Scott Murray's Blog, page 95

The Fiver | Nonentities more exercised by manners than kids with empty bellies

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It’s been a productive week for the Premier League’s representatives in Europe. Sergio Agüero became only the 14th person since football was invented in 1992 to reach the 40-goal mark in Big Cup. Chelsea and Liverpool rediscovered the thrill of basic competence, both keeping a clean sheet for the first time in living memory, a strange yet pleasant sensation. And after dressing up as a dazzle ship and performing some orchestral Man U-vres in the Parc, Marcus Rashford ambled back home and set about effortlessly exposing the government as a shower of soulless two-bit nonentities more exercised by manners than kiddies with empty bellies. That MBE isn’t going to buy him off, is it. The Man’s misread this guy big time.

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Published on October 22, 2020 07:56

Ajax 0-1 Liverpool: Champions League – as it happened

Three points and a precious clean sheet were Liverpool’s reward for grinding it out in Amsterdam

12.54am BST

10.28pm BST

Andy Hunter’s verdict is in. Click and enjoy ... and thanks so much for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

10.25pm BST

A very content Jurgen Klopp speaks. “The performance was good enough to win the game, and that’s what we needed. Though both teams can play better football. It was in moments pretty wild. The pitch was really tricky, deep and muddy, and both teams looked exhausted pretty early. We didn’t use our chances, which is a bit of a shame. Ajax had a big one with the post. But all over I am really fine with the game. It was not our sunny-shine world-class football day, but in a tournament like the Champions League, you need the result and we got it. [Fabinho’s acrobatic line clearance] was a good example of how the boys played today: not perfect but they fought like crazy. The fresh legs up front helped. The medical team told me no Henderson for 90 minutes so we said, OK, 45. Curtis for his first appearance, Rhys Williams played last season non-league football, now he has Champions League, he will not forget that. So a lot of nice stories, and three points. Shame that Diogo didn’t score, Shaq was lively and Taki is a machine, he defends like the devil and is really involved. When you can make five changes in midweek games, most of the time we will have to do that.”

10.06pm BST

James Milner speaks. “It was always important to start well. A tough away game, so that’s a bonus. They’re a very good team, well organised, who play good football. We’ve had an up and down week so it was important to bounce back. I expected nothing less from this group of players. Fabinho’s a top player, and top players can adapt. He made an unbelievable clearance. Conditions were tricky and it was a bit like an old-fashioned English game, and we managed to grind out the win. We’re disappointed not to have scored more, but it’s a big clean sheet.”

10.03pm BST

That all went to plan for Liverpool. They weren’t at their sparkling best, but given their recent travails, that isn’t really the point. Fabinho and Gomez were both excellent at centre-back. The famous front three all had their moments and were given half-an-hour’s rest. Replacements Jota and Minamino both looked sharp, Shaqiri less so but willing. Henderson got half-a-game’s breather. And Adrian is what he is, but there’s more pluses than minuses on his spreadsheet tonight. They deserved the win on balance, though Ajax will point out the Klaassen skreaamer that caromed off the post, and that Fabinho was forced into a stunning acrobatic clearance by Tadic. They’ll give Liverpool plenty to think about in the return fixture at Anfield.

9.57pm BST

Atalanta won the other fixture 4-0 at Midtjylland, so they’re top of the Group D standings after one round of fixtures. Liverpool are in second, like the Italians on three points, but with an inferior goal difference. Ajax and Midtjylland are in third and fourth respectively after their opening-day defeats.

9.55pm BST

And that’s that! Three points and a clean sheet for Liverpool. Klopp’s broad smile says it all. A hard-fought, but deserved, victory.

9.54pm BST

90 min +5: Time for one last Ajax chance, as Adrian comes to punch a high left-wing cross clear under pressure from Traore. The ball drops to Ekkelenkamp on the edge of the box. He shoots towards the unguarded net ... but wildly over. Adrian gets away with one!

9.53pm BST

90 min +4: Jota and Minamino combine marvellously in a tight space down the left, the former releasing the latter. Minamino enters the box and looks up, finding Shaqiri in the middle. Like Tagliafico before him, Shaqiri can’t sort his feet out. Unlike Tagliafico, the ball doesn’t squirt into the net.

9.52pm BST

90 min +3: Wijnaldum latches onto a loose ball in the middle of the park. He draws a foul from a desperate Promes, who is booked for his late lunge.

9.51pm BST

90 min +2: Milner takes the ball to the corner flag. It’s his last act of the match as he’s replaced by young centre-back Rhys Williams.

9.50pm BST

90 min +1: The first of five extra minutes. Liverpool’s corner is no good.

9.50pm BST

90 min: Liverpool waste another fine chance to finish this. Jota tears off down the left and slips the ball inside for Wijnaldum, who kills the ball brilliantly while in full flight, but then tries to pass the ball past Onana and into the bottom right. It’s parried by the keeper. Liverpool come again, Minamino trying to dink home from a tight angle on the right. Onana turns out for a corner.

9.48pm BST

89 min: Milner is down getting treatment for the second time in a few minutes. A clock-management masterclass by the old boy.

9.47pm BST

88 min: Jota, in space down the left, tries to rake a diagonal ball towards Shaqiri, in acres on the right. Wijnaldum intercepts the pass, unaware of the scheme, and swiftly ships possession.

9.46pm BST

87 min: Tagliafico and Huntelaar work the ball in from the left. Traore sends a header goalwards, but it’s weak and high and easy for Adrian.

9.45pm BST

86 min: Tadic scoops into a packed Liverpool box from the right. Adrian does extremely well to claim under extreme pressure from Traore.

9.44pm BST

85 min: Ajax throw everyone forward for a free kick. Liverpool break. Henderson works his way down the right and loops for Jota, who dallies over a shot while in a pocket of space, ten yards out. His effort is blocked. Big chance to put this game to bed for Liverpool. Can Ajax make them pay?

9.42pm BST

84 min: Ajax go for broke, taking off a couple of defenders in Blind and Schuurs, and sending on strikers in 19-year-old Lassina Traore and 37-year-old Klaas Jan Huntelaar.

9.41pm BST

83 min: Shaqiri takes. It doesn’t beat the first man. He’s been very quiet since coming on.

9.41pm BST

82 min: Mazraoui winds himself after falling awkwardly upon contesting a header. Milner and Minamino play on and earn a corner.

9.39pm BST

80 min: Alexander-Arnold is booked for taking his sweet time over a throw. Klopp isn’t happy about it, discussing the matter in depth with the fourth official. Meanwhile some admin re 1966: Bas Hendrikse points out that “the name of the goalkeeper of Ajax that time was not Willie Bols but Gert Bals.”

9.37pm BST

78 min: Minamino works cleverly down the left and rolls the ball across the face of the Ajax goal. Robertson tries his level best to poke home from six yards, but can’t connect. So close to the clincher.

9.36pm BST

77 min: Jota charges down Onana, who was miles from his box playing sweeper. But the deflection favours Ajax, allowing Schuurs to shepherd the ball away from danger on the left with the goal unguarded.

9.34pm BST

75 min: Martinez swings a couple of dangerous balls in from the left. Gomez heads the first powerfully clear, Robertson swipes the second back upfield. Ajax trying to turn up the heat as time runs out.

9.33pm BST

74 min: Wijnaldum meets the corner, ten yards out, but can only send his header over the bar. Ajax then make a double change, replacing Klaassen and Neres with Ekkelenkamp and Labyad.

9.31pm BST

73 min: Jota glides in from the left and tries to make himself enough space to shoot. He’s about to pull the trigger when Schuurs extends a leg and deflects out for a corner on the right.

9.30pm BST

71 min: Schuurs tries his luck from distance. He really gives his rising shot plenty, the ball only just clearing the bar. Adrian had it covered, but take nothing away from the sweetness of the connection.

9.29pm BST

70 min: So having pressed the button to publish that, Minamino glides in from the left and sends a swerver towards the left-hand side of goal. Onana makes a nine-course tasting menu of parrying it around the post. Ajax hearts in mouths for a split second there. But he’s kept it out, and nothing comes of the resulting corner.

9.28pm BST

69 min: All a wee bit scrappy at the minute. Liverpool’s all-new front three haven’t managed to click together yet.

9.27pm BST

67 min: Klaassen slips a lovely pass down the inside-left for Tadic, who for a second looks like breaking clear into the box. But he lets Alexander-Arnold chase him down, and runs the ball out of play. A suggestion it twanged off the Liverpool defender’s arm, but after a VAR check, we play on.

9.24pm BST

65 min: A lull. Liverpool will be happy enough with that. “I was at the second leg in 1966,” writes Rhys Davies. “I have three clear memories. A piece in the programme by Ajax (written before the first leg) saying how they hoped their team of part-timers wouldn’t be embarrassed by the English champions. Cruyff making monkeys of the Liverpool defence for his goals. The Ajax goalie, incredible performance. Name as I recall was Willi Bols. Been a fan of Dutch football ever since.”

9.22pm BST

63 min: Jota is quickly into the action, dribbling down the left. He’s unable to find anyone in the middle with a weak cross. Liverpool come again through Jota, but his ball inside finds Minamino taking a fresh-air swipe from an ambitious distance.

9.20pm BST

61 min: Mind you, having said that, Mane’s right leg is now wrapped in ice. He doesn’t look in too much discomfort, though. A precautionary measure? Liverpool will certainly hope so.

9.19pm BST

60 min: Liverpool make a triple substitution. The famous front three of Salah, Mane and Firmino are replaced by Jota, Shaqiri and Minamino. A reminder that teams can make up to five changes, in up to three batches. This all feels very pre-planned.

9.17pm BST

58 min: Robertson takes. It’s inviting for Firmino, but he can’t connect properly. Ajax stream up the other end, Neres cutting back from the right, Mazraoui sending a fine volley towards the bottom right. Adrian turns it around the post for a corner that leads to nothing.

9.16pm BST

57 min: Robertson turns on the jets in an attempt to beat Klaassen down the left. The ball clips off the Ajax man and out for a corner. From the set piece, Fabinho nearly gets a head onto the ball, ten yards out, but Onana slaps it away. Corner take two leads to a third.

9.14pm BST

55 min: Liverpool have struggled to retain possession since the break. Ajax are on top right now.

9.13pm BST

53 min: They’ve also shown a replay of Adrian gathering that long pass under pressure. A suggestion that while claiming amid the melee, he knocked the ball onto Fabinho’s hand, but it would have been a ludicrous decision to give a penalty.

9.12pm BST

52 min: Ajax have been the much sharper side since the break. Schuurs tries to beat Adrian from the halfway line, which shows ambition if nothing else, but his effort sails miles wide. Speaking of Adrian, it’s not clear, but he might have got the lightest of fingertips to that Klaassen shot. Whether it was enough to deflect it onto the post, even if he did, would be a moot point. But credit where/if it’s due.

9.10pm BST

50 min: Adrian comes to the edge of his box to successfully claim a long pass. With plenty of players from both teams crowding around him, there was potential for that to go horribly wrong, but the oft-criticised keeper dealt with that well.

9.09pm BST

48 min: And they nearly get a penalty up the other end, Firmino spinning past a flat-footed Schuurs and feeling a hand on his shoulder. He goes down, but there wasn’t enough in it to pique the ref’s interest.

9.07pm BST

47 min: Nothing comes of the corner. But what an effort that was. You could have had Alisson in there as well as Adrian and neither of them would have been able to get to that. But Klaassen doesn’t get the luck his shot deserves. Liverpool breathe again.

9.06pm BST

46 min: Ajax are inches away from equalising! Tadic tees up Klaassen, just to the left of the D. Klaassen sends an absolute screamer across a helpless Adrian and off the inside of the right-hand post. It flies across the face of goal before being bundled out for a corner. What a shot!

9.03pm BST

Here we go again! Ajax get the second half underway. Liverpool have made a change at the break, sending on captain Jordan Henderson in place of Curtis Jones. Incidentally, in the other match in Group D, Atalanta are up to their free-scoring antics once again. They’re 3-0 up in Midtjylland.

8.50pm BST

Half-time entertainment.

8.49pm BST

Tadic and Neres nearly open Liverpool up down the right, but Alexander-Arnold clears. And that’s the end of an increasingly action-packed half of football. That took a while to get going, but by the end of the half, both teams were looking extremely dangerous in attack. The second half could be a blast!

8.47pm BST

45 min: From the resulting corner, Firmino plants a header straight into the arms of Onana. There will be two added minutes.

8.46pm BST

44 min: Astonishing end-to-end action, as Tadic chases a bouncing ball down the left and chips the outrushing Adrian. The ball’s about to cross the line when Fabinho acrobatically scissors it away! Then Liverpool head straight up the other end, Mane’s low cross from the left nearly poked into his own net by Schuurs! The ball bobbles inches wide of the left-hand post.

8.44pm BST

43 min: Liverpool are beginning to look dangerous every time they attack. Mane spins cleverly again down the left and sprays a pass down the channel for Salah. Onana comes to the edge of his box to claim just in time, though Salah claims Tagliafico was holding him back a little. He’s not getting any decision, though he might have been flagged offside had he got there first anyway.

8.42pm BST

42 min: Liverpool were 4-0 down by this stage in 1966, so all’s going very much to plan tonight by comparison.

8.41pm BST

40 min: Robertson drives forward and slips wide right for Salah, who sashays into the box and looks to plant a power curler into the top left. Mazraoui extends a leg to block spectacularly. Onana was diving that way too, but there’s no guarantee he’d have got a hand to the shot, so that’s a fine intervention by the Ajax defender.

8.40pm BST

39 min: Firmino is this close to quarterbacking Salah free down the inside-right channel, but his long sliderule pass from deep is intercepted brilliantly by Tagliafico. Salah would have been clean through, so that’s made up a fair bit for his own goal.

8.38pm BST

37 min: Milner is booked for hanging out a cynical leg to stop an in-flight Neres launching a counter. He can’t complain, but does anyway.

8.38pm BST

What a farcical opener this is. Mane spins sublimely down the left and enters the box. He sashays across and shapes to shoot. He manages to take up a massive divot, barely making proper contact with the ball, which flies off Blind’s knee and across the face of the six-yard box. Tagliafico can’t react quickly enough, isn’t able to sort his feet out, and shanks into his own net under no pressure whatsoever. All very surreal. The groundskeeper will be livid.

8.35pm BST

33 min: What a save by Adrian! Promes drifts in from the left and slips wide for Neres, who returns it immediately. Promes is one on one with Adrian, six yards out! He slapshots goalward, but the keeper stands his ground and kicks away. A sensational reflex save. Promes might have been offside, but Adrian wasn’t to know.

8.33pm BST

32 min: Tadic shapes to shoot but floats one in instead. Easy meat for Adrian. Then up the other end, Salah nearly releases Firmino with the cleverest of backheels, but Blind sticks out a telescopic leg to flip the ball away from danger.

8.32pm BST

31 min: This time Klaassen is the injured party as Mane yanks his shirt, 35 yards out. A free kick, and one that Tadic likes the look of, despite the range.

8.31pm BST

30 min: A little space for Robertson on the left. He whips a low ball into the mixer, but Onana has read his intentions and is down quickly to smother it.

8.30pm BST

29 min: Tadic rolls a simple ball down the middle and nearly releases Promes. The sub is eventually crowded out, though Ajax come again, Gravenberch crossing from the left. Adrian comes out and punches clear with confidence.

8.29pm BST

27 min: Some cute interplay down the left between Robertson, Milner and Firmino. Eventually the ball’s pinged into the box for Jones, who accidentally catches Blind in the coupon while trying to hold him off. Free kick. The first bit of significant pressure on Ajax is released.

8.26pm BST

25 min: A couple of petty fouls by Klaassen in quick succession. Nothing major, but the referee gets a little irritated with him and the Ajax midfielder may not have too much slack remaining.

8.24pm BST

23 min: Liverpool have yet to achieve anything of note in the final third. Ajax look very comfortable right now. “Kudus to Ajax for a positive approach. There’s the Promes of goals, here. You’d have to be Blind to think otherwise. I’m here all week. Try the brownies.” Matt Dony, ladies and gentlemen. He’s here all week. Try, but go easy on, the brownies.

8.23pm BST

21 min: Klopp is now fully incandescent. Here’s why! Promes works his way down the left and cuts across for Tadic, who tees up Gravenberch, whose fierce daisycutter flies inches wide of the left-hand post. Adrian was rooted and never getting to that. Liverpool so close to falling behind.

8.21pm BST

19 min: On the touchline, Klopp throws irritated shapes. If there was a thick fog, you can be sure he’d be on the pitch, Shankly style, giving his team the what-for.

8.20pm BST

17 min: Ajax are beginning to ask a few questions of Liverpool. Tagliafico causes plenty of trouble down the inside-left channel, nearly opening the visitors up on a couple of occasions. Adrian and Gomez take turns to clear the danger.

8.17pm BST

15 min: Adrian allows his kick to be charged down by Tadic. That eventually leads to a corner, from which Martinez heads goalwards from a tight angle on the left. Adrian makes up for his error by gathering with a safe pair of hands.

8.16pm BST

14 min: Kudus was injured after contesting a 50-50 with Fabinho. There wasn’t much by way of contact, but when the Ajax youngster landed, he twisted his ankle. A shame for the 20-year-old Ghanaian.

8.15pm BST

13 min: A lovely turn by Firmino, and he’s in a lot of space 30 yards out. He slips wide to Alexander-Arnold, whose concentration had lapsed, and he’s flagged offside. Careless. That was good field position for Liverpool.

8.13pm BST

11 min: Some good work by Gravenberch down the Ajax left. He slips inside for Tadic, who can’t sort his feet out in the Liverpool box, Fabinho nicking the ball away. Liverpool break at trademark speed, and Mane has a whack from the edge of the D. Schuurs blocks well. A lovely open feel to this now.

8.11pm BST

10 min: Some space for Tadic down the right. Gomez sticks to him like glue and snuffs out a promising Ajax attack. That’ll settle a few nerves.

8.10pm BST

9 min: Nope, Kudus can’t continue. Quincy Promes comes on in his place.

8.08pm BST

7 min: A worry for Ajax as Kudus goes down with nobody in black and anthracite near him. The physios work his knee this way and that. He troops off with head hung low. He’s not been hooked yet, but it doesn’t look promising.

8.07pm BST

6 min: They show a replay of the Adrian-Gomez miscommunication. Looks like Gomes wanted Adrian to stay where he was and await the backpass, but the keeper rushed out to clear. A couple of harsh words delivered by the young defender. He wasn’t happy with Adrian at all.

8.05pm BST

4 min: Jones slips a pass down the left for Mane, who is ushered off the ball by Schuurs, just in time. Mane already looks his usual lively self.

8.03pm BST

2 min: Some early nerves in the Liverpool backline, though. Gomez asks a little too much of Adrian, shepherding a loose pass back to the Liverpool box. But it’s not getting there, so the keeper has to race out and blooter clear, knocking his team-mate over in doing so. Easy to forget that Gomez is still only 23. A lot rests on his shoulders all of a sudden.

8.02pm BST

Liverpool get the ball rolling. Curtis Jones takes his first touch. Gomez launches a pass down the left. Milner breaks free and reaches the byline, but his pullback falls between Salah and Mane. A fast start by the English champions, though.

7.59pm BST

Here come the teams! It’s a blustery night in Amsterdam, with the wind whipping around the Johan Cruyff ArenA, the roof having been kept open. Someone’s commissioned a beat-backed remix of the Champions League theme - Zadok the Priest (version) - so we have to suffer that, but it segues into the well-worn version quickly enough. Small mercies. We’ll be off in a minute. “I figure we’re in for plenty of goals tonight given the rejigged Liverpool lineup and Adrian in net,” writes Mike MacKenzie. “So that likely means 0-0 or 1-1.”

7.33pm BST

Ajax play in their famous red and white shirts tonight. Liverpool meanwhile will be dressed in black and

grey
anthracite checks. Write your own press release using the following marketing-approved phrases: “iconic”, “inspiration from European nights”, “heavily influenced by chequered flags and banners”, “unrivalled atmosphere”, “seamlessly blended colourway”, “explored long-standing traditions”, “the lens of sneaker culture”, “winging it”, “not a patch on the late-70s white Umbro number with Hitachi on the front”. The lens of sneaker culture!

7.12pm BST

Positive-mindset guru Jurgen Klopp speaks to BT Sport. “Curtis Jones is good enough. That’s it. But also the situation of course. We have a few problems so we have to make sure we can start, and how we can finish the game. So that’s the reason. He’s good enough. That’s why he plays. We do not think about [the missing Alisson and Virgil van Dijk] but we constantly get asked about it so it is difficult not to think about it! But when we are alone, you focus on the players available, and go with all you have, it’s what you do. Football depends on individual quality of players, but not as much as people might think. It’s all about perception. You think in single situations: ah, with Van Dijk it would have been different. Yes. But we cannot change that. So we don’t think like this, we just try to play the best football we are able to do.”

6.59pm BST

Two big calls made by Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp. The first everyone pretty much expected: Fabinho drops back from midfield to attempt to fill the boots of Virgil van Dijk. The second is a bit more of a curveball: 19-year-old Curtis Jones makes his full Champions League debut in midfield. He’s one of four changes to the XI named at Everton last Saturday, with Georginio Wijnaldum and James Milner all coming into a new-look midfield, and Joe Gomez, a sub at the weekend, partnering Fabinho at the back. The captain Jordan Henderson drops to the bench; Thiago and Joel Matip are out injured.

Meanwhile there are some familiar names in the Ajax team. Say hello again to former Premier League stars Dusan Tadic (Southampton), Daley Blind (Manchester United) and Davy Klaassen (Everton). Coach Erik Ten Hag is clearly in If It Ain’t Broke mode: ten of the XI starters of the 5-1 rout of Heerenveen are on the teamsheet again. Lisandro Martinez takes the place of Lassina Traore.

6.54pm BST

Ajax: Onana, Mazraoui, Schuurs, Martinez, Tagliafico, Klaassen, Blind, Gravenberch, Neres, Tadic, Kudus.
Subs: Stekelenburg, Alvarez, Klaiber, Huntelaar, Promes, Ekkelenkamp, Labyad, Traore, Kotarski.

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Gomez, Fabinho, Robertson, Milner, Wijnaldum, Jones, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Henderson, Minamino, Jota, Shaqiri, Origi, Rhys Williams, Kelleher, Neco Williams, Jaros, Cain.

2.17pm BST

Liverpool have only ever played one competitive fixture against Ajax in Amsterdam before. This was goalkeeper Tommy Lawrence’s view of proceedings:

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Published on October 21, 2020 14:28

The Fiver | That dentist who introduced the Beatles to LSD had a lot to answer for

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Given Ajax and Liverpool have won 21 European trophies between them, it’s slightly surprising that they’ve only been drawn together in continental competition once before. That was in the second round of Big Cup in December 1966, a point in history when half of the world was fried on stupidly strong acid. That, along with the flowering of a young genius called Johan Cruyff, may go some way to explaining a positively lysergic first leg in Amsterdam during which Ajax went 4-0 up in the first half, forcing Bill Shankly to run on the pitch under cover of thick fog to ask his men what the effing hell they thought they were up to. Shankly later blamed the eventual 5-1 defeat on Ajax, who were apparently “playing defensive football on their own ground”. There was only one Shanks, there’ll never be another.

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Published on October 21, 2020 07:56

PSG 1-2 Manchester United: Champions League – as it happened

Marcus Rashford was the late, late hero in Paris once again, as United deservedly beat an extremely poor PSG

11.44pm BST

11.41pm BST

10.26pm BST

David Hytner’s verdict has landed. Click below to enjoy ... and thanks so much for reading this MBM. Nighty night!

10.25pm BST

A word with a deservedly content Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who did a number on Thomas Tuchel this evening. “It’s a different feel, the start of the group stage, the last time was a knockout. But we win against a fantastic team. The euphoria was different, there are no fans here to celebrate. But I think we deserved to win. When you go away against a team like this, against players like Neymar and Mbappe, we know we have to defend well, that David will have to make a few saves. We know Axel’s qualities. His first game in ten months is testament to the character he has. Bruno showed character again. It could hardly go worse, two misses in a row! We probably need ten points, and we have three, so the next game against Leipzig will be very important. But we have Chelsea and Arsenal after, we have so many games, and I am very happy I have so many good players to pick from.”

10.13pm BST

The match-winner Marcus Rashford speaks. “It’s a nice feeling. We’re in a stronger position now, but it’s the first game, and we have to take the concentration and intensity into the next game and the Premier League. It’s a good performance, and we have a lot to build on. I always believe in team and the system the manager chooses. Today we did that. When we defend like that, man to man, we can do great things. The intensity was key for us. We’re very happy today.”

9.58pm BST

A perfect start in Group H for Manchester United. All smiles despite the Parisian heavens opening above. They celebrate their deserved victory, soaked to the skin. Last season’s runners-up trudge off after a limp, miserable display. United are second in the early Group H standings; Leipzig are first, having beaten Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0 thanks to a couple of quickfire first-half goals from Angelino.

9.52pm BST

Marcus Rashford and Manchester United have done it again! They always have Paris.

9.51pm BST

90 min +2: This will be PSG’s first group-stage home defeat since CSKA Moscow won here in December 2004. United are about to bring a 24-game unbeaten run to an end.

9.50pm BST

90 min +1: The first of three added minutes goes by with United running down the clock in PSG territory.

9.49pm BST

90 min: Kean is booked for a frustrated lunge on Fred.

9.49pm BST

89 min: From distance, Neymar sends a rising shot inches wide of the top right. Too little, too late.

9.48pm BST

88 min: United deserve this. They’ve been the better team. United send on James and Van de Beek to replace Martial and Fernandes.

9.48pm BST

What a finish this is! Rashford, who put PSG to the sword in March 2019, has done it again! He’s fed by Pogba, just to the right of centre. He spins around Sarabia, breezing past him with ease, and creams a diagonal daisycutter into the bottom corner!

9.46pm BST

86 min: From the corner, McTominay nearly gets a shot away. But he doesn’t connect while spinning amid a melee, and the hosts clear.

9.45pm BST

85 min: Pogba wanders in from the left and has a dig that’s deflected away for a corner on the right. Before the set piece can be taken, PSG make a couple more changes, Sarabia and Bakker coming on for Di Maria and Kurzawa.

9.43pm BST

84 min: Danilo is booked for a cynical tug on Fred’s shoulder.

9.43pm BST

83 min: Neymar advances towards the United box with extreme prejudice ... but his fierce shot is straight at De Gea, who parries with a strong arm. Up the other end, Martial drives down the left and nearly skips past Danilo, but a perfectly timed tackle puts a stop to his gallop.

9.41pm BST

82 min: Neymar sends Di Maria into acres down the left. Di Maria’s cross is no good, an easy clearance for Pogba. Rafinha tries to launch a second wave of attack, but simply hoicks the ball straight out for a goal kick.

9.40pm BST

80 min: Rashford slips Fernandes away down the right. Fernandes could shoot, upon entering the box, but selflessly cuts back for Rashford instead. Rashford’s shot is blocked by a combination of Navas and Diallo. PSG hack clear. United have had their chances tonight.

9.38pm BST

79 min: PSG replace Herrera and Florenzi with Rafinha and Dagba.

9.38pm BST

78 min: Rashford works his way down the right and drifts inside, teeing up Fernandes who drags a poor shot wide left. He had time and space to do better.

9.36pm BST

77 min: Martial and Pogba nearly open PSG up with a brisk one-two down the inside-left, but Martial can’t get onto the return and instead brings down Diallo. Cute move, though.

9.35pm BST

75 min: Florenzi curls in from the right. Kean has a free header, 12 yards out, but can’t get anything on target. The cross deserved better.

9.34pm BST

74 min: Mbappe tears after a long pass down the middle. For a second, it looks as though he’ll reach the ball in the box; if he does, he’ll be one on one with De Gea. But once again Tuanzebe holds firm. Mbappe goes over, demanding a penalty he’s not getting. Tuanzebe, thrown into the team during an injury crisis, has been excellent tonight against one of the biggest names in the world.

9.32pm BST

72 min: Tuanzebe is booked for ... well, not very much, leaning into the back of Mbappe as the pair engaged in aerial battle.

9.31pm BST

71 min: A lot of off-target passes being made right now, by both teams. Bayern Munich won’t be worried about relinquishing their title quite yet.

9.29pm BST

69 min: Rashford drops a shoulder to make himself a little space. Smart, patient play. He fizzes a low shot towards the bottom left. Navas fingertips the ball around the post for a corner that leads to nowt.

9.27pm BST

68 min: Pogba is quickly involved, working down the left and teeing up Fernandes for a wild shot.

9.26pm BST

67 min: Alex Telles’s debut comes to an end. He’s replaced by Paul Pogba.

9.25pm BST

65 min: Kurzawa is released into the United box on the left. He’s got Mbappe and Neymar in the middle, waiting to slapshot home, but his low cross is blocked by Shaw. Excellent defending, though he should never have been given the chance to stop the cross. PSG are beginning to find routes through the United defence now.

9.24pm BST

64 min: Kean and Neymar cause a little bother on the edge of the United box. From the resulting corner, Di Maria sends a screamer into the Seine. PSG have been much better since the break.

9.23pm BST

62 min: McTominay gives Herrara a good old boot in the coccyx. Ooyah, oof. Herrera’s in plenty of pain, but is good to go again when the sting subsides.

9.21pm BST

60 min: Good luck predicting who’ll score next. Now Kean makes good down the inside left, and is about to pull the trigger in the box when Wan-Bissaka pokes the ball away from him. Kean goes over, and several PSG players - plus Tuchel on the bench - claim a penalty, but the referee, correctly, shows no interest whatsoever.

9.20pm BST

59 min: The corner, from the right, ends up with Shaw on the left. He curls in for Martial, who blasts a header over from six yards. He should at least have made the keeper work.

9.18pm BST

58 min: Or maybe the best form of defence is attack. Rashford diddles Kimpembe with a clever turn, and he tears towards the PSG box. He’s about to pull the trigger when Danilo slides in to concede a corner.

9.17pm BST

57 min: PSG’s tails are suddenly up. Pretty much from the restart, Neymar drives down the middle and is only crowded out on the edge of the box. Then Di Maria dinks cleverly down the middle for Mbappe, who takes the ball down from over his shoulder and shoots low. Wan-Bissaka slides in to make an outstanding block. The resulting corner leads to nothing. All of a sudden, United need to hang on here.

9.15pm BST

Neymar whips the corner to the near post. Martial rises highest, and plants a header across De Gea and into the top right! What an absurd own goal. A gift for PSG.

9.14pm BST

54 min: PSG hit the woodwork, but more through chance than design. Kurzawa chips from a tight angle on the left, the ball swerving in the air and dinking off the top of the bar. United get it half away. Mbappe drives down the left and wins a corner. From which ...

9.13pm BST

53 min: PSG are very slow and ponderous, United comfortable sitting back and holding their shape. “As United’s kit uses a naval pattern camouflage, it would work best against opponents who are all at sea,” begins Robin Hazlehurst, and you know where this is going. “No coincidence that they chose to wear it tonight?”

9.10pm BST

51 min: Martial forces a corner down the left. PSG make a meal of clearing, allowing Lindelof to take a whack from the edge of the box. His effort dribbles through to Navas.

9.10pm BST

49 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but PSG are quickly back at United and win a free kick out on the right. Neymar’s delivery is half cleared by Fernandes. Herrera balloons a first-time shot from distance miles over the bar.

9.09pm BST

48 min: United nearly pay for Rashford’s profligacy immediately, Mbappe’s twinkle toes taking him past McTominay and Wan-Bissaka on the left and into the box. He curls powerfully towards the top right, but De Gea tips round acrobatically for a corner.

9.07pm BST

47 min: Rashford is sent scampering into acres of space down the right by a simple Fernandes scoop. United are two on one! He could easily romp into the box himself, but tries to curl towards Martial on the left ... and gets it all wrong. A huge opportunity is spurned.

9.05pm BST

As lights on the Eiffel Tower glitter in the distance, PSG get the second half underway. They’ve made one half-time change, sending on Moise Kean in place of Idrissa Gueye. It’s still raining. Hoods up in the dugouts.

8.52pm BST

Results service. Earlier today in the Champions League ...

8.49pm BST

United thoroughly deserve this lead, and it could easily have been more. They’ve been excellent. PSG by contrast have been a low-energy non-event.

8.47pm BST

45 min +1: Mbappe whistles one goalwards from distance, a last throw of the dice at the end of a dismal half for PSG. His effort twangs off Neymar’s back, which just about sums it up for the hosts.

8.46pm BST

45 min: There will be two added minutes. Thomas Tuchel will be desperate to get his troops back into the changing room for some trenchant half-time analysis.

8.45pm BST

43 min: A cross from the left into the United box. Mbappe spins and nearly gets a shot away, but fails to connect, allowing De Gea to batter clear.

8.44pm BST

42 min: Rashford nearly gets the better of Diallo down the inside-left channel, but the PSG defender gets a toe in, just in time.

8.43pm BST

41 min: PSG have got absolutely nothing going on.

8.41pm BST

39 min: Fernandes cuts in from the left and creams a shot towards the bottom right. Navas does extremely well to turn the ball round for a corner. From the set piece, McTominay fails to connect properly with his header, eight yards out. It twangs off Danilo and out for a second corner, which turns out to be a non-event. But United went very close, twice, to making it 0-2 there. They’ve been the bosses of their hosts so far.

8.39pm BST

37 min: Di Maria’s dismal free kick is easily plucked from the sky by De Gea.

8.38pm BST

36 min: McTominay brings Neymar down with another cynical intervention, a slide tackle this time, and he’s in the book as well. “I think the kit has a bit of a dazzle ship feel,” writes Andy Tuohy. “Is the intention to confuse the opposition?” Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Parc?

8.35pm BST

34 min: Mbappe zips down the left and nearly gets past Tuanzebe ... but the 22-year-old defender, making his first appearance of 2020, shuts the door with a strong shoulder. Neymar wants a penalty, though, and earns himself a yellow card by pushing the point a little too forcefully with the referee.

8.34pm BST

33 min: Neymar skitters into acres down the left. His low cross nearly finds Di Maria free in the box, but Shaw hacks clear just in time. More fine defending, though once again the offside flag went up. Again, Shaw wasn’t to know.

8.33pm BST

31 min: This is a bit better from PSG, as Kimpembe pearls a long pass down the middle to release Di Maria into acres. Di Maria knocks it a little to the left, and it’s a footrace to the ball between the winger and De Gea. The United keeper times his interception perfectly, flicking the ball away when any mistimed challenge could have ended in a penalty. The offside flag went up, but De Gea wasn’t to know that. Fine goalkeeping.

8.30pm BST

29 min: There’s been absolutely no reaction to falling behind by last year’s finalists. This is a really poor show so far from the hosts. “To me, the United kit design looks like the result of a paper jam when someone tried to test print the Juventus shirt,” suggests Peter Oh. “Reduce, reuse, recycle!”

8.29pm BST

27 min: Di Maria nearly releases Neymar down the left with a glorious long pass, but De Gea reads the danger well, and races out of his box to boot clear. This has been a really impressive all-round performance by United so far. They look comfortable and happy, enjoying their football. Not so much PSG, who are currently 11 grimaces in flight.

8.26pm BST

25 min: PSG are visibly deflated already. Martial works hard down the right and wins a corner. Telles whips it in, and very nearly finds the head of McTominay, ten yards out. The hosts manage to bundle the ball away from danger.

8.25pm BST

24 min: Neymar and Nevas are fuming, but the retake was a no-brainer, Navas had both feet off of his line.

8.24pm BST

This one was as good as the first one was bad! He hops, skips, and slots his second effort into the bottom right, giving Navas the eyes, sending him the wrong way, and winning the battle of wits!

8.23pm BST

23 min: But Navas was miles off his line, and Fernandes will have a second chance!

8.23pm BST

22 min: After some discussion, Fernandes steps up to take the penalty. He performs his little skip and jump, but telegraphs it. He sends it softly towards the bottom right, and it’s an easy save for Navas. A poor spot kick.

8.21pm BST

20 min: Shaw slips a ball down the inside-left channel for Martial, who is brought down as he attempts to spin round Diallo. A clear penalty.

8.20pm BST

19 min: Martial squirts through an almost imperceptible gap between three PSG players out on the left. It’s a lovely sashay, but having made himself a little space just inside the box, he skews an attempted curler towards the top right miles wide.

8.17pm BST

17 min: Fred clips Di Maria’s ankle. There’s not much contact, but Di Maria goes down theatrically and stays down, and play’s stopped so he can slowly get up without too much embarrassment.

8.15pm BST

15 min: Neymar blooters the resulting free kick straight into the United wall.

8.15pm BST

14 min: Neymar powers his way down the inside-left channel, then cutely dinks over McTominay, who tugs him back. It’s a free kick 30 yards out. It probably should be a yellow too, such was the cynicism inherent in McTominay’s yank. But the United midfielder gets away with it.

8.13pm BST

12 min: So having said that, PSG force the first two serious saves of the evening in double-quick time. Neymar drives down the left and switches to Di Maria on the right. Di Maria drops a shoulder to cut inside and curls powerfully from the right of the D. De Gea turns it round for a corner. One corner leads to another, and Mbappe swings in from the left. Kurzawa sticks out a leg, six yards out, and power-pokes straight at De Gea. How on earth did he fail to score? But fine goalkeeping.

8.11pm BST

10 min: Neymar and Mbappe hover down the left but can’t get anything going. United have been the more impressive side so far.

8.10pm BST

8 min: Fernandes swings one into the PSG box from a deep position on the right. It nearly drops to Rashford, six yards out, but Diallo intercepts and guides the ball back to Navas. In fairly farcical fashion, it has to be said, the ball clanking between his legs, and very nearly teeing up the lurking Rashford. Fine ball by Fernandes there.

8.07pm BST

7 min: Neymar looks to be in the mood. He makes a couple of determined dribbles, drifting in from the left, giving Fred a few things to think about. The United man does enough to stop him on these occasions.

8.06pm BST

5 min: One corner leads to another corner, which leads to nothing.

8.05pm BST

4 min: PSG put their first flowing move together, started by a neat spin into space by Di Maria in the middle of the park. Neymar tries to slide Kurzawa away down the left, but the hosts have to settle for a corner.

8.03pm BST

3 min: A decent burst down the right by Rashford, though he’s eventually eased off the ball by Kimpembe. United will be happy enough with the breezy manner in which they’ve begun.

8.02pm BST

2 min: All a bit scrappy in the early exchanges as both teams find their feet. There’s not much in it, but United are probably enjoying a little bit more possession, for what that’s worth right now.

8.01pm BST

United get the ball rolling. The rain is fairly heavy right now. Positively Mancunian.

8.00pm BST

Here come the teams! They’ve funked up the Champions League Anthem (version). Is nothing sacred? No, we know that already, tell it to Handel. But to keep traditionalists happy, they then play

Zadok the Priest
the breakbeat-free original. We’ll be off in a minute.

7.46pm BST

A relaxed looking Ole Gunnar Solskjaer stands in the Parisian drizzle and talks to BT Sport. “Of course it’s great to be back in the Champions League, especially against one of the best teams in Europe. They’ve got some of the best players in the world. This is what our players dream about, it’s what they’ve been working for, and now we’re here. It’s a good chance to get some points in the first game. Every game is a chance to show what you are about, and this is a test of character. We have put a team together that we feel is the best we can start with. We’ve had a few injuries. We need to do everything right, we can’t have a moment when we blink, we must have concentration from the first to last minute. They are quick in transition, but that is also one of our strengths.”

7.42pm BST

Manchester United will be wearing that new distressed-zebra third kit for the first time tonight. Cobble together your own press release from the following phrases: “fresh update to tradition”, “re-drawn, hacked and re-imagined”, “iconic”, “an original story”, “relationship with stripes”, “vibrant new print”, “surprising and unexpected result”, “club DNA”, “disruptive jersey graphics”, “visual revolution”, “push the boundaries of shirt design”, “push our luck”, “not a patch on the stuff Admiral did back in the 70s”. PSG will play in their usual blue, white and red.

7.18pm BST

As for the hosts ... PSG make five changes from the XI sent out to beat Nimes 4-0 last weekend. The most notable incomers: Neymar and the United old boys Ander Herrera and Angel di Maria. Stepping down to the bench: Everton loanee Moise Kean.

7.11pm BST

Alex Telles makes his Manchester United debut. The 27-year-old Brazilian, a £15m deadline-day signing from Porto, starts at left wing-back, with Luke Shaw operating as part of a back three. Axel Tuanzebe makes his first appearance since a League Cup win over Colchester United last December. Bruno Fernandes captains United for the first time, while Paul Pogba remains benched.

7.04pm BST

PSG: Navas, Florenzi, Diallo, Kimpembe, Kurzawa, Herrera, Danilo Pereira, Gueye, Di Maria, Mbappe, Neymar.
Subs: Rafinha, Marquinhos, Sergio Rico, Kean, Sarabia, Draxler, Bakker, Letellier, Dagba, Pembele, Fadiga, Ruiz-Atil.

Manchester United: de Gea, Wan Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Lindelof, Shaw, Telles, Fred, McTominay, Fernandes, Rashford, Martial.
Subs: Pogba, Mata, James, Fosu-Mensah, Ighalo, Henderson, Pellistri, Matic, Williams, van de Beek.

5.55pm BST

“We don’t have good memories.” Thomas Tuchel, there, trying his damnedest not to reminisce about the time his PSG side welcomed Manchester United to the Parc des Princes in March 2019. You’ll recall it, though, as United became the first side ever in the Champions League era to recover from a two-goal home first-leg deficit: two-goal Romelu Lukaku, Presnel Kimpembe’s arm, Marcus Rashford’s steely nerve, all that.

That historic comeback earned Ole Gunnar Solskjaer his permanent gig at Old Trafford, and remains the high-water mark of his reign so far. United could do with a similar morale boost tonight, building on an impressive 4-1 win at Newcastle last weekend that went at least a little way to forgetting about that defeat by Spurs. A fast start to Group H would further steady the ship as Solskjaer looks to buy a little more time and space in which to work.

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Published on October 20, 2020 14:26

Manchester City 1-0 Arsenal: Premier League – as it happened

Raheem Sterling’s first-half goal was enough to earn City their second win of the season

7.44pm BST

Jamie Jackson was at the Etihad tonight, and his report his landed. Click and enjoy ... and thanks for reading this MBM!

7.34pm BST

The matchwinner Raheem Sterling speaks! “We have dropped a couple of points early on, and needed three to kick-start our season, and that’s a vital win against a top side. I wouldn’t say confidence had gone, but we were disappointed, and today gives us a leap of confidence for the next couple of games. I’m just grateful to help out the team today. Me and Sergio took up some great positions in the pockets at times. Arsenal are a difficult team and closed the pitch really well. But we had some good chances.”

7.29pm BST

A slight curate’s egg of a game. City were good, but not great; Arsenal showed some promise, but achieved little. A draw wouldn’t have been a complete affront to the concept of justice, but City were deserved winners on balance, and in Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling boasted the game’s two star turns. So fair’s fair. “It is true that it’s nice for us Arsenal fans not to watch games in constant worry of suddenly shipping five goals,” writes Kári Tulinius. “While the rest of the league has put on a clown suit, Arsenal is dressing sensibly. The team used to be a guarantee of fun, but now we’re an oasis of dull in a desert of fun.”

7.25pm BST

That result catapults City up to tenth place, on seven points. They’ve only played four, unlike Arsenal, who are now fifth on nine points after five games. Everton still lead on 13, three clear of second-placed Liverpool. This is going to be a tight season, isn’t it? We’re due one. Very much looking forward to it!

7.23pm BST

Just enough time for the new man Partey to pick up a booking for a cynical tug on Mahrez ... and that’s it. City get their second win of the season, despite never finding top form. Arsenal played well in bursts, but rarely threatened.

7.22pm BST

90 min +3: Tierney wins a corner off Mahrez out on the left ... but the referee doesn’t notice the small deflection and it’s a goal kick that should be enough to see City through.

7.21pm BST

90 min +2: But Silva knocks Gabriel over, and that’s a free kick out on the left. A chance for Arsenal to load the box ... but the set piece is easily cleared by the hosts. Ederson has had next to nothing to do in this second half.

7.20pm BST

90 min +1: City look compact and comfortable at the moment.

7.18pm BST

90 min: There will be four extra minutes of this.

7.17pm BST

89 min: Fernandinho comes on for Foden.

7.17pm BST

88 min: Aubameyang drives down the left, chasing a long pass into the box. Walker again refuses to budge, ushering the ball back to his keeper and drawing a frustrated foul into the bargain.

7.16pm BST

87 min: Space for Sterling down the left. He enters the box and nearly manufactures an opportunity to shoot, but can’t quite do so, then fails to tee up Foden in the middle. City haven’t put this game to bed yet.

7.15pm BST

86 min: With time fast running out for his team, Arsenal fan Damien Durrant is in stoic, reflective mood: “At the very least in the Arteta era I don’t worry about five-goal shellackings against top teams that plagued the second half of the Wenger era.”

7.14pm BST

85 min: Luiz curls a fine cross in from a deep position on the right. Aubameyang can’t get above Walker to win a header that would surely result in a goal, six yards out. Goal kick. Fine defending by Walker, who refused to be cowed.

7.13pm BST

84 min: Ake is booked for taking a brazen age over a garden-variety free kick in the midfield.

7.11pm BST

83 min: The last throw of the dice for Arsenal. Pepe and Xhaka are replaced by Nketiah and, making his Arsenal debut, Partey.

7.10pm BST

82 min: Pepe curls a decent effort around the outside of the wall, but it’s always going wide of the left-hand post ... and Ederson had it covered anyway.

7.10pm BST

81 min: Foden gives the ball away to Saka, who feeds Aubameyang. The striker advances on the box and is brought down by Walker. Another free kick in a fairly central position, 25 yards out.

7.08pm BST

79 min: City are pressing Arsenal back, enjoying this period of control as the clock ticks on. No rush.

7.07pm BST

77 min: Cancelo dribbles wonderfully in from the right, getting all the way to the byline and fizzing a low ball across the face of goal. Luiz swings a wild leg and nearly slices into his own net. The ball bobbles agonisingly wide left of goal. From the corner, Mahrez sends the ball orbiting towards the site of the old Maine Road.

7.04pm BST

76 min: Sterling jinks his way into the City box on the left, but can’t get past Bellerin. Corner, though. A fast game of head tennis follows, but City can’t get anything on target.

7.03pm BST

74 min: Arsenal are seeing more of the ball right now, but it’s all a little sterile in the middle of the park, and time is running out for the Gunners. City edge closer to their second win of this infant season.

7.02pm BST

72 min: Silva runs into Gabriel in the Arsenal box. He wants a penalty, but it’s shoulder to shoulder, so no dice.

7.00pm BST

71 min: More scrappy passing. It’s been a slightly strange second half, both teams threatening to click into gear at different times, neither quite managing it.

6.58pm BST

69 min: Luiz tries to send a Cristiano Ronaldoesque dipper/swerver into the top left, but gets it all wrong. Goal kick. Then an Arsenal chance, as Willian makes way for Lacazette.

6.56pm BST

68 min: Dias is booked for crudely blocking an in-flight Saka. A free kick 25 yards out in a fairly central position. Luiz and Willian both fancy this.

6.55pm BST

67 min: Willian, Bellerin and Pepe nearly open City up with some smart interplay down the right. Not quite. On the touchline, Arteta applauds the ambition.

6.55pm BST

65 min: Aguero, coming back from that extended lay-off, has done well to last this long. He’s replaced by Gundogan, and looks to have enjoyed his runout, laughing while clapping an imaginary crowd as he troops off.

6.53pm BST

64 min: Luiz has a dig from the left-hand corner of the City box. It’s deflected out for a corner, from which Xhaka is penalised for hassling Ederson.

6.52pm BST

63 min: Cancelo is booked for landing his studs on the back of Tierney’s leg. That was a saucy one, and he’s lucky not to see red.

6.50pm BST

61 min: Mahrez and Gabriel do-se-do along the byline for a while before Arsenal get the foul. This has gone really scrappy.

6.48pm BST

59 min: Ederson takes an age over a goal kick, causing your MBM hack to drift away into daydream. You’ve missed nothing.

6.45pm BST

57 min: Both teams ping it around briskly, but to little effect.

6.43pm BST

55 min: Mahrez twinkles in from the right and threads a shot towards the bottom left. Leno does well to get down and smother.

6.42pm BST

53 min: Tierney backs himself in a boot-and-chase race with Cancelo ... but overcooks the initial clump. Goal kick ... and then Ederson is nearly closed down by Aubameyang. A slightly farcical few seconds.

6.40pm BST

51 min: Xhaka and Saka combine to send Tierney romping down the left touchline. He crosses deep, hoping to find Aubameyang. Dias slashes wildly out for a corner. The set piece is half cleared, but returned with looping interest by Tierney, the ball nearly dropping under the bar from distance. It just clears it, and Ederson looked to have it covered. But this is a lively enough start to the half by Arsenal. Again.

6.37pm BST

49 min: Good news for Arsenal: Pepe is back on.

6.36pm BST

48 min: All of which is a shame from Arsenal’s point of view, as they had started the half immediately on the front foot.

6.36pm BST

47 min: Pepe is up, though as he leaves the field of play and trots around the perimeter, it’s not yet clear whether he’s good to continue or he’ll be subbed.

6.35pm BST

46 min: Aubameyang whips in from the left. Pepe gets above Ake and plants a header straight at Ederson. Pepe lands awkwardly on his knee and goes down yelling in pain. Concern for Arsenal here.

6.33pm BST

City get the second half underway. Neither side has made a half-time change.

6.20pm BST

Half-time entertainment. Two impressive, intelligent and generally dependable goalkeepers on patrol tonight at the Etihad. Anyway, here’s a Jonathan Wilson column about Jordan Pickford.

6.18pm BST

Some more space for Saka, who has been really lively this evening, and he whips a low cross in from the left. It’s blocked out for a corner. From the set piece, Walker nearly connects with Gabriel’s head, his boot dangerously high. Arsenal demand a penalty, and are perplexed when the whistle blows for the break ... and VAR shows no interest whatsoever. File that one under You’ve Seen Them Given.

6.16pm BST

45 min: There will be one added minute of a first half that’s fair flown by. Here’s Barry Bryan: “I’d agree that Aguero in no way intended violence by grabbing Ms. Massey-Ellis, but massaging a woman’s shoulder at the workplace is inappropriate in almost every circumstance. Call it a micro aggression or whatever you like, or argue what he would or would not have done with a man there, but the commentators I have here in the US didn’t call it out, and that’s disappointing.”

6.16pm BST

44 min: Pepe turns on the jets down the right and makes for the City box. Ake slides in, timing his challenge perfectly: no foul, no risk of penalty, and the ball breaking off Pepe’s shin for a goal kick.

6.15pm BST

42 min: Aguero disputes a throw-in decision, and sticks his hand around the neck of the assistant referee. Nothing aggressive, though you’re always taking a risk. The lino (female) doesn’t make a meal of it, and we play on.

6.13pm BST

41 min: But Arsenal are finally starting to knock at the door. Pepe dinks a ball through the middle, sending Aubameyang one on one. Ederson spreads and saves, and the flag goes up for offside, though had Aubameyang slotted home, that would surely have been overturned, the striker clearly onside. Though with VAR being the abject fiasco it is, nothing is ever certain.

6.11pm BST

40 min: Arsenal decide that the best form of defence is attack, with Tierney and Saka combining to battle their way past Rodri down the left. A cute one-two, and Saka is free, albeit without much space and time in the box. He tries the chip over Ederson; it springs off the keeper’s shoulder and balloons inches wide of the top right. The resulting corner is no use.

6.09pm BST

38 min: Ceballos creams a pass down the left for Aubameyang, who hopes to romp clear but is forced to settle for a corner off Walker. Willian takes. Ederson punches clear confidently despite being swarmed by the blue shirts that aren’t the blue shirts worn by his team. It doesn’t have to be like this, you know.

6.08pm BST

37 min: Saka strips Cancelo of possession and looks to make off down the left, but he’s subtly shoved in the back. No foul, throw to City. Arteta isn’t happy at all.

6.06pm BST

35 min: Arsenal get caught playing out from the back, and the ball’s quickly shuttled to Foden, free in the box on the left! He’s one on one with Leno, but his attempt to poke it into the corner is thwarted by the keeper’s telescopic leg. Brilliant keeping, and a save that keeps Arsenal in it ... because after that confident first 20 minutes, they’re being pulled around all over the shop now.

6.05pm BST

34 min: Mahrez sashays down the right, turning Saka this way and that, before being forced on the outside. He gets a shot away nonetheless, but it’s always heading high from a tight angle.

6.04pm BST

33 min: Foden slides the ball down the left for Aguero, who has options in the middle, but slams the ball straight into Luiz’s midriff. He claims a penalty, half-heartedly because Luiz had both hands clasped behind his back.

6.02pm BST

31 min: City tiki-taka it about awhile. Hey, does anyone remember

Spangles
tiki-taka?

6.01pm BST

29 min: Foden dances down the left and wins another corner. Leno gets his hands on that, after a fashion. A sense that City are beginning to find that old relentless groove, though, with Arsenal sitting a little deeper all of a sudden.

5.59pm BST

28 min: Mahrez has been fantastic so far. He jinks in from the right, nipping past Tierney with absurd ease, and taking two goes at slapping home at the near post from a tight angle. Leno turns the ball out, then claims the corner. Yet another near miss for the hosts, and this is City looking slightly uncertain by their own standards!

5.57pm BST

26 min: From the resulting corner, Willian swings in from the right. Pepe’s diving header whistles inches wide of the top right. Ederson’s feet were planted; had that been on target, it was in.

5.56pm BST

25 min: A fine response by Arsenal, who breezes past Rodri on the left, enters the box, and shoots hard towards the top left. Ederson is forced to tip over. A fine effort out of next to nothing.

5.55pm BST

24 min: Arsenal have probably had the better of the play, yet it’s City who have scored and gone very close twice. A strange old thing at times, sport.

5.55pm BST

City have been quiet, but they explode into life here. Mahrez spins away from Tierney out on the right. He slips inside for Aguero, who drives forward before slipping Foden into the box on the left. Foden drops a shoulder to pass Bellerin with ease, and shoots. Leno parries, but only to Sterling, who steers the rebound cleverly into a gap at the bottom left. Brilliant sweeping move!

5.52pm BST

21 min: Tierney and Saka combine niftily down the left, the latter crossing for Bellerin, bowling in from the other flank. Bellerin wins his header, but he’s put too much pressure on Cancelo and the whistle blows.

5.51pm BST

20 min: “Why aren’t Arsenal wearing their first kit?” wonders Damian Durrant. “Is it a special kit in honour of something? Did I miss the memo?” Yep: it said that the results were in, rampant capitalism had won at the expense of culture and dignity, everything’s over, and it’s all been rubber-stamped by The Man.

5.50pm BST

18 min: City could easily have had two goals already, with both Aguero and Mahrez going close, yet otherwise they’ve been a little unnerved by Arsenal’s breezy start. The hosts are struggling to put it together at the minute.

5.47pm BST

16 min: Willian is clipped by Foden as he drives up the right. No booking, but City are really trying it on at the moment. They look panicked every time Arsenal steal the ball and move upfield.

5.45pm BST

14 min: Now the card does come out. Rodri is the recipient, a result of a cynical tug on Saka’s shirt. Arsenal look really lively every time they move forward, though none of their moves have yet to click ... or been allowed to click.

5.44pm BST

13 min: City mess up the corner, and Arsenal try to break en masse. Mahrez grabs Pepe by the arm, slowing the counter down to a halt. He really should be booked for that, but it’s just a free kick. Arsenal aren’t happy, and they’ve got something of a point.

5.42pm BST

12 min: Aguero’s busy run down the inside right wins a corner. From that, Foden has a crack from the edge of the box that’s charged down and deflected out for another corner, this time on the left.

5.42pm BST

11 min: Arsenal look up for this, attempting to flood forward on the counter every time they intercept. An approach that should lead to a lively game. “Mahrez looked lively and scored for Algeria last week in a friendly against Mexico on Dutch soil. It looks like he has maintained that spark into today’s match, with the intent of ruining Arsenal’s Partey atmosphere.” Peter Oh bringing the puns there, so I don’t have to.

5.39pm BST

9 min: Aubameyang’s flick down the left allows Saka to tear off down the flank. Rodri does extremely well to get over and ease him off the ball, just as it looked as though the Arsenal youngster was preparing to bear down on goal.

5.38pm BST

7 min: Mahrez teases Tierney, Gabriel and Saka, drawing all three towards him on the right, before chipping infield for Aguero, who flashes a close-range header over the bar. Close. But for a few inches here and there, City would already be two up.

5.37pm BST

6 min: Dias is nearly robbed by Aubameyang, 30 yards from his own goal. He sorts his feet out just in time and wanders away from trouble.

5.35pm BST

4 min: Both teams take turns to stroke it about nicely. An open feel to this game already. Well, it is the 2020-21 Premier League, I guess it goes without saying.

5.33pm BST

2 min: Arsenal play it out from the back crisply and neatly ... though there’s a fair chance quite a few of their fans had their hearts in their mouths, as the defence just about worked their way through City’s press. Say what you like, you can’t call them out for a lack of bravery.

5.32pm BST

40 seconds: Mahrez cuts in from the right, teed up by Sterling, and curls a powerful effort inches wide of the top-left corner. Leno was nowhere. So close to a sensational start by City!

5.30pm BST

Arsenal get the ball rolling ... but not before the knee of justice. There’s no room for racism. Challenge it, report it, change it. Black lives matter.

5.29pm BST

The teams are out! Manchester City are in their sky blue shirts. Arsenal, who play in red, and whose second shirt is white, change into third-choice blue. There’s no point fighting against the tide armed with nothing but a pointed stick, you may as well let modernity wash over you. We’ll be off in a minute.

5.26pm BST

Breaking team news. Rob Holding has tweaked his hamstring in the warm-up, and will be replaced in the Arsenal starting XI by David Luiz.

5.16pm BST

Mikel Arteta’s turn. “We were tempted to start Partey but he had a day and a half of training, so we need to be a little bit patient. We have tried to put the best game together. A lot will depend on individual performance, quality performance. It’s the moment, it’s the occasion, and it is today.”

5.07pm BST

Pep talk. “It is good for us that Aguero is back. It has been a long time, we don’t know his condition but it is better to start than come from the bench. It’s good. There will be high pressing from both sides and quality up front. We will watch a good game, like we have seen so far all games in the Premier League.” He also reports that Laporte and Mendy are both out injured: “Laporte not much, but Mendy a little bit longer.”

4.40pm BST

The big news for Manchester City: Sergio Aguero is back! He’s one of four changes to the team that drew 1-1 at Leeds before the international break. Nathan Ake, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva also return; Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Ferran Torres and the injured Kevin De Bruyne make way.

Arsenal’s deadline-day signing Thomas Partey is named on the bench. The Gunners meanwhile make three changes to the team that won 2-1 over Sheffield United a fortnight ago. Rob Holding, Granit Xhaka and Nicolas Pepe replace David Luiz, Mohamed Elneny and Eddie Nketiah.

4.32pm BST

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Ake, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, Foden, Mahrez, Aguero, Sterling.
Subs: Stones, Gundogan, Steffen, Torres, Fernandinho, Delap, Garcia.

Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Tierney, Ceballos, Xhaka, Saka, Willian, Pepe, Aubameyang.
Subs: Lacazette, Runarsson, Maitland-Niles, Thomas, Luiz, Elneny, Nketiah.

12.10pm BST

Manchester City have won their last six Premier League matches against Arsenal to the aggregate tune of 17-2. That should make this evening’s match easy to predict ... except Arsenal beat City fairly easily in last season’s semi-finals, they’ve got a new superstar signing in Thomas Partey, and the hosts will have to do without their injured genius Kevin De Bruyne. Factor in Arsenal’s fast start to the season, and City’s uncharacteristically slow one, and is set up rather deliciously. Another City romp? Or will Arsenal’s resurgence continue apace? We find out soon. It’s on!

Kick off: 5.30pm BST.

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Published on October 17, 2020 11:44

Everton 2-2 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened

VAR denied Liverpool an injury-time winner by the slimmest of margins in a wonderfully entertaining back-and-forth match at Goodison

2.50pm BST

No word from Ancelotti. But we have heard from Andy Hunter. His report has landed! Here it is. Off you go ... and thanks for reading this MBM!

2.47pm BST

Klopp, in a grim mood, talks. “The performance was top ... it was a good game from both teams ... we were dominant against a side full of confidence with a clear plan ... we played a really good game, our best away at Goodison since I am in Liverpool, but it is still 2-2 for different reasons ... I would be more happy if we won, but the performance was the response ... Pickford kicks Van Dijk completely but I have to watch it back ... the Henderson goal, I didn’t see offside, but maybe somebody can explain it to me ... the game was brilliant ... should we have three points? Maybe yes but we cannot change it ... we were superior.” A long, Pinteresque pause when he’s told nobody in the BT Sport studio could work out why the late ‘winner’ was chalked off for offside. He is fuming.

2.38pm BST

Dominic Calvert-Lewin speaks. “Very strange ... we’re disappointed we didn’t kick on at 1-1 ... it’s coming, I genuinely believed the day would be today that we’d do it, but it’s not to be, so we go the next one ... we had chances to go on and win it, but didn’t take them ... I’m disappointed that we didn’t win the game ... it’s frustrating ... but in terms of the bigger picture we didn’t lose and keep the unbeaten run going.”

2.35pm BST

That result keeps Everton on top with 13 points, three clear of their Mersey rivals, who rise to second spot, for a couple of hours at least, on 10. The champions came so close to snatching all three points at the end, but were undone by VAR, Mane seemingly caught offside by the width of an armpit hair. Or something. But both teams may be happy enough with a point that keeps Everton’s success show on the road, and gets the Villa mauling out of Liverpool’s system.

2.29pm BST

Rodriguez sends the free kick to the far post. Calvert-Lewin heads it back across. Adrian claims ... and that’s it! Another draw in the derby at Goodison ... but a much more entertaining one than usual. Klopp and Ancelotti go off arm in arm.

2.27pm BST

90 min +5: Iwobi tussles with Robertson and Wijnaldum down the right. He nips between the pair and buys a clever free kick by the corner flag.

2.25pm BST

VAR rules the goal out for the most marginal of offsides on Mane! The pictures on BT Sport suggest otherwise, but VAR insists! On the touchline, Klopp smiles wryly.

2.24pm BST

Thiago plays a sensational no-look pass down the inside-left channel. Mane skitters into the box. He pulls the ball across the face of goal. Henderson slapshots it goalwards. Pickford gets a hand to it, but the ball screws off his hand, loops into the air, and in!

2.23pm BST

90 min +2: Mane is brought down in the Everton box. Only problem is, it’s Jota who clattered into him!

2.22pm BST

90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. Fabinho is replaced by Wijnaldum. Thiago, incidentally, is fine to continue.

2.22pm BST

90 min: Richarlison goes, and doesn’t seem happy about it. Not sure what he’s complaining for, because that was another awful challenge. Everton are down to ten; they should be down to nine, of course. So much for Everton’s cultural renaissance. The Dogs of War had nothing on this.

2.20pm BST

88 min: A studs-up slide on Thiago’s standing leg. He was really flying in. Referee Michael Oliver takes his red card out ... though he’s not shown it yet, because Richarlison has stayed down.

2.18pm BST

87 min: Alexander-Arnold attempts a surprise whipper into the top left. It flies harmlessly wide, and Pickford looked to have read it anyway.

2.17pm BST

86 min: Mane is bundled over just outside the Everton box by Mina. A free kick by the left-hand corner of the area. A very dangerous position, with the box loaded.

2.17pm BST

85 min: Allan is booked for repeated transgressions.

2.16pm BST

84 min: Fabinho is booked for a clip on Rodriguez’s ankle. Rodriguez goes down. Richarlison continues an attack. That fizzles out, so Liverpool launch one of their own. Eventually that breaks down too. Rodriguez isn’t happy that Liverpool didn’t kick the ball out of play, but Richarlison set the template.

2.14pm BST

83 min: Liverpool are this close to regaining the lead. Salah dinks Mane into the Everton box down the right. Pickford half-smothers, a fine save. The ball breaks to Jota, who tries to chip home. He doesn’t catch it. Mane attempts to help it on, but can only head it wide.

2.13pm BST

The in-form striker scores his tenth goal of the season! And what a leap this was! Rodriguez slips Digne away down the left. Digne hangs one up to the far post, where Calvert-Lewin rises above Robertson and guides a simply brilliant header across Adrian and into the left-hand side of the net. Can anyone stop this man?

2.11pm BST

80 min: Klopp’s still berating his players. Not happy at all. Ancelotti cuts a more pensive figure.

2.10pm BST

79 min: Salah sends an oscillating snapshot towards Pickford, who makes a meal of parrying, but completes the job.

2.10pm BST

78 min: Both sides make a change. Everton replace Doucoure with Iwobi, while Liverpool send on Jota in place of the Firmino, who was quiet again by his own standards.

2.09pm BST

77 min: From the corner, Matip plants a header towards the top left. It’s in all the way ... but Pickford extends a telescopic arm and turns it away! What a save, his second big contribution of the afternoon. Well, third, but you get the general point.

2.07pm BST

76 min: Alexander-Arnold nearly flicks Salah free down the inside-right channel, but Keane manages to bundle out for a corner. “It is more likely that Pickford will decide the match with a baffling blunder,” adds Jerome Brost. “In which case, it will be us Everton fans lamenting that he was not sent off.”

2.05pm BST

74 min: Fabinho gets past Keane down the right but, upon entering the box, and with Salah and Firmino in space in the middle, allows the defender to bite back and clear. Here’s Matt Dony: “To be fair to Duncan Edwards, Pickford does have a history of last-minute match-winning contributions in this fixture.”

2.04pm BST

73 min: That was a goal of effortless brilliance. Everton respond by replacing Gomes with Sigurdsson.

2.03pm BST

What a finish this is! Salah has done next to nothing this afternoon ... except this! Fabinho slides Henderson into space down the right. Henderson’s cross is half cleared by Mina. Salah swings his left boot gracefully, sending a power curler into the bottom left, leaving Pickford no hope whatsoever!

2.02pm BST

70 min: This is getting all a bit scrappy. And fiery, Henderson and Gomes getting involved in a trenchant, and utterly pointless, back-and-forth.

2.00pm BST

69 min: Gomes is booked for a cynical trip on Fabinho. “Often when a player ‘escapes’ a red card he pops up later with a match-winning contribution to a chorus of ‘arguably shouldn’t have even been on the pitch’. It’d be fun if Pickford nodded home in the 95th minute, no?” Duncan Edwards stirring the pot there.

1.58pm BST

67 min: Mane and Digne tangle in mid-air, eyes on the ball, both players leaping with feet up. Digne comes off worse, and Mane is booked.

1.57pm BST

66 min: “There’s nobody on the second ball!” Jurgen Klopp there, on the touchline, bollocking his players in the grand style. He’s far from happy.

1.56pm BST

65 min: Rodriguez is allowed to advance towards the Liverpool box. Just before reaching the area, he opens his body and curls powerfully towards the bottom left. Adrian does well to get down and turn the ball away from danger.

1.54pm BST

63 min: Fabinho floats a chip down the middle. Salah hopes to get on the end of it, but Pickford’s out to the edge of his box to claim well. Good luck guessing who scores the next goal.

1.52pm BST

61 min: Thiago, Salah, Henderson and Firmino combine well down the middle, a thrusting move that eventually earns a corner. Nothing comes of the set piece, but that’s the first time Liverpool have shown in attack for a wee while.

1.51pm BST

59 min: From the right corner of the Liverpool box, Rodriguez floats a delicious ball to the far stick. Richarlison slams his header off the post. He received a gentle shove in the back before that effort, and he’s not happy as a result, demanding a penalty. He’s not getting one.

1.49pm BST

58 min: Everton have enjoyed 75 percent possession in the last five minutes. They’ve clearly taken their pressing up a notch since the break, no doubt on the receiving end of a very elegant talking-to at half-time.

1.48pm BST

56 min: Robertson is up and about again. A thumbs up to the bench, and it’s relief for Liverpool. “Commentators in the US are saying that had Pickford committed that ‘tackle’ inside the centre circle, he’d be off,” reports Justin Kavanagh. “Had he committed it inside a UFC cage, he’d be off.”

1.46pm BST

55 min: The referee and VAR decide it was simply some scrappy nonsense. But Robertson stays down, more worrying signs for Liverpool.

1.45pm BST

54 min: Mina shoves Robertson from behind. Robertson goes down, then stretches out in frustration at Allan, who in turn collapses. The referee needs some help from VAR to find out what went on.

1.43pm BST

52 min: Everton knock it around with confidence. Rodriguez, Gomes, Doucoure and Allan seeing plenty of the ball right now.

1.42pm BST

50 min: Rodriguez caresses a glorious right-to-left diagonal pass to Digne, who fizzes a low ball into the centre for Calvert-Lewin. The in-form striker should score, ahead of Gomez, but takes a fresh-air swipe, allowing Adrian to smother. What a chance ... and that was a truly sensational pass by Rodriguez.

1.39pm BST

48 min: Robertson crosses from the left. Keane half clears. Henderson ambles onto the ball as it drops by the left-hand edge of the D, and fizzes a riser towards the top left. Not far away at all; Pickford might not have reached it had it been on target as intended.

1.38pm BST

47 min: Thiago sprays a fine diagonal ball towards Salah, who interchanges with Henderson. Salah can’t quite control the return, the ball breaking to Fabinho, who aims for the top right but flays it well wide.

1.36pm BST

Everton get the second half underway! No changes at the break.

1.34pm BST

Pickford’s out-of-control scissor tackle on Van Dijk doesn’t get any better upon repeated viewing. As Peter Crouch says on BT Sport, it was a potential leg-breaker. “It’s horrendous.” Leon Osman agreed that it was a potential “career-ender”. Even notorious company man Peter Walton, who usually jumps through hoops of fire to argue the referee got it right, admits: “The foul is still relevant because even though the whistle may have gone, or the game had stopped, players are still accountable for their actions. Personally I think it was serious foul play, and Pickford is lucky not to be sent off.”

1.26pm BST

Half-time reading.

1.22pm BST

A breathless half of football comes to an end. Both teams will be happy with their work up front, perhaps less so with their efforts in defence. Jordan Pickford is lucky to still be on the park. The second half promises much. No flipping!

1.20pm BST

45 min +4: Salah drifts in from the right. He’s got space and time to size up a pass, with Mane to his right and Firmino to his left. He dallies and finds neither.

1.19pm BST

45 min +2: Gomes crosses from the left. It’s threatening to float into the top right - think Paul Konchesky for West Ham against Pepe Reina in the 2006 FA Cup Final - and Adrian is forced to tip over the bar. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.

1.18pm BST

45 min +1: In the first of four added minutes, the free kick is half cleared, then pearled back goalwards by Thiago. It’s a screamer, but one blocked magnificently by Godfrey, improvising bravely, flinging his chest in the taking-one-for-the-president style. Magnificent play all round!

1.17pm BST

45 min: Rodriguez is booked for a cynical clip on Mane, who was making good towards the Everton box down the left. A free kick just to the side of the area.

1.16pm BST

44 min: Richarlison spins and hoicks a poor effort miles over the bar from the edge of the box. He’d worked some space and should have tested Adrian. Meanwhile here’s some perspective on the Van Dijk / Pickford incident from Guardian Unlimited’s (ask your granny) favourite Evertonian: “I really do think that Pickford got away with a stone cold red card there,” writes Gary Naylor. “The offside doesn’t matter really - most punch-ups happen in the aftermath of a free kick. Pickford spends 90 minutes out of control and that ‘challenge’ definitely endangered an opponent.”

1.14pm BST

42 min: Henderson takes a whack in the mouth while trying to prod home a fizzing low right-wing cross by Firmino. It’s accidental, as he runs into Godfrey while the ball clanks off Mina. Liverpool’s captain is back up and running quickly enough.

1.13pm BST

41 min: Doucoure flashes a ball across the face of the Liverpool box from the right. Calvert-Lewin tries to flick home, but can’t get enough purchase on it. Then Rodriguez plays a glorious no-look through ball down the inside left for Gomes, but the flag goes up for offside. This is so open.

1.12pm BST

40 min: They’ve just shown a replay of Pickford’s challenge on Van Dijk. I have no idea how the keeper wasn’t sent off, wrapping both legs around the defender’s standing leg and twisting his knee. An awful challenge. That could be a serious injury for Liverpool’s defensive lynchpin.

1.10pm BST

39 min: Another soft Salah finish as he interchanges with Thiago down the inside right. Thiago looks very impressive, like that’s breaking news.

1.10pm BST

37 min: Robertson hauls down Rodriguez. A free kick’s flung in from the right. Liverpool clear and nearly bust Everton open on the counter, Mane and Henderson combining cutely in the middle, Alexander-Arnold nearly freeing Mane with a crossfield pass. Not quite.

1.08pm BST

36 min: Liverpool are beginning to press Everton back. Allen fouls Mane. Thiago flicks the free kick into the box, Salah nearly finding enough space to get a shot away from a tight position on the left. He’s crowded out, and nothing comes from the resulting corner.

1.07pm BST

34 min: Liverpool nearly retake the lead with a sensational move down the left, Firmino nutmegging Doucoure and freeing Robertson, who cuts back for Mane. Mane opens his body and nearly finds the bottom right with a guided sidefoot. Close, and I’m not sure Pickford had it covered.

1.05pm BST

33 min: Godfrey is immediately in the thick of it, foxed by a Gerrardesque crossfield pass by Henderson that finds Mane free on the left. The ball’s worked back to Thiago, who whistles a rising shot inches wide of the left-hand post.

1.03pm BST

32 min: Ben Godfrey, Everton’s big-money signing from Norwich, comes on for Coleman.

1.02pm BST

31 min: Richarlison goes down and feels his hamstring. Then on the other side of the pitch, Coleman drops to one knee and does exactly the same thing. Doesn’t look good for the Everton captain.

1.01pm BST

29 min: So having said that, the game suffers its first lull.

12.59pm BST

27 min: This is good high-paced fun, with both teams piling forward at every opportunity, Liverpool working it wide, Everton looking to go a bit longer and spring the visitors’ high line. This surely won’t end 1-1.

12.57pm BST

25 min: Henderson tips the dead ball to the right. Alexander-Arnold curls powerfully towards the top left. Pickford, at full stretch, tips around for a corner that leads to nothing. That was a very decent effort by Alexander-Arnold, and a superb save from Pickford.

12.55pm BST

23 min: Thiago flips a ball down the inside-left channel for Mane, who takes a high boot from Gomes. Actually no contact, but it was dangerous play, and it’s a free kick for Liverpool, just to the left of centre, 25 yards out. Gomes is incensed, and nearly talks himself into the book. Just a ticking off.

12.53pm BST

21 min: Salah tries to hit straight back for Liverpool by using Keane as cover, hoping to curl home from the right-hand corner of the D. But the shot’s an awful drag, straight at Pickford, who claims without fuss.

12.52pm BST

Keane rises above Fabinho and Firmino and plants a header into the net! It wasn’t quite into the top-right corner, and straight at Adrian, but such was the power you can’t really blame the keeper for not turning it over the bar. Though doubtless some will. Everton are level!

12.51pm BST

18 min: Rodriguez picks up a loose ball in the middle. He’s got Richarlison in acres down the inside-left channel, and should slip him clear, but overcooks the pass. No matter, Everton come again, Calvert-Lewin raging down the right and hammering a shot from a tight angle that Adrian is forced to tip round his post. And from the resulting corner ...

12.49pm BST

17 min: A long pass down the middle by Digne. Calvert-Lewin takes it down smoothly, drops a shoulder to edge inside past Gomez, and sends a weak shot straight at Adrian. An easy confidence-building gather for the under-pressure Liverpool stand-in keeper.

12.47pm BST

15 min: Liverpool continue to dominate possession. Everton haven’t really got started yet.

12.46pm BST

8 min: Van Dijk might have twisted his knee. Worrying scenes for Liverpool. It won’t be a penalty,

12.45pm BST

13 min: Headed chances at either end. First Digne whips in from the left for Calvert-Lewin, who can’t keep it down; then Robertson flings one in for Firmino, who likewise heads over. It’s been an entertaining and lively start, with Liverpool looking extremely confident.

12.44pm BST

11 min: Yep, on comes Gomez, who has been worryingly out of form of late. Liverpool will be hoping Van Dijk’s withdrawal is precautionary rather than serious. Pickford needlessly and aggressively wrapped both of his legs around his standing leg, and I’m not sure why Pickford wasn’t at least booked, or sent off.

12.42pm BST

10 min: Van Dijk can’t continue. He’s walking straight back to the temporary hut in the car park. Gomez will come on in his stead.

12.39pm BST

6 min: From the corner, a ball’s swung in from the left. Van Dijk tries to get onto it at the far post. He’s scissored by Pickford, an absurd challenge, and Van Dijk goes down holding his knee. It would have been a penalty, had the flag not gone up for offside.

12.38pm BST

5 min: Liverpool are rampant. Robertson slips Mane into space down the left. Mane crosses towards the near post. Henderson heads from six yards, but not particularly well. Digne is able to eyebrow out for a corner. If Henderson got behind that, it was a goal.

12.35pm BST

Liverpool shuttle the ball right to left. Robertson diddles his way past Coleman, drops a shoulder, and slips inside for Mane, who lifts an unstoppable shot into the top left. Pickford had no chance. What a wonderful sweeping move. What a start for the champions!

12.34pm BST

2 min: Fabinho snaffles the ball in the centre circle and rolls an immediate pass down the middle. Salah can’t bring the ball with him, allowing Keane to step in.

12.33pm BST

35 seconds: The first big collision of the afternoon as Van Dijk stands firm, in Rodriguez’s road. A garden variety foul, but one felt by the brilliant Colombian.

12.32pm BST

And we’re off! Liverpool get the ball rolling, but only after all players take a knee. No room for racism. Black lives matter. The visitors are kicking towards the Gwladys Street end in the first half.

12.28pm BST

The teams are out! Everton are playing in ... ach, you know the score here. What we’d give for Goodison to be bouncing now ... but you know all that, too. This promises to be a proper match, though, hopefully an end to that sequence of three goalless draws in Goodison derbies. Everton troop out of the tunnel, while Liverpool make it to the field from the temporary hut in the car park. “You want to know the simple truth?” asks Philip Ritson. “Ancelotti has the measure of Klopp and Everton are in better form than Liverpool. This Liverpool supporter is afraid! Very afraid!”

12.20pm BST

Manager of the month Carlo Ancelotti speaks! “We are sure that we are going to play the best team in the Premier League ... honestly we didn’t expect what happened in their last game ... it is an honour for us to play against them ... it’s a derby, an important game, and I expect a good game from us ... it’s a good test ... it is exciting, the only thing that we miss is the crowd, but we have to respect the code and protocols ... I hope to give happiness to our fans from home ... we started well, but we want to continue.” Halfway through the interview he was squirted from below by a rogue sprinkler, and reacted to a brief splash of discomfort with grace, humour and charm, not missing a beat. One of the game’s smoothest operators. Two genuinely likeable managers facing each other this lunchtime.

12.04pm BST

Jurgen Klopp is asked by BT Sport’s Des Kelly if this is the worst sort of fixture to have after a bad defeat. “It’s the game, the only one we’ve got ... it’s good, whatever situation you are in, it’s the most special game of the season ... on the other side I would have no problem if Everton would be in a bad place having lost the last 12 games in a row! ... but it’s exactly how it should be, they are ready, we are ready, it should be a good game ... all the changes are significant, that’s why we do them ... the line-up is the line-up because we think it’s the right one for this game ... we did a lot of things wrong against Villa, but the art is to keep the good things, because they were there, even if nobody remembers them!”

11.50am BST

While it’s ten years to the day since Everton’s last win against Liverpool, today’s date also has a more profound significance. It’s five years since the passing of a genuine Goodison legend, the great Howard Kendall, who won the title with his beloved Blues as both player and manager.

11.44am BST

Some pre-match reading. Andy Hunter, our man on Merseyside, assesses the new, confident Everton ahead of today’s potential season-shaper.

11.38am BST

Everton make two changes from the side that saw off Brighton 4-2 a fortnight ago. Allan and Andre Gomes take the places of Tom Davies and Gylfi Sigurdsson.

Liverpool hand a first Premier League start to Thiago. He’s one of four changes to the team spanked 7-2 by Aston Villa. Joel Matip, Jordan Henderson and Sadio Mane also come in. They take the places of Joe Gomez, Georginio Wijnaldum, Naby Keita and Diogo Jota.

11.32am BST

Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Mina, Keane, Digne, Doucoure, Allan, Andre Gomes, Rodriguez, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Subs: Delph, Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Bernard, Godfrey, Davies, Olsen.

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, van Dijk, Robertson, Henderson, Fabinho, Thiago, Salah, Firmino, Mane.
Subs: Wijnaldum, Milner, Gomez, Jones, Minamino, Jota, Kelleher.

10.00am BST

It’s the tenth anniversary of a most acceptable Merseyside derby for Liverpool. “That was as good as we have played all season, and I have no qualms with the performance whatsoever,” smiled Roy Hodgson. The future looked bright for Roy’s Reds! If you didn’t pay too much attention to the league position: 19 out of 20. Oh Roy.

It was also a good day for Everton, who won the game 2-0 at a canter. Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta scored the goals as chants of “Going down, going down, going down” rang around Goodison Park. However times change, and that’s the last time Everton beat Liverpool in any competition. Since then, it’s been 11 wins and 11 draws for the Reds against their biggest rivals in all competitions, and now they’re champions of England.

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Published on October 17, 2020 06:50

England 0-1 Denmark: Nations League – as it happened

Christian Eriksen’s penalty was enough for Denmark as Harry Maguire and Reece James were both sent off

10.31pm BST

David Hytner was at Wembley ... and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this one! Nighty night.

10.28pm BST

Gareth Southgate’s verdict. “I was very proud of their performance ... we were excellent for the opening period with 11 men, causing all sorts of problems down our right ... great interchange of play ... the sending off alters everything, and the penalty afterwards, but after then we showed resilience ... a great example of how to play with ten men pragmatically ... wait for the right moments to press and use the ball well when we could ... the team defended as a solid unit ... their keeper has made an amazing save and I couldn’t be prouder, not only tonight but the last ten days ... we’ve had to deal with any manner of changes, so we’ve come through as a resilient group ... the first yellow was a challenge Maguire didn’t need to make and put him on edge, the second his momentum took him through ... for me, he’s a top player and a massive part of what we do ... he’s having a period where he’s having a lot of stick thrown his way and he’ll have to deal with that, he’ll come through it, and he has our full support ... we have total belief in him ... he has been getting all sorts for a while from some people who should know better ... none of us like to be the centre of that sort of storm ... his profile has changed because of the club he plays at and the success he’s had with us, and is having one of those periods when everything is going against him ... you have to hang in and it will turn ... I don’t see the penalty at all, the less said the better ... the referee has sent James off for dissent.”

10.15pm BST

And now the captain Harry Kane. “A tough game ... proud of the boys, who gave everything ... we had control for the first 35 minutes ... whether it was or wasn’t a penalty, it happened, but after that we dug deep ... they didn’t create too many chances, we defended well, we had a few chances ourselves that on another day would have went in ... obviously disappointed we lost, but gotta be proud of the boys ... mistakes cost you, and that’s what happened today ... we’re a good unit and it’s a learning curve and a good experience going forward ... there were some decisions that didn’t go our way ... I don’t think tempers frayed ... it just wasn’t our night ... Maguire made a couple of challenges today that he’d love to have back, but it’s all part of the learning curve ... he’ll be devastated but he’ll bounce back, you go through ups and downs ... I don’t think we have discipline issues ... I can’t fault the boys ... the fight and spirit after the sending off was truly a great thing to be a part of.”

10.09pm BST

Sky have a word with Declan Rice. “It’s very tough to take ... it’s not the direction we wanted to head in ... if you look at our second-half performance, the lads dug in, showing strength, resilience and character ... we created some chances ... even though it’s a defeat, we can be proud of what we done in the second half ... in any game a red card changes something ... some of the decisions on the pitch were tough for us to take, the red card, the penalty ... some of the tackles our lads were putting in were perfect tackles but they were getting the foul for it ... the limelight is always on you when playing for England ... I know we’re a great bunch of lads and we’re focused for sure ... Maguire has always been amazing with me ... anyone can get a red card ... he’s been a fantastic servant and long may that continue.”

10.01pm BST

Trying to look on the bright side: England may have been both dreadfully poor and wretchedly ill-disciplined tonight, but Mason Mount and Conor Coady were both denied goals by, respectively, a magnificent close-range reaction save and an extremely intelligent goal-line clearance. The old thin line between success and failure, right there. In a parallel universe, the ten men managed to turn this round. Harry Maguire would have still been sent off, though.

9.56pm BST

That’s three red cards for England in the past 39 days! A rate of one every 13 days. England went the first 96 years of their existence before having someone sent off. Chuck in Kieran Trippier’s FA betting hearing and the Covid-related shenanigans of Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho, and Gareth Southgate has a little discipline problem to address.

9.49pm BST

Yep, the referee flashed red at James, who got right up in his grille at the full-time whistle in the emotional style. Henderson tried to pull him away from trouble, but couldn’t get there in time, and out came the card. That’s the first time England have ever had two players sent off in the same game

9.45pm BST

The winning penalty and a decisive clearance: what a way for Eriksen and Kjaer to celebrate their 100th caps! Denmark deserved the win, even if the award of their spot kick was soft. They had to do little more than be compact and competent, helped on their way by Harry Maguire’s personal implosion. England were extremely poor, save for decent performances from Reece James and Mason Mount ... although it looks like James might have blotted his copybook at the final whistle! The referee has shown him the red card. No idea yet what for. Stay tuned, as England’s night flits from fiasco to farce and back again.

9.37pm BST

Christian Eriksen’s first-half penalty, coupled with Simon Kjaer’s late clearance, is enough! The Danes go above England into second place in Group A2. Belgium go top, after their 2-1 win in Iceland, who are relegated.

9.36pm BST

90 min +3: Pickford’s delivery is appalling and easily cleared by the first Danish defender. The England keeper has the good grace to smile sheepishly. That looks like it.

9.36pm BST

90 min +2: A free kick for England on the halfway line, to the left of the centre circle. Pickford comes up to take. England load the Danish box.

9.35pm BST

90 min +1: The first of three extra minutes passes by.

9.35pm BST

90 min: James crosses from the right. Kane gathers on the left, spins and chips into the six-yard box. Coady is free, level with the right-hand post. He guides a clever header towards the left of goal, Schmeichel caught flat footed. But Kjaer, on his 1ooth cap, reads the danger and heads off the line. What a clearance!

9.33pm BST

89 min: James is bowled over out on the right. A free kick and a chance to load the box, and play on Danish nerves. Philips hoicks long. Schmeichel punches clear under pressure from Calvert-Lewin.

9.31pm BST

88 min: Hojbjerg is replaced by Jensen.

9.30pm BST

86 min: Philips joins him in the book for his role in a theatrical tussle with Poulsen over a dead ball.

9.29pm BST

85 min: Henderson is booked for excessive yap, English agitation rising as time runs out.

9.28pm BST

83 min: Kane slides in on Delaney. Free kick, nothing more. For a second, it looked like the red mist was coming down, but the England captain gathered himself just in time, pulling out of a full-blooded challenge.

9.25pm BST

81 min: Poulsen has a crack from distance. His daisycutter, aimed for the bottom right, is easily gathered by Pickford.

9.24pm BST

79 min: The corner, sent in from the right, is flicked on by Kane and drops to Coady at the far post, six yards out. Coady attempts to spin and shoot, but Calvert-Lewin, Maehle and Schmeichel are all in close attendance, confusing the issue one way or another. Coady slips and goes down. Kane screams for a penalty. England aren’t getting payback for the soft one they conceded in the first half. It looks the correct decision: if there was any contact between Coady and Maehle, it was extremely minimal.

9.22pm BST

78 min: James sends a fierce, rising drive straight at Schmeichel, who tips over easily enough.

9.20pm BST

77 min: Mings pearls a fine long pass down the left. Calvert-Lewin chests down magnificently for Kane, who waits for Delaney to foul him from behind, just to the left of the D. Big chance coming up from the free kick.

9.19pm BST

76 min: Henderson comes on for Rice.

9.18pm BST

75 min: From the corner, Kjaer sends a soft header straight into the grateful arms of Pickford.

9.18pm BST

74 min: Phillips ships possession in the midfield, and Eriksen launches a three-on-two. He slips the ball left for Sisto, who should shoot but looks for Poulsen at the far post, allowing Coady to deflect behind for a corner.

9.17pm BST

73 min: Braithwaite makes way for Vestergaard.

9.16pm BST

72 min: Southgate refreshes his front line, replacing Mount with Sancho on the left, and Rashford with Calvert-Lewin on the right.

9.15pm BST

71 min: The clock ticks on, and England continue to do very little in attack. Denmark seem happy enough to stroke it around the middle. They haven’t caused the ten men too much stress.

9.13pm BST

69 min: Phillips clatters into Poulsen. It’s a garden-variety foul, but one that for some reason causes Southgate to lose his supercool on the touchline. The referee trots over and tells him to pipe down.

9.12pm BST

67 min: Denmark should be two up. Sisto jinks his way past James on the left and crosses to the far post. Walker is asleep, and allows Wass to ghost into space. He heads unchallenged. six yards out, but somehow misses the target. England ... and especially Walker ... get away with one.

9.10pm BST

66 min: ... Mount rises, sending a powerful close-range header towards the top right. But Schmeichel reacts superbly and sticks out a strong arm to parry. Denmark clear the rebound. That’s as close as England have come. Mount has impressed tonight. It’s been a good evening for Chelsea’s young lads.

9.09pm BST

65 min: Kane has a dig from distance. Maehle blocks easily enough. But England come again, Rashford earning a corner down the left. From which ...

9.07pm BST

63 min: James has been very impressive on his full debut. He chests down a looping pass out on the right wing, brings the ball inside, and sends a powerful curler towards the bottom left. Schmeichel reads it well and swallows with ease, but that’s a decent effort from the very promising young Chelsea star.

9.05pm BST

61 min: This is very scrappy now, and not particularly entertaining. Denmark will be happy enough with the way it’s going, I guess, while England will take succour from keeping the 11 men at arm’s length easily enough.

9.03pm BST

59 min: I spoke too soon. It’s parping away again. I can only apologise. I’m really, really, really sorry.

9.01pm BST

57 min: At least the recording of that effing band has been switched off.

9.00pm BST

56 min: Delaney scampers into the England box from the right and looks for Braithwaite with a pullback. Coady does well to block out for a corner, from which nothing comes.

8.58pm BST

55 min: Rashford tries to make something happen for England, dropping a shoulder to breeze in from the left and fizzing a low shot wide of the target. Not his best effort, but it’s something, and the only positive act we’ve seen from England since the restart.

8.56pm BST

53 min: Denmark are totally bossing possession, making full use of their extra man.

8.55pm BST

51 min: Kjaer creams long. Poulsen tries to head down for Sisto, but instead accidentally flicks a header towards the top right. Pickford gathers the looping ball without drama or fuss.

8.53pm BST

49 min: Phillips is upended just inside the Denmark half. England line up on the edge of the box. Phillips can’t beat the first man with his free kick, and Eriksen romps up the other end. Not for the first time today, he’s got options but fails to take them. England get away with one there.

8.52pm BST

48 min: Poulsen, Sisto and Eriksen ping pretty triangles 30 yards from goal. Eriksen breaks the spell by wanging a shot towards the Hanger Lane gyratory.

8.50pm BST

47 min: Denmark establish some early second-half control by stroking it around the middle of the park awhile. England can’t get a sniff at the moment, though aren’t allowing themselves to be pulled out of shape.

8.49pm BST

Denmark get the second half underway. They’ve made two changes in defence. Christensen, on a booking, is replaced by Jorgensen, while Skov makes way for Maehle at left-back.

8.44pm BST

Half-time correspondence. “I’m not English and thus my familiarity with England national team players pre-2014 is pretty much non-existent, which is why I really enjoy lists like the one you posted before kick-off,” writes Matt Burtz. “It caused me to look up John Atyeo and learn that he is Bristol City’s all-time record goalscorer, he became a highly respected mathematics teacher after retirement, and he only scored five goals for England. Not a bad life all the way around, I would say.” Indeed. A great man. The RTÉ commentary of his goal that sent England to the 1958 World Cup finals at the Republic of Ireland’s expense is well worth a listen. Joy for Atyeo and England ... and heart-plunging Irish despair captured by a few seconds of poetic silence.

8.35pm BST

Denmark have been the better team and deserve to lead on balance, though the penalty they were awarded was preposterously soft. As for Harry Maguire: time for a few slow, deep breaths and a long rethink.

8.32pm BST

45 min +1: Hojbjerg is booked for an overly aggressive pirouette that catches his Spurs team-mate Kane’s knee. Ah to hear Jose Mourinho’s inner monologue right now.

8.30pm BST

45 min: It’ll be another three minutes until they hear it.

8.29pm BST

44 min: England haven’t responded to falling behind. Denmark are hogging the ball, with Eriksen at the centre of everything as he returns to his old stomping ground. England are desperate to hear the half-time whistle.

8.27pm BST

42 min: Another fine cross from the right from James. Again nobody in blue reacts. But the Chelsea man has been a rare positive for England tonight.

8.26pm BST

40 min: Harry Maguire, though.

8.24pm BST

38 min: A few noggins are going here. Now Christensen goes into the book for a brazen rugby tackle on Kane. He didn’t need to take one for his team; Kane was unlikely to latch onto the ball he was chasing.

8.23pm BST

37 min: Dolberg hasn’t recovered from that lunge by Maguire. He’s replaced by Sisto.

8.23pm BST

36 min: Well that unravelled quickly for England. What a total farce. A truly idiotic bit of play from Maguire, followed by Pickford and Walker getting into an awful tangle. Mings comes on for the sacrificed Maitland-Niles.

8.21pm BST

Eriksen calmly swishes the spot kick down the middle, as Pickford commits himself.

8.21pm BST

34 min: Delaney, Walker and Pickford get in a tangle just inside the England box, competing for a high ball. Delaney goes over, and the referee points at the spot, presumably for some Walker contact on Delaney as the pair high-kick. It’s soft, but the referee gives it.

8.19pm BST

33 min: Dolberg stays down a while, having felt that one. Happily he’s up again quickly enough.

8.18pm BST

31 min: Maguire should have walked for his early challenge on Poulsen. He’s walking now, though. A second yellow card as he miscontrols in the midfield, then lunges after the loose ball, connecting with Dolberg’s ankle. That’s clumsy, idiotic, and arguably should have been another straight red. What a fiasco.

8.16pm BST

29 min: Rice wedges a fine diagonal ball towards Mount, on the right-hand corner of the Denmark six-yard box. Mount clips back for Kane, who can’t sort his feet out and sends a weak, diluted rabona - a Ribena? - dribbling towards Schmeichel.

8.14pm BST

28 min: Maguire, stretching for a loose ball, slips and squats awkwardly. He gets up and feels his hamstring. He’s back up and running after a grimace and a few ginger steps, though.

8.12pm BST

27 min: Eriksen’s flat free kick is thoroughly useless, failing to clear the first man.

8.11pm BST

26 min: James clumsily brings down the in-flight Skov as the Dane makes good along the left. This will be a free kick in a very dangerous position. Eriksen to take, aiming to deliver into a loaded box.

8.11pm BST

24 min: A sensational, inviting cross-chip from the right by Mount. Neither Kane nor Rashford anticipated it. Wass assumed they had, and heads behind needlessly for a corner. The set piece is wasted. A catalogue of errors.

8.10pm BST

23 min: Poulsen, quarterbacking from deep, sends the lively Dolberg skittering off down the inside-right channel. Coady does well to usher him further right, though he still manages to pull the ball across the face of goal. Pickford wasn’t totally ready for that, and had Braithwaite been a bit livelier in the chase, he might have got to it.

8.08pm BST

22 min: Some nondescript midfield faffing. “That kit Lineker is wearing is, without a doubt, the worst Everton strip of all time,” writes Jim Lynch. “It only lasted a season before being the first inhabitant of the bad memories bin now also occupied by Sam Allardyce.”

8.05pm BST

20 min: Mount’s persistence down the right instigates a game of pinball in the Danish box, and then a corner. From the set piece, Phillips swings into the mixer from deep. Kjaer sweeps clear with plenty of blue shirts lurking.

8.04pm BST

18 min: Rashford and Kane attempt a one-two on the edge of the Danish box, but get it all wrong. Eriksen is permitted to launch a counter, and though he’s got options either side, with England extremely light at the back, opts to welly wildly over the bar. What a waste.

8.01pm BST

16 min: Rashford has a crack from distance. It swerves and dips towards the bottom left, but it’s read well by Schmeichel. A nice open feel to this game. Both teams have looked lively in attack. So much for the conservative reputation of both these teams.

8.01pm BST

15 min: “Surely one of the small mercies of behind-closed-doors games should be that we don’t have to suffer the appalling England ‘band’. Poor show, Sky.” Andrew Goudie speaks for me. I suspect he speaks for all of us.

7.59pm BST

13 min: Mount sashays down the right and breezes past Delaney. As he enters the box, he waits for a nibble from behind, but Delaney smartly stands off, and Mount eventually runs out of time and room, the ball dribbling apologetically towards Schmeichel.

7.57pm BST

11 min: Hojbjerg crosses deep from the right. England half clear. The ball drops to Skov, who attempts to blooter home from 25 yards. That one’s off down the North Circular, halfway to Ikea.

7.55pm BST

9 min: Nothing comes of the second corner. But this is a fast start by Denmark, and England suddenly look a little unnerved. Maitland-Niles and Pickford conspire to make a meal of a simple backpass-hoof-clear routine, but eventually get the job done.

7.54pm BST

8 min: Poulsen makes good down the right and whips towards the near post. Dolberg looks to bundle home, but Coady prods out for a corner just in time. From the set piece, Eriksen pulls one back for Dolberg, who slapshots inches wide of the right-hand post. In fact the ball took a little nick off Phillips, and it’ll be another corner.

7.52pm BST

6 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.

7.52pm BST

5 min: Maguire is booked for an ugly lunge on Poulsen. Studs up, just above the ankle. Poor form. He’s fortunate Poulsen didn’t make a big deal of that. He’s fortunate that he’s not been sent off. Poulsen meanwhile can count himself lucky that he’s not seriously injured.

7.50pm BST

4 min: James, a surprise selection at right-back ahead of Alexander-Arnold, starts confidently with a fine run down the wing, swinging a dangerous cross through the box. Not far away from Kane at all. The captain gives the full debutant the thumbs up.

7.49pm BST

3 min: Some cute play by Rashford as he tiptoes on the byline to the left of the Denmark goal. The Danish defence are, to a man, afraid to lunge in. Rashford flicks into the centre, but there’s nobody in

white
blue there to take advantage.

7.47pm BST

2 min: Kane latches onto a loose ball and drives down the middle of the park. He takes an early whack from distance, but his shot deflects off Christensen and loops harmlessly into the arms of Schmeichel, who will be grateful for the early touch.

7.46pm BST

Here we go ... and England are wearing blue, while Denmark sport second-choice white. Gah! Anyway, the players take a knee: no room for racism. Then the hosts get the game underway.

7.44pm BST

The teams are out! The national anthems of Denmark and England ring around an empty, eerie Wembley. We’ll be off in a minute. “I suspect another lovely Hummel shirt may be playing no small part in a certain Italian Renaissance currently underway in L4 4EL,” opines Grant Tennille. It is a beauty, yes. Everton’s most eye-catching since this one, though look what happened in that.

7.34pm BST

Thomas Lund Hansen sends his Roligan regards: “Phil Neal might have scored against Denmark but over here we’ll always remember him for his handball at Wembley in 1983. Allan Simonsen scored from the spot, Denmark won, we qualified for Euro84 and went on to become - sort of - famous for the free flowing game known from WC 1986. On behalf of every Danish footy fan; thanks Phil Neal!”

Meanwhile on the same subject, sort of, Simon McMahon adds: “I always think of that Danish team of the mid-80s as Scotland in disguise. When you look at the Scots squad from Mexico 86 and the team that started the first group match against the Danes - Leighton, Miller, McLeish, Gough, Malpas, Nicol, Strachan, Souness, Aitken, Nicholas, Sturrock, then see that Paul McStay, Dave Narey, Frank McAvennie and Eamon Bannon were on the bench, and that Steve Archibald, Graeme Sharp and Davie Cooper were also in the squad, it’s a wonder we didn’t win the tournament at a canter. We decided to finish bottom of the group instead. Very Scottish, as was Denmark’s crash and burn v Spain. Kindred spirits.”

7.27pm BST

Gareth Southgate speaks! “The best teams back up the big results, and that’s the big challenge for us tonight ... When we didn’t have the ball in the second half [against Belgium] we were almost able to dictate the game without the ball ... What we’ve got to add tonight is a bit more attacking guile, more threat, more opportunities on goal ... We need to get our wing-backs higher up the pitch ... We have to be a bit more clever in our movements.” He also straight-batted a question about Harry Kane’s level of fitness, while completely bodyswerving references to the popular but still-benched Jack Grealish, and naughty-step-sitters Kieran Trippier and Ben Chilwell. A media management masterclass. It’s like PMQs only we learn even less.

7.02pm BST

Take a look at some of the players who have scored for England against Denmark! Tommy Taylor. Nat Lofthouse. Duncan Edwards. John Atyeo. Jack Charlton. George Eastham. Trevor Francis. Kevin Keegan. Phil Neal. Gary Lineker. David Platt. Michael Owen. Wayne Rooney. Emile Heskey. Joe Cole. Daniel Sturridge. Given the teams have only met 20 times before, that’s a lot of talent from a small sample. You could write a half-decent potted history of English football naming that lot alone. Anyone getting on the scoresheet tonight will find themselves in exalted company.

6.39pm BST

Jose Mourinho will be delighted to see Harry Kane return to the England starting XI. Muscle fatigue be damned; Gareth Southgate insists he’s taking no unnecessary risks.

Kane’s inclusion is one of five changes from the 2-1 victory over Belgium. Kalvin Phillips, Conor Coady, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reece James also come in, the latter pair making their first senior starts. Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Dominic Calvert-Lewin drop out.

6.32pm BST

England: Pickford, James, Maitland-Niles, Walker, Coady, Maguire, Rice, Phillips, Kane, Mount, Rashford.

Denmark: Schmeichel, Kjaer, Christensen, Skov, Delaney, Braithwaite, Eriksen, Dolberg, Wass, Poulsen, Hojbjerg.

12.54pm BST

Ah, Denmark. Any old excuse, eh?

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Published on October 14, 2020 14:31

England v Denmark: Nations League – live!

Nations League updates from the 7.45pm BST kick-offLive scores: all the goals from the games around EuropeAnd get in touch with Scott by email here

10.31pm BST

David Hytner was at Wembley ... and here’s his report. Thanks for reading this one! Nighty night.

10.28pm BST

Gareth Southgate’s verdict. “I was very proud of their performance ... we were excellent for the opening period with 11 men, causing all sorts of problems down our right ... great interchange of play ... the sending off alters everything, and the penalty afterwards, but after then we showed resilience ... a great example of how to play with ten men pragmatically ... wait for the right moments to press and use the ball well when we could ... the team defended as a solid unit ... their keeper has made an amazing save and I couldn’t be prouder, not only tonight but the last ten days ... we’ve had to deal with any manner of changes, so we’ve come through as a resilient group ... the first yellow was a challenge Maguire didn’t need to make and put him on edge, the second his momentum took him through ... for me, he’s a top player and a massive part of what we do ... he’s having a period where he’s having a lot of stick thrown his way and he’ll have to deal with that, he’ll come through it, and he has our full support ... we have total belief in him ... he has been getting all sorts for a while from some people who should know better ... none of us like to be the centre of that sort of storm ... his profile has changed because of the club he plays at and the success he’s had with us, and is having one of those periods when everything is going against him ... you have to hang in and it will turn ... I don’t see the penalty at all, the less said the better ... the referee has sent James off for dissent.”

10.15pm BST

And now the captain Harry Kane. “A tough game ... proud of the boys, who gave everything ... we had control for the first 35 minutes ... whether it was or wasn’t a penalty, it happened, but after that we dug deep ... they didn’t create too many chances, we defended well, we had a few chances ourselves that on another day would have went in ... obviously disappointed we lost, but gotta be proud of the boys ... mistakes cost you, and that’s what happened today ... we’re a good unit and it’s a learning curve and a good experience going forward ... there were some decisions that didn’t go our way ... I don’t think tempers frayed ... it just wasn’t our night ... Maguire made a couple of challenges today that he’d love to have back, but it’s all part of the learning curve ... he’ll be devastated but he’ll bounce back, you go through ups and downs ... I don’t think we have discipline issues ... I can’t fault the boys ... the fight and spirit after the sending off was truly a great thing to be a part of.”

10.09pm BST

Sky have a word with Declan Rice. “It’s very tough to take ... it’s not the direction we wanted to head in ... if you look at our second-half performance, the lads dug in, showing strength, resilience and character ... we created some chances ... even though it’s a defeat, we can be proud of what we done in the second half ... in any game a red card changes something ... some of the decisions on the pitch were tough for us to take, the red card, the penalty ... some of the tackles our lads were putting in were perfect tackles but they were getting the foul for it ... the limelight is always on you when playing for England ... I know we’re a great bunch of lads and we’re focused for sure ... Maguire has always been amazing with me ... anyone can get a red card ... he’s been a fantastic servant and long may that continue.”

10.01pm BST

Trying to look on the bright side: England may have been both dreadfully poor and wretchedly ill-disciplined tonight, but Mason Mount and Conor Coady were both denied goals by, respectively, a magnificent close-range reaction save and an extremely intelligent goal-line clearance. The old thin line between success and failure, right there. In a parallel universe, the ten men managed to turn this round. Harry Maguire would have still been sent off, though.

9.56pm BST

That’s three red cards for England in the past 39 days! A rate of one every 13 days. England went the first 96 years of their existence before having someone sent off. Chuck in Kieran Trippier’s FA betting hearing and the Covid-related shenanigans of Tammy Abraham, Ben Chilwell and Jadon Sancho, and Gareth Southgate has a little discipline problem to address.

9.49pm BST

Yep, the referee flashed red at James, who got right up in his grille at the full-time whistle in the emotional style. Henderson tried to pull him away from trouble, but couldn’t get there in time, and out came the card. That’s the first time England have ever had two players sent off in the same game

9.45pm BST

The winning penalty and a decisive clearance: what a way for Eriksen and Kjaer to celebrate their 100th caps! Denmark deserved the win, even if the award of their spot kick was soft. They had to do little more than be compact and competent, helped on their way by Harry Maguire’s personal implosion. England were extremely poor, save for decent performances from Reece James and Mason Mount ... although it looks like James might have blotted his copybook at the final whistle! The referee has shown him the red card. No idea yet what for. Stay tuned, as England’s night flits from fiasco to farce and back again.

9.37pm BST

Christian Eriksen’s first-half penalty, coupled with Simon Kjaer’s late clearance, is enough! The Danes go above England into second place in Group A2. Belgium go top, after their 2-1 win in Iceland, who are relegated.

9.36pm BST

90 min +3: Pickford’s delivery is appalling and easily cleared by the first Danish defender. The England keeper has the good grace to smile sheepishly. That looks like it.

9.36pm BST

90 min +2: A free kick for England on the halfway line, to the left of the centre circle. Pickford comes up to take. England load the Danish box.

9.35pm BST

90 min +1: The first of three extra minutes passes by.

9.35pm BST

90 min: James crosses from the right. Kane gathers on the left, spins and chips into the six-yard box. Coady is free, level with the right-hand post. He guides a clever header towards the left of goal, Schmeichel caught flat footed. But Kjaer, on his 1ooth cap, reads the danger and heads off the line. What a clearance!

9.33pm BST

89 min: James is bowled over out on the right. A free kick and a chance to load the box, and play on Danish nerves. Philips hoicks long. Schmeichel punches clear under pressure from Calvert-Lewin.

9.31pm BST

88 min: Hojbjerg is replaced by Jensen.

9.30pm BST

86 min: Philips joins him in the book for his role in a theatrical tussle with Poulsen over a dead ball.

9.29pm BST

85 min: Henderson is booked for excessive yap, English agitation rising as time runs out.

9.28pm BST

83 min: Kane slides in on Delaney. Free kick, nothing more. For a second, it looked like the red mist was coming down, but the England captain gathered himself just in time, pulling out of a full-blooded challenge.

9.25pm BST

81 min: Poulsen has a crack from distance. His daisycutter, aimed for the bottom right, is easily gathered by Pickford.

9.24pm BST

79 min: The corner, sent in from the right, is flicked on by Kane and drops to Coady at the far post, six yards out. Coady attempts to spin and shoot, but Calvert-Lewin, Maehle and Schmeichel are all in close attendance, confusing the issue one way or another. Coady slips and goes down. Kane screams for a penalty. England aren’t getting payback for the soft one they conceded in the first half. It looks the correct decision: if there was any contact between Coady and Maehle, it was extremely minimal.

9.22pm BST

78 min: James sends a fierce, rising drive straight at Schmeichel, who tips over easily enough.

9.20pm BST

77 min: Mings pearls a fine long pass down the left. Calvert-Lewin chests down magnificently for Kane, who waits for Delaney to foul him from behind, just to the left of the D. Big chance coming up from the free kick.

9.19pm BST

76 min: Henderson comes on for Rice.

9.18pm BST

75 min: From the corner, Kjaer sends a soft header straight into the grateful arms of Pickford.

9.18pm BST

74 min: Phillips ships possession in the midfield, and Eriksen launches a three-on-two. He slips the ball left for Sisto, who should shoot but looks for Poulsen at the far post, allowing Coady to deflect behind for a corner.

9.17pm BST

73 min: Braithwaite makes way for Vestergaard.

9.16pm BST

72 min: Southgate refreshes his front line, replacing Mount with Sancho on the left, and Rashford with Calvert-Lewin on the right.

9.15pm BST

71 min: The clock ticks on, and England continue to do very little in attack. Denmark seem happy enough to stroke it around the middle. They haven’t caused the ten men too much stress.

9.13pm BST

69 min: Phillips clatters into Poulsen. It’s a garden-variety foul, but one that for some reason causes Southgate to lose his supercool on the touchline. The referee trots over and tells him to pipe down.

9.12pm BST

67 min: Denmark should be two up. Sisto jinks his way past James on the left and crosses to the far post. Walker is asleep, and allows Wass to ghost into space. He heads unchallenged. six yards out, but somehow misses the target. England ... and especially Walker ... get away with one.

9.10pm BST

66 min: ... Mount rises, sending a powerful close-range header towards the top right. But Schmeichel reacts superbly and sticks out a strong arm to parry. Denmark clear the rebound. That’s as close as England have come. Mount has impressed tonight. It’s been a good evening for Chelsea’s young lads.

9.09pm BST

65 min: Kane has a dig from distance. Maehle blocks easily enough. But England come again, Rashford earning a corner down the left. From which ...

9.07pm BST

63 min: James has been very impressive on his full debut. He chests down a looping pass out on the right wing, brings the ball inside, and sends a powerful curler towards the bottom left. Schmeichel reads it well and swallows with ease, but that’s a decent effort from the very promising young Chelsea star.

9.05pm BST

61 min: This is very scrappy now, and not particularly entertaining. Denmark will be happy enough with the way it’s going, I guess, while England will take succour from keeping the 11 men at arm’s length easily enough.

9.03pm BST

59 min: I spoke too soon. It’s parping away again. I can only apologise. I’m really, really, really sorry.

9.01pm BST

57 min: At least the recording of that effing band has been switched off.

9.00pm BST

56 min: Delaney scampers into the England box from the right and looks for Braithwaite with a pullback. Coady does well to block out for a corner, from which nothing comes.

8.58pm BST

55 min: Rashford tries to make something happen for England, dropping a shoulder to breeze in from the left and fizzing a low shot wide of the target. Not his best effort, but it’s something, and the only positive act we’ve seen from England since the restart.

8.56pm BST

53 min: Denmark are totally bossing possession, making full use of their extra man.

8.55pm BST

51 min: Kjaer creams long. Poulsen tries to head down for Sisto, but instead accidentally flicks a header towards the top right. Pickford gathers the looping ball without drama or fuss.

8.53pm BST

49 min: Phillips is upended just inside the Denmark half. England line up on the edge of the box. Phillips can’t beat the first man with his free kick, and Eriksen romps up the other end. Not for the first time today, he’s got options but fails to take them. England get away with one there.

8.52pm BST

48 min: Poulsen, Sisto and Eriksen ping pretty triangles 30 yards from goal. Eriksen breaks the spell by wanging a shot towards the Hanger Lane gyratory.

8.50pm BST

47 min: Denmark establish some early second-half control by stroking it around the middle of the park awhile. England can’t get a sniff at the moment, though aren’t allowing themselves to be pulled out of shape.

8.49pm BST

Denmark get the second half underway. They’ve made two changes in defence. Christensen, on a booking, is replaced by Jorgensen, while Skov makes way for Maehle at left-back.

8.44pm BST

Half-time correspondence. “I’m not English and thus my familiarity with England national team players pre-2014 is pretty much non-existent, which is why I really enjoy lists like the one you posted before kick-off,” writes Matt Burtz. “It caused me to look up John Atyeo and learn that he is Bristol City’s all-time record goalscorer, he became a highly respected mathematics teacher after retirement, and he only scored five goals for England. Not a bad life all the way around, I would say.” Indeed. A great man. The RTÉ commentary of his goal that sent England to the 1958 World Cup finals at the Republic of Ireland’s expense is well worth a listen. Joy for Atyeo and England ... and heart-plunging Irish despair captured by a few seconds of poetic silence.

8.35pm BST

Denmark have been the better team and deserve to lead on balance, though the penalty they were awarded was preposterously soft. As for Harry Maguire: time for a few slow, deep breaths and a long rethink.

8.32pm BST

45 min +1: Hojbjerg is booked for an overly aggressive pirouette that catches his Spurs team-mate Kane’s knee. Ah to hear Jose Mourinho’s inner monologue right now.

8.30pm BST

45 min: It’ll be another three minutes until they hear it.

8.29pm BST

44 min: England haven’t responded to falling behind. Denmark are hogging the ball, with Eriksen at the centre of everything as he returns to his old stomping ground. England are desperate to hear the half-time whistle.

8.27pm BST

42 min: Another fine cross from the right from James. Again nobody in blue reacts. But the Chelsea man has been a rare positive for England tonight.

8.26pm BST

40 min: Harry Maguire, though.

8.24pm BST

38 min: A few noggins are going here. Now Christensen goes into the book for a brazen rugby tackle on Kane. He didn’t need to take one for his team; Kane was unlikely to latch onto the ball he was chasing.

8.23pm BST

37 min: Dolberg hasn’t recovered from that lunge by Maguire. He’s replaced by Sisto.

8.23pm BST

36 min: Well that unravelled quickly for England. What a total farce. A truly idiotic bit of play from Maguire, followed by Pickford and Walker getting into an awful tangle. Mings comes on for the sacrificed Maitland-Niles.

8.21pm BST

Eriksen calmly swishes the spot kick down the middle, as Pickford commits himself.

8.21pm BST

34 min: Delaney, Walker and Pickford get in a tangle just inside the England box, competing for a high ball. Delaney goes over, and the referee points at the spot, presumably for some Walker contact on Delaney as the pair high-kick. It’s soft, but the referee gives it.

8.19pm BST

33 min: Dolberg stays down a while, having felt that one. Happily he’s up again quickly enough.

8.18pm BST

31 min: Maguire should have walked for his early challenge on Poulsen. He’s walking now, though. A second yellow card as he miscontrols in the midfield, then lunges after the loose ball, connecting with Dolberg’s ankle. That’s clumsy, idiotic, and arguably should have been another straight red. What a fiasco.

8.16pm BST

29 min: Rice wedges a fine diagonal ball towards Mount, on the right-hand corner of the Denmark six-yard box. Mount clips back for Kane, who can’t sort his feet out and sends a weak, diluted rabona - a Ribena? - dribbling towards Schmeichel.

8.14pm BST

28 min: Maguire, stretching for a loose ball, slips and squats awkwardly. He gets up and feels his hamstring. He’s back up and running after a grimace and a few ginger steps, though.

8.12pm BST

27 min: Eriksen’s flat free kick is thoroughly useless, failing to clear the first man.

8.11pm BST

26 min: James clumsily brings down the in-flight Skov as the Dane makes good along the left. This will be a free kick in a very dangerous position. Eriksen to take, aiming to deliver into a loaded box.

8.11pm BST

24 min: A sensational, inviting cross-chip from the right by Mount. Neither Kane nor Rashford anticipated it. Wass assumed they had, and heads behind needlessly for a corner. The set piece is wasted. A catalogue of errors.

8.10pm BST

23 min: Poulsen, quarterbacking from deep, sends the lively Dolberg skittering off down the inside-right channel. Coady does well to usher him further right, though he still manages to pull the ball across the face of goal. Pickford wasn’t totally ready for that, and had Braithwaite been a bit livelier in the chase, he might have got to it.

8.08pm BST

22 min: Some nondescript midfield faffing. “That kit Lineker is wearing is, without a doubt, the worst Everton strip of all time,” writes Jim Lynch. “It only lasted a season before being the first inhabitant of the bad memories bin now also occupied by Sam Allardyce.”

8.05pm BST

20 min: Mount’s persistence down the right instigates a game of pinball in the Danish box, and then a corner. From the set piece, Phillips swings into the mixer from deep. Kjaer sweeps clear with plenty of blue shirts lurking.

8.04pm BST

18 min: Rashford and Kane attempt a one-two on the edge of the Danish box, but get it all wrong. Eriksen is permitted to launch a counter, and though he’s got options either side, with England extremely light at the back, opts to welly wildly over the bar. What a waste.

8.01pm BST

16 min: Rashford has a crack from distance. It swerves and dips towards the bottom left, but it’s read well by Schmeichel. A nice open feel to this game. Both teams have looked lively in attack. So much for the conservative reputation of both these teams.

8.01pm BST

15 min: “Surely one of the small mercies of behind-closed-doors games should be that we don’t have to suffer the appalling England ‘band’. Poor show, Sky.” Andrew Goudie speaks for me. I suspect he speaks for all of us.

7.59pm BST

13 min: Mount sashays down the right and breezes past Delaney. As he enters the box, he waits for a nibble from behind, but Delaney smartly stands off, and Mount eventually runs out of time and room, the ball dribbling apologetically towards Schmeichel.

7.57pm BST

11 min: Hojbjerg crosses deep from the right. England half clear. The ball drops to Skov, who attempts to blooter home from 25 yards. That one’s off down the North Circular, halfway to Ikea.

7.55pm BST

9 min: Nothing comes of the second corner. But this is a fast start by Denmark, and England suddenly look a little unnerved. Maitland-Niles and Pickford conspire to make a meal of a simple backpass-hoof-clear routine, but eventually get the job done.

7.54pm BST

8 min: Poulsen makes good down the right and whips towards the near post. Dolberg looks to bundle home, but Coady prods out for a corner just in time. From the set piece, Eriksen pulls one back for Dolberg, who slapshots inches wide of the right-hand post. In fact the ball took a little nick off Phillips, and it’ll be another corner.

7.52pm BST

6 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick.

7.52pm BST

5 min: Maguire is booked for an ugly lunge on Poulsen. Studs up, just above the ankle. Poor form. He’s fortunate Poulsen didn’t make a big deal of that. He’s fortunate that he’s not been sent off. Poulsen meanwhile can count himself lucky that he’s not seriously injured.

7.50pm BST

4 min: James, a surprise selection at right-back ahead of Alexander-Arnold, starts confidently with a fine run down the wing, swinging a dangerous cross through the box. Not far away from Kane at all. The captain gives the full debutant the thumbs up.

7.49pm BST

3 min: Some cute play by Rashford as he tiptoes on the byline to the left of the Denmark goal. The Danish defence are, to a man, afraid to lunge in. Rashford flicks into the centre, but there’s nobody in

white
blue there to take advantage.

7.47pm BST

2 min: Kane latches onto a loose ball and drives down the middle of the park. He takes an early whack from distance, but his shot deflects off Christensen and loops harmlessly into the arms of Schmeichel, who will be grateful for the early touch.

7.46pm BST

Here we go ... and England are wearing blue, while Denmark sport second-choice white. Gah! Anyway, the players take a knee: no room for racism. Then the hosts get the game underway.

7.44pm BST

The teams are out! The national anthems of Denmark and England ring around an empty, eerie Wembley. We’ll be off in a minute. “I suspect another lovely Hummel shirt may be playing no small part in a certain Italian Renaissance currently underway in L4 4EL,” opines Grant Tennille. It is a beauty, yes. Everton’s most eye-catching since this one, though look what happened in that.

7.34pm BST

Thomas Lund Hansen sends his Roligan regards: “Phil Neal might have scored against Denmark but over here we’ll always remember him for his handball at Wembley in 1983. Allan Simonsen scored from the spot, Denmark won, we qualified for Euro84 and went on to become - sort of - famous for the free flowing game known from WC 1986. On behalf of every Danish footy fan; thanks Phil Neal!”

Meanwhile on the same subject, sort of, Simon McMahon adds: “I always think of that Danish team of the mid-80s as Scotland in disguise. When you look at the Scots squad from Mexico 86 and the team that started the first group match against the Danes - Leighton, Miller, McLeish, Gough, Malpas, Nicol, Strachan, Souness, Aitken, Nicholas, Sturrock, then see that Paul McStay, Dave Narey, Frank McAvennie and Eamon Bannon were on the bench, and that Steve Archibald, Graeme Sharp and Davie Cooper were also in the squad, it’s a wonder we didn’t win the tournament at a canter. We decided to finish bottom of the group instead. Very Scottish, as was Denmark’s crash and burn v Spain. Kindred spirits.”

7.27pm BST

Gareth Southgate speaks! “The best teams back up the big results, and that’s the big challenge for us tonight ... When we didn’t have the ball in the second half [against Belgium] we were almost able to dictate the game without the ball ... What we’ve got to add tonight is a bit more attacking guile, more threat, more opportunities on goal ... We need to get our wing-backs higher up the pitch ... We have to be a bit more clever in our movements.” He also straight-batted a question about Harry Kane’s level of fitness, while completely bodyswerving references to the popular but still-benched Jack Grealish, and naughty-step-sitters Kieran Trippier and Ben Chilwell. A media management masterclass. It’s like PMQs only we learn even less.

7.02pm BST

Take a look at some of the players who have scored for England against Denmark! Tommy Taylor. Nat Lofthouse. Duncan Edwards. John Atyeo. Jack Charlton. George Eastham. Trevor Francis. Kevin Keegan. Phil Neal. Gary Lineker. David Platt. Michael Owen. Wayne Rooney. Emile Heskey. Joe Cole. Daniel Sturridge. Given the teams have only met 20 times before, that’s a lot of talent from a small sample. You could write a half-decent potted history of English football naming that lot alone. Anyone getting on the scoresheet tonight will find themselves in exalted company.

6.39pm BST

Jose Mourinho will be delighted to see Harry Kane return to the England starting XI. Muscle fatigue be damned; Gareth Southgate insists he’s taking no unnecessary risks.

Kane’s inclusion is one of five changes from the 2-1 victory over Belgium. Kalvin Phillips, Conor Coady, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Reece James also come in, the latter pair making their first senior starts. Kieran Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jordan Henderson, Eric Dier and Dominic Calvert-Lewin drop out.

6.32pm BST

England: Pickford, James, Maitland-Niles, Walker, Coady, Maguire, Rice, Phillips, Kane, Mount, Rashford.

Denmark: Schmeichel, Kjaer, Christensen, Skov, Delaney, Braithwaite, Eriksen, Dolberg, Wass, Poulsen, Hojbjerg.

12.54pm BST

Ah, Denmark. Any old excuse, eh?

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Published on October 14, 2020 14:31

The Fiver | A historic night of penalty shootouts and bare facts around Europe

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Scotland contested their first-ever penalty shootout on Thursday night. So did Norn Iron. Both teams won, which means that, if The Fiver’s maths is correct, both countries now have a 100% success record in competitive combat from the spot. England by contrast can only boast a 30% winning ratio in shootouts, having lost seven out of 10, so hats off to the Scots and the Irish, on account of being significantly better, and therefore at the same time much less useless, than their English pals. Admittedly, England’s poor total is a function of their regularly getting to the latter stages of major tournaments, and facing damn sight better opposition than Israel and Bosnia-Herzegovina, but these are the bare facts, there’s no getting around them, sometimes you just have to hold your hands up.

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Published on October 09, 2020 07:56

The Fiver | Parp! Honk! Hats off to the reigning club champions of the world!

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When it all comes down, Liverpool may reflect that Sunday night’s effort against Aston Villa wasn’t so bad after all. Shipping seven goals while stumbling around in oversize shoes, spilling buckets of confetti, and asking folk to smell a funny flower isn’t ideal, of course. But it’s a hell of a sight better than letting in 10, or maybe 12, or 14, which could conceivably have happened had Ross Barkley been just a little more ruthless in the first half. So in that sense they dodged a bullet. Having limited their opponents to single figures, Liverpool were able to leave with a sliver of dignity retained, as they headed back north aboard their square-wheeled coach in a plume of steam and smoke. Parp! Honk! Well done, everyone! Hats off to the reigning club champions of the world!

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Published on October 05, 2020 08:35