Scott Murray's Blog, page 129

October 12, 2018

Croatia 0-0 England: Nations League – as it happened

No fans, no goals. But it was still a decent enough night for England, who were the better side in Rijeka

12.02am BST

10.33pm BST

10.12pm BST

So this MBM comes to its natural end. All that’s left is to point you in the direction of our man Daniel Taylor’s match report. Thanks for reading, and we hope to see you again on Monday as England take on Spain in Seville. Nighty night, wherever you are. Sweet dreams!

10.10pm BST

And finally, Gareth Southgate! “When I’m on the bench, I’m engrossed in the game, so it doesn’t make a lot of difference to me. I thought the application of the players was really good. You want to perform in front of a crowd, but they did really well. Second half we were by far the better team, and if we were more ruthless with our chances we should have won the game. We’re going to play Spain in Seville in front of 60,000 people. We want to be competitive, and will pick a team that represents our country the best.”

10.03pm BST

The captain Harry Kane ... “It was hard without the atmosphere. But we played well, especially in the second half. A bit more clinical and we would have won. At the start of the game it was weird, but it was an experience, and I thought we dealt with it well. We heard the fans, and we appreciated the support. The change of formation worked well. Second half especially, we created some good chances.”

9.57pm BST

And now Ross Barkley. “I’ve been here before, so I know what it’s like to play for England. It would have been much better to come away with three points, but we’ve got to stay positive. We had our fair share of chances, on any other day we would have won 3-0. I thought we dominated most of the game, we had the best chances, I can’t remember them having any. Where I’m at right now, I feel fresh and strong. I’ll work hard at club level and that’ll take care of itself.”

9.54pm BST

Ben Chilwell speaks. “It’s a massive day for myself and my family. For me it was about having a good game and a good performance. Of course I’d like my family to be here, but I’m sure they’re watching on TV. We just had to get on with it. It’s strange in an empty stadium. We were all aware it was going to be weird. In the changing room there were a lot of big characters I wanted to play with, so today was a very special moment. I’m ready to go again on Monday!”

9.44pm BST

As things stand in League A, Group 4:

9.42pm BST

Eric Dier speaks. “It was strange. It was the first experience of it for all of us, a strange atmosphere. But once the game started we put it in the back of our minds. And we heard the supporters up on the hill, because they were the only ones! The new formation suits me well, and the team did well with it today. It’s important for us to have that flexibility. I thought I’d scored! It skidded off the grass onto the post, it was quite unlucky. Sancho was fantastic when he came on. He’s fast and technically very gifted, and hopefully he’ll be a big part of England in the future.”

9.39pm BST

It wasn’t much of a match; the surreal, eerie atmosphere can’t have helped. But England will be happy with their performance against the World Cup finalists. They were the better side tonight. Croatia created next to nothing, while England hit the woodwork twice, and Marcus Rashford missed two glorious chances in two uncertain minutes. Not ideal, then, but not so bad either. Given this game was perhaps always destined to be a weird non-event, Gareth Southgate has plenty of positives to take away, ahead of the big test in Seville on Monday night.

9.36pm BST

Well, that was an event.

9.35pm BST

90 min +3: It’d have been nice to experience a goal met by total silence. But it looks like that box will remain unticked on the old bucket list. “If an England player scores I really hope they celebrate with a cupped hand around the ear,” wishes Damian Brown.

9.34pm BST

90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. “Here’s your fairytale,” begins Ian Copestake, clearing his throat. “Once upon a time, a young man named Foden broke into the first team of the Premier League champions but could only stare aghast as some other young man playing in a less good league was elevated to the senior England squad ahead of him.” It probably needs another pass.

9.33pm BST

90 min: Sancho embarks on another skedaddle down the right. He’s got Pivaric on toast! He reaches the byline and floats a gorgeous looping cross towards Kane in the middle. It’s beaten Livakovic ... but it also beats Kane and then Barkley. Just a little bit too high. But what an impression Sancho has made already. We nearly had our fairytale!

9.31pm BST

88 min: Sancho gives Pivaric a 15-yard head start in a footrace down the right. He wins. But his resulting cross isn’t so impressive. “Why not play this game at Wembley?” wonders Barry Webb. “Surely this would have been an equally appropriate punishment for Croatia and not have deprived England fans of watching the match. Plus all us poor devils watching a game like it’s being played in a London tube station.” Eduardo Paolozzi would approve of this stadium mosaic, it’s true.

9.29pm BST

86 min: Jedvaj slips between Rashford and Chilwell and into the England area on the right. His cutback reaches Kramaric, but the resulting shot, from the penalty spot, isn’t so hot. It’s easily hacked clear by Stones.

9.27pm BST

85 min: Chilwell probes down the left and nearly breaks clear, but clatters into Kramaric and the danger is over.

9.25pm BST

83 min: Kramaric spins past a couple of challenges and makes good down the middle. He flicks the ball to his right for Pjaca, who in turn nearly feeds Livaja. But Chilwell reads the danger well, and steps in to intercept.

9.24pm BST

82 min: Henderson, out on the left, chips into the Croatia box and very nearly finds the head of Sancho, who has come in from the other flank looking to write that aforementioned fairytale. Shame, but the cross is just a bit too high.

9.22pm BST

80 min: Croatia make their final change. Livaja replaces the hard-working striker Rebic.

9.21pm BST

79 min: Some more loose play by Maguire, who has been in a bit of a flap for most of the night. He gifts possession to Modric, who is extremely annoyed with himself by messing up a chance to release Kramaric down the middle. His immediate ball forward hits the back of his team-mate’s head. Slapstick nonsense all round.

9.20pm BST

78 min: Sterling makes way for the 18-year-old Borussia Dortmund sensation Jadon Sancho. Now then. Fairytale, please!

9.18pm BST

76 min: Kane’s jiggered the net with that shot. Some running repairs are being made. Knit one, purl one.

9.16pm BST

74 min: Badelj comes on for Kovacic. Modric has a pot-shot from distance, but Pickford is always claiming the bouncing ball. England go straight up the other end, Henderson finding Kane clear in the area with a pass slipped down the inside-right channel. Kane lashes a low shot into the bottom corner, but he’d gone too soon and is correctly flagged offside.

9.15pm BST

72 min: Sterling tries to barge his way past Kovacic, but drags his man to the ground. The whistle goes for a free kick. Sterling, boiling with frustration, hoofs the ball goalwards anyway. “How was that a foul?” he asks the ref, who responds by flashing the yellow card in his affronted face. To be fair to Sterling, there wasn’t a whole lot in the challenge, and he would have been clear had play been waved on, so you can understand his pique.

9.13pm BST

70 min: Rebic, on the left-hand edge of the England D, takes a touch inside to evade Henderson and curls hard towards the top right. It’s a fine effort, and Pickford thinks it might be going in. A panicked dive, but the ball sails past the right-hand post. That would have been a very pretty goal.

9.11pm BST

69 min: Pjaca comes on for Perisic.

9.10pm BST

67 min: Kovacic rolls a pass across the face of the England box from the left. Kramaric slices a first-time shot miles wide of the right-hand post. “It would be nice if the England team acknowledged their fans after the game by doing a lap of honour around the outside of the stadium,” suggests Ian Copestake. Yes, and seeing we’re compiling a wishlist, it’d also be good if, at some point, the fans on the hill broke into a knowing rendition of “This is a library” or a waggish chorus of “Your support is fucking shit”.

9.08pm BST

65 min: Modric bursts down the right but turns tail quickly enough. The hosts haven’t seriously tested England at all tonight.

9.07pm BST

63 min: Now it’s England’s turn to hog the ball awhile, to little effect.

9.03pm BST

61 min: Croatia pass and probe, probe and pass. England hold their shape.

9.02pm BST

59 min: Jedvaj slides in on Dier. He’s late, and crumps his studs onto Dier’s instep. It could be a red, but the referee is lenient. Just a yellow. To be fair, it looked clumsy and accidental, and the player wasn’t out of control, though you have seen folk dismissed for that regardless. Dier didn’t make too much of it, either, which probably helped.

9.00pm BST

57 min: Rashford misses another one-on-one! Sterling slips him through the middle, and Rashford looks for the bottom right again. But he telegraphs his intentions by opening up his body, and his sidefooted effort is parried away from Livakovic. A good save, though it wasn’t a particularly good effort.

8.58pm BST

55 min: Walker bursts down the right, barges through a couple of challenges, then curls a fine pass into the centre to release Rashford, who is one on one with Livakovic! The striker tries to guide the ball first time, back across the keeper and into the bottom right. But he doesn’t get any purchase on his effort whatsoever, a miserable waft falling softly into the keeper’s arms. What a chance!

8.57pm BST

54 min: Corner for Croatia. Rebic, tight on the byline on the left, crosses to nobody in particular. A big Mario Mandzukic shaped hole.

8.55pm BST

52 min: The corner leads to another corner. Then Barkley dribbles into the area from the left. Rebic is behind him, and Barkley goes over. The few fans on the hill scream for a penalty, but Barkley doesn’t really complain, his appeal half-arsed. There didn’t seem to be much contact. Then Stones is booked for a late clip on Kramaric as Croatia try to break. He’ll miss the Spain game too.

8.53pm BST

51 min: England hit the woodwork again! A free kick for England out on the right. Henderson swings it in. Kane rises and heads for the top right. If it’s on target, it’s in, but it hits the bar and bounces back into the mixer. Dier guides the ball goalwards again, but Perisic heads off the line. Corner.

8.52pm BST

49 min: Kramaric considers a shot from 20 yards, having been teed up nicely, the result of some fine work down the right by Modric and Rebic. But the ref gets in the way, so he checks and slides a ball to the left for Perisic, who unleashes a low diagonal screamer towards the bottom right. Pickford does very well to get down and parry to safety.

8.50pm BST

48 min: Pickford finds Barkley with a fine pass under pressure from Rebic. Barkley powers his way past three opponents and slides a pass wide for Walker, whose cutback is intercepted by Pivaric. But England are soon coming again, and Rashford has a look from distance. Nope.

8.48pm BST

46 min: Dier wedges a pass down the right wing. It’s overhit, but Walker gets to it anyway. However he can’t keep his cross in play. Goal kick.

8.47pm BST

And we’re off again! England get the second half underway. The small gathering of English fans up on the hill do their best to make themselves heard. No changes.

8.33pm BST

Half-time reading: And in other noise-related news ...

8.32pm BST

A couple of added seconds, the referee thinks “bugger this”, and blows up for half-time. Everyone mooches off, it’s been that sort of game. In the distance, the fans on the hill can be heard cheering and singing. It’s all decidedly psychedelic.

8.31pm BST

45 min: Lovren is booked for a galoot’s challenge on Sterling, who was hoping to make good down the left wing.

8.30pm BST

43 min: Rashford, fully recovered it seems, forces Pivaric into the concession of a corner on the right. Henderson takes. Dier ghosts in at the near post, guiding a header from the right-hand edge of the six-yard box across a flat-footed Livakovic and onto the left-hand post! The ball rebounds to safety. So unlucky; that was a delicious corner. A fine delivery and an almost perfect header. England once again showing their set-piece smarts.

8.27pm BST

41 min: Rashford is accidentally poked in the eye by Perisic, and rolls around accordingly. He’s quickly up and about again.

8.26pm BST

39 min: “I’m quite enjoying the commentators, who seemingly think they’re commentating on golf or the snooker,” writes Andy Bradshaw. Yes, Sky’s Martin Tyler has indeed slipped into a Jazz Club register. Theydon Bois on guitar, Alan Smith on bass. Nice.

8.23pm BST

37 min: Perisic feeds Pivaric down the left. Pivaric cuts back for Kramaric on the penalty spot. Kramaric scuffs his first-time shot into the ground, the ball rearing up towards the top right. Pickford scuttles across well to claim easily.

8.22pm BST

35 min: Modric delivers. Dier heads clear. Rebic tries again. Maguire heads clear. “This atmosphere reminds me of Ireland home games at the tail end of the Trapattoni era,” hollers David Flynn.

8.20pm BST

34 min: Chilwell handles a Jedvaj flick down the right. A free kick in a dangerous position. Modric is over it.

8.18pm BST

32 min: Perisic plays a long ball down the middle. Pickford comes out to the edge of his area to collect. Perfect timing, because Rebic was hovering, inches away.

8.17pm BST

30 min: Henderson slips a fine ball down the right for Walker, who tries to flick the ball inside for Kane at the near post. But a combination of Perisic and Vida bustles the ball out for a corner. Lovren clears the set piece. “Having no audience for such games seems a perfectly pragmatic reflection of their importance and should definitely be encouraged.” The flawless logic of Ian Copestake there.

8.14pm BST

28 min: The random mosaic formed by the empty seats is quite tasteful. Predominantly sky blue and white, with spots of black, burgundy and mustard. I can only work with what I’ve got.

8.11pm BST

26 min: Chilwell takes the set piece. He looks for Maguire at the far post, but his diagonal ball is once again too heavy and it’s ushered out of play for a goal kick.

8.10pm BST

24 min: Kovacic is rightly booked for coming through the back of Rashford. This’ll be a free kick 30 yards from goal, just to the left of centre.

8.09pm BST

22 min: “Do you reckon they’ll do an official attendance announcement?” wonders Adam Kline-Schoder. “I, for one, would love that.” Count me in, too. That would be marvellously arch.

8.08pm BST

20 min: Rebic sends a clip over the bar from distance. And in that distance ... a few England fans, who have parked themselves atop a hill near the stadium. These good people, maybe?

8.06pm BST

19 min: ... Perisic shoots. It’s blocked.

8.05pm BST

18 min: Vida channels his inner Beckenbauer and bursts down the middle with much elan. He evades three desperate England challenges, flicks the ball right for Rebic, and keeps going. If he gets the return, he’s in, but Rebic fluffs the chance. However the move leads to a corner on the right. From which ...

8.03pm BST

16 min: Perisic and Rebic apply some pressure to Maguire on the edge of the England box. Maguire’s legs dance independently, a terrible struggle, and Rebic takes the ball off him and flicks it down the left. But Perisic has gone too early and the flag saves England.

8.01pm BST

15 min: Maguire sticks out a clumsy leg and brings down Rebic. The referee gives him a good talking to. Modric is over the free kick; Dier nuts that one clear. After an understandably slow start, this match has come to life ... a little.

8.00pm BST

14 min: Kane sashays in from the right and is upended by Rebic. Free kick for England in a central position. Too far out for a shot, but a chance to load the box. However England make a proper mess of the opportunity, shifting the ball left for Chilwell, whose attempt to locate Stones in the area flies harmlessly out for a goal kick.

7.58pm BST

12 min: Maguire sends a long pass down the left for his club team-mate Chilwell, who is in acres. The young left-back rolls a fine ball across the face of the Croatian goal. Sterling bombs in with a view to sidefooting home from close range, but Pivaric does extremely well to get in the way and hook clear. That was a nice smooth English move.

7.56pm BST

10 min: “At least there is no England band,” notes Ruth Purdue. Ha, yes. Every cloud.

7.55pm BST

8 min: There are spa retreats more noisy than this. I feel like I’ve got a head cold. Could they not pipe in some crowd noise, for the purposes of verisimilitude? The one time intrusive PA commotion would be actually welcome, and they don’t bother to turn it on.

7.52pm BST

6 min: Henderson is booked for a tug on Rakitic. He’ll not play in Spain, having been booked against the Spanish at Wembley. Jurgen Klopp will be happy.

7.50pm BST

4 min: England look the more sprightly in the early exchanges. They’re bossing possession. Chilwell has a look down the left but he can’t get past Jedvaj.

7.48pm BST

2 min: This is going to take some getting used to. A real training-ground atmosphere. And a start to match. Now it’s England’s turn to launch it, but Henderson, the furthest man forward, can’t take it down on the edge of the Croatian box.

7.46pm BST

And so tonight’s metaphysical experiment begins! If a

tree falls
football match is staged in front of no fans, does it really take place? At least you can hear the ref’s whistle. Croatia kick off and launch it long. They’re playing in second-choice black; England are in their famous white shirts.

7.45pm BST

It’s very eerie. A polite smattering of applause from the few folk who have been allowed into the stadium. The PA blasts out some music. If you ever needed proof that it’s the fans who generate the atmosphere at football - plenty of folk who run the game clearly do - here it is. This is bloody odd.

7.40pm BST

The players take to the field, and it’s time for the national anthems. Croatia first, so let’s kick back and enjoy the relaxing, ultramarine charms of Lijepa naša domovino. ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯ Our beautiful homeland / O so fearless and gracious / Our fathers’ ancient glory / May you be happy forever ... Drava, Sava, keep on flowing! / Danube, do not lose your vigour! / Deep blue sea, tell the world / That a Croat loves his people! ♪ ♫ ♬ ♭ ♮ ♯

7.18pm BST

Gareth Southgate on England’s new 4-3-3 system: “We think it’s time for the team to evolve a bit. 3-5-2 has been fantastic for us, we maximised the talents of the players across the summer. But in a couple of the matches against the better teams, we’ve suffered a bit without the ball. So we want to look at a back four, and think it suits the players we’re playing tonight. It still gives us the opportunity to move the ball and be a threat, but hopefully will cover the spaces that were a bit of a problem in the last couple of games. We have to make sure it doesn’t take away anything. Our build-up play has been good, we can still find solutions with the ball. That won’t be exactly the same, but we’ve got to make sure we continue to pass the ball out from the back. Without the ball, it gives us a better chance to get up against their midfield, to press higher up the pitch, and not allow them so much time. In most simple terms, we cover the pitch better. I want to see how it works tonight. We have options, and we have to be flexible.”

7.07pm BST

Tonight’s match programme has been printed and delivered! But who are they going to sell them to? This match is being played behind closed doors, punishment for Croatian fans scratching out a swastika on the pitch during the Euro 2016 qualifiers. Mind you, the place will be teeming with Uefa and FA delegates, so I suppose you need something to put into their goody bags.

6.59pm BST

Luka Modric, the architect of England’s downfall in Moscow and the best player at the World Cup, captains the hosts. There are five changes to the team Croatia named in the World Cup semi. Dominik Livakovic, Mateo Kovacic, Andrej Kramaric, Tin Jedvaj and Josip Pivaric replace the departed Danijel Subasic, Sime Vrsaljko, Marcelo Brozovic, Mario Mandzukic and Ivan Strinic.

6.44pm BST

Leicester City left-back Ben Chilwell makes his first start for England, following the withdrawals of Danny Rose and Luke Shaw. Meanwhile Ross Barkley makes his first England appearance in 868 days. There are five other changes to the team that beat Switzerland 1-0 last month. Jordan Pickford, John Stones, Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling all return.

6.38pm BST

Croatia: Livakovic, Jedvaj, Lovren, Vida, Pivaric, Kovacic, Rakitic, Kramaric, Modric, Perisic, Rebic.
Subs: Rog, Badelj, Bradaric, Sluga, Pjaca, Mitrovic, Milic, Santini, Pasalic, Livaja, Bartolec.

England: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Chilwell, Barkley, Henderson, Dier, Kane, Sterling, Rashford.
Subs: Butland, Trippier, Alexander-Arnold, Dunk, Gomez, Winks, Chalobah, Mount, Maddison, Bettinelli, Sancho.

6.18pm BST

It’s probably fair to say that this Nations League business hasn’t quite caught the collective imagination yet. But an early threat of relegation should concentrate a few minds.

Gareth Southgate’s side have played one match in League A, Group 4 so far. In it, they were beaten 2-1 at home by Spain. The Spanish then knocked the third team in this group, Croatia, for six. Now England face two difficult away fixtures in four days, in Rijeka and Seville. If they don’t get something tonight, or on Monday evening, they’ll be staring down the barrel of League B football in two years’ time.

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Published on October 12, 2018 15:29

The Fiver | Doom, gloom, suffer, roasting, fooled, soft, mistakes and bad

For a while on Thursday, if you squinted real hard after draining a couple of glasses of refreshing turps-flavoured isotonic beverage Turps, Scotland looked a little bit like Brazil. Yellow shirts, you see. And also they were winning! But you’ll have quickly sobered up in the second half as Israel, ranked an impressive 94th in the world, showcased their undoubted quality. Oh John! Oh Kieran! Oh Scotland! How could you! “We’re obviously going to get a bit of stick about this,” admitted Alex McLeish after his side’s 2-1 defeat, as part of an analysis which also included the following words: doom, gloom, suffer, roasting, fooled, soft, disappointed, devastated, devastating, mistakes, difficult and bad. Oh Alex!

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Published on October 12, 2018 07:47

October 3, 2018

Napoli 1-0 Liverpool: Champions League - as it happened

Local hero Lorenzo Insigne struck late as Liverpool were eventually punished for a lacklustre display

Read Andy Hunter’s match report from Naples Klopp takes blame for defeat and waits on Keïta news

12.43am BST

10.23pm BST

And that’s that on a disappointing night for Liverpool. Napoli were deserved winners, and now Group C is going to be quite a battle. Next up for Klopp’s side: the double-header with Red Star. They’ll welcome the 1991 champions to Anfield in three weeks’ time. Hopefully we’ll see you here for that. Nighty night!

10.20pm BST

Jurgen Klopp speaks! “Defeat is deserved. We had our moments but not too often. Our formation was not right, with the ball we were too hectic. A draw away would be OK, but we made a mistake. We didn’t prepare it well. It was an interesting looking group before we started, and that’s how it still is! We want to play better. But we still would have liked to take a result. But I prefer to lose a bad game than a very good game. Tonight we were just not good enough, not as good as we can be.” And no news of Naby Keita’s injury yet.

10.12pm BST

Jurgen Klopp still hasn’t emerged from the dressing room. He’ll give an interview soon enough. In the meantime, here’s Andy Hunter’s take, all the way from Naples.

9.59pm BST

That late drama catapults Napoli to the top of Group C. With four points, they’re a point better off than Liverpool in second and PSG in third. (PSG have the better goal difference, but Liverpool currently pip them on the head-to-head.) The late winner was a sickener for Liverpool, but they had offered next to nothing in attack, were bossed in midfield, and gave up quite a few chances before Insigne plunged the knife. They were hanging on; they couldn’t quite make it. So that’s three games without a win now for Jurgen Klopp’s side; the visit of Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday takes on even more significance!

9.54pm BST

Liverpool were so close to grinding out a precious away point. But in truth, the win was nothing more than Napoli deserved. And the Stadio San Paolo is bouncing!

9.52pm BST

90 min +2: There will be three added minutes. Liverpool have already used up two of them.

9.51pm BST

It’s not as though this hadn’t been coming. And it’s so simple! Callejon makes ground down the right. He whips low to the far post. Insigne slides in, getting the jump on Gomez, and pokes into the bottom left. Alisson had no chance.

9.50pm BST

89 min: A long ball by Napoli. Gomez is dealing with it, but Alisson comes out of his area to confuse the issue. For a second, it looked like a slapstick disaster was about to unfold, but the ball’s hacked clear.

9.48pm BST

88 min: Liverpool make their final change: Mane is replaced by the supersub Sturridge.

9.48pm BST

87 min: Mertens tries to feed Callejon down the right, on the overlap. Nearly. Robertson reads the danger and mops up. “I sure hope Verdi won’t secure an operatic climax for Napoli. Hopefully Liverpool will hit a high note and then let the fat lady sing!” Peter Oh, there, saying it because somebody had to.

9.46pm BST

86 min: Mane slips a pass down the inside-left channel and suddenly Salah is free! But not for the first time this evening, Ospina has read the play perfectly, and rushes out to clear the danger!

9.45pm BST

84 min: Liverpool were opened up there. Great defending by van Dijk to deal with the rebound, though, and ensure Insigne didn’t slot it home.

9.44pm BST

82 min: Mario Rui curls a wonderful ball along the corridor of uncertainty from the left wing. Mertens meets it, knocking the ball past a stranded Alisson ... but onto the underside of the bar and out! Insigne hopes to head home, but van Dijk pressurises him into sending the ball high and wide. So unlucky, though replays show Mertens shinned it. Still, he was millimetres away from giving Napoli the lead! It was the move of the match, and deserved better.

9.42pm BST

81 min: Hamsik is replaced by Zielinski.

9.41pm BST

80 min: It’s all very scrappy again. But Liverpool have moved up a gear, pressing hard for the first time in a while. It’s stopped Napoli’s flow; the hosts had been looking extremely dangerous.

9.39pm BST

78 min: Henderson buzzes down the right and Napoli are pressed back for the first time in a while. But the home side hold their shape, despite Salah, Robertson and Firmino taking turns to try to prise them open. A lot of whistling, music to Liverpool’s ears.

9.36pm BST

76 min: Liverpool are rocking, and make a change to their midfield. Milner is replaced by Fabinho.

9.36pm BST

75 min: Napoli are knocking at the door. Koulibaly loops long from the left. Callejon, racing in from the wing, hits a fine first-time shot past Alisson and towards the bottom left. Gomez is on the line to hack clear.

9.35pm BST

73 min: Mertens plays Callejon in down the right with a sensational diagonal ball. Callejon’s one on one with Alisson ... who saves majestically in the Schmeichel style. The flag goes up for offside, incorrectly as it happens, so it wouldn’t have counted anyway, but what a save!

9.33pm BST

72 min: Verdi snatches at a shot from the edge of the Liverpool box. High and not very handsome. Liverpool go down the other end and finally show some teeth, Firmino sliding the ball down the middle and nearly releasing Mane into the box. Ospina comes out to smother well.

9.31pm BST

70 min: A free kick for Liverpool out on the left, and a chance to gather on the edge of the Napoli area. Robertson’s delivery is very poor, but Milner gets another chance to send the ball into the mixer. Salah and Mane both get their head on it, though to little effect. Their lack of confidence is palpable. A strange thing to say for a team who have started the season so well, but there it is. Something’s not quite clicking.

9.29pm BST

69 min: A double change by Napoli: Fabian Ruiz and Milik are off, Mertens and the European debutant Verdi are on.

9.28pm BST

68 min: The corner leads to a game of head tennis. Eventually the ball drops to Salah on the edge of the box. He snatches at a shot, the ball flying wide right, Ospina watching it all the way.

9.27pm BST

67 min: Liverpool ping it around awhile. Then Milner wedges a ball down the right for Alexander-Arnold, forcing Mario Rui into conceding a corner.

9.25pm BST

65 min: Hamsik chips softly down the middle, in the hope of releasing Milik, but Alisson is quickly out to the edge of his area to claim.

9.25pm BST

64 min: Alexander-Arnold makes a nuisance of himself on the edge of the Napoli box. The ball breaks to Salah, who can’t sort his feet out for a shot. It’s all very ponderous. Meanwhile Matt Dony would also give anything to turn back the clock: “I agree with McMahon about the colours, but as far as advertising goes, I always see Napoli’s crest and assume they’re advertising Netscape Navigator. I miss the 90s.”

9.22pm BST

62 min: Mane dribbles down the left, but with no particular purpose, and certainly no speed. Liverpool have been uncharacteristically sluggish tonight. Manchester City will be licking their lips ahead of the big Sunday showdown.

9.21pm BST

60 min: Allan has a crack from distance. He’s closed down by Wijnaldum. Speaking of Allan, here’s Mac Millings: “I love Brazilian footballers’ naming traditions as much as the next man with not much else to write in about, but in practice, the whole affair has been rather patchy over the years. For every Socrates, there’s an Allan; for every Falcão, a Dunga; one man’s Cafu is another man’s Kaká. Aren’t there rules to follow? Surely there must be category guidelines. (Philosophers? Yes. Marvel characters? Hulk right off.) I’ll be honest, Scott; it troubles me.”

9.20pm BST

59 min: Fabian Ruiz nearly dribbles his way into the Liverpool box. He should have shot, because he was in space, and Milner nicks the ball off his toe. Then space for Insigne down the left. He crosses for Milik, who smashes a first-time effort miles wide left from 12 yards. Liverpool are beginning to live a little dangerously here.

9.17pm BST

57 min: From the corner, Liverpool spring on the break. They’ve got a three-on-one situation developing, but Robertson’s ball out is criminally bad, and the chance to put some rare pressure on the hosts is lost.

9.17pm BST

56 min: Napoli are first to just about everything right now. Callejon crosses from the right; Gomez clears with a spectacular diving header. Then there’s acres of space for Mario Rui on the left; now it’s van Dijk’s turn to clear with a diving header, this time for a corner.

9.15pm BST

54 min: Milner is down, grimacing in pain after being wrestled to the floor by Maksimovic. But soon enough he’s up again.

9.14pm BST

53 min: Mane dribbles with power and determination down the left. He reaches the byline, but can’t decide what to do. The move breaks down. This Liverpool attack has started to second-guess itself; there’s none of last season’s freewheeling panache. A collective confidence issue.

9.12pm BST

51 min: The corner’s cleared. But it soon leads to another one, as Napoli begin to apply some serious pressure. From the second corner, Fabian Ruiz shoots from the left-hand corner of the box. It’s straight at Alisson, albeit coming through a pack. The keeper does well to snaffle a fierce shot without drama.

9.11pm BST

50 min: But then a burst of quality from Milik, who spins 30 yards from goal and lashes hard towards the bottom right. Alisson does extremely well to get down and parry; the ball’s hacked out by Gomez for a corner.

9.10pm BST

49 min: Robertson’s clearance is charged down by Callejon. The ball bounces dangerously on the edge of the Liverpool box. Van Dijk steps in to head powerfully clear. This is all very scrappy.

9.08pm BST

47 min: Nothing’s quite coming off. Firmino scoops down the middle but Salah stumbles, claiming his ankle had been tapped. Then Albiol looks for Insigne with a long ball, but he misjudges the flight and Gomez can clear.

9.07pm BST

46 min: Napoli are immediately on the attack. Mario Rui crosses from the left. It’s a towering ball that Robertson does very well to head clear.

9.06pm BST

And we’re back! No changes. The hosts kick off for the second half. “The Napoli blue v Liverpool red is always appealing,” begins Simon McMahon, “but less so when used to advertise mineral water and international banking. What was wrong with Mars bars and Crown Paints?” Yes, I wish I was young again too.

8.53pm BST

Half-time entertainment:

Rocking up for work after a great night in Europe pic.twitter.com/6TnHpSJjpQ

8.51pm BST

Half-time reading:

8.50pm BST

Robertson nicks the ball in the midfield and drives forward. Napoli are light at the back, but Salah’s hesitation puts an end to the move. And that’s that for a first half that’s been high on effort, low on quality. A sense that both sides could move up a gear, though. It could be a very interesting second half.

8.48pm BST

45 min +3: Milik fizzes a ball into the Liverpool area from the left. Alisson claims with Insigne lurking.

8.47pm BST

45 min +2: Milner is quite rightly booked for a late slide on Allan. He doesn’t bother complaining.

8.46pm BST

45 min +1: Hamsik, quarterbacking deep on the left, sends a glorious diagonal ball towards Callejon, just inside the Liverpool box on the right. Liverpool are exposed, but the flag goes up for offside; Callejon went way too early. Napoli are beginning to ask a few questions.

8.45pm BST

45 min: There will be four minutes of stoppage time.

8.44pm BST

44 min: Koulibaly, who has already been booked, bowls Firmino to the ground in a very clumsy manner. He’ll need to be careful with that carry-on.

8.43pm BST

43 min: Henderson dinks a ball down the left and into the Napoli box. Firmino thinks he might be offside - he isn’t - so leaves it to Robertson instead. Robertson can’t get there in time for a meaningful cross. Firmino was in a lot of space there; a costly misjudgement.

8.42pm BST

42 min: Firmino spins Albiol in the centre circle and prepares to drive forward. Albiol drags him back, and should really be booked, but the referee is lenient.

8.41pm BST

41 min: A free kick for Napoli out on the right, and a chance to load the box. Callejon’s delivery is dismal, Alisson punches clear, and there were three Napoli players offside anyway.

8.40pm BST

39 min: Milik has the chance to release Insigne into the Liverpool area down the inside-left channel. But he puts too much juice on the pass and it’s a goal kick. Liverpool were light at the back there; they breathe again.

8.39pm BST

38 min: Robertson tears past Callejon on the left. He curls into the box. Salah brings it down and has a snap-shot that’s blocked pretty much the second it leaves his boot. The ball breaks right to Alexander-Arnold who shoots high and wild.

8.38pm BST

37 min: Alexander-Arnold fires a pass down the right for Salah, who spins on the edge of the area and tries to tee up Mane with a square pass. The ball clanks off Albiol and into the arms of Ospina. Liverpool’s attack still isn’t quite clicking.

8.35pm BST

35 min: Space for Alexander-Arnold down the right. He crosses. Albiol clears, but only to Firmino, who crosses again from the right. With Mane lurking, Ospina comes off his line and punches clear with great feeling. He also manages to clatter into poor old Albiol, who requires a mop-down with the magic sponge as a result.

8.33pm BST

33 min: Milner and Firmino combine nicely down the right. The latter then slips a pass down the wing and nearly releases Salah, but the excellent Koulibaly slides in to hook clear. That was sensational defending on the edge of his own area. Napoli then go straight up the other end and finally force Alisson into serious action, Milik taking down a left-wing cross, swivelling on the penalty spot, and shooting for the top left. A strong arm denies him. That’s a fine effort, and a very decent save too.

8.31pm BST

31 min: Insigne and Callejon nearly open Liverpool up with a clever combination down the inside-right channel, but Robertson reads the danger and smashes the ball clear. This match has been intense; the quality’s just been a little lacking so far.

8.30pm BST

30 min: It’s raining now in Naples. Alexander-Arnold throws long into the Napoli area from the right. Salah tries to make something happen, but Koulibaly stands firm and won’t be passed.

8.29pm BST

28 min: Mane turns Maksimovic and sprints into space down the left ... but he’s penalised for slyly nudging the Napoli full back to the ground as he sent him spinning.

8.27pm BST

26 min: Wijnaldum dribbles a dismal shot wide left from 20 yards. Ospina’s had to make a couple of clearances from outside his box, but he’s not been forced into a save yet.

8.26pm BST

25 min: Koulibaly barrels down the left, knocks the ball head of him, and turns on the jets. Van Dijk comes across to intercept, and is cleaned out by the big Napoli defender for his trouble. That really was a clash of the titans. Van Dijk rolls over spectacularly, and Koulibaly is immediately booked. That was a proper clatter, but clumsy as opposed to aggressive. Van Dijk is up and about again soon enough.

8.23pm BST

23 min: Space for Fabian Ruiz down the left. He hooks long, and Callejon tries to van Basten one in at the far post. That doesn’t happen. But this match continues to be open and entertaining.

8.21pm BST

21 min: Henderson is quickly into the action, raking a glorious right-to-left pass towards Robertson, and nearly setting the left-back clear. Not quite. Liverpool then stroke it around the back awhile, a tribute to the Bob Paisley era. A lot of whistling from the crowd.

8.19pm BST

19 min: Keita is being loaded onto a stretcher. He’ll be driven away in a cart. Henderson will come on in his stead. Liverpool will hope that’s not too serious; he’ll be a big loss to their midfield if he’s out for any length of time.

8.17pm BST

17 min: Insigne nicks the ball past Keita and has a lash from distance, looking for the top right. Not quite. Then a worrying moment for Liverpool, as Keita goes down holding his back and left leg, under no challenge. He looks in some distress. He’s shaking his head.

8.15pm BST

15 min: A poor Allan backpass nearly allows Salah a clear run on goal. Fortunately for Napoli, Ospina was out of his area quickly to blooter clear.

8.15pm BST

14 min: Callejon carves a glorious diagonal pass with the outside of his boot towards Mario Rui on the left. Alexander-Arnold holds his ground, forcing Napoli to turn back. But they’re soon pressing again, and force van Dijk into a wild slice out for a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece, but that was uncharacteristically nervy from van Dijk.

8.12pm BST

12 min: This is a very entertaining end-to-end game. Firmino rolls a ball down the right for Salah, who tries to engage Koulibaly in a foot race. But the big defender positions himself well, and Salah can’t squeeze past.

8.11pm BST

10 min: Salah, Mane and Firmino buzz down the inside-right channel. Suddenly the ball breaks to Salah in the box. He tries to swivel and tee up Firmino, but the pass is all wrong. Napoli go up the other end, finding Insigne in acres on the left, just inside the Liverpool box. He drags a low shot across the face of goal and inches wide right. Alisson had it covered, but Liverpool were exposed there.

8.09pm BST

9 min: This is high-octane stuff, and all a bit wild. Both teams playing at 110mph. A feeling that, all of a sudden, one of them will click into a move that carves the other open. But passes aren’t quite sticking.

8.07pm BST

7 min: A long pass launched down the middle by Albiol. Callejon is caught offside. Then Kieta fires a pass up the Liverpool left, with the hosts light at the back, but Mane goes too early and the flag goes up.

8.06pm BST

5 min: The game goes a bit scrappy. Allan sees quite a bit of the ball for Napoli; Milner a fair bit for Liverpool. Possession coming at a premium right now.

8.04pm BST

3 min: Maksimovic makes a nine-course tasting menu of Keita accidentally standing on his toes. He eventually gets up. On the touchline, Klopp looks bemused at the carry-on.

8.02pm BST

2 min: Allan rolls a pass down the right for Callejon, whose gallop is stopped by van Dijk’s interception. Mane tries to counter down the Liverpool left, but is quickly crowded out of it. A lively start by both teams, who are looking to get on the front foot.

8.01pm BST

And we’re off! Liverpool get the ball rolling. Milner quickly passes long down the right, and Firmino very nearly gets in on goal within 30 seconds! But Ospina has read the danger and is quickly out to clear without drama.

7.58pm BST

The teams are out! And it’s a pretty picture, because Napoli are in their famous Gulf-of-Naples-referencing azure shirts, while Liverpool sport their storied red. One for the purists. Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti take to the pitch arm in arm, like a couple of swells. All sweet and friendly. Meanwhile in world-exclusive breaking news, there’s a wonderful atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo. We’ll be off in a minute or two!

7.51pm BST

Klopp talks! “Hendo has played a lot of games, and did not have a perfect pre-season. Naby will be skilful between the lines. We are not 100 percent sure about the line-up of Napoli, but it looks quite offensive. They have a home game and will want to decide it here. We will try to win the game, which is difficult, because we respect Napoli.”

7.48pm BST

It ends 6-1 at the Parc des Princes. PSG top Group C right now, leading Liverpool on goal difference, though that situation won’t last for more than a couple of hours. They’ll be knocked off by Napoli, should the Italians win tonight, or Liverpool, should Jurgen Klopp’s side manage at least a draw.

7.37pm BST

Neymar completes his hat-trick! He whips a free-kick over the Red Star wall and into the top-right corner from 25 yards. It’s 6-1. That was sensational, not least because Milan Borjan was rooted to the spot; free kicks always look better when the keeper’s feet are planted and he’s impotently watching the ball whistle past him.

7.32pm BST

And now it’s 5-1! Marko Marin lashes a consolation for Red Star on 73 minutes after being put through down the inside-right channel by a cute dink from Lorenzo Ebecilio. Then straight from kick-off, Angel Di Maria should have made it 6-1, but shanked one wide from eight yards. A fair chance this won’t be the final score.

7.27pm BST

It’s now 5-0 to PSG at the Parc des Princes. Kylian Mbappe has joined the party, scoring on 70 minutes. He should have made it six seconds later, with the ball at his feet just inside the Red Star area, but his attempt at a curler into the top left flew miles off target.

7.16pm BST

The Champions League might be a licence to print money. But there’s no point frittering away cash just for the sake of it. Nets don’t come cheap, and so the Napoli groundstaff have been out fixing a gaping hole they discovered in one of the goals. And what a good job they’ve done too, because Uefa officials have since run the rule over their knot-tying capabilities, tugging the net a bit, umming and aahing awhile, finally declaring it fit for purpose. Does a bit of make-do and mend qualify as pre-match drama? I’ve got nothing else, so it’ll have to.

7.02pm BST

Napoli make three changes to the side that went down 3-1 at Juventus on Saturday. Dries Mertens, Piotr Zielinski and Elseid Hysaj will be sitting on the sidelines, watching Arkadiusz Milik, Fabian Ruiz and Nikola Maksimovic take their places.

Just one change to the Liverpool XI sent out at Chelsea last Saturday. Naby Keita takes the place of captain Jordan Henderson, who drops to the bench. An exciting move by Jurgen Klopp: amid all the hubbub surrounding Daniel Sturridge’s sensational late equaliser, Keita’s impressive late cameo at Stamford Bridge went a little under the radar.

6.53pm BST

Napoli: Ospina, Maksimovic, Koulibaly, Albiol, Mario Rui, Allan, Hamsik, Fabian, Callejon, Milik, Insigne.
Subs: Karnezis, Hysaj, Diawara, Rog, Zielinski, Mertens, Verdi.

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Gomes, van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Keita, Mane, Salah, Firmino.
Subs: Mignolet, Fabinho, Lovren, Henderson, Sturridge, Moreno, Shaqiri.

6.50pm BST

The state of play in Group C. Unless something very psychedelic happens in the second half of the early kick-off at the Parc des Princes, Liverpool will go into this match in second position on goal difference. That’s because Paris Saint Germain are 4-0 up at half-time against a ragged Red Star, Neymar scoring twice, Edinson Cavani and Angel Di Maria contributing the others. Neymar could have had another two goals in the one minute of stoppage time, too. It’s fair to say PSG have secured three points there.

6.02pm BST

Napoli and Liverpool don’t have much of a shared history. The only time they’ve locked horns in Europe was in 2010, when they were drawn in the same Europa League group. The pair drew 0-0 in Naples, then in the return at Anfield, Liverpool sent out this team: Reina, Johnson, Carragher, Kyrgiakos, Konchesky, Poulsen, Spearing, Shelvey, Meireles, Jovanovic, Ngog. Their manager was Roy Hodgson. It’s fair to say the mood around the place is a wee bit better these days.

Credit where it’s due, Liverpool won that night. Steven Gerrard came off the bench and scored a 13-minute second-half hat-trick to wipe out Ezequiel Lavezzi’s first-half goal. It was the last time the teams met. If you offered Liverpool a 3-1 win tonight, they’d grab it with both hands. A 0-0 would probably do them as well. Oh Roy! The Kop hardly knew ye.

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Published on October 03, 2018 14:23

October 2, 2018

Hoffenheim 1-2 Manchester City: Champions League – as it happened

David Silva snatched a late goal to get City’s campaign up and running.

8.21pm BST

A good evening’s work for City, then. Their Champions League campaign is back on track after that opening-day stumble, and their four-game losing run in Europe is over. Jamie Jackson was there, and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this MBM!

8.17pm BST

Pep talks! “After losing the first game it was very important not to lose today. Winning in Germany is so complicated so it is a good three points. We fight against a lot of things, I am satisfied for the team. We were better and more intense in the second half. They are so well organised, they are so strong, it was not easy but in the end we got the goal. [He’s asked about the non-penalty decision] I prefer no talk, no talk, no talk because if I talk the next game I will be in a tribunal, I prefer not to make any comments about the referee.”

8.01pm BST

City captain Vincent Kompany speaks! “It was a tough away game, a big physical game against a team that was well organised, disciplined and had a clear gameplan. They were committing an awful lot of bodies forward on every attack, so as we don’t defend in that many numbers we had to be cautious. But on the counter we got chances. And we dominated, we had possession, we had a lot of chances, it was a good away game. I don’t want to complain too much [about the referee’s decision not to award a penalty] but it’s been a trend over the last six months so hopefully that will turn around. We fought against that, and couldn’t be more happy about the result. Credit to us to react to the early goal and score in the dying moments. It’s a fantastic result, the only way to put right the result against Lyon, and we can look positively to the rest of the group.”

7.52pm BST

We’ll hear from Pep in a wee while, no doubt ... but remember City’s neighbours are in action tonight also. Jacob Steinberg has all the latest news from Old Trafford.

7.49pm BST

But there’s no time for the home side to put anything together, and the whistle goes! City get their Champions League campaign up and running. And deservedly so: they were the better team tonight, dominating the match ... though they left it late!

7.48pm BST

90 min +4: Sane has a lash from distance. It’s miles over the bar, and allows Hoffenheim the chance to launch one Hail Mary attack. Before that happens, Aguero is booked for kicking the ball away.

7.47pm BST

90 min +3: Aguero races after a long ball on the break. Baumann comes out of his goal and can’t intercept. Aguero rounds him on the left, but though the goal is unguarded, he’s right on the touchline and miles from goal. He shanks his effort wide left.

7.45pm BST

90 min +2: Joelinton bustles his way past Mahrez on the left and enters the City box. But the ball he then delivers is neither cross nor pullback, and City close the door.

7.44pm BST

90 min: Bittencourt has a dig from distance. It’s nowhere near. There will be four added minutes.

7.44pm BST

89 min: Hack comes on for Demirbay. The home fans are stunned. City had been pressing, but were looking at the end of their tether. Then a sensational smash-and-grab by Silva!

7.42pm BST

Just as it looks like being a frustrating evening for City, Silva sniffs out a goal from nothing! Bernardo Silva whips in a cross from the left. Posch should clear, but he chests down, assuming he’s got more time than he has. Nope! Silva nips in from his right and steals the dropping ball, then slams it across Baumann and into the bottom right! What a mistake by Posch, but what livewire brilliance by Silva!

7.39pm BST

86 min: Kramaric threatens to burst into the City box from the right, but Stones and Ederson combine to put a stop to his gallop.

7.39pm BST

85 min: Mahrez turns on the jets and makes ground down the right. But his cross flies straight down the throat of the well-positioned Baumann.

7.38pm BST

84 min: City come straight back at Hoffenheim, the brilliant Sane earning a corner down the left with another audacious dribble. The set piece comes to nothing.

7.37pm BST

83 min: Silva is knocked over 35 yards from goal. Free kick. Mahrez loops it down the inside-right channel, hoping Kompany can get a head on it, but the ball’s cleared.

7.35pm BST

82 min: Bittencourt comes on for Grillitsch.

7.35pm BST

81 min: City are dominating possession again. Hoffenheim are sitting back, hoping to see this out for a draw and a precious point against one of the favourites for this competition. They look very solid. But there’s still a long way to go against this relentless City side.

7.33pm BST

79 min: A scintillating run by Sane, who fizzes his way to the byline on the left, then pulls the ball back for a certain goal. But somehow the ball evades Aguero, Mahrez and David Silva, as well as all the defenders, and harmlessly dribbles off towards the right touchline. How did he manage to thread the ball through that thicket?! Very odd; do that another 99 times, and it’s a pinball game every time.

7.31pm BST

78 min: Joelinton bundles Augero to the ground near the left-hand corner flag. Sane’s free kick is dreadful, a pea-roller that’s easily hacked back upfield.

7.31pm BST

77 min: On the touchline, Pep holds his head in his hands, a study in frustration. City haven’t forced Baumann into serious action in this half.

7.28pm BST

75 min: Sterling is replaced by Mahrez.

7.28pm BST

73 min: Sane goes racing after a Bernardo Silva pass down the inside-left channel. He’s clear in the area. Baumann comes out and spreads himself. And Sane goes over him. That looks a clear penalty, the keeper having got nowhere near the ball, but the referee doesn’t give it. Sane is genuinely puzzled. I wonder if his effort to stay on his feet as he went over the keeper counted against him?

7.26pm BST

72 min: Bernardo Silva slips and slithers his way past Kaderabek on the left. He strides into the area and chips to the far post for Aguero, who heads goalwards from six yards. But there’s no power on the header, and Baumann gets across to claim with ease. A real chance, that, and a sensational run by Bernardo Silva.

7.24pm BST

70 min: City flick the ball around stylishly, but the gaps aren’t opening up in the Hoffenheim defence in this half. Eventually they get closed down: Aguero is barged off the ball, Sterling hustled out of it. The hosts are much improved in this second period.

7.21pm BST

68 min: Gundogan appears to have pulled a hamstring. He’s holding the back of his right leg, anyway, and frowning quite a lot. On comes Bernardo Silva in his wake.

7.20pm BST

66 min: Walker is booked for a hefty challenge on Kaderabek. His studs were showing there, and for a second he was flying through the air in the uncontrolled style. But he pulled back at the very last second, which might have saved his bacon.

7.18pm BST

64 min: Otamendi is replaced by Stones, Guardiola responding to Hoffenheim’s big improvement since the break.

7.17pm BST

63 min: Ederson claims the corner, then sets Aguero romping up the other end. But he’s soon dispossessed and Demirbay’s swinging another ball into the City area. The visitors only half clear. Then Kramaric tries to dance his way out of a tight space on the edge of the box; he nearly wriggles free but can’t get a shot away.

7.16pm BST

62 min: Demirbay curls the free kick into the mixer, forcing Laporte to slap the ball out for a corner on the right.

7.15pm BST

61 min: Demirbay looks to release Kaderabek down the inside-left channel. Kompany is forced to bump Kaderabek to the ground in the professional style. He escapees a booking, but that’ll be a free kick 35 yards from the City goal.

7.14pm BST

59 min: Silva is upended as he meanders down the left. A free kick. Silva sends it long. Otamendi rises at the far post, and plants a header on target ... but it’s deflected over the bar for a corner. From the set piece, Fernandinho has a dig from distance. It’s gathered by Baumann, who immediately launches long for Belfodil. And he’s clear, chasing the long pass! Ederson comes haring out of his goal, hoping to clear, but misjudges the bounce. Thankfully for City, Sane has tracked back, and is able to make a challenge and clear the danger. But for a second, the goal was wide open for Hoffenheim!

7.11pm BST

57 min: Demirbay is booked for a cynical clip on Silva.

7.10pm BST

56 min: City ping it around awhile, then lose possession carelessly. Suddenly Hoffenheim break quickly, and Belfodil is stopped in his tracks unfairly. A free kick, and a chance for the hosts to load the City box. The set piece comes to nothing, but City have occasionally looked wide open at the back; a sharper team than Hoffenheim might have caused them a few more problems.

7.07pm BST

54 min: The first change of the evening, as Kramaric replaces Szalai.

7.07pm BST

53 min: Sane sends a poor pass wide left towards Laporte. Brenet should intercept. But his challenge is tissue-paper weak, and Laporte breaks through it. Laporte reaches the byline, and fires to the near post for Silva, who tries to flick home but can only hoick it wide.

7.05pm BST

51 min: Kompany sashays forward in the style of Franz Beckenbauer, then slides a pass to Silva, who is very close to flicking Sane free down the left. City have enjoyed 69% of the possession so far; this is more of the same.

7.02pm BST

49 min: City draw a little sting from the game, stroking it around the middle, lest Hoffenheim build up a head of steam.

7.02pm BST

47 min: But once again Hoffenheim start the half strongly, with Belfodil sent into acres of space down the right. His ball across the middle might have been a cross, it might have been a shot. But the danger’s cleared. However the hosts come straight back at City, Grillitsch striding down the middle and unleashing a rising ripper that very nearly nestles in the top-right corner. Just over, and I think Ederson might have had it covered. But it was close.

6.59pm BST

And we’re off again! No changes. City get the ball rolling for the second half, and get through the first 43 seconds unscathed this time.

6.47pm BST

Half-time entertainment ... and it doesn’t come any better than David Squires.

6.44pm BST

I have no idea how there were no goals in the final 37 minutes of that half. Glorious entertainment. City look the business tonight.

6.42pm BST

45 min: Walker blazes down the right and whistles a ball along the corridor of uncertainty. Aguero isn’t able to get into the area quickly enough, and the cross flies out on the other side. “How’s Joelinton doing?” It’s Mac Millings again. “Putting a shift in? Because if he’s anything like my pal Joe Linton, he’ll more likely have nipped round the back of the school for a couple of Benson & Hedges, or maybe even a quick toot on a jazz cigarette.”

6.40pm BST

43 min: BREAKING NEWS. David Silva misplaces a pass. To repeat: David Silva misplaces a pass.

6.39pm BST

42 min: Aguero cuts in from the left and pearls a riser towards the top left. It’s inches over the bar. I think Baumann might have been able to fingertip that over, had it been on target, but I wouldn’t bet the farm on it.

6.38pm BST

41 min: Sane glides in from the left, then sends the ball wide right for Sterling, who crosses it back towards Silva. City’s movement is sensational. Hoffenheim are constantly having to make last-ditch interventions. Not sure how long they can keep it up.

6.37pm BST

39 min: A dismal Laporte backpass allows Belfodil in down the right. He enters the area and slams a shot straight at Ederson, who parries. Within seconds, Aguero’s in space down the right; his chipped cross very nearly finds Sane clear on the penalty spot, but Akpoguma eyebrows it away from the City winger.

6.35pm BST

38 min: Sane dribbles at trademark speed down the left. He nearly opens Hoffenheim up, but Hoogma ushers him away from the danger zone.

6.34pm BST

36 min: Fernandinho is booked for a cynical block on Demirbay. A moment before, Laporte was very fortunate to escape censure for a blatant tug on the same player. In between times, Joelinton fires a low cross into the City box from the right; it makes it all the way through to Ederson, who gathers. Had his team-mates been on the front foot then, City could have been in a spot of bother.

6.32pm BST

35 min: Aguero isn’t the sort to let his head drop, and now he dances down the inside-left channel, makes a bit of space and time for himself, and sends a curler towards the top right. It’s going in all the way, but Baumann fingertips it out of the corner at the very last moment. What an effort, what a save!

6.31pm BST

33 min: Silva and Sane take turns to dribble with Garrincha-esque glee at their hosts. It’s sensational ball-on-string stuff. Sane throws in a dragback. Then the ball breaks right for Aguero, who shapes and tries to whack a volley home from 12 yards. The ball flies wide left. It would have been a stunning strike, it was hardly an easy chance; it’s testament to Aguero’s quality that for him, that counts as a miss.

6.28pm BST

31 min: Silva is down, holding his left leg and his head at the same time. He was clipped to the ground by Demirbay, but there didn’t seem much in it. He’s up and about again soon enough.

6.27pm BST

30 min: Yet another corner for City, who are really turning the screw now. Kompany flashes a header straight at Baumann; he’s penalised for pushing anyway.

6.26pm BST

28 min: A strange decision here, as Silva takes a quick throw to release Sane on the left. The referee pulls it back for ... well, what exactly? City still have the throw. But now they’ll not get the benefit of Silva and Sane’s quick thinking. Pep is furious, and comes to the touchline for a passionate debate with the referee. Everyone simmers down soon enough. But you can understand Guardiola’s irritation.

6.24pm BST

27 min: A corner on the right. Gundogan and Silva work it short, then it’s hit long for Kompany at the far post. Another corner. Baumann manages to fist that one away. But the ball keeps coming back at Hoffenheim. They’re pinned back in their final third.

6.22pm BST

25 min: More City-taka. Then suddenly a burst of energy as Walker offers himself to Sterling on the overlap down the right. The pass is good ... but so is Kaderabek’s defending. The danger’s snuffed out.

6.21pm BST

23 min: A little period of possession for Hoffenheim. They can’t build an attack, but that’s not really the point; respite is enough at the minute.

6.19pm BST

21 min: City have responded so well to that early setback. It was the quickest goal they’ve ever conceded in the Champions League, but they’re well on top now. More patient passing earns another corner, on the right; Gundogan’s delivery is cleared. But they’re looking likely to score every time they go forward.

6.17pm BST

19 min: Sterling, Sane and Silva take turns to run at Hoffenheim on the break. Silva makes it as far as the byline to the right of goal, but the move fizzles out. But City are looking sensational on the break. They look at their most dangerous whenever Hoffenheim commit men forward.

6.15pm BST

17 min: The set piece is whipped into the box. Otamendi rises highest, but his header, meant for the top right, is deflected out for another corner. Nothing happens from the second set piece.

6.14pm BST

15 min: Szalai dinks a pass into acres of space down the left, Kaderabek homing in on goal. But his control isn’t all that, he opts to cross low instead, and he’s dispossessed. City stream up the other end, Sterling romping down the right with great purpose. He enters the area, draws Baumann, but his low shot is deflected off the keeper and out for a corner on the left.

6.11pm BST

13 min: Silva is conducting the midfield. A glorious rake down the left releases Gundogan into space, but Hoffenheim manage to hustle him away from the area.

6.10pm BST

12 min: Otamendi is booked for coming through the back of Szalai. A pointless challenge with his opponent going nowhere.

6.09pm BST

11 min: Kaderabeck bursts down the left and nearly gets the better of Walker. Nearly, but not quite. He goes over in the area, claiming a penalty, but the ref’s not fooled.

6.08pm BST

9 min: That’s a fine response by City. They refused to panic after that shocking start, and cool heads got their reward. Silva dissected the hosts calmly there. Meanwhile here’s David Flynn: “Pep is very much in the image of a late-era Ballard villain, suave and energetic, full of new ideas and slight regard for the cultural norms, his magnetic personality dragging once dead communities to exciting new heights. So if City’s training centre mysteriously burns down or they find a dead dog in the rehab pool we’ll know who to point the finger at.”

6.06pm BST

A bit of possession for City. Pass, pass, patient pass. Suddenly Silva bursts into a little space in the middle of the park, then slips a ball down the left channel for Sane, who is clear in the box. He draws Baumann, then instead of shooting cuts back for Aguero, who pokes home as several discombobulated Hoffenheim defenders fall backwards on their arse.

6.02pm BST

5 min: Joelinton finds a bit of space down the right, and whips low and hard into the box. Ederson gathers well under a bit of pressure. City go up the other end, Sterling skedaddling down the middle and nearly breaking free. But he trips over his own twinkling toes. He demands a free kick, but he’s not getting one.

6.01pm BST

3 min: Well that’s quite a start to your very first home match in the Champions League! City look shell-shocked. Aguero tries to get something going for the visitors, sending a speculative effort wide left from distance.

6.00pm BST

The hosts take the lead after 43 seconds! And it’s so simple! From a throw on the right, Akpoguma slips a pass down the inside-right channel, setting Belfodil clear! He takes a step into the area, draws Ederson, and slips the ball under the keeper and into the net!

5.58pm BST

The hosts get the ball rolling! “Is there really a footballer called Joelinton, or have you made him up?” asks Mac Millings. “I only ask because I went to school with a lad called Joe Linton - is the Hoffenheim player named after him, in the Ronaldo/Ronaldinho style? If so, is it because he’s rubbish at football? Because my old mate Joe Linton was bloody awful.” We’ll soon find out what’s going on here.

5.56pm BST

The teams are out! The hosts are in their first-choice blue, forcing the English champions into very eye-catching purple shirts with an orange sash. And neon orange shorts. It sounds much worse than it is; it’s a lovely kit. We’ll be off in a minute, once the City fans have had the chance to boo the Uefa anthem.

5.52pm BST

If history is any guide, City’s campaign is already effectively over. That’s because no team has ever lost their opening game in the Champions League era and gone on to win the competition. Happily for City, that’s just a statistical quirk. A win here tonight and everybody’s back on track. Having said that, another strange stat may be of some concern: they’re currently on a four-game losing streak in Europe, having lost the second leg of last season’s Round of 16 tie at Basel, then home and away to Liverpool in the quarters, and finally against Lyon last month. Plenty of English teams have managed to lose three on the bounce in the Champions League - Manchester United, Liverpool, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers - but City have broken new ground with four. A fifth loss will set a few alarm bells ringing. This is a big game for City all right!

5.46pm BST

Pep talks! “Everybody wants to win in the Champions League, the most fascinating competition, the toughest one. We are going to try to do a good game. We try to take the best decisions as possible day to day, people who deserve to play do not play. I decided with this line-up, Sergio with his experience, that is why. He is 100 percent fit. Hoffenheim is new in the competition. I lived here in Germany, I know how complicated it is to play away here. Home is always tough, you can imagine how complicated it is to play away!”

5.37pm BST

If JG Ballard did pre-match entertainment ... it may look like this dystopian nightmare. Pity poor Hoffi, the club mascot, pictured this evening lost in a brutalist labyrinth. And you thought he’d hit rock bottom when he got sent off for celebrating a Bobby Firmino goal back in the day.

5.26pm BST

The view outside the Rhein-Neckar-Arena, which is staging its first-ever Champions League match today. The club were in the fifth tier of the German pyramid a mere 18 years ago. Putting this rapid rise into some sort of context, it’s ten years ago today that Newcastle United temporary boss Joe Kinnear had a full and frank exchange of views with the Mirror’s Simon Bird, and that marvellously entertaining episode seems like only yesterday.

5.12pm BST

Hoffenheim make three changes to the team that lost 2-1 at home to RB Leipzig at the weekend. Leonardo Bittencourt and Andrej Kramaric drop to the bench, while Nico Schulz misses out altogether. Joshua Brenet, Kerem Demirbay and Joelinton take their places.

Sergio Aguero, who has been nursing a sore foot, starts for Manchester City. Vincent Kompany and Ilkay Gundogan are the only two changes to the team named for the weekend’s 2-0 win over Brighton & Hove Albion, with Oleksadr Zinchenko and Bernardo Silva dropping to the bench.

5.04pm BST

Hoffenheim: Baumann, Akpoguma, Hoogma, Posch, Kaderabek, Grillitsch, Brenet, Szalai, Demirbay, Belfodil, Joelinton.
Subs: Kobel, Nelson, Bittencourt, Kramaric, Grifo, Hack, Amade.

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Kompany, Laporte, Otamendi, Gundogan, Fernandinho, Silva, Sane, Aguero, Sterling.
Subs: Muric, Danilo, Stones, Bernardo Silva, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko.

4.43pm BST

Hoffenheim nearly made it to the Champions League last season. Nearly, but not quite. Liverpool did for them in the qualifiers, though at least they succumbed to one of the goals of the season. That usually lessens the blow, right?

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Published on October 02, 2018 12:21

The Fiver | Successfully shilling 200 product lines to more than 20 territories

Business news, and likely concern at Cho-A Pharm Co Ltd, “one of Korea’s leading pharmaceutical and nutritional and dietary supplements companies”. Their football partner Manchester United have taken their eye off the ball, and are seriously underperforming at the minute. They haven’t won a European trophy for nearly 17 months, or a domestic trophy for the best part of 20. The team are going through a bit of a transitional phase. They’re not playing as well as some other sides. Yes, it’s the biggest crisis in the entire history of English football, and seriously, how are the good folk at Cho-A Pharm Co Ltd supposed to successfully shill 200 product lines to more than 20 territories including China, Lebanon, Mongolia, Vietnam and Yemen with all this going on, when the soccer division are making everyone so profoundly downcast that even tablets won’t help?

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Published on October 02, 2018 07:59

October 1, 2018

Ryder Cup 2018: Guardian writers select their standout moments

Francesco Molinari was the standout performer while Justin Thomas, Tommy Fleetwood and Ian Poulter were among those who also had a tournament to remember

Francesco Molinari. Nobody comes close. The plaudit is all the more valid because Molinari will be bashful about accepting it. Ewan Murray

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Published on October 01, 2018 05:06

September 29, 2018

Ryder Cup 2018: Europe lead USA 5-3 and on top in day two fourballs – live!

Le Golf National: hole-by-hole guide to the course
Fleetwood hails ‘unreal’ day as Europe roar back to lead 5-3And feel free to email scott.murray@theguardian.com

9.38am BST

The Masters champion Reed has been out of form for a while, and he’s not looking like regaining it here at Le Golf National. He sprays his drive at 7 out of bounds. Meanwhile at 6, Poulter sends a fine wedge over the flag. He’s got an eight-foot downhill putt for birdie ... but Spieth lands his to 18 inches, a majestic shot which is conceded and applies some matchplay pressure to Poulter. But the European refuses to buckle, rolling it in and halving the hole. Spieth, his hands deep in his pockets, bows his head. That approach deserved more. But the USA can’t catch a break right now.

4UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (8)
2UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (7)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (6)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (6)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

9.30am BST

Tiger, Reed and Molinari all go close with birdie putts at 6. A half. The USA can’t buy a birdie in this match. And they’re rare as hen’s teeth for the States in match two: Hatton nearly rakes in a long one at 7, but not quite, setting up a chance for DJ from 15 feet. But the big man doesn’t hit it. Opportunities to claw something back slip by.

4UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (8)
2UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (7)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (6)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (5)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

9.20am BST

Yesterday morning, McIlroy was out of sorts and all over the shop. What a difference a day makes! He tramlines a 35-footer into the cup on the par-three 8th, and that’s four birdies in eight holes! He couldn’t make one yesterday morning! This is a really impressive turnaround by a player who looked genuinely upset after his fourballs performance yesterday. And this is a proper body blow for the Americans, because Finau had gone close, but now with matchplay pressure applied, he tugs his six-footer left. The hosts are 4UP in the first match.

4UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (8)
2UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (6)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (5)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (4)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

9.13am BST

A minor victory for the Americans on 5. Woods and Reed are on in regulation, but miles from the flag, while Fleetwood has gone close. But the US team lag up close, and Fleetwood can’t make his birdie putt from ten feet. A half saved. And another fine salvage mission on 7. Finau drove out of bounds there yesterday, and now he whistles a 5-iron OB from the middle of the fairway! Fortunately Koepka lashes out from the rough to the apron, and gets up and down for the par that halves the hole. However some bad news for Furyk and his team on 6: yet another birdie for Casey! He rolls in a 30-footer, and DJ can’t follow him in from roughly half the distance.

3UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (7)
2UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (6)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (5)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (4)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

9.07am BST

There goes that one splash of red on the scoreboard. Thomas and Spieth play 4 in the very average style, opening the door of opportunity for Poulter. The European lets his birdie chance from eight feet slide by on the right ... but then Thomas pushes a short par putt right, and stomps off in high dudgeon. This is not going well for the USA. They need a spark from somewhere.

3UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (6)
1UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (5)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (4)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (4)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

9.01am BST

I do like it.

8.59am BST

McIlroy blooters his drive at 7 out of bounds. Fortunately for Europe, Sergio is on the fairway. Koepka can’t find the fairway, but Finau is on the short stuff. The USA really need to get something together in this first game, they’ve been woefully out of sorts. Meanwhile here’s the Hole-by-Hole’s resident artist Simon McMahon: “In honour of the first Ryder Cup to be played on French soil, I have composed a cinquain, a poetic form comprising five lines of 2, 4, 6, 8 and 2 syllables. I hope you like it.

It’s on
Golf National
Ryder Cup Saturday
Somebody please call Dr Golf
Fever

8.55am BST

Neither Woods nor Reed can smash their way out of the rough and onto the green at 4. But Tiger gets close enough to get up and down without too much fuss, and with Molinari unable to make an uphill 20-footer for birdie, that’s a great half for the USA considering the wild tee shots. Tiger refusing to buckle. Meanwhile another Paul Casey birdie, his fourth, this time at 5. But Fowler makes one too, and the spoils are shared. But Finau can’t complete a rescue mission at 6, his birdie attempt trundling harmlessly past the hole. Europe have two chances to claim the point, but they only need one, McIlroy rattling his birdie into the cup and softly punching the air. The USA would have liked a fast start this morning; they haven’t got one.

3UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (6)
1UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (5)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (4)
Poulter/Rahm v Thomas/Spieth 1UP (3)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

8.49am BST

Koepka finds a couple of balls, but neither are his. It’s down to Finau to salvage something for the States. He finds the heart of 6 in two, 25 feet from the flag, but Sergio screeches his approach to six feet, then Rory knocks his to ten. Two good looks at birdie.

8.43am BST

Koepka is strangely out of sorts this morning. And he’s just hoicked his tee shot at 6 into the thickest nonsense down the left. Plenty of folk looking for his ball, but it seems lost. He’s not the only American driving in the style of Seve right now: on 4, Reed is in trouble off the tee down the right, with his partner Tiger similarly rough-bound out left.

8.36am BST

A sensational - and potentially momentum-shifting - chip-in from the bunker at 5? McIlroy wedges to 18 feet, but then Finau splashes out spectacularly, a couple of bounces and ... slam! Dunk! In! He cavorts around accordingly. But then McIlroy rolls his putt straight into the cup, a body blow for the USA, who must have thought they were going to grab one back there. And good news for the Europeans elsewhere: Casey sends a gorgeous second to six feet at 4 to win the hole, while Molinari’s two-putt birdie on 3 sends his team 2UP, Tiger unable to salvage the situation with a 30-footer for his bird.

2UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (5)
1UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (4)
2UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (3)
Poulter/Rahm v Thomas/Spieth 1UP (2)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

8.28am BST

Tiger eventually settles his dispute with the rules official, and chops back out on the fairway. Then finds the front of the green with his third. He’s still in this hole, fighting away, but Molinari’s on in two. Europe holding the advantage there.

8.26am BST

Another hole for Europe in the opening rubber. Koepka is always in bother after finding the long stuff down 4; Garcia whips his second to 12 feet. With Finau unable to contribute, the hole’s soon conceded. A poor start for the USA in that game. And there’s trouble afoot in the third match, too. Which says something seeing Fleetwood started out by pushing his tee shot at 3 into water down the right. Molinari found the fairway, Reed followed Fleetwood into the drink, then Woods sprayed a godawful drive miles left. He’s in thick oomska, and in deep discussion with a rules official regarding potential relief. Some much needed good news for the USA, though: a sensational tee shot from Jordan Spieth at 2 to four feet. With Rahm having sent a second tee shot out of two into the water, Poulter needs to drain a long one for a birdie and a half. He can’t make it, and Spieth tidies up to put some red on the board. It’s been a while.

2UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (4)
Casey/Hatton A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
1UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (2)
Poulter/Rahm v Thomas/Spieth 1UP (2)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

8.14am BST

In fact Reed is inches off the back of 2, so chips from the fringe to a couple of feet. Par, which allows Tiger to have a run at birdie. His putt’s dead on line, but unforgivably short. Fleetwood and Molinari will have a putt each for the hole. But Molinari doesn’t need to do anything, because Fleetwood’s putter, so hot yesterday, doesn’t appear to have cooled down! He rolls a 25-footer straight into the cup, it was never missing, and he hoists his hot club straight into the air in triumph. Meanwhile Poulter salvages par and the hole for the errant Rahm and Europe on 1, while Casey and Fowler half the 3rd with a pair of birdies.

1UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (3)
Casey/Hatton A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
1UP Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods (2)
Poulter/Rahm A/S Thomas/Spieth (1)
EUROPE 5-3 USA

8.06am BST

Three players have already got wet at the 2nd. But to be fair, the pin is tucked away far left of the green, close to the water. All four players find the dancefloor in match three, though. Molinari has gone closest; he’ll have a 15-footer downhill for his birdie. Meanwhile Fowler’s renaissance continues: he’s found the centre of the par-five 3rd with two magnificent cracks, and will have an eagle attempt from 20 feet.

8.03am BST

The final match is out. Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth cream lovely woods down the centre, both in prime position. Ian Poulter finds the middle of the fairway, but Jon Rahm takes too much club and fires his drive straight into the water. That was none too clever. Down on the green, with Reed pretty much out of it after his drive, Tiger, Molinari and Fleetwood surround the pin. They’ll all have good looks at birdie. None of them make it, though Tiger goes very close, his putt shaving the hole from 12 feet. Meanwhile a birdie at the par-five 3rd by McIlroy, spashing close from sand, puts some blue on the board in the first game.

1UP Garcia/McIlroy v Koepka/Finau (3)
Casey/Hatton A/S Johnson/Fowler (2)
Molinari/Fleetwood A/S Reed/Woods (1)
Poulter/Rahm v Thomas/Spieth
EUROPE 5-3 USA

7.53am BST

This second match is utterly farcical! At the par-three 2nd, Casey finds water; Hatton can only send his ball into a greenside bunker. Then DJ gets wet! Finally Fowler rediscovers his mojo; after two wild hooks on the 1st, he arrows his tee shot to ten feet. That’s something else, given what’s just happened to him! What spirit! In goes the putt, and the damage of the first hole is repaired!

Garcia/McIlroy A/S Koepka/Finau (2)
Casey/Hatton A/S Johnson/Fowler (2)
Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods

7.49am BST

The third match is out. And the Americans - Brooks Koepka apart - are looking nervous. Patrick Reed, perhaps spooked by what’s just happened to Fowler and DJ, sends his tee shot into the thick stuff down the right. Tiger steadies the ship with a lovely wood whip-cracked down the middle. Yesterday’s European heroes Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari both find the fairway, though a pumped Molinari toys with the drink. His ball stays up on the fringe, though. You have to marvel at the players who manage to keep it together on this tee; the atmosphere is electric!

Garcia/McIlroy A/S Koepka/Finau (2)
1UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (1)
Molinari/Fleetwood v Reed/Woods

7.42am BST

Fowler’s started out in appalling fashion. Having hooked his first tee shot into the water, he hooks his third onto a grassy bank miles to the left of the green. He’s out of it, really, though he eventually bravely climbs up the steep bank just in case he manages to engineer a miracle chip-in. He could easily slip down the hill and into the water, but god bless his core strength. Anyway, he flies that through the green and he’s toast. Meanwhile DJ doesn’t really have a stance by the side of the water, and can only take his medicine, chipping back out onto the fairway. Then he spins a wedge onto the front edge of the green and back into the water! A nightmare start for the USA! To be fair to DJ, he had to go for the pin, near the front, because he was hitting three and Casey was on in two. But that was a complete fiasco for the Americans. Meanwhile up on 2, honours are shared in the putting competition.

Garcia/McIlroy A/S Koepka/Finau (2)
1UP Casey/Hatton v Johnson/Fowler (1)

7.35am BST

And up on the green again, Koepka and Sergio both go close with their medium-range birdie efforts. Close, but no cigar. A half. Then Sergio finds the water at the par-three 2nd. Rory’s on the green, but Koepka’s a lot closer. Meanwhile the US captain Jim Furyk tells Sky Sports that he isn’t necessarily going to pick all of his players again today. “We’ll take a look at it. Depends what happens this morning.”

Garcia/McIlroy A/S Koepka/Finau (1)

7.31am BST

Back on the tee, Rickie Fowler and Dustin Johnson cop for some ribbing ... and a twitchy Fowler immediately pulls his tee shot into the water down the left. Plenty of cheers greet that faux pas. It’s bedlam! The pressure’s on Dustin, then ... and he nearly follows his partner into the briny, though his ball stops just in time. Phew. They’re playing Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton: Casey pearls his drive down the track, a beauty, then Hatton takes his tee shot. He turns and tells his captain Thomas Bjorn: “I ripped it!” But it’s not a gleeful analysis. Pumped full of adrenaline, he’s hit that much further than he’d expected and that’s in the water too. Advantage to Europe, though, because I’m not sure DJ has a stance by the side of the water. We’ll see.

7.25am BST

It was slightly surprising that Koepka only got one run-out yesterday. Not just that he’s the player of 2018, with his victories at the US Open and PGA. Not just that he won his match yesterday morning with an ice-cool par at the testing 18th. He’s schooled in European golf, having played over this side of the pond on tour early in his career. It’ll be very interesting to see how he does today. He’s on the green in two, with a look at birdie from 20 feet downhill. Sergio’s inside him, though, having only just got over the water and he’s got an uphill 15-footer from the fringe.

7.15am BST

The sun’s up, and the fever is high. Someone, please, call Dr Golf! Here come Rory and Sergio, waving and smiling, as the crowd do their thing. Then Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau make a quiet entrance. That’s home advantage for you. Everyone’s wrapped up warm; it’s pretty nippy out there. The Americans receive some pantomime boos, but gentle giant Finau turns and waves anyway, flashing a warm, friendly smile. Koepka’s not having it, though, eyes straight forward. Then the reception for the Europeans, Sergio hanging a paternal arm around Rory. A loud, sing-song chorus of Sergio, Sergio; Rory, Rory unfortunately doesn’t lend itself so well to a chant. But they try. Finau and Koepka lash irons down the middle; Sergio smacks a 3-wood down the track, while Rory flirts with the water down the left but stays on the fairway too. All good. We’re up and running! Day two of the 2018 Ryder Cup, everyone!

7.06am BST

Here we go, then, all aboard another rollercoaster ride around the Albatros Course at Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines! The 94-step-high gallery behind the 1st tee has been entertaining itself with the Icelandic Thunderclap that’ll no doubt become the leitmotif of the 2018 Ryder Cup, whatever happens. So there’s quite an atmosphere bubbling up already. The picturesque and wonderfully testing Albatros Course is already being spoken of as one of the great Ryder Cup venues, its water, tight fairways and punitive rough all contributing to yesterday’s to-and-fro drama. (If you fancy comparing it to previous venues, Nick Callow’s superb history of the Ryder Cup is highly recommended, a comprehensive and very pretty whistle-stop tour around your Medinahs, K Clubs, Kiawah Islands and Walton Heaths.) Will it deliver again today? All signs point to yes!

7.30pm BST

What a see-saw opening day! Lest ye forget, this happened in the morning fourballs:

Rose/Rahm lost to Koepka/Finau 1UP
McIlroy/Olesen lost to Johnson/Fowler 4&2
Casey/Hatton lost to Spieth/Thomas 1UP
Fleetwood/Molinari beat Reed/Woods 3&1

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Published on September 29, 2018 01:38

September 28, 2018

Ryder Cup 2018: Europe v USA, day one – live!

Keep up with all the action from Le Golf NationalLe Golf National: hole-by-hole guide to the courseAnd feel free to email scott.murray@theguardian.com

9.44am BST

Olesen finds the water for the second time today, a booming drive on 9 taking a slightly unlucky bounce to the left and dribbling into the hazard. Meanwhile more Golf Fever news, courtesy of Simon McMahon: “I know they say never look back but I can’t help but rewind four years to 2014, when I attended the Ryder Cup matches at Gleneagles in Scotland. To have been part of the history of this incredible event, even as a spectator, still gives me a warm glow inside. I like to think I made the difference that weekend. Strange how the most individual of sports provides the pinnacle of team events. There really is nothing else like the Ryder Cup, and that’s coming from someone who regularly attends lower league Scottish football.”

9.40am BST

It’s all very scrappy on the par-three 8th, where Olesen is able to win the hole with a workaday par. Europe will care not a jot: they’re now up in three of the four games. Not that it means too much right now; it was only 40 minutes or so ago when there was no blue on the board at all. Plenty of ebb and flow left in these morning fourballs.

2UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (8)
1UP McIlroy/Olesen v Johnson/Fowler (8)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 3UP (7)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (6)

9.35am BST

Rahm is Europe’s star turn this morning, but he’s got nothing on Spieth. The former Masters, US Open and Open champion trundles a chip in from the fringe to the left of 7! That’s a birdie, and another hole won by Spieth from a not-particularly promising position. The USA are in full control of the third match. As much as Spieth has been sensational, Casey and Hatton haven’t got going at all.

2UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (8)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (7)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 3UP (7)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (6)

9.29am BST

Meanwhile some very sad news. James Lawton was unquestionably one of the greats. He reported on many a Ryder Cup, stylishly so, and would no doubt have enjoyed this one too.

Everyone at @IndySport is saddened to hear of the death of former chief sports writer James Lawton today, one of the finest and most popular sports journalists of his generation. Rest in peace, Jim pic.twitter.com/RWzTMuFC4v

9.25am BST

Neither Koepka nor Finau hit the green at the par-three 8th. Rahm arrows one straight at the flag, though he’s left with a 15-footer for the birdie he may need to win the hole. The American’s can’t chip in for unlikely birdies, though Finau goes close; Rahm then rolls in his putt, and hollers in delight! Another Spanish Ryder Cup idol is born! Meanwhile Olesen misses a birdie effort on 7; Casey passes up a chance at 6. It’s tight this morning. It’s been wonderful to watch.

2UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (8)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (7)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 2UP (6)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (5)

9.15am BST

Koepka nearly completes an absurd escape for the USA on 7. He knocks his third to 12 feet; Rose can’t make his long birdie putt. The four-footer Rose is left with isn’t conceded. Koepka looks to have made his par putt, but the ball somehow doesn’t break right when it surely should, and that’s a bogey. Rose rolls in his putt to win the hole. Had Koepka salvaged something there, it would have been quite special given his drive was over 100 yards off line, forcing him to embark on adventures in the jungle. Not quite. But he really is some player; he gives nothing up.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (7)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (6)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 2UP (5)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (4)

9.07am BST

Spieth drains a 40-footer across 5! It was never missing. Casey can’t follow him in from half the distance, and the USA have taken control of match three. Meanwhile on 7, Koepka - whose drive went 120 yards wide left - can only lash the ball out of grass that’s as tall as him, and hope for the best. The ball finds the fairway, but then bounces into the first cut and sits deep. Finau takes a drop and finds the green in four; Rose follows him into the heart of the green in two. Koepka and Rahm will be hitting three into the green. Advantage Europe in that one.

Rose/Rahm A/S Koepka/Finau (6)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (5)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 2UP (5)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (4)

9.03am BST

On 4, Reed very nearly knocks in a greenside chip from 60 feet. It’s a wonderful effort, but that’s just a par. Tiger, having found trouble from the tee, is out of it. But Fleetwood has knocked his second pin high to five feet. In goes the birdie putt, and Europe regain the lead in the final match!

Rose/Rahm A/S Koepka/Finau (6)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (5)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (4)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (4)

8.56am BST

From hero to zero in double-quick time: Finau flays his tee shot at 7 out of bounds down the right! And then Koepka sends his drive bouncing into thick hay on the other side of the fairway! The US are already in serious bother on this hole.

8.53am BST

Hatton has a birdie chance on 4, but his 20-foot putt dies off to the right. Spieth still has work to do for the half, but never looks like missing his par putt from 15 feet. That’s quite magnificent. Fowler nearly makes a 25-footer for the win on 5, but his effort drifts wide. And up on the driveable par-four 6th, quite the dramatic sequence! First Rose lets go of his driver in frustration, yet his ball lands on the green anyway. He’ll have a look at eagle. Koepka hits some poor punter upside the head with his drive, then chunks a chip. But no matter, because his partner Finau’s drive is on the fringe just to the right; Finau gently guides a delicate chip into the hole, and it’s an eagle! Rose can’t make his 35-footer - he’ll have been preparing to putt for the hole, not the half - and the USA have snatched it! What a chip by Finau, who looked nervous early doors, but has found his feet in the Ryder Cup now! Match play golf, ladies and gentlemen.

Rose/Rahm A/S Koepka/Finau (6)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (5)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (4)
Fleetwood/Molinari A/S Reed/Woods (3)

8.44am BST

Tiger is in the zone now. His second at 3 finds the thick stuff down the left, but that’s not a bother; from 50 yards or so, he flicks a crisp wedge over sand to a couple of feet! That’ll be a birdie, though Fleetwood has a 50-footer for eagle. Southport’s finest sends it dead on line ... but doesn’t hit it! Which means if Reed makes his chip, he’ll win the hole. But he’s uncharacteristically heavy handed, and the ball flies way past the cup. In the end, it’s Molinari who saves the day for Europe, getting up and down from a tight spot in front of a greenside bunker for a birdie to match Tiger’s.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (5)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (4)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (3)
Fleetwood/Molinari A/S Reed/Woods (3)

8.37am BST

Olesen has a 12 footer on 4 to win the hole. He watches in horror as a putt that looks like dropping kinks off to the right on its very last turn. Back on the par-five 3rd, there’s a lucky break for Reed who bounces out of the bunker guarding the front right of the green, and will have a makeable chip for eagle; Fleetwood finds the heart of the green but he’ll have a long eagle putt And finally to the 5th, a hole with relatively little danger and a friendly pin position. Can anyone in the opening group make birdie? Nope! Rose’s effort from 15 feet drifts left, and Finau saves the half with a six-footer.

8.28am BST

Hatton and Spieth halve the par-five 3rd with birdies. Meanwhile in Golf Fever news, here’s Matt Dony: “Argh, I love the Ryder Cup. The depth of feeling is entirely summed up by the way I feel about Ian Poulter. For 23-and-a-half months out of 24, mention his name, and I’ll immediately make some disparaging joke about that time he said that if he plays to his potential, it’d be just him and Tiger. Put him anywhere near a Ryder Cup, though, and I love the man. He doesn’t even need to play. I can just read a paragraph about him walking down some steps, and I’m cheering him on. Go on, Poults. Walk down that grandstand! Show those yanks how we walk! Get in, son! (I will be struggling to focus in work today.)” You and me both, Matt.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (4)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (3)
Fleetwood/Molinari A/S Reed/Woods (2)

8.25am BST

Neither Molinari nor Fleetwood can get particularly close with their sand shots on 2. Reed flicks a lovely wedge to a couple of feet, though, securing par. Both of the Europeans end up making bogey, so Tiger doesn’t even need to make his birdie putt. He tucks it away regardless. And the final match is all square again!

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (4)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (2)
Fleetwood/Molinari A/S Reed/Woods (2)

8.21am BST

Koepka must have kept his putter in the minibar fridge last night. He’s got another putt from ten feet or so, this time on 4, and he leaves it a little short. This is very strange behaviour, and Europe escape again, keeping hold of the lead in the opening match.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (4)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (2)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (1)

8.17am BST

Fleetwood and Molinari take turns to push 4-irons into a bunker back right of the 2nd. They’re spooked by the water; it’s the safe bail-out. Reed nearly follows them in, but his ball sticks in the thick rough instead. Then Tiger decides enough is enough: he goes straight for the flag, and lands a sensational long iron four feet from the hole! Speaking of the great man ...

8.14am BST

It’s been a dramatic morning already. Plenty of to-and-fro action. Though not on the 2nd yet; another match goes through without a tale to tell, Casey, Hatton, Spieth and Thomas sharing the spoils. But at 1, Tiger can’t make his birdie putt from the fringe, and flicks his ball away in irritation. That’s because he knows the Open champion isn’t going to miss a straight one from eight feet - and Molinari, ice cool, rattles it straight into the cup. Europe go 1UP in the final morning fourball. The par-five 3rd is halved meanwhile, as Olesen’s birdie effort from 18 feet never looks like dropping.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (3)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (3)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (2)
1UP Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods (1)

8.08am BST

Tiger is looking a bit nervous. Well, it’s been a while since he’s been in the Ryder Cup cauldron. Having toyed with the water down the left from the tee, he nearly spins his second back into the drink guarding the front left of the green. He hangs on, in the fringe. Molinari screeches a fine second to eight feet. There’s pressure on Reed now ... and to the gallery’s delight, Captain America dunks his wedge straight into the water! Advantage Europe there.

8.03am BST

Hatton can’t make his birdie putt on 1. Spieth makes no mistake from close range, and that’s the opening hole to the USA! And there’s another surprising escape for Europe, this time on 3; Rahm does extremely well to get up and down from the rough to the right, chipping to 12 feet, making the birdie putt and beating his chest with his fist. Koepka then misses his third putt in a row to the right; he really deserved an eagle after that magnificent second, but Rahm put the thumb-screws on. That’s matchplay golf!

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (3)
McIlroy/Olesen A/S Johnson/Fowler (2)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas 1UP (1)
Fleetwood/Molinari v Reed/Woods

7.59am BST

The final match gets underway ... and here comes Tiger Woods and Captain America! Reed gets pelters from the crowd, as you’d expect ... and as you’d expect, he shrugs them off with a smile and sends his tee shot away down the middle! Tiger meanwhile looks a little pensive, and sends his iron a little too close to the water on the left for comfort. But it’s fine. Tommy Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari meanwhile hug each other, smiling broadly as the crowd sing their praises. And their nerves are settled by a couple of calm drives. It’s all four balls in the fairway. And all of the matches are out on the course!

7.56am BST

The 3rd is the first par five on the course. It’s a monster ... but Koepka calmly negotiates his way down the hole with a 340-yard drive and an easy iron to eight feet! Rose and Rahm meanwhile struggle, the former very fortunate not to find the hazard down the right with a wild tee shot, the latter sending his second near trees down the left. Advantage USA. Meanwhile in the second match, it’s a no-drama half.

7.53am BST

Casey is in the thick stuff down the right of 1 ... and lets his club snag through the rough as he wedges in. It’s never reaching the dancefloor, and slam-dunks into the drink guarding the front-left of the green. It’s all down to Hatton, who sends his second over the flag to ten feet. That’s a fine shot, but quickly put into the shade by Spieth, who lands his second a couple of feet past the cup and spins it back. It looks like dropping for a sensational eagle, but hits the stick and stays out. That’s going to be a birdie, though, unless Spieth has a Dustinesque rush of blood.

7.48am BST

Back on the opening tee, the grandstand has got a little tired of the panto booing, perhaps saving some energy for later. Justin Thomas pushes his drive into the cabbage down the right, but Jordan Spieth knocks his down the middle. Paul Casey’s tee shot leaks to the right, in the first cut, but Tyrrell Hatton opens his Ryder Cup career with a gorgeous one down the track. It’s been a mixed bag from the rookies so far; shaky starts for Olesen and Finau, but confident ones from Rahm and Hatton. Dustin’s missed tiddler, though; he really let the Europeans off the hook there.

7.46am BST

The par-three second is a fierce one over water. The green’s pretty shallow, there’s not much landing space. Rahm sends his tee shot 50 feet to the right of the flag; Rose is just off the back, but only 12 feet or so from the cup. Rahm lags a gorgeous putt up to a couple of feet; Rose clunks a heavy handed chip eight feet past. But he knocks in the one coming back. Koepka has another look for birdie from 12 feet, but again it stays out on the right. And on the 1st green, McIlroy can’t make his 20-foot birdie putt ... but DJ yips his tiddler to the right and Europe escape with a half! Oh Dustin!

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (2)
McIlroy/Olesen a/s Johnson/Fowler (1)
Casey/Hatton v Spieth/Thomas

7.36am BST

DJ follows the Rose Route down 1. A glorious wedge. He’ll be making birdie from there. That means McIlroy has to respond ... but he doesn’t, really, his second landing 20 feet right of the hole. He’ll be left with a very tricky downhill breaker to save the hole for Europe.

7.32am BST

Europe make the first move in the 2018 Ryder Cup! Koepka’s ten-footer is a downhill dribbler, and it stays high on the right. An inch away from a birdie. But Rose is within kick-in distance, and that’s the hole to Europe. Rose holds his fist in the air in quiet determination. It’s not quite the 17th on Sunday at Medinah, but it is only Friday morning after all.

1UP Rose/Rahm v Koepka/Finau (1)
McIlroy/Olesen v Johnson/Fowler

7.29am BST

Back on the tee, Dustin and Rickie are announced; the crowd try to boo, but there’s plenty of cheering too, they can’t help themselves, Johnson and Fowler are just too damn popular! Rory and Thorbjorn are showered with the love you’d expect. Fowler’s drive finds the rough down the right; DJ fires an arrow down the middle with a long iron. Then a nervous looking Olesen sends his tee shot towards Finau Country ... and the rookie’s first shot in Ryder Cup competition plops in the drink. That will hurt. It’s all down to McIlroy for Europe now, and he splits the fairway with his drive.

7.22am BST

Finau might have stayed dry, but he’s right on the edge, and technically in the hazard. It’s all he can do to take his medicine and punch his ball back onto the fairway. Rahm then fizzes his second to ten feet! That puts real pressure on Koepka ... and the three-time major winner responds by knocking his second ten feet over the flag. That’s kept the USA in this hole ... and how they needed that, because Rose has just wedged to a couple of feet. Koepka will have to hole his birdie effort to halve the hole, you’d think. Finau on in three.

7.17am BST

Well, I said the phony war was over ... but the US players were stopped and security checked as they arrived this morning, while the Europeans simply swanned into their team room unfrisked. A final attempt at some mind games? Dear oh dear. Anyway, the players take to the tee, and it’s an end to all that nonsense. Nearly. Brooks Koepka and Tony Finau are booed in the pantomime style as they are announced; Justin Rose and Jon Rahm cheered to the skies. The atmosphere seems to unnerve the rookie Finau a little; he blows out his cheeks hard, and nearly whistles his tee shot into the drink down the left! One more joule of energy, one more drip of adrenaline, and he’s wet. But it just hangs on. Europe’s rookie, by contrast, is the picture of confidence: Jon Rahm waves his arms like Bubba and Poults, generating an even louder cheer ... then cracks his tee shot down the middle! A small early victory to Europe? We’ll see. But all these little things count. Meanwhile Rose and Koepka stay out of the limelight, and on the fairway. It’s started! We’re under way! It’s on!

7.00am BST

Here we go, then. The phony war is nearly over; the real thing is about to begin! There is, as you’d expect, a neck-hair-bothering atmosphere already at the first tee, where fans of Europe and the USA are whipping it up with chants of Ole Ole, plus a choreographed version of the Icelandic football team’s patented Thunderclap performed much too quickly. The grandstand behind the tee is huge; you’ll need to take 94 steps to reach the top. Ian Poulter has already made an appearance, theatrically making his way down that staircase from its summit to wild applause. Vague shades of top 1980s quiz The Price Is Right. In your dreams, a smiling Leslie Crowther would have been at the bottom to greet him; such a shame the whole scene wasn’t soundtracked by the old Come On Down music.

6.50am BST

For the benefit of folk who fancy getting up on the downswing this weekend but don’t always follow the greatest sport in the world, we usually cut and paste the following explainer. Hey, if it’s worth reading once, it’s worth reading a dozen times. Here we go ...

The format: The 42nd Ryder Cup Matches, to use the official title, is a matchplay event. Each match is worth a point. There are 28 points available over the three days, so the first team to get to 14.5 points will win the Cup. Should the Matches be tied at 14 points apiece, the USA will retain the trophy as current holders.

6.01am BST

It’s been a quarter of a century since the USA beat Europe away from home. Spool all the way back to 1993, when Tom Watson’s side triumphed at the Belfry. Davis Love sealed the deal against a tearful Costantino Rocca ... then as his team-mates cavorted and partied, made a point of searching out the distraught Italian to give him a hug. But since then, it’s the Americans who have been in sore need of a consolation cuddle whenever they’ve come over the pond, suffering heavy defeats at The K Club and Gleneagles, and going down at Valderrama, The Belfry (again) and Celtic Manor too.

Well, they’re favourites to break that inexplicably long, sorry sequence this time. Jim Furyk brings a hell of a side to Le Golf National, Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines: it contains no fewer than nine major champions. Between them, this USA team have 31 majors to their name. That stat alone will send a shiver down European spines, because Thomas Bjorn can only call on five major winners, and they’ve only got eight majors between them. Oh la la!

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Published on September 28, 2018 01:44

September 20, 2018

Arsenal 4-2 Vorskla Poltava: Europa League – as it happened

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Arsenal won an entertaining opening game in Group E.

10.20pm BST

So this MBM comes to a close. It’s been a good night for Arsenal. Amy Lawrence was at the Emirates, and she’s filed the definitive report on the game. Thanks for reading, wherever you may be. Nighty night!

10.18pm BST

And now we hear from Unai Emery: “We were disappointed with the two goals, because we play well for 90 minutes. We want to do better. We want to go forward and score more goals, but not concede at the back as we did today. It is important to start with victory in this competition, and give chances to many players. And also to gain confidence. We need those players because we are going to play a lot of matches. I want to be competitive in each match.”

10.09pm BST

Danny Welbeck talks! “I think it was a convincing win, though it was difficult in the first half, because they had a gameplan to sit back and make it difficult. We had to be patient, to implement the combinations, and try to get opportunities to score. And we did, we got a few goals, though it’s very disappointing to concede goals as well. All the lads are enjoying working with Unai Emery, and everyone’s behind his ideas, we’re looking to impose our style of play and keep on getting better. It’s not going to work straight away, but we want to keep on improving.”

10.04pm BST

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang speaks! “We played well in the first half, and the beginning of the second as well. We scored goals, but we have to improve and not concede as we did in the last minute. I didn’t play the Europa League last year with the guys, so I am really happy to be back in this competition. We want to get to the final. It is good to start with a win.”

10.01pm BST

That result means Arsenal top Group E after the opening game. In the group’s other fixture, Sporting beat Qarabag 2-0.

9.57pm BST

So Arsenal start their Europa League campaign with a victory. They started slowly, and could easily have fallen behind in the first half, but after scoring a fine goal on the break seconds later, grew into the match. They were very impressive from that point onwards, at times playing some very entertaining football. A couple of late goals for Vorskla removed some of the shine, but the Ukrainians deserved those consolations, having contributed to a highly enjoyable game. Who needs the Champions League, huh?

9.54pm BST

A millisecond after the ball hit the back of the net, the referee blows for full time! Well that was entertaining.

9.53pm BST

Kolomoets sends Rebenok away down the left. Rebenok pulls the ball back for Sharpar, on the edge of the area. Sharpar unleashes an unstoppable shot into the top left!

9.49pm BST

90 min: Monreal zips down the left but can’t find anyone in a crowded area with his cross. There will be three extra minutes.

9.47pm BST

89 min: ... nothing happens. But it’s been good fun this game, right?

9.47pm BST

88 min: Guendouzi wins a crunching challenge in midfield, spins and sends Ozil skittering down the left. Ozil loops a ball towards the far post, towards nobody in particular, and it’s cleared out for a corner. From which ...

9.45pm BST

87 min: Everyone’s winding down now.

9.44pm BST

85 min: Artur dribbles prettily down the left, but having made space for himself can’t find anyone in the middle. Arsenal go up the other end through Ozil, who reaches the byline on the left and cuts back for Smith Rowe. A chance for the young man to shoot, but he hesitates for a split second and his eventual effort is easily blocked.

9.42pm BST

83 min: Serhichuk drives infield from the right and for a second looks like earning an opportunity to shoot from distance. But Guendouzi harries him out of it.

9.40pm BST

81 min: A nice burst by Smith Rowe, who dances past a couple of desperate challenges down the left, shimmies his way inside, and nearly sets Welbeck free down the channel. But he puts too much weight on the pass and hollers in frustration. The crowd enjoyed that, though.

9.39pm BST

80 min: Vorskla continue to press forward, looking for another consolation. The ball’s spooned into the Arsenal box, but Serhichuk can’t get any power on his header, and Leno claims.

9.38pm BST

78 min: So Arsenal still haven’t kept a clean sheet this season. Kobakhidze makes way for Serhichuk.

9.37pm BST

Rebenok’s free kick, basically a corner from the left, is , chipped into the box and cleared by Holding. But that leads to a scrappy scramble on the edge of the area. Chesnakov breaks into the box and lashes a stunner into the top left. Leno had no chance!

9.35pm BST

75 min: Careca, not that one, replaces an as-yet-unidentified team-mate. He quickly earns a free kick down the left. From which ...

9.33pm BST

Sokratis chips a pass down the right for Lichtsteiner, who enters the area and loops to the far post. Ozil drifts in from the left to meet the ball, and guides it cleverly between two covering defenders with a poke of his studs. In it goes!

9.31pm BST

73 min: Vorskla are enjoying a bit of possession now, Arsenal’s second-half fire having fizzled out a little with all those substitutions. But they’re not really doing much with it. It’s all very comfortable for Arsenal.

9.30pm BST

71 min: Sharpar hoicks a long pass down the right for Rebenok, who hares into space. He crosses to Kolomoets in the centre, but the new boy Smith Rowe intercepts with a diving header. Corner, which comes to nothing.

9.29pm BST

70 min: Kravchenko is replaced by Skylar, while Iwobi - the man of the match? - makes way for Smith Rowe.

9.27pm BST

68 min: Chesnakov goes for goal from 45 yards! Give him credit for his sunny optimism. Of course, the preposterously ambitious effort is dragged harmlessly miles left, dribbling out of play as Leno trots across to prepare for a goal kick.

9.25pm BST

66 min: The very promising Guendouzi ghosts down the middle of the park and slips a cute pass down the inside-left channel for Ozil, who enters the box. Ozil never quite gets a window of opportunity to shoot, though, and eventually dribbles the ball out of play for a goal kick. But that was lovely play from Guendouzi, who created something from a very crowded position.

9.24pm BST

65 min: Iwobi clears the free kick. He’s been superb. The ball’s looped back into the mixer, though, and Kolomoets nearly meets it with his head, six yards out. Sokratis and Holding crowd him out.

9.22pm BST

64 min: Monreal clumsily bowls Kulach to the ground as the Vorskla man runs down a cul-de-sac on the right. A free kick and a rare chance to load the Arsenal box.

9.21pm BST

62 min: The rain’s coming down at the Emirates now. And the wind’s whipping around a little bit too. But the weather isn’t dousing the spirit of the Arsenal fans, who have found their voice. And no wonder: after that sluggish start, their heroes are now playing very well indeed.

9.19pm BST

60 min: Elneny drags back Kulach, a soft hand on his shoulder. It’s a booking usually, but this game has a training-ground feel now, the result beyond question, and the referee simply can’t be bothered.

9.18pm BST

58 min: That was Aubameyang’s last act of the evening. His job done, he’s replaced by Ozil. And it’s a double change, because Torreira is off to rest that sore ankle, Guendouzi coming on in his place. Seconds later, Mkhitaryan Maradonas his way down the inside-right channel, but kicks the turf as he looks to end the dribble with a goal. That would have been very pretty.

9.16pm BST

And here’s another. Mkhitaryan drives down the middle and looks for a one-two with Aubameyang. But he doesn’t get the pass back. Instead, Aubameyang nips the ball past Artur, takes a step to the right, and thrashes it into the bottom right from the edge of the box!

9.14pm BST

55 min: Mkhitaryan rolls a ball down the right in the hope of releasing Aubameyang. There’s too much juice on the pass, and Shust is able to race to the edge of his area to claim. But Arsenal are looking dangerous every time they go forward now.

9.13pm BST

54 min: Sharpar slips a pass down the left for Rebenok, who briefly looks like causing Sokratis a problem. But the defender sticks to his task and slide-tackles the ball away from the marauding winger. He’s made a couple of big, timely challenges tonight.

9.11pm BST

52 min: Arsenal look a totally different proposition since the break. Well, since the opening goal, I guess. They’re snapping into challenges now, pressing Vorskla hard, first to everything. Such a difference to their early passivity. Iwobi makes good down the left and loops a cross towards Aubameyang, who should really get something on target at the far post but gets his body shape all wrong and karate-kicks an effort over the bar.

9.09pm BST

50 min: It should be 3-0. Aubameyang races into acres down the left, latching onto a poor defensive backwards header. He thinks about shooting from a tight angle, but rolls the ball across the face of goal instead. Welbeck, sliding in at the far post, can only guide it wide right.

9.08pm BST

Welbeck had done very little this evening, but this was lovely. Iwobi dribbles down the left again. He draws two players then lays off for Mkhitaryan, who has space and time to send an inswinger onto the head of Welbeck. The striker’s timed his run perfectly, and gently eyebrows a header into the top right, leaving Shust rooted to the spot.

9.06pm BST

47 min: Iwobi continues to cause bother down the left flank. He wanders past Kravchenko and cuts one back for Mkhitaryan, who should do a lot better than shinning his shot wide left from ten yards.

9.05pm BST

46 min: Kobakhidze tries to burst down the right flank but he’s clipped from behind by Aubameyang, who is slightly fortunate to escape a yellow card.

9.03pm BST

And we’re off again! Arsenal get the party restarted. No changes.

8.51pm BST

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8.49pm BST

There’s just enough time for Mkhitaryan to nearly break clear into the Vorskla box, only to overrun his own flick through. And that’s that for the first half. Arsenal were pedestrian until they scored an excellent goal on the break. Since then, they’ve improved immensely, and the gap in quality has been clear to see. Arsenal are slowly easing themselves into this year’s Europa League.

8.47pm BST

45 min +1: Arsenal have finally come to life, because for the first time in this match Vorskla are rocking a bit. Mkhitaryan twists and spins down the inside left, turning in a tight spot and suddenly sending a rising shot straight at Shust, who tips over spectacularly. The corner comes to nought.

8.46pm BST

45 min: This is sensational from Aubameyang. He glides in from the left, past a couple of green shirts and into a pocket of space. He opens up and sends a dipping curler towards the bottom right. Shust is beaten all ends up, but the ball clatters the bottom of the right-hand post and out. So unlucky!

8.44pm BST

43 min: Iwobi has been excellent in this first half. He dribbles with great style down the left and bursts into space. His low cross very nearly finds Aubameyang, a few yards out. But not quite.

8.43pm BST

42 min: Rebenok threatens to break clear down the inside left, but a last-ditch intervention by Sokratis puts a stop to his gallop. Arsenal have been leaving quite a few large gaps at the back. A sharper team than Vorskla may have caused them some heartache.

8.41pm BST

40 min: Vorskla steady the rocking ship with some possession football at the back. There’s a sense that both teams would be happy enough to go in at 1-0 right now. Not much happening.

8.39pm BST

38 min: Arsenal load the box. But Torreira whips the free kick round the right-hand side of the wall, looking to catch Shust out and score in the bottom right corner. He only finds the side netting, but that’s a decent effort from a player the Arsenal fans have already warmed to.

8.38pm BST

36 min: Vorskla have visibly wilted since conceding. They were doing very well up until the goal. Now Rebenok brings down Lichtsteiner as the Arsenal man looks to shimmy in from the right. A free kick in a very dangerous position.

8.36pm BST

34 min: That was some textbook end-to-end football. And it demonstrates the thin line between success and failure in football. Had Kobakhidze played the early ball, there’s a fair chance Arsenal would have been a goal down. Instead, a dismal pass inside allowed Arsenal to counter, and they did so with a wonderful flourish.

8.34pm BST

Kobakhidze goes racing down the right. He should cross early for Kulach, who is in acres in the centre. But he hesitates, then plays a dreadful gift inside for Mkhitaryan, who sets Iwobi away down the left on the counter. For once, Vorskla are short at the back, having committed to Kobakhidze’s attack. Iwobi swings a cross towards Aubameyang, racing into the box on the right. Aubameyang sticks out a leg and guides it back across Shust and into the bottom left!

8.31pm BST

30 min: Kolomoets and Torreira challenge for a high ball in the centre of the park. Kolomoets takes an accidental clap on the side of the face, while Torreira lands awkwardly on his ankle. Both will continue, though neither appear too happy with life at the moment. A world of pain.

8.29pm BST

28 min: The lively Iwobi is fed by Monreal down the left. Iwobi opens his body and looks to curl one across Shust and into the top right. It’s high and wide, but close enough to qualify as a decent effort. For the first time tonight, the keeper looked in a bit of a panic.

8.27pm BST

26 min: Aubameyang drives towards the Vorskla area, and for a second threatens to burst through a gap and into a shooting position. But he lets the ball bobble off his boot and onto his thigh, allowing the men in green to swarm around him and put a stop to his scheme.

8.25pm BST

24 min: Perduta clatters into Iwobi, who is looking a threat out on the left. It should be a free kick ... but isn’t. Perduta clears his lines.

8.24pm BST

22 min: Most of the noise in the stadium is being made by the Ukrainian support. Then there’s a bit of a surge from the home fans as Elneny lets a simple pass run under his boot and out for a throw. Then some more frustration as Iwobi streams down the left and rolls a pass through the Vorskla box for Elneny, who takes a touch instead of shooting first time from 12 yards. That’s that chance gone, then.

8.22pm BST

20 min: A corner for Arsenal out on the right. Within seconds the ball is back at the feet of Leno. Hmm. Arsenal haven’t seriously tested Shust yet.

8.20pm BST

19 min: Sharpar is booked for standing on Elneny’s foot. That’s clumsy and deserving of yellow.

8.20pm BST

18 min: Rebenok, the best part of 35 yards from goal, takes a shot. He sends a risible pea-roller towards the bottom right, and it’s a little bit of exercise for Leno, who bends down to gather, nothing more.

8.18pm BST

17 min: Mkhitaryan tries to release Lichtsteiner down the right, but a heavy pass clanks out of play for a goal kick. Shame for Arsenal, because there was a lot of space for the right-back out on the flank.

8.17pm BST

15 min: Iwobi turns on the jets and wheechs down the left. He reaches the byline and cuts one back for Aubameyang, but Dallku toe-pokes the ball away from danger before the Arsenal striker can shoot.

8.15pm BST

13 min: Corner for Arsenal on the left. Sharpar heads it away. Arsenal come back at Vorskla down the left through Torreira, but the Uruguayan can’t diddle his way past Perduta. Arsenal are beginning to take a measure of control, though.

8.13pm BST

11 min: Some spectacular goalkeeping from Shust! A long Arsenal punt forward, and Iwobi is threatening to get on the end of it on the edge of the box. Shust races out of his area and clears with the most spectacular diving header seen in north London since Keith Houchen scored that goal for Coventry in the 1987 FA Cup final.

8.11pm BST

9 min: Kulach chases after a flick-on down the right, and from distance decides to see if he can replicate Jamie Vardy’s famous goal against Liverpool during Leicester City’s title season. He can’t, the ball sailing harmlessly into the stand behind Leno’s goal. But full marks for ambition.

8.09pm BST

7 min: Mkhitaryan bustles down the right, then cuts infield and attempts a one-two with Lichtsteiner, whose backheel fails to come off. But only just. So close to opening Vorskla up.

8.07pm BST

6 min: Rebenok tries to beat Iwobi in a footrace down the left. He fails. Not sure why he decided to get involved in that, because he had men in space infield and Arsenal were light at the back. Still, he’s won a throw. From which Artur slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Kulach, who is in acres. But he’s also offside.

8.05pm BST

4 min: Perhaps too hard, as Kulach comes sliding in recklessly on Torreira, who felt the challenge all right. Kulach is very fortunate to escape a booking; it’s just a stern word from the ref.

8.04pm BST

2 min: All a bit scrappy in the early stages. Vorskla are pressing hard.

8.02pm BST

And we’re off! Vorskla get the ball rolling, launch it long, and out of play down the right. From the Arsenal throw, the ball ends up at the feet of Kulach, who has a bit of space to work with but loses control of his feet. Onwards and upwards.

7.59pm BST

Ah, with four minutes to go, BT Sport switch their attention from idle chatter about a regulation 1-0 win for Chelsea to events at Highbury. The teams are trotting out, Arsenal in their famous red-and-white shirts, Vorskla in second-choice green. A reasonable atmosphere in a not-particularly-full stadium. Those 19 consecutive Champions League seasons seem a long time ago right now.

7.56pm BST

You’d think BT Sport would be concentrating on the Arsenal game now. But they’re not. “That looks like cheap plastic veneer over chipboard in the Arsenal dressing room,” opines Bruce Jackson. And to think the halls at Highbury were made of marble.

7.50pm BST

The early kick-offs have just finished. Chelsea have won at PAOK, while Rangers followed up a flat first half at Villarreal with a fine second 45, and came away with a deserved 2-2 draw.

7.26pm BST

This is the most exciting shot I could find of the Arsenal dressing room ahead of the match. Bernd Leno’s shirt, hanging on a shoogly peg.

7.05pm BST

The big news for Arsenal is the long-awaited debut of goalkeeper Bernd Leno. He’s one of eight changes to the team, replacing Petr Cech. Lucas Torreira makes his first start for the Gunners, shoring up the midfield alongside Mohamed Elneny, who appears for the first time this season. For the record, the three starters left standing from last weekend’s victory at Newcastle are Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Nacho Monreal and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

7.01pm BST

Arsenal: Leno, Lichtsteiner, Holding, Papastathopoulos, Monreal, Torreira, Mkhitaryan, Elneny, Iwobi, Aubameyang, Welbeck.
Subs: Martinez, Bellerin, Lacazette, Ozil, Guendouzi, Nketiah, Smith-Rowe.

Vorskla: Shust, Perduta, Dallku, Chesnakov, Artur, Kobakhidze, Kravchenko, Sharpar, Rebenok, Kulach, Kolomoets.
Subs: Tkachenko, Giorgadze, Sklyar, Sergiychuk, Mysyk, Nicolas Careca, Sakiv.

12.22pm BST

It’s been nearly a quarter of a century since Arsenal won a European trophy, Alan Smith, Parma, all that. There was some serious talent on display in Copenhagen that night of the 1994 Cup Winners Cup final: Smith, Paul Merson, Tony Adams, Lee Dixon, Nigel Winterburn, David Seaman, Thomas Brolin, Faustino Asprilla, Roberto Sensini, Gianfranco Zola. Ian Wright missed out through suspension. God I feel old. What point was I trying to make? Ah yes.

They’ve had some near scrapes with triumph since. The 2006 Champions League final against Barcelona, principally, and the 2000 final of this competition’s predecessor, the Uefa Cup, against Galatasaray. But poor old Arsene Wenger was destined never to win a cup on the continent. For a wee while earlier this year, the fairytale swansong was on. But Atletico Madrid had too much savvy in the semis, and that was that.

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Published on September 20, 2018 14:20

The Fiver | Rolling over and having your tummy tickled is a very Cityesque thing to do

It was a great night for the city of Manchester in Big Cup. United won 3-0 at Young Boys, Paul Pogba is delivering on a consistent basis at last, and this Diogo Dalot appears to play like the second coming of Carlos Alberto. Meanwhile City were going down 2-1 at home to Lyon. Now on the face of it, that isn’t a positive. But consider: City were favourites going into this competition, so immediately rolling over and having your tummy tickled at home is a very Cityesque thing to do. Remember those sepia-toned days, pre-Pep, when things would occasionally get Typically City? Winning the title and getting relegated, keeping the ball in the corner to avoid getting relegated and getting relegated, all that? Well, that. It’s one of the main tenets of the City identity and they’ve been in grave danger of losing touch with it. But a time-honoured tradition has been maintained. Something for their fans to celebrate, then. Double double good.

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Published on September 20, 2018 08:56

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