Scott Murray's Blog, page 48

Scotland 3-0 Ukraine: Nations League – as it happened

High-energy Scotland scored three and could have had a few more as they moved to the top of Group B1

4 min: Scotland respond well. Patterson launches down the inside-right channel. McGinn flicks on and very nearly sends Adams into space. Not quite, but that’s got the crowd, unsettled by Ukraine’s confident start, going again.

3 min: A long pass sends Dovbyk free down the middle. The flag eventually goes up for offside, but had he rippled the net, VAR might have had something to say about that decision. It looked very close. A fast start by Ukraine.

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The Fiver | The Home Nations are pinning their collective hopes on Scotland, then

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Given the state of the place and the clowns brazenly running it into the ground, The Fiver gives the United Kingdom another decade tops before it splits into four independent countries, or maybe territories so small they’d make several of the states on the Balkan peninsula look like Canada. Two or three years if the disaster capitalists take it up another notch and the unravelling really starts to accelerate with extreme prejudice. But we’re pretty sure the union will hold firm until at least the end of next week, yes, fairly sure, so for now we’re on reasonably safe ground with the concept of the Home Nations, right? Right! Nations League preview for England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales it is, then.

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Sheriff 0-2 Manchester United: Europa League – as it happened

United got their Europa League campaign back on track with a fuss-free win in Moldova

6 min: Ouattara is barged over by Malacia as he skitters down the right touchline. He simply bounces straight back up and begins dribbling again. A refreshing attitude.

4 min: De Gea passes the ball out of play under pressure from Rasheed. Nothing comes of the resulting throw, deep in United territory, but Sheriff look up for pressing the keeper, who is never the most confident with the ball at his feet.

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The Fiver | Erling Haaland moving on from mere goals into the realm of pastiche

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Given how Chelsea owner and 70s CBS News anchor Todd Boehly sacked his last manager for not being four-square behind his in-no-way-scattergun summer spending spree, it was pretty brave of Graham Potter to bench both Kalidou Koulibaly and Wesley Fofana for the Big Cup game against Salzburg. The centre-backs were an integral part of Boehly’s holistic trolley-dash, so a shiny bronze cent for the bellicose billionaire’s thoughts when the preferred Thiago Silva aquaplaned off to Fulham Broadway, allowing Junior Adamu to tee up Noah Okafor for the equaliser that may – just may – end up costing Chelsea a place in the knockout stage. Chelsea were booed off. Oh Graham! Is a 75-minute honeymoon some sort of record?

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Chelsea 1-1 Red Bull Salzburg: Champions League – as it happened

Chelsea spurned several chances as Graham Potter’s first game in charge ended in disappointment

Salzburg get the ball rolling. They’ll be kicking towards the Matthew Harding stand in this first half. They’ve been forced to make one late change: Fernando injured himself during the warm-up, and has been replaced by Benjamin Sesko.

Before kick-off, a minute of silence in honour of Queen Elizabeth II. Impeccably observed. Then the release of a roar.

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The Fiver | Todd Boehly and the latest polarising dividing line we don’t need

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Supporters of major English football clubs can be forgiven for harbouring ambivalent attitudes to American ownership. For every John W Henry, under whose yoke an underperforming Liverpool won their first title in 30 years, there’s a John W Henry, who tried it on with that €uropean $uper £eague racket. Then there’s the Glazer family, who have on the one hand leveraged many billions out of Manchester United, but Old Trafford hasn’t yet completely crumbled into pieces so small you could sieve them through a sock, so that’s a plus point of sorts for now. Or how about Stan Kroenke, long eyed with suspicion by sections of the Arsenal fanbase, but damn can that man pair a wide-lapelled pinstripe suit with handlebar moustache. It’s swings and rotary traffic intersections.

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Sporting 2-0 Tottenham Hotspur: Champions League – as it happened

Spurs were hit by a late one-two as Sporting took early control of Group D.

3 min: … a game of pinball breaks out in the six-yard box. Sporting eventually clear their lines, but this is a confident start from the visitors.

2 min: Spurs are on the front foot immediately, and Perisic wins a corner. From which …

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The Fiver | Bayern, Barcelona and avant-garde philosophical abstractions

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Bayern Munich have won their last three matches against Barcelona to a cumulative score of 14-2. To put that into some sort of context, here’s the running total from Bayern’s last three games against Real Madrid: 5-8. Their last three meetings with Liverpool: 3-6. Their last three meetings with Milan: 3-8. Their last three meetings in European competition against Eintracht Frankfurt: 2-11. Oh Bayern! And, as a knock-on effect in strict accordance with established playground rules, oh Barça! This is not a good look for an institution that styles itself as Mes que un club. Mes que un club? Mes que un club Mein Loch!

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Manchester United v Real Sociedad: Europa League – as it happened

The game went ahead after consultation with the FA and Uefa, and was decided by Brais Mendez’s second-half penalty

Sociedad, whose fans had raised their scarves in a show of respect, kick off. There’s a strange, subdued, surreal atmosphere, as you’d expect in the circumstances.

A minute of silence in memory of Queen Elizabeth II. A poignant moment, perfectly observed by all in Old Trafford.

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The Fiver | Liverpool’s root-and-branch redevelopment and the Crisis Baton

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The current fight for ultimate ownership of the 2022 Crisis Baton is shaping up to be a fascinating one. Early in the season, it looked to be a shoo-in for Erik ten Hag, The Fiver anticipating him twirling and flinging it around ostentatiously, like Stevie Nicks in the video for Tusk, marching all the way to the end of the season, if he got that far. But Manchester United are suddenly four wins into an Are Back, Baby! sequence, so he’ll not be getting his hands on that stick again until approximately 3.55pm on Sunday 2 October when, well, you don’t even need to look it up, do you? Erik can start twirling it again on the way back across town, but until then he’ll have to wait.

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