesley flashes a header towards the bottom left. But there’s no power there. Lloris gathers.

6.05pm BST

34 min: Kane cuts in from the left and larrups a shot across Heaton and over the bar in the old-fashioned bustling style. It’s as close as Spurs have come to an equaliser.

6.04pm BST

32 min: Another corner for Spurs, Walker-Peters dribbling down the right and winning it off Taylor. But from the set piece, Lamela gives up possession with risible ease, and suddenly Grealish is burning up the left wing at great pace. He cuts infield then plays a reverse pass down the inside left to release Trezeguet into the box. It should be a goal, but for the second time today the winger hesitates and wastes the opportunity. He eventually sends a weak effort into the arms of Lloris.

6.01pm BST

31 min: The perpetually busy Winks drops deep and pings a diagonal right-to-left ball towards Kane. Engels is forced to head behind for a corner. Nothing comes of the resulting set piece, and the crowd let out an anguished cry in frustration.

6.00pm BST

30 min: Hourihane hacks the free kick straight at Lamela, the first man, allowing Spurs to clear. Very poor.

5.59pm BST

29 min: Space for El Ghazi on the left. He fires it in low. Alderweireld is forced to hack clear under pressure from Wesley. El Ghazi comes again and goes over Sissoko’s hanging leg. A cheap free kick purchased there, in a dangerous position, just to the side of the box.

5.58pm BST

27 min: Trezeguet belts down the right, the boss of Rose, and at high speed whips a deep cross that isn’t a million miles away from El Ghazi, coming in from the other wing. Not quite. But Villa look really lively in attack now. And they’re easy on the eye.

5.56pm BST

26 min: Ndombele strips Hourihane near the Villa box. Nice work, but then he seems caught between shooting and threading a pass through a gap for Kane. The ball dribbles through to Heaton.

5.55pm BST

24 min: Walker-Peters wins a corner down the right. The set piece is hit too long, but Rose is able to have another go from the other wing. That one’s easily cleared. A slight amount of agitation is already surfacing in Tottenham’s play. It’s much too early to panic.

5.54pm BST

23 min: El Ghazi drives at Spurs down the left. He looks to have been brought down by Sissoko, but the referee weirdly gives the foul to Spurs. On the touchline, Dean Smith gesticulates in disgust, and his player’s not too happy about the decision either.

5.52pm BST

21 min: McGinn, dropping deep, slides a sensational defence-splitting pass down the inside-right channel for Trezeguet. The winger strides into the box, drops a shoulder, and shapes to curl one into the bottom left. But he dawdles, allowing a combination of Sanchez and Alderweireld to block. That could easily have been 2-0. It probably should have been. It was a lovely pass by McGinn.

5.50pm BST

19 min: Trezeguet slips away from Ndombele with ease, and tears off down the right. He slips inside for Wesley, who should shuttle the ball on towards El Ghazi, clear on the left. But Spurs - and their new midfield man - are let off the hook when Wesley checks, turns the other way, and picks the wrong pass. Worrying gaps at the back for Spurs.

5.47pm BST

17 min: Walker-Peters whips a glorious cross in from the right. Lamela is this close to running in and meeting it with a strong nut. But he’s inches away and it’s Mings who heads instead, clearing for Villa.

5.46pm BST

16 min: A bit of treatment for the goalscorer McGinn, who nearly knacked himself while challenging Winks in an overly aggressive and clumsy manner. But it looks like he’s good to continue.

5.45pm BST

14 min: Ndombele nearly dribbles clear down the left, but Hourihane does extremely well to stick to him like glue and usher him out of play. Villa are growing in confidence, understandably so.

5.43pm BST

13 min: Spurs try a route-one move of their own. Alderweireld strokes a long pass down the middle. Kane nips ahead of a spinning Mings, but can’t take the ball under control and it zips through to Heaton. Nearly, though.

5.41pm BST

11 min: It would be fair to say that the goal came against the run of play. The Villa fans strike up a comic rendition of We’re Gonna Win The League.

5.40pm BST

... Villa go straight up the other end and score the opener! Mings, out on the left, passes long down the middle. McGinn is immediately clear of Sanchez, who is woefully out of position. Rose tries to catch him, and slides across, but McGinn drops a shoulder to send him skidding away in the wrong direction. Then he slams clinically past Lloris into the bottom right!

5.38pm BST

8 min: Lamela decides to go straight for goal. He’s looking to whip the ball across Heaton and into the top left, but succeeds only in hoicking it over the crossbar. Bad move, because ...

5.37pm BST

7 min: Taylor bowls Walker-Peters to the ground near the corner flag on the right. A panicked and utterly needless challenge. A free kick in a dangerous position. Spurs load the box.

5.36pm BST

6 min: Spurs continue to push Villa back. Lamela nearly tears clear on the left, but Engels is across to hack clear. It’s a fast start from the hosts, a sluggish one from newly promoted Villa.

5.35pm BST

5 min: A huge chance for Spurs to open the scoring. Rose crosses from the left. Mings and Taylor are miles apart, and Moura is gifted a free header on the penalty spot. He really should score, but his downward effort is too close to Heaton and smothered.

5.34pm BST

3 min: Alderweireld, quarterbacking from deep, launches a long ball down the left for Rose, who plays it first time but only succeeds in looping into the arms of Heaton.

5.33pm BST

2 min: Villa still haven’t had much of a touch. A bit shaken after that early scare.

5.32pm BST

And we’re off! And it’s nearly a farcical return to the top tier for Villa. Elmohamady immediately gives up possession out on the Villa right. Moura scampers off with the ball, cuts in from the wing, and lashes over the bar while looking for the top right. That one would have been timed at 16 seconds.

5.30pm BST

But before the game starts, there’s time for a minute of warm applause in loving memory of Justin Edinburgh. The Leyton Orient manager passed away suddenly in June. He spent the majority of his playing career at Spurs, and everyone in the ground pays their respect.

5.27pm BST

The teams are out! A magnificent atmosphere at Tottenham’s gorgeous new stadium. Last year’s Champions League finalists are in their famous lilywhite, while the Championship play-off winners sport their traditional claret and blue. We’ll be off before you know it!

5.25pm BST

Dean Smith speaks! “The performances in pre-season have been good. A lot has been made about the amount of players we’ve brought in, but if you look at three of the back four today played the last 15 games of last season, and only conceded ten goals. The midfield three were the three that played at Wembley. El Ghazi was in the team already. We feel we deserve to be here, and are excited about the challenges ahead.”

Mauricio Pochettino meanwhile fends off questions about the absent Jan Vertonghen and the benched Christian Eriksen. An insouciant shrug in word form. He doesn’t care for the subject at all.

5.19pm BST

This is the first Saturday night match on Sky Sports under the new TV contract. They were always bound to come up with some wholly unnecessary innovation to celebrate the occasion, and what they’ve unveiled is just asking for trouble. During the pre-match warm-up, pundit Jamie Redknapp wandered into the middle of the pitch, right among the players pinging passes this way and that. He’s out there ostensibly to “take a closer look” at Tanguy Ndombele, though why is not clear, because he then starts yammering on about clips he’s already seen of the player. It’s hard completely to concentrate on what he’s saying, because you’re waiting for a ball to hit him flush in his startled grid. It doesn’t happen tonight, but give it time. If they keep this feature going, such slapstick is grimly inevitable.

4.44pm BST

Tottenham’s new midfielder Tanguy Ndombele does indeed make his debut this evening. However, the other big purchases, Giovani lo Celso and Ryan Sessegnon, don’t feature at all. Christian Eriksen is only on the bench. Jan Vertonghen is out injured.

4.34pm BST

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Walker-Peters, Sanchez, Alderweireld, Rose, Sissoko, Winks, Ndombele, Lamela, Kane, Lucas Moura.
Subs: Wanyama, Nkoudou, Dier, Gazzaniga, Eriksen, Aurier, Skipp.

Aston Villa: Heaton, Elmohamady, Mings, Engels, Taylor, McGinn, Hourihane, Trezeguet, Grealish, El Ghazi, Wesley.
Subs: Douglas Luiz, Lansbury, Steer, Konsa, Targett, Jota, Kodjia.

4.50pm BST

Aston Villa are back! After three years in the wilderness, the seven-time champions of England and erstwhile conquerors of Europe are back! Tottenham Hotspur have missed them madly, as well ... on account of having won nine of their last ten games against them.

History may only provide so much of a guide, though, because both teams have moved on since we last saw them. Spurs, unchanged for a couple of transfer windows, could finally shoogle things up this evening by giving their new signings Tanguy Ndombele and Giovani Lo Celso a debut at their fancy new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. They’ll also be without the injured Dele Alli and the suspended Heung-min Son. And will they suffer a hangover from the bitter disappointment of Madrid? Ah, variables, old friend, it’s been a while round these parts.

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West Ham United 0-5 Manchester City: Premier League – as it happened

Raheem Sterling scored a wonderful hat-trick as the champions got off to a flyer

2.50pm BST

No word from Manuel Pellegrini, who is presumably seething right now. It was a miserable afternoon for his new-look West Ham, but then they were playing the relentless champions, who have now won 15 Premier League games in a row. They are always magical as a collective, though today Raheem Sterling shone brightest. A superb hat-trick. West Ham go away to lick their wounds, while City will already be thinking about joining Huddersfield Town, Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United as three-in-a-row title winners. Thanks for reading!

Related: Raheem Sterling hits hat-trick as Manchester City thrash West Ham

2.46pm BST

Pep’s verdict! “It was a typical first day of the season. Heavy and hot. In the first half, we had to improve, but that’s normal. What’s important is taking the three points. It is an incredible result, but we know we have to improve. We have many things to improve. We have lost a bit with VAR [in having to wait to see whether you can celebrate a goal]. We have to control our emotions and be strong, positive or negative. It is part of the game.”

2.43pm BST

On BT Sport, former referee Peter Walton gives his verdict on VAR. “It’s been a good day for VAR, it’s been a good day for the Premier League in its adverts. The software is top-end stuff, it’s so accurate it’s unbelievable. It’s all mathematically assumed. I think by the end of this season, fans and media will accept that a player is a millimetre offside with the technology that we’ve got.” Good luck with getting everyone 100 percent onside with that. The blithe confidence of it! These people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

2.30pm BST

Hat-trick hero Sterling speaks! “The most important thing was three points, to start well. At times we were a bit sloppy in the first half, but once the second goal went in, I thought the lads were brilliant. It was difficult in the firest half to get the cobewbs off. The breathing was heavy and some of the touches were sloppy. But once the second goal went in, we could find our passes. We were smoother and a lot more chances came. I am trying to improve my finishing. There are competitions in training, and it’s just a joy to put the ball in the back of the net!” As for VAR? “It’s a bit difficult during the game, because you want your goal to stand. But at the end of the day, so long as the decisions are right, that’s all that matters.” The man’s a born diplomat.

2.22pm BST

The champions are quite magnificent. Raheem Sterling is brilliant. West Ham are still a work in progress. VAR can do one.

2.21pm BST

90 min +4: West Ham waste the free kick. It’s been a miserable afternoon for the hosts, with Ederson barely breaking sweat. One magnificent double save apart, of course.

2.20pm BST

90 min +3: After VAR checks the obviously legit goal is good - FOR THE LOVE OF GOD - the game restarts and Sterling is booked for a slide on Snodgrass.

2.19pm BST

Mahrez drops deep and slides a pass down the inside-right channel to release Sterling. Fabianski comes out and commits himself, allowing Sterling to slot neatly into the bottom right for an opening-day hat-trick!

2.17pm BST

90 min: There will be five added minutes. Not yet sure whether this number has been checked, cleared, and processed in triplicate by the VAR man.

2.16pm BST

89 min: Practical Solutions to VAR Nonsense (pt II): “How about a rule that gives something like half a metre leeway which would account for longer arms, bigger quiffs, etc.?” wonders Colin Young.

2.15pm BST

88 min: Practical Solutions to VAR Nonsense (pt I): “Sterling should have taped his sleeve down to stop it flapping into an offside position,” suggests Denise Robinson.

2.14pm BST

87 min: Walker is booked for a late clank on Fornals. The crowd cheer in the sarcastic fashion.

2.13pm BST

Aguero gets a second chance, and doesn’t make the same mistake twice. He slots this one into the bottom left, Fabianski jumping the other way.

2.11pm BST

84 min: Sterling wants to take it. But Aguero gets his way. And he misses it. A dreadful effort, straight at Fabianski, who parries clear. But ... it’s going to be taken again, because Fabianski had jumped forward, while Rice had encroached before Aguero took the kick. Good old VAR. Eh?

2.10pm BST

83 min: Mahrez drops a shoulder and slips into the area from the right. Doip hangs out a leg, and after a bit of thought the ref points to the spot. Correctly. No need for VAR.

2.07pm BST

81 min: Corner for West Ham. Ederson snaffles Snodgrass’s delivery.

2.06pm BST

79 min: Gundogan and Foden come on for De Bruyne and Silva. De Bruyne takes receipt of one of Pep’s patented theatrical tactical bollockings. All very animated.

2.05pm BST

77 min: Naturally, the VAR goons have to stick their nebs in. For a brief second, it looks like Sterling was half an inch offside, but they zoom in and it turns out Balbuena had a hangnail that was playing him on. So the goal stands.

2.02pm BST

Mahrez cuts in from the right and dinks a ball down the channel for Sterling, who loops it over the outrushing Fabianski and into the net. Such an exquisite finish!

2.01pm BST

73 min: A sensational double save by Ederson! Hernandez meets a cross from the right, sticking out a thigh and sending the ball goalwards from six yards. Ederson parries. The ball loops to Lanzini, who guides a header towards the bottom left. It’s going in, but Ederson sticks out an arm to turn it away. What a stop (x2)!

1.59pm BST

72 min: Ederson releases Mahrez clear on the right. The flag goes up for offside. Another very close one.

1.58pm BST

71 min: Fornals threads a pass down the right for Fredericks. The resulting low cross is cleared easily enough. This is a little better from West Ham, though Ederson still hasn’t had a great deal to do.

1.57pm BST

70 min: Lanzini dribbles down the left and stands one up to the far post. Zinchenko heads clear under pressure from Haller, who has had a quiet debut.

1.55pm BST

68 min: Aguero replaces Jesus. “Sad to say, but this will be just one of 10 million emails you’ll get on VAR,” predicts Hubert O’Hearn. “Yeah, the Sterling non-goal is exactly what I feared – technically correct, but miles away from the spirit of the rules of the game. Offside is to prevent cherry picking, not whether a winger wears a size 11 boot (onside!) or 11 ½ (Oooooo ... just offside). VAR – or whatever the term is in cricket – works great there. Football ... not so much. May God save us all from ‘improvements’.” Preach on, brother.

1.53pm BST

66 min: Exit Anderson, with a limp. Hernandez comes on in his stead. “You’re going to have to stop posting GOAL! and instead post GOAL?,” writes JR in Illinois, presumably typing with a heavy heart and a sigh. “If only Raheem Sterling had shaved his armpit hair this morning! But seriously, VAR is absolutely brutal.”

1.50pm BST

64 min: Anderson is down clutching his thigh. It doesn’t look as though he’s in the mood to continue.

1.49pm BST

62 min: Like London buses ... Anderson is shown a yellow card for coming in late on Laporte.

1.48pm BST

61 min: Balbuena is booked for sliding in on Jesus.

1.47pm BST

60 min: Snodgrass whips into the centre. Ederson comes out and flaps. Diop heads over the bar, with the goal unguarded. West Ham so close to getting back into the game!

1.46pm BST

59 min: Cresswell is brought down by Mahrez, near the corner flag on the left. A free kick in a dangerous position.

1.45pm BST

57 min: Snodgrass is on for Wilshere, who last completed 90 minutes in 1968.

1.44pm BST

This is preposterous. Sterling’s shoulder was about one millimetre offside as he was sent clear by Silva. The goal’s ruled out. Can you hear that hissing sound? That’s the spirit going out of the game.

1.41pm BST

Oh yes, that’s why they’re champions. West Ham are carved apart down the left. Sterling is released down the wing by Zinchenko, then exchanges passes with Silva. Sterling is free in the area, with Jesus in the centre. He rolls the ball across the face of goal. Jesus slots home.

1.39pm BST

This was incredibly simple, but such a good goal. Mahrez wriggles free from a tight spot on the right and slips a pass inside for De Bruyne, who powers down the middle into space. Sterling is clear on the left. De Bruyne finds him with a perfectly weighted pass. Sterling takes a touch and slips the ball past a helpless Fabianski. As the old song goes, that’s why they’re champions.

1.36pm BST

50 min: Mahrez crosses from the left. Sterling aims a weak header straight at Fabianski. I wonder when West Ham plan to come out for the second half.

1.35pm BST

49 min: City continue to stroke it about. West Ham have hardly had a touch since the restart.

1.34pm BST

47 min: Fornals is on for Antonio. City have immediately imposed themselves again. Silva neatly slides Zinchenko into space down the left. Diop does well to slap his low cross clear.

1.32pm BST

We’re off again! City get the ball rolling for the second half. Meanwhile, before any meaningful action occurs, here’s our old friend Mac Millings making reference to an MBM from 2007, for goodness sake. “Dearest Scott, I know It’s back! and It’s on!, but, while I’m excitedly nervous about how my hometown Hornets and their record signing, Ismaila Sarr, are going to fare, as far as the top of the table goes, I am decidedly uninspired by a two-horse race that’s really a one-horse race. I’m probably wrong (I usually am) so cheer me up, Scotty, otherwise it’s THE GUARDIAN PATENTED FUNK-O-METER®: B.” For some reason, the GUARDIAN PATENTED FUNK-O-METER® seems to have been removed from our image database, so inquisitive young minds, desirous of knowing what Old Mac is yammering on about, will have to click here to find out. While you’re there, please consider that this is the sort of thing you won’t get at The Athletic. Thanks. You’re welcome.

1.20pm BST

Half-time entertainment. A schadenfreude special for City fans.

Related: Solskjær’s uphill battle: why Manchester United have a mountain to climb | Paul Wilson

1.19pm BST

And that’s the end of the first half. West Ham started confidently, but City quickly grew into the game and took the lead thanks to Kyle Walker’s blistering pace and Gabriel Jesus’s cute finish. The hosts will be glad to hear the whistle. Time to regroup and rethink. The champions look in control.

1.17pm BST

45 min +1: One added minute. And City nearly make it two. Diop snatches at a simple clearance on the edge of the West Ham box. The ball goes straight to Jesus, who should probably hoick it back over Fabianski, in no man’s land, yards from his line. But Jesus hits it straight at the keeper, who is gifted the save.

1.15pm BST

44 min: Antonio slides Fredericks clear on the overlap, down the right. He hooks a cross into the mixer from the byline, but Haller can’t bring the ball down. City momentarily exposed ... but Ederson still hasn’t had to make a serious save.

1.14pm BST

43 min: Rodri clatters into the back of Wilshere. He’s really testing the crowd’s patience now. But the referee still isn’t minded to act.

1.13pm BST

42 min: City ping it around prettily and patiently again. Mesmeric. Then Silva flicks a pass down the left to release Sterling. The flag goes up for offside, which seems a tad incorrect. But that’s the way the lino sees it.

1.11pm BST

40 min: Rodri tugs Rice’s shirt as the West Ham midfielder looks to burst into space in the midfield. He should probably be booked for that sly move, but the referee is in a generous mood.

1.09pm BST

39 min: De Bruyne strides with great purpose down the right. He opens his body to fashion a delicate cross, intended for Sterling in the middle, but Balbuena intercepts and clears. City are wreaking havoc down this flank.

1.08pm BST

37 min: West Ham having sparked into life again, City ping it around slowly to take the heat out of the match. And then suddenly pounce themselves, De Bruyne exchanging passes with Silva out on the left, cutting into the area and smashing a shot towards the bottom left. Fabianski smothers.

1.05pm BST

35 min: West Ham have rediscovered their early mojo and are pressing foward again. Antonio flicks into the City box from the right. Haller, with his back to goal, tries to guide a shot over his shoulder and into the top left. There’s no whip on his effort, though, and Ederson claims with ease.

1.03pm BST

33 min: And now Rodri is down, having taken an accidental whack in the mush from Antonio. It’s all legit, though it doesn’t stop the VAR machine cranking slowly into action and stopping play for a bit.

1.02pm BST

32 min: Now the West Ham fans want a penalty, as Zinchenko slides in on Lanzini, who was scooting down the right. It’s a fair challenge, though.

1.01pm BST

31 min: The home crowd have been quiet since City’s opener. But their spirits are raised when Rice puts in a reducer on Zinchenko in the midfield.

1.00pm BST

30 min: A bit of space for Cresswell down the left. His cross is too deep, though it doesn’t really matter because there was nobody in the box anyway.

12.59pm BST

29 min: Now it’s Mahrez’s turn to scream down the right. Cresswell is being hung out to dry here, with little help from his team-mates. Mahrez crosses low into a packed box, but Fabianski gathers bravely.

12.58pm BST

27 min: And now, all of a sudden, the home side look jittery. Walker surges down the right again. Nothing comes of that sortie, but De Bruyne is soon chipping in from the same flank in the hope of supplying either Jesus or Silva. Both are offside. But the champions are suddenly firing on all cylinders.

12.57pm BST

26 min: That’s taken the wind out of the home crowd’s sail. West Ham were gaining confidence, but City have nipped that in the bud quicksmart.

12.56pm BST

Mahrez slips Walker clear down the right, on the overlap. Walker is really motoring! He reaches the byline, Cresswell totally burned, and hooks towards the near post. Diop lunges in to slide clear for a corner, but can only nick the ball on. Jesus dinks the ball in from close range, as neat and crisp as you like!

12.53pm BST

22 min: Wilshere has time to send Anderson into acres of space down the right, but plays the ball straight to Zinchenko instead. The home faithful groan. That was a great chance to put his man in on goal.

12.52pm BST

21 min: Mahrez should score. Sterling robs a dawdling Rice on the edge of the West Ham box. He slips the ball to De Bruyne, who dinks a pass down the inside right for Mahrez. The winger drops a shoulder and sends Cresswell off to the wrong fire. He’s one on one with Fabianski, but drags his shot into the side netting.

12.50pm BST

20 min: But then Fabianski hasn’t had much to do yet either. Walker bombs down the right but his cross inside, intended for Jesus, is easily mopped up by the West Ham keeper.

12.49pm BST

18 min: Haller is sent scampering down the left. City are light at the back, but instead of driving at Walker, the new striker lays off to Lanzini, who immediately falls over. West Ham look reasonably dangerous when they power forward, though they’ve not forced Ederson into any sort of meaningful action yet.

12.47pm BST

17 min: Sterling is upended by Fredericks just to the left of the West Ham area. A dangerous position to be giving up a free kick. But Silva wastes it, attempting to play Sterling into the box with a quickly slipped pass down the inside left. Sterling doesn’t read it, and Fabianski gathers, much to the crowd’s amusement.

12.46pm BST

15 min: Mahrez probes down the right, then passes to Silva, who slaps a fierce low shot inches wide of the right-hand post. City have been strangely lax so far, but there’s an example of how quickly they are capable of turning such a situation round. So close to the opening goal.

12.45pm BST

14 min: Now it’s De Bruyne’s turn to give up possession near his own goal. Antonio is gifted an opportunity to cross from the right, but he wastes it, hooking high over everyone in the centre.

12.43pm BST

12 min: Anderson has a look down the right, but Rodri doesn’t give up the chase. West Ham are in an adventurous mood. It doesn’t look as though there’s to be any bus parking, despite the obvious threat City carry.

12.40pm BST

10 min: Nothing happens at the set piece. But it’s been a bright, lively game so far.

12.39pm BST

9 min: It’s Walker again, though this time in much more positive fashion. He glides down the right and lays off to Mahrez, who cuts inside, then shoots low and hard towards the bottom left. Fabianski extends an arm to save well and concede a corner.

12.38pm BST

7 min: Walker again sheds the ball needlessly. Lanzini scampers down the inside-left channel, and goes over in the box as Rodri comes across, shoulder to shoulder. Lanzini claims for a penalty as he goes down, but the referee - as well as whoever’s on the VAR - isn’t interested. Quite rightly so.

12.36pm BST

5 min: West Ham stroke it around for a while. They make little progress upfield, but that’s not really the point. Everyone’s had a touch, and City are uncharacteristically ponderous in these opening exchanges.

12.34pm BST

3 min: City get a feel of the ball for the first time, but soon Walker cheaply gives up possession. Anderson gets the better of Laporte down the right, but his cutback is met in the clumsy fashion by Wilshere, whose heavy touch gets City - and Walker - off the hook. A slow start for the champions.

12.32pm BST

2 min: But it comes to nothing. Cresswell is down, having taken a whack in the mouth, Walker holding out an arm. All accidental. The Hammers defender is up again soon enough.

12.31pm BST

And we’re off! Here’s hoping there’s no need for the old VAR, which makes its Premier League debut this week. Balls to it! West Ham get the ball rolling, and there are indeed plenty of pretty bubbles in the air. A huge roar as the hosts press immediately down the left wing. Walker is forced to hack out near the corner flag. A throw deep in City territory.

12.27pm BST

The teams are out! And about! West Ham sport claret shirts with cute 70s-throwback blue panel. Manchester City are sadly not wearing the extremely pretty 70s-throwback shirts paraded at the Community Shield; instead it’s second-choice black for them. It’s a cracking opening-day atmosphere at the London Stadium; Bubbles flying so high, they reach the sky. We’ll be off in two shakes of a lamb’s tail! In the meantime, here’s the first dissenting email of the new season, from Alistair Drummond: “I would assert it’s no longer necessary to state Mike Dean is from the Wirral given his widely-publicised celebrations for Tranmere last season.”

12.07pm BST

Manuel Pellegrini speaks! “It’s a new season. All the teams are stronger. But I am confident we have a good squad, and I hope we are more consistent. We have a lot of new signings and players who couldn’t play for us last season because of injury. I hope with Sebastien Haller’s quality and with our technical midfield he will be a successful player here.”

11.55am BST

The first Pep talk of the new season: “We have seen this much together, the guys always try to do their best. Manuel Pellegrini is an experienced manager, his teams always play in the proper style. First games of the season are always tricky, especially when you play away. But it is what it is. We will try to focus, and improve from here.”

11.51am BST

Sebastien Haller, West Ham’s £45m record signing makes his debut ... but never mind that! Jack Wilshere starts his first game in 11 months. Jack Wilshere! As for the champions ... Sergio Aguero and Bernardo Silva are on the bench. Gabriel Jesus and new boy Rodri go at it from kick-off.

11.32am BST

West Ham United: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Balbuena, Cresswell, Wilshere, Rice, Antonio, Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Haller.
Subs: Zabaleta, Hernandez, Snodgrass, Roberto, Sanchez, Fornals, Ogbonna.

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

4.51pm BST

Manchester City don’t half love the London Stadium. Since West Ham United moved into their new gaff back in 2016, City have paid a visit on four occasions. They’ve gone back with the spoils every time, always enjoying themselves immensely in the process: 0-5, 0-4, 1-4, 0-4. Throw in three wins at the Etihad, and City are on a seven-game winning streak against the Hammers.

Factor this in too: Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning champions are effectively on a 14-match winning streak in the Premier League. For that is how they finished off last season, how they finished off Liverpool. They’re not half bad, this lot. West Ham - who have lost an unprecedented 12 opening-day fixtures in the Premier League era - have their work cut out today.

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The Fiver | A dragon that looks like a rumbled child as it reaches for the cookie jar

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It’s long been a sly trick performed by governments who don’t want you to know what’s going on: slip out some bad news on a day when something big is occupying hearts and minds. It’s classic misdirection. So as football fans everywhere obsess about the transfer window, which slams shut on Thursday evening, and prepare to either belly-laugh at or suddenly get very worried about Spurs and/or Everton and/or Manchester United, the FA of Wales today confessed that they’ve needlessly wasted tons of cash on a pointless second brand revamp in less than a decade. O Cymdeithas Bêl-droed Cymru! Sut allech chi!

Related: Football transfer rumours: Mesut Özil to leave Arsenal for DC United?

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Football transfer rumours: Mesut Özil to leave Arsenal for DC United?

Today’s fluff is available at a knock-down price

Tottenham Hotspur have fallen off the wagon big-style. After keeping their decorum for a couple of transfer windows, all bets appear to be off. They’re going to spend nearly £70m on Juventus striker Paulo Dybala, fancy landing Barcelona success story Pip Coutinho on loan, and have slashed £80m off Christian Eriksen’s asking price in order to get rid. Anyone interested?

Related: Tottenham prepare £64.4m bid for Juventus's Paulo Dybala

Related: Arsenal focused on signing defender despite offer of Philippe Coutinho loan

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The Fiver | Grabbing the attention of a slightly jaded soccer star

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In the summer of 1968, Tottenham midfielder Dave Mackay agreed to become player-manager of his beloved boyhood team Hearts. Upon hearing the news on the grapevine, Derby boss Brian Clough drove down to London to see if he could step in and strike a deal for the Scottish living legend before any contract was signed. Mackay took some convincing – Clough had to make several trips, always in his chairman’s white Rolls-Royce in the hope of impressing the player – but eventually the player agreed to drop down a division and sign for the Rams. Clever Cloughie! Persistent Cloughie! Pints of Bell’s all round!

Related: Derby confirm Wayne Rooney to join as player-coach in January

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Football transfer rumours: Aké to Leicester? Zaha to Everton?

Today’s tell-all is making a statement

Everton are having another of their periodical Big Transformative Transfer Windows. But unlike the summer they bought Davy Klaassen, Michael Keane, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney, or the time they signed James Beattie and Simon Davies, or when they landed Tony Cottee, this one looks to be shaping up rather nicely. They’re about to add Wilfried Zaha to an impressive haul that already includes Moise Kean, Fabian Delph and André Gomes.

As Zaha travels north, Cenk Tosun and James McCarthy are set to be travelling the other way. That doesn’t seem equitable until you realise Crystal Palace will also trouser £65m to soften the blow.

Related: Transfer window 2019 – every summer deal from Europe's top five leagues

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Hinako Shibuno wins the 2019 Women's British Open - as it happened

Hinako Shibuno came back in 31 strokes, making birdie at the last to deny Lizette Salas after a classic final round

7.20pm BST

So after four magical days at Woburn, a fantastic Women’s British Open comes to a close. Hinako Shibuno lands a major at the very first time of asking. It bears repeating that she’s never played on the LPGA Tour before, nor even out of Japan. She’s a sensation. Commiserations to Lizette Salas, who came so close to a maiden major victory herself. Congratulations to Atthaya Thitikul, who won the Smyth Salver as low amateur ... and of course to the Smiling Cinderella, for a fairytale that will still be told many years from now. Thanks for reading!

-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas
-16: JY Ko
-15: Pressel
-14: Buhai
-12: Boutier
-11: Ciganda
-10: SH Park
-9: N Korda, Lee6

7.16pm BST

It’s worth noting that Shibuno didn’t realise Woburn wasn’t a links course until she turned up this week. She had assumed the Women’s British Open, like its male counterpart, would take place at the seaside. In completely unrelated news, the man in the blue wig below, waving Nibbles the Comedy Duck in the air, is her manager.

7.11pm BST

Shibuno talks to Sky through her interpreter. “I’m nervous even though I’ve won. I still feel like I’m going to vomit! I was nervous on the front nine, but on the back nine I was OK. I produced a lot of birdies. At the end I thought I was going to try but the tears didn’t come out. Obviously contending at a tournament like this is nerve-wracking, but I also felt that I was going to enjoy this moment as well. There were many Japanese spectators out there, and I heard them speak Japanese, so I felt like I was playing in Japan! Thank you!”

7.05pm BST

“With a score of 270, the AIG Women’s British Open champion is Hinako Shibuno!” Huge cheers as the champion golfer takes to the stage, trotting across the green to claim her prize in much the same endearing manner she jogs off to pick up her divots. Then, clearly not fluent in English, nevertheless makes a great fist of carefully reading out a thank-you speech. It’s beyond charming. She breaks down in giggles as she struggles to phonetically decode some nice words about the greenkeeping staff. Then she pauses dramatically after thanking the spectators. A final “thank you!” gets a huge laugh and the warmest round of applause. She is such an infectious character. A star is born!

7.00pm BST

But this is all about Hinako Shibuno, who came to this tournament as an unknown, and walks away a star! She could have crumbled after carelessly four-putting the 3rd green. However she dug in and for the second day in a row, battled through a sticky patch before ripping up the back nine. She played it in 31 shots today. She played it in 30 yesterday and on Thursday. She’s played the back nine in -18 this week! Which coincidentally is the total she finished with. Golf: a game of two halves, huh?

-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas
-16: JY Ko
-15: Pressel
-14: Buhai
-12: Boutier
-11: Ciganda
-10: SH Park
-9: N Korda, Lee6

6.55pm BST

Par for Ashleigh Buhai, who ends the week with a decent 70. She ends in fifth spot at -14, and despite her crushing disappointment warmly embraces the new champion. Wild scenes on the 18th as the 20-year-old Japanese debutant cavorts in glee, smiling the widest smile. But spare a thought for poor Lizette Salas, who shot a carpe-diem 65 today, her final birdie effort lipping out from four feet. You can see the world crumbling in her eyes as she’s informed of Shibuno’s birdie. It will hurt for a long time. But hers was a brilliant performance too. Second spot, her best finish at a major, and if it wasn’t for her, this final round wouldn’t have been the hugely entertaining rollercoaster it was. Hopefully her day is still to come.

6.52pm BST

HINAKO SHIBUNO WINS THE 2019 BRITISH OPEN! She rattles her putt straight at the hole. She’s not going to die wondering! Had it not hit the cup, that might have gone quite a long way past. But her ball smacks into the hole, jumps up a little, and then dunks into the hole. She’s won on her major-championship debut! On her LPGA Tour debut! On her first competitive outing outside Japan! This is a story for the ages! Smiling Cinderella will go to the ball!

-18: Shibuno
-17: Salas

6.48pm BST

Hinako Shibuno strides up the fairway, basking in the applause, soaking up the love. She bows graciously in all directions. Meanwhile on the putting green, Lizette Salas keeps herself warmed up in a slightly agitated fashion. She must be in turmoil right now. Shibuno steps up, and ...

6.47pm BST

Buhai also looks exceptionally dejected, but she arrows her second into 18 to 12 feet nevertheless. Then it’s all down to Shibuno, who whips her approach straight at the flag, and smiles broadly, infectiously, as it travels towards the green. Her ball lands 15 feet shy of the hole. She’ll have that for birdie, and the 2019 British Open championship!

6.44pm BST

A disappointed Pressel lets her six-foot par putt slide by the right of the cup. That’ll cost her a few pennies. A bogey. She shot 66-67 over the weekend, and after a long period in the doldrums, the 2007 ANA Inspiration winner is back competing at the top table. She’s -15. Bogey for Park Sung-hyun too. She takes a ludicrous amount of time over a short par effort, to no benefit whatsoever. She ends with at 73, another no-show on a Sunday. She’s -10. Park having taken so long over that putt, I wonder how nervous Shibuno is getting back down the fairway?!

6.41pm BST

Salas fought hard to hold back the tears upon missing that putt. She knows how costly it could be. Especially as Shibuno has just creamed her drive down the last. Further up the hole, Pressel sent her second into 18, only to see it bound off the green and into the bunker back left. She can’t hole out, and her race is run. What a tilt she took at the prize, though.

6.38pm BST

... and misses it! It lips out on the right, and it’s just a par to finish. She smacks her lips in frustration, knowing that the miss could have cost her this tournament. A birdie would have put her one clear at the top; as it is, it’s still a 65, and she’s got a share. That’s kept Morgan Pressel in with a shout. And Hinako Shibuno will have a chance to steal it at the last, because she’s just very nearly birdied 17 from the fringe, her putt stopping just to the left of the cup. Par, and if she birdies 18 for the third time this week, she’ll be the British Open champion!

-17: Salas (F), Shibuno (17)
-16: JY Ko (F), Pressel (17)
-14: Buhai (17)

6.34pm BST

And so up to the 18th green. Ko Jin-young is on in regulation. But she’s a long way from the hole. She very nearly drains a 40-foot left-to-right curler over a ridge and into the cup. But it’s one turn short. The ANA Inspiration and Evian champion signs for a blemish-free 66. It’s not enough, though. No treble in the majors this year. Then Lizette Salas steps up to take her birdie putt ...

6.32pm BST

Morgan Pressell keeps her hopes alive with a scarcely believable up-and-down from thick rough to the left of 17. She remains at -16. It won’t be enough if Salas makes her birdie putt on 18, but right now, she’s still in the mix.

6.30pm BST

Hinako Shibuno very nearly bundles in her chip from the back of 16. It slips 18 inches past, and that’s a par. She remains in a share of the lead at -17 with Lizette Salas. Ashleigh Buhai can’t rake in her long par putt, and at -14 her chances are realistically gone. Especially because up on 18, Salas eases a world-class iron straight at the flag, her ball rolling softly towards the cup and stopping four feet shy. She’ll have that for birdie, a 64, and sole ownership of the lead at the business end of this tournament!

6.26pm BST

“Jesus, Morgan!” That’s Pressel’s response to pulling her tee shot at 17 into the thick rough on the left. Buhai’s internal monologue will no doubt be mining similar themes, as she gives up on her chip coming into 16. She reaches the green, but she’ll have a long, long putt for par. Meanwhile Salas splits 18 with a splendid drive. The world number one Ko follows her down the track.

6.23pm BST

Ko makes her par saver. That was an amazing scramble. Salas lags up from distance to save her par as well. Back on 16, Pressel knocks her second to six feet and makes birdie, simply refusing to go away. But a little bit of trouble afoot for Buhai, who might be dropping out of contention soon. She hits a tree down the right of 16 with her drive, then sends her second into rough on the other side of the hole. Shibuno - who stopped to munch some sweeties and share a laugh with a TV cameraman, giggling down the lens - fires her second over the flag and just off the back of the green. Not too far from the flag, it wouldn’t be a difficult up and down in normal circumstances. These aren’t normal circumstances.

-17: Salas (17), Shibuno (15)
-16: JY Ko (17), Pressel (16)
-15: Buhai (15)

6.18pm BST

Ko flips a sensational wedge out of the sand to six feet. Never mind the delicate skill, that took such nerve from there. Another monster drive by Shibuno, who batters her ball down the 16th. And up on 18, Charley Hull signs for a dismal 76 - she’s -5 - while Carlota Ciganda again plays the hole in farcical style. Yesterday she sent a huge slice into the bushes down the right, tried to play a ball that was never coming out, and ran up a double bogey. Today she sends a massive hook into the trees on the left, then sends her second into the hospitality suites on the right! A free drop, and she gets up and down for a par of the most amusing lunacy. A 70 today, and at -11 it’s another great showing in the majors.

6.12pm BST

Salas finds the green at the par-three 17th, but she’ll have a long two putts for par. Ko sends her tee shot into the sand on the right. She’s shortsided on a downslope. That’s going to be quite a poser. And if the pressure of scrambling par on the 71st hole of a major championship isn’t enough already, Shibuno sends two big shots straight down the par-five 15th, wedges to six feet, and rolls in the birdie putt to join Salas at -17!

6.07pm BST

Salas lines up her birdie putt expecting some right-to-left break. It doesn’t move. But that’s a par and she’s one hole closer to home. Ko can’t make her shorter birdie putt, prodding tentatively at her effort, which dribbles apologetically to the right. Meanwhile up on 18, a miserable end to a miserable day for Bronte Law. No bogeys for three days, then five on the outward nine this afternoon. A three-putt to close, and it’s a 78 that will take a little while to get over. Still, remember: it’s her rookie year on tour, and this experience, however painful, should stand her in good stead down the line. She ends the week at -3.

-17: Salas (16)
-16: JY Ko (16), Shibuno (14)
-15: Pressel (15), Buhai (14)

6.01pm BST

Salas and Ko send wonderfully controlled approaches into 16. Birdie attempts coming up. Back on 15, Pressel doesn’t really put the foot on the gas, seemingly happy to make a conservative, no-risk par. In the circumstances, is that enough?

5.56pm BST

Fuss-free pars for Shibuno and Buhai at the par-three 14th. Up on 15, Pressel launches a drive down the right of the track. And on 16, Salas and Ko crash gorgeous drives straight down the middle. Nobody’s giving an inch!

-17: Salas (15)
-16: JY Ko (15), Shibuno (14)
-15: Pressel (14), Buhai (13)
-12: Boutier (F)

5.51pm BST

A 71 in the end for Jeongeun Lee6. Having gone out in 32, she came back in 39. That miscalculation off the tee at the short par-four 12th killed her bid stone dead. She eds the week at -9. Meanwhile it’s just par for Ko on 15 ... but Lizette Salas sets her birdie putt off on the perfect line and at the perfect pace, the ball curling right to left the second it reaches the cup! Birdie, and she’s in the lead on her own again at -17!

5.48pm BST

Ko Jin-young looks like she might be the one to blink first. She pulls her second at the par-five 15th into a bunker 80 yards from the green. On Sky, Jamie Spence suggests she’ll do extremely well to simply find the putting surface from there. So of course she clips the long bunker shot to 20 feet. Quite the result. Salas will have a 20-foot birdie chance too, having played the hole in much less stressful a fashion. But Sung-hyun Park may be on edge. While Morgan Pressel was making birdie, she was three-putting. And taking her sweet time about it, too. Her group has been put on the clock as a result of the world number two’s slow play.

5.43pm BST

Hinako Shibuno joins the leaders by making her birdie putt! Nothing more than the second shot deserved. She walks off shining with happiness. She’s threatening to tear up the back nine at Woburn yet again! Ashleigh Buhai has a tricky little downhill dribbler, but she guides in her birdie too. Just as well, because the sheer quality of that approach-cum-escape rendered a par simply unacceptable. And it doesn’t stop, because Morgan Pressel rolls in a straight 20-footer for birdie on 14! This is becoming outrageously exciting.

-16: JY Ko (14), Salas (14), Shibuno (13)
-15: Pressel (14), Buhai (13)

5.39pm BST

It’s been 262 starts since Morgan Pressel last won a tournament. An 11-year-wait could come to an end today on the biggest stage. She curls in a 25-foot right-to-left birdie effort on 13 to move to -14. Coming up behind, the final pairing of Shibuno and Buhai pepper the flag. Buhai’s second in particular, after a poor tee shot, is magical, a high draw around trees on the left to six feet. Just outstanding. Shibuno’s elegant arrow to 12 feet looks positively bog-standard by comparison.

5.35pm BST

Ko’s birdie effort on 14 is never going in. A couple of feet past, but she calmly pars. The one Salas trickles down the green looks like dropping, though, before turning off to the left at the last. She throws her head back in despair. So close to taking the outright lead again! The winner is coming from this little group. But who will it be? We might need a sudden-death play-off to find out!

-16: JY Ko (14), Salas (14)
-15: Shibuno (12)
-14: Buhai (12)
-13: Pressel (12)
-12: Boutier (F), SH Park (12)

5.30pm BST

The standard of golf here is off the scale! Ko claps her tee shot at 14 to 12 feet, so Salas responds by sending hers to 10! Shibuno nearly makes her eagle putt, but the ball dies to the right at the last. A birdie will suffice, though, and her smile’s back as she closes on the leaders; she’s -15. And birdie for Buhai, who didn’t go for the green but wedged her second to three feet and cleaned up from there. This is a magnificent tournament.

5.27pm BST

Hinako Shibuno decides to go for it on 12. Straight for the pin, as well, leaving no margin for error. The Smiling Cinderella looks slightly concerned as her ball begins to descend as it crosses the water. Will it get over? Doesn’t look like it. No. But hold on! Yes! Just. One foot shorter, and she was wet. But her ball reaches the other side, then creeps onto the edge of the green! She’ll have a look at eagle from 20 feet or so! Meanwhile up on 13, Salas pars, but Ko makes her birdie. The major treble is on, as the ANA Inspiration and Evian champ hits the top at last!

-16: JY Ko (13), Salas (13)
-14: Shibuno (11)
-13: Pressel (12), Buhai (11)
-12: Boutier (F), SH Park (12)
-9: N Korda (F), Masson (17), Nordqvist (16), Lee6 (16), Ciganda (14)

5.21pm BST

Ko creams an iron from 180 yards straight at the flag on 13. That’s such a beautifully controlled shot. She’ll have a look at birdie, and a share of the lead, from six feet. Salas responds by sending a gentle draw around the tree in her way, and uses the slope of the green to gather her ball round to 20 feet. That’s superb from there. Meanwhile back on 12, Park Sung-hyun moves into credit for the first time today, taking two careful putts for her birdie. The eagle effort was never going in, but that’s got her moving in the right direction at last, with time running out. She’s -12.

5.17pm BST

Disappointing pars for Shibuno and Buhai on the par-five 11th. Shibuno had come up short with her third; Buhai will be more disappointed, having shoved a short birdie putt right. Park, stuck at -11, throws the dice at the risk-and-reward 12th, and is rewarded when she drives the green. She’ll take a look at eagle from 30 feet or so. Meanwhile Salas sends her drive at 13 into the semi-rough on the left. Trees compromise her route straight to the flag on the left, but she can aim for the right-hand side of the green, hoping the camber helps her out. Her playing partner Ko’s drive sails gracefully down the right-hand side of the fairway, the perfect place from which to attack the pin.

5.09pm BST

Morgan Pressel makes her move! The 2007 ANA Inspiration creams her second shot into the par-five 11th, and curls the 15-foot eagle putt she’s left with into the cup! Suddenly she’s right in the mix. And it really is anybody’s Open, because Ko sends her second at 12 to six feet and suddenly she’s just one off the lead!

-16: Salas (12)
-15: Ko (12)
-14: Shubuno (10)
-13: Pressel (11), Buhai (10)

5.05pm BST

A sublime round of 66 for Celine Boutier. She had a decent birdie chance at the last, having sent her second pin high to 20 feet, but she misread the break. Still, par, and she’s the new clubhouse leader at -12. It’s almost certainly not enough, unless the leading quartet have a collective breakdown, but it’s a magnificent effort nonetheless, a second top-ten finish in the majors this season. And precious points for the Solheim Cup!

-16: Salas (11)
-14: Ko (11), Shibuno (10)
-13: Buhai (10)
-12: Boutier (F)

4.59pm BST

What a shot by Ashleigh Buhai on 10! Her tee shot sails off to the left. She’s got to go over trees if she’s to reach the green. She whips her ball high into the air ... and lands it six feet from the flag! That’s quite sensational from there! She makes a very deserved birdie. There was a bit of pressure on her putt, too, because her playing partner Hinako Shibuno rattled in a 25-footer for birdie of her own from the fringe at the back! Just as well that hit the hole, because it was really travelling. She’s deserved a bit of luck with the flat stick today; she’s had none. The smile’s back. Meanwhile it’s all happening, because up on 11, Lizette Salas whips a lovely third to 12 feet, and in goes the putt for her seventh birdie of the day!

-16: Salas (11)
-14: JY Ko (11), Shibuno (10)
-13: Buhai (10)
-12: Boutier (17)

4.51pm BST

Celine Boutier threw away her best chance of a major this year at Charleston in the US Open. Leading going into the final round, she immediately double-bogeyed and never really recovered, the 25-year-old Parisian ending up in a tie for fifth. But she’s giving it one last big heave. She’s putting together a fantastic last round, with birdies at 2, 9, 11, 15, 16 and now 17 rocketing her up the standings to -12. A birdie up the last, and you just never know!

-15: Salas (10)
-14: JY Ko (10)
-13: Shibuno (9)
-12: Boutier (17), Buhai (9)

4.46pm BST

Atthaya Thitikul, the 16-year-old Thai, wins the Smyth Salver for low amateur! She finishes in style as well, sending her second at 18 to 15 feet and rattling in the birdie putt. A 73 to end with. She’s -4, six clear of 18-year-old Yuka Yasuda. The young Japanese amateur finished with 77 and ended up very respectably at +2. Congratulations to Atthaya!

4.43pm BST

Jeongeun Lee6’s problems intensify. She sends a hook into the woods down the left of 13, and she’s been put on the clock as well. That really might be it for the US Open champ. Back on 9, Ashleigh Buhai can’t get up and down from the bottom of a grassy bank, and she slips to -12. Par for Hinako Shibuno, who remains two back at -13.

4.39pm BST

The US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6’s race might be run. That careless tee shot on 12 leads to a double-bogey six. Not such a lucky number after all, sad to say. She’s -10. No woman has won the US Open and British Open in the same year, and that record looks like surviving 2019. Especially as Lizette Salas has just arrowed her second straight at the 10th flag, rolling in the 12-foot birdie putt to pull two clear at the top! Albeit only for a few seconds, because her playing partner Ko Jin-young had sent her approach even closer, and she makes birdie as well.

-15: Salas (10)
-14: JY Ko (10)
-13: Buhai (8), Shibuno (8)

4.35pm BST

Park Sung-hyun has, unlike her very large and vocal following, been super-quiet today. But she rolls a 25-footer in for birdie at 9, and she turns in 36 strokes. She’s back where she started the day, at -11, just three off the pace currently set by Lizette Salas. A couple more birdies and she’s right in the thick of it.

4.33pm BST

The short par-four 12th is a real risk-or-reward affair. Take the drivable green on, or lay up in front of the water that guards the dancefloor? Jeonguen Lee6 plays it safe with iron ... but really smacks it, and sends her ball scampering into the briny! A terrible mistake, and one that could compromise her charge. Meanwhile a three-putt bogey for Hinako Shibuno from the fringe at the back of the par-three 8th. Smiling Cinderella isn’t living up to her name right now, but she was miserable when struggling on the front nine yesterday, too ... then came back in 30 shots. A lot of story yet to be told. “This tournament is phenomenal and has everything a fan could want,” writes Lucy Wesson. “Thank you for the last three days and for coverage of this amazing finish!” We aim to please, Lucy. You’ll be back for the Solheim Cup, right?

-14: Salas (9)
-13: JY Ko (9), Buhai (8), Shibuno (8)

4.26pm BST

Morgan Pressel tickles a treacherous downhill putt on 8 into the cup. A first birdie of the day for the 2007 ANA Inspiration champion. Up on 9, Lizette Salas sticks her second to four feet, and makes the putt for birdie and a share. Since the five-major era began in 2013, the USA have always had at least one major winner each calendar year. It’s up to Pressel or Salas to keep that run going.

-14: Salas (9), Shibuno (7)
-13: JY Ko (9), Buhai (7)
-12: Lee6 (11)
-11: Pressel (8)

4.22pm BST

Hinako Shibuno finds the green at the par-five 7th in two big lashes. She can really cream it. The long eagle putt stops three feet short, and that’s a birdie that gives her the outright lead again! The damage of that four-putt has now been completely repaired. Buhai laid up, didn’t wedge close, but nearly drained a long birdie putt. One turn short, and that’s par. Meanwhile up on 18, Nelly Korda signs for a 69 and takes the clubhouse lead at -9. It can’t be too long before she makes her major breakthrough. A fine run through the field that only ran out of steam on the back nine. The story of her week.

4.15pm BST

A final round of 69 for the PGA champion Hannah Green. Having nearly missed the cut, she’s done extremely well over the weekend to finish the week at -7. She shares the clubhouse lead with Lexi Thompson and Teresa Lu, the Thai ending her round in disappointing fashion: bogey, bogey. A 69, but it promised so much more.

4.11pm BST

Salas isn’t far away from stroking a 30-footer in for birdie from the back fringe of 8. A tap-in for par will suffice. She remains -13, as does Ko, who doesn’t give her right-to-left birdie curler from 12 feet any chance. Back on 7, another birdie effort passes by for Park Sung-hyun. She remains at -10, just three off the lead. But there’s no sense of her gaining any sort of forward momentum. She’s been very flat today, just as she was in France last Sunday.

4.03pm BST

Ko Jin-young is hoping to become only the seventh player in history to win three majors in the same calendar year. She’d be keeping some fairly illustrious company: Babe Zaharias, Mickey Wright, Pat Bradley, Inbee Park, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods are the only folk to have managed it before. She very nearly jumps into the outright lead, an inch or so away from stroking in a 30-foot eagle putt on 7. But a kick-in birdie gives her a share with Hinako Shibuno, who pars 6; Lizette Salas, who birdies 7; and Ashleigh Buhai, whose tee shot into 6 isn’t much cop, but is followed up with a 40-foot rake for birdie. Good luck predicting the winner of this one.

-13: Salas (7), JY Ko (7), Buhai (6), Shibuno (6)
-12: Lee6 (9)
-10: Pressel (6), SH Park (6)

3.56pm BST

But at least Georgia Hall signs off with a birdie! She sends her second at 18 pin high to 15 feet, and rattles in the putt. A final round of 73 and she ends the defence of her title at -3. That’s a fine performance by a player who came into this tournament out of form. And she’ll always have Lytham.

3.52pm BST

There’ll be no English winner this year, though. Bronte Law has dropped yet another shot, this time at 8. She’s clattered down the standings to -5. Meanwhile Charley Hull whistles her tee shot at 7 out of bounds, and runs up a double bogey that sends her down to -6.

3.50pm BST

Hinako Shibuno has suffered three lip-outs already. But now on 6, a 15-foot birdie effort looks like missing by an inch on the left, only to be snaffled by the edge of the hole for birdie. Such spirit! She regains sole ownership of the lead at -13. This is such an exciting tournament.

3.47pm BST

This is really cooking up now! At the Evian last week, Ko Jin-young started the final day four shots behind the leader. She began her round today four off the pace. Is she going to come through the field to win a second major in a week, and her third of the year? She sends her tee shot at 6 to eight feet, and strokes in a nerveless birdie putt. And with her playing partner Lizette Salas making an extremely careless and slightly nervous three-putt bogey, it’s suddenly a five-way tie at the top!

-12: Lee6 (8), JY Ko (6), Salas (6), Shibuno (4), Buhai (4)
-10: SH Park (5), Pressel (5)

3.41pm BST

No woman has ever won the US Open and the British Open in the same year. But records are there to be broken, and Jeongeun Lee6 has just drained a monster birdie effort across 8! The victor a couple of months ago at Charleston is now just a shot off the lead.

-13: Salas (5)
-12: Lee6 (8), Buhai (4), Shibuno (4)

3.37pm BST

Marina Alex, who turned in 34 after early birdies at 2 and 3, continues to climb the leaderboard. Birdies at 11 and 12 have risen her to -9. She’s alongside Nelly Korda, who slips back after bogey at 14. And news of Carlota Ciganda, who was going along so well before a farcical double-bogey on 18 yesterday evening. Bogeys today at 1 and 4, and she’s slipped off the pace. She’s -7, and major glory continues to elude the consistent Spaniard.

3.35pm BST

Shibuno hasn’t changed her gameplan in the wake of that four-putt double. She gives her 20-footer a good rattle. It lips out - her third of the round already - and rolls three feet past. No mistake this time, though, and she tucks away the par putt. But Buhai judges her right-to-left birdie putt from the fringe perfectly, and that’s a much-needed shift in momentum for the 30-year-old South African. Meanwhile birdie for Ko Jin-young at 5. It’s busy at the top.

-13: Salas (5)
-12: Shibuno (4), Buhai (4)
-11: Lee6 (7), JY Ko (5)

3.31pm BST

A fine iron into 4 by Ashleigh Buhai. Pin high, ten feet away. If she can get her putter warmed up again, she can kick-start her stalled campaign. Her playing partner, and fellow former leader, Hinako Shibuno sends her second straight at the pin, though she’s a good 20 feet short. Meanwhile birdie for the US Open champ Jeongeun Lee6 at the par-five 7th, which she reached in two. She joins Buhai in third at -11.

3.27pm BST

That was a mixture of carelessness and inexperience from Hinako Shibuno. She’d benefited from a huge stroke of luck with her approach, shoved right and heading towards a bunker poking into the side of the green. But her ball skipped over the sand and came to rest on the dancefloor. She really went for the long birdie putt, which showed swashbuckling intent if nothing else. You know who else led from the front with swashbuckling intent? Jean van de Velde, that’s who. Unlike the hapless Frenchman, Shibuno has plenty of time to repair the damage. And at least the Smiling Cinderella is still living up to her name as she walks away from the scene of the crime, so she’s not allowing her head to drop yet.

3.23pm BST

Shibuno’s left herself a tricky downhill par putt. And it lips out on the right, the ball racing three feet past. She pulls the one coming back, and that’s a horrific four-putt double bogey. Her first serious mistake of the week. And suddenly Lizette Salas leads the British Open!

-13: Salas (4)
-12: Shibuno (3)
-11: Buhai (3)
-10: Korda (13), Lee6 (6), JY Ko (4), SH Park (3), Pressel (3)

3.18pm BST

One of the shots of the week on 4 by Lizette Salas. She lands her approach five feet from a flag tucked away on the right. And that’s her third birdie in the first four holes! What a start. And there’s a chance it’ll give her a share of the lead at -13, because on 3, Hinako Shibuno races a long birdie effort four feet past the hole. That’s missable.

3.16pm BST

Bounceback birdie for Nelly Korda at 12. She’s met at -10 by Park Sung-hyun, heading the other way. The world number two’s second into 3 snags on the bank to the left of the green. She faces a treacherous chip downhill towards the hole, and plays a clever flop into the thick rough, taking as much pace off the ball as possible before it springs onto the green. But it still rolls 20 feet past. As good as she could do, but she can’t make the one coming back and that’s a bogey. Is the super-popular South Korean suffering from final-round nerves yet again? She was all over the place at the Evian last Sunday. This is becoming an increasing problem for a player who has freely admitted to suffering from day-four jitters.

3.12pm BST

Bronte Law’s race looks run already. She’s followed up that opening-hole bogey with two more in short order, at 3 and now 5. She clatters down the standings to -6. Easy to forget this is her rookie year. This experience will stand her in good stead. English hopes appear slim, then, with Charley Hull also going backwards after a bogey-birdie-bogey start. She’s -8.

3.09pm BST

Oh Su-hyun parred her way home after the aforementioned birdie blitz. A fine final-day 66 and she ends the week at -6. Lexi Thompson meanwhile sent a tramliner into the hole on 18 for a valedictory birdie, and the 2014 ANA Inspiration champion is the new clubhouse leader at -7. A fine end to a difficult week for Lexi.

3.05pm BST

Shibuno lays up from the semi-rough on 2, then wedges to ten feet. It looks as though she’s read her right-to-left slider perfectly, but it lips out. She yelps in bemusement but is soon smiling again as per usual. Buhai’s approach meanwhile was superb, spun to six feet. But she can’t make the short birdie effort. Where’s the Buhai of the first two-and-a-half days? She needs to return quicksmart.

-14: Shibuno (2)
-12: Salas (3)
-11: SH Park (2), Buhai (2)
-10: Lee6 (5), JY Ko (3), Pressel (2)
-9: N Korda (11), Nordqvist (5)

3.00pm BST

Thanks John. That’s me back just in time to see Morgan Pressel miss a six-foot birdie opportunity on 2. She remains at -10. She’s joined there by Jeongeun Lee6, who follows birdie at 3 with another at 5. Park Sung-hyun has opened with a pair of pars, a long birdie effort on 2 stopping right on the lip. She stays at -11. But Nelly Korda’s is stumbling on the back nine yet again. Trouble off the tee at 11, and the resulting bogey sends her back to -9.

2.53pm BST

Charley Hull is having a wild start to her afternoon. She has had to lay up after whacking her tee shot on the third into the trees. Par is going to be problematic; the putt she has for a saver is fully 40 feet. It doesn’t go in. Bogey it is. Behind her, Shibuno’s drive on the second has taken her into some semi-rough. Work to do to make birdie on the par five. Buhai’s shot is far better, and on the fairway.

Anyway, that’s me done. Scott Murray is back in the chair to guide Shibuno - or AN Other - home to the final major of the year.

2.48pm BST

Ko, on the second, has a birdie to play for but drifts her shot to the left of the hole. That’s two pars in a row. Buhai’s chance of par looks distant as her lie at the bunker is dreadful; she has to lean over and play with her feet out of the sand. The shot is OK, but she has 20 feet or so to make par. Shibuno collects her par having failed to get the ball up the hill for her putt; the saver shot is hit with confidence. Salas, meanwhile, has made another birdie and is now two shots off the lead at -12. She has second place to herself as Buhai’s putt falls short to go to -11.

2.42pm BST

Nelly Korda’s charge slows up with a par - rather than birdie - on the tenth. She has still made the jump from 18th to fifth. Shibuno’s shot to the first is good, but the bounce of the green means she has a tough shot for birdie. Still, Buhai is in worse trouble, playing from the edge of one bunker to landing straight in the sand of another.

2.39pm BST

Here comes Shibuno, with a Cheshire Cat smile, to the tee. Nobody is enjoying this weekend more than her. Ashleigh Buhai goes first, and how will she recover from losing that five-shot lead? She goes close to a bunker but ends up with a decent lie. Shibuno curtsies as she goes to address the ball, then collects herself, the smile withdrawn for a moment and her swing is true. It wasn’t the longest drive of the day but it is well positioned and safe. Charley Hull’s bunker shot at the second is OK, but leaves her with work to do to make a birdie, work to which she is more than equal. That’s a great shot.

2.27pm BST

Pressel and Park take to the first tee as the penultimate pairing to go. Morgan Pressel goes first, and she punches a bouncer that bounds down the fairway. Sung Hyun Park’s power off the tee takes her way beyond her partner, and she has quite a loud support behind her. Salas starts her day with a birdie and with a confident ten-yard putt. Charley Hull’s confidence, meanwhile, may have been sapped again. Her second shot to the first fails to make it over the bunker and she may well be plugged.

2.24pm BST

Ko takes her second to the first, and it is something of a pull, nowhere near as good as Salas, her playing partner. Charley Hull throws off the disappointment on the first with a confident drive. Bronte Law collects a par on the second up ahead. Nelly Korda is four off the lead and if she continues like this will have presented a significant target to aim at for those following her in.

2.22pm BST

Lizette Salas steps up to the oche for her first drive. The applause for that is deserved. A beauty. Here goes Ko Jin-young, who swipes her drive into the fairway without much of a backwards glance. The younger Korda is on the ninth and her shot from the fairway almost holes out. She collects a fourth birdie in a row, and it might have been an eagle, that’s 31 for the front nine. Charley Hull’s putt on the first is a miss, and a bogey it is, just like Bronte Law. A disappointing start for them both. Ciganda, having been within 12 feet of birdie, gets a bogey on the second.

2.15pm BST

A third birdie in a row for Nelly Korda, this time at 8. She’s -9 and smiling broadly. Speaking of which, Hinako Shibuno tees off in 25 minutes. Right now, she’s on the driving range posing for selfies with fans, her range nameplate tucked under her arm. She’s either helping officials tidy up, or snaffling a souvenir. Whatever the reason, it’s extremely endearing. She’s unquestionably got star quality.

Speaking of unquestionable star quality, here comes John Brewin! He’ll be your guide while I take a quick break before everything gets very real. See you soon.

2.11pm BST

Law’s chip back up isn’t quite as explosive as she’d like. A weak effort that stops 15 feet short. She can’t make the putt and it’s her first bogey of the week. She slips back to -8. Who knows, the end of that run might act as a release. The mind does strange things. Meanwhile par for her playing partner Jing Yan who remains at -8. Back on the tee, Woburn member Charley Hull and Carlota Ciganda crack their opening drives down the fairway without too much fuss. And a tap-in birdie for Nelly Korda on 7, after two big hits and an eagle putt from 15 feet left one turn short. She’s -8.

2.03pm BST

Bronte Law takes to the 1st tee. A huge reception for one of England’s two big hopes. But the gallery soon falls silent as she pulls a nervy opening drive towards the trees on the left. She’s lucky that her ball nestles in the semi-rough after clipping some branches. But she’s got the best part of 200 yards still to go, and though her second shot is decent, she can’t spin it to a stop on the green from the rough, and it bounds over the back and down a bank. She’s not dropped a shot all week, a quite unbelievable run. Some work needs to be done here if that record’s to be maintained.

1.56pm BST

Nelly Korda is mooching along nicely. Birdies at 1 and now 6. She’s -7, and making hay while the sun shines, because the closing holes been the problem for the big-hitting 21-year-old Floridian this week. Nine birdies this week on the first seven holes; on the last 11, just four plus six bogeys. The bizarro Shibuno.

1.45pm BST

Oh Su-hyun is putting something pretty special together. Her run of four consecutive birdies ended with par on 14. But no matter! She’s back on the horse again quickly enough, picking up her fifth stroke on the back nine at 15. She’s -6, and tearing it up since the turn. The sort of behaviour that we should probably describe as Shibunoesque, the leader having played the back nine in 30 strokes not once but twice this week.

1.40pm BST

Maria Torres pars the last, and she signs for a wonderful final round of 67. She ends the week at -5. Shame she’s not able to put a British Open hole in one on her CV, having come so very close at 14 on Thursday. But it’s been a good week for the first Puerto Rican on the LPGA Tour. Torres is the very early clubhouse leader.

1.37pm BST

Two increasingly nervous teenage amateurs are fighting for the Smyth Salver. Yuka Yasuda, 18, makes back-to-back bogeys on 7 and 8. Then 16-year-old Atthaya Thitikul yips a short one on 2, before three-putting 3. Back-to-back bogeys for her as well. But make no mistake, these young women can play; the fact both are still under par for the week is testament to that. Yasuda is -2, Thitikul -3.

1.29pm BST

Taiwan’s Teresa Lu had a share of the 54-hole lead in this event back in 2015. But she fell away in the final round at Turnberry, collapsing to a 74, Inbee Park winning her only British Open instead. Round four is treating her much better today: birdies at 2, 4 and 5 have launched her up the standings to -7. About time for our first updated leaderboard of the day, I would say.

-14: Shibuno
-12: Buhai
-11: SH Park
-10: Pressel, JY Ko, Salas
-9: Ciganda, Hull, Law
-8: Yan, Lee6
-7: Lu (5), Alex (4), Nordqvist, Masson

1.24pm BST

Four birdies in a row for Oh Su-hyun! The latest at 13. She rises to -5. Her antics will give the chasing pack succour, even if scoring across the board isn’t quite as low as it’s been for the first three days.

1.18pm BST

Marina Alex nearly aced 8 on Friday, her 29th birthday. A birdie and a round of 70 wasn’t a bad consolation prize, though. A low round today, and she might just improve on her best result in a major, a tie for ninth in this event at Birkdale back in 2014. She’s made back-to-back birdies at 2 and 3, springing up the standings to -7. That’s currently a tie for 12th, and there’s a spring in her step.

1.11pm BST

Another birdie for Oh Su-hyun, this time at 12. She’s -4 for both her round and the tournament overall. A hot streak, but Maria Torres has just gone one better. Another birdie for the Puerto Rican at 15, and she’s -5 for both her efforts today and the entire week.

1.07pm BST

The leading amateur will lift the Smyth Salver, a prize donated by eponymous former Ladies Golf Union president Moira. (That’s Moira Smyth, not Moira Salver. Or Moira Smyth-Salver.) Anyway, some pretty darn big names have won this thing in recent years: Michelle Wie, Amy Yang, Mel Reid, Anna Nordqvist, Danielle Kang, Lydia Ko and Georgia Hall. That’s some roll call. Today’s battle is between the only two amateurs to survive the cut, Yuka Yasuda of Japan and Atthaya Thitikul of Thailand. Yasuda started the day two shots back at -3, and having dropped a stroke at the opening hole, she’s just rolled in a couple of fine birdie putts, at 5 and 6. She’s -4, now just the one behind Thitikul, who has parred the 1st.

12.55pm BST

The wind’s beginning to swirl, setting the players one or two posers to solve. Though it’s yet to become too much for Oh Su-hyun. The 23-year-old Korean-born Aussie finished in a tie for 15th last year at Lytham, and is threatening another decent result this year. Birdies at 7, 10 and now 11 have brought her up to -3.

12.45pm BST

It all went wrong for the defending champion Georgia Hall on the 9th yesterday. She hooked her drive into a waist-high thicket, and a double-bogey was the almost inevitable consequence. Ever since then, with the knowledge that holding onto her title was now a pipe dream, her play’s gone a bit flat. She signed for a 74, and it’s three uneventful pars to start this morning. However, when the dust settles she’ll look back on this week with pride. Her 2019 form has been distinctly average by her own standards, but she’s managed to raise her game back to a level where a successful defence was a genuine possibility for the first two-and-a-half days. A week that will hopefully get her back on track. And hey, she’ll always have Lytham. She’s -4.

12.35pm BST

Having said all that, there’s evidence of some decent scoring out on the course right now. Maria Torres of Puerto Rico nearly made a hole-in-one on Thursday, inches away from slam-dunking a hybrid straight into the cup at 14. She’s on her game again today: birdies at 2, 4, 5, 11 and now 12, and she’s looking to finish strong at -4. China’s Xiyu Lin meanwhile was out in 33. A shot just gone at 13, but she’s going along nicely at -2. So ... taking advantage of calm early conditions, or a sign that we’re in for more of the same? We’ll find out soon enough.

12.25pm BST

The weather’s was the field’s friend during the first three days. Sunny and still, perfect conditions for low scoring. Woburn’s Marquess Course might play a little harder today, though, if the forecasts prove correct. The rain promised today hasn’t materialised yet, but the wind is up a little. Nothing dramatic, but enough to give the players pause. If it continues to pick up, it could become quite a test.

12.17pm BST

Shibuno’s golfing hero is Lexi Thompson. The passport-misplacing shenanigans of Monday took their toll on Thompson, who was mortified that her mistake led to a chain of events that eventually cost 40 players their first practice round. And so the 2014 ANA Inspiration champion has never really featured this week. Rounds of 71, 70 and 73 mean she was one of the earlier starters today. But she’s going along nicely. Birdies at 1 and now 5 whisk her up the leaderboard to -4.

11.52am BST

Marie Kondo is one of Japan’s most famous exports, but the renowned lifestyle guru has nothing on her compatriot Hinako Shibuno. Kondo is all about doing those things that “spark joy”; well, the 20-year-old Shibuno sparks joy wherever she goes. Known back home as Smiling Cinderella in honour of her infectious good cheer, she’s warmed Woburn this week with her constant crowd interaction, giving the punters thumbs up, posing for selfies with kids, handing out signed gloves. She runs around replacing divots. Oh, and the golf’s not half bad either. Yesterday, after hitting a rough patch mid-round, she came back in 30 strokes. She drives straight and long, approaches with unerring accuracy, and makes her fair share of putts. And so, she leads the British Open by two. She’s doing all this on her major-championship debut. It’s the first time she’s played competitively outside Japan!

Perhaps she’ll lift the trophy today. Perhaps this will be the day that finally overwhelms her. Or perhaps she’ll simply be overtaken by a storming round from Ashleigh Buhai, who was leading by five at one point yesterday ... or the world number one Ko Jin-young ... or the world number two Park Sung-hyun ... or Lizette Salas, a woman whose putt has won a Solheim Cup ... or Carlota Ciganda, hoping to win Spain’s first major ... or Morgan Pressel, hoping to win the USA’s first major this year ... or Bronte Law, yet to make a bogey this week ... or Charley Hull, playing on her home course. Whatever happens, we won’t be forgetting Hinako Shibuno, who has announced her talent to the world this week in style. It promises to be one heck of a fourth round. The joy-sparking begins here soon. It’s on!

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Women's British Open 2019: third round – as it happened

Ashleigh Buhai led by five at one point, but Japanese sensation Hinako Shibuno came back in 30 to take a two-shot advantage into the final round

8.07pm BST

Related: Shibuno leads Women’s British Open on major debut as Ko chases historic treble

6.59pm BST

Hinako Shibuno is sparking joy all right! In goes the putt, and that’s her sixth birdie on the back nine. She came back in 30! By contrast Ashleigh Buhai - who got up and down from the fringe for par - stumbled home in 38. Shibuno’s 67 gives the 20-year old from Japan a two-shot lead going into the final round. Buhai, five clear at one point, trails her partner after a 72. What a turnaround. What a performance by the Smiling Cinderella. What a final day lies in store for us! Make sure to join us tomorrow at midday. Thanks so much for reading.

-14: Shibuno
-12: Buhai
-11: SH Park
-10: Pressel, JY Ko, Salas
-9: Ciganda, Hull, Law

6.53pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai and Hinako Shibuno both crash big drives down the 18th. Buhai’s a fair distance behind her partner, though, and requires a fairway wood to reach the green. It’s a fine shot, pin high, just on the fringe to the right. But she’s upstaged by Shibuno, who cracks a 6-iron straight at the flag from 160 yards. A couple of soft bounces, and it comes to rest three feet past the cup. Whatever happens from here on in - whether she misses this putt, falls away tomorrow, or ends up winning the British Open on her first competitive outing outside Japan - a major new talent has announced itself to the world this week.

6.48pm BST

Bronte Law could hardly make a putt today. Another birdie effort stops one turn short on 18. But that’s a 70. She goes into the final round at -9 ... and she’s yet to make a bogey this week! That is a quite astonishing run. Lizette Salas pars too, and she’ll be delighted with her 70 after going out in 37. She’s -10.

6.46pm BST

Hinako Shibuno and Ashleigh Buhai send a couple of lovely tee shots into 17. Both leave themselves eight footers for birdie. But the momentum’s only with one of these players. Buhai’s effort slides by, but Shibuno’s finds the middle of the cup. The 20-year-old from Japan is the new leader of the British Open! She’s been smiling and laughing with the crowd, stopping to pat a small lad on the head, pose for a selfie and give him a signed glove. She is, to borrow a famous compatriot’s phrase, sparking joy. Buhai looks as though the weight of the world is resting on her shoulders. She must be wondering how she’s let her lead slip. She was going along so steadily on the front nine. She must feel shaken to the core.

-13: Shibuno (17)
-12: Buhai (17)
-11: SH Park (F)

6.41pm BST

Birdie for Lizette Salas on 17! A fine tee shot drawn in to 12 feet, and a left-to-right curler carefully teased into the cup. She moves to -10, and has fought her way right back into contention since the turn. A brilliant performance. Up on 18, Park Sung-hyun pars for a blemish-free 68. She’s perfectly poised at -11.

6.37pm BST

Yep! In it goes! And she punches the air, knowing that she’s rescued her British Open hopes with a stunning back nine of 32. Out in 38, that adds up to a very topsy-turvy round of 70. She’s -9. A wonderful fightback. And she’s only three off the lead now. Because after going 36 holes without dropping a shot, Ashleigh Buhai has now shipped three bogeys in five holes. She leaves her chip from the side of 16 well short, then leaves a 15-foot par effort high on the right. Her partner Hinako Shibuno pars, and that five-shot lead is gone, gone, gone.

-12: Shibuno (16), Buhai (16)
-11: SH Park (17)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (F)
-9: Ciganda (F), Hull (F), Law (17), Salas (16)

6.32pm BST

A wee spot of bother for Charley Hull at 18, as she drives into the bunker to the left of the fairway. She lashes a fine second towards the back of the green, just off. But her putt from the fringe stops six feet short. This is a huge par putt coming up. After her sensational back-nine surge, will she lose a little momentum at the very end?

6.30pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn’s hopes of winning a second British Open at Woburn look remote now, after a round that unfurled with bogeys at 13, 16 and 18. She ended up with a 72, slipping from a high of -9 to -6. Ashleigh Buhai is also threatening to unravel. Her five-stroke lead having been whittled down to one, she carves an iron from the centre of the fairway at 16 into thick rough to the right of the green. The ball nearly topples into the bunker, but sticks near the lip. She’d have liked to have seen that fall in. She made a huge up and down at 14; what she’d pay in cash money for another one here.

6.22pm BST

Neither Buhai nor Shibuno reach the 15th green in two. But both fizz glorious wedges towards the pin. Buhai leaves herself a six-footer for birdie, Shibuno is perhaps six inches inside. Buhai prods in rather fidgety fashion at her effort, which squirts off to the right. Just a par. But Shibuno makes her birdie! Suddenly she’s just one shot off the lead, and the Smiling Cinderella is having a ball. This is a fantastic leaderboard!

-13: Buhai (15)
-12: Shibuno (15)
-11: SH Park (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (F)
-9: Ciganda (F), Hull (17), Salas (15), Law (15)

6.17pm BST

Park Sung-hyun bashes a 300-yard drive down 16. A wedge pin high, leaving a straight 18-footer across the green for a birdie that’d take her to within one shot of Ashleigh Buhai. One more joule of energy, and she’d make it. She remains -11. Up on 18, a 74 for Georgia Hall, and at -4 her grip on the title is all but loosened.

6.14pm BST

Birdie putts for both Bronte Law and Lizette Salas on the par-five 15th. Neither can make theirs. They both remain at -9. Back down the fairway, the final pairing of Hinako Shibuno and Ashleigh Buhai wait for the green to clear after clattering big drives down the track.

6.09pm BST

Ko Jin-young nearly curls in a 30-foot birdie putt from the back of 18. But that’s par, and a 68 that springs her up the leaderboard to -10. Her bid to become only the fourth player to win three majors in a year, after Ben Hogan, Tiger Woods and Inbee Park, is still on. Meanwhile Ciganda takes two putts for a closing double bogey. A farcical end to an otherwise fine round of golf. A third 69 of the week, but it should have been so much better.

6.06pm BST

Hinako Shibuno’s recovery continues apace! Her tee shot at 14 was delicious, over the flag to 12 feet. And in goes the birdie putt! She’s -11. She closes further on Ashleigh Buhai, who clips a delightful sand shot to three feet, and saves her par. That showed such moxie in the circumstances. A third consecutive birdie would have really meddled with her mind. But as things stand she’s still got a two-shot lead at the top. She’s -13, two clear of Carlota Ciganda, who won’t be staying at -11 very much longer. But Park Sung-hyun will be there. She nearly drains a monster eagle putt, but a third birdie in four holes will do. She’s -11.

6.02pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai is rocking. She pulls her hybrid at the par-three 14th into a deep bunker on the left. She looks really flustered at the minute. What she’d give for a ship-steadying sandy save. But she doesn’t have a lot of green to play with. And she’s not the only one in trouble. Second-placed Carlota Ciganda slices her tee shot at 18 into the bushes down the right. She should take an unplayable, but attempts to hack it out instead. She’s got hardly any backswing, and can’t punch her ball out. Now she takes an unplayable. So she’s hitting four into the green. She finds the putting surface, but it’ll be a long two putts for double bogey.

5.58pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai was five shots clear of the field not so long ago. But now her lead is just two. She faces a slippery downhill chip from the side of 13, and sends a lovely soft-handed effort rolling slowly towards the hole. But the green is fast, and her ball ends eight feet past the cup. She pulls the one coming back uphill, and this championship is suddenly on. And there’s a fourth birdie in five holes for Charley Hull, this time at 15. She looked way out of this, but one back-nine charge later, and she’s only four off the lead! She’s soon joined by Bronte Law, who finally makes a birdie putt, draining one across 14. They’re both at -9.

-13: Buhai (13)
-11: Ciganda (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (17), SH Park (13), Shibuno (13)

5.52pm BST

Ko’s tee shot at 17 is straight at the flag. But 20 feet short. She very nearly makes the right-to-left curler for another birdie, but fails to give it enough juice. A tap-in for par. Ciganda misses a birdie putt from half the distance, failing to set it far enough out to the right. Meanwhile the US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6 signs for a blemish-free 69 featuring birdies at 2, 10 and 17. She’s nicely placed at -8.

5.48pm BST

The world number one Ko Jin-young nearly finds a bunker to the side of the 16th green. But her ball snags on the bank, and she pops a wedge up onto the green. The ball twangs off the flagstick and drops! Her first birdie on the back nine. She joins the group at -10. Par for her partner Carlota Ciganda. If Ashleigh Buhai stumbles on the way home - and she looks a little concerned as she misses to the right of 13 - this is wide open.

-14: Buhai (12)
-11: Ciganda (16)
-10: Pressel (F), JY Ko (16), SH Park (13), Shibuno (12)

5.40pm BST

Hinako Shibuno is back in business! Her mood lifted, she wedges to ten feet at 12, trots elegantly after the divot, replaces it with a smile, then makes the putt to move to -10. And suddenly she’s only four off the top, because Ashleigh Buhai makes her first error since the 11th on Thursday. She trundles a 30-foot birdie putt six feet past, and shoves the one coming back. Only her second bogey of the week, and suddenly the lead is back to just three. No fourth birdie in a row for Hull, sadly, as she sends her curling putt too far out to the right.

-14: Buhai (12)
-11: Ciganda (15)
-10: Pressel (F), SH Park (13), Shibuno (12)
-9: JY Ko (15), Boutier (13), Salas (12)

5.35pm BST

Park Sung-hyun took a while to get going. But suddenly she’s made back-to-back birdies, firing an iron straight at the flag on 13 and rolling in the 20-foot right-to-left slider. She’s suddenly -10. Celine Boutier birdies the hole too, and she’s -9/ And this is beginning to cook up nicely, because Charley Hull has just lashed a majestic long iron towards the pin at the long par-three 14th. An eight feet putt for a fourth birdie in a row!

5.30pm BST

Three birdies in a row for Charley Hull! The latest at 13. She’s been bang on it since the turn. She’s -8, alongside Bronte Law who misses yet another short-range birdie putt, this time at 12. Her game has been in fine nick today, but her putter’s stone cold. One of those days.

5.27pm BST

Morgan Pressel finishes her round with four birdies in the last five holes! She creams her second at 18 to four feet, and deservedly makes it three in a row. She’s back in 32, and it’s a round of 66! She allows herself a quiet, satisfied smile. The new clubhouse leader. Back-to-back birdies for Lizette Salas, incidentally, at 10 and 11, as she reinserts herself into the story.

-15: Buhai (11)
-11: Ciganda (14)
-10: Pressel (F)
-9: JY Ko (14), Masson (12), SH Park (12), Salas (11), Shibuno (11)

5.21pm BST

Park Sung-hyun has been extremely quiet today. Just the one birdie up until now, at 4. But now the recently deposed world number one goes for the green at the short par-four 12th. She finds a bunker, but splashes out to five feet and makes her second birdie of the day. She’s moved stealthily into the group at -9.

5.18pm BST

Another birdie for Charley Hull! This one comes at 12, and she’s -7 again. Back where she started, after those front-nine bogeys at 2 and 8. And there’s more belated good news for English fans, as Bronte Law - who had missed a short birdie putt on 10 and stormed off absolutely fuming - finally makes one at the par-five 11th. She raises both arms in ironic celebration, and this time she walks off smiling and laughing. She’s -8 and far from out of this ... providing Ashleigh Buhai gives some succour to the field. Which at the moment looks far from likely.

5.14pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai just keeps on trucking! Her approach into 10 isn’t particularly close, but her flat stick is red hot, and she guides in a right-to-left slider for another birdie. There’s a much-needed birdie for her partner Hinako Shibuno, who hasn’t cracked her trademark smile for some time. For a second, it looks as though she’s not going to respond to this boost, ground down by her earlier misfires. But she can’t help herself. A smile plays around the side of her mouth. The professional within tries to fight it, but eventually she gives in, letting it spread across her face. The gallery respond to her infectious joy. Welcome back, Smiling Cinderella, we’ve missed you.

-15: Buhai (10)
-11: Ciganda (14)
-9: Pressel (17), JY Ko (14), A Jutanugarn (12), Masson (12), Shibuno (10)

5.07pm BST

You’ll have noticed Morgan Pressel creeping onto the bottom of the leaderboard. Well, she hasn’t stopped there! The Floridian made her name as the 18-year-old winner of the ANA Inspiration back in 2007, in those pre-Lydia-Ko days becoming the youngest-ever women’s major champion. Now 31, she’s looking to banish the ghosts of 2013, when she led this event at St Andrews after 54 holes, only to shoot a final round of 76. Out in 34 today, she’s just birdied 14, 16 and now 17, the latest deserved reward for a lovely iron landed softly to the right of the pin at the par-three, her ball gathering round to 12 feet. She’s right in the mix now!

-14: Buhai (9)
-10: Ciganda (13)
-9: Pressel (17), JY Ko (13), A Jutanugarn (12), Masson (11)

4.59pm BST

Jung Yan pars the last for her 67. She’s the new clubhouse leader at -8. In the meantime, Charley Hull makes her first birdie of the day, raking in a long birdie putt across 12. She’s back to -6, and the crowd give her an encouraging roar. But it’s a poor three-putt bogey for Hinako Shibuno on 9. She turns in 37, head bowed, the effervescent figure of yesterday afternoon a distant memory right now. She slips to -8. A fairytale win for the Smiling Cinderella will soon become a pipe dream if she doesn’t rediscover her mojo soon. The 20-year-old debutant looks extremely deflated. It’s a real shame.

-14: Buhai (9)
-10: Ciganda (12)
-9: JY Ko (12), A Jutanugarn (11), Masson (11)
-8: Yang (F), Pressel (16), SH Park (10), Shibuno (9)

4.51pm BST

Bounce-back birdie for Carlota Ciganda! She responds to that yip on 11 with two careful, easy irons down 12. In goes the 12-footer, and the lead at the top is cut to four. Par for her partner Ko Jin-young. Another birdie Jing Yan, meanwhile, at the par-three 17th. If she makes it up the last without dropping a shot, the 33-year-old from China will be signing for a 67.

-14: Buhai (8)
-10: Ciganda (12)
-9: JY Ko (12), A Jutanugarn (11), Masson (10), Shibuno (8)
-8: Yan (17), SH Park (10)

4.46pm BST

A miserable and frustrating end to Anna Nordqvist’s excellent round. She sends her second at 18 bounding towards the flag. It nearly clatters the stick, in which case she could be waltzing off the green with an outrageous eagle. But the ball misses and topples off the back. A hot putt from the fringe ends eight feet past the hole, and the par saver coming back lips out. That’s still a marvellous 68, but every shot counts with Ashleigh Buhai romping away at the top, and she walks off looking as disappointed as you’d imagine. She’s the new clubhouse leader at -7.

4.42pm BST

Ko Jin-young looks to have made a right-to-left 20-footer on 11 for birdie. The ball’s heading for the hole, dead on line. But then gravity does a number on her, the ball somehow riding the wall of death, making a u-turn around the back of the cup, stubbornly refusing to drop, then sitting up on the lip. That’s outrageous. So unlucky for the ANA and Evian champ. She remains at -9, now alongside Caroline Masson, who birdies 10 with a celebratory air punch, and Carlota Ciganda, who bogeys 11 after yipping a short par putt. Ashleigh Buhai now has a five-shot lead! It was nearly six, but she lets a 12-foot birdie putt on 8 tail off to the right.

-14: Buhai (8)
-9: JY Ko (11), Ciganda (11), A Jutanugarn (10), Shibuno (8)

4.35pm BST

A beauty sent into the par-three 8th by Bronte Law. Her ball bounces up the green, resting pin high, 12 feet to the left of the flag. But her birdie effort is never going in, always heading right the second it leaves the face of the putter. Extreme frustration for Law, who shakes her head in bewilderment. That wasn’t a confident stroke. She stays at -7, just off the pace. She’s joined there by her partner Lizette Salas, who went long and left with her tee shot and couldn’t get up and down.

4.32pm BST

The Smiling Cinderella looks a little down on herself right now. The sensational approaches aren’t going quite so close today. Shibuno’s 15 feet from the flag at the par-five 7th, but the birdie putt doesn’t drop. But her playing partner Ashleigh Buhai rolls in another fine putt from similar distance. Birdie. She looks so cool right now, so calm, it’ll send a chill through the rest of the field.

-14: Buhai (7)
-10: Ciganda (10)
-9: JY Ko (10), A Jutanugarn (10), Shibuno (7)
-8: Nordqvist (17), Masson (9), SH Park (8), Salas (7)

4.27pm BST

We have a new clubhouse leader in Sakura Yokomine. The 33-year-old from Japan doesn’t have a stellar record in the majors - top-ten finishes at the US Open in 2010 and 2014, and that’s it - but a 67 today has propelled her up to -6. Meanwhile on 10, the 2016 champ Ariya Jutanugarn sends a wedge over the flag at 10, nearly spinning it back into the cup for eagle. The ball rolls a further couple of feet past, but that’s another birdie and she’s -9. And bogey for Celine Boutier at 8, a short putt pushed right of the cup. She’s back to -7.

4.22pm BST

It’s beginning to look as though any faint hope of a home victory will be down to Bronte Law. She’s level par through 6, and remains at -7. But hot on the heels of Georgia Hall’s double at 9 comes bogey at 8 for Charley Hull, who slips to -5 as well. Hall and Hull have eight shots to make up on Ashleigh Buhai, a player who so far has dropped one shot all week.

4.17pm BST

A lovely tee shot into 6 by the leader Ashleigh Buhai. Pin high, 12 feet to the left. She’s a bit tentative with the birdie putt, though, and it dies off to the left. A good chance to extend her healthy lead at the top even further goes by the wayside. Meanwhile we were spared the sight of Georgia Hall’s head poking out the top of the wild nonsense she drove into. But we do witness the misery of double bogey. She clatters down the standings to -5, and the chance of her becoming the first player since Yani Tseng in 2011 to retain the British Open may have just gone, right there.

4.07pm BST

Bother here for the defending champion Georgia Hall. She sends a hook towards the gallery down the left of 9. It clears the punters, bounces on a path, and disappears into waist-high vegetation. That’s some mutant cabbage. Meanwhile the smile still hasn’t returned to Hinako Shibuno’s face: an underhit chip from the side of 5 leads to her first bogey since the 4th yesterday. Here’s the latest leaderboard, now featuring no English players at all.

-13: Buhai (5)
-10: Ciganda (9)
-9: JY Ko (9), Shibuno (5)
-8: Nordqvist (15), A Jutanugarn (8), Masson (7), Boutier (6), SH Park (6), Salas (5)

3.59pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn isn’t far from eagle at 7. But birdie will suffice. She joins the group at -8. Lizette Salas repairs the damage of 3 with birdie at 5. She’s -8 again. Caroline Masson rolls in a 25-foot birdie putt on 5, and she’s back to -8 too. And Charley Hull pulls a eight-footer for birdie at 8. The home charge is stalling on the easier front nine.

3.56pm BST

England’s dreaming as Bronte Law and Georgia Hall line up birdie putts. Law first. She’d sent her second at 5 over the flag, leaving a relatively straight 12 footer coming back. But she underhits it, the ball dying to the left and stopping one dimple short. Georgia Hall meanwhile clips her tee shot at 8 to eight feet ... but she underhits her putt too, her effort dying right. Both players take turns to look pained, a little bit of frustration creeping in.

3.50pm BST

Back-to-back birdies for Ko Jin-young! A tee shot at 8 to 15 feet, and a putt guided nervelessly into the hole. Back-to-back majors as well? You wouldn’t bet too much money against it. Meanwhile they call Hinako Shibuno “Smiling Cinderella” back home in Japan, her sunny demeanour beloved by fans. She’s not smiling right now, though, a lesser-spotted cloud of misery gently hovering over her head after she sent a sensational approach at 4 to six feet, only to misread the right-to-left break on the birdie putt. I doubt she’ll wallow for too long.

3.44pm BST

Another long putt at 7. It’s sunk by Carlota Ciganda’s playing partner Ko Jin-young from 25 feet for birdie. The world number one rises to -8. Meanwhile China’s Jing Yan is going along very nicely: birdies at 3, 6, 8 and now 11, and she’s -7. Yan, Ciganda and Nordqvist are showing that it’s possible to score low today. The English charge isn’t going to plan, though. Only Georgia Hall is under par for her round at the moment, with birdie at 2 her only prize through the first seven holes. She’s -7, as is Bronte Law, who has parred the opening three. And Charley Hull is still one over for her round, -6 overall through six.

3.37pm BST

Scrub “ever-expanding” from that last entry, will you? Masson hits a second poor approach in a row, this time at 5. Her ball apologetically squeaks onto the front of the green, but well away from the flag. She leaves the first putt well short, then pulls the par saver. Bogey. Meanwhile Ciganda finds the par-five 7th in two, then curls in a 40-foot right-to-left breaker for eagle! Ciganda’s been in the mix so often at the majors in recent times. She may be due one. This could be it! Shibuno can’t make her birdie putt on 3, meanwhile, so she’s now got company in second spot.

-13: Buhai (3)
-10: Ciganda (7), Shibuno (3)
-8: Nordqvist (12), Boutier (4), SH Park (4)

3.33pm BST

It’s easy to forget that Hinako Shibuno is playing in her first major championship this week. The 20-year-old Japanese sensation makes it all look so simple. She gently swishes a 6-iron pin high at 3. She’ll have another look at birdie, this time from 15 feet. Meanwhile a first birdie of Park Sung-hyun’s round, the reward for an approach to three feet at 4. She joins the ever-expanding group at -8.

3.28pm BST

A three-putt bogey for Salas at 3. Maybe not technically, the first was from the fringe at the back, but you get the gist. She slips to -7, and her four-birdie blitz at the start of yesterday’s round seems an awfully long time ago. Moving the other way: Celine Boutier, who birdies 4 and joins the group at -8.

3.24pm BST

Carlota Ciganda nearly slam-dunks her tee shot at 6 into the cup! It pitches six inches from the hole, then scoots four feet past. Wow. We’ve come close to a hole-in-one already this week, Marina Alex nearly acing 8 yesterday. But a birdie is more than acceptable. Meanwhile on 4, Masson doesn’t panic, and sends a lovely wedge to three feet, and tidies up to scramble her par. And back on 2, Shibuno very nearly bumps a wedge across the big green and into the cup for eagle. Birdie, though she’s still three back because Buhai makes a 20-footer to maintain her cushion at the top.

-13: Buhai (2)
-10: Shibuno (2)
-8: Nordqvist (12), Ciganda (6), Masson (4), Salas (2)

3.17pm BST

Just a birdie for Nordqvist at 11, then. Apologies for getting y’all excited. And to further dampen the mood, belated news of Charley Hull, who couldn’t scramble her par at 2, the Woburn member dropping back to -6. Meanwhile Shibuno has cracked two lovely woods down 2 and she’s near the front of the green, hunting down a birdie. But trouble for Masson at 4, as her approach clatters into overhanging branches down the right and leaves her ball 50 yards short of the green.

-12: Buhai (1)
-9: Shibuno (1)
-8: Nordqvist (11), Masson (3), Salas (2)

3.13pm BST

Bronte Law lines up a six-foot birdie chance on the par-five 2nd. She shoves it right, and storms off the green in a hot funk. She’s yet to make a birdie this week on this very accommodating hole, which could explain her immense irritation. Her playing partner Lizette Salas misses a short birdie chance as well, racing it four feet past. She nails the one coming back. Neither player in the penultimate group are exuding rays of sunshine right now. They remain at -7 and -8 respectively.

3.09pm BST

Hmm, Nordqvist at 11. There’s been no televised footage, and depending on which source you believe, she made either eagle or just (just!) birdie. In case of the latter, she’ll be -8, in a share of third with Salas and Masson. We’ll keep you posted on that.

3.05pm BST

Caroline Masson curls in a 30-footer for birdie at 3. She joins Lizette Salas at -8. The world number one Ko Jin-young is in hot pursuit: having started shakily with bogey at 2, she’s bounced back with birdies at 3 and 4, the latter the result of an obnoxiously good second shot sent to a couple of feet tops.

3.02pm BST

Thanks John. Now then! The two-time major-winning Swede Anna Nordqvist appears to be on a qvest for number three. Having turned in 33 with those early birdies at 2, 3 and 5, she’s taken it up a notch further. Birdie at 10, followed now by eagle at the par-three 11th! They’ve moved the tee boxes up in the hope of a little more positivity on the par fives, and there we have it. She’s six under for her round already, and has a share of second. This is why they call it Moving Day. Meanwhile opening pars for Buhai and Shibuno in the final group.

-12: Buhai (1)
-9: Nordqvist (11), Shibuno (1)
-8: Salas (1)

2.52pm BST

Georgia Hall has a long, speedy putt to play on the third, while Hull’s attempt to rescue par is off to a bad start with an undercooked first putt from the fringe of the green. Right, here comes the leading pair. Shibuno, second on -9, has the honour. A broad smile as her name is read out, and she clatters her drive down the middle. Ashleigh Buhai’s first shot is hit with what looks like an almost casual deportment but it bumps and runs to safety.

And, with all the leading protagonists on the course, Scott Murray is back...

2.47pm BST

Jutanugarn and Hall are on the third, and within touching distance of each other on the fairway. Charley Hull has work to do on the second after a shot that lands in the no-mans land between sand and rough. How did it go? Badly, is the answer. Topped it and faces a race to make par on a very birdie-able par five. Ko claims back that bogey on the first with a birdie on the second. Salas’s second shot to the first green is safe enough, what can Bronte Law conjure with a nine-iron? It was a fine effort but she wasn’t aided by a rather deadened surface.

2.42pm BST

Bronte Law, the leading Brit on -7, takes to that opening tee. And is safe as houses on the first fairway. Lizette Salas, the other member of the penultimate pairing, fades her drive to a similar sense of safety. Just Buhai and Shibuno to come now.

2.39pm BST

Minjee Lee hits the crossbar - the flag, to be precise - with a pitch from a raised fringe of the fifth. Jutanugarn has an eagle chance on the second, and goes for it. That leaves her seven feet to make birdie, and seven she feet she deals with. Georgia Hall, on that par-5 second, has her own birdie chance. And she reads it perfectly, giving the ball just a nudge and letting the ridges take the strain. Up to -7 she goes.

2.34pm BST

Charley Hull’s bunker shot is a beauty, and lands her with a decent birdie chance, though her attempt falls short. Marina Alex sinks a birdie putt on the fourth to wipe out a bogey on the third. Sung Hyun Park is underway with a straight - and true - drive. It flies down the fairway, around 290 yards. Celine Boutier begins her round with far less of a thump but her shot is safe on the fairway. She will be taking the next, as her opponent is one of the game’s biggest hitters. Ko makes a mess of her putting and three-putts to suffer a bogey on the second.

2.25pm BST

Up on the first tee, Caroline Masson, on -7, gets her round underway, and hits her shot to the right of the fairway. Up steps Charley Hull to loud applause, but a few groans as she whacks it 240 yards into the bunker. She is followed by a large crowd. Another home favourite, Hall, seems to have misread the green completely. Jutanugarn makes her par while Nordqvist’s birdie putt falls short. Her charge is slowing somewhat.

2.20pm BST

Ariya Jutanugarn, her shot delayed by someone’s mobile bleeping, plays her second to the lip of the green. Georgia Hall follows up by hitting hers up and to the left of the hole, closer than her playing partner. Their birdies will be some task. Ciganda, at the second after making birdie on the first, has to lay up from a bunker, and may struggle to make par. Anna Nordqvist is at the eighth, and has a birdie chance.

2.13pm BST

The defending champion Georgia Hall takes to the 1st tee. A huge roar as she tees it up. Pin-drop silence as she hits her drive. Another roar as her ball splits the fairway. She’s going round today with Ariya Jutanugarn, who won this tournament on this very course three years ago. Thailand’s first major champion sends her ball down the road too. The third round just got real.

And with that, I’m going to have a quick break. John Brewin will treat you right in the meantime. See you again soon.

2.06pm BST

Hannah Green is so close to raking in a long birdie effort on 18. But she’s more than happy to kick in for par, and that’s a fine 68 that moves the PGA champ all the way up to -4. There’ll be no second major this year, but having threatened to miss the cut, she’s now in the process of turning an average week into a more impressive (and lucrative) one. She was going round today with Jessica Korda, who shot 69. She’s -3, and pretty much all of the above applies to her as well. It’s been a feelgood pairing.

2.00pm BST

Brooke Henderson finds tree-bound trouble off the tee at 2. Always out of position, she ends up making bogey. A huge disappointment on a hole that offers birdie on a plate. She drops to -3. Her playing partner Minjee Lee is on the dancefloor in two, but trundles her long eagle putt 12 feet past, and she fails to make the one coming back. She trudges off the green as well, having made a par that will feel like a bogey. She’s -5.

1.57pm BST

Another birdie chance for Nordqvist, who sends her tee shot at 6 straight at the flag. A little short, but it’s an uphill left-to-right curler from 20 feet. A chance to have a good run at it, but she leaves a very tentative effort three feet short. Par, and she remains at -6. Her playing partner Lexi Thompson has hit her tee shot pin high. In goes a lovely birdie putt from 15 feet, and she’s back to -3. Her putter works just fine from medium to long range; it’s the tiddlers that get her nerves jangling and addle the head.

1.50pm BST

But low scores are out there, and someone’s going to make a run at the leaders. It may well be Anna Nordqvist, who cards her third birdie of the day after sending a lovely approach at 5 to four feet. She’s -6, though she walks off the green with the sort of stern look most players wear when they’ve just four putted from three feet. Typical Scandi supercool.

-12: Buhai
-9: Shibuno
-8: Salas
-7: Law, Boutier, SH Park, Hull, Masson
-6: Nordqvist (5), A Jutanugarn, Hall, JY Ko, Ciganda, Kang
-5: Gillman (F), S Kim (12), M Lee (1), N Korda, Alex, Lee6

1.44pm BST

It would be fair to describe Brooke Henderson as swashbuckling. Will you take a look at this swing.

1.30pm BST

Last year’s runner-up Pornanong Phatlum finishes round three with at 69. Ditto the 2018 Evian champ Angela Stanford. Both are -2 going into Sunday. Back on 4, Anna Nordqvist passes up a good chance for a third birdie in a row, setting a gently breaking ten-footer too far out to the right. She remains at -5.

1.24pm BST

Back-to-back birdies for Anna Nordqvist. Shots picked up at 2 and 3 send the two-time major winning Swede up to -5. Meanwhile the reigning PGA champ Hannah Green, having just survived the cut, is flying up the leaderboard. Birdies at 8 and 14 sandwiching an eagle at the short par-four 12th. No footage of this yet, but a wild stab in the dark suggests a chip-in from the fairway. She’s -4.

1.16pm BST

Kristen Gillman finishes with three pars and signs for a 66. That’s the joint second-best round of the week, and she’s the very early clubhouse leader at -5. Meanwhile Xiyu Lin and Kim Sei-young are threatening to put together similarly impressive rounds. Both have hit the turn in 33 strokes, rising to -4. Lin has a couple of European Tour wins to her name, both at the Sanya Open back home in China, while Kim’s CV includes top-ten finishes at all the majors. Just a little too far back to covert their work into a maiden major title.

1.07pm BST

Lexi can’t take advantage of her big break. Having sent her second up the fairway on the par-five 2nd, she wedges for the pin, tucked away to the left. She takes up a massive divot, roughly half of the historic county of Buckinghamshire, as her ball sails too far left. She faces a tricky up and down from a tight lie with little green to play with. A gorgeous soft-handed stab sets her up for par from two feet ... but she yips it. Her fourth bogey of the week, and she’s back to -2. This is becoming a huge mental problem for Thompson. The number of short putts she misses is off the scale. A big factor not converting her huge talent into more major championships, right there.

12.57pm BST

Up on the green, Moriya Jutanugarn strokes in a birdie putt from 12 feet and rises to -4. Yesterday’s first 11 holes, played in four over par, have proved so expensive. Meanwhile her Thai compatriot Pornanong Phatlum, who ran Georgia Hall so close last year at Lytham, is putting together a round in the free-flowing style of someone happy to have avoided the cut by the skin of their teeth. A late run of birdies, at 13, 14 and 17, have boosted last year’s runner-up to -2.

12.52pm BST

It beggars belief that Lexi Thompson just has the one major to her name. The 2014 ANA Inspiration, and that’s it so far for the super-talented 24-year-old from Florida. Going into the weekend at -3, she needs something special today if she’s to improve on her best British Open finish of a tie for eighth here at Woburn in 2016, never mind win the thing. But a birdie putt from 15 feet slips by the left on the 1st. She’ll need a bit of good fortune too, and she gets it on the par-five 2nd, hooking her tee shot towards the tall trees down the left. A massive cannon off a trunk sends her ball sailing back in the correct direction. She’s in the semi-rough. She’s got away with that big-style.

12.45pm BST

Angela Stanford finally won that elusive maiden major last year at the age of 40. The Texan was a runner-up at the 2003 US Open, tied for third at the 2011 Dinah Shore, tied for fourth at the PGA in 2004, and tied for fifth in this event in 2014. She got over the line at last year’s Evian Championship in dramatic style. Eagle at 15, double bogey at 16, birdie at 17. And even then she needed her compatriot Amy Olsen to double bogey the last and fall short of a play-off. Stanford won’t be winning major number two this week, but she’s putting together a fine round today. Birdies at 7, 12, 13 and now 17 have zipped her up the standings to -3.

12.30pm BST

The weather at Woburn is much the same as it’s been for the first two days. Lovely and calm. So it’s conducive to low scoring yet again. Kristen Gillman - on her rookie year as a pro, but already with a top-ten finish at the ANA Inspiration under her belt - is proving that already. The 21-year-old US Amateur champion is tearing it up today. Birdies at 1, 5, 6, 11, 14 and now 15. One more before she gets home, and she’ll be matching Ashleigh Buhai’s best-of-week 65. She’s -5.

12.23pm BST

Here are some of the big names who didn’t make the cut. Shanshan Feng (2012 PGA). Ryu So-yeon (2011 US Open and 2017 ANA). Karrie Webb (Career slam). Paula Creamer (2010 US Open). Catriona Matthew (2009 British Open). Inbee Park (Career slam). Pernilla Lindberg (2018 ANA). Stacy Lewis (2011 ANA and 2013 British Open). Lydia Ko (2015 Evian and 2016 ANA). And Laura Davies (two PGAs, a US Open, the du Maurier Classic when it was a major, the British Open when it wasn’t). The depth of the field illustrated, right there.

12.10pm BST

Today’s tee times ... for your perusal.

8.45am Sarah Schmelzel (US), Mariajo Uribe (Col)
8.55am Angela Stanford (US), Charlotte Thomas (Eng)
9.05am Kristen Gillman (US), Pornanong Phatlum (Tha)
9.15am Felicity Johnson (Eng), Chun In-gee (Kor)
9.25am Annabel Dimmock (Eng), Linnea Strom (Swe)
9.35am Jasmine Suwannapura (Tha), Su Oh (Aus)
9.45am Angel Yin (US), Azahara Munoz (Spa)
9.55am Minami Katsu (Jpn), Anne Van Dam (Ned)
10.05am Hannah Green (Aus), Jessica Korda (US)
10.20am Brittany Altomare (US), Austin Ernst (US)
10.30am Karo Lampert (Ger), Cheyenne Knight (US)
10.40am Hur Mi-jung (Kor), Momoko Ueda (Jpn)
10.50am Ayako Uehara (Jpn), Yu Liu (Chn)
11am Mirim Lee (Kor), Yuka Yasuda -a- (Jpn)
11.10am Kim Sei-young (Kor), Annie Park (US)
11.20am Xiyu Lin (Chn), Maria Torres (Pur)
11.30am Sakura Yokomine (Jpn), Brittany Lang (US)
11.40am Teresa Lu (Tai), Gerina Piller (US)
11.55am Jodi Ewart Shadoff (Eng), Jenny Shin (Kor)
12.05pm Ally McDonald (US), Nicole Broch Larsen (Den)
12.15pm Sarah Kemp (Aus), Caroline Hedwall (Swe)
12.25pm Atthaya Thitikul -a- (Tha), Moriya Jutanugarn (Tha)
12.35pm Lexi Thompson (US), Anna Nordqvist (Swe)
12.45pm Jeongeun Lee (Kor), Jing Yan (Chn)
12.55pm Kim Hyo-joo (Kor), Megan Khang (US)
1.05pm Olivia Cowan (Ger), IK Kim (Kor)
1.15pm Pavarisa Yoktuan (Tha), Morgan Pressel (US)
1.25pm Brooke Henderson (Can), Minjee Lee (Aus)
1.40pm Marina Alex (US), Nelly Korda (US)
1.50pm Jeongeun Lee6 (Kor), Danielle Kang (US)
2pm Carlota Ciganda (Spa), Ko Jin-young (Kor)
2.10pm Georgia Hall (Eng), Ariya Jutanugarn (Tha)
2.20pm Caroline Masson (Ger), Charley Hull (Eng)
2.30pm Park Sung-hyun (Kor), Celine Boutier (Fra)
2.40pm Bronte Law (Eng), Lizette Salas (US)
2.50pm Hinako Shibuno (Jpn), Ashleigh Buhai (SA)

12.00pm BST

Ashleigh Buhai didn’t wait around for Moving Day. The 30-year-old South African - a teenage prodigy who has taken a while to realise her potential - played the back nine in 32 strokes yesterday evening. That established a three-stroke 36-hole lead over Hinako Shibuno, the infectiously exciting young Japanese talent making her major championship debut. With the relatively short-hitting Lizette Salas in third, it’s safe to say the top of the leaderboard has a fresh, unexpected look about it.

But there are some big names lurking. The defending champion Georgia Hall for one, leading an English charge with Bronte Law and Charley Hull. The world number one Ko Jin-young and the number two Park Sung-hyun. Ariya Jutanugarn, who won this event here in 2016. The US Open champion Jeongeun Lee6. We could go on, but time’s a factor, and there’s golf to be played. Let’s get out there. It’s on!

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