Scott Murray's Blog, page 149
September 2, 2017
Georgia 1-1 Republic of Ireland: World Cup 2018 qualifier – as it happened
Georgia were the better side in Tbilisi, but Ireland came away with a precious point
• Match report: Georgia 1-1 Republic of Ireland
7.25pm BST
Match report:
Related: Shane Duffy header helps Republic of Ireland to hard-fought draw in Georgia
6.54pm BST
And that’s that! Ireland didn’t play well, but they’ve earned a point. Group leaders Serbia beat Moldova 3-0 tonight, so that’s some ground lost. And Wales may close the gap behind later against Austria. But there’s nothing that can’t be fixed against Serbia at home on Tuesday. Meanwhile, over to Cardiff ...
6.51pm BST
90 min +3: Khocholava replaces Kazaishvili. Ireland launch it long. Walters wins a header, and the ball drops to McGeady, ten yards out! He’s got enough time and space to wait for the ball to drop and put his laces through it ... but leans back and larrups it over the bar. What a chance to steal all three points!
6.49pm BST
90 min +2: Free kick for Georgia, midway in Irish territory. Ananidze’s delivery is appalling, however, so no drama here.
6.47pm BST
90 min: There will be four added minutes.
6.47pm BST
88 min: Kashia slips the ball down the left wing for Merebashvili. The lively sub drops a shoulder to slip inside, then whistles a fine low shot inches wide of the bottom right. Not sure Randolph had that covered. Both teams could have won this at the last.
6.45pm BST
86 min: Merebashvili replaces Kvilitaia. And once the play restarts, Ireland nearly execute the smash and grab! Long races after a ball down the left. It looks as though it’s going out. Not quite. Or maybe perhaps. It’s very close. But either way, Georgia stop, Long doesn’t, and the referee waves play on! Long slips the ball inside for McClean, who bursts into the area down the inside-left channel! He tries to clip the ball over the outrushing Makaridze, but can’t quite get clean purchase on it. A pinball game results between Makaridze’s arm and Kverkvelia’s face, before the keeper eventually snaffles with Murphy lurking.
6.41pm BST
84 min: Makaridze takes his own sweet time over a goal kick. The first sense that the home side would be happy with a point against high-flying opponents.
6.39pm BST
82 min: McClean and Christie combine well down the right, earning another corner for Ireland. Before the set piece, Murphy and Gvilia are bollocked by the referee for some common-or-garden nonsense. Brady’s eventual delivery isn’t all that.
6.38pm BST
81 min: Kazaishvili one-twos with Kvilitaia down the inside-left channel. He nearly latches onto the ball in the area, but Randolph reads the danger and is off his line to blooter free.
6.37pm BST
79 min: McClean bustles down the right and earns a corner by fizzing a shot towards the near post from a tight angle, Makaridze forced to turn it wide. Before the set piece can be taken, Whelan is replaced by Murphy. And finally Walters gets his nut on the corner, but it’s easily claimed by the keeper.
6.35pm BST
77 min: Chanturia’s first act sees him very nearly skin Ward on the right. Then he’s looking to curl a shot into the top left from the right-hand corner of the Irish box, Kakabadze having retrieved a lost cause down the wing to the surprise of the men in green.
6.33pm BST
75 min: Another admin special! Jigauri is replaced by Chanturia. Then McClean is booked for lashing a shot at goal, the referee having already blown up for a free kick to Georgia.
6.31pm BST
73 min: McGeady goes on a power skitter down the inside-right channel. He’s got options either side, but decides to shoot from 25 yards. Nope! Then another wave of Irish attack, as Brady sends a rising heatseeker towards the top left from distance. Makaridze claims that one. Half-chances occurring at either end now, it’s difficult to know which way this will go. But at least Ireland are giving as good as they’re getting now, which hasn’t always been the case today.
6.29pm BST
71 min: Kazaishvili goes on a baroque ramble down the left, after Brady cheaply concedes possession in the centre of the park. He nearly can-opens Ireland on the edge of the area, twisting and turning, but eventually runs out of space and pokes further down the channel towards Ananidze, who is practically on the byline, miles offside.
6.26pm BST
69 min: A magnificent surge down the right by Christie, who starts from deep, shakes off a couple of knackered challenges, exchanges passes with McClean, and whips high into the Georgian area. Long rises to meet the ball, but can only flash his header, meant for the top left, well over the bar. But there are signs of Irish improvement.
6.24pm BST
67 min: Georgia have lost a little of their swagger, though. A few minutes ago, the hosts were stroking it around like Swansea City circa 2012. Now it’s a little less impressive: Barcelona 2017 maybe. Are they tiring? If nothing else, Ireland have been snapping at their heels a lot.
6.22pm BST
64 min: Space for Jigauri out on the right. On the corner of the box, he shapes to curl one into the top left. Poor decision, because it’s blocked, and he had Kvilitaia to his right on the overlap. His team-mate would have been clear into the box, albeit facing a shot from a tight angle.
6.20pm BST
62 min: Martin O’Neill makes his first change: McGeady on, Arter off. Soon after play restarts, Jigauri clips the ankles of McClean, who was looking to burst down the left. That’s a booking. What an admin-heavy 60 seconds.
6.18pm BST
60 min: Thing is, as poorly as Ireland have played, they could easily have had three goals now. A long throw from Christie on the right is only half cleared by Georgia. The ball drops to Arter, who has a lash at goal from distance. His looping, dipping, swerving effort goes straight down Makaridze’s throat, but that is much better from the visitors.
6.16pm BST
59 min: Arter hooks a ball down the left. McClean chases, and earns a corner off the nearest defender. Ireland’s second of the match. Brady takes, looking for Duffy, but the goalscorer can’t get his head to the ball this time. Sweet relief from Georgian pressure, though. And perhaps something to take a little confidence from.
6.15pm BST
57 min: Long is reduced to chasing back and upending Kvekveskiri, who was busy juggling the ball out on the right wing.
6.13pm BST
55 min: More triangles, this time leading to a corner down the right. From the set piece, Kvilitaia duels with McClean. The ball’s half cleared, but recycled to Ananidze out on the right. Ananidze has plenty of time and space, but witlessly balloons a cross over the Irish area and out of play on the left. The visitors are gifted time to regroup and breathe.
6.11pm BST
53 min: Georgia keep the ball for the best part of two minutes, pinging it hither and yon, here, there and everywhere. Well, nearly: the pretty triangles break down in the final third. Ireland are at least keeping their defensive shape. But otherwise, they’re getting a bit of a chasing right now, they can’t get a sniff. Martin O’Neill would surely grab a draw with both hands.
6.08pm BST
51 min: Navalovski strides with great intent down the left and scoops a wild cross out of play. But Ireland are once again second to pretty much everything. The early signs in this half suggest nothing much has changed.
6.07pm BST
49 min: Jigauri glides in from the right. Whelan tries to win the ball off him, but the tackle’s not up to much, and it goes straight through to Ananidze, 25 yards from goal. Ananidze very nearly threads a shot into the bottom corner, first time. Inches away, though Randolph may have had it covered were it on target. A decent effort.
6.05pm BST
47 min: A quiet start to the second half. Ireland go long a couple of times.
6.02pm BST
And we’re off again! Ireland get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes.
5.50pm BST
Half-time satire: “Do you think Glenn Whelan will come on in the second half?” wonders Liam S Murray. “Apparently he protects the defence and helps Ireland keep the ball, both of which we’ve been - predictably - rubbish at during the first half.”
5.49pm BST
As if affronted by Ireland nearly taking the lead again, Georgia lay siege to the visitors’ goal for the last 60 seconds of the half. A few twists and turns on the edge of the box, plus a couple of hopeful snapshots into the green thicket. But nothing constructive. Ireland make it to the break without suffering further scoreboard damage. The home side have been thoroughly dominant.
5.46pm BST
44 min: Ireland win their first corner of the game, the result of a long ball into the mixer, Walters pestering Kashia. And it nearly results in a goal, the set piece sent long from the right, Duffy rising and sending a header towards the top left. But Makaridze reacts well this time, parrying with a strong hand. Georgia clear their lines.
5.45pm BST
43 min: Some midfield scrappiness. Ireland will take that right now.
5.43pm BST
41 min: Corner for Georgia on the right, Kakabadze causing McClean all manner of bother. It’s cleared, but Ireland could really do with hearing the half-time whistle here. They’re all over the shop, seriously rocking, unable to string any number of passes together. Georgia are dominating this game.
5.41pm BST
40 min: Ireland can’t get a sniff of the ball at all. Kvekveskiri has a batter from the best part of 30 yards, looking for the bottom left with a fierce daisycutter. Randolph smothers, a fine save given the ball had taken a flick off Duffy on the way through.
5.40pm BST
38 min: The home crowd are into this now all right, empty seats or no. The place is jumping. And no wonder, for Georgia are still dominating possession. They deserve to be on terms.
5.39pm BST
36 min: Kvekveskiri is booked for a two-footed lunge on McClean. He’s fortunate to escape red there, as both sets of studs were showing and he was off the ground, albeit only momentarily in both respects. Nevertheless, a case for being dangerous and out of control.
5.37pm BST
This is a gorgeous team goal. Kashia, from a deep central position, slips the ball right to Jigauri. He first-times a diagonal pass back inside to Ananidze, who draws a couple of green shirts on the edge of the box, lovely feet, and slides Kazaishvili away down the inside left. Kazaishvili enters the area, draws Randolph, and slips it past the keeper to equalise. Very pretty.
5.34pm BST
33 min: Serbia are currently 2-0 up in Moldova, pretty much as expected. The top two in Group D going very nicely. Bad news for Wales.
5.33pm BST
31 min: This is good work by McClean, though. He makes up for that nonsense by winning a ball he had no right to win in a footrace down the left, and hooking the ball back to Long on the edge of the area, to the left of the D. Long looks to stroke a Le Tissieresque lazy volley into the top right. High and wide. It’d have been some goal, to be fair, and it wasn’t so far away. Lovely football, and top marks for ambition and style.
5.30pm BST
28 min: McClean, from a deep position down the left, misses his conversion attempt to the right of the posts. He has the good grace to hang his head after that pass, Ireland on the front foot for once with men in the box.
5.29pm BST
27 min: Ireland are struggling to keep hold of the ball. They can’t keep on like this.
5.27pm BST
25 min: And now Navalovski digs one out from wide on the left. The Irish back line is all turned around, and had Kvilitaia timed his run into the box properly, it would surely be 1-1. But the vicious cross doesn’t meet a white shirt, and lines are eventually cleared.
5.25pm BST
23 min: Kakabadze is a danger. He makes good down the right again, and his high cross-cum-shot requires a strong parry away from goal by Randolph.
5.24pm BST
22 min: Another free kick for Ireland, just inside the Georgian half. Brady and Duffy try to replicate the antics of the fourth minute, the set piece swung in from deep on the right. But while the keeper is once again wheeling around like a teenager full of Special Brew, Duffy can’t get his head on the ball, and the flag goes up for offside anyway.
5.22pm BST
20 min: Kakabadze glides down the right and whips a fine cross infield. Jigauri, to the right of the D, stoops and pokes a header diagonally left. The ball only just evades Kvilitaia in the middle. Ireland stream straight up the other end, Walters hoicking a cross in from the right, McClean guiding a downward header wide left from eight yards. So close to a goal at either end.
5.20pm BST
19 min: Georgia have enjoyed 78% possession so far. But of course the most meaningful statistic, etc., and so on.
5.18pm BST
17 min: Ward clatters into Jigauri in the midfield. He’s maybe a little fortunate to escape a booking; he’s one yellow card away from missing the clash with Serbia.
5.16pm BST
15 min: Kvilitaia rises on the edge of the Ireland area to meet a deep left-field cross. He meets it with his eyebrows but can’t get enough purchase on it. Then another wave of attack, as Kvekveskiri has a dig from distance. Duffy is forced to slide to intercept and hook the ball out for a corner. The set piece doesn’t lead to anything, but this is better from Georgia.
5.14pm BST
13 min: Arter robs the ball from Jigauri in the midfield and sets Long away on a romp upfield. It could be a good break, this, but the ref blows up for one of those home-crowd-pleasing decisions. A little generous.
5.13pm BST
11 min: Ireland haven’t seen much of the ball since the goal. Or, more accurately, haven’t managed to string too many passes together. Georgia have enjoyed the lion’s share. But whenever the visitors do attack, the hosts panic. Long is bundled over down the right wing by Navalovski, and here’s another free kick in a dangerous position. Brady takes it, curling a high one to the far post. Makaridze comes to claim, and once again makes a royal balls of the job. Fortunately for the hapless keeper, the ball flies out to the left of the goal, but that wasn’t convincing at all.
5.10pm BST
9 min: The lively Ananidze has a look down the right this time, but his cross is chested down calmly by Clark and gathered by Randolph, assured defensive work registering a big fat zero on the Makaridze-o-meter.
5.09pm BST
7 min: That’s got the stadium bouncing. A lot of empty seats, so it’s vital the away fans bring something to the table. And so, after that early goal, here they are. All a bit scrappy on the field meanwhile.
5.07pm BST
5 min: Makaridze is claiming he was clanked upside the head as he failed to reach that hoick into the box. But the referee isn’t having a bar of it. On the touchline, the Georgia coach Vladimir Weiss is purple with anger.
5.06pm BST
Walters is clattered in the midfield, to the right of the centre circle. Christie launches the free kick long into the box. The keeper Makaridze comes out to claim. But he doesn’t reach the ball, and Duffy, 12 yards out and level with the left-hand post, rises to loop a header over the flapping custodian and into the empty net! Now that’s a fast start!
5.04pm BST
3 min: Ireland get their first feel of the ball and take a while to grab their breath. A fast start there from Georgia. Nearly a very fast start. But speaking of which...
5.03pm BST
And we’re off! Georgia get the ball rolling, and knock it around the back awhile. For the best part of a minute, in fact. Then Ananidze finds a bit of space down the left and swings deep. Jigauri is coming in from the other side. The cross is too high, but Ireland will be thankful for that, because they were very light at the back there. Goal kick, and the only way is up for the Irish!
4.56pm BST
The teams are out! Georgia in white shirts and red shorts, Ireland in all green. Anthems being belted out. We’ll be off before you know it!
4.41pm BST
Martin O’Neill speaks! “Both teams have accepted the need for a water break. [It’s a balmy evening in Tbilisi with the thermometer pushing 30.] You never know, you might have gathered momentum, or you might need the respite, so it depends how it’s going at the time. I’m not worried about starting Jon Walters. He’s flying. He’s had a blow to the leg, but he’s recovered and is ready to go. Georgia has some exceptionally good talent, so we’re going to forget about their results. They should have more points on the board, they can play. We have to be on the front foot.”
4.13pm BST
Georgia have yet to win in Group D, though they did manage to eke out a draw in Wales last October. Their manager Vladimir Weiss has given his line-up a good old shoogle, retaining just four of the XI who started their 2-2 draw in Moldova last time round, though injuries and suspension are contributory factors alongside a general lack of patience.
The visitors meanwhile hand Jonathan Walters his 50th cap, after the veteran striker, who salvaged a 1-1 draw in the last round of fixtures against Austria, won his battle for fitness. There are only two changes to the starting XI for that aforementioned fixture: Ciaran Clark and Shane Long replace Kevin Long and Jeff Hendrick.
4.05pm BST
Georgia: Makaridze, Kashia, Kverkvelia, Ananidze, Kazaishvilli, Kvekveskiri, Kvilitaia, Gvilia, Jigauri, Kakabadze, NAvalovski.
Subs: Revishvili, Kvaskhvadze, Lobzhanidze, Khocholava, Daushvili, Dvalishvili, Chanturia, Sikharulidze, Shergelashvili, Merebashvili, Arabidze, Aburjania.
Republic of Ireland: Randolph, Christie, Clark, Duffy, Ward, Whelan, Arter, Brady, McClean, Walters, S Long.
Subs: Westwood, Elliot, O’Shea, Keogh, McGeady, Murphy, O’Dowda, K Long, Hoolahan, Hourihane, Meyler, Hayes.
3.10pm BST
Good afternoon, and welcome to the first half of our quick-fire Uefa Group D 2018 World Cup qualifier MBM double header ... in which Ireland have Georgia, and keeping on Serbia’s tail at the top of the table, on their mind.
Kick off is at 8pm in the Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena in Tbilisi, a time that translates as 5pm back home in Dublin. Stay tuned! Go nowhere! It’s on!
August 25, 2017
Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend
Harry Kane to leave Burnley cursing at Wembley, Laurent Koscielny back to halt the Liverpool onslaught and Saido Berahino laughing last at West Brom
If ever you’ve wanted to gain an insight into the fabled West Ham Way – Sam Allardyce and Sir Alex Ferguson have both loudly wondered if such a thing even exists – St Mary’s was the place to be last weekend. A farcical afternoon began with Winston Reid, Slaven Bilic’s best centre-back, pulling up with a muscle injury in the warm-up a day after signing a new six-year contract (two years after the 29-year-old signed a six-and-a-half-year deal). The laughs kept coming when West Ham took 11 minutes to fall behind to Southampton, who had not scored a home goal since 5 April, before they lost Marko Arnautovic to a red card when the club’s new record signing decided to elbow Jack Stephens. Then José Fonte, a 33-year-old centre-back signed for £8m from Southampton in January, conceded his fifth penalty since the start of last season. West Ham fought back to 2-2 thanks to Javier Hernández’s poaching instincts, only for wily 32-year-old Pablo Zabaleta to concede a last-minute penalty with a nudge on the lethal Maya Yoshida. Charlie Austin stepped up to convert the spot-kick. Mark Noble had told Austin that Joe Hart knew where he was going to put it, so he changed sides and sent the goalkeeper in the wrong direction. In other news Newcastle United have have lost their opening two games without scoring a goal, Rafael Benítez feels that Mike Ashley has not backed him enough this summer, the Spaniard has been linked with West Ham this week and St James’s Park regulars doubt that Dwight Gayle, Ayoze Pérez, Joselu and Aleksandar Mitrovic will be potent enough in a relegation battle. Guess who’s coming to town on Saturday afternoon, though … Jacob Steinberg
Related: Arsène Wenger ready to listen to offers for Jack Wilshere
Related: Liverpool cruise, Wilshere bruise and tunnel views – Football Weekly Extra
Related: West Ham confident of signing William Carvalho from Sporting Lisbon
Continue reading...August 23, 2017
Liverpool 4-2 Hoffenheim (agg 6-3): Champions League play-off second leg – as it happened
Liverpool made it through to the group stage of the Champions League with a sparkling attacking display.
10.02pm BST
Related: Liverpool return to big time after early flurry sinks Hoffenheim
9.35pm BST
Nope! That’s your lot! Liverpool join Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Manchester United and Celtic in the group stage of the Champions League! Klopp flashes a wide smile. They were the better side over both legs, but were pushed hard by an excellent Hoffenheim, who kept this tie alive longer than the scoreline suggests. “We’re delighted to get through to the Champions League, where we know Liverpool belong,” says their captain Jordan Henderson, who also has the good grace to laugh as he admits the defence might still be something of a work in progress. Anfield celebrates, and looks forward to an exciting, if sometimes nerve-wracking, autumn of fixtures on the continent.
9.34pm BST
90 min +2: Zuber wins a corner off Gomez out on the left. Time for a late consolation?
9.32pm BST
90 min +1: There will be three added minutes. Wijnaldum nearly works some shooting space just inside the Hoffenheim area, but he’s crowded out.
9.32pm BST
90 min: Hubner bundles Salah over by the right touchline. It’s a common or garden foul, but Hubner is unhappy enough with the decision to talk himself into the book.
9.31pm BST
89 min: Liverpool just happy to sit back and hold their shape. Hoffenheim finally out of puff.
9.29pm BST
87 min: Mane wanders down the left. He slips the ball inside for Wijnaldum, who keeps it going towards Firmino on the right. The Hoffenheim old boy steps inside the area and lashes hard into the side netting. And that’s the last act by Mane, who is replaced by Klavan.
9.27pm BST
86 min: Space for Firmino down the right. He’s got Salah in the centre, desperate to score, but the cross is too near Baumann.
9.26pm BST
84 min: Kramaric curls another cross into the Liverpool box from the left. Wanger leaps, and is beaten this time by Lovren, although not particularly convincingly. Anfield is nervous. Liverpool have been the better side tonight, but they’re contriving to make a meal of this.
9.25pm BST
83 min: Wijnaldum buys a cheap free kick in the midfield, allowing the clock to run down, an ersatz Didi Hamann tribute act. “I concede the argument on Yakety Sax (67 min),” writes music scholar Sam Metta Bexar. “But I might add it perhaps works even better if the song is played on a kazoo: they’re just that nutty sometimes!”
9.22pm BST
81 min: Henderson shanks a simple clearance straight into the air. A few nerves betrayed there. Anfield is feeling it again.
9.21pm BST
Have we spoken too soon? Well, Hoffenheim just need three goals now, because Kramaric swings a gorgeous cross in from the left. Wagner rises on the penalty spot, and plants an unstoppable header into the left-hand portion of the net!
9.20pm BST
78 min: Uth, with his back to goal on the edge of the Liverpool D, slips a ball to the left for the excellent Demirbay, who shoots low for the bottom right. Mignolet does well to get down and parry.
9.19pm BST
76 min: A couple of determined runs by Toljan down the right. Neither come to anything. The away support show their appreciation anyway. They’re making the majority of the noise right now, determined to enjoy the rest of their second-ever European tie.
9.16pm BST
74 min: All a bit scrappy in the midfield now. Hoffenheim keep on pressing, admirably so given the jig is pretty much up.
9.14pm BST
72 min: A calmness descends on Anfield for perhaps the first time this evening. Liverpool stroke it around in the centre circle, letting the clock do its thing.
9.11pm BST
70 min: The two-goal hero Can is replaced by Milner.
9.11pm BST
69 min: Demirbay and Kramaric spin and combine down the inside-right, the former nearly releasing the latter. But Lovren sticks out a peg to hook away.
9.09pm BST
67 min: Can dribbles at slow speed down the right. He eventually slams a cross along the corridor of uncertainty, with many a red shirt in the Hoffenheim area. Baumann does very well to claim under extreme pressure. “I’m obviously a little more low-brow than Sam Metta Bexar (54 mins),” admits Phil Sawyer. “When it comes to supporting Liverpool, I find that for something that sums up the will they/won’t they score more goals by attacking furiously/concede more by defending hilariously, Yakety Sax does the trick nicely.”
9.07pm BST
65 min: Firmino rather marvellously celebrated that goal by loosening the cord on his shorts and dancing so his breeks slowly fell down in the comic fashion. Toljan comes on for Kaderabek, while Alexander-Arnold limps off lightly, Gomez coming on in his stead.
9.06pm BST
Demirbay, near the centre circle, passes back to Vogt. It’s a hospital pass. Henderson challenges, blocks, and tears clear. He selflessly lays off to his right, Firmino slotting into the bottom right from the edge of the area. Relief around Anfield. This is surely over now.
9.04pm BST
62 min: Hoffenheim decide to lump it high into the Liverpool box, with Szalai lurking. Matip and Mignolet get in each other’s way, and the keeper needs not one but three attempts to claim the dropping ball. He eventually completes his task.
9.03pm BST
60 min: Alexander-Arnold channels his inner Garrincha and dribbles from the right touchline into the Hoffenheim box, past a couple of challenges. He’s eventually stopped in his tracks, though Wijnaldum wins the ball back and returns it to the young full back. Alexander-Arnold bursts again, then slips the ball inside to Wijnaldum, who hits a rising shot that’s well parried by Baumann.
9.00pm BST
58 min: That was Gnarby’s last act of the evening. He’s replaced by Szalai. Mane again bursts with purpose down the left and earns a corner kick. The resulting set piece is a nonsense.
8.59pm BST
56 min: Gnabry slips the ball wide right for Kramaric, who strides into the box and hits a shot-cum-cross that bobbles across the face of goal and harmlessly out of play to the left. That was neither one thing nor another, but Liverpool were again unpicked with relative ease.
8.57pm BST
54 min: Wijnaldum and Salah flick dainty passes at each other down the inside-right. The one-two has released the former into the box. He’s just got to lift the ball over the outrushing Baumann ... but hooks it high. And with perfect timing, here comes Sam Metta Bexar: “I’m reading the MBM while listening to Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring for Modernism class, and suddenly it struck me that the weird, atonal, sometimes ugly, and occasionally powerful music is like theme music for Liverpool, who are sometimes frighteningly weird, occasionally powerful, and sometimes awful, but you can’t stop watching!”
8.54pm BST
52 min: Mane turns on the jets to earn a corner down the left. Matip meets the set piece with a header. Matip sends the header harmlessly wide, as he does so often. He’s brilliant at getting on the end of corners, Matip. Just not so good at guiding them home. His scoring rate should be higher, really, the chances he sniffs out.
8.52pm BST
51 min: Firmino turns on a sixpence in the centre circle and runs at his old club with extreme prejudice. He’s crudely checked by the shoulder of Vogt, who has taken a booking for the team there.
8.51pm BST
50 min: Hoffenheim do like a high line, don’t they. Firmino flicks a ball down the inside-right channel, releasing Salah from just inside the halfway line. The Liverpool winger is correctly flagged offside, albeit not by much.
8.50pm BST
48 min: And we nearly get one, though it’s Liverpool who threaten to score it, breaking upfield from the corner five on three. They’re uncharacteristically ponderous, though, and the move peters out. Alexander-Arnold tries to get it going again by fizzing a cross into the box from the right, but nobody takes a chance on a decent delivery and Baumann will take a goal kick.
8.49pm BST
47 min: Wagner earns a corner for Hoffenheim down the left. Another goal now would set us up for quite the second half.
8.48pm BST
46 min: Salah glides in from the right, then switches to Mane on the left. Firmino and Wijnaldum race up to get involved, but it’s too intricate in the Hoffenheim box, and the chance of an early second-half goal - which burned brightly for a nanosecond with the ball at Firmino’s feet - is gone.
8.46pm BST
OK, here we go again! Liverpool get the ball rolling for the second half, kicking towards the Kop. There have been no changes. “Two goals in two games ... Liverpool can’t handle the Uth.” Jim Morrish there, ladies and gentlemen, making a late bid for the 2017 Edinburgh comedy awards.
8.34pm BST
Half-time reading: Catch up with the latest from the League Cup.
Related: Cheltenham v West Ham: Carabao Cup second round – live!
8.32pm BST
Liverpool could have had five. Then again, so could Hoffenheim. What a marvellously entertaining half of football. It should be over. But you know how Liverpool roll. It’s not quite over yet. The second half should be a blast.
8.31pm BST
45 min +1: Henderson miscontrols in the midfield, and stands on Demirbay’s boot as he desperately attempts to retrieve the ball. A booking. He can have no complaints about that one.
8.30pm BST
45 min: The corner’s cleared by Moreno, who puts in a no-nonsense block on Gnabry. Liverpool fly up the other end, Can very nearly springing Mane free down the middle. But Mane’s gone too soon, and the flag goes up.
8.29pm BST
44 min: This has been a wonderfully open half of football. Kramaric strides down the centre of the park and slips the ball wide right for Uth, who lashes low towards the bottom right. Mignolet is forced to tip round the post. It was going wide, but at such a speed he couldn’t take the chance.
8.28pm BST
42 min: Now it’s Liverpool’s turn to miss by a whisker. Matip, striding up from the back, causes some bother down the right. He drifts infield and lays off to Mane, who in turn shuttles the ball wide left for Can. Can’s got a hat-trick in mind, and sends a first-time curler towards the bottom right. Baumann’s nowhere to be seen, but the ball bobbles wide of the post.
8.26pm BST
41 min: Gnabry cuts in from the left and, from the corner of the area, unleashes a curler towards the bottom right. That’s in if it’s on target, Mignolet never getting there, but it sails just wide right of the post.
8.25pm BST
40 min: Gnarby is very lively. He skedaddles down the left, reaches the byline, and is only stopped from sending in a very dangerous low cross by some excellent tracking from Matip. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
8.24pm BST
38 min: Kaderabek is booked for standing on the back of Mane’s calf. That’s a red card, a very dangerous challenge, but he’s got away with that one. Mane is OK, and soon enough is up and about orchestrating some crowd song, having been given the bird by the away support.
8.23pm BST
36 min: From the set piece, the ball’s worked back to Henderson. From deep, the Liverpool captain sprays wide right to Salah, who sidefoots first time to Alexander-Arnold. The ball’s fired inside for Firmino, who should slam home from six yards, but sees his shot parried by Baumann. Liverpool come again with another phase, but Mane’s low curler from the left is easily gathered by the keeper.
8.21pm BST
35 min: More space for Mane down the left. He hooks inside. Can thinks about volleying goalwards, with a hat-trick in mind, but opts instead for feeding Alexander-Arnold on the overlap. The young full back earns a corner.
8.19pm BST
33 min: Some very ponderous play by Wijnaldum in the midfield allows Geiger to tear up the other end. He feeds Uth, who loses control with options ahead. Matip is able to whack clear. Liverpool have totally lost their rhythm.
8.17pm BST
31 min: Gnabry tears clear down the left, reaching the byline and firing a low cross into the box which Lovren can only half clear. The offside flag goes up. Another goal for the Germans would make this quite interesting.
8.16pm BST
30 min: Klopp stands on the touchline, screaming at his players quite a lot. They’ve inexplicably switched off as a whole, and allowed the visitors a glimmer of hope.
8.15pm BST
Once again Liverpool fail to clear their lines. Lovren with a lax prod upfield. The ball’s slipped out to Uth on the right-hand corner of the box. He takes a touch inside, then threads a wonderful ball across Mignolet and into the bottom-left corner! That one had been coming. This tie should be over, but it’s not. Not quite. Not yet. Crystanbul really did jigger the collective central nervous system round Anfield way.
8.13pm BST
27 min: Wagner makes a nuisance of himself in the Liverpool box, nobody in a red shirt bothering to clear the ball. For a second, it looks as though it’ll fall to him, and he’ll slam home from six yards. But eventually Mignolet takes charge. There are palpable nerves around Anfield, despite it all.
8.11pm BST
25 min: Thing is, Hoffenheim could easily have scored a couple themselves. Kramaric, in the middle of Liverpool’s half, slips a gorgeous pass down the inside-left channel for Gnabry, who is clear on goal! He draws Mignolet, but then snatches at his shot, the ball rolling harmlessly across the face of goal and out on the right. He had to score.
8.09pm BST
24 min: Hoffenheim may as well go for broke, and they throw on their goalscorer from the first leg, Uth, in place of the defender Nordtveit.
8.08pm BST
23 min: Mane goes on yet another run down the inside-left. He’s bundled over on the left-hand edge of the D, and should really be getting a free kick. But the referee takes pity on the visitors, whose heads are addled.
8.07pm BST
Liverpool are rampant. Mane races down the left. He draws his man by drifting inside, then backheels wide for Firmino, who is in acres. Firmino chips long to Can, free at the far post. Can jumps and bangs a sidefoot into the net! Party time at Anfield.
8.06pm BST
20 min: Wagner and Gnabry exchange crisp passes down the middle. The latter breaks into the box, and goes down under pressure from Alexander-Arnold’s outstretched arm. The referee isn’t having a bar of it, though again, you’ve seen them given.
8.04pm BST
Moreno slides a pass wide to Firmino wide left. The Brazilian dribbles into the area, makes for the byline, then pulls back for Wijnaldum who opens his body and sidefoots for the bottom right. His shot comes back off the base of the post. Salah is there to slam a sidefoot of his own into the bottom right, Baumann with no chance!
8.01pm BST
16 min: Moreno has been effervescent in attack so far. He troubles Hoffenheim again down the left, earning another free kick, off Kaderabek. He takes it himself, looping long for Matip at the far post. The big defender can’t connect properly with his header.
8.00pm BST
14 min: Liverpool stroke it around the back in the 1970s style. A roar: the home crowd are enjoying the spectacle. A long way to go, though, and plenty of time for tides to turn.
7.58pm BST
12 min: Liverpool continue to press hard. They’re first to everything, and Hoffenheim look a bit shell-shocked. The visitors should take succour in the move they put together just before the goal. They certainly need to settle.
7.56pm BST
Firmino sends Mane free down the inside-left channel again. He’s stopped on the edge of the area by Nordtveit. He checks, drifts infield, then backheels to Can overlapping on the outside. Can enters the box, opens his body and aims for the top right. But his shot deflects off the sliding Vogt, and into the top left! That opener had been coming. Anfield erupts!
7.54pm BST
9 min: Liverpool bounce back from that breath-bothering Hoffenheim attack by launching a couple of their own. First Moreno crosses from the right, Salah slamming a shot from the edge of the box straight into a white shirt. Then Alexander-Arnold is bundled over out on the right. His free kick, swung into the box, finds the busy Salah, but the new Liverpool winger can’t get the ball out from under his feet to shoot.
7.53pm BST
7 min: Hoffenheim carve Liverpool apart! Demirbay, quarterbacking 35 yards from goal, slips wide right to Kaderabek, who fires low into the area. Gnarby must score, but shanks it wide right. Turns out he was offside anyway, but Liverpool were pulled all over the shop there.
7.51pm BST
5 min: It’s a fast start by Liverpool, and Mane has another look down the left, winning a corner. From the set piece, Demirbay kind of shoulders the ball away at the near post. The referee thinks about awarding a penalty, and you’ve seen them given, but decides against it. Then there’s a brief kerfuffle in front of the Hoffenheim goal, and Mane tries to scissor kick one into the net from six yards. But he can’t connect.
7.49pm BST
4 min: And another chance for Liverpool, as Mane is sprung free down the inside-left channel by Firmino! He should tuck that away, but his flick towards the bottom right from the left of the D is kicked away by a spread-eagled Baumann. Great save, but that goes down as a big miss.
7.48pm BST
3 min: Alexander-Arnold attempts to flick over the wall and into the top left. His effort pings off the wall and flies away to the right, dropping to Salah on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box. It’s a chance, but he clanks it wildly over the bar. Not much time to think about that, but still.
7.47pm BST
2 min: Liverpool get a feel of the ball for the first time this evening. Moreno has a tear down the left but has to check back. Then he has another go down the inside-left channel, and is bundled over to the left of the D by a clumsy Kaderabek. Free kick, and time for Alexander-Arnold to do his thing!
7.46pm BST
Hands are shaken, coins tossed, pennants exchanged ... and we’re off! The visitors get the ball rolling, and they’ll be kicking towards the Kop in the first half. So Liverpool will face that way in the second, just how they like it. Wagner pressurises Matip down the Hoffenheim left, but the Liverpool centre back is up to the first test.
7.42pm BST
The teams are out! Liverpool are wearing their famous all-red garb, while Hoffenheim take to the pitch in second-choice white as opposed to first-choice blue. It’s Anfield’s first European night since the Reds faced Villarreal in the Europa League semis last May, so the atmosphere in a packed stadium is pretty much as you’d expect it to be. The away fans contributing plenty too. Time for a swaying rendition of a Rogers and Hammerstein showtune, then some Uefa-sanctioned Handel-influenced nonsense, and soon enough we’ll be off! “With a Polanski on the bench and a Wagner on the pitch, Hoffenheim definitely hold the edge over Liverpool’s Can in the artistic names category,” observes Peter Oh. Charles Antaki is also furiously riffing on the teamsheets: “Will Geiger also check if the ref’s radio is active?”
7.30pm BST
Klopp speaks! And explains his selection at left back! “We have to be the same in both games. I thought the first game was good enough, but we need improvement, concentrate more, be more organised, more clinical. We have to fight together for our dream. Andy Robertson had a fantastic game on Saturday but he did not have a long pre-season and felt it after. Alberto Moreno had a good pre-season and played defensively really well at Hoffenheim. Both options are available!”
6.55pm BST
If It Ain’t Broke dept. Liverpool name exactly the same starting XI that impressed in Germany last Tuesday. Perhaps the only surprise is the inclusion of Alberto Moreno at the expense of Andy Robertson, who excelled on debut against Crystal Palace at the weekend. Then again, Moreno’s had a pretty good pre-season, so fair’s fair.
Hoffenheim make a couple of swaps. Håvard Nordtveit replaces Ermin Bičakčić at the back, while Dennis Geiger is counted in ahead of Lukas Rupp in the midfield.
6.52pm BST
Liverpool: Mignolet, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Lovren, Moreno, Can, Henderson, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mané.
Subs: Karius, Milner, Gomez, Sturridge, Klavan, Robertson, Solanke.
Hoffenheim: Baumann, Kadeřábek, Nordtvelt, Vogt, Hübner, Zuber, Geiger, Demirbay, Kramarić, Wagner, Gnabry.
Subs: Kobel, Bičakčić, Rupp, Polanski, Toljan, Uth, Szalai.
5.33pm BST
On balance, Liverpool enjoy playing German opposition in Europe. Sure, there have been some tough times: Reinhard Libuda’s freak lob that won the 1966 Cup Winners Cup for Borussia Dortmund; Bayern Munich legend Gerd Müller ejecting the Reds from the same competition in 1971; Gérard Houllier’s tactical meltdown during the 2002 Champions League quarters in Leverkusen. Hamann for Šmicer?! Oh Ged!
But yeah, on balance, Liverpool enjoy playing German opposition in Europe. Take your pick from the highlights: the repeated bossing of Borussia Mönchengladbach during the Seventies; the European Cup semi-final masterclass at Bayern in 1981; no less than four German sides packed off en route to the 1973 Uefa Cup; a 6-0 Super Cup rout of Kevin Keegan’s Hamburg in 1977; another Super Cup win over Bayern Munich in 2001; the cold dispatch of Leverkusen on their way to the 2005 Champions League; that heady 4-3 Europa League victory over Dortmund last April. They’ve even won a tie against a German club on a coin toss, for goodness sake, against Cologne in the 1965 European Cup quarters.
Continue reading...August 22, 2017
Astana 4-3 Celtic (agg 4-8): Champions League play-off second leg – as it happened
The Scottish champions briefly threatened to let Astana back into the tie, but eventually secured qualification for the Champions League group stage
7.09pm BST
Related: Celtic reach Champions League group stage despite Astana defeat
6.24pm BST
Celtic qualify for the group stage of the Champions League! And what a match this was, both teams taking their attacking A-games and defensive Z-games to the party. Marvellous entertainment! What an advertisement for European football! Just think how good the Champions League group stage would be if they let all the champions into it!
6.21pm BST
90 min +3: Grahovac is booked for persistent tugging of Ajer’s shirt.
6.20pm BST
90 min +1: The first of five added minutes, and the excellent Muzhikov nearly threads a shot into the bottom-right corner from a tight angle on the right. Gordon needs to close that gap at his near post.
6.19pm BST
Griffiths has been quiet tonight, but he’s never stopped running. And now he gets his reward. He takes a stride down the inside-right channel, and upon reaching the right-hand edge of the Astana D, smashes a vicious daisycutter across Eric and into the bottom left!
6.18pm BST
89 min: Another fine Muzhikov cross from the right. Twumasi, diving low six yards from goal, can’t connect. Anything on that, and it was in the net.
6.17pm BST
87 min: Muzhikov nutmegs Tierney out on the right, and floats a cross to the far post. Kabananga isn’t too far away from it, but Bitton nuts out for a corner, and the set piece is easily claimed by Gordon. The hosts have been sparkling in attack in this second half. On another evening ... well, it doesn’t bear thinking about for Celtic.
6.15pm BST
86 min: Ntcham has a pointless nibble at Shitov’s heel. He’s fortunate to escape a booking.
6.13pm BST
84 min: The Astana sub Beysebekov is hooked for Tagybergen.
6.12pm BST
83 min: Brendan Rodgers sides are nothing if not entertaining.
6.11pm BST
82 min: Phew. Eh? Anyway, that’s calmed Celtic down. Shomko’s disappointment gets the better of him, though, as he slides in late on Ralston. A booking, and he’s also got Brown up in his grille, wagging the don’t-try-that-again finger.
6.10pm BST
Space for Ntcham out on the left. He opens his body and sidefoots goalwards. The ball clanks off Shitov, closing him down, and flies into the top left. Worried, Celtic? Nah. The entire bench does spring up and jig around in the excited style, mind you.
6.07pm BST
79 min: This second half was supposed to be a walk in the park!
6.07pm BST
78 min: Beysebekov had clattered into Tierney while setting up his mate there. Both players look extremely groggy, having taken good old-fashioned smacks in the coupon. Tierney won’t necessarily appreciate this, but the break is good news for Celtic, who have a couple of minutes to regroup and calm themselves down.
6.06pm BST
76 min: Astana should have a fifth. Shomko crosses deep from the left. Beysebekov rises at the far post and nods down for Twumasi, alone on the penalty spot! But Astana’s star man hoicks recklessly over the bar.
6.04pm BST
75 min: On the touchline, Brendan Rodgers swallows hard. He’s trying to exude serenity, he doesn’t want to transmit panic to his team. But there are micro-tells. Gulp. Hard gulp.
6.03pm BST
73 min: Twumasi is on another level right now! He slaloms down the inside-left channel, past four challenges, and hammers goalwards. Gordon parries out for a corner, a wonderful save. And then from the set piece, Muzhikov lashes a shot from a tight angle on the left. Gordon parries again. The ball breaks to Maevski, who should probably score from the penalty spot but snatches at the effort. Celtic are all over the shop here.
6.00pm BST
71 min: Postnikov is booked for a late slide on Rogic. From the resulting free kick, Griffiths looks for the top right. Eric palms round for a corner, which is cleared. A brave response by Celtic, who must be wondering what on earth is going on here.
5.59pm BST
Oh me, oh my. Tierney scampers down the left and scoops long for Griffiths, who chests down on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box but blasts over. He had to score. And then the hosts go straight upfield, and within 20 seconds have another goal! Twumasi, tight on the right touchline, slips past Bitton, storms into the box unchallenged, and slams the ball past Gordon at his near post from a tight angle!
5.57pm BST
67 min: Celtic sweep upfield majestically, Ntcham instigating the move with a delightful turn deep inside his own half. He sends the ball upfield for Armstrong, who clips left for Griffiths. The cross inside only just evades Armstrong, who has kept on keeping on. That would have been a picture-book goal.
5.54pm BST
66 min: Griffiths takes a speculative whack from 25 yards. Eric snaffles with ease.
5.53pm BST
65 min: Armstrong comes on for Sinclair, who has put in a shift all right. How precious is his first-half goal now?
5.52pm BST
64 min: Shomko tries to create havoc in the Celtic box with a long throw from the left. Rogic rises to head clear. No bother.
5.51pm BST
62 min: Celtic are struggling to get a sniff of the ball. “Am not panicking yet but am starting to consider it,” admits Gordon Pittendrigh. It’s the default setting of every football fan.
5.49pm BST
60 min: Thing is, it won’t take much to put a stop to Astana’s gallop, such as it is. Griffiths very nearly latches onto a loose square pass in the Astana defence, one sliding Anicic tackle away from breaking clean through.
5.48pm BST
58 min: A long ball down the left releases Twumasi, who peels off Lustig’s shoulder. He’s onside, but the flag goes up. Relief for Celtic, because another goal for Astana in the next few minutes doesn’t bear thinking about.
5.46pm BST
57 min: ... while Forrest is replaced by Ralston.
5.45pm BST
56 min: McGregor is replaced by Rogic ...
5.45pm BST
54 min: And now Beysebekov races down the right, curls in low, and Kabananga hoicks over the crossbar from six yards! How did he miss?! The flag goes up for offside, but Celtic are living very dangerously here. Time to breathe in through the nose, and out through the mouth: keep calm, the hosts still need four.
5.43pm BST
53 min: Shomko curls into the Celtic box from deep on the left. Twumasi cushions the ball to Muzhikov, just to his left. Muzhikov can’t quite get enough purchase on the ball from 12 yards, but that was a chance. Gordon gathers.
5.40pm BST
51 min: One minute and 47 seconds between those two goals. Brendan Rodgers probably needs to hone his half-time patter.
5.39pm BST
Celtic haven’t come out for the second half yet, and my, how they’re paying for it! Shomko makes good down the left, and chips carefully into the box. Twumasi, on the penalty spot, guides a simple header into the bottom left. Gordon had no chance for that one, either! Celtic are dozing, and how they’ve been punished. Astana still need four goals, but what on earth has happened here?!?!
5.37pm BST
A loose ball from Brown, 30 yards from his own goal. Twumasi loops a cross in from the right. Brown, attempting to retrieve the situation, can only eyebrow the cross towards Muzhikov on the penalty spot. Muzhikov takes a touch and skelps a shot into the top right, Gordon had no chance!
5.35pm BST
46 min: Forrest zips down the right wing, cuts inside and looks to Sinclair a shot across Eric and into the far corner. Nope. Not quite. But not a dreadful effort either, just over the bar.
5.34pm BST
And we’re off again! Astanam make their second change of the evening: Tomasov is replaced by Beysebekov.
5.20pm BST
Half-time entertainment:
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5.18pm BST
There’s just enough time for Muzhikov to have another long-distance rake. This one’s from just 35 yards, and to be fair nearly sneaks into the bottom left. But it shaves the outside of the post, and Gordon probably had it covered anyway. And that’s that! This is over, but there’s still 45 minutes to play. See you for those? Aw go on.
5.16pm BST
45 min: Twumasi has a shot from 40 yards! That’s probably worth it on the slippy artificial surface. Just about. But Gordon has it covered, flopping on the ball as it bumbles towards the bottom left.
5.15pm BST
44 min: Everyone just wandering about right now. Sinclair’s magnificent goal really did take the wind out of Astana’s sails.
5.13pm BST
43 min: Space for Tomasov down the left. He whips hard and high from the corner flag, Gordon snaffling well at his near post under pressure from a couple of yellow shirts.
5.13pm BST
42 min: Kabananga skedaddles down the left, refuses to give up in a one-on-one battle with Lustig, and earns a corner. The set piece forces Gordon into a spectacular full-length over-the-bar save from Shitov, flicking on at the near post again. The second corner comes to nothing.
5.09pm BST
40 min: Muzhikov embarks on a power ramble down the left. He keeps going, and keeps going, but nobody offers him a passing option and eventually he runs out of space. Lustig mops up.
5.08pm BST
38 min: Tierney makes off down the left and whistles a cross towards the near post. Forrest reads the intention, but can’t guide the ball on target. His instinctive effort flashes wide.
5.07pm BST
36 min: Kabananga bustles hard down the inside-left channel, and very nearly breaks clear into the Celtic box after squeezing out a one-two with Shomko. But Lustig steps up at the correct time and the offside flag goes up.
5.06pm BST
35 min: Astana now need six more goals if they’re to progress. To be fair to the home fans, they are still giving it plenty.
5.05pm BST
What were we worried about?! McGregor rolls a pass wide left to Sinclair, who takes a touch inside, opens his body, and curls an unstoppable shot into the top right with his right peg. That is an exquisite goal! Group stage, here Celtic come!
5.03pm BST
31 min: And now Astana are so close to their second. Tomasov loops a cross in from the left. Kabananga fresh-air-kicks from six yards. Any touch and that would have flashed past Gordon. Time for a few deep breaths, and to remember that an away goal will silence this stadium. They could already have a couple.
5.00pm BST
30 min: Celtic are still four goals ahead in this tie, of course. Still, you can forgive them a few nerves. Maevski makes room down the right and crosses. Forrest fails to clear. Bitton takes charge.
4.59pm BST
28 min: Celtic respond well to conceding, Sinclair powering through a couple of challenges down the inside-left channel and forcing a save from Eric. The resulting scrappy scuffle leads to a corner which doesn’t amount to much. But this feels like a match now, with the noise levels through the roof all of a sudden.
4.58pm BST
The comeback’s on?! Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But the home side are one-fifth of the way there. Shomko strides in from the left and lashes a poor shot in the general direction of the Celtic goal. It’s heading well right, but Ajer sticks out a leg and deflects the ball into the bottom left with Gordon going the other way. Bedlam!
4.56pm BST
24 min: ... then go up the other end and nearly score. A deep Forrest cross from the right just about eludes Sinclair, on the edge of the six-yard box. The ball breaks wide left to Tierney, a superstar full back in the making. Tierney lashes a gorgeous low shot goalwards, but it’s deflected away from danger.
4.55pm BST
23 min: Corner for Astana out on the left. No idea how it occurred, the local station was showing McGregor’s shot from a few minutes ago. And the set piece nearly leads to a goal, Shitov flicking on at the near post. But Twumasi is snoozing at the far post, and doesn’t rise to clap a header goalwards. Celtic survive ...
4.51pm BST
21 min: Celtic are enjoying the lion’s share of possession right now. All very Rodgersesque.
4.50pm BST
19 min: McGregor has a pop from just inside the Astana area on the left. Eric makes a meal of blocking, but the job gets done. This isn’t going to end goalless.
4.49pm BST
18 min: A bit of space for Shomko out on the left. He feeds Kabananga on the inside. Kabananga larrups hard and low from 25 yards out, down the inside-left channel. It’s a dipping swerver, and Gordon does well to parry and smother the ball. This is lively and fun, if not particularly tense.
4.47pm BST
16 min: But it’s not breaking news to say they have absolutely no margin for error whatsoever. McGregor tears towards the Astana box. He’s got Sinclair to his left, Griffiths to his right. He opts left. Sinclair is clear in the area! But he opts to shoot across Eric and go for the top right. That allows Postnikov to come across and stick out a desperate leg. The defender blocks brilliantly, and the resulting corner comes to nothing.
4.45pm BST
14 min: Twumasi latches onto a loose ball in the middle of the park and makes good down the right. He reaches the byline, but his low cross dribbles harmlessly into Gordon’s arms. A disappointing end for Astana, though they look in the mood to give it a go and see what develops.
4.43pm BST
13 min: Ntcham has a dig from the best part of 30 yards. Nope! Meanwhile the clumsy Kleinheisler can’t continue: he’s replaced in the engine room by Grahovac.
4.42pm BST
11 min: Celtic don’t want to be conceding early, of course. No encouragement. So it’s not a great idea to allow Twumasi to glide in from the right, contort his body Zidane 2002 style, and lash a low shot inches wide of the right-hand post from 20 yards. A fine effort. Gordon probably had it covered, though you wouldn’t put the mortgage on it.
4.40pm BST
9 min: Brown brushes off Kleinheisler in the centre circle. Kleinheisler tries to bite back with a sliding tackle from behind, but only manages to bend his own knee underneath his own weight. Ooyah, oof, that’s going to hurt, especially on this artificial turf. A lot of grimacing. Brown looks on, unimpressed, as he does.
4.38pm BST
8 min: Tierney again, this time floating a chip in from his left wing. Forrest tries to plant a header goalwards, but can’t quite manage it.
4.37pm BST
7 min: Sinclair embarks on a Garrinchaesque ramble down the left. After drawing three yellow shirts, he flicks left to the magnificent Tierney, whose low fizzer is just about dealt with by Eric in the Astana goal.
4.36pm BST
5 min: The local TV director cuts to a pic of Brendan Rodgers slumped casually in his seat, and lingers awhile. It could be one of those nights. West Coast jazz at 10.
4.34pm BST
4 min: Kabananga chases after a bouncing bomb down the left. He tries to hook the ball infield, and had he managed it, Tomasov would have been racing down the inside-left channel at high speed, with not a lot of obstacles between himself and the Celtic box. But Kabananga air-kicks, unable to swivel gymnastically in mid-air. It would have been some pass, to be fair.
4.32pm BST
2 min: It’s a lively start, too, because Tomasov is very nearly released by a huge up and under down the Astana left. He’s offside, and the flag goes up before he can take a shot, but Celtic were light at the back there. On another day, this would already be 1-1!
4.31pm BST
And we’re off! A fine atmosphere at the Astana Arena, despite Celtic’s 5-0 advantage. Though goodness knows how it would have turned had Griffiths scored from a tight angle out on the left after being released down the wing on 12 seconds! His shot whips across the face of Eric’s goal and away from danger. Oh my!
4.29pm BST
The teams are out! The Champions League anthem, Jiggered Handel, blares out of the Astana PA. Both sets of players line up on the plastic pitch. We’ll be off in a minute! “Celtic also made it through a preliminary round in 2001, 3-2 on aggregate over Ajax after an excellent 3-1 win in Amsterdam,” notes Mike Cormack, with reference to something not mentioned in the preamble. “Chris Sutton’s header was one for the ages.” So it took me a while to work out why Uefa didn’t refer to this in their pre-match stats pack. Turns out the qualifying rounds are not considered the same as this play-off round, which was introduced in 2009-10. The Uefa semantics department earning their crust there. But, well, apologies for the omission, for that’s surely what it was.
4.16pm BST
Brendan Rodgers says all the necessary things. “The players did a great job in the first leg, but they understand we have to work hard in this second leg to qualify. So we are relaxed, but very much focused to staying on the job. It’s pretty straight forward. We start from scratch every single day, in order to be better, to improve. Simunovic is not fit. But I have trust in my squad. We don’t want to make any mistakes, we want to ensure we get a good result.”
4.00pm BST
No sweeping changes to the Celtic XI by Brendan Rodgers. Just the two swaps: Callum McGregor replaces treble-sealing Tom Rogic in midfield, while Kristoffer Ajer steps in for Burnley target Jozo Šimunović.
The hosts make just a couple of changes too. Goalkeeper Aleksandr Mokin makes way for Nenad Eric, while the suspended central defender Yuri Logivenko is replaced by Marin Anicic.
3.39pm BST
Astana: Eric, Shitov, Postnikov, Anicic, Shomko, Twumasi, Maevskiy, Kleinheisler, Tomasov, Kabananga, Muzhikov.
Subs: Mokin, Grahovac, Beisebekov, Tagybergen, Shaikhov, Maliy, Murtazayev.
Celtic: Gordon, Lustig, Bitton, Ajer, Tierney, Forrest, Ntcham, Brown, McGregor, Sinclair, Griffiths.
Subs: De Vries, Gamboa, Armstrong, Hayes, Rogic, Ralston, Miller.
2.41pm BST
“Having that 5-0 cushion, you can get complacent. But that’s where we stay mentally strong, focus on the game in hand and get the job done.” Hats off to Scott Sinclair for professionalism. But, well, y’know.
Suffice to say, if you’re looking for drama, you’ve almost certainly come to the wrong place. Astana have a magnificent home record in Europe: they’re unbeaten in 14 matches at the Astana Arena! Only problem is, they capitulated totally in their away leg of this Champions League qualifier at Parkhead last week, Celtic equalling the biggest-ever victory in one of these play-offs. The Bhoys aren’t always dependable on their continental travels - they lost 7-0 at Barcelona last season, for example - but, well, y’know.
Continue reading...Seeking further philosophical edification | The Fiver
In today’s Fiver: Jack Wilshere, Barcelona go after Neymar and inspiring a football revolution for girls in Pakistan
It doesn’t seem too long ago when 2011’s Jack Wilshere was considered the future of English football. We can’t put an exact date on it, our memory’s shot to pieces, but it was recent enough and you get the general point. So sad, then, to last night witness the 25-year-old Arsenal midfielder, 25, reduced to throwing hands at a couple of 17-year-olds in an under-23 game. In scenes resembling that time Weird Uncle Fiver finally snapped at the kids outside the 7-Eleven who relentlessly mock his egg-stained string vest and self-administered haircut every time he pops in for his daily paper and four-pack of Purple Tin, Wilshere responded to a heavy tackle by wildly throwing hands at Manchester City youngsters Matthew Smith and Tyreke Wilson in the passionate style. It was only ever going to end one way. Oh Jack!
Continue reading...August 12, 2017
New Sky thinking: how the Premier League revolution was televised | Scott Murray
Twenty-five years ago the station unleashed a new age – and Richard Keys – on the nation but it may now be time for some fresh thinking about football TV
A quarter of a century has passed since ITV offered the new-fangled Premier League an outlandish £262m for the rights to continue producing Elton Welsby vehicle The Match. At which point agitated Spurs owner and set-top-box mogul Alan Sugar nipped out of the negotiating room, bellowed “Blow them aht the water!” into a nearby payphone, a Sky apparatchik appeared in a puff of smoke carrying an extra £42m, and Super Sunday became a thing. All together now: “Here we go! Hee-ee-eere we go! Here we go, here we go, here we go, here we go, this is it!”
Related: I was there at the birth of Sky Sports – and what a kerfuffle | David James
Continue reading...August 11, 2017
Liverpool: Jürgen Klopp’s entertainers remain in need of heavier mettle
Barça’s Coutinho interest, a lack of signings and lingering flakiness add to the stress on Klopp despite being a play-off from the Champions League
Star man: Philippe Coutinho has a box full of tricks, though his most reliable party piece involves him peeling in from the wing and pearling a shot into the corner. Everyone knows it’s coming, though few seem capable of stopping it. A gnawing sense of inevitability also surrounds a move to Spain, the playground for all serious South American talent in the end. So enjoy him while you can, should Liverpool see out August without Barcelona ripping out their heart for the second time in three years.
Related: Premier League 2017-18 preview No10: Liverpool | Andy Hunter
Continue reading...Everton: Wayne Rooney returns as big brother to Ronald Koeman’s bright kids
Star man: The wanderer returns! Wayne Rooney enters a new phase of his career: that of elder statesman, tasked with drawing on a dozen years of success at Manchester United to re‑establish a winning mentality at a club without a trophy since 1995. Hopefully he took plenty of notes while watching the inspirational veteran Zlatan Ibrahimovic walk the walk last season.
Related: Premier League 2017-18 preview No7: Everton | Andy Hunter
Continue reading...Manchester City: Pep Guardiola needs big dip into bottomless purse to work
City’s squad contains stars wherever you look but with success elusive last term and hefty summer spending, Guardiola’s methods will be under scrutiny
Star man: In this squad?! You could make a case for striking superstar Sergio Agüero, the schemers Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva and Bernardo Silva, tricksy wingers Leroy Sané and Raheem Sterling, or the central midfield totem Yaya Touré. But nothing runs quite so smoothly if the captain, Vincent Kompany, is missing. Calm and dignified, he’s still City’s main man, despite all the millions spent.
Related: Premier League 2017-18 preview No11: Manchester City | Jamie Jackson
Continue reading...Huddersfield: David Wagner turns back the clock as feelgood factor grips Town
Star man: Christopher Schindler, the commanding, dependable, talented, likeable, respected – or to use the shorthand, German – centre-half. Schindler took the penalty that sealed promotion, despite having little experience from 12 yards. When asked by the chairman, Dean Hoyle, why he stepped forward, Schindler replied: “You paid a record fee for me, so I had a duty to pay you back.” Heroic.
Related: Premier League 2017-18 preview No8: Huddersfield Town | Paul Doyle
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