Scott Murray's Blog, page 175
September 16, 2015
How Arsenal blazed TV trail, jostling for airtime with cartoons and smut | Scott Murray
Arsenal are on the telly on Wednesday night. Some things never change. As the Gunners take to the airwaves to play Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League, it is 78 years to the day since they took part in the world’s first-ever live televised football match. Happy anniversary, everyone.
The BBC’s selection of Arsenal as the first team to feature on its newfangled Television Service was a simple matter of geography and convenience. The newly refurbished Arsenal Stadium was the closest ground to the BBC’s Alexandra Palace HQ – Highbury had been the venue for its first-ever radio commentary, too, a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United 10 years earlier – and there was a ready-made gantry for cameras in the state-of-the-art East Stand.
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September 15, 2015
Manchester City v Juventus: Champions League – as it happened
Last season’s losing finalists came from behind to inflict yet another Champions League home defeat on City.
9.36pm BST
And that’s yet another disappointing home result in the Champions League for Manchester City. In truth, they were second best tonight, a very impressive Juve controlling the majority of the play, then hitting their hosts with a couple of second-half sucker punches. City shouldn’t beat themselves up too much - they conceded two magnificent goals to last season’s losing finalists - though there is obviously work to be done after a very flat performance. But here’s a scrap of good news to end the evening: Sevilla went on to beat Monchengladbach 3-0, so City aren’t bottom of the Group D table. There is that.
Here’s the match report:
Related: Álvaro Morata seals Juventus comeback to stun Manchester City
9.35pm BST
90 min +3: Bony, over-eager and over-anxious, concedes a cheap free kick while getting busy under a big up and under. Another opportunity for Juve to manage the clock.
9.34pm BST
90 min +2: See 90 min +1.
9.34pm BST
90 min +1: Juve run down most of the first added minute in City’s half. They’re a picture of collective calm.
9.33pm BST
90 min: It’s defence versus attack. But Juventus are from Italy, and know these drills backwards. Sagna finds a bit of space down the right. The ball’s whipped in high. Buffon claims. Silva, of all people, had gone up for a header, and concedes a free kick, allowing Juve to use up a bit more time. And on that subject, there will be four added minutes.
9.31pm BST
88 min: Now it’s City’s turn to faff around. They’re going nowhere, sterile possession in the middle of Juve’s half. But suddenly Toure takes control of the situation, sending a no-backlift curler whistling towards the top right from 25 yards. A gorgeous effort which very nearly beats Buffon, but the great Italy keeper gets a fingertip to it. A corner, which comes to nothing. But full marks to Toure for taking matters into his own hands and upping the tempo. City have been very ponderous.
9.29pm BST
86 min: Dybala and Cuadrado flick cute little passes to each other down the right wing. For a second it looks like they’ll undo City and burst clear, but they settle for a free kick, just outside the box. Then they get overly cute, faffing around and over elaborating, allowing City to clear their lines before a ball’s sent into the area.
9.27pm BST
85 min: Barzagli comes on for the goalscoring hero Morata. City can’t get the ball right now. This is a European masterclass by Juventus.
9.26pm BST
83 min: On comes Aguero. Nasri, who has plodded around all night, is the man he replaces. City had been planning to bring on Jesus Navas before Morata’s beauty. They’ve had no luck with their swaps tonight.
9.24pm BST
They’re certainly happy now! A simple punt forward, down the right wing, clatters off the chest of the backtracking Kolarov. The ball bounces inside for Morata, who takes a touch and, from the right-hand corner of the D, curls an unstoppable shot into the left-hand portion of the net! Once again, Hart had no chance! What a stunning finish. The crowd are certainly stunned; the stadium has fallen silent. Two goals from out of nowhere. What a smash and grab!
9.22pm BST
79 min: City are enjoying the lion’s share of possession, but Juve are quite happy to sit back. They’re not letting City into the danger zones, and the pace has dropped to a standstill. The crowd are quiet, and I’d imagine Juventus are very happy with the way this is going right now.
9.20pm BST
78 min: Mandzukic is down with cramp, and will be replaced by the free-scoring Dybala.
9.18pm BST
76 min: Kompany looked OK when he walked off, but word is he’s got a problem with his calf, and they’re not taking any chances with it.
9.17pm BST
74 min: Kompany - who doesn’t appear to be injured - is replaced by the debutant Otamendi.
9.16pm BST
73 min: A bit of possession for City, though they’re using it to clear their heads post-equaliser. Nobody thrown forward quite yet.
9.14pm BST
71 min: Sterling is replaced by De Bruyne. City were waiting for a break in play before the goal to make that change.
9.13pm BST
Juve pass, pass, pass it around for what seems like ages. Then, all of a sudden, Pogba bursts into space down the left. From a deep position, he whips a dipping ball into the area. Mandzukic steps off the shoulder of Mangala, sticks out a leg, and guides the dropping pass off the right-hand post and into the net. Hart totally static, unable to act. That exploded out of nothing. A fine goal.
9.09pm BST
67 min: A bit of space for Mandzukic in the City area to the right. He attempts to one-two with Morata, and it nearly prises City’s defence open, but Mangala is over quickly to snuff things out, and earn his team a goal kick. Juve were reeling in the wake of the goal, but they appear to have settled again.
9.07pm BST
64 min: A corner for Juve down the left. Sent deep, it leads to Pogba shanking a comical effort wide right of goal from close range. The former United star’s misfortune enjoyed by the City faithful there.
9.06pm BST
63 min: Juve finally clear their heads and launch another attack of their own. Mandzukic finds Sturaro down the left, just inside the area. Sturaro lays off inside for Morata, who has a whack from 12 yards out. Hart saves wonderfully. Fernandinho slides in to make sure Morata can’t slot in the rebound.
9.04pm BST
61 min: Silva twists and turns in not much space down the inside-right channel, and flicks the ball forwards for Bony. The striker doesn’t have much time or space either, but still manages to lash a shot goalwards from a tight angle. Buffon claims.
9.02pm BST
59 min: And it should be two. Bony shuttles the ball down the middle of the park for Silva, who whips a pass down the inside-left channel for Sterling. Once again, Sterling looks to pass the ball into the net, and once again Buffon parries. The ball breaks to Silva, who has a whack from ten yards, but the shot is deflected out for a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece. But City’s tails are right up now!
9.01pm BST
City had done nothing in the second half, but never mind that now! A corner’s won down the left, Sterling and Silva causing bother. Silva takes the corner kick, whipping it to the far post. Kompany rises to head, but he’s beaten to it by Chiellini, who in attempting to deny the City captain plants a header into the top left! He’s livid, because Kompany was climbing all over his shoulders. But it’s been given! Suddenly the stadium comes alive! City’s campaign is on!
8.57pm BST
54 min: Sturaro, Mandzukic and Hernanes combine down the right, all pretty triangles. Kolarov, ever busy, steps in to put a stop to Juve’s gallop. This is worryingly one-sided right now for the hosts.
8.55pm BST
52 min: City can barely string two passes together right now. The home fans are worried. Kevin De Bruyne has joined Aguero on the touchline, performing his stretches.
8.53pm BST
50 min: And now Mandzukic is set clear down the inside-left channel by a raking diagonal pass from Sturaro. But before he can shoot, the offside flag goes up. Rightly so, and Sagna stepped up well, but Juve have started this half strongly. City on the back foot.
8.52pm BST
48 min: A free kick for Juve, 40 yards out on the right. Cuadrado whips it into the area. Mandzukic wins the header, and the ball very nearly falls to Morata, six yards out. But then the whistle goes, Mandzukic penalised for shoving. City hearts in mouths for a split second there. It’s still tense and quiet at the City of Manchester Stadium. A real sense that City can’t afford to blow this one and set a worrying tone yet again.
8.49pm BST
46 min: Pogba sticks out a long leg and whips a pass down the middle towards Sturaro. City’s back line were sleeping a bit there, and very nearly caught out. Luckily for the hosts, Mangala was on the case to get in the way and snuff out the danger. Sergio Aguero is already off the bench and warming up, a sign that it might not be too long before we see City’s star man.
8.47pm BST
Juve get the ball rolling again. No changes. No goals in the match between Sevilla and Borrussia Monchengladbach, either, by the way. “Bit perplexed by the constant OTT stream of criticism from BT Sport co-commentator Steve McManaman,” begins John McGrath. “He’s berating City for not flying at Juventus. Any pundit who can get his oar in has been slagging them off for their previous tactics in the Champions League; bombing forward and leaving themselves open. Now, when a bit more patience is shown, they’re moaning that they’re not streaming forward. Pfffttt!”
8.35pm BST
Half-time advertisement: “Gigi Buffon’s pre-match effervescence juxtaposes nicely with pre-match BT Sport pundit Steven Gerrard,” writes Andy Gordon, “who could appear in the half-time break advertising Dignitas.” And sure enough, here’s ... no. Instead, here’s a nod to Juve’s paymasters:
8.32pm BST
And after three seconds of added time, that’s the end of the first half. A fairly subdued City of Manchester Stadium claps the teams off, but it’ll be Juve who are happier with that. City still had their chances, though. If they can up the pace a bit in the second half, things could get interesting. No flipping!
8.31pm BST
43 min: Sterling bullies Cuadrado off the ball deep in the City half. He doesn’t mind tracking back, and has some power for a small man. He tears down the left and shuttles the ball forward to the overlapping Kolarov, but the full back can’t control at a high lick. Juve were light at the back there, and owe Lichtsteiner thanks for keeping up to mop up the trouble.
8.28pm BST
40 min: A cross into the Juve box from the right. Chiellini heads clear. The ball drops to Fernandinho, the best part of 30 yards out. He has a lash, and his effort isn’t so far from the top-right corner. It curls wide at the death. Magnificent effort.
8.26pm BST
38 min: Sterling feeds Kolarov down the left. Another fine low cross is fizzed through the area. It evades everyone. Sagna rushes in from the right, and lashes a wild effort over the bar from 25 yards. Kolarov and Sterling have been City’s best players so far. On that subject, here’s Ian Copestake: “Week by week, Raheem Sterling looks to have been smarter than the average bear, and my only resentment towards him is that he was able to leave his former team whereas I cannot.” Sterling will prove, in the long term, to be a bigger loss to Liverpool than Luis Suarez. I’m surprised they didn’t dig their heels in a little bit more. City’s gain.
8.23pm BST
35 min: This is much better from City. Kolarov powers down the left. He’s near the corner flag, but whips a low ball into the six-yard box. For a second, it looks like Bony will convert at the near post, but Chiellini manages to get his body in the way and stands firm, allowing Evra to hack clear. Brilliant, strong, old-fashioned defending.
8.20pm BST
32 min: Bony glides in from the right, having been fed by Silva down the channel, and nutmegs Bonucci. He’s got a little space on the edge of the D, and Sterling in space to his left. Shoot or pass? He opts for the former, and shanks a dreadful effort miles wide left. But the set-up was gorgeous. City should take heart from that at least; they’ve created little else since Sterling’s early chance.
8.18pm BST
31 min: Cuadrado strides down the inside-right channel and lets rip a diagonal screamer towards the top left. Hart is at full stretch and will have been happy to see that one sail just wide of the post.
8.17pm BST
30 min: City stroke it around the back awhile. Juve are quite happy to let them do this. It’s all a bit static right now. The ball’s eventually whipped down the middle towards Bony, but Chiellini eases the striker out of the way, and Buffon can gather with a yawn.
8.14pm BST
28 min: Kolarov busies himself to win a corner for City down the left. Silva swings it in. Toure raises above Pogba on the right-hand edge of the six-yard box, but can only send a tame downward header wide of the right-hand post.
8.13pm BST
26 min: Cuadrado finds some space down the right channel, drifts inside a bit, and feeds Morata, who has time in a central position, 25 yards from goal. He shoots, but scrapes a fairly dismal effort wide left. A weak effort from a strong position. “I always love seeing Buffon during the pre-match handshake,” writes Kári Tulinius. “He always looks like he’s so happy to be about to start playing football. Not a hint of jadedness, just pure joy. I love footballers who let their emotions show.” Yes, there’s nothing like a shiny happy footballer. Snarling and frowning seemed to be de rigueur for a while back there, even when celebrating goals, but enjoyment appears to be back in vogue. They’re all sweethearts really.
8.10pm BST
24 min: A free kick 30 yards from goal for City, level with the left-hand post. Kolarov looks to bend one into the bottom right, but though it’s beaten the wall, it’s never foxing Buffon, and is sailing wide anyway.
8.09pm BST
22 min: Fernandinho robs Pogba in the middle of the park. He takes a few steps down the inside-right channel, and unleashes a rising diagonal shot towards the top left from the best part of 30 yards. It’s highly ambitious, but a rather good effort, and only just sails wide and high. Buffon might not have had that covered.
8.07pm BST
19 min: Sturaro has a bit of space down the right, with Cuadrado on his outside. City look light at the back again, but Kolarov intercepts a pass between the two. City dicing with trouble a little there. The home crowd are getting a bit nervous, having been desperate for a quick start.
8.03pm BST
16 min: Silva and Bony one-two down the middle of the park. Bony is in a little space on the edge of the area, but Chiellini throws himself in the road of the shot. Corner, which is easily enough cleared by the Italian champions. A lovely free and easy feel to this. Goodness knows who’s going to open the scoring.
8.01pm BST
14 min: Worrying signs for City, though, as Juve begin to get on top. A free kick, 30 yards out. Sturaro takes, and sends a dipper over the wall and down towards the bottom-left corner. The ball bobbles wide of the post, but not by much. Did Hart get a touch to that? Possibly, but the corner’s not forthcoming.
8.00pm BST
12 min: Juve have the ball in the net. Cuadrrado whips one into the box wide right. Morata, on the penalty spot, is miles offside, but attempts to connect. He misses, but Pogba, on Kompany’s shoulder level with the left-hand post, bursts clear and converts, Hart having come out and failed to gather himself. Pogba was onside, but Morata had been interfering with play, and so the goal’s chalked out.
7.57pm BST
10 min: Sturaro clatters into Fernandinho in the middle of the park. That should probably be a yellow too, but having given Toure the benefit of the doubt earlier, the referee does the same thing here. Every team gets one.
7.56pm BST
9 min: It’s an open game, this. Nasri finds a bit of space down the right, and nearly finds Sterling at the far post with a looping cross. Bony tries to get involved too, but it’s a little bit too high. Cuadrado and Morata attempt to combine down the right on a quick break, but the pinged passes don’t quite come off.
7.54pm BST
7 min: Toure should be booked for a late lunge on Evra, as the Juve full back looks to break down the left wing. The referee, perhaps mindful of the time, opts for a gentle bollocking instead.
7.52pm BST
5 min: Uncertainty at the back for City. A ball dropping on the edge of the box should be pelted clear, but Morata is afforded time to shoot. He turns down the chance, oddly, prodding the ball instead to Hernanes, who attempts a whack from the left-hand edge of the D. It’s blocked.
7.51pm BST
4 min: A bit of time on the ball from Evra down the left. Plenty enough time for the City faithful to give him plenty of gyp. Booooooo. Panto season starting early in Manchester.
7.50pm BST
2 min: A long ball down the left for Sterling to chase. His pressure forces Lichtsteiner into a hurried hack out of play. From the throw, Kolarov’s cross goes behind for a goal kick. But from the restart, Sturaro is robbed in the centre circle by Fernandinho, who romps into the Juve half. He slips the ball wide left to Sterling, in acres. Sterling has space in the box, and attempts to pass the ball into the bottom right. Buffon is too wily to fall for that, and parries. Corner, which is wasted. But City have started strongly here. Sterling should have scored. He’s already proving quite the handful.
7.46pm BST
As you’d imagine, there’s a fantastic atmosphere at the City of Manchester Stadium. Anticipation at fever pitch. Could City finally go deep into this competition? Could it finally be their year? The hosts get the ball rolling, and pass it around a bit.
7.43pm BST
The teams are out! Manchester City are wearing their famous powder blue shirts, while Juventus sport third-choice black. So no classic aesthetic tonight. Nearly. The official Uefa bastardisation of Handel blasts out of the PA system. Hands are shaken, coins are tossed. We’ll be off in a minute!
7.15pm BST
Tonight’s half-and-half scarf: Here’s a chap over from Italy, waving his brand-new purchase above his happy head.
6.59pm BST
No huge surprises in the starting XIs. One on the City bench, though. According to Manuel Pellegrini, there was “no chance” of Sergio Aguero playing tonight. He’s on the bench, though, there just in case things don’t go quite to plan tonight for Wilfred Bony. Juventus meanwhile keep their leading scorer this season - their only scorer this season - in reserve. Paulo Dybala - aka the Jewel, and the New Aguero - will be hoping to come on later and add to the two goals he’s already plundered since joining from Palermo in the summer.
6.42pm BST
Manchester City: Hart, Sagna, Kompany, Mangala, Kolarov, Toure, Fernandinho, Nasri, Silva, Sterling, Bony.
Subs: Caballero, Otamendi, Demichelis, Fernando, Navas, De Bruyne, Aguero.
Juventus: Buffon, Lichtsteiner, Bonucci, Chiellini, Evra, Sturaro, Hernanes, Pogba, Cuadrado, Mandzukic, Morata.
Subs: Neto, Barzagli, Alex Sandro, Lemina, Pereyra, Zaza, Dybala.
11.51am BST
So much for Manchester City’s supposed group of death. Borussia Mönchengladbach have lost their opening four games of the Bundesliga season, Sevilla have yet to win in La Liga, and Juventus, winners of last year’s Italian title and runners up in the Champions League, have just the one point in Serie A so far, and that thanks to a late penalty at home to Chievo.
Juve won’t be particularly looking forward to this, and not just because City have started their Premier League campaign with five straight wins, and haven’t conceded a goal for 566 minutes. The Old Lady doesn’t have a great recent record against English sides. Since Roy Keane FC put them out of the 1999 Champions League at the semi-final stage, she’s been knocked out of this competition by Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea, and capitulated in the grand style in the Europa League against Roy Hodgson’s Fulham.
Continue reading...The Fiver | Yet another symbolic shave
HAIR TODAY, GONE TOMORROW?
The former Scotland manager Craig Levein may not have been the greatest tactician in the world, but the man had a mighty fine beard. His face fungus was blessed with magic properties. Depending on Scotland’s fortunes, his bellwether bristles would vary in length from a trim-and-tidy Noel Edmonds to the rather more outré Alfresco Competitively Priced Cider Consumer, providing fans nationwide with an easy-to-read metaphor for the state of their team. As if the scorelines weren’t enough.
Continue reading...September 13, 2015
The Premi-hair league: tonsorial developments this season
The Guardian’s former football editor Scott Murray gives a rundown of the styles of the season so far and offers a spirited defence of Wayne Rooney’s ‘special hat’
Continue reading...September 12, 2015
Manchester United v Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened
The first half was a non-event. The second saw three wonder goals, a penalty, and a United performance that relieves the pressure at Old Trafford.
7.23pm BST
And that’s that. United wrap up a deserved victory. The first half was beyond appalling, but that second half delivered. Magnificent entertainment. United are suddenly second in the Premier League table. And it looks like they’ve bagged quite the new star in Anthony Martial. What a goal! What an introduction to the Premier League! They’ll be feeling good about themselves tonight, the pressure off Louis van Gaal for now. It’s still beating down on Liverpool, though, who - one moment of genius from Benteke apart - were awful. “My patience with Rodgers has departed,” writes Mike MacKenzie. “Is Klopp available?”
7.20pm BST
90 min +3: See 90 min +2.
7.20pm BST
90 min +2: Liverpool with plenty of the ball in the middle of the park. But they’re going nowhere.
7.19pm BST
90 min +1: There will be four added minutes, and United see the first one through without fuss. Lovren backflicks a pass to Skrtel on the halfway line. Those stepovers last week ... he just can’t help himself.
7.18pm BST
90 min: Clyne zips into acres down the right. He whistles a low cross through the United area. Moreno tries to latch onto it, but fresh-air swipes his shot. That went down well with the majority in the stadium.
7.17pm BST
89 min: Old Trafford is jumping. It’s safe to say this second half has been better than the first!
7.16pm BST
88 min: Moreno has come on for Lucas. But what an introduction to English football for Martial! Ricky Villa-esque! What a waste of money.
7.15pm BST
Yes it is too late for Liverpool! If Benteke’s goal was an instant classic, then what about this?! Martial takes up possession on the left wing. He slips past Clyne and into the area. He then jinks past a confused Skrtel, stunning skill at close range, and curls a peach of a shot into the bottom right. Mignolet no chance! That’s a wonder goal!
7.13pm BST
But Liverpool come back at United quickly. Ibe busies himself down the right. The ball loops across to Benteke, who is level with the left-hand post, 12 yards out, his back to goal. He twists and whistles an unstoppable bicycle kick into the top right! A stunning goal - but is it too late for Liverpool?
7.11pm BST
83 min: This is better from Liverpool. Origi makes off down the right, then backheels for Ibe, who cuts inside and curls one towards the top left from the right-hand edge of the D. It’s a fine effort, met with an equally fine save from De Gea. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
7.09pm BST
81 min: Liverpool can’t get a sniff of the ball. United are running down the clock in the professional style.
7.07pm BST
79 min: Fellaini opens his legs down the right, striding into space. He decides to have a dig from 25 yards. It clatters straight into Lovren, who spread himself bravely there. “What I can deal with as a fan is poor performances but what’s different with this Rodgers team is the mental weakness,” writes Nick Murphy. “The Spice Boys were lazy but they never lacked confidence. The last two years of Rodgers have been defined by carelessness and fear.”
7.06pm BST
78 min: United playing a lot of keepball here. Who can blame them? They’ve done the hard part.
7.05pm BST
76 min: Milner finds a bit of space down the right. He reaches the byline and whips a high ball to the near post, where Benteke clumps a dreadful header high and wide right. Liverpool have been desperately poor, their efforts up front feeble.
7.03pm BST
75 min: Milner is booked for a frustrated lunge on Young. That was an awful challenge. He can have no complaints.
7.02pm BST
74 min: Liverpool take off Ings and send on Origi. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” trills Old Trafford collectively. A bad day for Brendan Rodgers all right.
7.01pm BST
73 min: Ings looks to control a high ball down the left wing. He’s stopped from doing so by a cynical Darmian, who is booked. Milner takes the free kick. Three rugby points.
7.00pm BST
72 min: United, perhaps sensing the job done, replace Carrick with Schneiderlin.
6.58pm BST
Herrera, having earned the penalty, gets up and roofs the penalty into the left-hand side of the goal. A harsh lesson for young Gomez there. He’s a very promising defender, but Herrera was going nowhere, and there was no need to dive in. United are in control now.
6.57pm BST
69 min: Carrick slides a pass down the inside-right channel. Herrera romps after it. Gomez slides in from behind, and takes Herrera down. No question.
6.55pm BST
67 min: Young, having rolled his ankle, is down receiving treatment. It looks as though he’ll be OK, as he gets up and, after a brief hobble, breaks into a jog.
6.54pm BST
66 min: That’s Firmino’s last act of the game. He’s hooked in favour of Ibe. Meanwhile United hand a debut to pricy youngster Martial; Mata makes way for him.
6.53pm BST
64 min: Milner threads a ball down the left wing. Benteke nearly bursts clear, but Darmian steps in to concede a corner. Ings flicks a header goalwards. Blind clears off the line. The ball squirts to Firmino by the right-hand post. The £29m player should smack the ball home, but squirts a dreadfully timid effort wide from a couple of yards. What a miss!
6.51pm BST
63 min: Lucas has space in front of him down the inside-right channel. He’s got options either side, but dillies and dallies. Eventually the ball’s taken off him. So ponderous.
6.49pm BST
61 min: ... and whips it over the bar.
6.48pm BST
60 min: Lovren brings down Fellaini, in a fairly central position, 25 yards from goal. A free kick for United in a very dangerous position. Young stands over it ...
6.46pm BST
57 min: United clear the set piece, but Lovren heads the ball back into the mixer down the inside-left channel. Ings meets the dropping ball, attempting a volley into the top left. He doesn’t quite connect, though, allowing De Gea to claw out for another corner on the left. That one’s easily dealt with. This is a bit better from Liverpool who have, in the wake of going behind, finally decided to attack with a little determination.
6.44pm BST
56 min: A poor kick upfield by De Gea nearly gifts Liverpool an equaliser. Clyne slides the ball down the inside-right channel to release Firmino, who squares the ball through the six-yard box for Benteke. Blind hacks out for a corner.
6.42pm BST
53 min: Shaw and Young combine nicely down the left, the former chasing after a chipped pass from the latter. Shaw is forced to turn back, but then hoicks a fine cross to the far post, where Mata is caught a yard offside as he tries to lay off for Fellaini. United are really pushing for a second goal here. A second would surely be decisive. One is probably enough, so inept have Liverpool been in attack.
6.40pm BST
51 min: United look to turn the screw, having opened the scoring. Mata tries to dink the ball forward down the inside-left channel to release Herrera. Skrtel is forced to concede a corner. And it’s another fancy set piece move, the ball shuttled back up the left wing and Carrick whipping it towards the far post, where Schweinsteiger should really control and hammer home from eight yards. But he miscontrols and the ball squirts wide right. United have really turned up the pace here. Liverpool don’t know what’s hit them.
6.37pm BST
This is a stunning free kick! Liverpool have packed the six-yard box. The only defender further out is Clyne, so Schweinsteiger makes a run to pull him back towards goal. Space opens up. Mata pulls the ball back to the edge of the area. Blind rushes in, opens his body, and sends a pearler into the top-left corner! Unstoppable! Much credit to Young, too, for earning that set piece. Old Trafford erupts!
6.36pm BST
48 min: Young injects a bit of pace into proceedings. He bursts down the left and threatens to go past Clyne. The Liverpool right back steps across his man. It’s a free kick, just outside the area, and a booking for Clyne. And from the set piece ...
6.34pm BST
47 min: United spend the first couple of minutes of the second half getting a feel of the ball.
6.33pm BST
So the next 45 minutes can’t be any worse than the first half. They could be equally bad, it’s true, but they can’t be any worse. It’s not much, but it’s something. United get proactive, replacing the reasonably lively Depay with Ashley Young. Then they get the ball rolling again. Onwards, upwards.
6.18pm BST
Half-time advertisement: The latest issue of Jonathan Wilson’s mag The Blizzard has a long essay by Rob Smyth on the 2-2 draw between United and Liverpool from October 1995. He uses the match as a peg on which to hang a whip-smart, warm-hearted and highly entertaining new take on Fergie’s greatest side and the legacy of the Spice Boys. It’s right up there with Smyth’s best work, which as regular readers of this site will know, clears one hell of a high bar. You can order it on a pay-what-you-like basis here.
6.16pm BST
Dear me.
6.16pm BST
45 min: Lucas is bollocked by the referee for persistent fouling. No card, though. Schweinsteiger romps towards the Liverpool box. The crowd bay for a shot. Nothing happens. They howl in anger. An arena of discontent. Nobody’s happy.
6.14pm BST
42 min: Can and Mignolet exchange passes under no pressure from the nearby Depay whatsoever. They somehow nearly manage to confuse each other into the concession of an own goal, Mignolet shanking a pass out wide to the right wing, Can nearly slipping it back past his keeper. Mignolet, shame-faced, scampers back to swing his left leg at the ball. Finally it’s cleared. The ball nearly beyond the keeper. The passage of play certainly beyond abject.
6.11pm BST
39 min: A bit of space for Depay down the left. He chips inside. Fellaini, perhaps put off by Herrera jumping ahead of him, lets the ball clank off his shin. This is dismal fare. The two biggest clubs in the country. The second half will be better than the first. It has to be.
6.08pm BST
37 min: Can in more space down the left. If he gets his head up, he’d see both Benteke and Firmino in space, begging for a pass. The pass doesn’t come. Liverpool are beginning to come into this a little, though.
6.07pm BST
35 min: Can powers down the inside-left channel, having been sprung into space by Milner. He’s got Benteke just ahead of him. The right pass, and Benteke is clear on goal. But Can hesitates, Smalling steps up, and Benteke is caught well offside. The striker goes to curl the ball into the bottom-right corner anyway, and misses comfortably, much to the Old Trafford faithful’s glee. That was a real chance for Liverpool, with United caught light at the back.
6.05pm BST
34 min: Carrick in the centre circle. A pass out wide to Shaw ends up in the stand. The home support howl in frustration. United have been the better team so far, but the bar’s not high.
6.04pm BST
31 min: Firmino has the ball at his feet with plenty of grass ahead of him down the right. Instead of scuttling into it, he opts to check back. Possession’s eventually lost. What a business. “I hate that my team is now an unthinking, non spontaneous machine with a pre-programmed plan that does not work,” writes Ian Copestake. “No guts, no improvisation, no actual attempt to pass to each other. I am moving ever closer to the Klopp camp.” A Liverpool fan there, though the words could be coming from either camp, couldn’t they.
6.00pm BST
29 min: A free kick for United, out on the right. Clumsy Lucas. A chance to load the box. Mata curls the ball into the area. Too high. Mignolet comes off his line to claim. The keeper’s long kick upfield is aimless. This match is a low-quality affair right now. The only way is up.
5.58pm BST
27 min: Firmino wins a heading duel with Shaw on the right-hand corner of the United box. The ball drops to Benteke, who shapes his body for a Zidane-style volley, but pauses before going through with the kicking motion, and Smalling clears.
5.56pm BST
25 min: Depay has a dig from 25 yards. His shot nearly hits the corner flag on the right. Liverpool go up the other end, Ings scooping a pass down the inside-left channel with a view to releasing Benteke. Blind wins a physical battle against a player twice his size, and clears the danger.
5.55pm BST
24 min: Depay knocks the ball round Clyne down the left. He very nearly breaks clear into the box, but Clyne is tenacious and recovers well to blatter the ball away from danger.
5.53pm BST
22 min: Depay busies himself down the left and earns a corner. United load the box, play it short, and faff about. Blind belatedly hoicks the ball into the area from the left, but Mignolet punches clear with confidence.
5.52pm BST
21 min: Shaw, tight on the left-hand touchline, creams a lovely pass down the wing to release Fellaini down the flank. The flag goes up for offside. The correct decision, though there wasn’t much in it. Liverpool’s back line dicing with trouble there.
5.51pm BST
19 min: Liverpool haven’t been particularly coherent in attack, though this is a bit better. Gomez, down the left, whips a lovely long cross to Benteke at the far post. Shaw just about does enough to put Benteke off, but the ball breaks to Clyne, who shoots from 30 yards. Nope. But it’s an effort, and perhaps the first sign that Liverpool are getting a small foothold in this match.
5.49pm BST
18 min: Liverpool keep trying to play the ball out from the back. They repeatedly fail to manage it. On Sky, Gary Neville suggests the tactic is foolish, because their central defenders simply aren’t good enough ball players. And yet there’s Sakho on the bench, and Ilori loaned out to Aston Villa.
5.47pm BST
16 min: Herrera plays a blind pass down the left wing to nobody. Clyne, assuming the absent Depay is behind him, concedes a most needless corner. Blind hoicks one in from the left. Skrtel heads clear, but United are soon coming back at Liverpool through Herrera down the right. Another corner. Depay to take this one. It’s a non-event. Though Liverpool are finding it very difficult to clear their lines. United keep coming back at them. There’s no route out.
5.44pm BST
14 min: Ings finds himself in a bit of space down the inside-left channel. He’s got Firmino just inside and ahead of him. Pick the right pass, and Firmino will be sent clear on goal. But Ings plays the ball behind Firmino. The danger over.
5.43pm BST
12 min: Carrick, in the centre circle, sprays a gorgeous diagonal ball towards Darmian on the right. Darmian is in space in the area, and pulls back for Fellaini on the penalty spot. But Fellaini can’t control. Liverpool mop up. United have enjoyed 72% of possession so far. They’re well on top.
5.41pm BST
10 min: Depay threatens to tear clear down the left wing. He’s brought to the ground by Lovren, but the referee doesn’t whistle. United have their tails up.
5.40pm BST
8 min: Liverpool are all over the shop. Depay nearly bursts clear into the area down the inside-left channel, but can’t quite get a shot away. Then another phase. Depay crosses into the box from the left. Mignolet only just manages to fingertip the ball away from the lurking Fellaini. Liverpool are currently looking exactly like the sort of team that ships three at home to West Ham United.
5.38pm BST
7 min: United launch it long. Mignolet comes to the edge of his area to gather. The keeper then rolls the ball out towards Lovren, only to clank it into Mata’s heels. The ball breaks to Fellaini, who should hit an unguarded target from 25 yards, but hoicks the ball over the bar.
5.36pm BST
5 min: A clumsy pass from Skrtel to nobody, deep in the Liverpool half. Fellaini nearly latches onto the loose ball, but Lucas tracks back to deal with the situation. A nervous moment for Liverpool’s notoriously shaky defence there.
5.34pm BST
4 min: United start pinging it around a bit. Shaw is seeing quite a lot of the ball out on the left. Schweinsteiger and Carrick with some fairly metronomic stuff in the middle. Liverpool are struggling to retain possession.
5.32pm BST
2 min: All a bit scrappy early doors. Completed passes at a premium during the initial exchanges.
5.31pm BST
A thundering atmosphere at Old Trafford, as you’d expect ahead of a fixture like this. Liverpool get in a huddle, and are booed for their trouble. Firmino and Can get the ball rolling, the hosts kicking towards the Stretford End in the first half. Wonderfuel stuff.
5.26pm BST
The teams are out! Manchester United in their famous red, white and black, Liverpool in their all-white away kit. We’ll be off in a minute. “Half-and-half scarves are the coalition government of scarves,” begins Tim Smyth. “Means of production won’t be seized by lads wearing half-and-half scarves. Jean Jaurès never wore a half-and-half scarf. Corbynho will never wear a half-and-half scarf.” Yes, folks, there’s something in the air today all right. A few red flags sure to be flying come sundown, one way or the other.
5.00pm BST
Tonight’s half-and-half scarf: Here’s a young woman with a brand-new 100% wool souvenir draped around her neck.
4.40pm BST
No Wayne Rooney for Manchester United. He’s out with hamstring trouble. But it’s swings and roundabouts for the home side. David De Gea returns in goal, while new starlet Anthony Martial is on the bench. Marouane Fellaini leads the line, with a view perhaps to bullying the under-fire stepover king Dejan Lovren, who despite continued poor form has once again been given the nod at the back for Liverpool ahead of Mamadou Sakho. Brendan Rodgers can’t be accused of timidity, though: Danny Ings is named in a Liverpool starting XI for the first time, one of three attackers alongside Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino.
4.33pm BST
Manchester United: De Gea, Darmian, Smalling, Blind, Shaw, Carrick, Schweinsteiger, Mata, Ander Herrera, Depay, Fellaini.
Subs: Rojo, Martial, Young, Romero, Valencia, Schneiderlin, McNair.
Liverpool: Mignolet, Clyne, Skrtel, Lovren, Gomez, Can, Lucas, Milner, Ings, Benteke, Firmino.
Subs: Toure, Sakho, Moreno, Origi, Ibe, Bogdan, Rossiter.
11.48am BST
You’ll have no doubt heard the argument, made by quite a few people in quite a few places, that with Manchester United and Liverpool in transitional phases and other clubs in the ascendency, this fixture doesn’t matter quite so much these days. Perhaps, perhaps. Then again, let’s wait until 7.30pm tonight to gauge the apocalyptic reaction should United win 3-0, like they did last season, or if Liverpool triumph 3-0, like they did the season before that. Let’s see how much it doesn’t matter then.
It’s still the biggest fixture in the Premier League, isn’t it, and as usual, the latest staging has the potential to be seismic. Though results haven’t been totally disastrous, neither team has started the season particularly impressively. United aren’t their usual swashbuckling selves, and have just been bossed by Swansea City yet again. Liverpool meanwhile have just lost to West Ham United at home for the first time since Harold Macmillan was prime minister. Both managers are under severe early-season pressure: there are rumours Louis van Gaal is losing the dressing room, Brendan Rodgers continues to take a conspicuously long time to rediscover his mojo after the heartache of 2013-14, and Jurgen Klopp is watching the whole thing unfold from the comfort of his sofa. So this match could give one of these managers a much-needed fillip. A big win could change everything. A big defeat could change everything. This fixture doesn’t matter any more? Let’s see how much this fixture doesn’t matter any more.
Continue reading...Everton v Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened
Steven Naismith is the hat-trick hero as Everton condemn Chelsea to their worst start to a season since 1988-89
Paul Wilson’s match report from Goodison Park2.39pm BST
And that’s that. A fully deserved victory for Everton, who were the better team for the entire game, give or take those few first-half minutes after Matic’s goal. Naismith quite rightly is named the man of the match. Chelsea’s title defence meanwhile is beginning to look like something from the Leeds-Blackburn school. This is their worst start to a season since 1988-89 - though it should be noted they went on to win the Second Division title easily that season. Who came second in that campaign? Manchester City, of course. Hey, there’s always hope.
2.37pm BST
90 min +3: An up and under into the Chelsea area. Zouma and Terry leave it to each other. Naismith nearly nips in to take advantage. Begovic steps up to punch clear, then steps onto Naismith’s head. A complete accident. After scoring a perfect hat-trick, left foot, right foot and header, Naismith doesn’t mind too much.
2.35pm BST
90 min +2: Funes Mori embarks on a Beckenbaueresque ramble down the inside-left channel. Costa slides in from behind to earn himself a booking.
2.33pm BST
90 min: Goodison is rocking. This has been a brilliant performance by Everton, and their fans are celebrating accordingly. There will be four added minutes.
2.32pm BST
89 min: Stones romps down the right wing and whips a cross into the danger zone from the right. It’s cleared, but some shades of Total Football there. He runs back upfield with a big grin plastered across his face.
2.30pm BST
88 min: Now it’s Azpilicueta who sees yellow, for clattering into Lennon as the Everton winger looks to make off down the right.
2.30pm BST
87 min: Stones concedes a free kick 30 yards from goal, then kicks the ball away. He’s booked. Willian’s set piece is easily cleared by Everton.
2.29pm BST
86 min: Naismith is upended by a frustrated Willian, 30 yards from goal, just to the left. Barkley fancies the free kick, and whips one towards the top left. Begovic claims. “You’re getting sacked in the morning,” chant half of the Everton support. The other 50 percent are singing “Going down”.
2.28pm BST
84 min: Hazard tries to get Chelsea back into this again. He jinks in from the left, and loops a cross towards the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. Falcao has space to plant a header goalwards, but his effort is weak and easily gathered by Howard.
2.26pm BST
A lovely goal, this. Barkley, Stones and Lennon combine down the right, some pretty triangles. Barkley drifts inside. When he reaches the right-hand corner of the D, he slides a pass down the channel to release Naismith, who takes a touch and slides the ball past Begovic from a tight angle. Stunning finish, and that’s a hat-trick for the substitute!
2.24pm BST
81 min: Matic, to the right of the Everton D, lines up a shot. It’s blocked out for a corner on the right. Willian’s delivery flies straight out of play. Precious relief for Everton.
2.22pm BST
79 min: Everton deal with the set piece easily enough. But Chelsea are beginning to probe quite forcefully now. The home side sitting very deep. It’s going to be a long final ten minutes for the home support.
2.22pm BST
78 min: Willian accelerates into the Everton area down the left, and zings a low cross into the six-yard box. Barry blasts clear. But Chelsea are soon coming back at Everton. Matic makes a bit of space down the left and floats a ball across for Falcao, but it’s a little bit too high. And yet again Chelsea come back at Everton, Willian forcing a corner down the right.
2.19pm BST
77 min: Coleman is replaced by the debutant Funes Mori.
2.19pm BST
75 min: Coleman and Lennon combine down the right. Willian’s first contribution is a hacked clearance. Coleman picks up possession again and tries to curl one into the top left from 30 yards out on the right. Full marks for ambition. But he appears to have jiggered himself while taking that shot. He’s down receiving treatment, and not looking particularly happy with life.
2.17pm BST
74 min: Fabregas is replaced by Willian.
2.15pm BST
72 min: Everton replace the hard-working Kone with Lennon.
2.15pm BST
71 min: And now Everton go back up the other end, Lukaku bombing down the left but delivering neither cross nor shot. This match is great fun.
2.14pm BST
70 min: Everton faff around at the corner, allowing Chelsea to stream upfield. Ivanovic makes good for the Everton box. He thinks about shooting, but hesitates and eventually rolls a pass left for Costa. The striker should shoot first time, but dallies, and the chance is gone.
2.12pm BST
69 min: Naismith looks to feed Galloway down the left. He earns a corner off Ivanovic. Before the set piece is taken, Pedro is replaced by Falcao.
2.11pm BST
68 min: The corner is worked to the right, where Lukaku has room to pelt another low shot at goal. Begovic parries again. He’s been Chelsea’s best player this afternoon. The resulting corner comes to nothing.
2.10pm BST
67 min: Naismith and Kone are both putting in quite a shift. They take turns to battle down the inside-left channel, and eventually earn a corner off Matic, who is forced to track back to help his occasionally hapless defence.
2.08pm BST
64 min: Galloway is booked for an awfully late slide on Pedro. He can have no complaints, it was a dismal challenge. Chelsea flood forward, Hazard cutting in from the left and forcing Howard to flap his high cross out for a corner on the right. From the corner, Pedro spins around in a figure of eight before falling over. No penalty, but in fairness only a few fans made the claim.
2.07pm BST
62 min: And it’s Everton who look the more likely at the moment. Chelsea are light at the back, with Barkley running at their defence. He’s got Kone in acres down the left, but hesitates. Eventually he slips a lame pass to Kone, but the striker’s had to hold his run, and the move breaks down.
2.05pm BST
61 min: Lukaku powers into the Chelsea box down the right. He’s got Terry on his left shoulder, but still gets a shot away, albeit only into the side netting.
2.04pm BST
60 min: Kenedy sashays in from the left, dragging a shot wide left of goal. Chelsea have failed to launch a sustained attack on Everton since the restart. The break came at the wrong time for Mourinho’s men.
2.02pm BST
58 min: Lukaku is sent tearing down the inside-left channel and into the Chelsea box. He lashes low and hard towards the goal. Begovic parries. Terry prods the rebound back to the keeper before Lukaku can take another pop. It should be a free kick for a backpass, on the left-hand corner of the six-yard box, but the referee isn’t having a bar of it. That’s a poor decision. It was a deliberate pass.
2.00pm BST
57 min: Barkley goes on a Gazza-lite dribble down the inside-left channel. He very nearly breaks into the area. A lovely slalom. Matic, on the edge of the box, puts a stop to his
gallop
light trot.
1.59pm BST
55 min: Coleman dribbles down the right and wins a corner off Terry, who comes across to challenge in his trademark no-nonsense style. Stones gets his head to the set piece, but it sails well over the bar. Chelsea hook Mikel; Kenedy comes on in his wake.
1.56pm BST
53 min: Pedro probes down the inside-left channel but runs into a cul-de-sac. Naismith sprays a pass down the left for Lukaku, but there’s too much juice on the ball, which ends up in the stand. Nothing coming off for either side right now.
1.55pm BST
52 min: Costa busies himself down the left and earns a corner. It’s Chelsea’s tenth of the match. It’s not as though Chelsea haven’t applied plenty of pressure. Kone eyebrows clear. Zouma and Barry clash on the edge of the Everton box. Zouma has taken a whack on the knee, but it looks like he’ll be all right after a brief period of agony.
1.52pm BST
49 min: Matic, out on the Chelsea right, passes back to Begovic, who needs to reach the edge of his area in double-quick time to hack clear, McCarthy applying the pressure. Chelsea still not looking fully competent at the back, which is all very strange.
1.50pm BST
47 min: Both teams take a turn to pass it around the back awhile. Everyone finding their feet again. Fabregas curls a cross into the Everton area from the left, but it doesn’t beat the first man.
1.48pm BST
No changes. Jose Mourinho has obviously told his starting XI to sort out their own mess. Chelsea get the ball rolling for the second half.
1.35pm BST
Half-time entertainment: Well, the first half went along like a train. So here’s The Waterloo Bridge Handicap, starring Everton fan Leonard Rossiter.
1.33pm BST
Lukaku slides a ball down the left for Naismith, who couldn’t quite get clear of Ivanovic. Naismith checks, and loops a long cross towards Coleman, who heads harmlessly wide right. And that’s the last meaningful act of a superbly entertaining half. Mourinho stomps off down the tunnel early, his coupon as black as thunder. Roberto Martinez will be happy to talk to his troops too, Everton having gone off the boil dramatically towards the end of that half. But he’ll be happy enough. This is finely poised, and the second half promises to be a blast. No flipping!
1.31pm BST
45 min: Pedro, 25 yards out, scores three rugby points. A perfect conversion. There will be two additional minutes.
1.30pm BST
44 min: Barry tries to release Kone down the inside-right channel, but his pitching wedge is more of a 5-iron. Everton’s passing, so slick up until Matic’s pearler, has gone to pot.
1.28pm BST
43 min: Fabregas glides in from the right and feeds Costa, whose snapshot from the edge of the D is deflected over the bar by Stones. From the corner, another corner. And from that, Fabregas, 25 yards out down the inside-right channel, aims for the bottom left. It’s going wide. Ivanovic tries to guide it in, but not quite. Everton are hanging on a bit here.
1.26pm BST
41 min: Matic has another go from 35 yards. He’s got the taste. Barry sticks himself in the way this time, and the ball balloons out for a corner on the left. Kone clears. Hazard comes romping back at them down the left, but his pullback is aimless. Chelsea have suddenly turned on the style again. That goal’s shocked Everton.
1.25pm BST
38 min: Chelsea have their tails up now. Fabregas embarks on a run down the left and feeds Hazard, who has some space just inside the area. His shot is blocked out for a corner. From the set piece, another corner. And then Hazard dances around the left, flicking a cross into the box. Terry powers a header over from ten yards. So close to the equaliser! That’s why, so the old song goes, they’re champions. Speaking of songs, were the Chelsea fans singing “We are staying up” after Matic’s goal? Ten out of ten for gallows wit if so.
1.22pm BST
And out of nothing, Chelsea are back in it! A throw from the right, the best part of 40 yards out. Matic takes a touch forwards, strides into the space, and unleashes a rising heatseeker into the top-left corner from the best part of 35 yards. That’s as good a goal as you’ll see all season! What an effort! Not even a micro-tell on Mourinho’s face by way of reaction.
1.20pm BST
35 min: Kone cuts in from the right. He chips the ball inside for Lukaku to head on for Naismith. Ivanovic nips in ahead and buys a cheap free kick, Naismith having lightly brushed him from behind while battling for the ball. That’s clever defending by Ivanovic, for Chelsea were exposed without his intervention.
1.19pm BST
33 min: This is a little better from Chelsea, though. A period of possession in the Everton half. Eventually Ivanovic romps down the right and wins a corner off Naismith. From the corner, the ball’s passed this way and that in front of Everton’s box. But they can’t fashion any space. Costa gets fed up and hoicks a high ball in from the left. Howard rises to claim.
1.17pm BST
31 min: Fabregas sprays a delightful crossfield 40-yarder towards Costa down the left. For a second it looks like Costa will take advantage of all the empty space in front of him, but Coleman is across quickly to snuff him out.
1.15pm BST
29 min: A quick free kick taken by Chelsea in the middle of Everton’s half. The hosts asleep. Ivanovic is in the area, with time to line up a shot! But not that much time, and Barry comes across to block. Ivanovic waves his arms around in frustration. Chelsea are far from a happy unit right now. And they’re nearly busted open on the break, with Naismith haring after a long ball down the left, but Zouma is alert and sweeps up.
1.14pm BST
27 min: But the champions are still looking tatty at the back. There’s more space for Coleman down the right. His fierce low cross only just evades Lukaku in the middle. Lukaku scampers to the left to keep the move going. He drops a shoulder and fizzes a low one into the six-yard box. Mikel hacks clear, with the rest of his team all over the place.
1.12pm BST
26 min: Terry slides a gorgeous pass down the left wing to release Azpilicueta into acres of space. A lovely spring after a period of patient possession. The full back breaks into the area and looks to curl one past Howard from an inviting angle, but Stones slides across to block out for a corner. The set piece comes to nothing, but that’s better from Chelsea.
1.10pm BST
24 min: This 2-0 scoreline doesn’t flatter Everton whatsoever. Chelsea attempt to respond through Pedro, who cuts in from the left but drags a weak shot wide left of goal. Earlier in the move, Costa wafted his fingers in Coleman’s face. It would have been a soft red card, but you’ve seen the referee brandish them for unnecessary nonsense like that. Chelsea need to clear their heads, and quickly.
1.08pm BST
Everton are rampant! They shuttle the ball in from the right wing, Lukaku to Kone to McCarthy to Naismith. He’s 25 yards out, just to the left of centre. And he unleashes a low shot, threading it across Begovic and into the bottom right! What a stunning strike! And what a mess Chelsea are in. On the touchline, Jose Mourinho has a face on.
1.06pm BST
20 min: ... the ball breaks to McCarthy, 25 yards out. He sends a rising shot towards the top left. That’s going in, but it’s another fine full-stretch save by Begovic. Chelsea finally tidy up, but they’re all over the place here.
1.05pm BST
19 min: So nearly 2-0! Coleman dances down the right, cuts back, and floats a cross into the box. Kone rises and sends a header towards the top left. Begovic, at full stretch, tips round for a corner. From which ...
1.03pm BST
This is wonderfully simple! Naismith dribbles towards the box. He slides a pass out left for Galloway, and keeps going. Galloway curls a cross into the area. Naismith, timing his run brilliantly, guides a header into the top right, Begovic with no chance! That was a doddle. What on earth has happened to Chelsea’s normally parsimonious defence?!
1.01pm BST
16 min: Costa very nearly bursts clear down the inside-left channel, but is done out of it by some powerful and determined defending by Jagielka.
1.01pm BST
14 min: Ivanovic ushers a long ball out of play for a goal kick down the left. Naismith is right on his shoulder, and shoves Ivanovic over, before aiming a boot up his hole. Ivanovic has a bit of a frown and a moan, but doesn’t make too much of it. Some wonderful old-fashioned nonsense.
12.58pm BST
12 min: Space for McCarthy down the right. He cuts inside and floats a cross to the back post. Naismith isn’t tall enough to plant the nut on it, and the ball whistles out of play to the left. Chelsea still not looking wholly convincing at the back, which is very odd isn’t it.
12.56pm BST
11 min: Ivanovic makes good down the right and wins a corner off Galloway. Pedro’s corner is half cleared, but Fabregas is given space to cross from the right. Zouma tries to guide the whipped cross goalwards, but the ball squirts out to the left of goal. A nice open feel to the early exchanges.
12.55pm BST
9 min: After Barkley’s shot dribbles out of play, Besic crumbles to the turf. He’s not able to continue, and is replaced by Naismith. Why on earth did he come back on?
12.54pm BST
8 min: Lukaku powers through the middle and rolls a pass forward for Besic, who bravely tries to get involved, but he really doesn’t look up to it. The ball breaks left for Barkley, who drags a shot across the face of goal from the left-hand corner of the D, the ball apologetically crossing the byline miles to the right of goal.
12.52pm BST
7 min: Besic comes back onto the pitch, but he’s holding his hamstring and limping quite a lot. Everton playing with ten-and-a-half men at the moment.
12.51pm BST
5 min: From the corner, Lukaku goes up for a high ball with Begovic and gives the keeper a good old clatter. A calling card, in the old language.
12.50pm BST
4 min: Besic very nearly powers past Zouma down the left, and earns a corner. Good news for Everton, but then Besic goes down, having tweaked his hamstring by the looks of it. He looks highly frustrated, punching the turf in a most unhappy manner. He hops off to get some attention.
12.48pm BST
3 min: Costa nutmegs Stones down the inside-left channel, but the defender turns quickly to block the striker’s run and snaffle possession. Money can buy Chelsea diamond rings, but.
12.47pm BST
2 min: A fair bit of space for Ivanovic down the right. He whips a dangerous low cross into the area. Or it would be dangerous if any of his team-mates had been keeping up. Howard is off his line to gather.
12.46pm BST
Everton get the ball rolling. Barkley embarks on a power dribble down the middle, straight from kick off, but is quickly smothered by a white blanket. Then Pedro closes in on Galloway with extreme prejudice. Both teams, within the first ten seconds, have shown some high-tempo intent. We could have a good game on our hands here!
12.44pm BST
Anyway, the theme to Z-Cars is blaring from the PA system, and that means the teams are out! Everton are in their famous blue shirts, with the visitors Chelsea in Real Madrid white. Jose should like that. Quite the atmosphere at Goodison. We’ll be off in a minute!
12.42pm BST
This picture ...
12.13pm BST
The man everyone wants to hear speak this morning:
Jeremy Corbyn
Jose Mourinho. He’s just walked out of an interview with BT Sport at the first mention of his main summer tranfer target John Stones. “It’s before the game. This interview is too long.” He exits with a flourish, a graceful flounce. Before all that, he talked through the return to the Chelsea side of John Terry, for whom Gary Cahill makes way. Cahill will be back for the Champions League in midweek, says Mourinho. And in other team news, John Obi Mikel comes in to do all the tracking back evidently beneath Cesc Fabregas, while Everton are pretty much as expected, with their main injury doubt Brendan Galloway keeping his place at left-back ahead of new boy Ramiro Funes Mori.
11.47am BST
Everton: Howard, Coleman, Stones, Jagielka, Galloway, McCarthy, Barry, Besic, Barkley, Kone, Lukaku.
Subs: Robles, Mirallas, Lennon, Naismith, Deulofeu, Osman, Funes Mori.
Chelsea: Begovic, Ivanovic, Zouma, Terry, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Matic, Pedro, Fabregas, Hazard, Costa.
Subs: Falcao, Kenedy, Remy, Willian, Cahill, Blackman, Loftus-Cheek.
4.30pm BST
This fixture was the match of the season last year, a ludicrously entertaining knockabout which Chelsea won 6-3. The same again this time round? Hey, why not!
Everton have already scored ten goals this season, while shipping seven. They’ve been all over the shop so far, in the nicest possible sense: scraping a draw at home to Watford, thrashing Saints away, making in-form Manchester City work for their win, becoming entangled in an eight-goal thriller at third-division Barnsley, dogging out a draw at Spurs. It’s been a mixed bag all right.
Continue reading...September 8, 2015
England v Switzerland: Euro 2016 qualifier – as it happened
9.37pm BST
And that’s that! Wayne Rooney breaks Sir Bobby Charlton’s long-standing goalscoring record by notching his 50th goal for England. The first man to congratulate him on the final whistle is the Swiss captain Gokhan Inler. Switzerland were just about the better team in the first half, but England were much improved in the second and deserved their victory. And so that perfect qualification record is still on. Eight down, two to go...
9.35pm BST
90 min +2: Switzerland see quite a bit of the ball, but go nowhere with it.
9.34pm BST
90 min +1: Everyone just waiting for the OK to go home.
9.33pm BST
90 min: Sterling, who has been quietly impressive this evening, earns a free kick down the right, his intricate play frustrating a frowning Seferovic into a lazy hack. The set piece is cleared easily enough. There will be three added minutes of this.
9.32pm BST
89 min: Kane bustles to earn a corner down the left. Milner takes. Barkley rises to meet the corner, but his header is blocked at source by Inler.
9.31pm BST
88 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain plants his studs on Rodriguez’s knee, as the Swiss full back scampers up the left wing. He should be booked for that, but it’s just a free kick, and one that’s easily snaffled by Hart.
9.30pm BST
86 min: Just before the penalty and the goal, Shaqiri had a dig from 25 yards. It wasn’t far away. But now it looks all over. Wembley is still rippling in appreciation of Rooney’s record-breaking feat.
9.28pm BST
Rooney steps up and lashes the spot kick into the top-left corner! Unstoppable! Ladies and gentlemen, please be upstanding for England’s all-time leading goalscorer: 50-goal Wayne Rooney! He screams to the heavens in delight. Ah well, Sir Bobby, you had one hell of a run.
9.26pm BST
83 min: A wonderful jink and pullback by Sterling, just inside the box on the left. It confuses Zhaka, who hangs a leg out and downs his man. The record could be on!
9.25pm BST
82 min: Shaqiri wins a corner off Smalling down the right. The ball honks into the assistant referee’s coupon, action which generates the biggest cheer of the evening. Corner leads to corner, but nothing comes of either set piece.
9.23pm BST
80 min: Behrami is replaced by Dzemaili.
9.23pm BST
79 min: Embolo battles Shaw down the inside-left channel. He’s manhandled off the ball. It should be a free kick, just to the left of the D, but the referee doesn’t blow his whistle. Embolo is highly affronted at the non-decision, and you can’t really blame him.
9.21pm BST
77 min: Klose embarks on a power dribble down the middle, a bustling, low-def version of Franz Beckenbauer. It nearly comes off, too, as the ball breaks off his shins and into the box. He bombs after it. Milner does enough to put him off, but for a second Hart was exposed there.
9.19pm BST
75 min: England are pressing here. Shaw makes good down the left again but can’t deliver an accurate cross. Sterling retrieves it, busies himself down the inside-right channel, and nearly presents Kane with a chance to shoot from the penalty spot. The striker can’t quite get enough purchase on the ball. “So if Kane gets a second tonight, who takes the last-minute penalty?” wonders Justin Kavanagh. “That would be quite a shouting match!” I’m sure by that point Hodgson will have replaced record-seeking Rooney with Jamie Vardy, thus avoiding any unnecessary potential controversies.
9.16pm BST
72 min: Before the free kick can be taken, Switzerland swap Stocker for Seferovic. Shaqiri then blasts a witless free kick straight into the England wall.
9.15pm BST
71 min: Embolo loops a pass down the right wing. Shaqiri chases. He links arms with Smalling, a good old-school tussle. Plenty of to and fro, cut and thrust. But eventually Smalling goes too far, clanking his opponent from behind. He’s booked, and this is a free kick in a dangerous position, just to the right of the D.
9.11pm BST
68 min: Stones comes on for Clyne.
9.11pm BST
So simple. Shaw is released into the area down the left by Rooney’s perfectly weighted pass. Shaw nears the byline, then pulls a low ball back into the centre. Kane, cutting in from the right, meets it first time and lashes a low, hard shot into the bottom right corner. A brilliant finish!
9.09pm BST
66 min: A couple of long-range England efforts, both coming down the inside-left channel. Milner first: his is lashed well wide right. Then Kane skelps his one down Sommer’s throat.
9.08pm BST
64 min: Embolo’s first act is to miss an open goal from six yards, the ball rolling apologetically to the right of the right-hand post. To be fair to the young man, he knew the offside flag had gone up. Inler had slipped the ball down the inside-left channel to release Stocker, but Clyne stepped up to secure the offside decision. Smart defending. Stocker then rolled the ball to his right, taking Hart out of the action, for Embolo’s unfortunate prod.
9.06pm BST
63 min: Drmic, excellent in the first half but a little quieter since the restart, is replaced by the 18-year-old prospect Embolo.
9.04pm BST
61 min: Rooney loses the ball in the middle of the park. Schar powers down the field, exchanges passes with Drmic, and earns a corner when his shot cannons off Smalling and bobbles out for a corner on the right. From the set piece, Inler receives the ball 30 yards out. He has a dig, but it’s overly ambitious.
9.01pm BST
58 min: A very disappointed Shelvey is replaced by Kane.
8.59pm BST
57 min: Rodriguez bustles to win a corner down the left. The same player takes the set piece, and whips a low one to the near post. Shaqiri stoops to poke a header towards the bottom left. Hart makes a song and dance of parrying it round the post. The second set piece comes to nothing.
8.58pm BST
55 min: Milner feeds Rooney down the inside-left channel. Rooney lashes a powerful rising shot towards the top left from 25 yards. It’s a fine, old-fashioned attempt, and has to be gathered well by Sommer. That shot was delivered with a lovely, sweet crack.
8.57pm BST
54 min: England are on top in terms of possession right now, but can’t make any meaningful territorial gains.
8.55pm BST
51 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain bursts past Rodriguez down the right. He enters the box and reaches the byline, then dinks one into the middle for Rooney. The England captain winds his neck back and powers a header goalwards. But it’s not powerful enough, and Sommer plucks it from the sky easily. He should probably have left that for Sterling, as well. Sterling was loitering behind Rooney, waiting for the ball to drop so he could cream a volley home from 12 yards.
8.53pm BST
49 min: Shaqiri very nearly outmuscles Shaw down the right, but the young England defender gives as good as he gets, and just about holds his man off. Both teams have come out with a very positive mindset.
8.51pm BST
47 min: But it’s England who craft the first opportunity of the half. Barkley lifts a ball down the left for Sterling, who momentarily looks like tearing clear into the box. He’s forced to check, and lays the ball back to Barkley, who attempts a curler into the top right from distance. It’s deflected out for a corner, which results in Rooney climbing all over Schar while contesting a header.
8.50pm BST
England get the ball rolling once more. And it’s not long before the Swiss are stroking it around with great confidence. A lot of tasty triangles. Toblerone-taka.
8.45pm BST
Half-time entertainment: The Wembley pitch tonight carries a subliminal message from a popular high-street turf accountant, thanks to an ad which hasn’t been rubbed out properly in the wake of the recent Challenge Cup final. To celebrate this rank ineptitude, here’s a picture of Red Rum attempting to place a bet in a Stoke Newington bookie.
8.32pm BST
The Swiss once again causing England a few problems at Wembley. They certainly look capable of registering their first win here. Hodgson’s side need to up their game if they want to maintain their 100 percent record. It should be a fascinating second half. No flipping!
8.30pm BST
45 min: Stocker plays a cute reverse pass down the left to release Rodriguez into space. Clyne does well to hold him up. England could do with the half-time whistle here.
8.29pm BST
43 min: England are suddenly very ragged. Shaqiri dribbles down the left, glides inside, then rolls a diagonal pass across to the right of the D for the highly impressive Drmic. His shot’s not the best, dragged across Hart and out of play on the left of goal, but the striker’s movement has caused England no end of bother this evening.
8.28pm BST
42 min: A period of possession football for Switzerland. Suddenly Inler rolls a pass down the inside-left channel to release Drmic on goal. The flag goes up for offside, but he looked level. Lucky England.
8.25pm BST
39 min: A rare pocket of space for Oxlade-Chamberlain down the right wing. He loops a cross into the box, where Rooney rises eight yards from goal. Schar holds his position well, though, and ensures the England striker can’t plant his head on the ball.
8.24pm BST
38 min: Sterling burns Behrami down the left, reaching the byline and dinking a lovely high ball through the Swiss six-yard area. But nobody in white has kept up with play.
8.22pm BST
36 min: Milner and Sterling combine nicely down the left wing, the latter very nearly flicking a pass between two red shirts to release Rooney along the flank. But it’s deflected out of the England captain’s road. Wembley is pretty quiet right now, the Swiss fans and their drums apart.
8.21pm BST
34 min: Shaw carelessly loses the ball down the left. Shaqiri romps into England’s half. He slides the ball forward for Stocker, to the right of the D. He holds the ball up well, then with his back to goal looks to backheel Drmic clear into the area down the right. It doesn’t quite come off. But England are a bit ragged right now. A few mistakes creeping in.
8.18pm BST
31 min: Drmic cuts in from the left and feeds Inler, who flicks forward along the channel to release Shaqiri into the box. He’s one on one with Hart! But the keeper is quickly off his line, and smothers bravely. Shaqiri was never in total control of that, but it was a fine save nonetheless. The nearest we’ve had to a goal.
8.15pm BST
29 min: Shelvey loses the ball 30 yards from goal, a loose pass in the general direction of his defenders but no more. Shaqiri snaffles possession and opts to have a hoick from 30 yards. It’s not particularly good. Shelvey’s lost concentration once or twice already tonight, a surprise given his superlative form for Swansea so far this season.
8.13pm BST
28 min: Milner is booked for an impatient lunge on Lichtsteiner after miscontrolling the ball. He has a good old moan about it, but really shouldn’t be complaining.
8.12pm BST
27 min: Switzerland have finally woken up. Rodriguez makes good down the left and fizzes a low ball into the area for Drmic, who shapes to shoot on the penalty spot but is denied at the very last second by an excellent Smalling challenge.
8.12pm BST
25 min: Shaqiri feeds Lichtsteiner on the overlap down the right. The right back bursts into the box but is denied by a determined challenge by the backtracking Sterling. The corner is eyebrowed away by Rooney. The ball quickly comes back at England, with Shaqiri only just caught offside down the right. Better from the Swiss.
8.10pm BST
23 min: Inler, in acres in the centre circle, rakes a long ball down the right for Drmic to chase. Hart is out quickly to gather on the edge of his box. Switzerland aren’t doing much up front. England are very comfortable. Though this does have the vague air of the friendly.
8.07pm BST
21 min: Rooney feeds Milner down the inside-left channel. Milner hits the target, but Sommer is never letting that in at his near post. Then there’s another phase of attack, and Shelvey finds himself in space 30 yards out. He can’t resist. He can’t get his effort within 20 yards of the goal, either. Wild, wild, wild. But England are on top here.
8.06pm BST
19 min: Lichtsteiner opens the legs down the right and whistles a low ball into the area for Drmic. Clyne steps in to sweep the ball away from danger. Drmic gives his team-mate the old thumbs up, but in truth he was never getting to that cross.
8.04pm BST
17 min: Rooney is definitely after that 50th goal. He bursts down the inside-left channel and attempts to curl a delicate one across Sommer and into the bottom right. Not quite, but top marks for ambition.
8.02pm BST
15 min: Shaw, sent into space by Rooney, whips one in from the left. Oxlade-Chamberlain cuts in from the right to meet the cross, and attempts to flick one home with the outside of his boot from the penalty spot. Three rugby points, but that’s another visually pleasing move from England.
8.00pm BST
14 min: Milner, Sterling and Shaw triangulate nicely down the left, but the move breaks down when Milner attempts to flick the ball into the box for Rooney. He’ll need a better final ball for that landmark goal, though the build-up play was very pretty. “Whatever you think of Rooney, 50 international goals (assuming he scores tonight) from one player in little over a hundred games over the past decade is a decent effort, it has to be said,” writes self-flagellation’s Simon McMahon. “I’m not sure the entire Scotland team has scored that many in the same time period.”
7.58pm BST
12 min: Sterling jinks down the left. Lichtsteiner, just outside the area, hangs his arm out in the style of Ben Stokes. Free kick. Milner stands over it. England load the box. Milner delivers - and it doesn’t beat the first man. Highly poor.
7.57pm BST
10 min: Another corner for the Swiss, Smalling dealing with a wicked ball in from the left by Xhaka. From the set piece, there’s a small rumble on the penalty spot, but neither Drmic nor Schar can get a foot on the ball. England clear.
7.54pm BST
8 min: Drmic sees a long-distance rake deflected wide right for a corner. Barkley, quickly warmed up, is the man who deals with the ball in. Danger over. “Sad to see Delph go,” sighs Joe Deasy. “He didn’t put a foot wrong all game.”
7.53pm BST
6 min: Cahill, fearless in his bondage mask, powers a header towards the right-hand side of the Swiss goal from ten yards. His effort is parried by Sommer. It looks like it’s going out for a corner, but Rooney was sniffing around for that 50th goal and must have got a touch. Goal kick.
7.52pm BST
5 min: A stuttering start after that Delph business. Shaw breaks the monotony by bursting down the left and winning an England corner.
7.50pm BST
3 min: On comes Ross Barkley. Poor Delph. Shades of Stuart Ripley against Moldova in 1997, though he lasted a bit longer, by a good eight minutes and 32 seconds.
7.48pm BST
2 min: And that looks like the end of Delph’s evening! That one burst down the left, and that dodgy hamstring has gone again. Has he been taught how to warm up? He’s off down the tunnel, but not replaced yet.
7.46pm BST
Switzerland, decked out in red, get the ball rolling. They lose it within five seconds of play, and Delph attempts a rollicking run down the left. He’s soon bundled out of it by Xhaka.
7.44pm BST
The atmosphere is building at Wembley, with the teams out and the national anthems being played. And look at these dudes! Alpenhorns! That shows dedication, quite a few steps up from the old scarf and rattle. Imagine checking those things in at the airport. Imagine taking them on the Tube! Just as well the trains on the Metropolitan Line are set up as one long continuous carriage these days.
7.26pm BST
Ferenc Puskas. Pele. Gerd Muller. Sandor Kocsis. Ronaldo. Miroslav Klose. Didier Drogba. David Villa. Gabriel Batistuta. Samuel Eto’o. Cristiano Ronaldo. Jon Dahl Tomasson. Thierry Henry. Robbie Keane. And of course Iran’s 109-goal legend Ali Daei. Quite a roll-call of talent there. Just a few of the stars who have reached the 50-goal mark in international football. Would young Mr Rooney belong in such exalted company? Of course he bloody well would. Nothing wrong with a bit of iconoclasm, but there’s a time and a place for it.
7.16pm BST
As for Switzerland, it’s surely all about Josip Drmić, who started and completed his side’s astonishing comeback against Slovenia on Saturday. The Swiss were 2-0 down with ten minutes to go before the Borussia Mönchengladbach star did his thing. The 23-year-old is on something of a roll right now, as he also scored the equaliser against Lithuania in June, another match Switzerland went on to win. England want to watch themselves if they score first.
7.12pm BST
England make four changes from San Marino, then, as the first nation to qualify for Euro 2016 go looking for the point that’d seal the group - and the win that’d keep them on course for a perfect qualification. Chris Smalling, Gary Cahill, Fabian Delph and Raheem Sterling come into the side in place of John Stones, Phil Jagielka, Ross Barkley and Jamie Vardy. Wayne Rooney captains the team, his head no doubt swimming at the prospect of overhauling Sir Bobby Charlton at the top of the England goalscoring charts. Jonjo Shelvey, aka Brendan Rodgers’ Biggest Mistake, continues in the midfield.
7.01pm BST
England: Hart, Clyne, Cahill, Smalling, Shaw, Delph, Shelvey, Milner, Sterling, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Rooney.
Subs: Gibbs, Butland, Walcott, Stones, Jagielka, Vardy, Kane, Mason, Barkley, Heaton.
Switzerland: Sommer, Lichtsteiner, Klose, Rodriguez, Schar, Inler, Xhaka, Behrami, Stocker, Drmic, Shaqiri.
Subs: Burki, Hitz, Widmer, von Bergen, Moubandje, Lustenberger, Kasami, Fernandes, Inler, Stocker, Embolo.
6.40pm BST
The full teamsheets anon, but here’s the England starting XI, now featuring Manchester City star turns Raheem Sterling and Fabian Delph: Hart, Clyne, Shaw, Shelvey, Cahill, Smalling, Milner, Delph, Sterling, Rooney, Oxlade-Chamberlain.
9.28am BST
Seven wins out of seven. Just three more victories, then, and England will be joining an elite band of five teams and four countries to have qualified for a European Championship finals with a perfect record in their group. France managed it first, ahead of stinking out Euro 92. The Czech Republic were next up, en route to Euro 2000. France did it again in the Euro 2004 qualifiers. And then, last time round, Germany and eventual winners Spain both clocked up ten out of ten. Not bad company.
Seven down, three to go - and hurdle eight, Switzerland at Wembley, doesn’t appear particularly high, on paper at least. Roy Hodgson’s side brushed the Swiss aside in Basel exactly one year ago today, the easiest of 2-0 victories, and one which set the tone for this frankly boring (not that it’s been England’s fault) campaign. England are now nine unbeaten against the Swiss, since Ron’s 22 lost 2-1 in Basel during the qualifiers for Espana 82. That match remains Switzerland’s only victory over England in competitive action. All signs on Roy’s eight-ball point to yes.
Continue reading...Football transfer rumours: Barcelona to sign Riyad Mahrez from Leicester?
Today’s rumours are high on work life
Ah, the heady combination of the first international break of the season and the period directly following the closure of the summer transfer window. You know what’s coming up, don’t you. That’s right! Not much is what’s coming up. But we’ll try our best.
Barcelona, having offloaded Pedro to Chelsea, plan to replace the wee man with Riyad Mahrez. The in-form Leicester City winger is also a target for Arsenal, who are considering purchasing a player in 2016 or 2017, though no promises, let’s not get over-excited yet.
Continue reading...August 26, 2015
World Athletics Championships: Beijing 2015, day five – as it happened
2.52pm BST
All the best to Wayde van Niekerk, then, who, let us pray, is simply exhausted and perhaps a little overwhelmed at becoming world champion and the fourth-fastest 400m runner of all time. But today’s fare was of such high standard that he’s got genuine competition for performance of the day. Yarisley Silva’s clutch vault of 4.90. Zuzana Hejnova’s imperial glide in the 400m hurdles. Julius Yego’s breakdance dive after lashing the javelin over 90 metres. Hyvin Jepkemoi’s burst down the stretch to win the steeplechase. Justin Gatlin throwing the 200m gauntlet down to Usain Bolt, who looks to be pacing himself with a view to picking it up. And Dina Asher-Smith’s personal best, also in the 200m. Some evening. Roll on day six!
2.39pm BST
That run’s taken every drop of energy out of van Niekerk, though. After a little time spent celebrating his victory, he lies down on the track, and is bundled onto a stretcher and whisked away for a check-up.
2.35pm BST
That was some pelt around the track! Three men all under 44 seconds. Groundbreaking. The new world champion Wayde van Niekerk in 43.48. LaShawn Merritt in 43.65: a personal best for a man who has won Olympic gold and a couple of world titles to boot, and still not good enough for victory! And then Kirani James in 43.78. That’s quite the dash. A very decent sixth place for Rabah Yousif, by the way: 44.68.
2.31pm BST
And they’re off first time! Merritt makes the early pace. And he’s still leading through the 250m mark. Van Niekerk is first to challenge him - and he’s timed his run to perfection! He bursts clear around the final bend, and bombs down the straight. For a second, it looks like James might burn him on the inside. And then it looks like Merritt will recover the lead down the right. But van Niekerk has got a rhythm going, and he’s not of a mind to let the lead he’s established slip. Van Niekerk takes gold for South Africa with a run of 43.48, with Merritt in second place and James - never really in it - settling for bronze. That’s the fourth fastest run of all time, and the second fastest in world championship history!
2.27pm BST
The last race of the day is the men’s 400m final. It’s some denouement to an already excellent evening of track and field. And it’s some line-up: the Olympic champion Kirani James, world leader Isaac Makwala, defending champion La Shawn Merritt, the emerging Wayde van Niekerk, Rabah Yousif of Britain, Yousef Masrahi. But just before that starts, Silva looks to embellish her gold by clearing 5.01m, but she can’t make it. She’s the champion anyway, thanks to that leap at 4.90.
2.20pm BST
Special mention of Hiwot Ayalew of Ethiopia. She effectively bridled at one of the water jumps. The whole pack scooted away, while she slowly climbed onto the top of the jump before leaping gingerly into the briny. Completely mistimed, with a brain freeze thrown in. Thing is, despite that ludicrous carry on, she ended the race in sixth place, just over five seconds behind the winner Jepkemoi. She’ll replay that moment in her head on quite a few occasions.
2.15pm BST
The bell at the steeplechase. Babar has long been overhauled. It was a slow race, but what a finish! Coburn led going over the final water jump, but was overtaken at the turn. Then the world leader Ghribi took charge on the final straight, only to be passed on the inside by Krause. It looks as though the German is going to surprise everyone, but then Ghribi fights back. Only problem for the pair is, Jepkemoi is tearing along on the outside, and it’s the Kenyan who takes the tape! It’s Jepkemoi in 9:19.11 from Ghribi in 9:19.24 and Krause in 9:19.25.
2.09pm BST
Silva clears the bar at 4.90! It’s a stunning vault: it was her third attempt, and if she’d failed it’d have been gold for Murer, who had a better card with fewer failures at lower heights. But now the pressure’s back on the Brazilian! She’s got to make it - and she crashes fairly apologetically into the bar. Silva, the world leader and pre-championship favourite, pulled a big one out right at the death to snatch the gold! Murer settles for silver.
2.05pm BST
It’s a fairly slow start to the steeplechase. Lalita Babar of India is setting the pace, a few yards in front of the pack. Meanwhile in the pole vault, it’s bronze for Kyriakopoulou as she fails to get over the bar with either of her attempts at 4.90.
1.58pm BST
In the meantime, the finalists for the women’s 300m steeplechase are making their way to the track. All of the favourites made it through the heats. This year’s world leader, Habiba Ghribi of Tunisia, clocked the best time: 9:24.38. Half a second or so behind her, Gesa Felicitas Krause of Germany. Ethiopia’s Hiwot Ayalew was the third best qualifier in 9:25.55. Also sure to be in the mix: the current world number two Hyvin Jepkemoi and Virginia Nyambura Nganga, both of Kenya.
1.57pm BST
Holly Bradshaw is unable to clear 4.80 in the pole vault. But what a marvellous performance by the young British star anyway. Sidelined with a nasty back injury for the best part of two years, she’s just recorded her season’s best of 4.70, and in the final of a major championship to boot. She’s back, baby. Meanwhile it’s between Silva, Murer and Kyriakopoulou for the medals. Silva and Murer make it over 4.85. The Greek doesn’t, and passes her two remaining attempts to the next height, 4.90.
1.51pm BST
Can you hear the clicking of cameras and flashing of bulbs? All the way from Beijing? Yep, it’s Usain Bolt. He’s out and about for the third and final men’s 200m heat. And he only - only! - runs 19.95, though he started slowly and was practically jogging as he crossed the line. Effortless, with plenty left in the tank. Anaso Jobodwana of South Africa crosses in second to make the final. Ramil Guliyev is third in 20.10, which is enough to make the final as a fast loser along with Ogunode. No joy for Martina, then. And a new personal best for Great Britain’s Daniel Talbot, incidentally, who finished sixth in that heat with a personal best of 20.27
1.44pm BST
The second men’s 200m heat. Justin Gatlin takes it with ease in 19.87. That’s some time for a semi-final. He qualifies with Alonso Edward, who runs 20.02. In third place, Femi Ogunode of Qatar’s 20.05 is a national record, and might well be good enough for a place in the final. Meanwhile in the pole vault, Yarisley Silva, the world leader from Cuba, eases over the bar at 4.80, though it’s her second attempt and so she’s still behind Kyriakopoulou. And then Fabiana Murer of Brazil follows her over! There’s plenty left in this battle.
1.38pm BST
A huge vault of 4.80 by Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou in the women’s pole. She’s the only athlete to clear that height so far, and has done so rather easily. Holly Bradshaw has had one attempt, but didn’t get anywhere near it. Getting to the business end there.
1.34pm BST
The first heat. And they were all in a line for the first 150m, until Zharnel Hughes of GB&I broke clear of the pack to cross in 20.14. That was a tense tussle. He’ll have a good draw for the final. “I’m ready!” he smiles. Also making it through: Nickel Ashmeade of Jamaica in 20.19. It wasn’t the most blistering race, so whether Churandy Martina of Holland will make it as a fastest loser remains to be seen.
1.29pm BST
The men’s 200m semis, then. Usain Bolt this, Justin Gatlin that. But elsewhere, keep an eye out for the fastest man in the heats, Ramil Guliyev of Turkey, whose 20.01 was a national record; the UK’s Zharnel Hughes, who was third fastest overall with his 20.13; and the 16-year-old Japanese prospect Abdul Hakim Sani Brown, who clocked 20.35, one hundredth of a second off his personal best.
1.29pm BST
Julius Yego wins Kenya’s first gold in the field! His astonishing face-on-the-floor throw of 92.72 was more than enough to win the men’s javelin title! He throws another one over 90m, but it’s red flagged. No matter, he already knows he’s won, ahead of El Sayed (88.99) and Pitkamaki (87.64). The early leader Rohler lost out on a medal by 23cm. That was a winning throw of astonishing power.
1.24pm BST
Eilidh Child finished in sixth place, incidentally, with a time of 54.78. A decent placing given a very sluggish start to her race. But it’s a little bittersweet. “I feel I’ve just thrown a medal away, I was a bit sluggish over the hurdles. I feel I’ve let myself down a little bit. But it’s a good thing that I’m disappointed at being sixth in the world. I’ll use it as motivation and try to do something at the Olympics next year.” Ah, the relentless drive and determination of the elite sports star. If I was sixth in the world at anything, I’d be off down the pub and ordering their most expensive bottle. Which is why I’ll never be sixth in the world at anything. Still, swings and roundabouts.
1.18pm BST
Hejnova retains her 400m hurdles title! Tate took the early lead, and was looking extremely strong for the first 200m, but Hejnova smoothly went through the gears and by the final stretch was way clear of the field. She ambled across the line in 53.50. Shamier Little finished strongly to pip Tate for second, 53.94 to 54.02. A second world gold for the Czech, then, who will be expected to improve on her bronze at the London Olympics in Rio next year!
1.12pm BST
This is a stunning performance by Holly Bradshaw in the pole vault! She’s just cleared 4.70 with ease! Meanwhile on the track, it’s the women’s 400m hurdles final. The favourite is the defending champion Zuzana Hejnova, who clocked the fastest time in the semi-finals with a breezy, easy 54.24. Janieve Russell and Kaliese Spencer of Jamaica, and the USA’s Cassandra Tate will be in the mix. Elidh Child of Scotland made it through as one of two fast non-automatic qualifiers.
1.10pm BST
And now the final women’s 200m heat. The 19-year-old British prospect Dina Asher-Smith is up - and she burns the field, crossing the line in an insouciant 22.22. A personal best. And the best of the lot this evening! Sherone Simpson and Ivet Lalova-Collio qualify in her wake. Asher-Smith is interviewed by the BBC, and nearly crumples in glee when she’s told that, back in the studio, Michael Johnson has spoken in glowing terms about how relaxed she looks. She’s enjoying life right now.
12.58pm BST
Campbell-Brown will escape disqualification, thanks to rule 163.4 of the IAAF’s big special book. That’s because she crossed lanes “in the straight with no material advantage being gained, and no other athlete being jostled or obstructed so as to impede his or her progress”. Adeoye’s slow pace round the bend, and the fact she recovered to third, has saved the 2011 champion! Meanwhile in the men’s javelin, Tero Pitkamaki of Finland throws 87.64 to replace Thomas Rohler in third place. He still trails El Sayed with 88.99 in second, and of course Yego’s superlative 92.72.
12.54pm BST
In the women’s pole, Holly Bradshaw has just cleared 4.60 at her second attempt. The first one represented her first failure at these championships; the second represents her season’s best! She’s elated as she springs up off the mat. Meanwhile in the sixth women’s 200m heat, Dafne Schippers wins at a canter, 22.58. Hardly a bead of sweat on her as she crosses the line. She looks like she’s popping down the shops for a pint of milk! One of the favourites, for sure. Rosangela Santos and Reyare Thomas also make it through.
12.51pm BST
Heat five, and some very strange scenes involving the 2011 winner Veronica Campbell-Brown. The Jamaican takes this one in 22.79, one tenth ahead of Semoy Hackett. But coming off the bend, she drifts into the lane on her outside. She’s in Margaret Adeoye’s lane, but far enough ahead not to obstruct the Brit. Adeoye makes it through in third regardless, in 23.10. But that could be a disqualification for the two-time world gold medallist. If so, fourth-placed Crystal Emmanuel may be scraping through.
12.42pm BST
The fourth heat of the women’s 200m. Elaine Thompson takes it in 22.78, having slowed down after 150m to almost walking pace as she crossed the line. Easy as you like for the Jamaican. Qualifying behind her are Bianca Williams of Great Britain, with her season’s best time of 22.85, and Khamica Bingham of Canada in 22.90.
12.39pm BST
An astonishing throw by Julius Yego! He literally launches himself into his third attempt, straining every sinew as he releases the javelin and falling face down onto the floor. His nipples will have taken a hell of a scraping there. It’s ungainly. Unorthodox. And my goodness it’s worth it, the spear flying way past the 90-metre mark! It’s a throw of 92.72, a season’s best! And the Commonwealth record, previously held by Steve Backley.
12.32pm BST
The third heat in the women’s 200m. Blessing Okagbare of Nigeria, bronze medal winner in 2013, does not start. It’s easily won in 22.79 by Jeneba Tarmoh of the USA. Also qualifying: Gloria Hooper of Italy and Kimberly Hyacinthe of Canada. In the men’s javelin, El Sayed has just significantly improved on his 86.07: a throw of 88.99 has pushed Rohler into second spot.
12.26pm BST
Holly Bradshaw has started the women’s pole vault confidently. She easily clears 4.35 with her first jump, and flips over 4.50 without too much trouble. Meanwhile in the men’s javelin, Thomas Rohler of Germany puts in the first big throw: he’s the early leader with 86.68. Ihan El Sayed is on his tail, half a metre or so behind him. And the second heat in the women’s 200m is off, and Marie-Josee Ta Lou of the Ivory Coast takes it from the USA’s Jenna Prandini in 22.73, a personal best for the Ivorian. Justine Palframan of South Africa also makes it through.
12.24pm BST
12.19pm BST
And now on the track, the women’s 200m heats begin. There’s no Allyson Felix in this discipline: the only woman to have broken 22 seconds this year has opted to concentrate on the 400m instead. No defending champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, either, who had both eyes on 100m glory, a fair old decision as it turned out. So this one’s wide open. Candyce McGrone and Dafne Schippers have clocked the next fastest times behind Felix, 22.08 and 22.09 respectively, and are joint favourites for the title. But it’s all about qualification today. And it’s McGrone who wins the first heat, romping home in 22.45, miles ahead of Mujinga Kambundji of Switzerland (22.92). Viktoriya Zyabkina of Kazakhstan is the other qualifier.
12.12pm BST
Also in the field, the men’s javelin final. The Olympic champion Keshorn Walcott has failed to make this one. His qualification throw of 82m should have been enough, but a narrow foot fault did for the Trinidadian. The defending world champion Vitezslav Vesely made it with ease, though, the Czech qualifying with his first throw. Julius Yego of Kenya, whose 91.39m throw in Birmingham a couple of months ago is the best of the season, will be looking to better his fourth place in Moscow two years ago. And there’s a surprise package in Andreas Hofmann: the German threw a personal best of 86.14m to qualify in first place. But of course all eyes here will be on Yego, who famously taught himself how to throw by studying clips on YouTube. There’d be no more popular winner. And it’d be Kenya’s first non-track gold if he does it. The two-time world silver medallist Steve Backley is on the BBC rhapsodising about Yego’s technique. Backley’s also asked about the possible threat of storms this evening. He looks up to the sky and extemporises a weather forecast. “There’s a cloud. We can sort of see it emerging. But it’s OK at the moment.” There’s a cloud. Come back, Met Office, all is forgiven!
12.00pm BST
And so to this evening’s action. First up ... the women’s pole vault final. All the big names have made it, having cleared 4.55m in the qualification session. Yarisley Silva of Cuba, the hottest property this year with a season’s best of 4.91m earlier this month. Nikoleta Kyriakopoulou of Greece, the next best on the seasonal list, having cleared 4.83m in July. The reigning Olympic champion Jenn Suhr of the USA. The 2011 world champion Fabiana Murer. And our own Holly Bradshaw, whose qualification vault was her season best, the first staging post on her comeback from a recurring back injury. It promises to be a cracker.
11.53am BST
Before the action begins, a medal ceremony of note takes place in the Bird’s Nest. Representing Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the Olympic and now World champion in the men’s long jump: Greg Rutherford. Ladies and gentlemen, please stand for the national anth... no, let’s not bother doing that. Instead, allow the man himself to get your blood pumping and juices flowing with a good old-fashioned BLAST of righteous ire. Has he proved his worth? Oh he’s proved his worth.
Related: Greg Rutherford hits back at critics after world championship long jump gold
11.30am BST
Good afternoon London; good evening Beijing! It’s the second session of day five at the World Athletics, and there’s plenty of running, flinging and jumping coming your way in the next couple of hours.
Eilidh Child runs in the final of the 400m hurdles, looking to add a world gold to the European title she claimed last year. They’re getting set at 1.10pm BST, 8.10pm in Beijing.
Related: Mo Farah keeps world championship double hopes alive despite last-lap trip
Continue reading...Football transfer rumours: Barcelona to win race for Andriy Yarmolenko?
Today’s rumours thought the count would be higher
So there’s poor Ronny Deila, sitting atop of a pile of rubble, staring at an unspecified point in the middle distance. Again. Celtic had been hopeful of holding on to Virgil van Dijk, but that was before Deila suffered the second Artmediaing of his short career with the Scottish champions at the hands of Malmo. Southampton have long been favourites to make off with the defender, but Everton suddenly have a John Stones-shaped hole to fill, and now they’re getting involved too. Expect a struggle to develop. A big cartoon cloud with fists and boots poking out of it. As if our simple rubble metaphor wasn’t making the place dusty enough.
Everton, with £40m of Chelsea’s money burning a hole in their pocket, are also interested in Tottenham’s Federico Fazio. It won’t be long before Roberto Martínez has built an entire defence all by himself. The David Moyes era suddenly looks like a speck in the rear-view mirror, doesn’t it. Take deep breaths, the separation anxiety will pass.
Related: Chelsea ready to make £40m offer for Everton’s centre-back John Stones
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